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{"id":20350,"date":"2020-02-15T15:20:29","date_gmt":"2020-02-15T20:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/?p=20350"},"modified":"2021-04-11T13:05:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-11T17:05:00","slug":"baptistown-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/baptistown-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Baptistown, part one"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently there has been much discussion on the Facebook page \u201a\u00c4\u00faHistorical Kingwood Township\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 about the history of Baptistown. So, it seems appropriate now to publish this article by Egbert T. Bush with his memories of the ancient village.<\/p>\n

Note the spelling of the town\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s name: In the headline it\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Baptistown, the way it is spelled today. But throughout Mr. Bush\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s article, the spelling is in the old style: Baptisttown. In fact, the earliest spelling was always \u201a\u00c4\u00faBaptist Town.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 You can see how the name got shortened for convenience.<\/p>\n

Mr. Bush names a lot of people in connection with the early history of the town\u201a\u00c4\u00eemore people than I can provide information about. I have picked just a few to highlight, but here is still so much to add, I have put my comments at the end of this article.<\/p>\n

\n

Baptistown One of Hunterdon\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Oldest Villages<\/h2>\n

But Time Has Dealt More Kindly With It Than With Others
\nNever Boasted of a Mill<\/h4>\n

By Egbert T. Bush, Stockton, N. J.,
\nPublished in the Hunterdon Co. Democrat, February 26, 1931,<\/em>
\nand republished March 12, 1931 with corrections<\/em><\/p>\n

This is one of the oldest villages in the County, but when the first people came here cannot be positively stated. It is known that several families were here by or soon after 1720. The earliest reliable history seems to cluster around the \u201a\u00c4\u00faOld School Baptist Church,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9\u00ac\u2020as now known; then the \u201a\u00c4\u00faBaptist Church of Kingwood,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9\u00ac\u2020and thus officially known after the schismatical sundering of its membership into two factions. Among the early Baptists gathered around the old church are found the Rittenhouses, the Robersons, the Taylors, the Rislers and many more.<\/p>\n

It is said that a small church was built here in 1741 by people of this particular faith, previous to which services had been held in the affiliated homes for twenty years.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

In 1745 the church organization was regularly formed, and in 1750 a new house was built near the old one, which had become insufficient for the accommodation of the many Baptist families of the community. This new church was built, we are told, on an acre of ground given by George Burkett. But just where either stood is now largely a matter of conjecture. People who trust to memory insist that it was on or near the site of the most recent church of that denomination here. The writer finds reason to suspect that the first site was nearly opposite the present Baptist Church in the village, but his surmises are scouted by those probably better informed.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The house which we old people remember so well, stood on a lot below the road to Frenchtown [present-day Route 12], on land conveyed by John Taylor\u00ac\u2020in 1847. This lot contained only about 1-10th<\/sup> of an acre, with the house facing the \u201a\u00c4\u00faKing\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Highway\u00ac\u2020through Baptistown,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 about 100 feet below the comer. Here services were held for many years from as long ago as almost anybody can remember. Hence possibly the impression that it was the original site. The house is still used as a dwelling.<\/p>\n

The old church had met a serious loss in membership in 1819, when the church was built at Locktown, taking off many of its leading members. But perhaps its serious losses arose from a manifest division of sentiment or opinion.3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

A New House of Worship<\/strong><\/p>\n

June 13, 1830, John Metler\u00ac\u2020and wife and Samuel Slater\u00ac\u2020and wife conveyed to the Trustees of the \u201a\u00c4\u00faMissionary Particular Baptist Church of Kingwood\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 a lot, \u201a\u00c4\u00faBeginning at a stone in the great road in the village of Baptist Town,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 and running thence east one chain and 78 links to Francis Tomlinson\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s\u00ac\u2020land, thence south one chain and 60 links, thence west one chain and 68 links, thence north one chain and 60 links to the place of beginning. This board of trustees was composed of the following well-known men of the day: James Pyatt,\u00ac\u2020Joseph West,\u00ac\u2020Mordecai Roberts,\u00ac\u2020William Lair,\u00ac\u2020Daniel Pearson,\u00ac\u2020Daniel Sebold\u00ac\u2020and Edward Mason.<\/p>\n

While the new house was under construction, services were held at the home of Moses Burd. The house was completed and dedicated in the autumn of the same year. The first pastor was Elder James Wigg; Joseph West and Mordecai Roberts were the first deacons. This still flourishing church has seen the older institution die out of the village, though doubtless much of its stern spirit still prevails.4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Only One Tavern<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are records of only one tavern in this village, and these records are neither full nor satisfactory. We find that the town meeting of Kingwood Township was held at the house of Jonas Thatcher, \u201a\u00c4\u00fainn-keeper at Baptistown,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 April 12, 1816, but do not find reference to the tavern earlier, nor do we find that Jonas was the owner of the property.5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The solid old stone house is still standing and is promising to stand for another century. Among the subsequent keepers of the tavern, some as owners and others as renters, are found the following: Amos Sine,\u00ac\u2020Frederick Berdine,\u00ac\u2020Peter Skillman,\u00ac\u2020Daniel Snyder,\u00ac\u2020Larison Stryker,\u00ac\u2020Jonathan Britton,\u00ac\u2020John V. Thatcher,\u00ac\u2020Samuel Slater, John W. Metler,\u00ac\u2020Joseph Moore,\u00ac\u2020John Menaugh,\u00ac\u2020Anderson Horner,\u00ac\u2020William Eick,\u00ac\u2020Godfrey Hawk,\u00ac\u2020Peter Taylor,\u00ac\u2020Jacob C. Hawk,\u00ac\u2020Charles Echlin,\u00ac\u2020George M. Schomp,\u00ac\u2020Jacob P. D. Abbott,\u00ac\u2020Anson M. Baldwin,\u00ac\u2020Stewart Kitchen\u00ac\u2020and William Holjes.<\/p>\n

No Booze for the Poor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kitchen was among the later keepers. It is said of him that he conspicuously displayed the following notice: \u201a\u00c4\u00faIf your family needs the money for bread, don\u201a\u00c4\u00f4t spend it here.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 Strangely altruistic, did you say? Possibly so; but, in his wish not to take money from the needy, Kitchen was not alone among keepers of the old days. Old people remember other keepers who equally scrupulous, though not manifesting the quality in this spectacular and memorable manner.<\/p>\n

The ownership of the old tavern may be imperfectly traced back from Anson W. Baldwin, whose brother John W. conveyed it to him in 1869. Thatcher Trimmer, Jr. conveyed it to John W. Baldwin in 1868, it having been conveyed to Trimmer by Jacob C. Hawk in 1865. In 1856 Anderson Horner conveyed it to Godfrey Hawk, whose administrator, Francis Tomlinson, conveyed it to Horner in 1847. Prior to that, the ownership seems to be tangled by breaks in the records.6<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

We find, however, that during the occupancy (and evident ownership) of Samuel Slater,\u00ac\u2020the \u201a\u00c4\u00faKingwood Vigilant Society\u201a\u00c4\u00f9\u00ac\u2020was organized at his house January 17, 1835. This society functioned as a protection against horse-thieves, for 36 years, with an average membership of about 50. The members, then feeling that it had outlived its usefulness, divided the funds among themselves and disbanded, as they had a perfect right to do, though several similar organizations in the county are still holding together, not so much for protection against thieves, as for keeping up the old-time fellowship and the old spirit of unselfish service to the community.<\/p>\n

\u201a\u00c4\u00faBaptisttown Cavalry<\/strong>\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p>\n

July 23, 1859, the \u201a\u00c4\u00faBaptisttown Cavalry\u201a\u00c4\u00f9\u00ac\u2020was organized here, with William Eick\u00ac\u2020as Captain. He was later the owner of the showy \u201a\u00c4\u00faCaptain Eick\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 farm, later owned by Dr. Harris,\u00ac\u2020one mile west of Croton. Moses K. Everitt\u00ac\u2020was Orderly Sergeant of the Company. He was State Senator from 1889 to 1891, and later Warden at Morris Plains\u00ac\u2020to the time of his death.<\/p>\n

After the death of Anson W. Baldwin\u00ac\u2020in 1894, John C. Arnwine, his executor, conveyed the old tavern to John P. Batt,\u00ac\u2020who conveyed it to Adelbert Lee\u00ac\u2020in 1898. Lee conveyed it during the same year to Sarah A. Jones,\u00ac\u2020and she to Anthony Hurschel\u00ac\u2020in 1899. Hurschel conveyed it to Edward Kiley\u00ac\u2020in 1901, and Kiley soon after conveyed it to John C. Arnwine,\u00ac\u2020who used it as a dwelling until his death in 1930.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Detail from the 1851 Cornell Map<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Merchants of Baptisttown<\/h4>\n

We find Wilson Bray,\u00ac\u2020son of Gen. Daniel Bray,\u00ac\u2020among the early merchants here. He was evidently not among the earliest, but these seem to have been lost in the mists of time. Bray was postmaster during the tenure of President Jackson\u00ac\u2020(1829 to 1837) and Sheriff in 1831-2. It appears that his was the corner stone, conveyed by Andrew Roberson\u00ac\u2020to Abel Webster\u00ac\u2020in 1858; by Webster to Opdyke Arnwine in 1866; and by Opdyke Arnwine\u00ac\u2020to his son, John C. Arnwine in 1873. Here John C. continued to do business during the remainder of his life. He was post-master here, but resigned to enter the Assembly of New Jersey in 1885, where he served for three years. In the early 90\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s [1890s] the old building burned down, and was immediately replaced by a much more commodious storehouse, now owned by William Arnwine,\u00ac\u2020the only child of John C. Arnwine,\u00ac\u2020who had beaten all the records by doing business there for 57 years.<\/p>\n

Among several other keepers of this old stand are found the names of William Rittenhouse,\u00ac\u2020Anderson Horner,\u00ac\u2020once owner of the tavern, and George W. Mason,\u00ac\u2020later a merchant in Stockton. George Opdyke\u00ac\u2020began his career as clerk in a store here. He soon outgrew the store and the town, became a prosperous merchant in New York, amassed a snug fortune, served as Mayor of the city during the trying days of the Civil War, and died in that city, leaving behind him an enviable record of business integrity and civic duties fearlessly performed.<\/p>\n

David Pittenger\u00ac\u2020was a merchant here in the median days. Just when he first opened the store is unknown. We find him mentioned as in possession of a store here in 1847. In 1854 Samuel Slater conveyed to David Pittenger for $1,050, a lot \u201a\u00c4\u00faBeing in Baptisttown and Beginning at a stone corner in the great road between the two churches; thence south eighty-nine degrees west eleven chains and forty links to a corner of Andrew Roberson\u00ac\u2020in John Taylor\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s\u00ac\u2020line; thence . . . . to a stone in the great road opposite the new church, Excepting the ground lying in the grave yard.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 This locating of a \u201a\u00c4\u00facorner in the road between the two churches,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 strengthens the supposition that the really old church was located here, near the grave yard, instead of on the site of the last old School Church. March 12, 1851, Samuel H. Britton\u00ac\u2020conveyed to Pittenger a lot here which had been conveyed to Britton by Jacob Moore\u00ac\u2020in 1843. This, or more likely the one above mentioned, was evidently the later Pittenger store lot, which lay above the old grave yard. Here in an old shackly building, he kept his store for many years.<\/p>\n

After him in the same house came Stacy\u00ac\u2020and Jonathan Sutton,\u00ac\u2020brothers, who did business there until the house burned down over 40 years ago. This same firm later kept a store in a new house built by Paul C. Larue\u00ac\u2020on the corner between the road to Frenchtown and the Old School Baptist Church\u00ac\u2020lot. This store building was soon made into a dwelling, and was occupied by the builder during the rest of his life, which ended in 1926. The Sutton Brothers\u00ac\u2020also kept a store down the road to Kingwood, where Frank L. Trout\u00ac\u2020is now located.<\/p>\n

Wheelwright and Blacksmith<\/strong><\/p>\n

James P. Gary, whose wife [Elizabeth] was a sister to the late Elias L. Dalrymple, bought of William Heath, April 2, 1858, a tract of land here \u201a\u00c4\u00faBeginning at a corner in the road leading through Baptisttown; thence with the line of Godfrey Hawk\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s tavern lot and along the south end of the Tavern\u00ac\u2020house, containing 50 and \u00ac\u03a9 acres, . . . . Being the same tract that was conveyed to William Heath\u00ac\u2020by William Lair., Nov. 13, 1847.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p>\n

Here James P. Gary\u00ac\u2020carried on wheelwrighting together with farming for about 50 years, his death occurring in 1912. His shop was a short distance below the tavern. A blacksmith shop, occupied by John Butler, stood nearby. Butler went into the Civil War, and Andrew Sutton, brother to the merchants, carried on the blacksmithing in Butler\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s place. Later smiths there were Nathan Dalrymple\u00ac\u2020and Augustus Green. Strange to say, there is now a newly-opened blacksmith shop farther down the King\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Highway, below the old creamery building.<\/p>\n

Paul C. Larue was a prosperous farmer elsewhere in Kingwood before coming to Baptistown. Memory says he was a son of Gordon Larue, who lived near the Franklin school, and brother to Elisha, the blacksmith, and Uriah, the surveyor. April 2, 1888, Mathias C. Apgar\u00ac\u2020conveyed to Paul C. Larue\u00ac\u2020the old John Taylor\u00ac\u2020farm containing 88.92 acres, including the corner on which Larue erected the storehouse soon after. The deed describes the eighth course as ending at a corner in the King\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Highway opposite the Frenchtown road, and the ninth as running down the Highway one chain and ninety links \u201a\u00c4\u00fato a corner of the Old School Baptist\u00ac\u2020Meeting House lot,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 and tells of touching lands of Dr. Leavitt\u00ac\u2020and the \u201a\u00c4\u00faschool house lot.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p>\n

Physician of Baptistown<\/strong><\/p>\n

It does not appear that any physician settled here in the early days. Dr. Leavitt came here in 1855, and remained during the remainder of his life. Other doctors remembered as stationed here are Dr. M. K. Reading, Dr. Leidy\u00ac\u2020and Dr. Grim.<\/p>\n

During the days of creamery excitement in this county, there was a creamery\u00ac\u2020established in an old dwelling on the south corner at the junction, of the one at \u201a\u00c4\u00faOak Summit,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 near the Stone Church a mile northward.<\/p>\n

Having no water power, Baptisttown had no old mill turned by some great, splashing wheel; and fortunately, the citizens were never lured into building the later kind, to absorb capital and be now standing as a painful reminder of past prosperity. Changing conditions seem to have dealt more kindly with good old Baptisttown than with most other villages. The surrounding country is still prosperous, and the village, in spite of many changes, appears more attractive than ever before.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My Comments<\/h2>\n

The Churches<\/h4>\n

I will not add anything more to Mr. Bush\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s history of the Baptist churches in this village, having provided links above to my articles about the sister church in Locktown.<\/p>\n

Mr. Bush\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s next subject was the history of the Baptistown tavern or hotel, which I found very interesting.<\/p>\n

The Tavern<\/h3>\n

The earliest record that Mr. Bush had of a tavernkeeper in Baptistown was in 1816, with Jonas Thatcher. It seems likely that this was Jonas Thatcher, Jr. (1791-1852), son of Jonas Thatcher, Sr. & Sarah Lake, who married Nancy Lake (1792-1835) in 1811. Nancy was the daughter of Cornelius Lake and Mary Sergeant of Sergeantsville. It surprised me a little to realize that this Jonas Thatcher, who inherited part of his father\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s estate in Amwell in 1808, would take up tavern keeping in Kingwood.<\/p>\n

According to Hiram Deats, Thatcher was \u201a\u00c4\u00faan Everittstown mechanic and in 1816, Innkeeper at Baptisttown.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 I do not know where Mr. Deats got that information. Thatcher was both a farmer and a storekeeper in Delaware Township (before it separated from Amwell). He was also postmaster at Sergeantsville, the first one there, in 1827.<\/p>\n

Jonas and Nancy Thatcher moved from Amwell\/Delaware Township to Alexandria Township by 1832, perhaps returning to a place Thatcher had previously lived in. Nancy died in February 1835, and Jonas married second Elizabeth Fox (1807-1851), in November 1835.\u00ac\u2020 (I have not identified her parents, but she was probably related to Isaac Fox (c.1792-1843) of Sand Brook who took up residence in Alexandria Twp. not long before 1830.<\/p>\n

Tavern Licenses<\/h4>\n

Licensing taverns was a practice that started in the 18th<\/sup> century. Once Hunterdon County took over record keeping from Trenton, its Common Pleas Court took over the job of licensing tavern and hotels. One reason for licensing them was concern about promoting drunken behavior. Counties wanted to limit the number of taverns to the appropriate number required for travelers, who always needed stops along the way. This continued up through 1830, as this item from the Hunterdon Gazette of April 7, 1830 shows:<\/p>\n

\u201a\u00c4\u00faINNS AND TAVERNS. As the term of our Court is near at hand, at which most of the Tavern Licenses in the county will be renewed, we deem it proper to call public attention to the subject. Much of the intemperance to be found in Hunterdon county, is attributable to the needless multiplication of Taverns in every part of the county, where they are not required for the accommodation of travelers, nor for the convenience of transacting public business.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Some years ago, I was exploring the interesting records hiding in the minutes of the Court of Common Pleas, to be found at the Search Room in the County Clerk\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Office. That was the court that granted hotel and tavern licenses, so I spent some time jotting down the names of the earliest tavern keepers, starting with 1794.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Tavern was the earliest known taverns in Kingwood Township, originating in a log house a few miles south of Baptistown and Barbertown, on Route 519.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Johnson’s Tavern on Route 519<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Egbert T. Bush\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s article, \u201a\u00c4\u00faKingwood Tavern, Substantial Relic of a Bygone Day,\u201a\u00c4\u00f97<\/a><\/sup> Johnson bought the property in 1793 from Joseph Hart et ux . . . , it being originally part of a tract of land owned by Daniel Howell, bought from Christopher Cornelius, and then sold in 1754 to Francis Tomlinson. It had been owned by John Johnson\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s father-in-law, William Hart, who operated the tavern during the Revolution. Tradition says that Martha Washington stopped by, presumably sometime during the 1770s, for a breakfast and a break from her travels at this ancient establishment. It was probably the biggest competitor to the tavern in Baptistown. John Johnson got a tavern license in 1796 and every year thereafter up through 1811.<\/p>\n

According to the license application, the other Kingwood Township tavern keepers from 1794 through 1811 were:\u00ac\u2020 Daniel Abbott, William Abbott, James Anderson, Philip C. Anderson, Wm Britton, Philip Case, Jesse Chamberlin, John Cowdrick, Archibald Davison, Neal Hart, Gabriel Hoff, Mary Hoff, Gershom Hull, Wm Large, David McPherson, Christopher Probasco, Evan Ryan, Peter Stryker, Aaron Thatcher.<\/p>\n

That is as far as I got, because I decided to skip ahead to the year 1840. That year the tavernkeeper in Baptistown was John W. Mettler, while John Romine ran the Kingwood\/Johnson tavern. Edard Hunt was in Mount Pleasant, Asher Johnson was at Centre Bridge (Stockton), Larason Stryker at Pittstown, and Henry W. Johnson and Charles Voorhis were in Milford.<\/p>\n

Chain of Title for Baptistown Tavern<\/h4>\n

Of all the early tavern owners, the one who interested me the most was William Brittain. He was listed as getting a license for a tavern in Kingwood as early as 1810. I was able to verify that Britton\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s tavern was in Baptistown by a deed of 1814, in which Joseph and Hannah Parke of \u201a\u00c4\u00faBaptist Town\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 sold a house lot of 1.17 acres in the village bordered by \u201a\u00c4\u00faWilliam Britton\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Tavern House.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p>\n

Can we go back any earlier? Yes we can. William Britton of Alexandria, recorded the deed in which he bought the tavern lot from William & Elizabeth Halliday of Kingwood Township on January 13, 1809, for \u00ac\u00a3450. What he purchased was \u201a\u00c4\u00faall that certain Messuage, tenement, lott or parcel of land\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 of 2.5 acres in Kingwood, bordering land formerly Aaron Vansyckle and land formerly Henry Snyder.8<\/a><\/sup> The recital in this deed stated that it was the same lot that Halliday bought from Jonathan and Jean Davis of Kingwood Township on March 4, 1802.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, that deed was also recorded, and it is this deed that got me all the back to the first European landowner, William Biddle. I will now go back to 1711 and move forwards in time to the Hallidays.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Detail from Hammond Map D of the Biddle tract of 1350 acres<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

William Biddle, one of the early proprietors of the Province of West New Jersey, had several very large tracts of land surveyed for him, based on the shares he bought in the Province. One of them was a tract of 1350 acres in the Lotting Purchase. This makes sense, since he, along with John Reading and John Wills, negotiated the purchase with the local Lenape in 1703.9<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

On Dec. 21, 1734, Biddle sold that property to James Whitehead; August 22, 1735, Whitehead sold it to Samuel Johnson; Dec. 30, 1751, Johnson sold it to Joseph Tilton. These four early owners were all absentees, who invested in land in this mostly uninhabited Province, and profited from its sale. Unfortunately, the deed recital did not state what they each paid for it.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 26, 1753, Tilton sold some or all of the 1350 acres to Aaron Vanseyoar, or a name that looks vaguely like that. (The clerk\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s handwriting was not all that clear.) \u00ac\u2020In any case, on Sep. 10, 1762, Vanseyor divided out a lot of 2.5 acres, which he sold to John Taylor, Sr. Taylor, on March 15, 1779, sold that lot to Nathaniel Thatcher of Kingwood, and finally, on Dec. 27, 1786, Thatcher sold the same lot to Jonathan Davis for $220.<\/p>\n

All this was described in the recital given in the deed of March 4, 1802, in which Jonathan Davis and wife Jane sold that 2.5-acre lot to William Halliday.10<\/a><\/sup> Once again, the lot was bordered by Aaron Vanseyoars [sic] and Henry Snyder.<\/p>\n

Over the years, that description of the property was continually repeated from this deed of 1802 all the way up to 1894, with one modification. Instead of Vanseyor, in 1809 the named morphed into Vansyckle. When I first saw that name in a much later deed I was puzzled, knowing that Aaron Vansyckle, who was a partner with Charles Bartles of Flemington, was not known as a Baptistown landowner. I suppose that the original name was hard to read and people assumed it was a name they were more familiar with.<\/p>\n

As for that wonderful recital in the deed of 1802, I think this was added because deeds had only recently (1798 ?) begun to be recorded in Flemington instead of in Trenton. The new deed books in Hunterdon County start fresh and do not include any earlier deeds recorded in Trenton, so some people felt it was important to recite the property\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s history. I only wish more had done so.<\/p>\n

There is much more to say about the owners of the Baptistown Tavern lot\u201a\u00c4\u00eetoo much for this article. Part Two will be published soon. But for now, let\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s review Mr. Bush\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s comments on the \u201a\u00c4\u00faBaptisttown Cavalry,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 organized in 1857 by William Eick and Moses K. Everitt, and then the Baptistown merchants and physicians.<\/p>\n

William Eick<\/strong> (1811-1880), son of Taylor Eicke & Anna Horner, married 1836, Lavinia Thatcher (1818-1864), daughter of John V. Thatcher & Charlotte Thatcher of Kingwood. Anna Horner Eicke was the sister of Anderson Horner, who bought the tavern lot in 1847, and of Delilah Horner who married Samuel Slater, another owner of the Baptistown hotel. Her mother, Mary Britton Horner, was the daughter of the earlier tavern owner, William Britton.<\/p>\n

Eick appeared in two other articles by Egbert T. Bush. In \u201a\u00c4\u00faCroton & Vicinity,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 (published July 22, 1896 in the Hunterdon Republican<\/em>), he wrote that \u201a\u00c4\u00faAfter Geo. W. Shordy moved from Croton to Pennsylvania, William Eick ran the old tavern [in Croton] as a temperance saloon for a year, followed by Hart Johnson and Israel Allegar.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 In \u201a\u00c4\u00faPoint Breeze, The Newest Tavern in Hunterdon\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 (July 23, 1931), Bush wrote that<\/p>\n

\u201a\u00c4\u00faA half-mile east of Point Breeze near the road to Pittstown \u201a\u00c4\u00falies the once showy farm known all through my early boyhood as the Capt. Eick Farm. William Eick was there through the middle years of the past century, a flourishing farmer on what looked like a flourishing farm.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p>\n

William Eicke died intestate in 1855 and was buried in the Cemetery next to the Baptist Church in Baptistown.<\/p>\n

Moses K. Everitt <\/strong>(1836-1909) was elected to the State Senate in 1889 as a Democrat. Prior to that he had served as Town Clerk of Kingwood, postmaster at Baptistown, and County Clerk from 1869 through 1873. Starting in the mid 1860s, Everitt got himself onto the board of directors for nearly every bank operating in Flemington. Everitt was living in Kingwood Township from the time of his marriage in 1859 until about the time he was elected County Clerk, when he and his wife moved to Flemington. Thus, Everitt\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s term as \u201a\u00c4\u00faOrderly\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 for the Baptisttown Cavalry was brief. He married Martha Rittenhouse (1839-1915), daughter of John Bray Rittenhouse and Ann Barcroft, in 1859, but they had no children. Despite dying in Morris Plains, NJ, the couple were buried in the Prospect Hill Cemetery in Flemington. I regret to say I could not identify who Moses K. Everitt\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s parents were.<\/p>\n

Merchants<\/h3>\n

Mr. Bush gave us a long list of Baptistown storekeepers. He listed Wilson Bray, Andrew Roberson, Abel Webster, Opdyke Arnwine, John C. Arnwine, William Rittenhouse,\u00ac\u2020Anderson Horner,\u00ac\u2020once owner of the tavern, George W. Mason, George Opdyke, David Pittenger, Stacy\u00ac\u2020and Jonathan Sutton,\u00ac\u2020and Paul C. Larue. I will highlight just a few.<\/p>\n

Wilson Bray<\/h4>\n

Wilson Bray (1793-1850), son of Daniel Bray & Mary Wolverton, married in 1816 Mary West (c.1798-1876), daughter of Thomas West and Rachel Hoagland. They had an impressive 16 children, not all of whom reached adulthood. When a post office was established in Baptistown in 1822, Wilson Bray was the first postmaster. No doubt the post office was located in Bray\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s store. He must have been highly regarded in his town because in 1823 he was elected Freeholder from Kingwood Township. I should refer to him as \u201a\u00c4\u00faHon. Wilson Bray,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 because he was elected Hunterdon County Sheriff for 1831 and 1832, and elected to the NJ Assembly for the 1835-36 term. His death at the age of 56 was sudden and so disturbing that a moving obituary was written for him in the Hunterdon Democrat.<\/p>\n

George W. Mason<\/h4>\n

George Washington Mason (1816-1908), son of Edward Mason and Nancy Heath of Kingwood and Franklin Townships, married 1837 Mary Reading (c.1812-1890), daughter of Pierson Reading and Mary Opdycke of Amwell twp. and Burlington County. Mason sold his property to Mahlon Rittenhouse in 1866, and moved to Stockton. In 1884, the Hunterdon Republican<\/em> reported that \u201a\u00c4\u00faGeorge W. Mason, who has been engaged in the mercantile business at Stockton for the past 15 years, has retired and will be succeeded by two of his grandsons.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p>\n

George W. Mason is interesting because his brother, Jacob B. Mason, had a daughter Rebecca Ann who married Baptistown hotelkeeper Anson W. Baldwin in 1860. Baldwin ran the tavern for many many years, but his portrait must wait for Part Two.<\/p>\n

David Pittenger<\/h4>\n

David Pittenger (1810-1886) was born in New Jersey, but I have not identified his parents. Sometime before 1832 he settled in the vicinity of Sand Brook because that year he married Livera Godown (c.1812-bef 1853), daughter of Richard S. Godown & Mary Rittenhouse. After Livera died, sometime before 1853, Pittenger married her sister Sarah Godown (1811-1894). David and Livera had five children, including twins William and Israel Pittenger.<\/p>\n

As Mr. Bush wrote, Pittenger bought his lot from Samuel Slater in 1854, right in the heart of the village, next to the new church and the graveyard. It appears he had been living there prior to the land purchase because he was identified there in the 1851 Cornell Map (see Cornell Map, above). He was counted in the 1880 Kingwood census as a 69-year-old storekeeper and farmer. He probably gave up storekeeping not long after this.<\/p>\n

Postmasters of Baptistown<\/h4>\n

A list of Baptistown postmasters was published in the Hunterdon Republican<\/em> newspaper on January 7, 1894, taken from a list published in the Frenchtown Independent<\/em>. It stated that the post office in Baptistown was established on May 1, 1822. The postmasters from then to 1885 were:\u00ac\u2020 1822 Wilson Bray; 1824 John Wesley Snyder; 1834 John D. Scott; 1838 William Heath; 1841 Ellis Hulsizer; 1842 Andrew B. Rittenhouse; 1845 Albert K. Wagner; 1846 Uriah Larue; 1849 William Slater; 1854 Abel Webster; 1859 Moses K. Everitt; 1860 Abel Webster; 1861 Jacob C. Hawk; 1864 John B. Mason; 1867 William Rittenhouse; 1869 James P. Gary; 1872 John A. Arnwine; and 1885 Augustus G. Vanderbelt.<\/p>\n

Physician of Baptistown<\/h3>\n

Physicians named by Mr. Bush were Dr. Leavett, followed by M. K. Reading, Dr. Leidy and Dr. Grim. Dr. M. K. Reading was Miller Kline Reading (1840-?), son of Francis Reading & Anne Bowne, who married in 1865, at the end of the Civil War, Mary Hannah Young (1846-1924), daughter of John J. Young and Eliza Thatcher. Miller K. Reading was a Civil War veteran who began his medical practice in Baptistown after the war ended. By 1900 he and his family had moved to Prince William County in Virginia, where they remained.<\/p>\n

Dr. Leidy was Edwin D. Leidy (1858 – ?), son of Enos Leidy and Isabella M. Saunders of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He married in 1885 Sarah C. Rittenhouse (1860-?), daughter of Edward Rittenhouse & Sarah Letitia Cooper Fisher.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Detail of the Kingwood Township page in the Beers Atlas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have no information about Dr. Grim\u201a\u00c4\u00eenot even his first name! Much more can be said about Dr. John Tilton Leavitt who appears on the Beers Atlas at Baptistown. He was born in 1818 in New Hampshire, married about 1850 Aterah Smith of New Jersey and had a daughter, Mary Jenners Leavitt (1854-aft 1930), who married Ampleus B. Chamberlin of Flemington and Baptistown. They had a son, John Leavett Chamberlin (1877-1934) who married Mae B. Lennard in the early 1900s, and set up his own medical practice in Sergeantsville.<\/p>\n

That\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s all for now. As you can see, Baptistown has a rich history.<\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The history of the village of Baptistown goes back to the early 1700s. E. T. Bush knew much of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[410,226,395,6,236,394],"tags":[121,84,21,16,142,62,82],"class_list":["post-20350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baptistown","category-e-t-bush-historians-revisisted","category-heath","category-historians-revisisted","category-kingwood-twp-hunterdon-county","category-trimmer","tag-alcohol","tag-churches","tag-early-settlers","tag-land-titles","tag-maps","tag-stores","tag-taverns","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20350"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21209,"href":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20350\/revisions\/21209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}