Class. Book SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT s LYON'S llitittff I MUtmtm ON BOONTON HISTORICAL DISCOURSE ON BOONTON, DELIVERED BEFORE THE CITIZENS OF BOONTON, AT WASHINGTON MALL, ON THE EVENINGS OF SEPTEMBER 21 AND 28, AND OCTOBER 5, 1887, JiV ISAAC S. LYON, Ex-Cartman. fr/tii PRINTED FOP. THE AUTHOR, AND FOR SALE BY IILM ONLY, AT HIS STORE IN BROOK STREET, BOONTON PRICE, £>0 OETNI'S. IJtaVJKt, 3t. &. PBINTBD AT THE DAILY JO UKNAL OFFICE, 184 JlABXBT STBEETj 18 73. DEDICATION. To the future Inhabitants of Boonton, who, I doubt not, will more fully appreciate the value of the information contained in these pages, than do the people of Boonton, of the present day, this Discourse is respectfully inscribed by, THE AUTHOR. \ V A PREFACE. INTRODUCTORY AND EXPLANATORY. The larger portion of the following His- torical Discourse on Boonton was written dur- ing the year 1850, and was first delivered be- fore the citizens of said town on the evening of October -id of that year. Shortly after its delivery I obtained a considerable amount ot new and interesting information relating to the early history of Old Boonton ; and lor the purpose of introducing it into its proper place and connection I found that it would be necessary to rewrite and rearrange the whole discourse. This tedious and laborious task was performed during the year 18G0, with the intention of redelivering it at that time ; but, owing to the then distracted con- dition of our country, its delivery was de- ferred until the year 18G7, at which time it was redelivered as it now Btands. It was originally written in three parts, under the caption of " B ronton — Past, Present and Fu- ture." I now present it exactly as it was de- livered in 1807, divided under tho three fol- lowing headings : Part First— Old Boonton ; Part Second— Boonton ; Part Third — Miscel- laneous Facts and Speculations. At the first d-elivery of tbis discourse, in 1839, there was a large and appreciative au- dience present, and parts one and two were well received ; but part three, the Future, was pretty sharply criticised and ridiculed by u few of the gentlemen then preBent. The visual organs of those gentlemen were not then quite keen enough to see things as yet unseen, and they denounced many of my well-planned visions of the future as alto- gether improbable, if not absolutely impossi- ble. Tis true that many of the great events then just beginning to assume form and shape in tho mighty womb of the future were then seen, if seen at all, " as through a glass dark- ly ;" but, now that many of those predic- tions have been fully verified, those self-same gentlemen— the scales having fallen from their eyes— can now see those then unseen thin^e quite distinctly— yea, even in the full blazs of unclouded sunshine ! But this is not all, for those self-same Rip Van Winkles now havo the r.ssuranco to boldly exclaim, " Didn't 1 tell you so ?" Many of the events that were predicted on that occasion (1859), and which were sneered at as the senseless fictions of a distempered lniagimition, have already be- come matters of history, and can now be seen by all. I was juBt then beginning to wear glasses myself; but Btill I thought, as 1 glanced my old spectacled eyes along down the bright vibta of the future, that I could very clearly discern in the distance a vaet sign-board, on which was very distinctly in scribed these cheering words : '• Boonton' a bound to go ahead ! " And now the important fact occurs to my mind that of all the aged persons of whom I obtained valuable information at that time not one of them is at present living. Rip9 in years and honors, those venerable old chroni- clers have all passed away ; and had these re- searches into our past history been deferred until the present time, much that has been rescued from the oblivious past would have b?en lost to us and our posterity forever. It was not my intention that this discoursa should have been published during my own lifetime, fori very well know that the present age is not capable of appreciating such a production; but I feel quite confident that the Boontonians of the luture will, and that they will thank me for the performance of the difficult task, rudely and imperfectly as it has been done. I now submit it for publi- cation, in the hope that by multiplying its numbers it may be preserved and perpetuated until the facts which it contains shall be rec- ognized and appreciated. Boonton, N. J., March, 187* PART FIRST, OLD BOONTON September 21, 1867. Ladies and Gentlemen :— It has been truly said that history is the great magic mirror in winch the histoiian, the mightiest of magicians, coDJures up the scenea and in- cidents of the past for the instruction of pres- ent and future generation?. Only about one century has elapsed since the first known set- tlement of this section of country, and but one generation haB passed away tince the first permanent settlement of this now beau- tiful village, and yet it is already a difficult matter to obtain any correct knowledge respecting the early history of either, and in a few short years more the little that is now known would pass from the memory of our aged inhabitants and be entirely forgotten if left in its present unre- corded state. It is in this view of the sub- ject — the hope of benefiting the people of -. future ages, more than for the enlightenment of the present— that I have undertaken the laborious tatk which I have thus voluntarily imposed upon myself, without the most dis- tant hope of pecuniary reward. The origin and early history of many of the great empires and cities of antiquity have been wholly lost to the modern world merely because there were no observing chroniclers present to record them. The early history of the once mighty empires of Egypt and Greece, of Arabia and Persia, in the Eastern world, and of the great Aztec and Allegke- nian races, whose arts and intelligence ence extended the line of civilization along the shores of the Western World, now lie buried beneath the accumulated rubbish of past ages. The names and character of tho people who reared the grand old cities of Troy and Car- thage, of Balbec and Palmyra, of Nineveh and Persipolis, of Thebes and Memphis, have all passed away, and the date of their origin has long since been forgotten. And thus might it have been in regard to much rare and valuable information relating to the early history of those two great modern cities, London and New York, but for the industry and perseverance of those two rare old chron- iclers, Stow and Denton. In the reign of Eliz- abeth one John Stow, as he was sometimes called, a citizen of London, aud a tailor by trade, made a personal survey of every Btreet and lane in every ward in that famous old city, and in his scarce old book, entitled "A Survey of London," he has left us datailed descriptions of all the old landmark* that existed at that time. And the same may bo said of the little book of Daniel Denton, in which he gives a vivid description of New York in 1670. Although not near so large and learned a work as Stow's, still it constitutes the starting point from which all subsequent historians have derived most of their infor- mation of the early days of the now greai American metropolis. I am not vain enough, however, to suppose that this little village of Boonton will ever rival either of those great cities, or that this imperfect and hastily writ- ten little sketch will in any way compare with the deeply interesting productions ol either of those quaint old authors. In pre- paring this discourse my highest ambition 6 lias been to collect all the facts, great and small, •within my reach, in any way apper- taining to the local history of this village and its suburbs, and compiling them together in the best form and manner of which I am capable. These facts— many of them simple in themselves, 'tis true — I now place upon record for the benefit of the future historian, who will know well enough what to do with them. It is quite impossible at the present time to ascertain the exact date when the first settle- ment of this section of Morria county was made, or by whom made. I have made dili- gent inquiry on this point in various direc- tions with but little success, for there do not appear to have been any written records made upon this subject. All the old land- marks, and all the written records of the past, if any were ever made, seem to have been swept away and destroyed, and clouds of misty obscurity now envelop most of the scenes and incidents connected with our early history. In a description of the Province of New Jersey, published in the Gentleman's Magazine, in London, in the year 1755, no mention whatever is made of Morris county. All that section of country lying north and west of the Passaic river is described as tub- known lands ; but we know that this state- ment is not true, for there are plenty of au- thentic records still extant that go to prove the contrary, of which I uhall have more to say as we proceed. Among the places in this section of Morris county known to have been settled at an early day are those of " Bever-Wyck" and what is now known as " Old Boonton." It is a well- known fact that the first named place was occupied by a wealthy planter of the name of Lucas Von Beaverhoudt, who emigrated here from the Island of St. Thomas some- where between the years 1745 and 1750. TLe old manor of Bever-Wyck included many thousand acres, and was under cultivation when Mr. Von Beaverhoudt first settled there, lie brought with him from the Island of St. Thomas, when he emigrated to New Jersey, a large number of negro slaves to work bis plantation, and in my youthful days I have often heard old persons say that they had seen several hundreds of these slaves working together in the same field. The old Bever- Wyck manor is situated a little east of the village of Troy, on the turnpike road leading from Parsippany to Caldwell. One hundred years ago it was one of the largest and best cultivated plantations in New Jersey. It was still in its glory when I was a boy of ten years old ; but now it is shorn of much of its former greatness and splendor. It was called the " Red Barracks " during the Revolution, on account of the numerous red huts that had been erected there for the accommodation of the slaves, and was much visited during tLat period by Washington and the principal officers of the American army. It has been related to me as a historical fact, by Dr. R. V. W. Fairchild, who had it from his grand- mother, the late Mrs. G. D. Brinkerhoof, who died in 1818, at the advanced age of 95 years, that Washington, Hamilton and Andre &11 once slept under the hospitable roof of the old Bever-Wyck mansion on the same night. It appears that Major Andre had long been on terms of intimacy with the family of Mr. Von Beaverhoudt — Bever-Wyck being con- sidered as neutral ground by both par- ties during the Revolution — and having often expressed a strong desire to see General Washington, the great champion of rebellion, it was so arranged between them that he might be there on the same night that Washington and Hamilton were expected to be present. The interview, how- ever, was not mutual, but was obtained on the part of Andre by concealing himself in an adjoining room and peeking tlirough a crack in the door. His cariosity was fully gratified ; but he saw Washington again shortly after, in a less attractive light, at Tar- rytown. I regret very much that I have not been able to fix the exact date of the first settle- ment of Old Boonton ; but, after all my re- searches for information on this important point, I have not been successful in tracing out anything of a decisive character upon the subject. As remarked by Rev. Peter Ka- nouse, who is now about 80 years of tge, in a late letter addressed to me, in reply to a letter to him, soliciting information upon this particu- lar point, " These researches have been de- layed too long by at least one generation." But, happily for posterity, if not for our- selves, we have not been left wholly in the dark upon the subject of our early history. Thanks to the virtues of old-time parchment, and the retentive memory of a few aged m dividuals who still remain amongst us, all U not yet lost ! There are still in existence an old map and deed of the Boonton tract, which throw considerable light upon the fust set- Llementa made in this vicinity. And there likewise yet remain in our midst a few living relics of the past— aged men and women, in whose fading memories still float many shad- owy visions of the far-off "olden time"— aged men and women, who have already pHs-ed the prescribed limits allotted to hu- man existence, and whose snow-crowned heads still loom up amid the solitudes of Time, constituting the only existing links that now connect the living with the dead, the present with the past. It is from these living chronicles of a by-gone age— these aged men and women, who have breasted the Btorms of life and withstood the prostrating hand of Time for more than three-score years and ten— that I have obtained most of my facts and information respecting the early history of Old Boonton. But theso aged men and women, in whose flickering memories are now garnered up these golden treasures of the past, and whose faltering tongues alone cau give them utterance, will too soon be laid low in the cold and icy grasp of death. This, and this alone— the hope of rescuing some of these facts and incidents from their down- ward pilgrimage to oblivion and the grave, lor the enlightenment of those who shall come after us — has prompted me to attempt this difficult and laborious undertaking. In order to fully understand our present situation it will be necessary to take a brief surrey of the history of New Jersey. New York and New Jersey were both Grst settled by the Dutch about the year 1614, both prov- inces remaining in peaceful poseesfion of the same during a period of just fifty years. In the year 1664 Charles Second, of England, with a liberality worthy his high station — though he had not even the shadow of a title to back him— concluded to oust the honest Dutchman from his possessions and appropri- ate them to himself. " In pursuance of this purpose a royal charter, dated 20th of March, 1G64, was executed in favor of the Duke of York, containing a grant of the whole region of country extending from the western bank of the Connscticnt river to the eastern shore of the Delaware." The royal Duke beiDg at that time considerably involved in his pe- cuniary transactions, soon thereafter conveyed to Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret "all that portion of territory which forms tho present state of New Jersey." Shortly after Col. Nichols, " with an armament consisting of three ships, with 180 guns and GOO men," were sent over to take possession, peaceably if he could, forcibly if he must ; but the quiet and peace-loving Dutchman yieided up the prize without resistance, and the English at once became masters of the situation. The province was then divided into East and West Jersey, Oirteret assuming the govern ment of tho former, and Berkley that of the latter. Sir George Carteret and his brother Philip retained possession of East Jersey un- til about the end of the year 1G81, when the province was transferred to other hands. Emigrants now began to flock in from all quarters, and the country soon began to fill up with hardy and industrious settlers. Some. of them purchased their land of the Proprie- tors, and others purchased from the Indians, the rightful owners of tho soil, but which was contrary to the laws promulgated by the Kiug of England. Affairs remained in this wild state of confusion and bewilderment until the year 1702, at which time the Propri- etors surrendered the government of the Jer- eies to the Crown, and the two provinces were united into one. The same Governor ruled over both New York and New Jersey until the year 1738, at which time a separate Governor was appointed over the latter prov- ince. The earliest account we have of the extin- guishment of the Indian title to the land upon which Boonton now stands extends back about two hundred years. A short time before the news of the grant made by Charles Second to the Duke of York reached here a number of companies had been organized for the purpose of purchasing lands of the In- dians, with a view of establishing new settle- ments. " On the 28th of October, 1GG4, John Bailey, Daniel Denton and Luke Watson, of Jamaica, on Long Island, purchased of cer- tain Indian chiefs of Staten Island large tracts of wild lands in East Jersey." These tracts were four in number, and were subse- quently known as the Elizabeth, the Moun- tain, the Horse Neck and the Van Gison. These four tracts were estimated to contain 8 about 400,000 acres, and embraced moat of the lauds included within the present limits of Essex and Morris counties. The considera- tion given the Indians for these immense tracts of land was thirty-six pounds fourteen shillings sterling, payable in Indian trinkets at four times their real value, being less than half a mill an acre, and less than the price of an ordinary building lot in Boonton at the present day. Daniel Denton soon thereafter sold out his share of the purchase to one Oapt. John Baker, of New York, and John Og- den, of Northampton. The Proprietors of Fist Jersey resisted their claim to these lands under the Indian title, and a long and almost interminable suit in Chancery was the conse- quence. After years of litigation the case was finally decided in favor of the Proprie- tors, and all those who had purchased lands of Bayley & Co. had to either throw up their claim or repurchase of th9 old Proprietors. Such is generally the power of might over right. I now come to speak more particularly cf what has long been known as the " Boonton Tract," and of the first settlement of what we now term " Old Boonton." I obtain the fol- lowing facts from the original deed from Samuel Ogden and his wife to John Jacob and Richard B. Faish. This deed bears date Oct. 8th, 1805, and is signed by Samuel Og- den and Euphemia, his wife, as convey- ancers, and is witnessed by William Mere- dith and Lewis Morris Ogden. The amount of land conveyed at this time was two thou- sand five hundred and one acres and fifty- four-hundredth of an acre, and the price paid for it was $10,000. This deed is written on three folio sheets of parchment, and in it mention is made of all the lands that had been sold from the tract up to that date. The original Boonton tract contained four thou- sand and sixty-six acres and thirty-eight hun- dredths of an acre. It extended along on both sides of the Rockaway river, but mostly on the west bank, commencing some distance below Old Boonton, and extending up the eaid river to the Rockaway valley, embracing within its limits not only Old and New Boon- ton and Powerville, but also portions of the present villages of Montville, Taylortown and Denville. The oldest transfer of title referred to in this deed makes reference to a tract of about nine acres, " lying on the west bank of the Rockaway river, about one mile above the Boonton Iron Works/' conveyed to one Fanny Thomas " before 1719." This, no doubt, is the same tract that is now termed the " Fanny Place," situated on the back road -leading from Old Boonton to Powerville. There is a small tract of land, corresponding with this location, marked on the map re- ferred to as having been deeded to Fanny Thomas, but no date is given. Reference is also made on this map to a tract of land con- taining one hundred and fifty acres, conveyed by George Ryerson to Frederick Demouth by a deed dated January, 174G. It is judged from its location that the tavern house at Powerville now stands on a part of this tract. Between the years 1766 and 1800 David Og- den and his son Samuel sold land in various quantities to the following named persons — all names very well known in this section of Morris county : Abraham Van Winkle, Elias Van Winkle, Jaoob Kanouse, Conradt Ka- nouse, Conradt Hoppler. John Tucker, Nicho- las Husk, Charles Norway, Christian Lowrer, Daniel Peer, Abraham Peer, Lemuel Cobb, James Van Duyne, Edmund, Joseph and Isaac Kingsland. Considerable quantities of these lands still remain in possession of the descendants of the original purchasers, but most of them have passed into other hands. We will now pass to the consideration of the early history of Old Boonton, or to such portions of it as we have been able to trace out. And here permit me to remark that I approach the investigation of the subject with feelings somewhat akin to those of the man who attempts to seek oat the graves of his ancestors in an old burying ground in whiclTno monuments had been erected. The history of Old Boonton is so deeply shrouded in doubt and mystery that it is a difficult mat- ter to arrive at any important conclusions with certainty ; but still 1 hope to be able to disentomb some of its long buried remains, and expose to the light of day some of its long hidden secrets. But the exact time when and by whom Old Boonton was first settled is a secret that, probably, will never be made known to us ; but that it was settled prior to the year 1700— probably as early at 1685 — there are some very good reasons for believ- ing, as I shall presently show. The only au- thentic information I have been able to ob- tain upon the subject places the Boontor tract in possession of David Ogden as early as 1759 ; but the exact time at which the title to this property came into his possession is not known ; neither is it known of whom he obtained it, nor the manner in which it was acquired. Possibly he might have inherited it through relationship to (ht John Ogden who purchased the Denton claim; or, what is still more likely, he might have obiaiued it of the Proprietors as a compensation for the services which he rendered them in the gtent Chancery Buit, in which they were plaintiffs, the issue of which was determined in their favor at about the time that it is supposed to have first come into his possession. But perhaps it would be well before pro- ceeding any further on this point to try and ascertain the time, way aud manner in which the name of Boonton originated. This is a hard puzzle to unriddle, but I shall try it. Some half a century ago the name was spelled with an e, thus: Boone-Town, but whence derived is rather uncertain. The Rev. Peter Kanouse is o f ihe iuiurrsjion that the name was derived rom a small town in England of the same name, and Thomas (J. Willis is of the opinion that it was named after a place of that name in Holland ; but I think that both of these gentlemen are laboring under a wrong impression. I have examined very critioally maps of both these countries, pub- lished in 176o ; but I cannot find the name of aoy place in either of those countries that bears any resemblance whatever to it. There is an old legend currrent among several old persons in this section of country that runs away back into pre-historic times, to this ef- fect. They Bay that they have heard tueir fathers say that one Winter, shortly after the first settlement of the place, flour was so hcrtrce in the neighborhood that all the peo- ple then residing there had to subsist entirely ou meat for several mouths. The men who worked in the iron works — it appears, then, that there were iron works there at that early day— all lived in a little circle of log huts, from the doors of which they all threw their bones into the centre of the open circle after they had been thoroughly picked. These bones soon reared themselves into a small pyramid, as a matter of course. In the Spring a stranger visited the settlement for the pur- pose of spending a few days with a friend who worked there. On returning from the works to their huts one dark night the stran ger, not being familiar with the waihs stumbled over the pile of bones and braised "is ll On regaining his foet he inquired, " What's the name of this miserable plao " It hasn't, got any ruuno " replied his friend. "Well, then," responded the stranger, shrag gintf his shoulders and rubbing his l>r shins, " Idar-I in v .-ye*, if I don't. Dam Bom -'/'<" '•/ i .'" Booh is the spirit, if not the exact letter, of the dim and shadowy old le {fend, as related by bouio of the aged men of the present day. But there is another vi-w to bo taken upon the subject which is eutith-d t,> our consider ation. The Hon. W. A. Whitehead, of New- ark, writes me that he thinks it is possible. toe name of Boonton may have been derived from that of Gov. Boone, aud this, I am in- clined to think, is the most probable solution of the mystery. As I before stated, our ear- liest correct information upon the suoject places the individual ownership of the Boon- ton tract in possession of David Ogden, Esq , an eminent lawyer of Newurk, as early as 1759 Thomas Boone, a gentleman of con- siderable note in those days, was Governor of the Province of New Jersey during the years 1760-61 and '62. It is not, therefore, at all improbable but that Mr. Otrden was person- ally acquainted with Gov. Boone, and per- haps he was on terms of intimacy with him. Having juet come into the possession of a ltrge landed estate, with a small village on it, situated in New Jersey, it would have been natural enough for Mr. Ogden to name it after his distinguished friend, the Governor of the Province, especially when, even admi' the old bone legend to be true, he would only Lave to add a single o to the name to trans- form it into the shape and form desired. And thus we have the Dame Boone-Towu.as it was originally written ; and I rather incline to the opinion that thie is the way in which the name of Boonton originated. It was quite customary in those days for the owner of a new settlement to name it after some distin- guished man of the time as a mark of es- teem aDd respect for Buch characters. The names of Morristown, Peterson, Livingston, Franklin and many others originated in ibis way. And now I must candidly confess that I have been able to trace out but little of a 10 positive character respecting the first settle- I ment of Old Boonton ; but still I have traced out enough information of a reliable charac- ter to satisfy myself that it is a much older settled place than we have generally been led to believe, and that it was a much larger and more flourishing place one hundred years ago than it is now. To the best of my infor- mation and belief, Old Boonton was first set- tled at least one hundred and fifty years ago, and probably one hundred and seventy -five. To the best of my information and belief, the first dam ever thrown across the Rockaway river for manufacturing purposes was at Old Boonton ; and, to the best of my information and belief, one of the first— if not the very ji rs t — iron works ever established in America was at Old Boonton ! Now, to some of you, perhaps, tnese startling assertions may ap- pear somewhat bold, if not visionary ; but still I believe that they are nevertheless true. I believe that the secret forge fires and fur- naces of Old Boonton blazed, and that her ponderous trip-hammers resounded through the primitive forests, waking the slumbering echoes of the surrounding hills, years before the watchful agents of the British Govern- ment even dreamed of the existence of any such works in this country. Having made theae astounding assertions, now for the proof and arguments in support of the truth of the position I have taken. It is a faot well known to the historical reader that Hunterdon county originally embraced within its limits the whole of our present Morris and Sussex counties, and also parts of Warren and Mercer. Morris county was in- corporated by an act of the Provincial Legis- lature of New Jersey, bearing date March 15th, 1739. It was called Morris county in honor of Lewis Morris, who was then Gov- ernor of the Province- Acccording to the first census, taken in 1745, Morris county contained a population of 4,436 inhabitants, which was a large number for that early day. The New Jersey Historical Collections, made by Barber and Howe, inform us that Hanover township was the first place settled by white inhabitants in Morris county. This event oc- curred about the year 1685, the first settlers being from Newark, Elizabethtown, Long Island, Old and New England. This much is certain ; but it quite possible that some por- tions of the county might have been settled at a Btill earlier day. They soon after erecte" several forges — so says the record — and com- menced manufacturing considerable quanti- ties of iron ; and even at that early day the news of their existence got spread abroad, until the place of their location became known as the " locality of old forges." Now, they being denominated old forges, the natural and logical inference is that they had been established there some considerable time previous. But the identical spot where this locality was is a question still left open for the investigation of the curious. Authori- ties and opinions differ considerably in regard to the time when and the place where iron was first made in America. It is a well known fact that the British Government encouraged the manufacture of iron in the colonies at a very early day ; but this encouragement, however, was confined to the making of pig and bar iron only. Even as late as 1750 "Par- liament prohibited the erection or continu- ance of any mill or other engine for rolling or slitting iron in the colonies, under a pen- alty of two hundred pounds ;" and soon after another act waB passed prohibiting the ex- portation from England to this country " of tools to make iron." But, notwithstanding all these British prohibitions, Salmon, a dis- tinguished English author, writing in 1765, informs us that " Early in the last century many contraband goods were manufactured in the colonies and smuggled into the Span- ish Islands." And, again, Chalmer, a quaint old historian of those days, writing in 1673, says : " There be five iron works in New England which cast no guns." Now it should be borne in mind that the New England of those days included New Jersey within its bounds ; and it is quite li&ely that some of the iron works here alluded to had reference, in part at least, to those which are known to have been established in the Province of East Jersey at about that time. In the year 1682 the Pro- prietors of East Jersey published to the world a brief statement of their affairs at that time. Among other statements then made for the purpose of inducing emigrants to settle upon their lands is the following : " There is al- ready a smelting furnace and forge set up in this colony, where is made good iron," f the kind ever erected on the American continent. Thin mill, however, did not work well at first, and Mr. Cnmson was dispatohed to England for the purpose of ascertaining wherein the de- ficiency existed. On his arrival there he vis- ited several establishments of the kind and made the important discovery ; but, the ob- ject of his mission being suspected, his move- ments were closely watched ; and, fearing that it was the design of the Government to arrest him, he was compelled to disguise him- self and hasten his return to this country. The important secret which he crossed the Atlantic to discover consisted in the applica- tion of a little soft suet to the slitting saw ! Shortly after his return to this country Mr. Cumson left Old Boonton for the purpose of constructing similar works in Maryland ; but, the Americau Revolution breaking out at about this time, it is doubtlul it he accom- plished his object at that time. The rolling and slitting business being so strongly prohibited by Great Britain, opera- tions of the kind had to be carried on with great caution and secrecy. On this point Mr. Parker thus good-naturedly remarks : " I have heard Col. O^den mention the fact of some gentlemen" — British officials, no doubt — " being at Boonton and viewing the works, who did not s^e the slitting mill, which was kept very private. My impression is that the gentlemen shut their eyes intentionally." Tradition informs us that Col. Ogden was a shrewd man, and what is termed a " good liver;" and it was.no doubt, owing to his princely hospitality that he escaped arrest on ihe occasion referred to. Rov. Joseph F. Tuttle, ot Rockaway, in reply to one of my queries on this point, refers to the old slitting- niill in the following language : " The slit- ting-mill was carried on with great secrecy. The upper part was said to be a small grist- mill, which was put in operation to blind the eyes of the suspicious." This corresponds exactly with the acouut given by Mr. Par- ker, and is probably as near the truth as it is now possible to get at it. Tne pame gentle- man informs me that " Gov. William Frank- lin once visited Old Boonton." Gov. Frank- lin was the " degenerate son of a noble sire," and the laRt Colonial Governor of New Jer- sey. What his business was at Old Boon- Mr. Tuttle does not state ; but it is quito probable that be whs there for the purpose of enjoying the splendid hospitality ol Col. Og- din, and of prying out the secrets by which he made an honest living. Perhaps that be was one of the gentlemen who shut their eyes intentionally to avoid seeing the old slitting mill. At any rate, it appears that all those gentlemen who came there to spy out the fruitf ulness of the land left Old Boon- ton no iciser, if any better men, than they were when they first came there. But let that pass. That Old Boonton was a busy, bustling business place while Col. Ogden resided there we may well believe, for he was a thorough- going business man himself, and intimately connected with the first families of the coun- try ; and, seeing that his name is more inti- mately associated with the place than any other during its early history, I deem it ap- propriate now and here to give a somewhat detailed account of himself and family. The Ogden family have been celebrated in the history of both New York and New Jersey for a period of more than two hundred years. Persons of that name emigrated from Hol- land to New York at a very early day. In 1642 John and Richard Ogden were engaged to build the first church edifice ever erected in New York. The building was constructed of stone, was 52x72 feet in its dimensions, 10 feet in height, and cost $2,088. In the year 1G0-4 this same John Ogden — probably — pur- chased of Daniel Denton his share of the In- dian title to an immense tract of land in East Jersey, upon a part of which Boonton now stands. In the year 17G3 Hannah Ogden, daughter of John Ogden, Esq , of Newark, was united in marriage to Rev. James Cald- well, a distinguished martyr in the caase of American Liberty. It was the usual custom of this true and zealous patriot during the Revolution to preach patriotism to his con- gregation from his pulpit in Elizabethtown, with a loaded pistol lying on each side of his Bible. He was finally murdered by the Brit- ish while visiting at the house of a friend in SpringfiVld. Hon. David Ogden was one of the most eminent lawyers of his time, and his name is honorably connected with some of the great- est contested law-suits that occurred in New 14 Jersey prior to the Revolution. He had his law office in Newark in 1748, and stood at the head of the New Jersey bar at that time. Hon. Richard Stockton, father of our Com- modore R. F. Stockton, a signer of the Decla- ration of Independence, and one of the emi- nent men of the Revolution, studied law in Newark with Mr. Ogden. The great David Ogden had three sons, Isaac, Abraham and Samuel, all men of note in their day. Each of these sons named one of their sons alter their father, as follows : David Ogden, Jr., David A. Ogden and David Boonton Ogden. David B. Ogden was the eldest son of our Samuel Ogden, owner of the Boonton tract in 1766. Robert Ogden, Esq., was Speaker ot the House of Assembly of the Province of New Jersey in 1766. Isaac Ogden, Esq., was one of the deputies from Essex county to the Provincial Congres during May, June and August, 1775, and Lewis Ogden, Esq., of the same county, was elected a deputy to the same body in September, 1775. On the fifth day of February, 1775, Colonel Samuel Ogden was married to Miss Euphemia Morris, a daughter of Hon. Lewis MorriB, one of the signers of the Declaration of In- dependence, and afterward an officer in the Continental army. The late Hon. David B. Ogden, the eldest child of Col. Ogden, was born at Morrissania, WestcheBter county, N. Y., at the residence of Lewis Morris, his grandfather. " The Colonel then," says Mr. Parker, ,c made Boonton his permanent residence, and his five next children were born there." The Hon. David B. Ogden, whose middle name — Boonton — was given him in honor of his father's residence, stood at the head of the New York bar at the time of his death. He died suddenly of the chol- era at his residence on Staten Island in the Summer of 1851, at the advanced age of 75 years. Gertrude, one of the daughters of Col. Ogden, was married to a geutleman named Meredith, who belonged to one of the oldest and most respectable families of Phila- delphia ; and Catharine, another of the daughters, was married to the Hon. James Parker, the gentleman to whom I am in- debted for much of the valuable information contained in this discourse. Mr. and Mrs. P xrker now reside in Perth Amboy, in this State, and are aged respectively 84 and 81 years. Of the other three children of Col. Ogden, Sarah, Euphemia and Lewis Morris — all born at Old Boonton — I know nothing further than their names — Mrs. Parker, I believe, is the only child of Col. Ogden's now living. The Colonel and his family contin- ued to reside at Old Boonton until the year 1783, at which time he removed to New York. In the year 1787 he removed thence to Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and in the year 1792 he removed thence to Newark, New Jersey, at which place he died in 18:0, aged 64 years. The old mansion-house at Old Boonton — one of the most costly and magnificent in Morris county at that time — in which he entertained with unbounded hospi- tality b«th friend and foe, still remains there, a sad and melancholy monument of its former greatness and splendor. When Col. Ogden removed to New York in 1783 he left the management of the Old Boonton works in oharge of John Jacob Faish, Sr., who acted in that capacity until his death, which occurred in 1799. After his death his two sons — John Jacob, Jr., and Richard B. — took charge of the works until the year 1805, when they became the joint owners of the property. The Faishes were all men of mark in their day, and, as their hiBtory is more or less blended with that of Old Boonton, I deem it proper in this con- nection to give a brief sketch of the family. Most of the following details were furnished me by Doctor R. V. W. Fairchild, of Parsip- pany, who is a distant relative of the family. The Doctor instructs me to spell the name Faesch ; but I have adopted a different course, being fully impressed with the belief that I am correct. I have in my possession an old copy of the Laws of New Jersey, for- merly belonging to the elder Faish, upon the outside of which is inscribed the name " J. J. Faish, Esquire," which I presume to be in his own handwriting. John Jacob Faish, Sr., came from the can- ton of Basil, in Switzerland, to this country in the year 1764. He came over for the pur- pose of superintending the iron works of the London company, which were located at Ringwood, Mount Hope and Hibernia. Short- ly after his arrival here he married Miss Brinkerhoof, a sister of the late George D. Brinkerhoof, of Parsippany. On the 1st of February, 1773, he purchased the Mount Hope works, and commenced doing business 15 on hie own account ; but, the war of the Revolution breaking out soon after, be be- came embarrassed in bis business operations, and bad to sell out. In 1783, however, wu find him at Old Boonton, superintending tbe works tbere for Col. Otfden. His wife died in 1788, and be hiuiBelf died in 17UD, leaving tbreo children, two sons aud one daughter. His two Bona then succeeded him in the man- agement of the works at Old Boonton, re maining in that capacity until 1805, when they themselves became the joint owners of the works located there. John Jacob Faisb, Jr. died in 1809, and Richard B. Faisb died in 1820. I can traoe out but little respecting the career of the daughter of old John Jacob ; bat my impression is that she was not con- sidered sound of mind, and that she died quite young and unmarried. All the Faishes were buried in the old Presbyterian burying ground ai Morristown. Judge Cobb, of Par- si ppany, informs me that John Jacob, Jr., was a gentleman of fine intellectual endow- ments, and that he was the first regularly ed- ucated lawyer in Morris county. Richard B. was also a gentleman of liberal education, and waB one of the judges of Morris county at the time of bis death. He was, as I recol- lect him, a very social and gentlemanly man in his conversation and manners — was what we term a fast liver, and died insolvent. Doctor Grimes, of this place, informs me that his. body was arrested on an execution for debt on its way to burial. The following reminiscences of Old Boon- ton were furnished me by Thomas C. Willis, Esq., of Powerville. Mr. Willis is now 70 years of age, and was born at Old Boon- ton. This is his description of tbe works carried on there about the year 1800, as he recollects them : At that time there were a rolling-mill, a slitting mill and a saw-mill, all standing in the woods on the easterly bank of the river. The iron used in these mills was taken from the heating furnaces, rolled and slitted on a single heat. Mr. Wil- lis's father was superintendent of this depart- ment of the works for a long number of years, extending back several years prior to that date. On the westerly bank of the river, near the bend, was a large potash factory, a nail-cutting factory, a grist- mill and a blacksmith shop. On the same side of the river, nearly opposite thu slitting-mill, stood a largo bloomory, con tainiug four forge fi reB and two trip-hummers. A large buildiDg, containing eight refining furnaces, stood upon tbe spot where the lorge now stands. The pig iron made at thu Mount Hope and llibernia blast furnaces whh brought down there, rolled, slit into nail rods, and manufactured into nails, or sent in the rods to the New York market. Mr. Willis in- clines to the opinion that the Boonton, Mount Hope and Hiberuia works all belonged to the same company at that time. There were then three dams across the river a' Old Boon- ton, and upon what are now termed the " Boonton Flats " were located some twelve or fifteen dwelling-houses. Most of the 1oi>b used at the saw-mill were cut in the Rocka- way valley, and floated down the river during the high freshets. There was a small church aud a schoolhouse standing on the rising ground on the easterly side of the road, and directly in front of the eld mansion house. It is generally believed by old eettlers that this church and schoolhouse were built by Col. Ogden shortly before the Revolution. This church was torn down in 1816, and the timber of which it was composed was used in the construction of the first chuich erected in Montville. This church was also torn down a few years ago, and some of the tim- ber of which it was composed, after passing through two churches, is now doing duty in our new "United States Hotel." There was a great freshet in the Rockaway river about sixty years ago, which o*rried away all the dams and moat of the dwelling-houses located on the " Flats." It is not at all improbable but that this great flood may likewise have swept away all the remaining monuments of the old blast furnace, which was in full blant at Old Boonton long before Col. Ogden came there. There has been no blast furnace there within the memory of Mr. Willis, and he is firm in his belief that no auch establishment ever existed there ; but then, again, we have the positive evidence of Mr. Parker that bar and pig iron was made there long prior to Col. Ogden'a day. Happening accidentally to come acroas a bundle of old letters from officera of the United States Army, directed to the late Col. John Scott, at the " Boone-Toicn Post Office," during the years 1812-'13-'14-'15, I very nat- urally came to the conclusion that there must 16 have been a post office at Old Boonton at that time. I immediately made inquiries of sev- eral very old persons in the neighborhood as to their knowledge of such an institution; but not one of them could throw any light upon the subject. I even applied to a gen- tleman who had written one of the letters referred to; but he positively disclaimed all knowledge of such an establishment. Think- ing that it would be downright folly for a person to direct a letter to an office where no such office existed, I made up my mind that I would thoroughly investigate the matter. With this purpose in view, I addressed a note of inquire to the Postmaster General of the United States, and the following is his reply : Post Office Department, ) August 9th, 1859. J Sir : In answer to your note of 27th July I have to inform you that, fiom the fire in 1 830 . which con- sumed the General Post Office, three of the oldest record boots in the Department were destroyed, which renders it very difficult to determine the exact date of the establishment of most of the oldest offices; but on referring to the books in the Audit- or's office it appears that quarterly returns were made lrom the Boonton office as early as July, 1795, and that Rodolphus Kpnt was the first postmaster, who was succeeded by Richard B. Faish some time in the Spring of 1793. On the 3d of February, 1817, the name of the office was changed to Parsippan . , which is still in operation. So it appears in the early history of Boonton that an office by this name was es- tablished during the Spring of 1795, and continued in operation under Mr. Kent and Mr. Paish till the 3d of February, 1817, when the name was changed to Parsippany. Trusting that the foregoing information will be of some avail to you In the work you have in progress, I remain very respectfully, John B. L. Skinner, Acting First Ass't P. M. General. In addition to the facts furnished by Mr. Willis, Mr. Abraham Peer communicates the following. Mr. Peer is now about 85 years of age, and when a young man used to work at Old Boonton. He was well acquainted with Ccl. Ogden and all the Faishes. He does not recollect the exact date, but he says that nails cut by a machine and headed by hand were made at Oid Boonton before the year 1800, and that there was a tin and sheet iron manufactory in operation in the upper part of the nail factory. He was informed at the time he first went there to work, shortly after the Revolution, that the tin and sheet iron business had been commenced there a great many years before. He is quite certain that Col. Ogden built the mansion house, the church, the schoolhouse, and most of the other buildings that still remain, shortly after he came there. A very large building, used for a storehouse (which I recollect perfectly w>dl having seen there when a small boy), stood on a portion of the dooryard, a few rods below the mansion house, and directly opposite the present bridge — the old bridge having stood a little lover down the river. The post offici — which he had entirely forgot- ten until I reminded bim of it — was kept in the store, and it was the first and only estab- lishment of the kind that he had ever seen or heard of up to that time. Mr. Peer has no recollection whatever of ever having heard that a blast furnace had been in operation at Old Boonton, but thinks it highly probable that such might have been the case — for even at that early day the place presented many evidences of being on the decline. About thirty years ago one Thomas Hood, an Eng- lishman, erected a kind of cupola furnace there for the late Capt. William Scott for the purpose of refining pig and scrap iron. It had a very tall chimney, and was nicknamed " The Wren's Nest ;" but, seeipg that it did not answer the purpose for which it had been erected, it was soon after demolished. The first blacksmith shop that Mr, Peer ever saw was located at Old Boonton ; it was under the management of one Daniel Thomas, who had the reputation of .being a very superior workman. It is believed by some of our oldest inhab- itants that there was once a pin factory at Oid Boonton, and there are some very good grounds for entertaining euch a belief. Some fifty years and more ago an old resi- dent of the name of Peer discovered near the location of the old blacksmith shop what might very properly be denominated a pin mine. These pins were of the old style, brass wire, ring head, English manufacture, and were found by Mr. Peer scattered around on top of the ground in wild profusion, It is said thit Mr. Peer supplied his family with abundance of pins from this mine for quite a number of years, and that, too, at a time when pins were much scarcer and dearer than they are now. Such being the fact, the great question to decide is, how and when did such large quantities of pins find their road to this out-of-the-way place ? Probably 17 the moat reasonable answer to this qaeatlon would be tbat they were made tbere, else how should they have been found tbere in such large quantities, and in one particular place only ? Within my own memory pins were a luxury not to be indulged in to any exteut by poor people. It was still the cus- tom when I was a small boy, among young ladies of respectability, to fasten their dresses and paper up their curls with common thorns of no pigmy dimensions. Pins were then sold at from three to Jive cents a row, and w*re deemed too expensive to use— ex- cept on Sundays and holidays — especially by full-grown girls, who had to spin ten hours a day for a single York shilling. The manu facture of pins as a regular business was first introduced into England about the year 1026, and it is within the bounds of possibility thst some enterprising Englishman, for the pur- pose of avoiding the heavy duty imposed upon the manufacture of pins in Eugland, might have emigrated to America and estab- lisbed a small pin factory at Old Boonton while the country was yet in a wilderness state. The pinmaking business at tbat time required but a small capital, and by evading the English duty they might have been smuggled into the Spanish Islands with a princely profit to the manufacturer. The large quantities of pins found at Old Boonton would naturally lead us to believe that, in cose a pin factory ever existed there, it must have t>een burned down many years ago, either by accident or to avoid detection. There is a tradition current about here, which is fully believed by many old persons, that camp kettles and other munitions of war were manufactured at Old Boonton for the use of the Continental army during the Rev- olution — a fact of which I have no doubt in my own mind. When we take into consid- ration its location, and the character of the works which we know were secretly carried on there, we have but little cause to doubt that such was the fact. Dr. Fairchild in- forms me that he has often heard bis grand- mother Brinkerhoof talk about these thing! as matters of secret family history at that time; but Mr. Parker, in treating upon the subject, seems to think it " rather an improb- able story." Morristown and Pompton were both military stations at various periods dur- ing the Revolution ; and, seeing that Old Boonton is situated about midway between the two places on the main thoroughfare by which they were connected at tbat time, makes the supposition that such articles were manufactured there seem more than proba- ble. Besides, and in furtherance of the con- firmation of this tradition, Mr. Willis in- forms me that about twenty-five years ago he resided for a short time in the old Boonton mansion. And he further informs me tbat at tlie time he resided tbere there were lying in the open garret of the house large bundles of old letters and other manuscript docu- ments, containing the signatures of Wash- ington, Hamilton, Oreene, Lafayette, Ster- ling, and many other distinguished ( ffioers of the Revolution, directed to Col. Ogden and John Jacob Faisb, Sr. He spent many pleas- ant hours in perusing tbtse old docuim-nte, and now deeply regrets that he had not taken measures to preserve them. Most of these old letters w. re of a purely business charac- ter, and he distinctly remembers tbat many of them contained orders and proposals for famishing the army with camp kettles, can- non balls, horse shoes and other munitions of war ; and he is decided in his belie' tbat suoh articles were furnished by Col. Ogden from the works at Old Boenton. Could I bave had access to those invaluable old documents, which are now irretrievably lost, I doubt not but that I should be able to throw much more light upon the early history of Old Boonton, and perhaps add a few more bright pages to the secret history of the American Revolution. Although I have never seen any statement of the circumstance in an authentic form, the opinion has generally obtained belief in this section of country that, during his differ- ent encampments at Morristown, Washington was in the habit of occasionally visiting Col. Ogden at Old Boonton. Having questioned Mr. Parker upon the subject, he returLed me the following brief reply : " Mrs. Parker has heard her father and mother speak of visits to Boonton by Gen. Washington and Mrs. Washington." This, then, sets the question forever at rest, and this fact of it- self goes far towards strengthening us in the belief that Old Boonton, under the manage ment of Col. Ogden, was true to the cause of American Liberty, and that she furnished munitions of war for the Continental army 18 daring the dark days of the Revolution. And is not this something of which we should all feel proud, to know that Washing- ion, whose fame shall continue to brighten the pages of the world's history through all the coming centuries, until ocean tides shall cease to ebb and flow, was once an honored guest of our venerable mother, Old Boonton ? Any spot upon American soil that has ever been visited by the august presence of that great and good man should ever be looked upon by the student of American history as classic ground, and be held in everlasting re- membrance, and loved and honored by us all. Would to God that the walls of that old Boonton mansion could again become instinct with its hoarded old memories, and had a tongue of fire wherewith to blaze forth to the world the hidden secrets which have so long laid buried beneath its venerable roof. Would to God that the disembodied spirit of some one of those old patriots who were ac- customed to assemble around the hearthstone of that ancient and time-stained old mansion "in the days that tried men's souls" could again revisit its earthly abodes and detail to us the history of the secret transactions which transpired at Old Boonton between the years 1776 and 1783. Who can now tell how many plans of "battles, lost and won," how many "plots and counter-plots" to achieve our independence had their origin beneath the friendly roof of the grand old mansion ? Old Boonton being located in the midst of a dark, dense forest, far removed from the pride and pomp of city life, no place could have heen found more admirably lifted for secret consultations of this kind. Here the man of deep thought and war strat- agems might "concoct plots and brew trea- son" without any fear of being suddenly dis- turbed; and that such important consulta- tions were occasionally held in that historic old mansion I do most candi ily believe. Washington was always a clear, cool-headed, thoughtful man, always husbanding his lim- ited resources until he Baw a chance of strik- ing a decisive blow with hopes of certain suc- cess ; and it is quite possible that he might have had the rugged and heavily wooded hills of Old Boonton in his eye as a place of re- treat in case he should had been attacked by a superior force and had to evacuate his po- sition at Morristown. The ancient rustic burying ground at Old Boonton must not be forgotten in this dis- course. This ancient burial place, containing the dead of Old Boonton, is situated on the hillside, in the southerly corner of the old orchard adjoining the County House farm. This ground bears evidence of many persons having been interred there in times long past, but how long probably will never be known. The spot is now thickly overgrown with large trees and underbrush, and but few signs donating the character of the place now remain. Bough, unhewn stones, ot various sizes, indicate the presence of some forty or fifty graves; but whose ashes slumber be- neath the now sunken clods will only be known when the last trumpet sounds and the "graves give up their dead." One single, solitary lettered tombstone now marks the long neglected spot, and probably none others were ever erected there. This stone is erected in memory of Hannah, wife ot Isaac Legget, who died in 1782. Many of the other graves bear strong evidence of hav- ing been made at a much earlier period, and the reasonable probability is that this ground was first used as a burial place con- siderably over one hundred years ago. The fact of a tombstone being erected there more than seventy-five years ago may be ac- cepted as pretty conclusive evidence that the person to whose memory it was erected was a person of some considerable distinction, for a handsome brown stone tombstone was quite an expensive article in those days. And does not this single fact of itself — the fact of there being such a large number of old un- known graves there — and there may have been twice the number that I have mentioned — prove beyond the Bhadow of a doubt that Old Boonton must have beeu settled at a very early period in our country's history ? A few words respecting the old mansion- house and I have done with this branch of my discourse. This unique old pile must have been erected nearly a hundred years ago, for the memory of man runneth not to the contrary of the time of its standing there. At any rate it is a very old building, and its roof has given shelter to some of the great- est men that have ever blessed the world with their presence. What were its condi- tion and appearance at the time Col. Ogden resided there I have not been able to learn ; 19 but that the grounds around it were greatly beautified and improved by the Faiehes is a matter of certainty. My first visit to Old BoontOO occurred some forty odd years ago, and I can truly say that I was greatly do- lighted with its appearance. Richard B Faisb, Erq., a gentleman whom I have often seen, then resided there. To my youthful and inexperienced eyes the scene spread out before me seemeu a perfect paradise. It wan certaiDly the most charming aud enrapturing sight that I had ever witnessed, for i thing was in the lull bloom of early Summer time. Even the old mansion-house, which had just been decked with a new coat of paint, looked fresh and new. Serpentine pleasure walks, studded on either Bide with v-rdani. and aromatic shrubbery, extended along the hillside, even up to the main road. The gardens, which were extensive and hand- somely laid out, were filled with choice fruit trees and flowering shrubbery. The outbuild- ings were numerous and in good condition, and everything looked bright aud cheerlul. Gushing fountains aud vine-clad arbors were interspersed here and there throughout all those richly embellished grounds, giving to the whole enchanting scene a novel and fairy, like appearance. The whole magnificent scene still remains pictured upon my memory like a beautiful vision coniured up in the land of dreams as if witnessed yesterday. Bjit Time, the great destroyer of human hopes and earthly joys, has at last performed its work of ruin and desolation, and the fairy scene witnessed nearly half a century ago has fled, never more to return. Most of ttie out- buildings have entirely disappeared, and the venerable and weather-beaten old mansion it- self now looks like a " banquet hall desert- ed." Well may the thoughtful visitor, as he roams through the dilapidated halls of this once sumptuous and magnificent abode, exclaim, Bit ti <>n.8it gloria mundi ! Shortly after the death of Richard B. Faish, in 1820, the Old Boonton property passed into the hands of Israel Crane, of < rane- towD, and Captain William Scott, o; Power- ville. During its possession by them great improvements were attempted there ; but when the magnilicent dam across the river, which had been constructed by them at an expense of $'20,000, was destroyed by a de- structive freshet i hey ceased further Improve- ment* there. Mr. Crane dying shortly after, the Old Boonton property, such as it pitsswd into the possession of the late John Kighter. It now belongs to Mr. Charles A. Righter, that is, the old mansion-house and about two hundred acres of land, and the workB at present carried on there consist of an old dilapidated forge aud a good grist- mill. It will thus be seen that Old Boonton led the van iu the cause, of civilisation and im- provement in this section of the country; that ■he had her church and sclioolhouse near- ly a century ago ; that she enjoyed the benefits of a poBt-olfice — established under the administration of Washing- ton — fir tmenty-two yearn without any one at tho premnl lav ever knowing it. We are all very anxious to enjoy the prosperous pres- !,, and Btill more impatient to behold the brighter future ; but there are but few among us who are willing to spend their precious time in turning back to view the point from which we started. The scenes and incidents of the grand old past have but few charms for the eye of our popular Mr. Mod- ern Improvements. And, now, what are the deductions to be drawn from the foregoing testimony respect- ing the former glories of Old Boonton, im- perfect as it is ? In summing up our cause it would be difficult for us to arrive at any other than the following conclusions : That Old Boonton was one of the first places settled in Morris country ; that the first dam ever thrown across the Rockaway river was at Old Boonton, and that one of the first — if not the very fir at — iron works ever established in the British colonies in America was at Old Boonton. Or, in other words, that the first forge, the firBt blast furnace, the first rolling- mill, the first slitting-mill, the first iron re- finery, the first tin and sheet iron works, the first nail factory, the first grist-mill, the first saw-mill, the first potash works, the first church, the first schoolhouse, the first post office, and possibly the first pin factory ever located in this section of Morris county, were located at Old Boonton. Surely this is glory, enough for any little spot to boast of, and for one I say all honor and glory, fame and renown, to our good ol i mother, now, hence- forth and forevermore ! As her children, we ought to feel proud of our lineage, and grate- ful for the inheritance of a familv name around whose old homestead cluster'such a Los, of thrilling old memories. Henceforth, then, let us look upon Old Boonton as we would upon the grave of an old and valued friend, aud whenever we tread upon her old historic soil, now strewn with the ruins of her departed greatness, let us feel that we Btaud upon classic ground — yea, even upon ground once hallowed by the footprints of the Uod-given Father of his Country : PART SECOND. BO O N TO N. September 28, 1867. Ladies and Gentlemen : You have been invited to assemble here this evening for the purpose of listening to a somewhat detailed historical sketch of Boonton — to ruminate over its past struggles and rejoice over its present prosperity. Always curious in all matters relating to my native State, I have long entertained a strong desire to make myself more familiar than I have been with the past and present history of the beautiful and renowned little village in whioh we dwell. To any man of an intelligent and in- quiring mind I know of no one thing more to be desired than a correct knowledge of the rise and progress of the place in wbich he has reared his earthly habitation, and which he designs shall become the abode of his children in future times. That some of you will smile at my simplicity when I attempt to delineate to yon the history of a village whose rapid growth is familiar to most or. you I have no doubt ; but still I trust that before I have concluded this imperfect dis- course I shall have convinced a few of you, at least, that the annals of this beautiful and romantic little hillside village are not en- tirely devoid of inteiest. Although scarcely yet out of her teens, Boonton already pre- sents to the eye of the oareful observer many of the natural and healthful developments of matronly grace and dignity ; and why should not her many attractions be chronicled be- fore they shall have passed forever into ob- livion ? On last Saturday evening I tried to enter- tain you with a protracted historical iketch of Old Boonton. To-night I come to speak to you about Boonton — the Boonton in which we dwell, and in which lie centred all our hopes of future happiness and advancement. Only thirty-six short years ago, and the ground upon which Boonton now stands was a dense and almost impenetrable forest. It was then called Boonton Falls, to distinguish it from Boonton, the Old Boonton of the present day. At that time the ground upon which Boonton now stands contained but one solitary log house, which stood near the spot now occupied by the residence of Mr. James Holmes, superintendent of the upper nail factory, now the corner of Main and Church streets. This house (the old log house) was then occupied by a poor family of the name of Fredricks. Some of the fruit trees plant- ed there at that time are still in existence, and are yet good fruit bearers. The only public thoroughfare then running through the place was an old mountain road, whioh wound its serpentine course up from the house of the late Tunis Peer to the old Fredricks mansion, thence along up by the Presbyte- rian church, the Methodist church, the old Norway place, and thence up over the hills through what was called the "Dark Woods" to the road leading from Powerville to Tay- lortown. Some traces of this road still re- mained near my own residence at the time of my return here in 1855, but they have now all disappeared. Boonton was then (1830) one of the wild- est, rockiest, briariest and most romantic places that the mind of man could imagine ; and could a man have been found foolhardy 21 enough to have prophesied that it would ever have become the place that it is even now, he would have been pronounced a lu- natic of the most incurable kind, and hurried off to a madhouse with all possible dispatch. Then the solemn stillness of nature was sel- dom broken by the sound of human voice, and many a wild tiower budded, bloodied and died unseen. The impetuous old Itockaway dashed along over its rocky bed, sinking the same wild Boug it had been accustomed to sing thousands of years before, and from many a tangled thicket along itBmoBsy banks, where erst the red man'B prayer of supplica- tion ascended to the Great Spirit, broke forth the evening vespers ot the feathered' choir. The sportive little squirrel chirruped from tree to tree through all the livelong day ; the ferocious wolf made " night hideous" with its incessant bowlings, the echoes of which died away among the distant mountains, and no one came to molest or make him afraid. Throughout all this wild and picturesque re- gion but few tracer, of civilization appeared, and they were of the rudest and most un- sightly description. The sharp crack ot the huntsman's lifl", the booming sound of the distant forge hammer, the occasional strokes of the woodchopper'e ax, the gentle tinkling of the musical old cow-bell, the loud aud boisterous song of the lonely and benighted muleteer, and the ever hymning voice of the adjacent water fall — these were the only humanizing sounds that disturbed the solemn etilluess of nature. But I must hasten on with my facts and figures, for I have many of them yet in store for the present occasion. As the poet has truly remarked, "Great oafes from little acorne grow ;" and the simplest and most insignificant causes oftentimes produced the most startling and sublime effects. The falling of an apple led Newton to inveotigate the laws of attraction and repulsion, and even this great American Continent was discovered by the merest ac cident. But few of you, I presume, are even acquainted with the name of the gentleman to whose genius aud exertions this pleasant and prosperous little village is indebted for its existence ; for, in this go-ahead age of bustle and strife, but few give themselves the trouble to trace out the laws and affinities that join cause and effect. Id the year 1831 George P. M'Cullock, Erq , a prominent citizen of MorriBtown, was the man who tirnt conceived the bold and original design of constructing the Morris canal. The plausibility of achieving this great work manifested itself to his far-seeing vislOD, while himself and a party of gentle- men were enjoying a fishing excursion at Hopatcong Lake, more generally known as Brooklyn Pond. The idea of executing this grand and novel enterprise had been no sooner conceived by Mr. McCullock than he set all his intellectual energies at work to have his plans carried into execution. He immediately applied to the State for aid. and by an act of the Legislature of New Jersey, passed November 22d, 1822, G. P. M'Cullock, Charles Kinsey and Thomas Capner, Erqs., were appointed commissioners and fully cm- powered to examine into the plausibility of the -undertaking. They were authorized to " employ a scientific engineer aud surveyor to explore, survey and level the moBt prac- ticable route tor tl,i* canal." These commis- sioners made a favorable repor- in 1823, and on the 31st of December, 1824, an act was passed incorporating a private company, with a capital of $1,000,000, to carry out the pro- ject. The work was soon after commenced, and the canal was completed to Newark in August, 1831. Shortly after granting the canal charter the New Jersey Iron Company was incorporated, and having purchased this portion of the Boonton property, with all its rights and water privileges (as well as cer- tain water privileges of the canal company), the company soon thereafter commenced the erection of very extensive iron works here They began their manufacturing operations at about the time the canal was completed. Now, it is quite certain and plain to be seen that, had there been no Morris canal, there would have been no iron works located here by the New Jersey Iron Company, and if these works had never been established here the ground upon which Boonton now stands would, in all human probability, have still remained in its old primeval state. Hence it will at once be seen that Mr. M'Cullock's far-seeing vision was the indirect cause of the first settlement of this place. His pleas- ure-seeking fishing excursion to Brooklyn Pond was the cuuse, and the beautiful and thriving village of Boonton is the efft<.t. 22 The village of Boonton is situated on a rocky hillside eminence, on the easterly side of the Rockaway river, about one mile north of Old Boonton. The ground upon which it stands is very uneven, rising abruptly to the height of some 150 to 200 feet above the level of the river. Like a city standing upon a high hill, its beauties cannot be hid. Stand- ing upon its upper heights, and looking south and east, the eye of the delighted beholder takes in at a single sweep one o' the most charming and picturesque landscapes im- aginable. Outspread before his enraptured gaze he beholds a most beautiful and varie- gated panorama of town and hamlet, hill and dale, mountain and plain, field and forest, river and streamlet — the whole of which, when blended together, constitutes a grand and magnificent picture of rural splendor, more bewitching to the eye of the lover of nature than city dome or monumental pile. This grand, this noble and sublime scene lies constantly exposed to our view — and it costs us nothing to gaze upon its beauties — and yet are there not many in our midst who have never witnessed its grandeur, or, to say the least, have never fully appreciated its sterling beautieB or experienced its magic power to charm. In approaching Boonton from the south or east the village presents a most beautiful and imposing appearance ; but when approached from the north or west it iB not visible at all until you arrive in its very midst. My own personal recollections of Boonton extend back about twenty-eight years. I re- siaed here most of the time during the years 1832-33 and '34 ; but the Boonton of these days was a very small and insignificant affair, indeed, as compared with the Boonton of the present day. In entering the place from any direction at that time you could not see any village at all — nothing but rocks and trees, and these were neither " few nor far be- tween." Thf Boonton of 1832 consisted of the iron works, two stores, and about twenty small dwelling-houses, all of which were lo- cated under the hill in what is now known as Plane street. The inhabitants numbered about 300, all told, not more than ten of whom were natives of New Jersey. The whole village, with the exception of one Btore and two or three dwelling-houses, belonged exclu- sively to the company. Excluding the old '■ road already mentioned, there was no public j thoroughfare through the place, except by the road under the hill, and he that under- took to drive a team in any other direction did so at the risk of life and limb, both to himself and animals. I recollect very well that, during the year 1834, one dark night, I came very near breaking my own ntck in clambering over the rocks up to the house in which old Mr. Beekley then resided, at that time in the woods away out of town, but now in Church street, near Main, being a part of the same house at present owned and occu- pied by Mr. Samuel C. Tibbals. This house, two others on the same side of Churcu street, further up the hill, the one in which Mr. La- throp now resides, two others near it in Main street, and one on the corner of Main and Brook streets, built by T. C. Willis, Esq, and now owned and occupied by Mrs. Cook — all of which are still standing — were the only buildings that exis^d above the road (Plane street) at the time I left Boonton, in 1834, and they were all located in the woods, and almost inaccessible to man or beast. At taat time quite a stream of water coursed its way down among the rocks in the centre of our present Brook and Liberty streets. I have seen in the fine arts gallery of R. H. Winslow, Esq., in New York, a fine pic- ture of Boonton, sketched and painted in 1833, which conveys a very fair and faithful representation of the place at that time, as I recollect it. Col. Trumbull, the great Amer- ican historical painter, and several other gen- tlemen of note, visited Boonton during my first residence here. The Colonel made a number of sketches of scenery in the neigh- borhood, of the Falls, but whether he ever committed any of them to canvas or not I am unable to state. The old schoolhouse, which is still standing on the corner of Lib- erty and Cedar streets, but now used as a dwelling, was erected by the company in 1831 ; and the First Presbyterian church, which also is still standing, but us^d for other purposes, was built in the Fall of 1832. During my first sojourn here the works were visited by vast numbers of stran- gers from all parts of the surrounding country ; but a bull-dog watch was kept over them, and you could only gain admis- sion into them by first obtaining a 'per- mit from the company's office. I also recol 'J 3 lect that during the Summer of 1833 a num- ber of dashing young "bloods"— sons of some of the English stoekh lders— cauie over to this country, and coming out to Boonton kicked up s were Eng- lish gentlemen. The affairs of the company were at first managed by Messrs. Green & Wetmore, large iron dealers in New York, There was no material change made in the ownership of these works uutil 1852; but in June of that year their ownership passed into the hands of D. B. Fuller & Co , and in September of the same year the firm was changed into that of Fuller & Lord — Dudley B. Fuller and James C. Lord— the present proprietors. The tract of land originally purchased for the use of the New Jersey Iron Company consisted of two hundred acres, and was a part of the Old Boonton tract. It was purchased in the name of David W. Wet- more of the late Captain William Scott, of Powerville, for the sum of $5,1)00, and iu was thought at that time that it had been well sold. The whole amount of money expend- ed in the construction of these works up to 1859 was over half a million dollars, and since then Beveral thousand dollars more have been expended in the erection of addi- tional buildings and machinery. A new iron wheel of the most solid construction and fin- ished workmanship, twenty-seven feet in di- ameter — said to be the largest wheel of the kind in the State — has been added to the 2k and file, and I trust that Captain Bishop will succeed in getting that number into line between this time and the coming Fourth of July. Wishing to plaoe the date of the first es- tablishment of a post office in this place on record in this discourse, and rinding it a diffi- cult matter to obi ain any correct account of it here, I di patched a note to the Postmaster General, soliciting information upon the sub- ject. This application was made under date of July 27, 1859, and on the 10th of August following I received the .'ollowing reply, un- der the seal of the Post Office Department : 33 " Prom the 3d of February, 1817, till the «.>th of July, 1846, there was no office by theuame of Boon- ton ; but, on that day the office at Montville waa changed to Boonton- including a change of Bite— and Edmund K.Sargent was appointed postmaster, who continued to aet till the 27th of November 1849, when John Hill was appointed, who held the Office till the 24th of May, 1853, when Edmund K. Sargent was re- appointed, and who is the present incumbent. This, it is be ieved, covers all the information the popart- menl can furnish as to the history of this office. Very respect fully, John B. L. Skinner, Acting First Ass't, P. M. General. The iirst news office ever established in Boonton, was opened by Edward E. Lynn on the corner of Main and Brook streets in the Fallot' 1857, and although there was but lit- tle encouiagement held out at the time, I believe that it is now doing a good paying business, with a fair prospect of a gradual in- crease. The "Boonton Cemetery" is a burial place of which our citizens need not feel ashamed. The land which it occupies was donated by the company here at the first settlement of the place, which has since been greatly improved and beautified by those burying there. The oldest tombstone I have been aide to discover there bears date of 1832. At that time it was more or less surrounded by woods on every side, and entirely disconnected with and out of sight of the village. It is now surrounded by a substantial concrete wall, and the lots have nearly all been taken up. There have been cprite a number of public societies of one kind and another established at various times in this village ; but most of them have already run their course and been forgotten. There are only three that profess to have an existence at the present time — the "Minerva Literary Society," the "Boonton Temperance Society" and the "Band of Hope," the latter of which is composed of chil- dren exclusively. None of these societies, however, are now in a very healthfull or flourishing condition, but possibly they may revive again during the coming Winter. The "Minerva" was established about three years ago, and at one time contained over a hun- dred members. Its meetings are held in Lib- erty Hall, and are always open free to the public. It owns a small but select library of standard works, by the best authors, which, at one time, were very generally read by its members. The time was when this society entertained its huge audiences with literary performances of a high character ; but it can hardly be said of if now that it "still lives," for its meetings are "few and far between." It is a great pity that such is the case, for it is a well-known fact that during its more prosperous days, our numerous beer shops were very little visited on its meeting nights. There are too many cliques and clans in our midst to expect any association composed of our mixed population to harmonize together for any length of time. It is greatly to be regretted that such is the case, for in a large and intelligent place like Boonton, there should be a permanent literary institution of some kind, where all classes of our citizens might meet on a common level for the pur- pose of social enjoyment and literary improve- ment. Of the natural scenery in and around Boon- ton I shall have but little to say. It requires no flourish of trumpets on my part to herald forth its sublime beauties to the world, for it is fully capable of singing its own praises and telling its own story. Gordon, in his Gazet- teer of New Jersey, says that " Boonton is the most romantic place in the State;" and he might have added, with much truthfulness, that there are few places more so out of it. Many of our fashionable sightseers have trav- eled thousands of miles, and expended thou- sands of dollars, to gaze upon foreign scenes not half so lovely and enchanting as those of Boonton — when seen by moonlight. It is all well enough for those who have plenty of money to spend to see as much as they can of this beautiful world of ours and its many nat- ural attractions ; but would it not be quite as well for them to first visit the historical loca- tions of their own country, and gaze upon its unrivalled natural scenery, before they wander oft' to the Old World to view the musty and crumbling ruins of past ages? If some of our native embryo artists, who are now eking out a precarious existence in Broadway gar- rets by copying the "old masters" at fifty cents a copy, would come out to Boonton, and could succeed in catching the inspiration of the place, and transfer the life of our noble mountain scenery to their canvas, they might till their empty purses, immortalize their names and transmit them down to posterity among the great master spirits of their age and country. 34 Situated as Boonton is, upon a hard, dry, rocky soil, some fiOO feet above the level of the sea, with a climate famed for the salubrity of its atmosphere, what is there in the way to prevent her from being one of the healthiest locations in the wide world ? Securely out of the reach of most of those diseases that rav- age our large cities, man has nothing here to fear save the vengeance of an offended God and the upbraidings of his own guiltj 7 con- science. Instead, therefore, of hankering af- ter the "forbidden fleshpots of Egypt," and making ourselves miserable because the world is not all our own, we ought to thank God that we are what we are, and that our lot has fallen upon sueh a healthful and pleasant spot. And now, my friends, what more need be said about Boonton, either past or present ? Her past struggles and her present triumphs have been passed in review before you ; and does not her present prosperity plainly indicate a still more glorious future ? Boonton now has the ring of the true metal, and with a pop- ulation of more than 2,000 souls, what can vent her from going ahead ? There are but few drones in our common hive — no favored few to look sneeringly on while the many do all the labor, as in most places — no painted butterflies to hum about our heads and sip the honeyed dew from flowers planted for common use. We all work and obtain our bread by the labor of our own hands, and it is this common division of labor among all classes that makes labor itself honorable. But while we prosper and flourish like a green bay tree, we behold our venerable moth- er, Old Boone-Town, stricken in years, and feeble and palsied with age. This, however, is but the fulfillment of a law of nature, which is just as fixed and certain as that which leads the man of tottering footsteps and snowy locks with irrevocable certainty to the grave. We also behold her young and blooming daughter, Boonton, now full of life and vigor, just burst- ing into early womanhood, and proud to encir- cle her brow with the good old family name. And God grant that she may always hold the cherished old homestead in filial love and ven- eration, and adopt as her future model the en- terprising spirit of her good old mother, and as the mother was among the first to light up the forge-fires in the wilderness of America, so may the daughter be among the last that shall put them out ! PART THIRD. MISCELLANEOUS FACTS AND SPECULATIONS. ■+■■■: . -^ October 5, 1867. Ladies and Gentlemen : — In collecting materials for this discourse quite a number of facts and traditions respecting the early history of Old Boonton came into my posses- sion which I found it inconvenient to intro- duce into my sketch of that place at the time it was written. Besides this I notice the en- tire omission of a few facts which I intended to insert in Part First, which were accident- ally overlooked on that occasion. Other in- teresting incidents have since been obtained, all of which I have thrown together without any regularity of form or arrangement, which I shall now introduce to you as ' ' Miscella- neous Facts and ^Speculations," under the heading of Part Third. It will, however, be noticed, as I proceed, that that some of these facts and incidents, which are well worth knowing and remembering, have no particular connection with the main subject of this dis- course. But I trust that, in view of the time and labor I have expended in making this collection, you will justify their introduction in this connection ; for, although not imme- diately connected with the subject under dis- cussion, still they will be found useful in il- lustrating some of the positions I have as- sumed in discussing Part First. The question of who owned the Boonton tract prior to its coming into possession of David Ogden, has given me more trouble than any other. It is barely possible that Mr. Ogden might have purchased it of different parties, in various quantities, at several dif- ferent times. I shall submit all the informa- tion I have obtained relating to the subject, and leave you to draw your own conclusions. Mr. Parker says that Col. Ogden's father pur chased the property and gave it to his son on condition that he should remove there and carry on the iron works, which were already established there. It is quite certain that Col. Lemuel Cobb, father of Judge A. B. Cobb, did most of the surveying on the property after it came into possession of the Ogdens. While engaged with Judge Cobb in looking over some of his father's old pa- pers a few years ago, we came across an old document which was very badly defaced, which seemed to have some bearing upon this subject. As near as we could get at the substance of this old document it purported to be an agreement between Courtland Skin- ner and one Burnet (first name entirely ob- literated), and David Ogden, by which the former parties agreed to sell to the latter named party, certain lands in Morris county ; but it was impossible for us to decipher out the location of these lands, or the amount of the consideration money that was to be paid for them. This document bore date 17.~>!>, which corresponds with the time named by Mr. Parker when the Boonton property first came into possession of David Ogden ; but still all this is a matter of uncertainty, and not to be relied on. However, I have but lit- tle doubt in my own mind that the lands here referred to constituted, if not the whole of the Boonton tract, at least that portion of it upon which the iron works were located. It is a well-known fact that the Skinners and Burnets owned large tracts of land in tins section of country at about that time. In an old volume now in my possession, formerly the property of i; J. J. Faish, Esq.,' 36 f Old Boonton, published in 1784, containing the " Acts of the New Jersey Legislature be- tween the years 177(i and 1783," I find an- other little scrap of information which may possibly throw some light upon this obscure subject. In the index of this old volume (the bulk of which has been used as a scrap-book) I find the following : " An act passed by the New Jersey Legislature, vesting in Richard Morris, Esquire, the power, authority, title and estate of certain lands in New Jersey, given unto David Ogden and Richard Morris, by the last will and testament of Robert Hun- ter, Esquire, deceased." The Robert Hunter here alluded to was Governor of the Province of New Jersey from the year 1710 to 1720, and the natural presumption would be that the "lands" bequeathed by him to Messrs. Ogden and Morris were not of very limited dimensions. At any rate it is a pretty well ascertained fact that both Ogden and Morris owned large tracts of land in Morris county previous to the Revolution ; and it is within the bounds of possibility that the Boonton tract might have been a portion of the lands bequeathed to Ogden by the last will and testa- ment of Gov. Hunter. This trying to trace out old titles to land, is, no doubt, a dry subject of discussion to most of you ; but, as I feel greatly interested in the question myself, I shall tax your patience a little further by placing upon record all the facts that have come to my knowledge in any way relating to the original ownership of the Boonton tract. I have now in my possession, presented to me by Judge Cobb, an original deed, dated May 9th, 1774, from " David Ogden, Esquire, of New-Ark, to Simeon Van Winkle, of Han- over," for a tract of land containing 124 60- 100 acres, the consideration sum for which was "Two Pounds current Proclamation money of New Jersey." This deed has never been recorded, and probably was never deliv- ered, as the " two pounds current proclama- tion money" was, perhaps, not forthcoming. The preamble to this curious old deed read as follows : "Whereas, Samuel Stephenson, Eldest son and Heir of his Father, Thomas Stephenson, and his Mother, Sarah Stephen- son, by Deed bearing date the Nineteenth Day of May, in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty Seven, did grant, Release, and forever quit claim unto the said David Ogden," &c. This deed conveyed to Mr. Og- den a tract of 1,2.50 acres, and lay " at or near Rockaway river." It would probably be a hard matter to determine the exact location of this land at the present day ; but, accord- ing to the map of the Boonton tract, this land constituted a portion thereof, and this mixes things worse than they were before. The deed to Van Winkle is signed by Mr. Ogden in a hand shaky enough to indicate that he was a hundred years old at the time. I have also now in my possession, also pre- sented to me by Judge Cobb, an autograph letter of David B. Ogden to " Lemuel Cobb, Esquire," requesting him in the name of his father (Col Samuel Ogden) "to lay off one hundred and twenty-five acres of the New- foundland tract," which his father has "agreed to sell to John Dow and Jacob Riker, at such place as you shall conceive to be reasonable. " This act of discretion on the part of the Og- dens to Sir. Cobb, certainly shows that they placed the utmost reliance in his integrity and good judgement — yes, considerably more so than we should expect one man to place in the discretion of another at the present day. This letter is dated Newark, January 24th, 1801. I have likewise an autograph letter, also presented to me by Judge Cobb, of Col. Sam- uel Ogden to " Lemuel Cobb, Esquire," dated Newark, May 6th, 1802, of which the follow- ing is an exact copy : Dear Sir— Do, I pray you, forward me immediately the survey for Kingsland. I want it very much. I am your friend, Sam*l Ogden. Independently of all the immense landed estates owned by the Ogdens in New Jersey, Col. Ogden, in the year 1790, owned one-third of what was then known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, iu the State of New York. This tract contained several millions of acres, and was then valued at $1,000,<>. The first church (Presbyterian) in Mend- ham was erected a little prior to the year L7 10, and the first minister located there was Rev. Eliab Byram. The first church (Presbyterian) in Madison was erected in the year 17 is, and the first minister was the Rev. Azariah Horton, who died March 27th, 1777. 88 The first church (Presbyterian) in Parsip- pany was erected in the year 17.")."), and the first minister was Kev. Jacob Green. The first church (Presbyterian) in Rocka- way was built in the year 1752, and the lust permanent minister was the Kev. James Tut- tle, who was installed in 1768. There was a forge, grist-mill and saw-mill established there before the Revolution, and a post-office was in operation there in 1 791. The name of Roekaway was derived from the Rockawaek tribe of Indians. In the year 17'.»2 Dover contained but four dwelling-houses and a forge. During that year a rolling mill was erected there by Israel Canfield and Jacob Losey. The first post office was established there in the year 1820. There was a small store and grist mill at Montvillo before the Revolution. The Indian tribes residing in Morris county at the time of its first settlement by the whites were known as the Whippinongs, the Parsippinongs, the Pomptons, the Pequon- nocks and the Rockawacks, All these tribes are supposed to have been offshoots of the once powerful and Warlike tribe of Dela- wares. They had nearly all left this section of country and moved off toward the Dela- ware river some years prior to the Revolu- tion, although they frequently returned to pay the first settlers a friendly visit. A brief account of the old Peer tract may not, perhaps, be out of place in this connec- tion. I have the following information from William M. Dixon, Esq., and the venerable Mr. Abraham Peer. This tract lay on the easterly bank of the Roekaway river, extend- ing up from Old Boonton to the base of the hill upon which the village of Boonton now stands, and running thence along the base of the hill in a northerly direction up to the foot of what is termed Hog mountain. It was esti- mated to contain 1,000 acres, but when sur- veyed was found to contain nearly 1,100 acres. It was first surveyed by George Ryerson, the first professional surveyor known in the an- nals of Morris county. It was first taken up in the year 1714 by one John Scot, who was an extensive speculator in East Jersey lands, of whom it was said "that he was born to make trouble wherever he went," It was purchased of Scot's heirs in 1740 by Mr. Peer's grandfather and his brother, and the price paid for it was one shilling an acre. Quite a large portion of this tract still re- mains in possession of the Peer family. The old stone house on this property, formerly oc- cupied by the late Daniel T. Peer, was built before the Revolution. Mr. Peer's grand- father died at a very advanced age ; his father died at the age of 112 years, and he himself is now in his 87th year. Shortly after the Revolution Jacob Miller erected a saw-mill on this property, on the west bank of the Roekaway river, near the bridge, on the old road leading from Montville to Old Boonton. Some detached fragments of the foundation walls of this old mill are still visible there. Mr. Peer also informed me that during the Winter of 1780 '81 detachments of the Con- tinental army were encamped at Pompton and Montville, and that, falling short of provender for their horses, Gen. Washington used to ride out among the farmers in search of hay and oats. And whenever he found a farmer who had more hay and oats than he needed for his own use — not otherwise — he ordered the surplus carried into camp, where a fair compensation was always rendered for it. Mr. Peer said that he recollects distinctly having seen Washington at his father's house, on several occasions, and he spoke of him as having been the most noble and godlike look- ing person he ever saw in his life. Mr. Peer further informed me that, boy as he was, he recollects perfectly well having stood upon one of the Boonton hills and witnessed the passage of the Patriot army, as he called it, when it marched through Old Boonton in the Spring of 1781 on its way to attack Cornwal- lis at the South. He said the army was nearly three days in passing, and that it made a splendid and imposing appearance. Yes, my friends, the time will soon come when to have seen a man who had seen Washington, will be something worth boasting of. There was a substantial beaver dam across the Roekaway river at the bend, directly in the rear of Mr. Kanouse's store, within the present century, but it has long since entirely disappeared. The plot of ground on the east bank of the river, about midway be- tween here and Old Boonton, and for a long time known as the "old witch ground," has never been known to contain anything in the shape of tree or shrub, although, when first discovered, it was surrounded by a dense for- est on every side. In the "olden time 1 this strange and unnatural looking plol of ground used to be regarded with superstitious dread by all classes, but it has never been known to do anybody harm. Mr. Peer informed me that it used to be as smooth and hard as a barn floor and perfectly level, and thai it bore every visible evidence of having been frequently lu a\ ily trampled upon by somebody, or s - thing else, probably by tin Indians. There used to stand near by a large oak tree, with curiously crotched limbs, upon which it was believed by some of the old grannies that sev- eral young devils sat and fiddled, while the frol- icsome old witches used to trip it on the "light fantastic toe" on the ground beneath. Bui the age of witchcraft having long since passed away, this old dancing ground has not attracted much attention of late years, and is now sel- dom visited except by a few old fogies like myself. Powerville and Rockaway Valley were both settled before the Revolution. I have the fol- lowing facts and traditions from Mr. Fred- erick Miller, who had most of them from his grandmother, who was a sister of Mr. Abra- ham Peer. The dates of some of them are not, I presume, quite so correct as they might be, but still the facts related are worth re- membering. Mr. Miller informed me that his great-grandfather, Frederick Miller, who was a native of Holland, was one of the first settlers of Rockaway Valley. He came over to this country previous to 1760, but the exact date he does not remember. The spot where he first located was a small Indian clearing, directly opposite the place where the Meth- odist church now stands. The whole sur- rounding country at that time was still in a state of nature, and friendly Indians were his only neighbors. At the time of his first coming there there was an old Indian burying ground on the hill side on the east bank of the Rockaway river, near the mouth of Beaver brook. The late Captain William Scott disinterred large quantities of bones at this spot while engaged in making brick in the neighborhood some years ago. Some seventy-five years ago a man named Van Ri- per, in digging a well in the upper part of the valley, found a large oak imbedded in the earth at a distance of over twenty feet below the surface. This log was about two feet in diameter, and as sound in every part as though it had just heen deposited there Smei the valley was first settled it is known to have contained a heayj growth of both pine and oak timber. Toward the close of the Revolution Conrad Floppier built the first bridge across the Rockaway river at Power- ville. It Stood a. little above the spot where the upper bridge now stands, for the con- struction of which he received UnU, hilslnls of salt. The bridge was of rude workman- ship, and sail at that time was worth from $8 to $10 a bushel. Shortly after the Revolu- tion this same Floppier buiU a dam across thi river just above the bridge, and erected a small grist-mill on the west bank of the river, a few rods below the bridge, 'flu the first mill of any description erected in Powerville. About the year l si iii there stood a large log house upon the spot where the house that Mrs. Munn now resides in now stands, and directly in its rear was quite an extensive tannery, owned and carried on by this same Hoppler. The first iron works es- tablished at Powerville was a forge, estab- lished thereby the late Joseph Scott, about the year 1812. A grist-mill and a saw-mill were in operation there at a much earlier date. About the year 1806 there was a rude dam across the outlet of Rattlesnake Meadow brook. It is said that it was placed there by the Faishes for the purpose of raising the water sulliciently high to kill the brush and bogs in the swamp. Mr. Miller also informed me that his grand- mother, when a girl, used to live with her mother in the old stone house formerly occu- pied by the late Daniel T. Peer, and that, be- ing left alone one night during the Revolu- tion, she built a large tire on the hearth and then retired to rest in a bed in the same room. In the middle of the night she was suddenly awakened by hearing a noise in the room, and rising up in her bed and looking around she beheld some haif-dozen Indians stretched out upon the floor with their feet pointing toward the lire. Becoming consid- erably alarmed at the scene she began to look around for a loophole through which she might escape; but she was soon quieted by the friendly salutation of a venerable old chief, who bade her banish her fear as no harm was intended her. She then laid down again and composed herself to sleep, leav- ing the friendly sons of the forest to enjoy 40 themselves after their own fashion. The last Indian seen in Boonton ' ' paddled his own ca- noe" through here on the Morris canal in the Summer of 1833, and my recollection of him is, that with his bow and arrows, he knocked the pennies out of a split stick, in which they were placed edgewise, at a distance of twenty yards, about as fast as half-a-dozen boys could pick them up. The Ball tract adjoins the Boonton line on the west, and came into the possession of that family something over a century ago. The old deeds show that portions of it were obtained of the Stephenson family, who were large owners of real estate in this section of country in early times. This tract was orig- inally surveyed by Thomas Millage, Esq., one of the deputy surveyers under the Crown for Morris county before the Revolution. William M. Dixon, Esq., informed me a short time since, that he had just been making a re- survey of a portion of this tract, and that he had no difficulty iu finding the marks and corners that were made by Mr. Millage more than a hundred years ago. He pronounces him one of the most correct and scientific surveyors that he ever surveyed after, and says that he must have understood his pro- fession thoroughly. The brief history of Mr. Millage that has come down to us represents him as having been a most intelligent, amia- ble and kind-hearted man ; but he was a true loyalist, and conscienciously believed it to be his duty to stand by his King and Govern- ment. He resided in Hanover township, and in addition to the office of deputy surveyor, he held a commission under the crown as one of the justices of the peace for Morris coun- ty. He was the owner of large landed es- tates in New Jersey, and highly respected by the public generally. At the breaking out of the Revolution he joined the King's forces, and was honored with a major's commission in the British army. When peace was de- clared, in ITS:;, and the independence of the United States acknowledged, he fled with his family to Nova Scotia. As a matter of course all his valuable estates were confiscated and sold for the benefit of the new government. One of his sons, Thomas Millage Jr., returned here shortly after the war, and lived and died in Hanover township. He was very poor in this world's goods, and had a large family de- pendent upon him for support. He resided in Parsippany when I was a boy, worked out at day's work for a living, and was generally regarded as a quiet, inoffensive and industri- ous man. But still I have more than once heard it thrown into his face that his father was a tory, and that he was not a whit bet- ter, and that both ought to have been hung for their crimes. So much for being the hon- est and well-meaning son of a loyal father, both of whom were beggared by the mis- guided conduct of the father. Such are the vicissitudes of human life, and it ill becomes the more fortunate to rejoice over the misfor- tunes of his fellow-man. For a long time I was unable to trace out the character of the business that Colonel Ogden was engaged in after he left Old Boonton, but I have finally succeeded in trac- ing it out. There is no other chronicle like the files of an old newspaper to enlighten up respecting many of the fleeting incidents of the past. While engaged a short time since in looking over the columns of a copy of the New York Packet, published Nov. 17th, 1785, I accidentally came across the following adver- tisement, which solves the problem without further debate. "Samuel Ogden, at his Store, No. 14 Water street, has for Sale, a very complete assortment of the fol- lowing articles, which he will se'.l low for Cash or Country Produce, New Jersey money of the year irs: j ,, and all kinds of Public Securities at their value ; —Bar Iron, of all sizes ; Round Iron, of all sizes : Sweeds, Waggon, Cart and Sleigh tire, neatly drawn, and warranted of good quality.— Audover Iron, of diflerent sizes— Booneton and other Refined Iron— Bloomery Bar Iron. Spike Rod lion, and Batsto Pig Iron. Also, a complete assortment of Hollow Ware and Stoves of different sizes and patterns. He has also on Hand an excellent assortment of coarse and fine Cloths fit for the season— Sheetings, Dowlas, Cor- duroys, Velvets, Moreens, Tammies, Durants, Calli- camancoes, Camblets, Sattinets, Lasting?, Callicoes, Chintzes, Threads, Worsted Stuff', Silk, Worsted and Cotton Hose, and sundry other articles :— And New York Rum of (he first quality. All orders for wrought or cast iron will be executed with neatness and dispatch. There you have it ; all sorts of iron and hollow-ware, dry goods with unheard-of names, together 'with "silk, worsted and cot- ton hose," and "New York Rum of the jir.< f quality" to wash them down — all for sale low for cash or country produce. Has Stewart ever offered for sale a greater variety of goods at any price or upon any conditions than are enumerated in this grand old advertisement ? And so it would seem from this advertise- 41 meet that refined iron was manufactured at Old Booueton soon after the Revolution, if not before ; and also that Col. Ogden was largely engaged, not only in the manufactur- ing but likewise in the mercantile business — in fact, most extensively so for a man in those early days. And does not this evidence of it- self go far toward establishing as a fact the supposition of Mr. Willis that Col. Ogden waB more or less connected with most of the iron works located in this section of couutry at that time ? I have lately been informed that Miss Scott, of Powervillt*, has now in her possession one of the old account books of Col. O^den, kept at Baonton during and subsequent to the Revolution, in which goods are charged to nearly all the iron works known to exist in the vicini'y at that time. It strikes me as something very strange that the Ogden family have been so negligent in omitting to keep a record of the doings aud transactions at Old Boonton in thoea days. The Rev. Peter Kanouse, a native ol Old Boonton, and now about 80 years of age, com municates some very ii_< cresting reminis- cences respecting the early history of that place. His memory ex ands back to about the year 1792, and he says that at about that period " I rode behind my father to the church at Old Boonton, and wept with cold hands and feet, and shivered during service in the .pen church without a stove. This is about as early as I remember anything con- cerning the house of worship. The old school- house was then there. If I may be allowed to conjecture who were the main men in building the church aud schoolhouse I should say J. J. Faish, Beaverhout and Brinker- hoof." Now I think that Mr Kanouse is badly mis taken in his conjectures as to the men who built the old church and schoolhouse, for Mr. Peer is positive in his belief that they were both built before the Revolution. If Mr Peer is Tight — and I think he is— it is not at all likely that either of the gentlemen named had any hand in building them. There is not a particle of evidence to show that Mr. Faish had auything to do with Old Boonton until after the Revolution ; Mr. Beaverhout lived some tour miles distant, and within one mile of the church at Pataippany, and Mr. Briuk- erhoof did not reside in this vicinity until the year 1787, and, like Beaverhout, he was much nearer the church at Parsippany than at Old Boonton. The common sense view of the subject would be that both of theee build- ings were erected by Col. Ogden soon after he came there. Mr. Kanouse again remarks: "The cut nail was then unknown in this region, but the slitting of iron into nail rods, rolling it into plates, hoops, &c, waB a great business. It was often said that this was the first rolling- mill in America, and, at that time, the only one, but of the trulh of the latter assertion I should doubt." That the first rolling-mill ever established in America was located at Old Boonton I think X have pretty clearly demonstrated ; but that there waB no other rolling-mill in the country at the time referred to (1792) I think is not at all probable ; for we have already seen that, shortly after having erected the rolling and slitting-mill at Old Boonton, some twenty years befoie, Mr. CumBon left here for the purpose of erecting a similar establish- ment in Maryland. Mr. Kanouse seems to incline to the belief that there was but little republicanism among the leading men at Old Boonton either during or immediately subsequent to the Revolution ; and he also appears to be a little skeptical on the point of Washington ever having visited there. But I think that upon both of these points I have most fully and conclusively proven the reverse to be the fact. And now for a word or two on the Bubject of nail-making by machinery, which, I trust, will prove somewhat interesting to a Boonton audience, more especially as nails out by ma- chinery constitute the principal article man- ufactured here at the present time. The ex- act date when cutting nails by machinery was first introduced into the world °ib now some- what enveloped in doubt aud uncertainty ; but I shall give you all the information I have been able to obtain upon the subject. Ha?en, in his " Panorama of Professions and Trades," says that " the first machine for making nails was invented in Massachusetts about the year 1806 by a Mr. Odion, and soon afterwards another was contrived by a Mr. Reed, of the same State." Now, notwith- stanling that Mr. Hazen may be considered good authority on most subjects, I find that he is not altogether correct in his statements on this. Qract Thorburn, a Sootchman by 42 birth, but an American in his feelings and sympathies — a man with a memory that never faltered— came to this country in the year 1794. He was a nailer by trade, and he in- forms us that the first question he asked on his arrival here was whether there was any employment for nailers in New York ? This question was put to a man who came on board the ship before he left it, and the re- sponse was that a machine for cutting nails had just then been invented in this country, and that most of the old hand nailers were thrown out of employment. This was bad news for young Grant, for he had only a shil- ling or two in his pocket. But he was full of manly enterprise, and strongly impressed with the truth of the maxim that " Fortune never deserts the brave," he went on shore and commenced strolling round the city. The old City Hotel, in Broadway, was then in conrse of erection. This building was to contain a slate roof, the first of the kind ever placed upon a building in the United States. A peculiar kind of nail is required to fasten on a roof of this description, but on inquiry not a pound of such nails could be found in the whole city. It coming to the ears of those having the work in charge that a young Scotch nailer had just arrived in the city, Mr. Thorburn was traced out and applied to. The kind of nails wanted were described to him, and he was asked if he could make them. He replied that he could ; was at once engaged to do the job, which he executed to the satis- faction of all the parties concerned. When the City Hotel was demolished, in 1844, Mr. Thorburn was present, and secured, as a keep- sake, a small quantity of the nails which he had made just fifty years before. I was personally acquainted with Mr. Thor- burn twenty years ago, and frequently used to have short chats with him. I assisted him in transporting his plants from his old place in John street when he was removing thern to his new hot-houses put at Astoria. After that he frequently called to see me on my stand, when, taking a seat with me on the tail of my cart, he would light his pipe, and sit and smoke with me against time, his tongue running liKe a water-wheel all the while. He was the most comical looking man and the gossipiest that I ever saw in my life. He stood about four feet six inches in his stockings, wore a long, dark drab surtout coat, with hat in color to match, and sported a pair of boots that would have been looked upon by a giant as large in size. One of his legs was a trifle shorter than the other, and it was a pleasant sight to see him, with a sunny smile on his countenance, as, with his short, quick step, he went bobbing up and down Broadway, bowing to nearly every per- son he mtt. Old Grant was an original genius in every sense of the word, comical in his looks and actions, keen in his criticisms of men and manners, and sociable beyond ex- pression. He always knew the truth of what he said, always said what he meant, and al- ways meant what he said ; and he says that the nail cutting machine was invented the year before he came here. As confirmative evidence to prove that, as regards dates, Thorburn is right and Hazen wrong, I here quote an advertisement from an old newspaper, a kind of documentary evi- dence that cannot lie. The paper I quote from is a copy of the Aurora Gazette, pub- lished at the village of Aurora, Cayuga coun- ty, N. Y., dated Nov. 13, 1805 : " Nail Factory. The subscilber makes and oflers for Sale all Kinds of Cut Nails, ana Brads, at the following reduced prices per Pound : Is M. to Merchant?, or to those who buy to Keti.il : Is. \d. to any person who may pur- chase 20 Pounds : Is. Od. for any quantity under 20 pounds. Aaron Ingai.?. ' Auroba, July 10th, 1805. Now, it does not look to me as at all likely that cut nails would be made at a small vil- lage away out in Cayuga county, N. Y., one whole year before the machine by which they were made was invented in Mapsachusetts ; for, I take it for granted, juding from the price at which they were sold, that they were cut by machinery, that is, by one of the ma- chines invented by either Odion or Reed in 1793. The first cut nails that I ever saw- about the year 1816 — cut by one of those ma- chines, were of a large size, and cost thirty cents a pound. I therefore take it for granted* that the modern nail cutting machine was in- vented about the year 1793, instead of in 1806, aB stated by Hazen ; but it is possible that I may be mistaken on this point after all , for there was a nail in the market called a cut nail long before 1793, but it was mostly made by hand. However this may be, Mr. Thorburn says plain enough that a nail cut- ting machine, which had destioyed the busi- 43 nees of the old nailers, bad just been invented when he arrived here, audcertainlj this must have been something entirely new to him, or he would not have noticed it. Henry Clay, in his great speeoh on the tariff in 1832, says " that but few nails of any description were made in the British colonies previous to 1750," and that at that time "near- ly half the iron manufactures exported to thi« country consisted of nails." Previous to tbe introduction of the nail cutting machines in- vented by Odion and Keedsome rude attempts at cutting nails partially by machinery had been made in this country. The process was something like the lullowing, which was a rather prosy kind of operation : The iron was first rolled into thio. plates, and then cut into narrow strips, corresponding with the length of the nail to be made, the same as at the present day. These strips of plate were then cut iDto wedge-like pieces by an instrument which acted on the principle of the shears, and these were aftewards headed, one by one, with a hammer in a vice." It is known that nails were made after this man- ner in Urge quantities at the Old Boonton works during the latter part of the last cen- tury and at the commencement of the pres- ent. To my own certain knowledge one Rob- ert Bowles, an Irishman of considerable in- telligence, but of dissipated habits, made nails of this kind at Old Boonton more than fi ty years ago. Mr. B jwles, according to his own story, was an intimate friend of the la- mented Emmet, and a leadiDg member of that secret revolutionary association styled the •* United Irishmen." He was a man of con- siderable wealth and influence in his own c mntry ; but, having associated himself with that revolutionary band, a hue and cry was raised against him, and for a time he was compelled to secrete himself in barns and out- houses until he could find means to escape from the country. I have often heard him relate the story, while discussing the merits of a mug of hard cider, that, having disposed of his property, he obtained a fine, fleet, high- bred charger, and a brace of horse pis- tols, and, with a bag well filled with guineas, he attempted to gain a seaport for the pur- pose of embarking for the United States ; how he started off one Gne morning on his venturesome j urney, and how he was hotly pursued by & couple of British dragoons, one of whom he shot ; but in trying to abstract the other pistol from his holster he lost his bag of golden guineas. The pursuit contin- ued for some distance further j but, possessing the fleeter animal of the two, he finally suc- ceeded in making his escape, with just about money enough in his pockets to pay his pas- sage to this country. He reached New York in safety, and soon after found his way out to Old Boonton, in which neighborhood he lived for ma»y years. The name of Gnorge P. McCulloch, Esq., the projector of the Morris canal, and conse- quently indirectly the founder of this village, deserves at least a passing notice in this dis- course. Mr. McCulloch was born in Bombay, East Indies, in the year 1775. During the years of his early manhood he was employed by Bonaparte in various financial negotia- tions for the East India Company. He came to New York in the year 18<><>, and soon after took up his permanent residence at M>rris town, in this county. He was a gentleman of wealth and education, was very benevolent in his disposition, and was engaged in most of the local enterprises of his day. He died at his own residence at Morristown June 1st, 1858, at the advanced age of 83 years. His children mairied and intermarried into the oldest and best families in the vicinity. The earliest settlement known to have been made upon lands now properly included with- in the limits of this village was about the year 170G. In that year David Ogden con- veyed to Christian Lowrer a tract of land containing 58 65-100 acres, and it is presumed that the old house still standing on this prop- erty was erected thereon shortly after. This tract of land is pleasantly situated on the western slope of Sheep Hill, and has long been known as the " old Lowrer place." It belongs at present to the heirs of the late Dauiel T. Peer, and probably will soon be brought into market for building lots. The farm long known as the " old Norway place," containing G5 60-100 acres, was con- veyed by Col. Ogden to Charles Norway, March 21th, 179-4. This tract joins the Lowrer tract on the southwest, and lies immediately ad- joining the line of the Boonton Iron Compa- ny's tract on the northwest. The life-right of Joseph Scott to this property is now vested in the heirs of the late John Iiighter, of Par- sippany. This, too, will no doubt soon be brought into market for building lots. 44 The plot of ground at Powerville, contain- ing 15 74-100 acres, now occupied, as it is supposed, by the Scott mansion and brick storehouse, was conveyed by Col. Ogden to Elias Van Winkle N»v. 14th, 1786. It be longs at present to the heirs of the late Capt. William Scott. Sheep Hill and the Tourne are both located on portions of the original Boonton tract. Sheep Hill was so named from the fact that some forty years ago a whole flock of sheep were massacred upon its top by dogs, all in one night. These hills — perhaps I should say mountains — both rise several hundred feet above the surrounding country, and from the Tourne in particular a very beautiful and extended view may be obtained. Standing upon its highest elevation, the spectator may survey at a glance nearly the whole of Mor- ris and parts of several other count. 68, and if he looks down upon tho far-extending plains and valleys which lie outspread before him he may trace with naked eye the various rivers and brooks which intersect with each other in every direction, which in appearance present to the view a groundwork of emerald interlaced with threads of silver. Indeed, I know of no other place in Morris county where a more charming and delightful, a more ro- mantic and sublime view may be obtained. The Great Boiling Spring, situated at the base of the hill, on the west bank of the Rockaway river, directly abreast of the iron works, is one of the largest of the kind in this section of country. It is a never failing fountain, and discharges an abundant supply of the purest and most pleasant drinking wa- ter for all comers ; indeed, the mcst so of any other similar spring in this region. In warm weather the workmen in the different mills and factories keep constantly in em pi oy a number of boys, who are engaged in bringing water from this famous spring into those places, where it is daily drank by the pailful. The water from this noble and ever bubbling fountain is certainly a more desirable and healthful beverage for the human stomach than the nauseous and lung-destroying rot- gut that is so freely dealt out with a willing hand by the keepers of the numerous grog- shops which are too thickly scattered around our beautiful village, and which is freely im bibed by too many of our otherwise respected and respectable fellow-citizens. My advice to all such topers and tipplers is, drop and discard the rotgut at once, and patronize more frequently the health-giving old Boil- ing Spring, where you may freely indulge in Nature's choicest and purest nectar to your heart's content — yea, even without money and without price. B ;ats on the Morris canal pass through this place on an inclined plane, which separates the village from the works. This plane is one of the two longest on this canal, being 800 feet in length, with a lilt of 80 feet, which elevates the boats from the plain be- low up to the level of the river above the Falls. The planes originally used on this canal were invented by Professor JiitneB Ren- wick, of Columbia College, New York city ; but most of those of his invention have been removed, and otherB of an entirely new and improved construction have been substituted in their place. The planes now in use on the Morris canal transfer two boatB at one trip from one level to another much more Bafely and speedily than tuose formerly employed did one. This canal was the first in all the world upon which this style of inclined planes was introduced for the purpose of transfer- ring boats over high elevations of ground from one level to another on dry land. And now it comes to my mind that one of the most interesting features of B >onton is the fact that a large maj >rity of its inhabit- ants have long resided here and dwell in their own houses ; and, further, that most of them have acquired the means for paying for them since they resided here. This fact alone ar- gues strongly in Livor of the industrious habits of our people, and of the solid and healthful business character of the place. Taking into consideration the mixed charac- ter of our population, there is not, perhaps, in the whole country another manufacturing village of its size that contains a better char- actered class of citizens generally than Boon- ton can boast of. On this point I will only add that, as a general thing, our Boontonians are very dressy, passably polite and moder- ately intelligent ; but, as regards temperance, there is yet a wide field open before us for improvement. But still, greatly the larger number of them may be set down as strictly temperate and honest — at least, about as much bo as our " modern improvements" will admit of. 45 I have now, I believe, introduced bsfore you about all the iacts and information that have come to my knowledge respecting the past and present history of Boonton and its suburbs. Although I have not been as suc- cessful in clearing up many of the seeming mysteries in our past history as I could have wished, still I flatter myself that 1 have suc- ceeded in tracing out many facts and much useful information which was in a lair way of soou bung irrevocably lost. This long record of 1'actB and incidents, rude and un- polished as it is, will, I trust, be of some avail to the future historian of Boonton when the time for writing a standard history of the place shall have arrived. Other interest- ing documents may possibly be brought to light at some not distant day which may en- lighten coming generations upon subjects which to us look dark and unintelligible ; but I greatly fear that much valuable and curious information respecting the first settlement of Old Boonton has already been buried in the grave of oblivion, too deep to hope that it will ever be disentombed an*, brought to the light of day. A few reflective and speculative remarks upoj the natural curiosities and physical ge- ography of this section of country, and I shall retire from the discustion of this sub ject forever. Having now, as I humbly con- ceive, established a starting point, from whence a future pursuit may be commenced, I leave the subject for some abler pen than mine to prosecute to a more satisfactory ter- mination. Tlie whole country in and around Boonton formB a fit theme for man's study and inves- tigation. All the hills and valleys in this re- gion bear certain unmistakable evidences of having undergone many great physical changes at some remote period in the world's history. All the great mountain ranges in this section run in lines nearly parallel to each other from east to west, and it requires but a small outlay of the imagination to pic- ture to the eye the time when all the deep valleys lying between these mountain ranges were submerged by the watery elements. From numerous evidences, which amount almost to demonstration, I am led to believe that the time was when all those valleys lying between the Hulson river and Brook- lyn pond were covered with water, forming a succession of large lakes, extending from the tide waters of the Atlantic to the highest mouutains in New Jersey. I feel quite con- fident in my own mind that the time was when the falls at this place were considera- bly lower down the river, and much more elevuted in their position than they are at the present time. I believe that at some indtii nitely remote period in times that are past the narrow passage way between tbe rocks through which the river now precipitates it- self into the valley below was firmly joined together by a solid embankment of earth and rocks, nearly on a level wi:h the hills on either side, thus damming back an immense body of water upon what is at present termed the Rockaway valley. Let any person whose mind is of a moderately philosophical turn post himself upon the high rock* just above the blast furnace, and, looking around him from his elevated position, let him determine differently if he can. A moment's examina- tion aid reflection will convince him at once that a great and wonderful change in the primitive physical formation of the dark, narrow, rocky gl«n that yawns beneath his feet has already taken place, and that things are not now as they were in the beginning. Now, admitting this supposition to have been true, how is the present appearance of things to be accounted for ? There can be but one sensible answer given to this ques- tion, and it is this : These old barriers must have been swept away by some mighty con- vulsion of nature, the exact time when no human wisdom can ever determine. My own theory of that grand and terrible event is this, and I submit it for j ust what it is worth, nothing more. The old barriers that dammed back the waters of the upper, and perhaps the greater lake, probably gave way first, and, precipitating its contents into the lesser lakes below, swept everything before them until they discharged themselves into the ocean. Hence we may account for the sudden drain- age of these ancient lakes and the establish- ment of our present water courses, most of which run from west to east, and which, after winding their zig-zig way through the narrow openings in the hills and mountains, [*Note.— The rock here alluded to Las since been cut down and transformed into bla urnace No. 2, to make room for the railroad track, ich now runs up to within a few feet of the.F llu.] 46 continue on over the plains uutil they finally all mingle with the waters of the Passaic at Paterson. Thus may we derive the origin of tbe water falls at Boonton, Little Falls and Paterson, all of which are fed by waters flow- ing from the same streams, all of which were, no doubt, produced by the same causes. The fact of a large log having been found tmbedled in the earth twenty feet below the present surface in the llockaway valley some seventy years ago confirms the supposition al- ready advanced — that a deep lake once existed there — is not a wild chimera of the brain and wholly unworthy of belief. The new science of geology, which is still in its infancy, may at some future day engage in the investiga- tion of this subject, when the trutb or falsity ol the position I have here assumed will be satisfactorily explained and determined. I have here thrown out these few rude sugges- tions upon a subject of which I profess to know little or nothing, mainly to furnish food for future thought, and for the purpose of engaging abler pens than mine in its discus- sion. The Fossil Fish Quarry, situated on the east b nk of the R >ckaway river, about half a mile below Old Boonton, is the most won- derful curiosity ever discovered in this sec- tion of country. The fishes found in this quarry lie in regular layers, firmly imbedded in ledges of slate stone formation, some ten or twelve feet below the present surface of the soil. They all lie upon their sides, and it requires great skill and patience to get them out whole and undefaced. The ledge of slate stone in which these fishes are found deposit- ed ranges from twelve to twenty incheB in thickness, and lieB nearly on a level with the bed of the river ; but I imagine that the fu- ture explorer will find them increase in thick- ness, and to penetrate downward as they re- cede from tbe river. What may be the ex- tent of these deposits it would be difficult to determine ; but they may, and probably do, extend for miles in every direction. The fishes thus far taken from this quarry have all been small, and mostly of the same species as those which now inhabit our streams ; but a few have been found which are supposed to have belonged to a race now entirely ex- tinct. Our State Geologist, with a gang of la borers, spent several days here a few years ago in disentombing these little wonders. He obtained many fine specimens, which he distributed among the public institutions of our countiy ; but he left the quarry in a shape that makes it almost impossible for others to get at them. I have myself assisted in taking out a few very fair specimens, and I can bear personal testimony to the fact that they are not easily obtained. I leave the question to the future geologist to determine how many millions of years have elapsed since they were deposited there. Mr. Nathan Hopkins, an intelligent gentle- man of th s village, has shown me a fine specimen of plumbago, which he found on the side of one of our Boonton hil s. Its weight is between two and three pounds, and its character is of the finest quality, being entirely free from all foreign substances. The same gentleman also exhibited to me a small cluster of petrified marine shells, which he lately picked up on the top of Sheep Hill. He styles this natural curiosity f a collection of marine shells of ant -dil avian formation " A great number of natural curiosities of dif- ferent kinds have been discovered in the limestone quarry at Montville, but I have not been able to obtain any reliable information relating to them. I have, however, now in my possession a small piece of petrified whitewood timber, which bears indubitable evidence of having been cleft with an ax or some other sharp instrument. This specimen was taken out of this quarry by mysel", from the solid limestone rock, full twelve feet below the surface of the top soil, and is as solid and hard as the rock itself. Recently, while dig- ging the cellar for Mr. Thomas Hodkins' new house in Main street, a iittle above Brook street, the workmen came across a rock of considerable size, which, on being unearthed, was easily broken into several pieces. In the seams and cavities of this rock several clus- ters of large clamshells were found imbed- ded. The spot upon which this rock was discovered must have been at least one hun- dred feet above the level of the river oppo- site, and the earth in which it was deposited was of a gravelly formation. The fact is, the face of the whole country around here bears strong indications of having, at some former time, undergone great physical change* in its formation. I have no doubt in" my own mind but that there are mines of mineral treasures of one kind and another imbedded 47 n tLe numerous hills in and around Boon- toD, and that the day is not distant when their now hidden treasures will be discovered and brought to light. [Note.— Since the foregoing was written several very rich and valuable mines of iron ore have been discovered in the immediate vicinity of Boon ton, which are now being worked with large pr. (Its to their lucky owners ] And now, my friends, in closing this pro- longed and exhaustive discourse, permit me to pay a passing tribute of respect to the memory of the humble and unpretentious founders of this beautiful and romantic vil- lage. Bcenton was first settled mostly by emigrants from foreign lands, men and wo- men of iron nerves, who forsook " home and native land," crossed the rolling billows of the stormy Atlantic and came here to build up for themselves and their children new homes in a strange land. Many of them came from the land of Shakespeare and Milton— some from the birthplace of Scott and Burns- others from the " Green Isle of the Ocean," a land rendered famous the world over by the eloquence of her Grattane, her Philllpses and her Currans. In the full vigor of their early manhood they packed up their little all and embarked upon their yet uncertain venture. Having bade a last farewell to kindred and friends, they turned their backs upon the land of their birth, the sunny homes of their infancy, and the " green graves of their sires;" and, "casting one last, long, linger- ing look behind them," they proceed on their voyage to the New World. Their main ob- ject in coming here was to better their world- ly condition, to act the part of men among men, to build up new homes for themselves and their children in the land of their adop- tion—not to barter away their native dignity and manhood in exohange for a royal smile. They had left home and country and all their natural endearments far behind them, and, like the Pilgrims of old, they tied here to es- cape the tyranny and persecutions of a gov- ernment whose policy it was to oppress in- stead of protect them. They came here full of hopeful expectations to enjoy life and that freedom of thought and action which had been denied them in their native country — not to become the slaves of new masters in a distant land. They came here to found a new village in the wilds of America, and rear up their children to become intelligent men and women in this free and happy land — not to ravage and destroy the homes of their neighbors. Having escaped the dangers at- tendant upon a long voyage across the ocean, they arrived here in safety, and greatly as- sisted in laying the foundations of this now thriving village. And may we not now in- dulge the fond hope that those of our chil dren who are " natives of the soil and to the manor born" may appreciate their honorable position, and feel proud in styling themselves American citizens ? Whenever I traverse the streets of this now populous village, whenever I look around upon this respected audience, I look in vain for the old familiar forms and faces of 1834, for but few of them now are anywhere visi- ble. And this sad fact alone reminds me very forcibly that one generation of our ancestors have already passed away— " Bach in his narrow cell forever laid, The rude forelathers of the humlet sleep.'' The graves of some of them now dot the sloping hillsides of our beautiful rural village cemetery ; others have wandered off, no one knows whither, to die among strangers in distant lands. Like the " sear and yellow leaves" of the autumnal forest, they have fallen to the ground and disappeared forever. Another generation has already succeeded them, and now fill the places which they once filled ; but let it always be borne in mind that we owe to our hardy and frugal ances- tors that debt of love and gratitude which is always justly due to the memory of all first settlers. They felled the old primeval forests, cleared away the unsightly rocks and rub- bish, and made smooth and pleasant the ver- dant hillsides upon which we now dwell. They laid firm and deep the foundation stones of our present prosperity ; it remains for us to complete the superstructure, and for our children to place the capstone upon the tow- ering edifice of our future city of Boonton. Compared with their hard lot we may h tru!y say that our lines have fallen upon sweet and pleasant places, for we are now just begin *ning to enjoy the first ripe fruits of their toil and unwearied perseverance. In our head- long pursuit ht'er " something new " we are too apt to forget the instructive lessons taught us by the past ; but, let what will come, the memo.y of our brave old pioneers must not be forgotten. 48 And 3 here let ua pause for a moment to muse and moralize upon the frailty and un- certainty of all human things. It has been truly said that there is no such thing as a standstill in nature. The events and transac- tions of the present will soon become themes for the discussion of the future historian. God alone is immortal and immutable ; every- thing else in nature, whether animate or in- animate, is liable to change and perish. Like the ever-surging waves of ocean, one genera- tion succeeds another ; and king and beggar alike sink down together into the bosom of their common mother, Earth, and are soon lorgotten. The very ground beneath our feet is instinct with the dust of those who once lived and loved and struggled through the world in pursuit of fame and fortune ; and with us, too, " life's fitful fever will soon be over." The most delicate and highly per- fumed flowers bloom and blossom but for a day, and the lordliest oak of the forest bends and falls before the desolating march of the unchained winds. The loveliest and most loved, the most gifted and cherished of hu- man beings, oft sink into an early grave, leaving an " aching void" in many a warm, gushing heart which no other loved being can ever fill. Age, with its blight and mil- dew, soon robs youth of its wonted vigor and elasticity, and dims and wrinkles the flushed brow of beauty. The man of mightiest in- tellect, whose giant mind has directed the course of empire, and whose name is lisped by every tongue, dies, and the order-bespan- gled hero of an hundred battle fields, after having hewn his way to fame and fortune at the cannon's mouth, at last sinks down into the tomb, leaving only a name behind him. The tongue of impassioned eloquence, upon whose inspiring accents entranced millions have so oft enraptured hung, soon loses its power to charm and delight mankind ; and even " Poets themselves mast fall like those they sint?." The most valued and admired works of gen- ius and art soon lose their original freshness and beauty, and the most solid and durable of human structures soon gray with age, and crumble into dust and nothingness. Nations, also, like individuals, have their rise and fall, and having performed the part allotted them in the great drama of the world's history they, too, disappear from the stage of human action forever. " The wheels of Time roll swiftly on, 'Tie coming and 'tis past ; This glorious day will soon be gone, And life is fketing fast." Of all the unnumbered millions of human beings who lived and breathed and made this beautiful world their home at the time of the first settlement of this romantic village, how very few now remain. We, too, shall die and be gathered to our fathers ; but, though we know that our bodies are destined to die and perish, we would like to have our memories live. Let us, then, as we hope to have our own names honored and remembered by our posterity, endeavor to cherish and perpetuate the memory of those brave old pioneers who penetrated the dark defiles of the forest, and laid deep the foundation stones of this now beautiful and flourishing village. And let us also unite together in pushing on the column of right and justice, of patriotism and civili- zation, and so perform the duties allotted us in our day and generation that our children may not be ashamed to stand up boldly in the presence of coming cen turies and justify the acts and deeds performed in their good old forefathers' day. APPENDIX. The following boinespun song, inanufac tured expressly for the occasion, was sung by tbe writer in bis exceedingly fascinating style immediately after tbe delivery of this discourse in 185!) ; and be is pretty strongly impressed witb tbe belief tbat be is about the only person on tbe face of tbe earth who could sing at all : BOONTON'S BOUND TO GO AHEAD ! PART FIRiT. A BRAN NEW LOCAL SONG. [To be said or sung to any tuue that suns it, for this night ouly.J Some one and thirty years or so ago, By skillful engineering onward led. The "old pioneers" began to blast and blow, And 9iug tLe good old tune— Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 2. They dug and delved among the rocks, And felled the tall old forest trees ; The wolves and panthers quickly fled Ab tbe shout still rose upon the breeze — Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 3. With zeal they plied the as. and spade, And soon aruoDg the trees an opening made ; The millwrights then began to hew and plane, And shout and sins with m'ght and main— Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 4. And now the work goes bravely on ; The village, too, begins to grow and spread. At length the Stati>i«nill completed stands, And LIU and vallej now proclaim - Boonton's bound togo ahead! Tbe old Rockaway, dam'd above the Falls, Kolls down the canal 'in d loud applause ; The impatient wheels salute the rapid stream, And, whirling round with rapture, scream— B jonton's bound to g > ahead ! The forges now with fiery lustre glow ; The rolls and hammers all begin 10 go ; The sturdy workmen, too, are there, I trow, And all the furnaces begin to puff and blow— Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 7. And now springs up the " tapering spire," Aud many strange and curious isms dire. ; But no great harm can e'er belall us While the old schoolhouse stands to tell us— Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 8. But all old things have pissed away, And "something new's" now the order of tbe day ; But while the "Union*" brags and the " Empire*" blows, And " old Liberty Hall" remains free to her foes— Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 9. The " United States" too's now In the held, With its " creature comforts" not a lew ; And, while its massive walls protection yield. And its " old wines " remain bo petter ash netv— Boonton's bound to go ah*ad ! 10. Messrs. Fuller and Lord now reign supreme, With Mr. Go-ahead Lathrop, who's a " whole team," And, with their enterprise and steam And our present railroad prospects— Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 11. Soon you'll hear the snorting locomotive Thundering along its iron road : Then will come the New York millionaire, Aud join us round the festive board— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 50 12. Then all our verdant hills and valleys With splendid country seats will shine ; Oar streets with fine equipages will glitter, And our sidewalks with rustling hoops and crino- line— For Boonton's bound to go ahead 1 13. "Sheep Hill '' will then contain our City Hall, And politicians, hard and soft, will thither call ; While on the " Tourne" will stand a noble college pile, And load along its halls will ring the students' cry— Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 14. Great patriots then like bees will swarm, All anxious their dear country to " serve some ;" But, though they may each other harm, They can't dissolve this "great and gloi ions Union" — For Uncle Sam's bound to go ahead ! 15. And when we have reared our City Hill, And have our Aldermen and Council chamber. Who knoivs but this child may have a loud call To act the part of flr>-t Lord Mayor— For Boonton's bound to go ahead 1 16. And when Boonton county obtains a charter, And Mornstown becomes a Boonton suburb, Then we'll begin to trade and barter, And give " Old Gotham" itself a hard rub— For Boonton's bound to go ahead 1 17. And should old Johnny Bull again come o'er the seas, Our wives aod Yankee rights to plunder. We'll send our valiant Captain Bishop and his " N. G.s," With orders to give him a little particular thunder- Fox Boonton's bound to go ahead 1 18. " Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast," And so hath the ' Boonton Temperance Band ;" Nearly all the State it's had a call to play for, And when '-not at home" they gladly accept the "Ex- celsior"— For both are bound to go ahead ! 19. New Jersey now commands the highway peace Between the haughty States of York and Penu ; And, it they do not soon their bragging cease. From crossing our State we'll sure be stopping them— For Little Jersey's bound to go ahead ! 20. Our little State, in its own affairs, is well schooled, And that's the reason why our sister States all bate us ; But when they find that we by them can be no longer fooled, They'll then be glad enough to again United Slates' us— For Boonton's bound to go ahead 1 21. We then shall have our banks and money changers— Our " Peter Funks" and " Bulls and Bears ;" Likewise our "brown stone fronts" and " penny pa- peis"— Our splendid theatres and lots of "city fairs"— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 22 And when our city cousins come out to cut their pranks, And make us long and pleasant calls, We'll take them to our splendid Fossil Fishing Banks, And serenade them nightly with the music of our dashing Falls— For Buonton's bjund to go ahead ! 23. Our future motto, then, shall Onward ! onward ! be. Spread tar and wide the great and glorious news ; And by our enterprise we'll let our neighbors see Tlut we well deserve the name ot ' Jersey Blues"— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 24. Ho ! then, ye solemn, snarling, eauting croakers ! Go hide your " small, diminished heads ;" For, when we are dead and in our graves Our children will rise up and bless us with their praise— For Boonton's bound to go ahead 1 25. And now a health to our good old mother, Boone- Town, And to the memory of Ogden and McCulloch ; And three times three to the venerable old mansion Whose ancient roof once sheltered the head of Wash- ington— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 2G. And now, my loving friends aud neighbors, Remember the debt we all owe to the cause 0! right ; And, having finished now my present labors, I wish you one and all a "very good night"— For Boonton's bound to go ahead I 27. May all your coming dreauas be sweet aud pleasant, And your mture pathway bloom with flowers; May health and happiness with us be ever present, And peace and plenty be the lot of us aid ours— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 2S. I've finished now my long and homely ditty ; So let the co >1 aud sparkling bowl move round. Here's a health to our future Boontun City, And to oar lamous old Brooklyn Pond— For both are und to go ahead I 29. And now I've sung my song aud said my say. And don't you think ' There's a good time coming, boys?" Then " hurry up the cakes" and clear the way, For we're the boys who fear no noise— F.>r Boonton's bound to go ahead 1 51 [*The names of two rival stores— the one bragging and the other blowing about their cheap goods.] The following right lively Bong, manufac- tured by the same machine, was sung by the same aoDgster in his charming and inimita- ble manner at the close of ibis discourse as delivered in 1867 ; and, as it was sung as no other man can sing it, he Hatters himself tliat everybody was pleased and captivated by his unequaled performance : BOONTON'S BOUND TO GO AHEAD ! TART SECOND. A SPAN BRAN NEW LOCAL COMIC SONG. To be said or snng to the tune of "Here She Goes and There She Goes"— with variations— on this particular occasion only. I. And now our brave old pioneers have passed forever away. May their names and fame endure forever more ! St , In three divisions now march up to pay our soldiers bounty ; And, blow and bluster as we will, surely that same Or some other magic power will soon give us a new county — For Boonton county's bound to go ahead ! 4. And now we have our long-desired town incorpora- tion ; (2) It is a stubborn, sterling fact— deny it if you can— And Boonton town will soon becom'e a midway sta- tion On the coming railroad from England to Japan— For Boonton's bound to go ahead 1 5. Our good old corporation " fathers" (?>) now are sail- ing hi^h, Their heads wtll filled with nove : s and romances; And ye gods, how our marshals make the rowdi s flyl And both man and beast obey our corporation ordi- nances— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 6. Fast hold they seize upon our naughty swimmer bojs (4), And gobble up our drunken, in°ane brawlers ; And should you stop along our stieets to gaze or gos- sip, (5) Ten to one you'll find youiself safe in our corporation lock-u — For Boonton's bound to go ahead I 7. Our watchful marshals, too, a terror are to all evil- doers, And, though tbey f port no glittering stars or crosses, They seize and fine alike both great and small mls- rioers, And seldom let escape cur furious riders (6) of fast horses— For Boonton's bound to go ahead I 8. And our new commissioner of streets, as I've been told— So runs the startling rnmor round the town- lias pledged himself to pave our streets with solid gold! Believe it— if you are green ; but, if you do, you'll euiely be done Brown— (~) For Boonton's bound to go ahead 1 9. Too long knowing ones have kept us in the dark ; But now we know we soon shall have our model Boonton park ; And, when our daily toil and task is done, We'll hie across the river and enjoy a little fun— For Boonton's bound to so ahead ! 10. The park ! the park ! All hail our splendid Ogden park (8) ! Tis there we'll spend our holidays and have a jolly lark. 'Tis there we'll dance and sirg and have a merry rout, And no old gouty millionaire shall dare to drive us out— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 11. And,ob, I wish I had a pocket full of California rocks ! Or any other kind of stocks, the payment of which I might rely on. I'd haste and buy me one of our new park lots. And open one very fast Le Grand Hotel de Lyon— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 12. And now another wondrous change hath come— The battle for the Union has been fought and won. The great rebellion's dead and in its gory grave, And Recession 'e standard bark hath sunk beneath the Union wave- But Boonton goes ahead 1 52 13. And now lei's build the soldiers' monument. In grateful memory ol the brave and true ; Then bear a willing hand, and sure you'll not re- pent This monument to the memory of " our boys in blue"— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 14. Our heroes dead ! to them rear high the marine shrine ! Nor in the good work let your kindly efforts lag ; For, In their early, hopeful manhood's prime, They nobly rallied round the " good old flag"— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 15. Our country, too ! May she once more united stand, And peace and harmony with us again abide ! God bless and prosper this our native land ; But woe betide the man who would consent to " let the TJi ion slide"— For Boonton's bound to go ahtad ! 16. 'Tis true I might prolong this lively comic song Until your tea and toast gets cold and gritty ; But I luar our railroad (9) goug ringiug its last ding- dong. And I am off from Boonton town to New York city— For our Boonton Branch is bound to go ahead ! 17. And there, among the rich old Bulls and Bears, With the growing beauties of om park their ears I'll stun; And publish far and wide among the gay old million- aires, And they will come ; and still the cry will be, " They come !"— And then our Ogden park will go ahead ! 18. We then shall have our specie-paying bank sand board of brokers. And our good old town and park with Eden tints will bloom. Away then, " up Salt river," with all our discontented croakers (10), And for for our coming solid men make room— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 19. And now the iron horse comes snorting o'er the dis. tant plains ; And, lo ! it nearer comes, loud welcomed by the peo- ple's cheer ! By Jove I 'tis one of the long-expected California trains, And on it comes John Chinaman, with us to drink a glass of lager-bier— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 20. Then don't be afraid ! Take all the greenbacks you can borrow or steal, And invest them in Boonton chattels, either personal or real. For mv prediction is— and I wish you well to mark it- No discount will there be on Boonton stocks In this or any other market— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 21. Where now is Mrs. Grundy, with all her odd whims and fancies ? And where on earth is Chapman f Why in thunder don't he crow ? And where are all our addle-brained Ml-s Nancys, With their sage prognostics of " And didn't 1 told yon so ?" — For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 22. And now three minutes more I have of town clock time, And thiee rude verses more to shape and form. Attention, then, along the good old Union line, And cheerfully your several parts perform— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 23. Ho, then, ye sturdy iron-working men of Boonton ! Blow all your fiery furnaces both loud and shrill ! For, surely, If you retain your present powers of lo- comotion, You will live to see our future " city on a hill " For Boonton's bound to go ahrad ! (11)— 24. And, should you live to see that sight of sights, And hear the little ones with " Grandpa! ' make the parlors ring, It will cheer your heart of hearts to tell them of this night of nights. When you heard the old prophet spout and sing— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! 25. And now I've told yon all I'd like to have you know, And more, in fact, than I agreed to tell. Then all that remains for m; to do before I rom you go Is to tbank you for your kindly greeting and bid you all larewell— For Boonton's bound to go ahead ! NOTES ON SONG— rART SECOND. 1. Peqnannock township ; lately divided inlo three parts for political purposes. 2. Town of Boonton ; chartered last Winter (1867) against the wishes ol a majority of the people. 3. Trustees of the town of Boonton ; have passed some very childish ordinances. 4. Refers to boys arrested (or swimming in the Morris canal, contrary to a town ordina ce. 5. Refers to an ordinance prohioiting persons from congregating on the corners of streets to gossip. 6. Two of our young bloods, arrested and fined for riding faster than the law allows. 7. Peter H. Brown, commissioner of streets, and a great blower. 8. Suggested in honor ol the memory ol David Og- den, the first known owner of the Boonton tract. 9. Boonton Branch of Morris & Essex railroad ; commenced running September 5th, 1867. 53 10. Refers to persons who sneered at the piedic- tlons made in 1859. 11. The "city ou a hill" is now on exhibition for any one who wishes to see It, it having come a little sooner than was expected. FIRST PUINTING 1'HESS IN BOONTON. About the year 1839 our venerable towns- man, Dr. John Grimes, had constructed, upon his own premises (corner of Main and Lib- erty streets), aDd under his own personal su- pervision, the first printing press ever intro- duced into Boonton. The press was small in dimensions, and of rude workmanship — intended mainly for the printing of his own cards and labels. It worked well, and upon it he turned out some very fair specimens of printing in a small way — such as cards, la- bels, billheads and handbills. Everything turned out from this press was set up and printed by his own hands. And here let it be recorded that this was the first perma- nently established printing press in Morris county outside of Morristown. FIRST BOOK PRINTED IN BOONTON. I copy the following from a card attached to a copy of this book at the time it was pre- sented to me by the Doctor in person : " A Great Curiosity !— This Pamphlet is the very first thing of any length ever printed in Boonton. It was printed on a small hand Press, wholly and in every part, by Doctor John Grimes himself. It was published in his own house, oh a Press constructed upon his own premises— mostly by himself— at the time oi its date, 1840. It is now very scarce indeed, only a lew copies haviug been printed. Presented to me by the Doctor himself, Nov. 1st, 1867. N. B.— Let it be carefully preserved for the edification of posterity. I. t>. Lyon." The pamphlet here alluded to contains forty- eight duodecimo pages, and is entitled "Eight and Wrong in Boonton, No. 1." The sub- stance of this pamphlet consists of the report of a committee appointed at " a meeting of Abolitionists, held at the house of Mr. Con- dit on the 14th of March, 1840." The report itself bears date May 24, 1840, and it was printed shortly after. There was considera- ble trouble here at that time between the church people and the Abolitionists, and many hard blows were given and received on both Bides. This pamphlet is very fairly and correctly printed, and is the only publication of equal length that has ever been published in Morris county outside of Morristown up to this date, 1872. FIRST NEWSPAPER PRINTED IN BOONTON. I have a file of this publication now lying before me. It is entitled " The New Jersey Freeman." In size its dimensions are 11x15 inches — published monthly by John (» rimes, Boonton, Morris county, New Jersey. Terms, single copies 25 cents per annum." The first number bears date June, 1844, and the last March, I8o0, being fifty-two numbers in all, and all that were ever published. These pa pers were published on an entirely new press, of considerably larger dimensions than the first, which was also constructed upon his premises under the superintendence of the Doctor. I transcribe the following explana- tory card, placed in the volume at the time it came into my possession. The volume is neatly bound and lettered and in good condi- tion : "This is the greatest and most valuable literary cu- riosity appertaiuii g to the history of the town ol Boonton This Volume of Newspapers, entitled " The New Jersey Freeman," contains a copy of the first, last, and all the newspapers that have been published in Boonton up to this date, 1867— fifty-two numbers in all. The " Freeman" was published month'y during a period ol portions oi six years, commencing in 1814 and ei diug in 1S50. It was edited and published from beginning to end by Doctor John Grimes him- eelt, assisted occasionally by his son Malcolm L., a lad s mc 12 or 15 years of age ; and printed on a Press mostly of his own construction — he h iving a large and extensive practice as a physician during the whole time. It was published and circulated al- most wholly at the Doctor's expense— a copy of every number of which is contained in this volume. I lcok upon this volume as the most valuable literary relic that Boonton can ever pofsoss. The D ctor as- sures me that there are not above five full and com- plete copies of this publication in existence at the present time. Presented to me this day, November 1st, 1837, as a very special favor, by Doctor Grimes himself, under the pledge that I would do everything in my power to transmit it down to the latest po«- terity ; and I herewith solemnly enjoin it upon those who shall come after mc to see to it that my pledge to the Doctor is laithfully lulfillcd. I. S. Lyon " As would naturally be inferred, the " Free- man" was an anti-slavery publication through- out, always firm and unyielding, but never abusive. In a recent conversation with the old Doctor (December, 1872) he informed me that both the presses here referred to are still in his possession, but not in working or- der. THE BOONTON "WEEKLY BULLETIN." December 8th, 1870. — The first number of the " Weekly Bulletin" made its appearance here to-day — Neal & Co., publishers, and Rev. R, B. Yard, associate editor. This number 54 was published at Washington, N. J., but it ia expected that a press will be established here shortly. This is the second attempt made to establish a newspaper in Boonton. March 3d, 1871 —This day the " Weekly Bulletin" was printed in Boonton for the first time. A few weeks later it made its appear- ance witli the imprint " A. A. Neal, Editor and Proprietor." It thus continued with waning success until August, 1872, when it passed into other hands, not, however, until its publication had betn suspended for a few weeks. August IJOth, 1872 —To-day the " Bulletin" ayain made its appearance in a new dress, and somewhat enlarged, under the manage- ment of Dawson & Garrison, publishers — S. L. Garrison, editor. Under the new manage- ment the paper has been greatly improved, and it is now on the high road to prosperity and success. It is Republican in politics, and is tolerably well patronized. LATE ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS. In Part Third of this discourse—" The Fu- ture of Boonton" — as written and delivered in 1859, it was predicted by the writer that many great and important additions and improve- ments would take place here within the next fifteen years — or, in other words, tha^ " Boon- ton was bound to go ahead !" From my diary of noticeable events occurring in Boon- ton I transcribe a few of the more important of them, with such comments thereon as may seem necessary to their full identification. If useful for no other purpose they will assist our posterity in comprehending the doings of our times : May 12th, I860.— The new Presbyt rian church of Boonton was dedicated this day. It stands upon the same lot that the old one did. Cost, $7,000. This church has been greatly enlarged and improved since that time. July 15th, I860.— John Hill's new " Empiro Branch" store, corner ot Brook aid Ceda'- streets, opened this day with " cheap goods." Sept. 16th, 1800.— The corner-stone of the new Cath- olic church was laid to-day. Oct. 10th, 1860.— The " Boonton Protective Union" commenced doing business in their new store (corner ol Brook and Birch streets) this day. They have one of the largest aud best arranged stores in Morris county. This association has long since been dis- solved. 1861.— The bridge across the pond above the Falls was built during the Autumn of this yeur. It is generally known ae the ''New Biloge," and cost about $1,600. March 9tb, 1863.— The " Mechanics' Library Asso- ciation of Boouton" was organized at Washington Hall this evening. The following are the names of the officers ot the association elected for the ensuing year: Wm. G. Laihrop, President; Edwiu Bishop, Vice President; Francis D. Canficld, Corresponding Secretary ; Henry C. Jenkins, Recording Secretary ; David C. Ely, Treasurer ; George W. Es-len, Samuel C. Looker and John Woolton, Standing Committee ; Isaac S. Lvon. Lewis Estler and James S. Norris, Library Committee. This association commenced with seventy-live members, and soon after increased to one hundred and ten, aud yet it died even in its infancy. Yes ; it died from the want of proper at- tention and nourishment before it was two years old. July 8th, 1863.— The corner-stone of St. John's church (Episcoral) was laid this day. Oct. 13th, I860.— St. John's church was dedicated at 10 o'clock this morning with quite imposing cere- monies. Bishop Odenheimer, of New Jersey, and quite a number of other clergymen were present. The main building of this church is 24x58 lect, with two wings on the rear, which leaves it in the form of a cross. The total cost of church and fixtures foots up about $3,500— Kev. Francis D. Canfield, pastor. Dec. 21st i863 — Sieain was first used as a motive power at the Boonton Works at about this date. The engine Is located at the northerly co ner 01 the roll- ing-mill, and drives the lans to the puddling and heating furnaces. Feb. 22d, 1866.— This day ground was first broken on the "Boonton Branch" of the Mo.ris & E-eex railroad at Eenville. Sept. 5th, 1 867. —The cars on the "Boonton Branch" of the Morris & Essex railroad, carrying passengers and the mails, made their first trip from here this morning at 6:45 for New York. Sept. 19th, 1867.— The first coal train on the "Boon- ton Branch" came in this morLlng and landed their coals near the trestle-work bridge, south Oi the roll- ing mill. Nov. 22J, 1867.— A locomotive on the "Boonton Branch" came up to and past the blast furnace, up to within a few feet of the Falls, for the first time to- day. Dec. 8th, 1867.— Public services of the Dutch Re- formed church were held for the first time in Boontou at Washington Hall at 3 o'clock P. M. to-day, Rev. Mr. Conkting and Rev. Mr. DeBann, of Montville, of- ficiating. 1867.— The "Town of Boonton" was incorporate.) by an act of the legislature of New Jersey during the Winter ot this year, contrary to the wishes of a mnjority ol its inhabitants. During the session of the last Legislature (Spring of 1872) our " town" was supplemented into a "city" without consulting our people, and before scarcely any one Of us knew that such a thing was in contemplation. 1867.— The first house in our new park— that of George Fuller, Esq.— was erected duriDg this year. 1867-'63 — The bridge across the Rockaway river, below the iron works, was built during these yeais at a cost of over $1,000. 1867-'68. -Blast lurnace No. 2, 16 leet in the bosh, was erected during these years. No. 1, 14 feet in the bosh, was built in the year 1848. This latter named Inrnaoe has run a blast of 260 weeks, being the long- est blast on record. A powerlut steam engine, lo cated between these furnaces, now furnishes sulli- cient blast lor both. By nuans ol a branch railroad track cars now damp materials for the nse of these tuniacee directly at their base. These two furnaces make use of 100 tone of coal, 130 tons of ore, and large quantities of limestone, every twenty-lour limns, and turn out about 450 tons of pig iron every week. August 15th, 1S68.— The corner-stone of the new Metuodist church in Main street was laid tins day ; size ol church, 52x90 feet. 1868.— The Dutch Reformed church, located In Washington street ; the new machine shop, located on the site of the old one, and the second large iron wheel in the rolling-mill, were all built this year. 1861).— The Boonton Iron Company's new cement warehouse, located a little below the upper nail lac- lory, was built this year. This building is 70x100 lest, five stories in height, with Mansard roof, all constructed of the be6t materials and in the most substantial mauner,.with a capacity lor storing 1,00 000 kegs of nails, erected at a cost of $25,000. lS69-'70.— The Boonton, Paterson & New York Branch of the Morris & Essex railroad was construct- ed daring these years. One of the predictions made by the writer in 1859 was that within the next lineen years we should have a direct railroad communica- tion with New York, by which pissengers from boon- ton would reach that city in one hour's time, but he was only laughed at for his folly. The last time 1 was down to New York I came up an thj express train ol the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western rail- road, lrom depot to depot, in juBt one hour to a minute, including a st oppage of three minutes at the mouth of the tunnel, and two at Paterson, the run- ning time being only 55 minutes. Kept, loth, 1870.— Coal trains commenced running on the new railroad lrom Buontou, via Paterson to New York at abi>ut this date. Nov. 2lst, 1870.— The bridge across the Rockaway river, above the dam, rebuilt and completed this day. It stands four leet higher than the old one, and cost about $2,900. Dec. 14th, 1^70.— Passenger curs commenced run- ning on the new Kranch railroad, via Paterson, to New York to-diy. March 6th. 1S71 —The nuiils were Irasporled o\er the new Branch railroad lor the Urst time to-day. " MODKKN IMPROVEMENTS." At the time this discourse was first written (1859) the village of Boonton was confined al- most wholly to the original purchase of the Boonton Iron Company. At that time the only bridge across the Rockaway river be- tween Powerville and Old Boonton was an oldricketty foot-bridge leading from the roll- ing-mill to the Boiling Spring. That portion of our city lying on the west side of the river, now styled the " Park," was then lit- erally a dense and howling wilderness, al- most impenetrable to man or beast. Now (January 1st, 1«7:J) the river is spauned by two railroad bridges, three road bridges and one elegant new lout bridge. The " wilder- ness" is now penetrated by numerous well- graded streets aud avenues, several of which are occupied by the splendid private resi- dences of our most wealthy and 'ashionahla citizens. But these are not all the improve- ments that have been made. The Hawkins place (on the west side of the river), the Lowrer place, the Peer farm, the Cookerow farm, and a portion of the Jacobus property, have been transformed into building lots, and hundreds of fine new buildings have been erected thereon, and the end is not yet come. BUSINESS STATISTICS, JANUARY 1ST, 1H73. Population, 3,500 ; dwelling houses, about 700 ; families, about 775 ; churches, 5 ; stores, '-':; ; shops of various kinds, 8 ; drug stores, i' ; shoe stores, 4 ; clothiers, 4 ; stove and tin- ware, 2 ; watches and jewelry, 2 ; hardware, 1 ; hats and furs, 1 ; butchers, 6 ; bakers, 3 ; barbers, 2 ; paints, 2 ; news offices, 1 ; milk- men, 3 ; hotels, 1 ; oyster saloons, 3 ; licensed beer saloons, 10 ; doctors, 5 ; dentists, 1 ; pho- tographers, 1 ; lawyers, none— several of them have attempted to establish themselves here, but they have all departed. We have a telegraph office, a printing office, numerous passenger trains on railroads running in every direction, and all the other fixtures of a first-class city. Twelve mails are now han- dled in our post office every day — six arrivals and six departures. The Boonton Company now work 12 double puddling furnaces, 11 heating furnaces, G trains of rolls, 4 nut ma chines, 2 bolt machines, 2 washer machines and 138 nail inachiues, which turn out 100 kegs of nails per hour. The title of the li , m is Fuller, Lord & Co., composed of the execu- tors of 1). 15. Fuller and J. C. Lord, deceased ; George Fuller, Esq., general superintendent! and Win. (J. Lathrop, Eeq., agent. CITY GOVERNMENT. Wm. Q. Lathrop, K-hj., Mayoi ; Edwin C. Bloxliam, Uiles H. Mauderville, Nathan L. Briggs, Charles F. Hopkins, Wm. Grubb, Archibald 1). Ureen and Wm. E. Davenport, Councilmen ; E. C. Bloxhana, President ol the Board ; E. C. Bloxham, Police Justice; N. S. Vanduyue, Clerk ; John Juries, Superintend- ent of Streets ; A. J. Kosse, Surveyor; Giles Ptomine, Marshal, and Charles Myers, Assist- ant Marshal. 56 BOONTON CORNET BAND. George Hessey, leader ; Jolin Green, Wm. Buchanan, Joseph Parker, John Kirkpatrick, Horace Bell, Squire Gage, Wm. Oliver, Geo. Jones, Samuel Kirkpatrick and J. M. Smith. OLD BOONTON ONCE MORE. During the last half-dozen years several trashy articles have been going the rounds of the newspaper press predicated upon facts swindled from this discourse under false pre- tences by a parcel of brainless literary Bohe- mians, whose souls are more diminutive than a sneak thief s. The false deductions drawn from these facts are well calculated to de- ceive and mislead an unthinking public, aud I feel that it is my duty to expose them now and here. I Belect a few of them, which are to the following effect : That " Colonel Ogden owned Old Boonton and the surround- ing country by inheritance ;" that " Colonel 0>fden built a nail-mill there in 1770," in which he manufactured nails in " large quan- tities ;" that these nails were " sawed out of plates, which were previously saw- d out of bars ;" that a " detachment of soldiers were sent there" to ferret out and break up the mill ; that " you can read on the headstones such ' dates as 1737," and that the writer of this discourse has " letters in his possession bearing the postmark Boonetown, 1797." Now, all this senseless twaddle about Col. Ogden and Old Boonton is sheer romance- perfect bosh— indeed, only such stuff as dreams are made of. The Old Boonton property was given to Col. Ogden by his father many years before his death. The " nail-mill" said to have been built by Col. Og- den at Old Boonton in 1770 was a slitting-mill for making, not nails, but nail rods. It would seem that these " learned Thebans " don't know the difference between a slitting- mill and a nail factory, or between a nail and a nail rod. I am of the opinion that there were no nails made at Old Boonton until alter the year 1790 for this and other reasons : In his advertisement, published in the New York Packet in 1785, Col. Ogden makes no mention whatever of nails of any kind, which, I think, he would have done provided he had a nail lactory of his own making them in " large quantities." And that these nails should have been " sawed out of iron bars" seems quite funny to our modern nailers. I have now in my possession a specimen of the nails made at Old Boonton about Beventy years ago, but they don't look a bit aB though they had been sawed out. As to the foo-foo story about the "detachment of soldiers" sent to Old Boonton to pry out the secrets of the place, there is not a particle of truth in it. It is not on any authentic record of Amer- ican history that a British soldier ever trod the soil of Old Boonton at any time or upon any occasion. That " you can read on the headstones such dates as 1737" is not possi- ble, for there is but one such stone there, and that bears date 1782. The letters " bearing the postmark Boonetown, 1797," exist only in the dazed imaginations of these wilfully mis- representing Bohemians. " Fictions to please should wear the face of truth." But these do not, so let them pass. VALEDICTORY REMARKS. And now, my friends, let me say to you, in conclusion, don't be afraid to invest your sur- plus greenbacks in Boonton property. The iron and nail making business is now too deeply rooted here to be up-torn by any ordi- nary convulsions of trade or commerce. We shall, no doubt, witness our ups and downs of prosperity and adversity the same as other places do : but when the wheels of the Boon- ton Iron Company stand still you will look in vain for bustle and activity elsewhere. Capi- tal, skill, enterprise and foresight are all busily at work for our good. Let us, then, have faith and confidence in the management of the " powers that be," and the " good works" will follow as a matter of courBe. The " City of Boonton" and its suburbs now afford one of the most healthful and delightful Summer resorts to be found anywliere in the State of New Jersey ; and the time is not far distant when the wealthy inhabitants of our neighboring cities will find it out. Our new park, containing over two hundred acres, will furnish elegant and commodious building sites for at least two hundred magnificent country seats, and the time will soon come when they will be occupied for such purposes. Yes ; the New Yorkers, with their fast horses and long purses, will come, and they will dig down, and they will build up, and go on beau tifying our craggy old hillsides until they shall bloom and blossom with all the living splendors of a new Edan. We will then kick poor old sleepy-headed Morriatown out 57 of our path and go on our way rejoicing ; and we are bound to do it, too, if we don't burst our boilers in the attempt. Then don't be afraid to invest your surplus greenbacks in local enterprises, for there will be no dis- count on Boonton stocks in this or any other market. The future of Boonton is now se- cured, for she can't go back upon herself if the would. An i now, my friends, let us keep cool and not get frightened at any of our advanced movements. The enterprising spirit of our old mother, Old Boone-Town, " still lives" in the eoul of her blooming, go-ahead daughter, Boonton. Then don't be afraid. All that we have to do is to stand firm and erect, hold up our heads and keep off the track when the locomotive " Young America" comes dashing into our midst. All that I have ever pre- dicted, and a great deal more that I dare not talk about at the present times, will most ae- suredly take place beforo the year nineteen hundred shall have rolled round. Many of you will yet live to see the day when the rich product* of China and Japan will pass over the great Pacific railroad and its branches via San Francisco, the City of Boonton and New York on their way to London and Paris and other European marts. Some of you, perhaps, will lau h at this prediction, the same as did your " illustrious predecessors" at 'ome of those made in 1859 ; but when the " Extra Morning Oracle" of Boonton is laid upon your table beside your toast and coffee, announcing the safe arrival of the " East In dia Express train" in five days from San Francisco, you will then be compelled to be- lieve the startling fact. You, don't believe it ! Well, I tell you this now, but you can't see it — of course not ; but when the event has actually taken place then will spring up a mighty prophet in our midst, who will cry out with a great flourish of trumpets, " This is just exactly what /predicted years ago !" Well, perhaps he did, but forgot to have it acknowledged and recorded ; and this im- portant omission will place his prediction in a very equivocal position, to say the least of it. Bat, come weal or come wop, Mark well all that's been eaid, For, blow high or blow low, " Boonion's bound to go atatad I" GREENWOOD CEMETERY ASSOCIATION. This association was first organized about two years ago, since which time the cemetery grounds have been under improvement. Last Winter the association was fully incorporat- ed by a special act of the Legislature of New Jersey, with the names of the following gen- tlemen as incorporators : Enoch Hammonds, Jacob L. Hutt, Victor Thibou, Joseph Mil- ner, Senr., James H. Wootton, Nathaniel A. Myers, James G. Simms, Thomas Byard, Thomas Hammonds, Samuel Hammonds, John Maxfield and Richard S. James. At their first meeting Mr. Enoch Hammonds was chosen president. The plot of ground select- ed by the association contains about eight acres, and is beautifully located on the brow of the hill a little north of Old Boonton, be- ing about midway between that ancient place and the modern city of Boonton. The plot is about 250 feet wide, front and rear, and in length it extends from the road leading from Boonton to Old Boonton back to Washington street. The only carriage entrance to the cemetery grounds at present is on the Old Boo-iton road ; but when Washington street shall have been opened (which is now in con- templation) it is proposed that the main en- trance shall be from that street. Already these grounds have been nicely fenced, grad- ed, surveyed and handsomely laid out into carriage drives, paths and burial lots. These lots are 9x20 feet in size, and number about 1,800 In all, some fifty of which have been sold, and several burials have already been made thereon. The price of lots ranges from $20 to $4J each, according to location. Num- erous trees of various kinds have been set out, all of which appear to be a healthy condition ; and, judging from present appearances, Green- wood Cemetery of Boonton is destined to soon become one of the most beautiful and attrac- tive homes of the dead in Morris county. The grounds of this cemetery are at present surrounded mostly on three sides by a dense f ores t — but the time is not distant when these old forest trees, which now intercept the view, will be cut down and removed to make room for the habitations of our rapidly increasing population. Then the thoughtful spectator, standing in the midst of this beautiful city of Boonton's dead, looking south will have a fine view of the classic ruins of Old Boonton, which lie outspread be- fore his vision in the narrow valley be- neath his feet ; while on the other hand, gazing in a northerly direction a still more enc 1 . anting vision will burst upon his enrap- / 58 tured view — the modern city of Boonton tow- ering np like a scene of enchantment on the sloping hillside in the distance. POSTSCRIPT. COL. OGDEN ONCE MOKE. The Rev. Peter Kanouse has given it as his belief "that there was but little republicanism among the leading men of Old Boonton either during or immediately subsequent to the Revolution." I have heard one or two aged persons in this vicinity express the same opinion, which they no doubt believed to be the truth. I have always been greatly in- terested in tracing out every fact touching upon this point. Since commencing the pub- lication of this discourse in the Journal, I have been favored by Senator Cutler, of Mor- ristown, with a set of what are termed the "Old New Jersey Records," published from the original manuscripts by order of the Leg- islature of New Jersey last Winter. In the volume entitled "Minutes of the Council of Safety of New Jersey, 1777," on page 73, under date "Morristown, July 1, 1777," I find the following : Samuel Ogden appeared before the Board, pursuant to citation, and took and subscribed the oaths oi ab- juration and allegiance, agreeably to law. Again, on page 214, under date "Trenton, March 17, 1778," I find the following entry : Agreed that Col. Hathaway receive from Mr. Og- den, at Boontown. the 20,000 flints sent or to be sent into this State by Mr. Archibald Mercer from BostoD, (first paying to Ogden, at Boontown, for the cartage), and to be accountable for them when properly called upon. There are many curious and important facts brought to the light of day for the first time by the publication of these old records ; and among them all, there are none more in- teresting to the writer, than the fact, that Col. Ogden was a true man and engaged in the service of his country at a time when to ac- knowledge himself to be such was to endan- ger his own life. The above are facts that cannot be reasoned away, and they prove clearly to my mind that Col. Ogden was the true patriot, and the firm and devoted friend to his country that he has been represented to be in part first of this discourse. ■FINIS.- L4 1574