Joshua Primmer and Mary W. Servis<\/h2>\n![\"Rev.](\"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/PrimmerJ2-199x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Rev. Joshua Primmer, from the Democrat-Advertiser, 1904<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOn April 1, 1856, James Wolverton sold the 128-acre Pauch farm to Joshua Primmer of Sergeantsville. I cannot say how much Primmer paid for the property as the amount was left blank on the deed.1<\/a><\/sup> But the deed did state that this farm was the same as the one that Wolverton had bought from John R. Dill who had bought it from the estate of Charles Sergeant deceased. At the time, the farm bordered the lands of Jacob Lawshe, Asher Johnson, wood lots formerly belonging to this farm, John Sharp, Andrew Larason, the \u201a\u00c4\u00faArch Bridge\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 and Covered Bridge Road (in\u00ac\u2020the deed, the road was called \u201a\u00c4\u00fathe new road leading from the above mentioned road {Rte 523} to Sergeants Mills).\u00ac\u2020Primmer was the first owner since 1702\u00ac\u2020who was not related in some way to Samuel Green, a period of 154 years.<\/p>\nRev. Joshua Primmer was greatly respected in Delaware Township, but he was born and grew up in Hopewell Township.2<\/a><\/sup> He was born on June 25, 1813 to\u00ac\u2020Richard Primer and Lydia Bunn, and on April 26, 1837 he married Mary W. Servis, the third of eight children born to Tunis Servis and Elizabeth Horn. The Primmers had no children of their own, but did adopt the daughter of Joshua\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s brother John W. Primmer of Trenton. Her name was Anna or Annie R. Primmer, and she married Elisha Warford Opdycke in 1878.<\/p>\nJoshua Primmer began his adult life as a blacksmith in Hopewell. In 1844 he was appointed Postmaster for Titusville, and again in 1853. He was counted in the 1850 census for Hopewell as a blacksmith, age 37, worth $1200, and living with wife Mary M. Primmer, age 30. There were no children living with them.<\/p>\n
By 1855, the Primmers had decided to move to Delaware Township, and subsequently bought the Wolverton property. Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s obituary stated: \u201a\u00c4\u00faIn the year 1855 he purchased a farm midway between Sergeantsville and Stockton, where he carried on farming and blacksmithing for twenty-five years.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 This was at the Pauch farm.<\/p>\n
In November 1857, a year and a half after buying the Pauch farm, Joshua Primmer, together with Dr. Isaac S. Cramer, bought a\u00ac\u2020farm of 137.4\u00ac\u2020acres on Sanford Road, Delaware Township, from Henry B. Nightingale.3<\/a><\/sup>\u00ac\u2020It was subject to two mortgages, and it appears that Primmer did not make payments on them because the\u00ac\u2020next year, a series of advertisements in the Hunterdon Gazette announced that the Sheriff had seized a farm of Joshua Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s in Delaware Township.\u00ac\u2020\u00ac\u2020The description shows it was in fact the Nightingale farm, not the Sergeant farm that was seized. Oddly enough, the notices made no mention of Isaac S. Cramer. The sheriff first\u00ac\u2020offered it for sale on June 19th, but it was postponed to December 14, 1858; and then again to January 15 and again to February 12, 1859.\u00ac\u2020Primmer and Cramer did sell some small lots out of the original farm, but it was not until\u00ac\u2020that Joshua and Mary Primmer sold the rest of the farm jointly with Isaac and Margaret Cramer to John J. Slack for $4000.[4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\nOn April 12, 1857, Mary Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s father Tunis Servis died without a will. His son Frazer Servis and son-in-law Joshua Primmer acted as administrators of his estate, and made their account to the Orphans Court on December 17, 1858. Tunis Servis was buried in the cemetery attached to the Locktown Christian Church. His wife was buried next to him after she died in 1872.5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\nBy 1860, when he was counted in the Delaware Township census, Joshua Primmer was a well-to-do 46-year-old farmer with property valued at $10,000, and personal property at $1850. (I wonder if he still kept up the blacksmith trade.) There were only 30 families in Delaware Township richer than his\u00ac\u2020was, out of a total of 526 households. His wife Mary was 40, and living with them was Aaron Emmons, age 22, who worked on the farm. Another indication of Primmer’s financial well-being appears in the\u00ac\u2020federal income tax of 1865, which was intended to defray the expenses of the Civil War. Joshua Primmer was taxed $1 on a carriage, $2 on a piano, and $5.40 on an income of $108.00.<\/p>\n
In the census his name was spelled \u201a\u00c4\u00faPrimer,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 and that is the way it often appeared, even though he himself spelled it “Primmer.” Even after he died in 1904, his obituary had his name as \u201a\u00c4\u00f2Primer,\u201a\u00c4\u00f4 while mention of him in the newspapers around 1900 used the spelling \u201a\u00c4\u00f2Primmer.\u201a\u00c4\u00f4<\/p>\n
In 1868, Joshua Primmer was one of many who were victimized by some local thieves who roamed through Delaware Township and Lambertville stealing a large number of turkeys and anything else they could lay their hands on. Joshua Primmer got off lucky\u201a\u00c4\u00eehe lost only two turkeys.6<\/a><\/sup> The loss did not harm his financial well-being.\u00ac\u2020In the 1870 census for Delaware Township, Primmer, still a farmer, had property valued at $11,000, and a personal estate worth $2000. He was living with his wife Mary, age 50, and their niece Anna, age 25 (single). Also in the household was Thomas Roach 34, born in Ireland, who worked on the farm.<\/p>\nThe possibility of developing his neighborhood with a rail line greatly appealed to Primmer, and in the late 1860s he\u00ac\u2020joined with many others to advocate for a new rail line to link Flemington with Lambertville that would pass near his farm.\u00ac\u2020In January 1870, \u201a\u00c4\u00faRev. Joshua Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 was named to a committee of three to \u201a\u00c4\u00fawait on the legislature\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 to present a petition for a charter to create this railroad. They succeeded in getting a bill introduced for the Flemington and Delaware Railroad, and Primmer was named as one of the \u201a\u00c4\u00faincorporators.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 But\u00ac\u2020the railroad was never approved.\u00ac\u2020If it had been, Delaware Township might look very different today.<\/p>\n
Rev. Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s ministerial activities were apparently not official. He was not listed as a minister for the Methodist Episcopal Church of Sergeantsville in Snell\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s History of Hunterdon County<\/i>, although he was a member of that congregation and remained so for the rest of his life. On January 3, 1871, a \u201a\u00c4\u00faBiblical Discussion\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 was held at the Methodist Church. It was announced in the Hunterdon Republican<\/i> on December 29, 1870. The following pastors were to take part: Rev. George Young, pastor of Sandy Ridge Baptist Church; Rev. Joshua Primmer of Sergeantsville;\u00ac\u2020 Rev. H. R. Nye, a universalist from Springfield, Massachusetts, and Rev. William C. Barrick of Croton. In the 19th century, religion was not only an important part of people\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s lives but a major source of entertainment. The intensity with which these \u201a\u00c4\u00f2discussions\u201a\u00c4\u00f4 were followed is a good demonstration of the general feeling.<\/p>\n
Egbert T. Bush described this event in his article, \u201a\u00c4\u00faSergeantsville, A Town That Outlived Its Name.”7<\/a><\/sup> According to Mr. Bush, \u201a\u00c4\u00faJoshua Primmer, local M.E. preacher, sustained the orthodox side,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 while \u201a\u00c4\u00faWilliam C. Barrick, the well-known champion debater of Croton,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 took \u201a\u00c4\u00fathe liberal side.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 Bush did not know what the debate was actually about, but people got very worked up about it, and since neither side felt the issue had been settled, a second debate was arranged, this time with the two recognized authorities: Rev. George Young and Rev. Mr. Nye. Bush wrote that a great crowd filled the M.E. Church, enough to make the floor settle lower. Whatever the issue, no one’s mind was changed, but despite that, the debate was judged a success.<\/p>\nThe 1873 Beers & Comstock Atlas of Hunterdon County showed owners of property and the location of their houses. \u201a\u00c4\u00faJ. Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 was shown at the Pauch farm. That same year, on February 6, Primmer advertised in the Hunterdon Republican:<\/p>\n
\u201a\u00c4\u00faExtensive Sale of Stock and Farm Utensils to be held 19 Feb. 1873. William S. Riley, Auctioneer, will sell at the residence of Joshua Primmer in Delaware Township, about 1 mile from Sergeantsville, on the road to Stockton, his entire stock and farming utensils. Also, Household furniture, etc.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
At this time, Primmer was 60 years old, not really old enough to give up farming, and yet that appears to be the reason for this sale. Since he kept the farm for another eleven years, he must have rented it out after moving to a smaller place.\u00ac\u2020That place was a lot of 25 acres in Sergeantsville, which Primmer bought from Samuel Higgins on March 31, 1874.8<\/a><\/sup> He paid a whopping $4,750 for it ($190\/acre),\u00ac\u2020and continued to be a farmer, as the 1880 census attests. It is hard to understand way he would sell off his farming tools if he did not expect to retire from farming. As to the new location, it later became known as the Higgins farm in Sergeantsville.<\/p>\nWith more time on his hands, Joshua Primmer joined a new masonic lodge in Stockton.9<\/a><\/sup> According to the announcement for this new lodge, Primmer served as \u201a\u00c4\u00faJ. W.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 I assume this meant \u201a\u00c4\u00faJunior Warden.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 According to Wikipedia, this is also known as \u201a\u00c4\u00faSecond Warden,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 and is \u201a\u00c4\u00fathe third of the principal officers . . . charged with the supervision of the Lodge while it is “at refreshment” (in recess for meals or other social purposes).\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 There may have other duties, depending on the jurisdiction.<\/p>\nRev. Primmer also tried his hand at politics. In 1879, he\u00ac\u2020was listed as one of the Democratic candidates for the State Senate, along with John W. Willever, Andrew Van Syckel, Eli Bosenbury and John Carpenter, Jr. Eli Bosenbury won the election, and from then on Rev. Primmer stayed out of politics.10<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\nIn 1880, when the census was taken, Joshua Primmer, age 67, farmer, was listed with those living in or near the village of Sergeantsville. His wife Mary, age 60, was keeping house (she was actually 62). Also living with them was 55-year-old Delilah Tindel, who was Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s sister-in-law; also his niece Ada Tindel age 15, and his cousin, Joseph J. Bailey, laborer, age 49.11<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\nIt was not until 1884 that Joshua Primmer made his departure\u00ac\u2020from the Pauch farm official. He sold it to William Ledger on March 31st for $7,538.99, excepting out a small lot of 3.93 acres sold to his neighbor Benjamin Larison.12<\/a><\/sup>\u00ac\u2020 Oddly enough, the Hunterdon Republican announced that the farm was sold to Thomas Ledger (not William) for $61.50 per acre. The notice did not state the total amount paid, but it comes close to the amount given in the deed.\u00ac\u2020The Ledger family may have owned the place, but Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s association with it was not forgotten. On March 4, 1891, the Hunterdon Republican announced that \u201a\u00c4\u00faJudson B. Hoff, of Baptisttown, sold his farm to Emley Ruple, of Locktown and expects to move on a farm near Sandy Ridge once owned by Joshua Primmer.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p>\nThe Primmers After the Pauch Farm<\/h3>\n
On June 19, 1895, this item appeared in the Hunterdon Republican<\/i>, concerning a robbery that took place on June 15th of that year. At the time, Joshua Primmer was 82 years old and his wife Mary was 77. Here is the version from Bill Hartman\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s abstracts of the Republican:<\/p>\nThe residence of Joshua Primmer, near Sergeantsville was entered by thieves on Saturday night and a large amount of valuables were taken. The family attended a sale in the afternoon and after supper, they left to attend a meeting. They later discovered money, jewelry and clothing were missing. Miss Mabel Loux, daughter of Mahlon Loux, living in the tenant house of Farley Shepherd, not far from the Primmer home, was suspected as being the thief as she was at the house a few moments before Joshua and his wife left for the sale. A search warrant was issued and Constable John Ramsey came to the home of the girl, but did not find any of the articles there. It is supposed that the robbery was committed by a more daring person than the young girl, since on inspection a cellar window was found to be broken.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What is particularly interesting about this mention of the Loux family is that a Rev. Loux of Locktown was one of those who spoke at Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s funeral. Another curiosity is that Dorothy M. Pauch, daughter of John H. and Esther Pauch, married a John Laux, probably around 1940. This may be just a coincidence, but it would be very interesting to see if John Laux was related to the Loux\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s of Delaware Township.<\/p>\n
There were two more mentions of Rev. Primmer in the Hunterdon Republican. One took place on May 12, 1897, when the paper reported that:<\/p>\n
\u00ac\u2020\u201a\u00c4\u00faThe horse of Rev. Joshua Primmer, Rev., of Sergeantsville, ran away on Mine St., Flemington on Friday. In turning the corner at Bodine\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s store, one of the wheels of the wagon collapsed, but fortunately he was not thrown to the ground. The horse was captured before doing further damage. Rev. Primmer is 85 years old.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
![\"Rev.](\"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/PrimmerJ2.jpg\")
<\/a>On April 1, 1856, James Wolverton sold the 128-acre Pauch farm to Joshua Primmer of Sergeantsville. I cannot say how much Primmer paid for the property as the amount was left blank on the deed.1<\/a><\/sup> But the deed did state that this farm was the same as the one that Wolverton had bought from John R. Dill who had bought it from the estate of Charles Sergeant deceased. At the time, the farm bordered the lands of Jacob Lawshe, Asher Johnson, wood lots formerly belonging to this farm, John Sharp, Andrew Larason, the \u201a\u00c4\u00faArch Bridge\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 and Covered Bridge Road (in\u00ac\u2020the deed, the road was called \u201a\u00c4\u00fathe new road leading from the above mentioned road {Rte 523} to Sergeants Mills).\u00ac\u2020Primmer was the first owner since 1702\u00ac\u2020who was not related in some way to Samuel Green, a period of 154 years.<\/p>\n Rev. Joshua Primmer was greatly respected in Delaware Township, but he was born and grew up in Hopewell Township.2<\/a><\/sup> He was born on June 25, 1813 to\u00ac\u2020Richard Primer and Lydia Bunn, and on April 26, 1837 he married Mary W. Servis, the third of eight children born to Tunis Servis and Elizabeth Horn. The Primmers had no children of their own, but did adopt the daughter of Joshua\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s brother John W. Primmer of Trenton. Her name was Anna or Annie R. Primmer, and she married Elisha Warford Opdycke in 1878.<\/p>\n Joshua Primmer began his adult life as a blacksmith in Hopewell. In 1844 he was appointed Postmaster for Titusville, and again in 1853. He was counted in the 1850 census for Hopewell as a blacksmith, age 37, worth $1200, and living with wife Mary M. Primmer, age 30. There were no children living with them.<\/p>\n By 1855, the Primmers had decided to move to Delaware Township, and subsequently bought the Wolverton property. Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s obituary stated: \u201a\u00c4\u00faIn the year 1855 he purchased a farm midway between Sergeantsville and Stockton, where he carried on farming and blacksmithing for twenty-five years.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 This was at the Pauch farm.<\/p>\n In November 1857, a year and a half after buying the Pauch farm, Joshua Primmer, together with Dr. Isaac S. Cramer, bought a\u00ac\u2020farm of 137.4\u00ac\u2020acres on Sanford Road, Delaware Township, from Henry B. Nightingale.3<\/a><\/sup>\u00ac\u2020It was subject to two mortgages, and it appears that Primmer did not make payments on them because the\u00ac\u2020next year, a series of advertisements in the Hunterdon Gazette announced that the Sheriff had seized a farm of Joshua Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s in Delaware Township.\u00ac\u2020\u00ac\u2020The description shows it was in fact the Nightingale farm, not the Sergeant farm that was seized. Oddly enough, the notices made no mention of Isaac S. Cramer. The sheriff first\u00ac\u2020offered it for sale on June 19th, but it was postponed to December 14, 1858; and then again to January 15 and again to February 12, 1859.\u00ac\u2020Primmer and Cramer did sell some small lots out of the original farm, but it was not until\u00ac\u2020that Joshua and Mary Primmer sold the rest of the farm jointly with Isaac and Margaret Cramer to John J. Slack for $4000.[4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n On April 12, 1857, Mary Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s father Tunis Servis died without a will. His son Frazer Servis and son-in-law Joshua Primmer acted as administrators of his estate, and made their account to the Orphans Court on December 17, 1858. Tunis Servis was buried in the cemetery attached to the Locktown Christian Church. His wife was buried next to him after she died in 1872.5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n By 1860, when he was counted in the Delaware Township census, Joshua Primmer was a well-to-do 46-year-old farmer with property valued at $10,000, and personal property at $1850. (I wonder if he still kept up the blacksmith trade.) There were only 30 families in Delaware Township richer than his\u00ac\u2020was, out of a total of 526 households. His wife Mary was 40, and living with them was Aaron Emmons, age 22, who worked on the farm. Another indication of Primmer’s financial well-being appears in the\u00ac\u2020federal income tax of 1865, which was intended to defray the expenses of the Civil War. Joshua Primmer was taxed $1 on a carriage, $2 on a piano, and $5.40 on an income of $108.00.<\/p>\n In the census his name was spelled \u201a\u00c4\u00faPrimer,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 and that is the way it often appeared, even though he himself spelled it “Primmer.” Even after he died in 1904, his obituary had his name as \u201a\u00c4\u00f2Primer,\u201a\u00c4\u00f4 while mention of him in the newspapers around 1900 used the spelling \u201a\u00c4\u00f2Primmer.\u201a\u00c4\u00f4<\/p>\n In 1868, Joshua Primmer was one of many who were victimized by some local thieves who roamed through Delaware Township and Lambertville stealing a large number of turkeys and anything else they could lay their hands on. Joshua Primmer got off lucky\u201a\u00c4\u00eehe lost only two turkeys.6<\/a><\/sup> The loss did not harm his financial well-being.\u00ac\u2020In the 1870 census for Delaware Township, Primmer, still a farmer, had property valued at $11,000, and a personal estate worth $2000. He was living with his wife Mary, age 50, and their niece Anna, age 25 (single). Also in the household was Thomas Roach 34, born in Ireland, who worked on the farm.<\/p>\n The possibility of developing his neighborhood with a rail line greatly appealed to Primmer, and in the late 1860s he\u00ac\u2020joined with many others to advocate for a new rail line to link Flemington with Lambertville that would pass near his farm.\u00ac\u2020In January 1870, \u201a\u00c4\u00faRev. Joshua Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 was named to a committee of three to \u201a\u00c4\u00fawait on the legislature\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 to present a petition for a charter to create this railroad. They succeeded in getting a bill introduced for the Flemington and Delaware Railroad, and Primmer was named as one of the \u201a\u00c4\u00faincorporators.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 But\u00ac\u2020the railroad was never approved.\u00ac\u2020If it had been, Delaware Township might look very different today.<\/p>\n Rev. Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s ministerial activities were apparently not official. He was not listed as a minister for the Methodist Episcopal Church of Sergeantsville in Snell\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s History of Hunterdon County<\/i>, although he was a member of that congregation and remained so for the rest of his life. On January 3, 1871, a \u201a\u00c4\u00faBiblical Discussion\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 was held at the Methodist Church. It was announced in the Hunterdon Republican<\/i> on December 29, 1870. The following pastors were to take part: Rev. George Young, pastor of Sandy Ridge Baptist Church; Rev. Joshua Primmer of Sergeantsville;\u00ac\u2020 Rev. H. R. Nye, a universalist from Springfield, Massachusetts, and Rev. William C. Barrick of Croton. In the 19th century, religion was not only an important part of people\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s lives but a major source of entertainment. The intensity with which these \u201a\u00c4\u00f2discussions\u201a\u00c4\u00f4 were followed is a good demonstration of the general feeling.<\/p>\n Egbert T. Bush described this event in his article, \u201a\u00c4\u00faSergeantsville, A Town That Outlived Its Name.”7<\/a><\/sup> According to Mr. Bush, \u201a\u00c4\u00faJoshua Primmer, local M.E. preacher, sustained the orthodox side,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 while \u201a\u00c4\u00faWilliam C. Barrick, the well-known champion debater of Croton,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 took \u201a\u00c4\u00fathe liberal side.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 Bush did not know what the debate was actually about, but people got very worked up about it, and since neither side felt the issue had been settled, a second debate was arranged, this time with the two recognized authorities: Rev. George Young and Rev. Mr. Nye. Bush wrote that a great crowd filled the M.E. Church, enough to make the floor settle lower. Whatever the issue, no one’s mind was changed, but despite that, the debate was judged a success.<\/p>\n The 1873 Beers & Comstock Atlas of Hunterdon County showed owners of property and the location of their houses. \u201a\u00c4\u00faJ. Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 was shown at the Pauch farm. That same year, on February 6, Primmer advertised in the Hunterdon Republican:<\/p>\n \u201a\u00c4\u00faExtensive Sale of Stock and Farm Utensils to be held 19 Feb. 1873. William S. Riley, Auctioneer, will sell at the residence of Joshua Primmer in Delaware Township, about 1 mile from Sergeantsville, on the road to Stockton, his entire stock and farming utensils. Also, Household furniture, etc.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p><\/blockquote>\n At this time, Primmer was 60 years old, not really old enough to give up farming, and yet that appears to be the reason for this sale. Since he kept the farm for another eleven years, he must have rented it out after moving to a smaller place.\u00ac\u2020That place was a lot of 25 acres in Sergeantsville, which Primmer bought from Samuel Higgins on March 31, 1874.8<\/a><\/sup> He paid a whopping $4,750 for it ($190\/acre),\u00ac\u2020and continued to be a farmer, as the 1880 census attests. It is hard to understand way he would sell off his farming tools if he did not expect to retire from farming. As to the new location, it later became known as the Higgins farm in Sergeantsville.<\/p>\n With more time on his hands, Joshua Primmer joined a new masonic lodge in Stockton.9<\/a><\/sup> According to the announcement for this new lodge, Primmer served as \u201a\u00c4\u00faJ. W.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 I assume this meant \u201a\u00c4\u00faJunior Warden.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 According to Wikipedia, this is also known as \u201a\u00c4\u00faSecond Warden,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 and is \u201a\u00c4\u00fathe third of the principal officers . . . charged with the supervision of the Lodge while it is “at refreshment” (in recess for meals or other social purposes).\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 There may have other duties, depending on the jurisdiction.<\/p>\n Rev. Primmer also tried his hand at politics. In 1879, he\u00ac\u2020was listed as one of the Democratic candidates for the State Senate, along with John W. Willever, Andrew Van Syckel, Eli Bosenbury and John Carpenter, Jr. Eli Bosenbury won the election, and from then on Rev. Primmer stayed out of politics.10<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n In 1880, when the census was taken, Joshua Primmer, age 67, farmer, was listed with those living in or near the village of Sergeantsville. His wife Mary, age 60, was keeping house (she was actually 62). Also living with them was 55-year-old Delilah Tindel, who was Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s sister-in-law; also his niece Ada Tindel age 15, and his cousin, Joseph J. Bailey, laborer, age 49.11<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n It was not until 1884 that Joshua Primmer made his departure\u00ac\u2020from the Pauch farm official. He sold it to William Ledger on March 31st for $7,538.99, excepting out a small lot of 3.93 acres sold to his neighbor Benjamin Larison.12<\/a><\/sup>\u00ac\u2020 Oddly enough, the Hunterdon Republican announced that the farm was sold to Thomas Ledger (not William) for $61.50 per acre. The notice did not state the total amount paid, but it comes close to the amount given in the deed.\u00ac\u2020The Ledger family may have owned the place, but Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s association with it was not forgotten. On March 4, 1891, the Hunterdon Republican announced that \u201a\u00c4\u00faJudson B. Hoff, of Baptisttown, sold his farm to Emley Ruple, of Locktown and expects to move on a farm near Sandy Ridge once owned by Joshua Primmer.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p>\n On June 19, 1895, this item appeared in the Hunterdon Republican<\/i>, concerning a robbery that took place on June 15th of that year. At the time, Joshua Primmer was 82 years old and his wife Mary was 77. Here is the version from Bill Hartman\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s abstracts of the Republican:<\/p>\n The residence of Joshua Primmer, near Sergeantsville was entered by thieves on Saturday night and a large amount of valuables were taken. The family attended a sale in the afternoon and after supper, they left to attend a meeting. They later discovered money, jewelry and clothing were missing. Miss Mabel Loux, daughter of Mahlon Loux, living in the tenant house of Farley Shepherd, not far from the Primmer home, was suspected as being the thief as she was at the house a few moments before Joshua and his wife left for the sale. A search warrant was issued and Constable John Ramsey came to the home of the girl, but did not find any of the articles there. It is supposed that the robbery was committed by a more daring person than the young girl, since on inspection a cellar window was found to be broken.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n What is particularly interesting about this mention of the Loux family is that a Rev. Loux of Locktown was one of those who spoke at Primmer\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s funeral. Another curiosity is that Dorothy M. Pauch, daughter of John H. and Esther Pauch, married a John Laux, probably around 1940. This may be just a coincidence, but it would be very interesting to see if John Laux was related to the Loux\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s of Delaware Township.<\/p>\n There were two more mentions of Rev. Primmer in the Hunterdon Republican. One took place on May 12, 1897, when the paper reported that:<\/p>\n \u00ac\u2020\u201a\u00c4\u00faThe horse of Rev. Joshua Primmer, Rev., of Sergeantsville, ran away on Mine St., Flemington on Friday. In turning the corner at Bodine\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s store, one of the wheels of the wagon collapsed, but fortunately he was not thrown to the ground. The horse was captured before doing further damage. Rev. Primmer is 85 years old.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe Primmers After the Pauch Farm<\/h3>\n