CHAP. IX.
Another ship
arrives at West-Jersey; Proceedings of the general assembly
of West Jersey;
Sir George Carteret's death; Conveyance to the twelve
eastern
proprietors; Their proposals and regulations in several respects,
particularly in
disposing of lands and building a town at Ambo Point; The
twelve
proprietors each take a partner, and thence are called the twenty-
four; to whom the
D. of York makes a third and last grant; The twenty-four
establish the
council of proprietors of East Jersey, on the footing it now
is; A general
view of the improvements in East-Jersey, in 1682; A
compendium of
some of the first laws passed at Elizabeth-Town; Doubts
started whether
the government of West-Jersey was granted with the soil;
Jenings, continued
governor of West Jersey; and laws now passed there.
In the year 1682,
a large ship of 550 tuus burthen arrived at West Jersey,
which got
a-ground in Delaware bay; where, after laying eight days, by a
favourable wind
and tide, got off; and coming up the river, landed her
passengers, being
three hundred and sixty in number, between Philadelphia
and Burlington on
the Jersey shore: Their provisions being nigh gone, they
sent ten miles to
an Indian town near Rankokus creek, for Indian corn and
pease: The king
of this tribe being then there, treated them kindly, and
directed such
Indians as had provisions, to bring it in next morning, who
accordingly
brought plenty; which being delivered and put in bags, the
messengers took
leave of the king; who kindly ordered some of the Indians
to carry their
bags for them to their canoes.
The assembly of
West-Jersey having, at their last sitting, adjournd to the
first of second
month this year met; but not being a full house, they
adjourned to the
fourteenth, and then dissolved thernselves without doing
any business:
Another being called, sat from the second to the eleventh of
the first month
following; the members returned by the sheriff for the
respective
tenths, to serve in this assembly, were, Thomas Olive, speaker,
Mahlon Stacy,
Joshua Wright, John Lambert, Thomas Lambert, William Emley,
Godfrey Hancock,
Daniel Leeds, Thomas Wright, Samuel Borden, Robert Stacy,
Thomas Budd,
Daniel Wills, sen., Thomas Gardiner, John Crips, John White,
John Chaffin,
Bernard Davenish, Isaac Marriott, William Peachy, William
Cooper, Mark
Newby, Thomas Thackery, Robert Zane, James Nevil, Richard
Guy, Mark Reeves,
Richard Hancock, John Smith, John Pledger, Edward Wade,
George Deacon,
and Samuel Hedge: Hitherto the members had been chosen by
the electors from
all the tenths indiscriminately; but this assembly
declared it their
judgment, and the judgment of those they represented,
that the most
regular method for preserving the liberty and property of
the people by a free
assembly, was, that such of the ten proprieties, as
were now peopled,
should each chuse ten representatives (and the others
also as they
became peopled) and resolving, that twenty-four, the speaker
one, should make
the quorum, they chose the council, justices,
commissioners for
laying out land, and other officers.1
This done, the
governor, council and assembly, passed sundry laws; some of
which were in
substance, that each of the ten proprietors should have
liberty to sell
as far as five hundred acres of land, within their
respective
tenths, or take such other expedient as they should judge fit,
for defraying
publick charges, for the tenths respectively; to which
purpose, Mahlon
Stacy and Thomas Lambert were appointed within the first
or Yorkshire tenth;
Thomas Budd and Thomas Gardiner, for the second or
London tenth;
William Cooper and Mark Newby for the third or Irish tenth,
and Samuel
Jenings and Thomas Budd, within the remaining six tenths:2 That
the three pounds
fine, formerly imposed on such as sold rum or other
strong liquor to
the Indians, should go one half to the informer, the
other to the
publick stock, where the offence was given; and that every
foreigner
offending herein, should forfeit five pounds, to be disposed of
in like manner: -
That for the more convenient payment of small sums of
money, Mark
Newby's coppers, called Patrick's half-pence,3 should pass as
half-pence
current pay; provided he gave security to the speaker, for the
use of the
general assembly for the time being, that he, his executors and
admistrators
would change them on demand, and provided none were obliged
to take more than
five shillings in one payment: - That for preventing
clandestine and
unlawful marriages, justices should have power to solemmze
them, the parties
having first published their intentions fourteen days in
some publick
place appointed for that purpose; any justice presuming to
marry without the
consent or knowledge of parents or trustees (if such
consent could be reasonably
obtained) was to be fined at the discretion of
the general
assembly; of which marriage the register was to make publick
entry of the day
it was solemnized; the births of children, and decease of
all persons, were
also to be entered in the publick register of the
respective
tenths; and for preventing differences between masters and
servants, where
no covenants were made, all servants were to have, at the
expiration of
their service, according to the custom of the country, ten
bushels of corn,
necessary apparel, two hoes and an ax: - That all
servants of full
age, coming into the province without indentures, or
other agreements,
should serve four years, from the ship's entry, (to take
which entries
custom house officers were before appointed) and that all
under the age of
one and twenty years, who came without indentures, should
within three
months after arrlval, be brought to the court, in the
district where
the party resided; which court was to appoint the time of
servitude: - That
for preventing deceits, lands should pay debts, where
personal estates
were insufficient: - That for encouragement of building a
saw-mill, one
thousand acres should be sold to William Frampton, to
accomodate him
with land for that purpose; and more as the governor and
commissioners
should judge convenient: - That for better settling and
confirmation of
lands, six of the commissioners, with the governor, should
(where there was
occasion) make an inspection into such as were or should
be taken up; that
on finding these legally located, they might after
publick notice in
the court, and no just reason to the contrary, confirm
the same at the
next court: - That there should be four courts of session
held at
Burlington and Salem yearly: - That the twenty pounds formerly
granted the
governor, the five pounds to the speaker, and the five pounds
to the clerk,
should be raised by tax; nine pounds six shillings and eight
pence by the
Yorkshire, London and Salem tenths each, and forty shillings
by the third tenth;
the whole, being thirty pounds, was to be delivered to
Thomas Budd and
Thomas Gardiner, in skins, corn or money; and the
remainder of the
two hundred pounds, formerly directed to be raised to
defray the
charges of government, to be a debt due from the other
proprieties.
The
Representatives of West-Jersey continued to be annually chosen, 'till
the surrender of
the proprietary government, in 1702. 4 The council (who
were justices ex
officio), justices of peace, and inferior officers of
government, were
chosen by them; the governor was appointed by the
proprietors, who
governed them by a deputy, 'till the succeeding year;
when the assembly
understanding, that Byllinge, for some selfish reasons,
inclined to turn
Jenings out, who had hitherto been deputy governor, to
the general
satisfaction of the governed; they undertook, by their choice,
to continue him
governor of the province, pretending a right to do this,
because in the
constitutions, power was given to six parts in seven of the
assembly, to make
such alterations for the public good, (the laws of
liberty of
conscience, of property, of yearly assemblies, of juries, and
of evidence,
excepted) as they found necessary; and that no advantage
might be taken of
such judicial proceedings, as had not been exactly
agreeable to the
concessions, they confirmed and ratified them all.
About this time,
the settlers in many parts were distressed for food;
several got the
chief of what they eat by the gun; which, as powder and
shot were
sometimes very scarce, was at best a precarious supply.5
Sir George
Carteret, sole proprietor of East-Jersey, dying in 1679, by
will, ordered
that province to be sold, to pay his debts; which was done
accordingly,6 by
his widow and executors, by indenture of lease and
release, bearing
date the 1st and 2d of February, 1681-2, to William Penn,
Robert West,
Thomas Rudyard, Samuel Groome, Thomas Hart, Richard Mew,
Thomas Wilcox, of
London, gold-smith, Ambrose Rigg, John Haywood, Hugh
Hartshorne,
Clement Plumsted, and Thomas Cooper, their heirs and assigns;
who were thence
called the twelve proprietors: They being together so
seized, in this
year published an account of their country, a fresh
project for a
town, and method of disposing of their lands.7
Their plan was
popular, and took much, especially among the Scotch, of
whom many had
already arrived: In this and some of the immediately
succeeding years,
came many more: Among them was George Keith, who some
time after became
surveyor general, and was accounted very skilful in the
business.
The twelve
proprietors did not long hold the province to themselves, but by
particular deeds,
took each a partner; their names were, James Earl of
Perth, John
Drummond, Robert Barclay, Robert Gordon, Aarent Sonmans, Gawen
Lawrie, Edward
Byllinge, James Braine, William Gibson, Thomas Barker,
Robert Turner,
and Thomas Warne; these with the other twelve, are since
called the
twenty-four proprietors: To them the duke of York made a fresh
grant of
East-New-Jersey, bearing date the 14th of March, 1682.8
This was the
duke's third and last grant of East-Jersey;9 soon after
which, the
twenty-four proprietors, by an instrument under most of their
hands,
established and gave them power to appoint, oversee, and displace
all officers
necessary for the management of their property; to take care
of all lands
belonging to the general proprietors; to demise them for
terms of years,
and to appoint dividends thereof; to examine the rights of
the particular
proprietors who demanded their shares of those dividends,
and to grant
warrants to the surveyor general (whom they chuse themselves)
for the
appropriating the quantity of acres due to such share; to sue
trespassers upon
the general proprietors land; and in general, to manage
the affairs,
which relate to the said general proprietors: This council
always to consist
of at least one third of the general proprietors, or
their proxies;
and to have two general meetings yearly, at Perth-Amboy;
which were held
immediately after the supreme courts there, but lately
altered to the
first day in April, and second in September. In this manner
have the lands in
East-Jersey been disposed: Since the purchase of the
twetty-four, the
constitution as well as the management continues the same.
The province of
East New-Jersey being now well settled for the time; its
situation reduced
to a general view, from the accounts then published by
secretary Nicolls
of New-York, appears to be thus:
Shrewsbury, near
Sandy-Hook, adjoining the river or creek of that name, was
already a
township, consisting of several thousand acres, with large
plantations
contiguous; the inhabitants were computed to be about 400.
Lewis Morris, of
Barbadoes, had iron works and other considerable
improvements
here. Middletown was supposed to consist of 100 families;
several thousand
acres allotted for the town, and many thousands for the
several out
plantations: John Bowne, Richard Hartshorne, and Nicholas
Davis, had each
well improved settlements here; a court of sessions was
held twice or
thrice a year, for Middletown and Piscataway, and their
jurisdictions:
Several plantations were settled on the north side of
Rariton river,
below Piscataway; several also higher up Rariton, and about
the Falls; among
which John Palmer, of Staten-Island, Thomas Codrington,
John Robinson,
White and company, and Edsal and company, of New-York, and
Capt. Corsen, had
settlements: Some land was likewise located by Millstone
river, up
Rariton, supposed to be near the division line.
Woodbridge had several
improved plantations in it, and the country round;
Delaplairs, the
surveyor general, was one of the settlers here: This town
claimed more
privileges than others; was incorporated by charter, and had
erected a court
house and prison (such as they were). There were here
about one hundred
and twenty families;10 a large quantity of land in the
town, and for the
plantations round, many thousand acres; of which
plantations there
were several on the north side of the river that divides
Elizabeth-Town
and Woodbridge.
At the entrance
of the creek, on the north side,called Carteret's Point,
north of
Staten-Island, were other plantations, from Elizabeth-Town to the
bounds of
New-York: Within Elizabeth-Town claim, was a settlement in
partnership
between the proprietor Carteret, and governor P. Carteret; the
latter had built
a house and resided here; the town was supposed to
consist of one
hundred and fifty families.
On the north of
Milford or Newark river,11 is a large tract belonging to
Kingsland and
Sanfoord: Higher up the river, another to Capt. Berrie; who
dividing it,
several plantations were soon settled on it: Still further up
the river, an
island belonging to Christopher Hoogland, of Newark; above
that again, was a
large tract owned by Jacques Cartelayne, and partners;
who, now made
some settlement: These tracts were within the jurisdiction
of Newark. Newark
was then said to be a compact town, consisting of about
one hundred
families.
Near the mouth of
the bay, upon the side of Overprook creek, adjacent to
Hackinsack river,
several of the rich valleys were then settled by the
Dutch; and near
Snakehill was a fine plantation, owned by Pinhorn and
Eickbe; for half
of which, Pinhorne is said to have paid 500 1. There were
other settlements
on Hackinsack river; and on a creek near it, Sarah
Kiersted of
New-York, had a tract given her by an old Indian sachem, for
services in
interpreting between the Indians and Dutch, on which several
families were
settled: John Berrie had a large p]antation, two or three
miles above,
where he then lived, and had considerable improvements; as
had also near
him, his son in law Smith, and one Baker from Barbados: On
the west side of
the creek, opposite to Berrie, were other plantations;
but none more
northerly. There was a considerable settlement on Bergen
point, then
called Constable Hook, and first improved by Edsall, in
Nicolls's time.
Other small plantations were improved along Bergen neck,
to the east,
between the point and a little village of twenty families:
Further along
lived sixteen or eighteen families; and opposite New-York,
about forty
families were seated; southward from this, a few families
settled together
at a place called the Duke's Farm; and further up the
country, was a
place called Hobuck, formerly ownd by a Dutch merchant,
who, in the
Indian wars with the Dutch, had his wife, children and
servants murdered
by the Indians, and his house and stock destroyed by
them;12 but it
was now settled again, and a mill erected there: Along the
river side, to
the north, were lands settled by William Lawrence, Samuel
Edsal and Capt.
Beinfield; and at Haversham, near the High Lands, governor
Carteret had
taken up two large tracts; one for himself, the other for
Andrew Campyne
and company; which were now but little improved: The
plantations on
both sides of the Neck, to its utmost extent, as also those
at Hackinsack,
were under the jurisdiction of Bergen town, situate about
the middle of the
Neck; where was a court held by select men or overseers,
consisting of four
or more in number, as the people thought best, chose
annually to try
small causes, as had been the practice in all the rest of
the towns at
first: Two courts of sessions were held here yearly, from
which, if the cause
exceeded twenty pounds, the party might appeal to the
governor, council
and court of deputies or assembly.
Bergen a compact
town, had been fortified against the Indians, contained
about seventy
families; its inhabitants chiefly Dutch, some of whom had
been settled
there upwards of forty years. Upon the whole there were at
this time
supposed to be about seven hundred families settled in the towns
of East-Jersey;
which, reckoning five to a family, were three thousand and
five hundred
inhabitants; besides the out plantations, which were thought
to contain half
as many more, though these could not be so well guessed at.
P. Carteret
continued governor of East-Jersey after the quinty partite
division, 'till
about the year 1681. 13 His council in 1668, consisted of
six, viz.
Nicholas Verlet, Robert Bond, Robert Vanquellin, Daniel Pierce,
Samuel Edsall,
William Pardon. The assembly then consisted of twelve; the
first members
were:
Casper Steenmets,
Baltazar Bayard, for Bergen.
John Ogden, sen.,
John Brackett, for Elizabeth-Town.
Robert Treat,
Samuel Swarne, for Newark.
John Bishop,
Robert Dennis, for Woodbridge.
James Grover,
John Bound, for Middletown. The same for Shrewsbury.
The sessions were
mostly held at Elizabeth-Town, but sometimes at
Woodbridge, and once
or more at Middletown and Piscataway: Some of the
first laws,
published by the legislature at Elizbeth-Town, were in
substance: - That
persons resisting authority, should be punished at the
discretion of the
court: -That men from 16 to 60 years of age, should
provide
themselves with arms, on penalty of one shilling for the first
week's neglect,
and two for every week after: -That for burglary or high-
way robbery, the
first offence, burning in the hand, the second, in the
forehead, in both,
to make restitution; and for the third offence,
death: - For
stealing, the first offence, treble restitution, and the like
for the second
and third offence, with such increase of punishment, as the
court saw cause,
even to death, if the party appeared incorrigible; but if
not, and unable
to make restitution, they were to be sold for
satisfaction, or
to receive corporat punishment: - That conspiracies or
attacks upon
towns or forts, should be death: -That undutiful children,
smiting or
cursing their father or mother, except provok'd thereunto for
self-preservation,
upon complaint of; and proof from their parents or
either of them,
should be punished with death: - That in case of adultery,
the party to be
divorc'd, corporally punished or banished, or either, or
all of them, as
the court should judge proper: - That for night-walking
and revelling
after the hour of nine, the parties to be secured by the
constable or
other officer 'till morning, and then not giving a
satisfactory
account to the magistrate, to be bound over to the next court
and there receive
such punishment as should be inflicted: - That the
meeting of the
assembly should be always on the first Tuesday in November,
yearly, and
oftner, if the governor and council thought necessary; and
that they should
fix the governor's salary; the deputies of each town to
be chosen on the
first of January, according to the concessions; any
deputy absenting
himself at such times, was to be fined forty shillings
for every day's
absence: - That thirty pounds should be levied for
provincial
charges, i.e. 5 l. to be paid by each town, in winter wheat at
five shillings a
bushel, summer wheat at four and six pence, pease at
three shillings
and six pence, Indian corn at three shillings, rie at four
shillings, barley
at four shillings, beef at two pence half-penny per
pound, and pork
at three pence half-penny: - That no son, daughter, maid
or servant,
should marry without the consent of his or their parents,
masters or overseers,
without being three times published in some publick
meeting or kirk,
near the party's abode, or notice being set up in writing
at some publick
house near where they lived, for fourteen days before;
then to be
solemnized by some approved minister, justice or chief officer;
who, on penalty
of twenty pounds, and to be put out of office, were to
marry none who
had not followed those directions: - That fornication
should be
punished at the discretion of the court, by marriage, fine or
corporal punishment;
and that no life should be taken but by virtue of
some law, and the
proof of two or three witnesses.
There being
doubts started, whether the government of West New-Jersey, had
been granted with
the soil, and reports industriously spread up and down
the province, as
well as in England, to the prejudice of the possessors
title, as they
thought the assembly in the spring, this year, thought it
their business to
obviate this, and other points, by unanimously
resolving, as to
the first, "That the land and government of West New-
Jersey, were
purchased together: And that as to the question, Whether the
concessions
agreed upon by the proprietors and people, and subscribed in
London and
West-Jersey, were agreed upon to be the fundamentals and ground
of the government
of West-New-Jersey, or not?
Resolved in the
affirmative, nemine contradicente: only John Fenwick
excepted his
tenth; which he said at that time was not under the same
circumstances;
but now freely consenteth thereto."14
Jenings was at
this assembly chosen governor, as hinted before,15 having
hitherto acted as
Byllings's deputy: The commissioners and other officers
of government,
being also chosen, they severally took their qualifications;
16 and having agreed,
that the governor should be chairman, or speaker;
that he should
sit as a member with them, and they together with the
council; and that
the chairman should have a double vote; passed sundry
laws, among which
was the following:
"And whereas
it hath pleased God, to commit this country and province into
the hands of such
who (for the generality of them) are fearing God, and
painful and
industrious in the promoting and improving the said province;
and for the
better preventing of such as are profane, loose and idle, and
scandalous, from
settling amongst us, who are, and will be, not only
unserviceable,
but greatly burthensome to the province:
It is therefore
hereby enacted by the authority aforesaid, that all person
and persons, who
shall transport him or themselves into this province,
shall, within
eighteen months after he or they shall arrive in the said
province, procure
and produce a certificate, under the hands of such of
that religious
society to whom he or they did belong, or otherwise from
two magistrates
(if procurable) or two constables or overseers of the
poor, with three
or more creditable persons of the neighbourhood, who
inhabit or belong
to the place where he or they did last reside, as may
give satisfaction
(that is to say) that he or they came not clandestinely
or fraudently
away; and if unmarried, that he or she are clear from former
engagements in
that particular; and also, that he or she are such as live
soberly and
honestly, to the best of their knowledge; and that no justice
shall presume to
marry any such person or persons, who shall come into
this province,
before such certificate be produced; or that it be laid
before the
governor or two justices, and give them sufficient satisfaction
concerning their
clearness; and that all such person and persons who
shall settle in
the said province, and shall refuse or neglect to produce
such certificate
as aforesaid, within the said eighteen months, shall be
fined at the
discretion of the governor and council of the said province,
not exceeding
twenty pounds; the same to be levyed by distress and sale
on the offender's
goods, and to be paid into the hands of the treasurer of
the said
province.
1 Those now
chosen were:
Councellors:
Thomas Olive, Robert Stacy, Mahlon Stacy, William Biddle,
Thomas Budd, John
Chaffin, James Nevill, Daniel Wills, Mark Newby, Elias
Farre.
Justices for
Burlington: William Biddle, Robert Stacy, Elias Farre, Mahlon
Stacy, John
Chaffin, Thomas Budd, Benjamin Scott, John Cripps, Thomas
Thackery.
For Salem: James
Nevill, George Deacon, Richard Hancock, Edward Wade.
Commissioners:
Elias Farre, William Biddle, Thomas Budd, Thomas Gardiner,
Mark Newby, James
Nevill, Thomas Olive, Robert Stacy, Benjamin Scott,
William Cooper.
Sheriff for
Burlington: John White.
For Salem: Thomas
Woodruffe.
Prorincial clerk
and recorder, for Burlington: Thomas Revel.
For Salem: Samuel
Hedge.
Surveyor: Daniel
Leeds.
Constables for
Yorkshire tenth: Robert Sehooley, John Pancoast.
For London tenth:
John Bourten, William Brightwen.
For the third
tenth: Thomas Sharp.
2 As for J.
Fenwick, who ownd the other tenth, they seem here to have left
him to his own
concerns.
3 These were
Irish halfpence, a parcel of which Newby had brought in with
him.
4 In 1699, a law
passed for reducing the number of representatives to ten
for each of the
counties of Burlington and Gloucester, five for Salem, and
three for Cape
May; but this occasioning dissatisfaction, was repealed,
and the number
enlarged as formerly, viz. Burlington, 20, Salem, 10,
Gloucester, 20,
Cape May, 5.
5 Instances of
their wants are many, and the supplies sometimes
unexpected; the
family of John Hollinshead, who lived near Rankokas, being
unprovided with
powder and shot, were in distress, when Hollinshead the
younger, then a
lad about 13, going through a corn field, saw a turkey;
throwing a stick
to kill it, a second came in sight; he kill'd both, and
carried them
home: Soon after, at the house of Thomas Eves, he saw a buck;
and telling Eves,
he set his dogs, who followed it to Rankokas river, then
frozen; the buck
running on the ice, slid upon his side; the dogs seized
it; Hollinshead
coming up with a knife, eagerly jumped upon it; the buck
rose with him on his
back and sprung forword, his feet spreading asunder,
slip'd gently
down on his belly, and gave Hollinshead a respite from
danger, and
opportunity of killing him: By these means two families were
supplied with
food to their great joy. These, and such like instances, in
a new settled
country, show, with the distress, the relief that sometimes
unexpectedly
attends it.
6 His will is
dated December 5, 1678, he devises to Edward earl of
Sandwich, John
earl of Bath, Bernard Grenville, Sir Thomas Crew, Sir
Robert Atkins,
and Edward Atkins, esq; and their heirs, among other lands,
all his
plantation of New-Jersey, upon trust and confidence that they, and
the survivors and
survivor of them, and the heirs and executors of the
survivor of them,
should make sale of all the said premises; and out of
the money that
should upon such sale arise, pay and discharge debts, &c. as
therein
mentioned.
7 Vid. Appendix.
Numb. iii.
8 The grants
being already in the bands of the publick, were not thought
necessary to be
reprinted here: See grants, concessions, &c. published by
A. Leaming, and
J. Spicer.
9 More full and
express than any that went before.
10 From several
erroneous computations, first published in Nicolls's
account, but here
omitted, there may be some reason to doubt others: what
is here left,
appeared probable; but if there should be thought any
mistakes in
names, number or situation; it must be remembered, that it is
given only as
Nicolls's account of this year.
11 Second River.
12 That there were
such wars or skirmishes between the Dutch and Indians,
we see is
confirmed by concurring accounts: See before: note 5, Chapter II
and text, Chapter
IV.
13 His salary was
generally 50 l. a year, paid in country produce, at
prices fixed by
law, and sometimes four shillings a day besides, to defray
his charges while
a session was held; the wages of the council and
assembly during
their sitting in legislation, was, to each member three
shillings a day:
The rates for publick charges were levied at two
shillings per
head for every male above fourteen years old.
14 Proprietary
records, secretary's office, Burlington.
15 He had for
salary this year a right to take up six hundred acres of
land above the
Falls.
16 Respectively
as follows:
"I Samuel
Jenings, being elected governor of the province of West-Jersey,
by the general
free assembly thereof, sitting at Burlington, the eleventh
day of the third
month, in the year 1683, do freely and faithfully promise
(according to the
best of my ability) to act in that capacity according to
the laws,
concessions, and constitutions, as they are now established in
the said
province.
"SAMUEL
JENINGS, Governor."
The engagement
and promise of the council elected by the assembly:
"We underwritten
being elected and chosen by the general free assembly,
members of
council, to advise and assist the governor in managing the
affairs of the
government, do solemnly promise every one for himself, that
we will give our
diligent attendance from time to time, and him advise and
assist to the
best of our skill and knowledge, according to the laws,
concessions, and
constitutions of this province; and do further promise
not to reveal or
disclose any secret of council, or any business therein
transacted, to
the prejudice of the public. Witness our hands the 15th day
of the third
month, Anno 1683.
"Thomas
Budd,
"Thomas
Gardiner,
"John Skeen,
"Henry
Stacy,
"John
Gosling,
"James
Nevill,
"Thomas
Olive,
"Elias
Farre,
"William
Biddle."
The engagement
and promise of the commissioners, justices, and other
officers, elected
as aforesaid:
"We whose
names are hereunderwritten, being by the general free assembly,
chosen to
officiate in our several trusts, commissions and offices for the
year ensuing; do
hereby solemnly promise, that we will truly and
faithfully
discharge our respective trusts, according to the laws,
concessions and
constitutions of the said province, in our respective
offices and
duties, and do equal justice and right to all men, according
to our best skill
and judgement, without corruption, favour or affection.
Witness our hands
this 15th of the third month, 1683."
Justices: Thomas
Olive, Richard Guy, Andrew Wade, Andrew Thompson.
Commissioners:
William Biddle, John Gosling, John Skeen, MahIon Stacy,
Thomas Olive,
James Nevill, Francis Collins, Thomas Budd, Thomas Gardiner;
Mark Newby.
Recorder: Thomas
Revell.
Sheriff: Benjamin
Wheat.
Surveyor: Daniel
Leeds.
CHAP. X.
Robert Barclay
appointed governor of East-Jersey; and T. Rudyard deputy;
Letters from
Rudyard, S. Groome, Lawrie and others, concerned in that
settlement.
We have seen that
the Scotch had a considerable share in the settlement of
East-Jersey, many
of them and a number that arrived afterwards, fixed about
Amboy, and up
Rariton: The proprietors appointed Robert Barclay, (author
of the apology)
governor for life;1 and Thomas Rudyard, (a lawyer or
attorney in
London, noted for his assistance at the trial of Penn and
Meade) deputy
governor; which last arrived at his government, the latter
end of last, or
beginning of this year: His account of the country soon
after his
arrival, may not be unacceptable:
"East-Jersey,
the 30th of the 3d month called May, 1683.
"Dear B. G.
"To be as particular
in my turn, were but thy due; yet I cannot promise so
much; however I
may give thee some general account of the province, and of
our satisfaction
with our present lot, the short time I have experenced
this: But to give
thee also, as thou desires, a character of Pennsylvania,
and West-Jersey,
that will be a task I must be excused to undertake, lest
I give offence,
or at least bring me under censure as partial: Were I not
concerned in any
of the provinces, I might satisfy thy curiosity; but
being chiefly
interested in this, I'll be very cautious meddling with my
neighbours, more
than here, one with another; so I may use my freedom with
my neighbours,
which they take not ill, but not write what may be taken
otherways. They
lie so near adjacent, that they may be said in a sense, to
be but one
country; and what's said for one, in general may serve for all.
I have been at
Burlington, and at Pennsylvania, as far as Philadelphia;
which lies about
twenty miles below Burlington: That journey by land, gave
me some view of
all the provinces; and made me considerably to estimate
this of
East-Jersey, having some conveniencies esteemed by me, which the
others are not so
plentifully furnished withal, viz. fresh and salt
meadows, which
now are very valuable; and no man here will take up a tract
of land without
them, being the support of their stock in winter; which
other parts must
supply by store, and taking more care for English grass:
But know, where
salt marshes are not, there is no musketoes, and that
manner of land
the more health; and this was often answered me, when I
have been making
comparisons. I must tell thee, their character in print,
by all that reads
it here, is said to be modest, and much more might have
been said in its commendation:
We have one thing more particular to us,
which the others
want also, which is vast oyster banks, which is constant
fresh victuals,
during the winter, to English, as well as Indians; of
these there are
many all along our coasts, from the sea, as high as
against New-York,
whence they come to fetch them; so we are supplied with
salt fish at our
doors, or within half a tide's passage; and fresh fish in
abundance, in
every little brook, as pearch, trout, eels, &c. which we
catch at our
doors.
Provisions here
are very plentiful, and people generally well stocked with
cattle: New-York
and Burlington have hitherto been their market; few or
no trading men
being here in this province: I believe it hath been very
unhappy
heretofore, under an ill managed government; and most of the
people are such
who have been invited from the adjacent colonies, by the
goodness of its
soil, and convenient situation: At Amboy we are now
building some
small houses, of 30 feet long, and 18 feet broad; fitting to
entertain workmen,
and such who will go and build larger: The stones lie
exceeding well
and good, up the Rariton river a tide's passage; and oyster
shells upon the
point, to make lime withal; which will wonderfully
accomodate us in
building good houses cheap, warm for winter, and cool for
summer; and
durable covering for houses are shingles, oak, chesnut, and
cedar; we have
plentiful here of all; the last endures a man's life, if he
lives to be old: