BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE, 1883, AND NAMES AND NOTICES OF ^ FIRST SETTLERS . ^ OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. CONTENTS. Legislative Pi'oceeflings 3 Bi Cenleiiuial I'rugruinme 5 Re union of Legishitoig 6 Members of Lcgislatuie 108:5 10 Members of Legishilure 1883 52 Address by Hon. Edwin Salter 11 Address by Hon. Charles D. Deshler '27 President. Lincoln's Ancestry 41 Capt. John Bowne's Last Words 42 Places with New .Jersey Names 43 Notices of Members of Assembly, lU8o 45 Names of First Settlers of Monmouth 43 Notices of First Settlers of Monmouth .^>^.. 17-26 CELEBKATION OF THE i^^J^t^^tidi ^ititb^rsari OF THE ^W JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 1683-1883. h i- - Trentox, N. J. NAAR, DAY & NAAR, Printers to the House of Assembly. 1883. Bi-Centennial Celebration NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. The one hundred and seventh legislature of the State of New Jersey, opened on the 9th day of January, 1883. On Tuesday January 16th, the following resolution was offered by Hon. Geo. T. Cranmer, of Ocean Co., and adopted. Whereas, in the year 1682, East New Jersey was purchased by proprietors from whom is derived all titles to land in this section of the State ; and whereas, the first regular session of a Legislature consisting of two branches after and under that pur- chase commenced March 1, 1683; therefore Be it resolved, Senate concurring that a joint committee, con- sisting of three members of tlie Senate and three members of the House of Assembly, be appointed to consider the propriety of commemorating the Bi-Centennial of this event by suitable his- torical addresses relating to the past history of the New Jersey Legislature, and by such other proceedings as they may deem appropriate. In pursuance of the resolution Speaker O'Connor appointed the following committee: James H. Neighbour, of Morris Co. William Hill, of Essex Co. George T. Cranmer, of Ocean Co. The Senate also appointed a committee consisting oi — Isaac T. Nichols, of Cumberland Co. Abraham V. Schenck, of Middlesex Co, John Carpenter, Jr., of Hunterdon Co. 4 BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF On the 19th of February, 1883, a report was made to the House from the committee appointed upon the celebration of the anni- versary of the Bi-Ceniennial Legislature of New Jersey, that, in the opinion of the committee, the event was of sufficient interest and historic importance to warrant the celebration, and recom- mending the continuing of the committee, with power to carry out their arrangements for the celebration. Which recommendation was adopted. The Committee invited Hons. Edwin Salter, of Ocean county, a member of the Legislatures of 1857, 1858, 1859 (Speaker) and 1863, and Hon. Charles D. Deshler, of New Brunswick, to pre- pare and deliver addresses on the occasion. Both gentlemen accepted the invitation. The press throughout the State was requested to circulate the following notice — The present Legislature, by a joint committee, duly appointed for that purpose, has decided to commemorate a Bi-centennial at the State House, in the City of Trenton, on the 1st. of March next, and all ex-members and ex-State officials are requested to send their address to J. H. Neighbour, Esq., either at Dover or Trenton, N. J. In response to the foregoing notice, the committee sent out over nine hundred of the following invitations — 1683. 1883. Coat-of-Arms.] . BI-CENTENNIAL [Coat-of-Arms. New Jersey Legislature. Trenton, N. J. Feb. 1, 1883. Whereas, the first regular session of a Legislature in East New Jersey, under the Proprietors, commenced at Elizabeth, on the first day of March, A. D., 1683 : And whereas, the present Legislature, by concurrent resolu- tion, has appointed a joint committee of the Senate and of the House of Assembly, to take proceedings for commemorating its Bi-Centennial, by suitable historical addresses and other appro- priate exercises ; And whereas, it has been decided to hold a Bi-Centennial at NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 5 the State House, in Trenton, at the hour of two o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday, March 1, 1883, the committee take pleasure in extending a special invitation to all ex-members of the State Legislature, and to all former and present State otficials. You are therefore requested to be present and take part in the proposed commemoration. Senate Committee, House Committee, Isaac T. Nichols, James H. Neighbour, Of Cumberland, Of Morris, Abraham V. Schenck, - William Hill," Of Middlesex, Of Essex, John Carpenter, Jr., George T. Cranmer, Of Hunterdon, Of Ocean. On the morning of March first, by request of the Committee, the Trenton papers gave the order of exercises, as follows — Legislative Bi-Centennial. The Programme of This Afternoon's Exercises. This afternoon the exercises commemorative of the two hun- dredth anniversary of the New Jersey Legislature will be held at Taylor Opera House. Admission will be by ticket, which can be procured of the committee. Doors will be open at half past one o'clock, and ushers will be in attendance to escort ticket holders, ex-members and invited guests to seats in the dress circle and parquette. The Senators and members of the As- sembly will occupy seats on the stage. The exercises, which will commence at two o'clock, will con- sist of the following programme. Prayer by Rev, Dr. Hall, of Trenton, music by Winkler's Seventh Regiment (N G. N. J.) Band ; address by Hon. Edwin Salter, of Ocean county ; music by the German American Sing- ing Society, of Newark ; address by Hon. Charles D. Deshler, of New Brunswick; music by the German American Singing So- 6 BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF ciety, of Newark ; music by Winkler's Seventh (N. G. N. J.) Band. The German American Singing Society, of Newark, will have forty-eight voices, under the direction of August Sha^ffenberger. It will sing the "Centennial Hymn," composed R. J. White. Tlie hymn is printed on a neat card, which will be presented as a souvenir to members and officers, etc., by the Society. This evening Governor Ludlow will hold a reception at the State House from 8 to 11 o'clock, at which music will be fur- nished by Prof. Petermann's orchestra. [Slip from True American.] New Jersey's Legislative Bi-Centennial. A re-union of the state's legislators. TIlb MeiTtbers of the Present and Survivors of Past Legislators Unite to Celebrate the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Event; Interesting Exercises at Jailor Opera House; Recep- tion by Governor Ludlow at the State Capitol. -^Taylor Opera House, Thursday afternoon, presented an ani- mated appearance, and was filled with a most attentive audience, which was composed of citizens from every part of the State. Under direction of Quartermaster-General Perrine, the front of the gallery was decorated by festoons of flags, with a shield bear- ing the Stars and Stripes over each gas bracket. National and State flags hung from the proscenium boxes. On the stage were seated the members of both branches of the Legislature and State officers. The proscenium box on the left contained Gover- nor Ludlow, ex-Governors Parker and Ward, and State Treas- urer Wright; in the one on the right were ex-Governor Price, Chancellor Runyon, and other gentlemen. The ex-senators, assemblymen, and State officers were seated in the parquet, and almost every seat was occupied, so that nearly four hundred of the former legislators of the State responded to the invitation to be present. Winkler's Seventh Regiment (N. G. N. J.) Band occupied the centre of the gallery, the remainder of which, and NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 7 t 'e dress circle down stairs, was provided for citizens who were fortunate enough to hold tickets of admission. The members of the Legislature met at the State Capitol at lialf-past one o'clock, and marched in a body, headed b}' Presi- dent of the Senate Gardner, and Speaker of the Assembly O'Con- ner, through State and Greene streets, to the Opera House. Shortly after two o'clock the Legislature arrived and took seats upon the stage. Hon. James H. Neighbour, the chairman of the committee which had charge of the arrangements of the celebration, came forward, and stated that in the absence of the President of the Senate, who was unable to be present, the Speaker of the House of Assemblv would preside. Speaker O'Connor then took the chair and called the assem- blage to order. Rev. S. M. Studdiford, pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church, offered prayer. Speaker O'Connor said that he had been requested by the members of the press, to ask the ex-members who were present, to write their names and the years of service on cards, which would be collected by the pages during the music. This was done, and the following are the names of those WHO WERE PRESENT. David Neiglibour, 1838; Nathan T. Stratton, 1843; William Paterson, 1843; M. F. Carman, 1848; John T. Nixon, 1848, (Speaker 1849); Henry H. Voorhis, 1848, 1849; Samuel H. Hunt, 1848, 1849, 1850; David Van Fleet, 1848, 1849; James Bishop, 1849, 1850; Thomas Hay, 1850, 1851; John F. Hage- man, 1850, 1851; Smith Bilanback, 1851; Benjamin C. Taber, 1851, 1852; Josephus Shann, 1852, 1853, 1875; Andrew Van Sickle, 1852, 1853; Charles Allen, 1852, 1867; Elijah L. Hen- drickson, 1853; Jesse H. Diverty, 1854, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858 ; John M. Board, 1855, 1880; John P. Rittenhouse, 1856, 1857; J. M. Voorhees, 1856, 1857; Moses P. Smith, 1857; John H. Horn, 1858, 1859; Jeptha Abbott, 1858, 1859, 1860; Robert Aitken, 1859; David Mulford, 1860, 1861; George A. Halsey, 1861, 1862; William P. Tatem, 1861, 1862, 1863 ; E. P. Emson, 1862, 1870, Senator 1878, 1879, 1880; Edward W. Scudder, 1863, 8 BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF 1864, 1865, (President, of Senate 1865); Silas Young, 1863, 1864; Joseph L. Reeves, 1863, 1864, 1865 ; Samuel Tatem, 1864 ; Abram a Coriell, 1865, 1866; J. M. Scovel, 1866; Richard H. Wilson, 1866, 1867; Noah D. Taylor, 1866, 1867, 1868; William W. Clark, 1866, 1870; Elias Doughty, 1867; Peter A. Voorhees, 1867; Baltes Pickel, 1867, 186S; John J. Bergen, 1868, 1869, 1870; Thomas C. Pearce, 1868; John Dwyer, 1868, 1870; Theo- dore Probasco, 1868, 1869, 1870; William W. Hawkins, 1869, 1870; John Kugler, 1870, 1871 ; Ferdinand Blancke, 1870, 1871, . 1876; J. G. Hill, 1870, 1871, 1872; Samuel Hopkins, 1870 to 1876; Levi French, 1870, 1875; John C. Belden, 1871, 1872, 1873; John Dickinson, 1871; Charles C. Groscup, 1871, 1872; William A. Ripley, 1871 ; Henry J. Irick, 1871 to 1873 ; Smith Hewitt, 1872; Samuel Wilde, 1872, 1873; Cornelius Lydecker, 1872 to 1875; W. H. Iszard, 1873, 1874; Samuel T. Smith, 1874 to 1876; Joseph H. Voorhees, 1875, 1876, 1877; James Bird, 1875, 1876; Robert S. Hutchinson, 1876; Alex. Jacobus, 1876 1878; L. H. Atchley, 1876, 1877; D. niel L. Piatt. 1876; E. H. Drake, 1876; William Carpenter, 1876; P. Convery, 1877, 1878; Lawrence Lock, 1877, 1878; William Budd Deacon, 1878 to 1882; Andrew J. Rider, 1878; Peter Cramer, 1878 to 1881; E. H. Crane, 1878, 1879; J. C. Jackson, 1879, 1880; Richard A. Donnelly, 1879, 1880; J. H. Bruere, 1879, 1880; John T. Dunn, 1879, 1880, 1881, Speaker, 1882; George Craft, 1880, 1881; Henry C. Herr, 1880, 1881, 1882; E. Bosenbury, 1880 to 1882; Thomas Lawrence, 1880 to 1882; Oscar Lindsley, 1881, 1882; Wm. C. Johnson, 1881, 1882; John F. Babcock (Secretary of Senate), 1871 to 1874; John D. Rue, Rev. Dr. Ham- mill, C. A. Felsh, Cornelius Beach, John L. Oakey, Robert Moore, Thos. S. R. Brown, Andrew Smith Reeves, Henry Britton, S. R. Husleton, D. B. WyckofF, Joseph C. Magee, John Ringleman, D. H. Banghart, Ezra Budd Marter, W. H. Bell, Wm. Henry Hendrickson, Edmund L. Joy, James L. Hays, Andrew Jackson Smith, Levi D. Jarrard, Robert G. Miller, Eramor Reeves, David A. Bell, Benjamin Griggs, D. P. Van Dorn, S. B. Oviatt (ex- Speaker), Jacob Hipp, J. N. Ramsay, John P. Rittenhouse, Char- les Ladow, Isaiah W. Richman, W. R. Lippincott, George D. Horner, Stephen Martin. NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 9 [Slip from the Daily State Gazette.] The Bi-Centennial. paying tribute to the memories of legislators long since DEAD. Taylor Opera House Filled with Distinguished Jerseymen — The Cele- bration a Grand Success. Even the committee of Senators and Assemblymen that worked so energetically to make the Legislative Bi-Centeniiial celebration a success, did not anticipate for their labors as bril- liant a result as was actually achieved. Never in its history, perhaps has Taylor Opera House held a more distinguished gathering of men than was seated within its walls Thursday afternoon. Besides these, fully fifteen hundred other persons were present, and every seat in the house seemed occupied. Flags and bunting about the private boxes and balcony intensified the feeling of patriotism tliat pervaded the entire affiiir. In one of the boxes were seated Governor Ludlow, ex-Governors Mar- cus L. Ward and Joel Parker, and State Treasurer Wright, and in another ex-Governor Rodman M. Price, Chancellor Runyon, ex-Senator Laird and Charles Wills. Scattered throughout the auditorium, in addition to scores of gentlemen of local promi- nence in various parts of the State, were ex-Congressman George A. Halsey, Major George N. Halstead, Professor George H. Cook, ex-Speakers Oviatt and Dunn, ex-Senators Samu'el Smith, of Sussex ; Lydecker, of Bergen; Bosenbury, of Hunter- don, and Irick, Reeves, Cramer, Abbett, Hopkins, Noah Taylor, - Lawrence, Banghart, Thompson and Horner; Adjutant General Stryker, Clerk in Chancery Duryee, Comptroller Anderson, ex- Congressman Wildrick, William A. Whitehead, Judges Scudder, Paterson, Kirk, Nixon ; General Grubb, United States Marshal Deacon, John F, Babcock, Rev. J. Y. Dobbins, President Mar- gerum of the Common Council, Col. James M. Scovel, Dr. Bodine, ex-Assemblymen Ringleman, Crane, Jacobus and Dominie Rob- inson ; A. J. Smith and ex-Congressman Stratton. The members of tiie present Legislature were seated on the stage. 10 BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF MEMBERS OF THE FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF EAST NEW JERSEY, UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TWENTY-FOUR PROPRIETORS, MARCH ], 1683. The division of East New Jersey into counties was not made until March 13th, 1683, when an act was passed creating the counties of Bergen, Essex, Middlesex and Monmouth. The House of Deputies at this session was composed of two members from each of the towns as named below, who met at Elizabeth- town, and subscribed the oath of allegiance, March 1, 1683, as stated in the minutes of the Council, pages 29-30, which " oath of subscription " was returned to the Council the 22d of the same month. Council. , Tliomas Rudyard, Deputy Governor and Proprietor, William Penn, 1 td • . Q 1 /-, ' > Proprietors, oamuel (jrroome. j ^ Colonel Lewis Morris. Captain John Berry. Captain John Palmer. Captain William Sandford. Lawrence Andriessen. Benjamin Price. Messenger of Council, George Jewell. Deputies. Captain John Bowne, Speaker, Middletown. Richard Hartshorne, Middletown. •Joseph Parker, Shrewsbury. John Hance, Shrewsbury. ^ John Curtis, Newark. Gliomas Johnson, Newark. Henry Lyon, Elizabeth town. Benjamin Parkhurst, Elizabethtown. Samuel Moore, Woodbridge. Samuel Dennis, Woodbridge. John Gill man, Piscataqua. Edward Slater, Piscataqua. Elias Michielson, Bergen. Mathews Cornells, Bergen. Clerk of Deputies, Isaac Whitehead. NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 11 HON. MR. Salter's address. Mr. Neighbour stated that Mr. Salter's health was such that he was unable to be present, and that the address which he had prepared would be read by Senator Isaac T. Nichols, of Cum- berland. Address By Hon. Edwin Salter, of Ocean County. the first settlers of new jersey the pioneers of true toleration. In the General Assembly wiiich met at Elizabethtown two liundred years ago, the most noted historical person named as being present during the first week of the session, was William Penn, who had arrived in America the October previous. The most prominent claims for the respect and esteem of the American people put forth in behalf of William Penn, are be- cause of his dealing justly with the Indians and for establish- ing religious toleration. No Jerseyman would wish to lessen the honor awarded him for his course in these matters, but he certainly was not the foremost in either of them. When Wil- liam Penn sat in that Council at Elizabethtown two centuries ago, the other branch of the Provincial Legislature was presided over by Captain John Bowne, who had, with eleven associates, in East Jerse}' set the example in both of these matters, seven- teen years before Penn came to America. About the year 1665, William Penn, then a young lawyer and a man of the world, went to Irelaj[id on business relating to an estate of his father's. Wiiile there, us a soldier, he took part in thesiegeof Carrickfergus and was so well pleased with himself and with his military exploits, that he caused himself to be painted in military costume. This is said to be the only genuine por- trait of the great "Apostle of Peace." That same year, while he was in arms in Ireland, Captain John Bowne and his asso- ciates had obtained the noted Monmouth Patent, dated April 8th, 1665, for lands in East Jersey, and before attempting to settle upon it they honorably and honestly bought every foot of the land of the Indians, the reco.ds of which purciiase are still preserved in the Court House at Freehold. And it may be added, in the course of time, as needed, every foot of land in New Jersey was honorably bought of the Indians and paid for to their full satisfaction. In regard to religious toleration, Captain John Bowne and his associates declared in their patent that all settlers should have 12 BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF " Free liberty op conscience, without any molestation or disturbance whatsoever in the way of their worship." Two months before this patent was granted, Berkley and Carteret had issued their " Concessions and Agreements " with all who might settle in any part of New Jersey, in which the same principle was declared only more at length, for the whole state. They declared " That no person qualified as aforesaid (owning allegiance to the King) within the said province, shall be anyways molested, punished, disquieted or called in question for any difference of opinion or practice in matters of religious concernments, who do not actually disturb the civil peace of said province ; but that all and every such person and persons may from time to time and at all times, freely and fully have and enjoy his and their judgments and consciences in matters of religion throughout the said province, they behaving themselves peaceably and quietly, and not using this liberty to licentious- ness nor to the civil injury or outward disturbance of others ; any law, statute or clause contained or to be contained, usage or custom, of this realm of England to the contrary notwithstand- ing." (Learning dc Spicer, p. 14-) In the agreement between Carteret and others of Elizabeth- town, for settling two townships, made December, 1666, and in the Woodbridge charter of June, 1669, liberty of conscience ac- cording to the forgoing concessions, was guaranteed to all who should settle in Piscataqua and Woodbridge. The foregoing unequivocal declarations in favor of unre- stricted religious toleration were substantially adopted by Con- gress over a century later, and it is onl}' necessary to recall the so-called toleration acts of the other State's which claim pre- eminence in this matter and compare them with these declara- tions, to show that the first settlers of New Jersey were foremost in establishing that "Free liberty of conscience without any molestation whatever," which is now guaranteed throughout the great American Republic. In Rhode Island, while Roger Williams favored " a free, full and absolute liberty of conscience," and the charter of Charles II. affirmed the same principle, yet that colony enacted tliat " All men professing Christianity and of competent estates, and of civil conversation, who acknowledge and are obedient to the civil magistrate, though of different judgments in religious affairs (Roman Catholics only excepted), shall be admitted free- men and shall have liberty to choose and be chosen officers in the colony both civil and military." It is true that modern Rhode Island writers have expressed the opinion that the words " Catholics only excepted " were not in the original enactment but had been subsequently interpolated and theygiye plausible, if not entirely satisfactory reasons. But leaving that point in abeyance, the fact yet remains that non-professors of NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 13 Christianit}^ among whom would be Jews, were excepted. Per- sons not having competent estates were also excepted, and the continuance of this exception down until quite modern times resulted in a noted so-called " rebellion," well remembered by many now living. On the other hand, in New Jersey, the Mon- mouth Patent left the selection of officials to " the major part of the iniiabitants." In regard to Quakers in Rhode Island, the toleration extended to them was not so unrestricted as in New Jersey, for the General Assembly of that colony endeavored to compel them to bear arms, which was contrary to the dictates of their conscience in an important point in their religious faith. The General Assembly of Rhode Island declared that — " In case they, the said Quakers, which are here or who shall arise or come among us, do refuse to subject themselves to all duties aforesaid, as training, watching and such other engage- ments as other members of civil societies, for the preservation of the same in justice and peace; then we determine, yea, and we resolve to take and make use of the first opportunity to inform our agent resident in England that he may humbly present the matter," etc. They wished, they said, no damage to the princi- ple of freedom of conscience, but at the same time, their demand of the Quakers that they should train, in other words, perform military duty, was certainly an effort to compel them to act con- trary to the dictates of their conscience in an essential part of their religious belief. This effoi;t to compel them " to train," may account for the fact that many members of that sect who had been persecuted in Massachusetts and had sought refuge in Rhode Island, did not become freemen there but only made a temporary stay, and when the Monmouth Patent was granted, they came to that county with the original settlers. Here, from the outstart they were allowed all the privileges enjoyed by other settlers, some of their number being elected as deputies to frame laws, and to other offices, at the first election as well as at subsequent elections. They were not required "to train," against their conscientious convictions. Besides which it may be added, that our first settlers conducted themselves so justly and friendly towards the Indians, that they had little or no oc- casion to train for fear of them. Maryland is another state, the founders of which have de- servedly received commendation for the advanced steps taken by them in the matter of toleration. But their declarations on this point were not so unequivocal and unrestricted as those by first settlers of New Jersey. The charter to Lord Baltimore in 1632, was written in Latin and this fact caused many to look upon it with distrust. All that it contained in relation to toleration was a proviso of which the commonly accepted translation is — " No construction be made thereof whereby God's holy and 14 BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF truly Christian religion should receive any prejudice or dimi- nution." Some Protestant writers considered this equivocal, as Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, like his father before him, was intensely devoted to the interests of his faith and considered his, the only truly Christian religion. Some Catholic writers have contended, that the commonly ac- cef)ted translation of the words of the charter on this point, was not literally correct. Brantz Mayer in his "Calvert and Penn," thought it should read " God's holy rights and the true Christian religion." S. F.Streeter in his "Maryland, two hundred years ago," says it should be "The holy service of God and the true Chris- tian religion." George Lynn-Lachlan Davis in his " Day Star of American Freedom," gives the translation "The most sacred things of God and the true Christian religion." These different translations, it will be seen, do not materially vary in meaning, and all leave the question of deciding what was prejudicial to the true Christian religion, to the dominant power in the State. In New England, the Puritans considered the preachings and teachings of Baptists, Antinomians, and Quakers as prejudicial to what they believed to be the true Christian religion and so persecuted or prosecuted all who differed with them. In Mary- land, it is gratifying to know that the friends of the early settlers contend that tliere was no persecution for difference in religious views; and they earnestly protest against the insinuations that Calvert and his friends were actuated by considerations of a selfish sort, such as the fear of offending the Protestant King of England, at one time and the adherents of the commonwealth subsequently, as the real secret of their policy. In 1639, Mary- land pas.sed an act declaring that " The Holy Church within this province shall have all her rights and privileges." And in 1640 anotiier act declaring that " Tiie Holy Church within this province shall have and enjoy all her rights, liberties and fran- chises wholly and without blemish." The Governor, or Lieutenant as he was called, and all the members of the colonial council were bound by oath "To defend and maintain the Roman Catholic religion, in the full and free exercise thereof." Freedom in its fullest sense, was secured only to believers in Christianty. This excluded Jews and non-professors of Christianity generally; and under a law of the province a Quaker was required to take off his hat in Court or go to the whipping post. Some Catholic writers say, however, that they do not know of any " practical case of whipping " for this offence, {Day btar p. 63-4.) In defending the Maryland laws in regard to the protection of " The true Christian religion." Mr. Davis, in his Day Star of Freedom says : " Toleration in its widest sense or in the most strictly logical acceptation, exists only in a State founded upon naked atheism." NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 15 To this assertion, the citizens of New Jersey can well take exception. The first settlers of this State granted unrestricted toleration, and no one acquainted with their history will assert that they favored atheism, or that the result of their toleration has tended to the spread of atheism, more tlian in other States where tolera- tion was not as unrestricted as in New Jersey. In Pennsylvania the act relating to toleration was enacted December 1682, over seventeen years after the principle had been established in East Jersey, and then it was not so unre- stricted. It declared that — " No person now or at anytime hereafter living in this prov- ince, who shall confess and acknowledge Almighty God to be the Creator, upholder and ruler of the world, and that professeth him or herself obliged in consciense to live peaceably and justly under the civil government, shall in anywise be molested or prejudiced for his or her conscientious persuasion or practice." And in regard to persons holding office, it was enacted — "That all officers and persons commissionated and employed in the service of the government of this province, and all mem- bers and deputies elected to serve in the assembly thereof, and all that have a right to elect such deputies, shall be such as pro- fess and declare they believe in Jesus Christ to be the Son of God and Savior of the world." {HazarcCs Annals, pages 620-1) This was establishing a government under which only what have been termed "orthodox christians" could hold office or vote for law-makers. The Quakers in West Jersey were more liberal than their brethren in Pennsylvania, for their earliest declaration on tJiis subject, dated November, 1681, was — "That liberty of conscience in matters of faith and worship towards God, shall be granted to all people within the province aforesaid, who shall live peaceably and quietly therein ; and that none of the free people of said province shall be rendered uncapable of office in respect of their faith and worship." {Learn- ing and Spicer, page Jp25) It is worthy of note that the declaration of principle in regard to toleration as contained in Berkley and Carteret's Concessions, and in the Monmouth Patent in 1665, and as guaranteed in West Jersey in 1681, was substantially adopted by our National Congress over a hundred years later in one of the earliest acts passed by that body. In the celebrated " Ordinance for the gov- ernment of the territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio," enacted 1787, it was ordained and declared that — "No person demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on account of his mode of wor- ship or religious sentiments in said territory." Thus the unequivocal principle of toleration first adopted by 16 BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF the early settlers of New Jersey, was eventually adopted by " the United States in Congress assembled," and to-day is a funda- mental principle upon which is based the government of this great nation. Believers in the Roman Catholic faith were rarely found among our early settlers, and we naturally feel an interest in endeavoring to ascertain what course would be pursued with them by a people so tolerant towards other sects as were the first settlers of our State, especially as Catholics at that time were charged with "mixing religion and politics" (to use a modern phrase,) by desiring to overturn the Protestant supremacy in England. It is gratifying to find that among our first settlers there was a disposition to treat Catholics with the same toleration shown to other sects. One of the first members of that faith to locate in New Jersey was William Douglass. He was elected from Bergen as a member of the Assembly, which met June 2d, 1680. He refused, at first, to take the usual oath of allegiance, stating that he was a Reman Catholic; but being informed that it was not the oath of supremacy, he off"ered to take it, and was admit- ted. It is true that a week or so subsequent to his admission, the following action was taken — " The deputies finding occasion to purge themselves of such a member as cannot be allowed by law, namely, William Doug- lass, the aforesaid member upon examination, owning himself to be a Roman Catholic, we have proceeded so to do and further desire your honor to issue out your warrant to the town of Ber- gen for a new choice for one to supply his place." It would seem to be the case that after the deputies had ad- mitted Mr. Douglas-^, their attention had been called to the laws of England in regard to oaths required of persons taking office, the nature and forms of which may be seen by reference to the printed " Minutes of the Governcr and Council, 1682-1703," pages 243-5, which oaths Mr, Douglass would not take, as to do so would be an actual renunciation and denunciation of the Catholic faith. Though Mr. Douglass was debarred by English laws from sitting as a member because of his faith, yet the significant facts remain that a constituency of first settlers of New Jersey elected a Roman Catholic, knowing him to be such, to the Legislature, and that the members of the Assembly, knowing him to be a Catholic, admitted him without hesitation. {N. J. Archives, vol. 1, pages 305-312.) If Rhode Island presents Roger Williams, and Mar3^1and pre- sents Cecil Calvert, to be honored by the American people because of their course in regard to toleration ; if Pennsyl- vania holds up its founders for respect because they dealt justly NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 17 with the Indians and granted partial toleration, surely Jersey- men may be permitted to honor the first settlers of their own State, who without any parade or boastin*^, set an example for Penn years before he came to America, and established tolera- tion more unequivocal and unrestricted than in either of the States named. The declarations in East and West Jerse}' in regard to free liberty of conscience, are especially noteworthy, because they came from men who had "witnessed the evils of intolerance in other places, and very many of them had themselves been vic- tims of persecution for conscience safe. Hence they determined to establish and did establish, local governments where no per- son could be molested on account of his religious belief. New Jersey appears to have been pre-eminently a refuge from persecution. Among early settlers who had been persecuted in other places were Baptists, Antinomians, Quakers from New England, Scotland and England, and Scotch Presbyterians. New Englanders never weary of telling us of the sufferings of the Pilgrim Fathers, and every forefathers' da}', delight to meet and honor their memory. Rhode Islanders have made the per- secutions and banishments of Roger Williams and his friends familiar to every reader of our country s history. Pennsylva- nians are mindful that the persecutions of William Penn and his fellow Quakers shall not be forgotten. But how seldom are mentioned the persecutions which had been endured by first settlers of East and West Jersey ! NEW JERSEY A REFUGE FROM PERSECUTION. Among the members of the West Jersey Assembly which met at Burlington two hundred years ago, were several who had been the victims of intolerance in England. Thomas Olive, the speaker of that assembly, and John Woolston, had been im- prisoned in Northampton gaol. Dr. Daniel Wills had been three times in'prison for holding quaker meetings at his house. Richard Guy and Richard Hancock had been imprisoned in York Castle. William Peachy had been tried at Bristol and sentenced to banishment for attending " meetings." John Cripps had been sentenced to twelve days imprisonment for not taking off his hat when the Lord Mayor passed into Guildhall. The foregoing were members of the West Jersey Assembly, 1682-3 ; and very many others of the first settlers there had been simi- larly persecuted. The memory of these men was duly honored at the two hundredth anniversary of the settlement of Burling- ton, December 6th, 1877, and eloquent tributes paid to them in the oration of the lamented Henry Armitt Brown. Among the first settlers of East Jersey, were many who had also been the victims of intolerance elsewhere, and brief notices 2 18 BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF of some of the most prominent among them, will serve to show why it was that they established here a government where dif- ference in religious sentiments should not be considered a crime, and where all peaceable and orderly citizens should be guaranteed free liberty of conscience. Rev. Obadiah Holmes, one of the twelve Monmouth patentees, in 1639 lived at Salem, Massachusetts, where he was engaged with Lawrence Southwick and Annanias Conklin, (descendants of both of whom also came to New Jersey,) in the manufacture of glass, probably about the first, if not the first, in that business in this country. Mr. Holmes joined the Baptists, for which he was indicted in 1650. The following is a copy of the record of the Court of proceedings before Governor Bradford. The name of the noted Captain Miles Standish here appears with others: — "At a general court holden at New Plymouth, the second of October, 1650, before William Bradford, gentleman, Governor; Thomas Prince, William Collyare, Captain Miles Standish, Tim- othy Hetherl}'-, William Thomas, John A.\\qi\, gentlemen, assist- ants, (and a house of deputies). Presentment by the Grand Inquest. October second, 1650. Wee whose names are here underwritten, being the Grand Inquest, doe present to the court, John Hazell, Mr. Edward Smith and his wife, Obadiah Holmes, Joseph Tory and his wife, and the wife of James Man, William Deuell and his wife, of the town of Rehoboth, for the contining of a meeting upon the Lord's day from house to house, contrary to the order of this Court enacted June 12th, 1650. THOMAS ROBINSON, ^ HENRY TOMSON, etc., to the number of 14." The following year, July 3lst, 1651, Obadiah Holmes and John Clarke were arrested and brought before a court of which the noted Governor Endicott was then president. Both were sentenced to pay a fine of £30, or be publicly whipped. Chxrke's fine was paid, but Obadiah Holmes, although abundantly able to pay the fine, refused to do it as he deemed it would be an acknowledgment of error and " he chose rather to suffer than to deny his Lord." He was kept in prison until the September following, when he was severely whipped in pul)lic in Boston with a three corded whip thirty lashes. He subsequently removed to Middletown, near Newport, on the island of Rhode Island. From him de- scends numerous families of the name in New Jersey and other states. Edward Smith and William Deuell or Devill indicted with NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 19 him in 1650, also went to Rhode Island and subsequently aided in establishing the settlements in Monmouth. John Tilton, another of the twelve Monmouth Patentees, when he first came from England, located at Lynn, Massachusetts. His wife was a Baptist and in December 1642, she was indicted for " Holdinge that tlie baptism of infants was no ordinance of God." They left Massachusetts with Lady Deborah Moody and other Baptists and settled at Gravesend, Long Island. Here again they were made to suffer for conscience sake. In 1658, lie was fined by the Dutch authorities for allowing a Quaker v.'o- man to stop at his liouse. In September 1662, he was fined for "Permitting Quakers to quake at his house." In October of the same year himself and wife were summoned before Governor Stuyvesant and Council at New Amsterdam, now New York, charged with having entertained Quakers and frequenting their conventicles. They were condemned and ordered to leave the province before the 20th day of November following, under pain of corporeal punishment. It is supposed that through the efforts of Lady Moody, who had great influence with the Dutch Gover- nor, the sentence was either reversed, or changed to the pa}'- ment of a fine. Nicholas Davis, another patentee, is supposed to be the same named as a freeman at Barnstable, Massachusetts, 1643. When the Quakers began preaching their doctrines he joined them and in April, 1659, he was prosecuted for his faith, and in July of the same year he came near becoming a martyr to it as he was sentenced to death with Mary Dyer, William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson who were hung in Boston, but he was set at liberty September 14th, 1659, and banished. He went to Newport, R. I., wliere he lived when the Monmouth Patent was granted. Mary Dyer, the unfortunate Quaker woman who was sen- tenced to death with Nicholas Davis, was hung in Boston the following year for her zeal in endeavoring to spread her faith. Her son, Henry Dyer, came to Monmouth among the first settlers. James Hubbard, William Goulding and probably John Bowne. all named among the twelve Monmouth Patentees, had been compelled to leave Massachusetts because of their syrapatlu'- with the Baptists. Samuel Spicer, of Gravesend, L. I., another of the twelve patentees, was a victim of persecution for his Quaker principles by the Dutch authorities at New Amsterdam; his mother also was severely dealt with for the same cause. The Dutch Governor, Peter Stuyvesant, was required to take oath that he would "Maintain the Reformed religion in conformity to the word and the decrees of the Synod of Dordrecht and not to tolerate any otner sect." {Thompson's L. I., Vol. ^, p. 293). 20 BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF For being Quakers or showing sympathy for them, at one time he arrested and imprisoned William Reape, whose name subse- quently appears as one of the twelve Monmouth Patentees, John Tilton and his wife, Edward Wharton, who had previously been imprisoned, and severely whipped in Massachusetts, for his Quakerism, and Joseph Nicholson, John Liddel, Alice Ambrose, JNIury Tompkins and Jane Millard, and after keeping them in jail for ten days, the Governor put them in a ship (except Tilton and his wife) and sent them off. The name of William Reape, the patentee, subsequently appears at Newport, R. L, where he was ii merchant. He came to Monmouth among the original settlers. Edward Wharton, who had been a victim of intolerance both ill Massachusetts and on Long Island, aided in establishing the settlement of Monmouth by buying land, but he finally returned to New England. CASSANDRA SOUTHWICK's DESCENDANTS IN NEW JERSEY. Nathaniel Sylvester, another of the twelve patentees, was a Quaker and principal owner of Shelter Island, near the east end of Long Island. Though he was a patentee and paid for a share of land, he did not himself settle in Monmouth, but it was probably through him that descendants of Cassandra South- wick, celebrated in Whittier's beautiful ballad, came to New Jer- bey. The good Quaker poet, in the ballad, has taken a "poet's license," in changing a name. No such event as that described ever happened to Cassandra Southwick. but it did substantially happen to her daughter, Provided Southwick, wiio subsequently married Samuel Gaskell, and from Cassandra Southwick and her daughter, Provided Gaskell, the real heroine of the ballad, descend Southwicks and Gaskells or Gaskins, of New Jersey. Cassandra Southwick was the wife of Lawrence Southwick, who is named with Obadiah Holmes and Annaniah Conklin in connection with establishing glass works at Salem, Mass., 1639. When, about 1656, the Quakers began preaching their doctrines, Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick, both then well along in years, became converts and zealous advocates of Quaker princi- ples. For this they were frequently and most cruelly punished and finally banished. They found refuge with Nathaniel Syl- vester, the Monmouth patentee, at Shelter Island. As they were an aged couple, the severity of their punishments un- doubtedly hastened their end, and they died at Shelter Island within three days of each other. His will was dated July 10, 1659, and proven the following year. He left children, Josiah, John, Daniel, Mary, Provided and Delivered. Some of these also suffered severe persecution. Josiah was cruelly punished with his parents and also banished, but he soon returned and subsequently went to England with two other Quakers named NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 21 Samuel Shattock and Nicholas Phelps, to endeavor to obtain some amelioration of the condition of the Quakers in New Eng- land, and they were so successful that they returned with the King's order that thereafter Quakers should not be tried in New- England, but must be sent to England for trial. The conse- quence of this was, that after that, Quakers were rarely molested except by vexatious fines. Daniel Southwick, another son of Cassandra, and her two daughters, Mary and Provided, were also severely punished for their adherence to the Quakers. At one time, Mary, who had married a man named Trask, was im- prisoned, and her sister Provided went to visit her, and was asked if she was a Quaker. She answered that she " was one of the called," for which she was punished. At another time, Provided and her brother Daniel were arrested for not attend- ing church ordinances, for which they were fined £10, which they could not or would not pay. She was then about twenty years old. The proceedings which followed were the founda- tion of Whittier's well-known ballad. On their refusing to pay the fine, the Court issued the following order : "Whereas, Daniel Southwick and Provided Southwick, son and daughter of Lawrence Southwick, absenting themselves from the public ordinances, have been fined by the Court of Salem, and they pretending they have no estates, and refusing to work, the Court, upon porusal of a law which was made on account of debts, in answer to what should be done for the satis- faction of the fine, resolves that thf Treasurers of the several counties shall be empowered to sell said persons to any of the English name in Virginia or Barbadoes to answer said find. EDWARD RAWSON, Secretary of General Court, Boston." An attempt to carry out this order was made by Edward Bat- ter, one of the treasures, "to get the booty," as Bishop savs in that ancient Quaker work called " New England Judged ;" and he farther adds : " He sought for a passage to send them to Barbadoes for sale, but none were willing to take or carry them. And a certain master of a ship, to put the thing off, pretended that they would spoil the ship's company. To which Batter replied, " Oh, you need not fear them, for they are poor harmless creatures, and will not hurt anybody." " Will they not so?" replied the ship master, " and would you make slaves of such harmless crea- tures?" Thus Batter, maugre his wicked intent, the winter be- ing at hand, sent them home, again to shift for themselves till he could get a convenient opportunity to send them away." But he seems not to have interferred with them again. Pro- vided Southwick, shortly afterwards, married Samuel Gaskell. 22 BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF The first of the Gaskell family in America was Edward, who was ;i shipwright at Salem, Mass., 1639. The name, originally, was Gascoj'ne, indicating Hugenot origin. It was next called Gas- kins and finally Gaskell. It is given all three ways in New England records, and in an affidavit signed by Provided and her husband, copied in the New England Historic Genealogical Register, Vol. XVII., it is given both Gaskin and Gaskell in the same paper. The change from Gascoyne to Gaskell is hardly so great as that in the name of another New Jerse}' family of Hu- guenot origin, the Dobbins. Tiiis name was, originally, D'Au- biane, which the English or Americans corrupted to Dawbeens, and finally to Dobbins. Edwaid Gaskell had a son Samuel, who married Provided Southwick, Oct. 20, 1662, and the names of the following child- ren have been preserved — Samuel, born November 11, 1665, Edward, " October 23, 3667, Hannah, "• January 2, 1669, Provided, " April 12, 1672. In March, 1701, the names of Edward Gaskell and Josiah Southwick appear at Mount Holly as purchasers of the mill there, and from their names, and the names of their children, it is evident they were of Cassandra Southwick's family. In a list of inhabitants of Northampton township, Burlington county, 1709, published in an early volume of proceedings of N. J. His- torical Society, are the following names — Gaskell: Edward Gaskell, aged 46; Hannah, 33; Joseph, 14; Zerubabel, 11; Provided, 9; Samuel, 6; Hannah, 4; Broad, 3; Jaseph Gaskell, 30; Rebecca, 23 ; Mary, 3; Jacob. 1. Southwick: Josiah, 52; Elizabeth, 36; Ruth, 14; Josiah, 11; James, 9; Maham, 1, The Edward Gaskell named as one of the purchasers of the Mount Holly Mill, 1701, was probably, the son of Pro- vided Southwick Gaskell, the real heroine of the events described in Whittier's ballad, and the Josiah Southwick, a brother's son. A number of the personal friends of the Southwicks in New England had been compelled to seek refuge from persucution in Rhode Island and elsewhere, and finally came to New Jersey, and as Nathaniel Sylvester, with whom their parents found refuge, did not settle on his share of land in Monmouth, he may have transferred his claim to his Quaker friends. Several years later, when the Quakers settled in West Jersey, some of the members of that sect in Monmouth went over and joined them. It is worthy of mention that descendants of Governor Endicott, who is charged in the ballad of Cassandra Southwick with being :i party to their persecution, now live in the same county and vicinity. Joseph Endicott, a grandson of the governor, came to Burlington county, 1698, and his descendants and the descend- NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 23 ants of Cassandra Southwick have long been neighbors, and not imf)robably have intermarried. William Shattock, an associate patentee of Monmouth, was a friend of the Southwicks in New England ; he was a native of Boston, and for joining the Quakers was cruellv whipped, im- prisoned, and finally banished. He came to Mouraoutii with the first settlers, and a few years later passed over into Burling- ton with others of his faith. His daughter Hannah married Restore Lippencott, an honored name in the annals of Burling- ton. Richard Lippencott, the father of Restore, and ancestor of the Lippencotts in the United States, was in Boston about the time of the first persecutions of the Baptists and Antinomians, and was so displeased with intolerance there that he returned to England. He subsequently came to Monmouth with the first settlers, and was an associate patentee. Eliakim Wardell, an associate patentee and original settler of Monmouth, had lived near Hampton, N. H. His wife became an early convert to the Quakers, and both husband and wife were cruelly whipped and otherwise punished. They sought refuge, probably first in Rhode Island, and finally in Mon- mouth. George Allen, Peter Gauntt and Richard Kirby, of Sandwich, Mass., and William Giffbrd, ancestors of numerous families of the respective names in New Jersey, suffered severely by fines and vexatious suits for their adherence to the Quaker faith. George Allen, William Gifford and the sons of Peter Gauntt were among the original purchasers of land in Monmouth. Beside the Baptists and Quakers, there was another sect, known as Antinomians, which felt the eff'ect of New England intoler- ance. Their chief leaders were Rev. Mr. Wheelwright and the noted Anna Hutclmison. The members of this sect were dis- armed and disfranchised about 1637, and it was they who chiefly settled in the island of Rhode Island, on which are the towns of Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth. From thence came an- cestors of many well known New Jersey families, among whom may be named Bordens, Havens, Potters, Motts, Jefi"ries, Wilburs, Browns, Lay tons, Vaughns, Spicers, Davis', Wests, Cotterells, Burtons, Shearmans, Slocums, Woolleys, Smiths, Walls, War- dells, Carrs, and one branch of the Parker family. Members of some of these families early embraced the Quaker faith. While the refugee Antinomians mainly settled on the island of Rhode Island, the banished Baptists generally at first settled at Providence. Among the earliest settlers of that place with Roger Williams were John Throckmorton, who came from Eng- land in the same ship with Roger Williams, Thomas James, William Arnold, Edward Cole and Ezekiel Holliman, or Hol- man, as the name is now generally given. Throckmorton and 24 BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF Cole, and members of the families of the others named, aided in establishing the settlement in Monmouth. When Roger Williams first went to explore the country now called Rhode Island he took with him a man named John Smith, and three others. John and Edward Smith left Massachusetts because of intolerance to Baptists. They aided in settling Mon- mouth, and the first schoolmaster there was John Smith. The first settlers were favorable to the education of all classes, and it is quite certain they had no sympathy with the sentiments of the governor of Virginia at that time. Berkley, the royal gov- ernor of Virginia in 1671, said : "Thank God, there are no free schools in this province, nor printing press; and I hope we shall not have for these hundred years !" The settlers in Monmouth from Rhode Island brought with them the best features of the early Rhode Island government, and left behind such questionable ones as have been referred to elsewhere. Rhode Island was far in advance of the rest of New England ; and the principles established in Monmouth of uni- versal suffrage and unrestricted tolerance were decidedly in advance of Rhode Island. About 1682-5 there were very many refugee Scotch Quakers and Scotch Presbyterians, who had fled from persecution in Scot- land, who located in East Jersey. These are noticed in the standard historical works of Mr. Whitehead. Occasional de- scendants of the persecuted and banished Huguenots also came to tins State; among them, it is said, were Bodines, Gaskell or Gaskins, Depuy, Soper and Dobbins, which name, as before stated, was originally D'Aubigne, corrupted to Dawbeens, and finally Dobbins.* President Lincoln Descended from First Settlers in New Jersey. Monmouth county, one of the earliest refuges for the persecuted of different sects, has been not inaptly termed " The mother of colonies," because so many offslioots of families of early settlers, went to other States and established, or aided in establishing, set- *NoTE. — In speaking of New Jersey being a refuge, it may not be much of a digression to recall the fact that the humorous appellation of "foreigners" applied to .Jerseyraen had its origin in the fact that this 8tate became the refuge of the ex- King of Spain, Joseph Bonaparte. After he was compelled to leave Europe, he seemed desirous of making a home for himself in or near Philadelphia, but the laws of Pennsylvania prevented an alien from holding real estate. New Jersey allowed him to purchase lands at Bi)rdentown, upon which he erected one of the finest buildings then known in America. He was liberal in expending money in the vicinity, and was of great advantage to the business there. Tne Philadelphians were chagrined to find that a man so desirable to the business of their city had been driven away, and whenever, after that, a Jerseyman visited Pliiia(lel[>hia he was liable to be sainted with the exclamation, "You have got a king among you; you must be foreigners !" NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 25 tlements. The first place to which they went was Eastern Penn- sylvania; from thence some went farther west, others to Mary- land, Virginia, particularly to the Valley of Virginia, to the Carolinas, Georgia, and in the course of years to almost every Sourthern and Western State. That these emigrants favorably remembered from whence they came is shown by the number of places named for the county and State. Among the first settlers of the Valley of Virginia, who began to locate there about 1732, were Formans, Taylors, Stocktons, Throckmortons, Van Meters, Pattersons, Vances, Aliens, Willets or Willis, Larues, Lucas' and others of familiar New Jersey names. Fourteen or fifteen Bap- tist families from New Jersey settled near Gerardstown, and there were also many Scotch Presbyterians from New Jersey, among whom were Crawfords, McDowells, Stuarts, Alexanders, Kerrs, Browns and Cummings. Members of these families eventually passed into the Carolinas, Kentucky and elsewhere, and descendants of some became noted not only in the localties or States where they settled, but in the annals of the nation. Among those of Scotch origin may be named William H. Craw- ford, of Georgia, once a United States Senator from that State and also a Presidential candidate, and General Leslie Combs, of Kentucky. Another man still more noted in the history of the natioii> who descended from early settlers of New Jersey and whose an- cestors went to Eastern Pennsylvania and thence to the Valley ol Virginia, was the late President Abraham Lincoln, one of whose ancestors was John Bowne, Speaker of the House of Assembl}', two hundred years ago. A few years ago, .Judge George C. Beek- man, in looking over ancient records in the Court House, at Freehold, found frequent mention of the name of Mordecai Lin- coln, and he supposed it was possible that this man migiit be the ancestor of Abraham Lincoln, a? he went to Eastern Pennsyl- vania, and the late President said that according to a tradition in his family his ancestors came from thence. But in his life time he could trace Iiis ancestry no farther back than to his grandfather, Abraham, who originally lived in Rockingham county, in the Valley of Virginia. Within the last two or three months it has been definitely ascertained that Judge Beekman's supposition was correct. A relative of the Lincoln family, Mr. Samuel Shackford, of Cook county, Illinois, lias been most inde- fatigable in efforts to trace back the ancestry of the late President by visits to and searches in records in Kentucky, the Valley of Virginia and Eastern Pennsylvania He found that the great grandfather of the late President was named Jolm, who came from Easiein Pennsylvania, where his father, a Mor