Monmouth County NJ Archives History....More Hendrickson family: Beekman's, Early Dutch Settlers ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nj/njfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: JMP jpaatter@comcast.net ************************************************ The html index page for this book may be found at http://usgwarchives.net/nj/monmouth/beekman-hist.html ************************************************ EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY GEORGE C. BEEKMAN. MOREAU BROS., PUBLISHERS, FREEHOLD, N. J. Second Edition Printed, 1915. ============================ 138 CHILDREN OF DANIEL HENDRICKSON AND CATHARINE VANDYKE, HIS WIFE. Annetje, (Ann) the eighth child of above named parents, was baptized December 30, 1711, married 1732, Wil- liam, son of Jacob Couwenhoven and Saartje Schenck, his wife. Their names appear as communicants on records of the Dutch church in 1741 as follows: "Wilm Couwenhoven and Antje Hen- drikze, his wife." They had three children, viz: Saartje (Sarah) born in 1733, married Jacob, (born 1730) son of William Wyckoff and Agnes VanDorn, his wife. Their license was granted January 7, 1754. She died August 25, 1796, and her husband March 5, 1812, ac- cording to their headstones in Tennent church yard. Daniel, baptized March 30, 1737, married August 23, 1757, Helena, daughter of George Taylor, and died December 26, 1808, according to inscription on his tombstone in Lippet and Taylor burying ground on the old Daniel J. Hendrickson farm, now owned by the Morfords at east end of Middletown village. An old Bible with name of "Rebecca Covenhoven" written on front leaf, as owner, contains the following family record: "Daniel Covenhoven, born January 27, 1737, Helena Covenhoven, his wife, was born Feb- ruary 10, 1737, married August 23, 1757. Anne Covenhoven, their daughter, was born July 9, 1758, about nine o'clock in the forenoon. Rebecka Covenhoven, born March 27, 1761, about five o'clock in the afternoon. William Covenhoven, born April 7, 1763, about five o'clock in the morning. George Covenhoven, born December 13, 1767, about three o'clock in the afternoon. Daniel G. Conover and Sarah Ann Cooper were married December 16, 1818." Jacob, third child, was baptized October 14, 1739; no other record. William Conover, as name is now spelled, the father of above three chil- dren, died intestate in 1742, Letters of administration on his estate were granted October 17, 1742, to his widow, Ann, his brother Ruliph, and his broth- er-in-law, William Hendrickson. The widow, however, did not remain long in mourning for she married March 17, 1744, William Couwenhoven, (born July 20, 1700; died November 10, 1755) son of Cornelius Couwenhoven and Margaret Schenck, his wife, of Pleasant Valley. He, too, had lost his first wife, Jannetje Wyckoff and buried her by his father in the Schenck-Couwenhoven cemetery. By this second marriage there were two children, a son and daughter, viz: Cornelius, born February 11, baptized April 7, 1746; married January 13, 1767, Mary (born December 6, 1740, died Jan- uary 3, 1860), daughter of Hendrick Hendrickson and Neeltje Schenck, his wife and heretofore mentioned. He died October 10, 1806, aged 60 years, 7 months, 27 days, according to his head- stone in Schenck-Couwenhoven yard. His will is recorded in Book A of Wills at Freehold. By Mary Hendrickson he had follow- ing four children: Anne, baptized December 6, 1767 ; married October 13, 1785, Abram VanHorne. Nelly, baptized February 24, 1771 ; married December 14, 1790, Cornelius VanHorne. Lydia, baptized December 20, 1778 ; married January 22, 1807, Daniel Polhemus of Middle sex county, N. J. William Hendrick, baptized June 2, 1782, died unmarried September 26, 1805, and is buried by his father, grandfather, and great- grandfather in Schenck-Couwenhoven yard. Catharine, the only daughter, was baptized April 16, 1749; married Jan- uary 15, 1767, Nicholas VanBrunt, son of Nicholas VanBrunt and Geesye Hen- drickson, his wife, whose names appear as communicants in records of the Dutch church in 1731. This Geesye Hendrickson was a sister of Daniel and William Hendrickson, the pioneer settlers. Nicholas VanBrunt was Sher- iff of Monmouth county in 1778. He removed all the prisoners in our county jail to Morris county before the British army reached Freehold in June, 1778. He and Colonel Daniel Hendrickson were deputies to the Provincial Con- gress of New Jersey from Shrewsbury township in 1775. He was an active and zealous patriot during the Revolu- tion and a Captain in the militia. By Catharine Couwenhoven, his wife, he had following children: Cornelius, baptized July 23, 1769. Nicholas, baptized August 4, 1771. Antje, baptized May 8, 1774. Mary, baptized June 25, 1775. Hendrick, baptized April 5, 1778. Daniel Covenhoven, baptized April 30, 1780; died young. Sarah Wyckoff, baptized September 28, 1781. Daniel Conover, baptized November 18, 1787. Sheriff Nicholas VanBrunt, a few 139 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. years after the close of the Revolution- ary War, sold his farm near Tinton Falls to Col. Daniel Hendrickson and removed with his family to Cherry Valley, New York, where he lived the rest of his life. Francyntje, (Frances) the ninth child of Daniel Hendrickson and Catharine VanDyke, his wife, married 1731, Teunis (born June 15, 1704, died June 10, 1797), son of Denyse Denyse and Helen Cor- telyou, his wife, of New Utrecht, L. I. She was his second wife, as he first married Catharine, a daughter of Hen- drick VanDyke, by whom he had one daughter named Helena, born March 14, 1728; married April 17, 1759, Samuel Forman (born November 13, 1713; bap- tized February 13, 1714; died January 18, 1792), a son of Jonathan Forman and Margaret Wyckoff, his wife. She died January 20, 1789, and is buried by her husband in old burying ground at Mt. Pleasant or Freneau station. Teunis Denyse married for his third wife, December 2, 1779, Rachel, daugh- ter of Garret Schenck and Neeltje Voor- hees, his wife, and the widow of Geis- bert Longstreet and Jacob VanDorn. It was the third venture of both in the lottery of matrimony. History not only repeats itself with nations, but with individuals, for we have today in Mon- mouth county a lineal descendant of Teunis Denise, who not only bears the same name, but has been married three times and whose second wife was also a Hendrickson. Tunis Denyse made his will April 2, 1792, proved January 16, 1798, and rec- orded in Book 37 of Wills, page 350 at Trenton. N. J. His son Daniel and son- in-law, John Forman, are named as ex- ecutors. His sons-in-law were among the most influential and prominent of the patriots during the revolution. Francyntje Hendrickson and Tunis Denyse, her husband, had the following children: Tryntje, (Catharine) born May 8, 1732: died September 8, 1771, married Garret Hendrick- son, (born January 22, 1734 ; died December 2, 1801) who has already been mentioned in a former article. Eleanor, baptized May 26, 1734 ; married John Forman, (born 1731, died 1811) son of Samuel Forman and Mary, his wife. Their license was granted May 2, 1752. John Forman served as one of our county judges. She died in 1796. [Error:- Substitute "grandson" for "son" of Samuel Forman.] Anna, born June 16, 1736 ; married June 16, 1757, David Forman, (born October 1, 1733; died March 30, 1812) son of Jonathan Forman and Margaret Wyckoff, his wife. Their license was granted June 9, 1757, according to records in secretary of state's office. She died Septem- ber 9, 1798, and is buried in Tennent church yard. David Forman was Brigadier General of our Monmouth militia during the Revolution and one of the most energetic and active of the patriotic leaders. On account of his swarthy complexion he was called Black David Forman. [Error:-strike out "Brigadier General of our Monmouth Militia" and substitute "Sheriff of Monmouth county." ] Nuis or Denyse baptized January 4, 1738, died young. Jannetje (Jane) born August 19, baptized October 2, 1740, married Cornelius R., (born July 29, baptized September 11, 1740, died July 12, 1796) son of Roelof Cornelius Couwenhoven and Sarah Voorhees, his wife. Their license was granted December 5, 1758. She died March 26, 1799, and is buried by her husband in Schenck-Couwenhoven yard. This couple had ten children, three boys and seven daugh- ters, who all married well. * Fammetje (Phoebe) born August 11, bap- tized September 4, 1743: married October 19, 1765, Rev. Benjamin DuBois, the famous pas- tor for over 50 years of the Monmouth Dutch church. He was born March 30, 1739, and died August 12, 1727. [sic 1827?] She died January 7, 1839, and is buried by her husband in yard of Marlboro Dutch church. Denyse, baptized December 22, 1745 ; mar- ried April 17, 1768, Margaret, daughter of Richard and Sara Francis, who died April 18, 1770, aged 22 years, 10 months, 24 days, ac- cording to her headstone in Topanemus bury- ing ground where she is interred by her par- ents. He married for his second wife Cath- arine, daughter of Garret Garretse Schenck and Jannetze Williamse Couwenhoven, his wife. She was baptized September 5, 1756. Denyse Denyse was a major of our militia and also a judge in our county courts during and subsequent to the Revolution. Daniel, baptized May 15, 1748, married first April 18, 1771, Jane Schenck, who was born in 1754; married second, Mary Stillwell. Bur- ___________ * Marriages of the ten children of Cornelius R. Couwenhoven and Jane Denise, his wife, from records of the Dutch church. Francinke, to Hendrick Hendrickson, May 13, 1781. Teunis to Hannah VanBrockle, March 19, 1783. Sarah, to Robert Ashton, June 21, 1783. Mary, to Samuel Forman, March 12, 1789. Rulif, to Sarah Vanderveer, January 12, 1789. Catherine, to John Vanderveer, April 7, 1791. Margaret, to Teunis Hobburt (Hubbard) January 5, 1797. Eleanor, to Caleb Stillwell, December 10, 1797. Jane, to Matthias or Martin Covenhoven, March 10, 1804. She was his first wife and died December 12, 1820, aged 40 years, 9 month, 6 days. Cornelius R. to Mary Stoutenburg, March 9, 1807. Cornelius R. Covenhoven died April 11, 1817, aged 33 years, 11 months, 8 days. Mary Stout- enburg, his wife, died April 29, 1861, aged 74 years, 24 days. They were the parents of Holmes Conover, who married Caroline, daughter of James G. Crawford, and died May 22, 1860, aged 52 years, 4 months, 13 days. He was sheriff of Monmouth county. His wife died August 28, 1843, aged 24 years. Buried in Schenck-Couwenhoven cemetery, but after- ward removed to Holmel cemetery. 140 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. ied in old yard near East Freehold. Mary, born July 9, 1750; married July 31, 1767, John Schenck, the famous leader of our militia during the Revolution. He was born August 28, 1745, and died August 28, 1834, on the farm in Pleasant Valley where his grand- son, David Schenck, now resides. She died July 15, 1829. Both were first buried in Schenck and Couwenhoven yard, but with many others have been since removed, or rather what little was left of their bodies has been removed and their tombstones set up in the Holmdel cemetery. John Schenck, who married this youngest daughter, was next to Gen. David Forman, his brother-in-law, one of the most active and daring of the officers of our county militia. So troub- lesome was he that the enemy offered a reward of fifty guineas for his cap- ture or death. [Error:- Strike out "Gen." and substitute "Sheriff" before "David Forman."] An attempt to capture the notorious tory, mayor of New York city, David Matthews, by some Monmouth men led by John Schenck and William Marriner, was perhaps the primary cause of this offer. This was a very bold move and failed of success through the absence of Mayor Matthews from home that night. He had been accidentally de- tained in New York city. The kidnapping of prominent patriots in Monmouth by raiding bands of refu- gees was of frequent occurrence, and their treatment as prisoners of the harshest kind. It is said that Cunning- ham often boasted when in liquor, that he had used up more rebels by starva- tion and neglect than the whole British army had killed by their bullets and bayonets. At all events reprisals or retaliations of some kind were the only- means left to compel decent treatment and exchange of prisoners. According- ly it was resolved to capture David Matthews and two or three other prom- inent loyalists w^ho resided at Flatbush, L. I., and within the lines of the British army. John Schenck had a number of relatives living in the vicinity of Flat- bush, and when a boy had often visited them and so became well acquainted with the country and roads. Marriner presented this plan to the council of safety who sanctioned it. Nearly every neighborhood through which a large stream or creek flowed into Raritan river, and from Cheese- quake creek to Compton's creek along the Bayshore had its association of men to own and man what was called a whaleboat. Raritan Bay was wholly commanded by the guns of the British men of war so our people were obliged to hide thier boats up in some swamp or ravine. The large barges or gun boats were kept well up Raritan river. The usual crew of a whaleboat on the patriot side was fifteen men, of whom one steered and gave commands while the others rowed. Picked men of great physical strength and endurance were selected. The least sign of cowardice on part of a man led to his instant dis- missal from the crew. They were trained to row without noise and could propel the boat at the rate of twelve miles an hour. Each man was armed with a cutlass and pistols, and the boat supplied with a few pikes and hooks on long poles, a few grappling irons, lanterns and heavy blankets. These boats were about thirty feet in length with flat bottoms to float in shoal water, wide in the centre with high sides to carry big loads, and point- ed on both ends. They were called whaleboats, but altogether different from the small boats used in the whale fishery. They were built of cedar or some other light wood so that they could be lifted from the water and car- ried over land by the crew and conceal- ed in some swamp or ravine up in the woods. These boats were originally built to carry on a secret traffic with the enemy and smuggle goods back and forth. A whale boat loaded with butter, eggs, poultry and other farm truck, in summer, and hay, grain, firewood, etc., in winter, slipping out of the inlets, or rivers on our coast were safe from cap- ture on the ocean or bay unless inter- cepted by the whale-boats of the pa- triots. Coming back with the specie or other valuable goods after trading with the enemy, they were valuable prizes to our people when captured. Trans- ports loaded with munitions of war and other supplies for the British army in occupation of New York were constant- ly coming and going out of Raritan Bay. A constant demand existed for fresh provisions on part of the people within the British lines and there was a constant traffic to supply this demand. An association of men existed through this region back of Middletown Point, as Matawan was then called, who had two whale-boats hid in the ravines southeast of the village. These men were seen by John Schenck and agreed to help him and Marriner in their raid. The first cloudy or dark night was agreed on. This happened the second Saturday in June, 1778. Eleven of the regular crew met Marriner and Schenck at Brown's Point late in the afternoon. The boat was taken from its hiding place and launched in the Creek a little after sunset. The sky was overcast with clouds and there was every indi- 141 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. cation of an easterly storm. They rowed directly across to Staten Island, and guided by the lights which shone out from the houses on land skirted the shore until they reached the Narrows. Here they rowed across and landed some distance above what is now Fort Hamilton. Leaving two men in charge of the boat and guided by John Schenck they went over to Flatbush. They reached here about midnight and effect- ed a noiseless entrance into the dwell- ing of Mayor Matthews. The women were placed in one room under guard, but the mayor was not at home. They took however, four of his negro slaves. At the next house they captured a Major Monerieff and a Mr. Bache. With these two white men and four negroes they got back to their boat without ex- citing the least alarm. They rowed back and reached the mouth of Mat- awan creek with their six prisoners by daylight next morning. A newspaper of that day in speaking of this raid says they traveled over fifty miles be- tween six o'clock Saturday night and six o'clock next morning and behaved with the greatest prudence and bravery. This spiriting away of prominent men at night from their homes within the British lines naturally aroused great alarm. No one felt safe or secure against capture and same treatment as they gave the American prisoners. Their fears made them more humane. Following is the British account of the Flatbush raid from the journal of Lieut. Col. Stephen Kemble, published in N. Y. Hist. Collection for year 1883, Vol. 1, pages 151-2. "Sunday, June 14, 1778. About 2 o'clock this morning, a party, said to be about 20 men, some armed, others not, with faces blacked, took off Major Moncreiffe and Mr. Bache. Attempted the Mayor. Mr. Matthews' house, but it being well fastened, and a shot being fired, which they apprehended might give the alarm, induced them to go off, with the two first mentioned gentle- men, supposed into Jersey, but at this time no certain account can be given. All else is quiet." In this account the Mayor is left out as though he was home and his house fastened, but the truth is he was not at home, and if a shot had been fired it would have created an alarm as the British sentinels were posted all around for Flatbush was within their lines. Jannetje, (Jane) the tenth child and youngest of the seven daughters of Daniel Hendrickson. was born and brought up on the homestead at Holm- del. She married Ruliph, (born March 1, 1712) a son of Jacob Couwenhoven and Saartje Schenck, his wife, their nearest neighbors. She had known him from her earliest recollections. They had played and romped together, sung Dutch nursery songs and followed the customs and usages which prevailed at that time among their own people. The same characteristics, manners and us- ages marked them as those described by Miss Gertrude Lefferts Vanderbilt in her book called "The Social History of Flatbush and the Manners and Customs of the Dutch in Kings County, L. I." They were the children of these Long Island people and were like them in all respects, for the "Dutch were not given to change but were stable in all their ways." It was not until the Revolu- tionary war tore up the foundations of society and government, that there was any great change in families and class- es. Up to this time the Dutch language was generally used in family inter- course or the home life. Theree are a few persons now living, born and brought up in Pleasant Valley, Holmdel township, who can remember when children, of hearing and singing the words of the following Dutch nursery song which Miss Vanderbilt has pub- lished in her book: Trip, a trop, a tronjes, De Varkens in de boonjes, De Koejes in de Klaver. De paarden in de haver, De eenjes in de waterplass. So groot myn Kleine Claus-was." These lullabies and a few words like "stoep," "Mickey," "paas," "skipper" and "baas" (boss) are the last linger- ing echoes of the mother tongue once spoken by those old settlers in Mon- mouth who came from Kings county on Long Island. There is a wide difference in the spirit and sentiment expressed in these lullabies of the Dutch, from those of the English, or Mother Goose melodies' as called. The former represented people and animals comfortable and contented, pleasant associations and memories, and cheerful and sunny prospects. Or they inculcated some lesson of indus- try, economy, faithfulness or other everyday virtue. Their saint Santa Claus was jolly and benevolent, always doing generous and kindly acts. But childhood and youthful days soon pass. On the 12th of August A. D. 1741, Jan- netje Hendrickson married Ruliph Cou- wenhoven. Their marriage license is published in full on page 34 of Wells' Memorial Address at Brick Church. It 142 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. was signed by Lewis Morris so prom- inent in the early history of Monmouth county, but at that time Governor of New Jersey. These licenses are all recorded in secretary of state's office at Trenton and in annexed note is a list from the records of all licenses issued to the Hendricksons and Hendricks in Monmouth county, between 1748 and 1772. Jannetje and Ruliph Couwen- hoven her husband, had three children, viz: Sarah, bapt. August 12, 1742, married in 1763 Benjamin (baptized October 10, 1742) son of Benjamin VanCleaf and Helina or Neeltje Couwenhoven, his wife. Daniel, baptized January 15, 1744. No other knowledge. Catrina, baptized Feb. 16, 1746, married February 28, 1765, David (baptized September 25, 1748) son of Tunis Vanderveer and Aeltje Garretse Schenek, his wife. This couple had a son Tunis, who married December 12, 1792, Margaret, a daughter of Rev. Benjamin DuBois. Ruliph Couwenhoven died intestate in 1746. Letters of administration on his estate were granted same year to his brother, Peter Couvenhoven, and his brothers-in-law, William Hendrick- son and Tunis Denise. Jannetje, however, did not remain a widow long, for the next year, 1747, she married Peter, a son of Jan Schanck and Saartje Couwenhoven of Pleasant Valley. He had lost his first wife, Jan- netje VanNostrand or Ostrandt and was ready for another. By Peter Schenck she had following children: Roelef P., known as "Long Ruly" born Dec- ember 27, 1748, baptized January 22, 1749, married Elizabeth Gordon (born December 8, 1757, died August 15, 1837) and died November 26, 1814. Both buried in Tennent church yard. Jannetje, born June 1, bapt. July 28, 1751 ; married December 5, 1769, John Walter (born June 11, 1730, died October 11, 1775, according to his headstone in Schenck-Couwenhoven cem- etery) and died January 5, 1774. A son of this couple named John Walter, is buried by them in above yard and his headstone gives date of his death October 13, 1837, aged 66 years and 11 months. Antje, baptized September 30, 1753, mar- ried Garret Janse Couwenhoven. She was his second wife and died April 5, 1803, according to her headstone in yard of Marlboro Brick Church. Her children have been already named in Conover genealogy. Leah, baptized November 9, 1755, married November 30, 1775, John, (baptized August 26, 1750) son of Benjamin VanCleaf and Neeltje or Helena Couwenhoven, his wife. Francyntje, baptized March 7, 1762, married February 5, 1803, William Nicolas. Neeltje, baptized June 17, 1759. No other record Hendrickson marriage licenses as recorded at Trenton, in office of the Sec- retary of State between 1748 and 1772. Elizabeth, Monmouth, John Vanderbilt, Staaten Island, 20 May 1754. Catharine, Monmouth, Jacob Remsen. Sr., New York, 11 Aug, 1749. Mary, Monmouth, Corn's Conover, Mon- mouth, 12 July 1767. Neeltje, (widow) Monmouth, Elias Golden, Monmouth, 30 July 1761. Abram, Kings Co., Anna van Kirk, Mon- mouth, 23 May 1759. Albert, Monmouth, Johanna Mills, Mon- mouth, 3 Jan. 1755. Coonradt, Monmouth, Mary English, Mon- mouth, 18 June 1759. Cornelius, Monmouth, Mary Thorn, 28 Jan. 1767. DAniel, Middlesex, Eleanor van Mater, Mon- mouth, 14 Nov. 1758. Daniel, jr., Monmouth, Mary Schenck, Mon- mouth, 2 Sept. 1767. Garret, Monmouth, Catharine Denice, Mon- mouth, 8 Dec. 1755. Hendrick, Middletown, Sara Thomson, Mid- dletown, 3 April 1751. Hendrick, Monmouth, Ledy Conover, Mon- mouth, 7 March 1757. Jacob, Monmouth, Elizabeth Mount, Mon- mouth, 2 May 1771. Tobias, Rebecca Coward, 21 March 1762. William, Charity Robinson, Monmouth, 21 Dec. 1756. William, Monmouth, Mary Douglas, 22 Apr 1762. William, Monmouth, Rachel Longstreet, 22 Feb. 1768. Hendricks, Abraham, Monmouth, Mary Wykoff, Monmouth, 17 Dec. 1754. Hendricks, Coonradt, Monmouth, Mercy Knott, 17 June 1763. Hendricks, John, Monmouth, Phoebe Smith, 31 Oct. 1759. Hendrickson marriages from records of Dutch church, prior to 1825: Jannetje, to Roelof Covenhoven, Aug. 12, 1741. Daniel, to Catherine Covenhoven, Dec. 22, 1743. Ann, to William Covenhoven, March 17, 1744. Mary, to Cornelius Covenhoven, Jan. 13, 1767. Williampe, to Aaron Longstreet, Nov. 9, 1778. Hendrick, to Francinke Covenhoven, May 13, 1781. Cornelius, to Lydia Vanderbilt, March 24, 1785. Catharine, to Cornelius VanDerHove, Nov. 29, 1785. Denise, to Anne Schenck, March 24, 1786. Hendrick, to Phoebe VanMater, Jan. 20, 1791. John, to Mary Lloyd, Nov. 27, 1793. Ida, to Joseph Kearney VanMater, Sept. 10, 1794. Catharine, to Peter Brewer, Sept. 18, 1794. William, to Elizabeth Vanderrype, Nov. 26, 1797. Mary, to William VanMater, Dec. 24, 1797. Catherine, to Jacobus Hubbert (Hubbard) May 2, 1798. Anne, to Garret Terhune, Oct. 3, 1799. Lydia, to Hendrick Brewer, March 16, 1802. 143 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. Gerret D., to Jane Hendrickson, March 23, 1808. William H., to Eleanor DuBois, Jan. 2, 1812. Pierson, to Sarah VanDorn, Aug. 7, 1823. Cyrenius, to Ida VanMater, Sept. 18, 1823. HENDRICKSON marriages from Book A of marriages in Monmouth clerk's office: Pace 8 William, to Hannah Middleton, Feb. 7, 1796. Page 35 Daniel, to Sarah Covenhoven, Dec. 21, 1797. Page 40 Cornelius, to Catherine Reynolds, both of Freehold township. Sept. 26, 1799. Page 45 William, to Eleanor Emmons, both of Freehold township, April 4, 1800. Page 59 Cornelius, to Anne Smith (widow) April 11, 1802. Page 59 Hendricks, John, to Christianna VanDeventer, Aug. 15, 1802. Page 69 Hendrickson, Joseph, to Catherine Anderson, both of Freehold township, Nov. 20, 1803. Page 96 Peter, to Catherine Cox, both of Upper Freehold township, Dec. 19, 1807. Page 85 Hendrick, of Middletown, to Helenah Longstreet of Shrewsbury township, Oct, 18, 1806. Page 88 Samuel, to Deborah Combs Dec. 6, 1803. Page 89 William, to Ruth Horsefull, June 3, 1804. Page 148 Jacob, to Sarah Vanderveer, Feb. 18, 1810. Page 148 Tobias, to Idah Conover, Feb. 10, 1813. Page 160 James G., to Hannah Morris, March 3, 1813. Page 161 Daniel, to Deborah Tilton, Jan. 12, 1813. Page 209 William, to Sarah Luyster May 8, 1816. Page 215 Joseph, to Elizabeth Hendrickson, June 1, 1816. Daniel, the eleventh and youngest child of the first Daniel, was born, lived, died and was buried on the home- stead at Holland in the present town- ship of Holmdel, which was devised to him by his father. He was born Jan- uary 5, baptized May 5, 1723, married December 22, 1743, Catherine (born June 2, 1720, died May 5, 1810,) the youngest child of Cornelius Couwen- hoven and Margaretta Schenck his wife, and died intestate June 24, 1788. The records in our secretary of state's office show that letters of administration on his estate were granted to his widow, July 31, 1788. The headstones at their graves in the family burying ground on the old homestead, give their names, dates of death and respective ages. Their son Hendrick, grandson William H. and great-grandson, the late Hon. William Henry Hendrickson, who all lived and died on this farm, are interred in this same burying ground. Daniel Hendrickson and his wife Catherine, with his eldest sister Geesye, and youngest sister Jannetje, joined the Dutch church of Monmouth to- gether in 1747. From this time to his death Daniel Hendrickson was very zealous and active in church work. In his own home he conducted regularly family worship by reading the Scrip- tures and prayer, and when requested, at the houses of his neighbors. Some- times when the regular minister was absent or sick he would conduct the services on Sunday from the pulpit. It is said that he could preach almost as good a sermon as the pastor himself. A sermon written by him and printed in the Dutch language was in the pos- session of the late Rev. Garret C. Schenck, whose first wife was his great- granddaughter. The Dutch settlers of Monmouth while not demonstrative, theatrical, or noisy in their religion or worship were nevertheless firm and practical believers in an everyday Prov- idence. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding," was a real conviction in their minds. Daniel Hendrickson voiced these convictions and sentiments so often, that he became known as "Dominie Dan'll Hendrickson" and was called "Dominie" to the day of his death. Those of his numerous des- cendants who have followed in his foot- steps and who have lived and died on this fertile farm with its healthful sur- roundings, and beautiful scenery, and enjoyed the good will of their neigh- bors have good reason to say as "Dom- inie Daniel" did in his day: "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." "They that trust in the Lord, shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be re- moved but abideth forever." "The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night." "The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul." "The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in from this time forth and even forever more." Daniel Hendrickson by Catherine Couwenhoven his wife, had following children: Daniel D., born October 29, baptized December 9, 1744: married Elizabeth (born June 21, 1763, died July 30, 1836,) a daughter of Daniel Stephenson or Stevenson, who owned the farm which lay adjacent to the Hendrickson home- stead at Holland on the north, and 144 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. being the same farm the late Hon. William B. Hendrickson lived and died on. Through this marriage he acquired the Stevenson farm for in the division of the real estate of his father no share was allotted to him. He probably had all the land he wanted and took his share in the personal property of his father. During the Revolutionary war he commanded a troop of light horse- men and rendered good service to the patriotic side. He has sometimes been confounded with his cousin, Colonel Daniel Hendrickson, who commanded the 3rd Regiment of Monmouth militia and resided at Tinton Falls. Like other officers of our militia he suffered great pecuniary loss through the neglect of his private business and devoting his time and means during the seven years' war to the American cause. He died November 23, 1836, and was over ninety- two years of age. He and his wife are buried on the farm where he lived. There are only four graves in this family burying ground which is near the residence of the late Hon. William B. Hendrickson. viz: these two and their son, Daniel D. and his wife, Cath- erine Bedle. Daniel D. Hendrickson and Elizabeth Stevenson, his wife, had two sons, viz: Daniel D. and William D. The latter married May 8, 1816, Sarah, (born July 12, 1795, died October 15, 1821,) daugh- ter of John P. Luyster and Anne Cou- wenhoven, his wife. He died January 14, 1823, aged 30 years, 2 months, 15 days, according to his tombstone in the Luyster family burying ground at Hol- land. His will is recorded at Freehold in B of Wills, p. 316, etc. He left sur- viving two children, both daughters: one of them named Anne Luyster, mar- ried James Madison Burrows, the other Elizabeth Stephenson, married Joel Stout. Daniel D., the other son, was born April 22, 1786, married Catherine, (born September 28, 1787, died January 12, 1859) daughter of Thomas Bedle, and died May 15, 1858, and was buried on the farm where he was born, lived and died. He was a Captain of a com- pany of militia of Monmouth county, which during the war of 1812 was sta- tioned at Sandy Hook, and was gener- ally known or called by the people "Captain Daniel Hendrickson." He was also active in the erection of the Dutch church at Middletown village in 1836. At the first meeting of those friendly to the erection of a Dutch church in Middletown village, held at the tavern of William Wilson in this village, Feb- ruary 25, 1836, he was appointed chair- man of the committee to select and purchase a location for the church edifice. He was also on the committee to oversee the work. His will was made August 18, 1851, proved June 24, 1858, and recorded at Freehold in G of Wills, p. 133, etc. He gave the use of all his property to his widow for life and at her death he devised all his lands together with his personal prop- erty and "cider house and distillery" on the farm to his son, William B. Hen- drickson. This devise is subject to payments of certain sums to his eight living daughters and the children of his daughter, Martha Winters, deceased, and children of his son, Daniel B. Hen- drickson, deceased. Captain Daniel D. Hendrickson by Catherine Bedle, his wife, had three sons and ten daughters. One of the sons and one daughter died young, the others grew up and married. Only one of this large family is now living, viz: Hen- rietta, who married Daniel, son of James Wilson, who now (1901) owns and occupies the Wilson homestead. Mrs. Henrietta Wilson is still living on this farm adjacent to the one where she was born and raised. Daniel B., one of Captain Daniel's sons, was married and settled on a farm at Nut Swamp where he died when a young man, leaving one son, Joseph A. Hendrickson, who now (1901) owns and resides on this farm, and is one of the prominent and respected farmers of Middletown township. [Omission:- After word township, add "and another son named Edgar who served with credit during the great rebellion as a soldier of the Union."] William B., to whom the homestead was devised, was born February 10, 1830, married November 24, 1852, Cath- erine, daughter of Joseph S. Applegate. Esq. He represented Monmouth county in the Assembly in 1872-3 and was one of the influential citizens of Middletown township. A sketch of his life and a fair likeness can be seen in Ellis' His- tory of Monmouth county. He died on the farm where he was born and al- ways lived, a few years ago, leaving two children, a son and daughter. Cor- nelius, second son of Daniel Hendrick- son and Catherine Couwenhoven, his wife, was born August 28, baptized Oct- ober 11, 1747, married March 24, 1784, Lydia (baptized November 22, 1761, died October 22, 1822) daughter of Cornelius VanDerbilt and Margaretta Lamberson. his wife.* and died October 10, 1802. He and his wife are buried in family yard on the old Hendrickson homestead at Holland. He served during the Revolu- tion in his brother's, Captain Daniel Hendrickson's troop of light horsemen and also under Colonel Asher Holmes. After his father's death in 1788, his share in real estate was arranged by ______ * Cornelius VanDerbilt was a son of Aris VanDerbilt and Jannetje Cornelise Couwen- hoven, his wife. He died August 18, 1800, aired 69 years, 3 months, 7 days, according to inscription on his tombstone in yard of Middle- town Dutch church. ___________ 145 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. deeds, from his sister Catherine and brothers Daniel D. and Hendrick. The principal tract deeded to him lay north of the present Daniel Wilson farm and east of Mahoras brook and extended well down toward Harmony school house. His son, Daniel C, was born January 11, 1785, married January 12, 1813, to Deborah Tilton, by Rev. Benjamin Ben- nett, and died September 7, 1863. He is buried on the homestead farm at Hol- land. Cornelius also had two daugh- ters, who were both baptized June 15, 1788, viz: first Margaret, who married. May 31, 1809, Daniel Herbert, died April 5, 1883. Daniel Herbert died October 6, 1836, aged 57 years, 3 months, 2 days. Both are buried in yard of Middletown Dutch church. Second Catherine, born January 8, 1788, married Murphy Tilton, died September 24, 1881, and is buried in family yard on homestead. Daniel C. Hendrickson and Deborah Tilton had a son Cornelius, born April 17, 1814, married Mary, daughter of John G. Taylor and Elizabeth Couwen- hoven, his wife. Also a son, Daniel T., born in 1822, married Deborah Ann Morris, and died March 26, 1857, aged 35 years, 1 month. 28 days, according to inscriptions on his headstone in yard of Middletown Dutch church. The third child and only daughter of Daniel Hendrickson and Catherine Cou- wenhoven, his wife, was Catherine, born August 8, baptized September 30, 1753, and died unmarried on the home- stead where she always lived, March 1st, 1835, aged 81 years, 6 months, 23 days, according to inscription on the headstone at her grave in the home- stead burying ground. Her will record- ed at Freehold in C of Wills, page 4 59, etc., is very voluminous for she remem- bers with some kind of gift nearly all her nephews and nieces. The fourth child of the second Daniel Hendrickson was Hendrick, born May 2, baptized June 12, 1758, married May 13, 1781. Francinke, (b. Nov. 18, 1763, d. March 26, 1845,) daughter of Cornelius R. Covenhoven and Jane Denise, his wife, who have been mentioned in a former article. Hendrick died December 1, 1840, aged 82 years, 6 months, 29 days, and is buried on the homestead where he always lived. William, the fifth and youngest child of the second Daniel Hendrickson, was baptized November 22, 1761, and died young and unmarried. As the father of these children died intestate June 24, 1788, the three sur- viving sons and daughter by amicable arrangement among themselves divided the real estate. As the father of these children died intestate June 24, 1788, the three sur- viving sons and daughter by amicable arrangement among themselves divided the real estate. In Book K of Deeds, page 56, etc., Monmouth Clerk's office, we find record of a deed executed August 6, 1789, from Daniel, Cornelius, and Hendrick Hen- drickson, the three sons to their sister Catherine Hendrickson. It is recited therein that the grantors and grantee are the only children and heirs-at-law of Daniel Hendrickson of Middletown township, who lately died intestate. That they have agreed among them- selves as to shares of each in the real estate of their father and by this deed the three sons convey and quitclaim to their sister Catherine, her heirs and assigns forever, the following described lands and premises, situate in said township of Middletown. The tract first described begins at an apple tree stand- ing at the southeast corner and begin- ning of a line settled by releases be- tween Johannes Luyster and Daniel Hendrickson, dated April 11, 1745. Then follows a particular description by chains and links, and that it is the westermost part of the home tract "whereon said Daniel Hendrickson did live." Then comes a general dedescription of a tract containing 122 87-100 acres, bounded southerly in part by Luyster's land and in part by a branch of Mahor- as brook and Colonel Daniel Hendrick- son's land; westerly, in part by land formerly John Bowne's* esquire, de- ____ * John Bowne was the eldest son of Obadiah Bowne and had one son Andrew, and two daughters, Lydia and Catherine. His daugh- ter Catherine, married William, son of George Crawford. His son Andrew, died unmarried. His will was proved January 13, 1776, and recorded in Book M of Wills, page 10, etc., at Trenton, N. J. He devised all his real estate to John and William Crawford, sons of his sister Catherine, subject to payment of £250 to their sister, Esther Crawford. Residue of his estate is left to John, William, and Esther Crawford, the three children of his sister, Catherine Crawford. William Crawford, Rob- ert Hartshorne, and Garret Wall of Mount Pleasant, were appointed executors ; will is witnessed by William Hendrickson, Richard Crawford and Safety Bowne. John and Wil- liam Crawford divided the real estate so left, and John Crawford became owner of the part next to the Hendrickson homestead and which John Bowne had owned in his life time. John Crawford was the father of the late James G. Crawford of Crawford's Corner, Holmdel township. 146 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. ceased, now John Crawford's and in part by Colonel Daniel Hendrickson's land; northerly, by a brook coming from the hills and Humphrey Wall and John Stillwell's lands, and easterly by the east-most line named in this par- ticular description first given. It is then stated that part of the said land was purchased of John Whitlock by- Daniel Hendrickson, the elder, by deed dated May 16, 1698, and the other part by deed from Garret Wall, dated Dec- ember 29, 1709. Four and one half acres of fresh meadow lying on the north side of a neck of woodland and convey- ed by John Wall to Daniel Hendrickson the elder, by deed dated May 8, 1711, and two and two-fifths acres of salt meadow at Shoal Harbour, are also conveyed to Catherine Hendrickson by this deed. Catherine Hendrickson, however, did not retain this land long, for on April 1st, 1800, by deed of that date and for the consideration of $2,000, she con- veyed all the above premises to her brother, Hendrick Hendrickson. This deed is recorded at Freehold in L of deeds, p. 571, etc., and gave Hendrick the ownership of all the original home- stead owned by the first Daniel and devised by him to his youngest son, Daniel. Hendrick Hendrickson by his will left all these lands to his grandson, the late Hon. William Henry Hendrick- son, so well known to the present gen- eration of our people in Monmouth county. By deed dated August 26, 1789, rec- orded in same book K of deeds, page 67, etc., Daniel, Cornelius and Catherine Hendrickson convey and quitclaim to Hendrick Hendrickson the eastermost part of the homestead on which their deceased father lived. In particular description first given the "Southwest corner of a mill dam" and "the middle of the floodgate" are called for as mon- uments. Then follows a general des- cription as 154 acres bounded southerly and easterly by Luyster's land and in part easterly by Mahoras brook; north- erly in part by John Stillwell's line and a small brook coming from the hills, and in part by the lower edge of the upland bank on south side of the mead- ow on said brook; westerly, by the westermost line named in the particular description. Six and four-fifths acres of salt meadow at Shoal Harbour was also conveyed, and then reference to chain of title same as in above deeds to Cath- erine. These two deeds were witnessed by William Crawford, John Covenhoven and Colonel Asher Holmes and were proved by affidavits of Colonel Asher Holmes before Hendrick Hendrickson, one of the judges of the Court of Com- mon Pleas of Monmouth county on Feb- ruary 10, 1792. In this same book K of deeds, page 71, etc, is a record of the deed from Daniel, Hendrick, and Catherine Hen- drickson to Cornelius Hendrickson, dated August 26, 1789, with same wit- nesses and proof of execution before Judge Hendrick Hendrickson. Several tracts are conveyed by this deed. First a tract of 119 acres and in the particu- lar description given, the "southwest corner of the milldam where it joins the uplands" and "middle of floodgates" were called for as monuments. Then follows a general description as 119 acres more or less, bounded easterly by lands of John Taylor. Esq., northerly by Aumack's now Edward Taylor, deceas- ed, land, westerly in part and in part northerly, by lands formerly Daniel Stevenson's now in possession of Daniel Hendrickson, Junior, and in part by Mahoras brook as it now runs, which tract of land was deeded by John Tay- lor. Esq.,* to Daniel Hendrickson, de- ceased, by deed dated August 10, 1763, together, with half part of grist mill built by said Daniel Hendrickson, and the right and privilege of digging and carting off earth for use in making, mending and repairing the mill dam from southwest of said milldam forever. Also a tract of 157 acres near "Whak- ake" and four and one-half acres of salt meadow on east side of "Whakake Creek." Half of 36 acres situate a mile south of "Sandy Hook" (Raritan) "Bay" and one and one-half miles southwest of Point Comfort: 50 acres on north side of public road from Middletown to Perth Amboy. and six and one-half acres of salt meadow at Shoal Harbour, are likewise conveyed to Cornelius Hendrickson by this deed. No share in his father's land is conveyed to Dan- iel who at this time owned and occupied the Stevenson farm. The father may have advanced money to him to pur- chase this land or he may have taken his share in personal property or in money. ______ * John Taylor. Esq. was appointed sheriff, first in 1751, and held office to 1754, when Robert Cummings succeeded him. He was again ap- pointed sheriff of Monmouth county in 1757 for three years. At the breaking out of the Revo- lutionary war he was one of the judges of our county courts. He was also one of the Peace Commissioners appointed by Admiral Howe on the part of the British government. In 1792 he sold his farm at Middletown Village to George Crawford and a few years after removed to Perth Amboy where he died. 147 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. Hendrick Hendrickson by Francinke Couwenhoven, his wife, had the follow- ing children: Catherine, baptized March 14, 1782, married May 23, 1803, Garret Lane, and resided with her husband at Piscata- way, Middlesex county, N. J. She had the following children: Hendrick Hendrickson, bap. June 3, 1807. Eliza Jane, born Sept. 22, 1809. William Hendrickson, twins born Sept. 24, 1811. Garret Smock John, born April 21, 1814. William H., born January 28, 1787, married January 12, 1812, Eleanor (b. Aug. 19, 1792, d. Sept. 25, 1879,) daugh- ter of Charles DuBois and Anne Hen- drickson, and already mentioned among the descendants of Daniel Hendrickson and Eleanor VanMater, his wife. Wil- liam H. Hendrickson died February 9, 1831, and was buried on the homestead. He left a will proved before Peter C. Vanderhoef, Surrogate, April 2, 1831, and recorded in C of Wills, page 194, etc. As his father was living at this time he left no real estate, only per- sonal property. He mentions in this will the gold watch which once be- longed to his brother-in-law, Peter DuBois. Jane, born March 6, 1792, married March 23, 1808, Garret D. Hendrickson. (b. July 7, 1787, d. Oct. 12, 1861) and died August 5, 1875. Both buried in family yard on homestead farm at Hol- land. Their children have been named in a former article. Hendrick Hendrickson made his will December 9, 1834, proved December 21, 1840, and recorded at Freehold in D of Wills, page 310, etc. He provides for his widow, Francinke, and mentions his daughters, Catherine Lane, and Jane, wife of Garret D. Hendrickson. "The farm of 296 acres where I now live" with all stock, etc., on same, he devises in fee to his grandson, William Henry Hendrickson. The following clause also appears in his will: "I do hereby re- serve one acre of land on the farm where I now live to be used as a bury- ing ground for the Hendrickson family and their connections, which said graveyard is to include the present graveyard and as much land on each side of it as shall make said acre." A codicil is added August 1, 1836, in which he directs that the widow and children of his deceased son William, shall reside with him and no charge be made against them for maintenance. In his will he orders his grandson, Wil- liam Henry to pay to his sisters, Sarah Ann, Francinke, and Mary, $2,000 each. William Henry, son of Hendrick Hen- drickson, married January 12, 1812. Eleanor DuBois, and had the following children: William Henry, born June 3, 1813, married first, February 28, 1839, Eliza- beth Woodward: married second, Mrs. Rebecca P. Fields, widow of Thomas Fields. He twice represented Mon- mouth county in New Jersey Senate and was one of the leading and respected citizens of Monmouth county. A very good likeness and full history of his life appears in Ellis' history of Mon- mouth county. Sarah Ann, born April 14, 1816, mar- ried, October 21, 1834, Rev. Garret C. Schanck (b. September 14, 1806, d. Sept- ember 17, 1888,) and died February 20, 1843. Both buried in yard of Marlboro Brick church. Charles DuBois, born April 21, 1818, died October 31 1834. Francinke, born August 18, 1822, mar- ried March 4, 1840, George W. Cox, and died April 29, 1854. Buried by her hus- band in yard of Yellow Meeting House, Upper Freehold. Mary, born October 1, 1825, married December 25, 1856, Henry Corlies, (born October 20, 1821, and son of Benjamin W. Corlies.) She died in August, 1898. 148 WILLIAM HENDRICKSON, OR WILM HENDRICKS, AS WRITTEN, BROTHER OF DANIEL. Wilm Hendricks, as he wrote his name, was a brother of Daniel Hen- drickson, the first settler at Holland, in the present township of Holmdel. I think Hendrick Hendricks, the father of Daniel and William, lived in Mon- mouth between 1694 and 1706. Our court minutes for this period show that one Hendrick Hendricks served on the grand jury and also on a coroner's jury, called to view a corpse thrown up by the sea on Sandy Hook beach. After above dates no Hendrick Hendricks is named on our public records as resident of this county until Daniel's eldest son arrived at age. Hendrick Hendricks was a widower and married again about 1706, Helen Cortelyou, the widow of Nicholas VanBrunt and of Dionyse Denyse. After this marriage it is said that he lived with his wife on lands at New Utrecht, L. I., which her father, Jacques Cortelyou, had devised to her. William Hendricks is first mentioned in our county records as one of the persons who broke up Governor Hamil- ton's and Lewis Morris' court at Mid- dletown village, March 25, 1701, as has been already related. In Book I of Deeds, page 219, Secretary of State's office, is record of an agreement be- tween William Hendricks and Jarret Wall of Middletown, Monmouth county, dated June 17, 1703, fixing division line between their lands. The beginning of the line is fixed at mouth of William Hendricks' ditch on west side of Ma- horas brook and to run due west from this point to west side of Hendrickson land. On page 152 of court minutes of Monmouth under date of December 6, 1709, William Hendrickson with others appears before the court as a committee from Dutch church to present Joseph Morgan as their pastor. He is also mentioned in these same minutes in record of two public highways laid out by the commissioners. The first under date of September 27, 1705, of a highway from Middletown to the county line towards Amboy. "William Hendricks mill" is named as on line of this road. In the return of another road laid out April 2, 1706, the beginning is at "Wil- liam Hendricks' mill" and running thence "direct to Cocowders' brook, where Walter Wall's path went over, and then to Ruckman's path which goes to Waykake." This road return is pub- lished in full on page 266-7, Old Times in Old Monmouth. Some forty years ago the remains of an old dam, extending about half across the meadow, could be seen a few hun- dred feet south of the dwelling house where Joseph Dorsett lived until his death, and where George Dorsett, his father, had lived before him. The track of the New York and Long Branch railroad run a little distance north of this place. The banks on both sides of the Mahoras meadow south of this old dam are quite high. The east bank curves around to the west so as to make a natural dam half the width of the meadow. The Mahoras brook which flows north along the west bank of the meadow makes a turn opposite the re- mains of this old dam and for a short distance flows westerly and then turns northerly along the farm of the late Hon. William B. Hendrickson. It only needs a short dam across this narrow neck of the meadow to unite the east and west banks, and so dam up the waters of Mahoras brook. In the divis- ion deeds, between the children of the second Daniel Hendrickson executed in 1789 and heretofore mentioned, this dam and floodgates are referred to as monuments in the description. The fact that the deceased father had erected a mill and conveyance of half of same to the son Cornelius, is men- tioned in the deed to him. I think that here is the site of the first grist mill erected in Monmouth county. The old Town Book of Middletown township contains records of the contract be- tween the first settlers in 1668 and one Robert Jones, of New York, to put up and operate a grist mill. It was to be built at a place called by the Indians "Choncis Sepus." The early settlers had oxen and a few horses, and were obliged to select a place on some stream with sufficient water to run a mill. Mahoras brook is the only stream near the village of Middletown with sufficient water for this purpose. The banks on each side at this place favored the con- struction of a short dam. The hills were then covered with dense forests and beneath were vines and under- brush, so that the storm water was held from running off rapidly. All the ++++++++++++++++ Photo: Charles E. Hendrickson Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, appointed in 1901. +++++++++++++++ 149 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. streams carried a greater volume of water and the meadow or lowlands had not been filled up or raised by the washings from the banks and hillsides after they were cleared and plowed. The Mahoras brook drains an exten- sive region and during heavy storms an immense amount of water flows down from the hills. Robert Jones erected a mill at this place in 1669, for on May 24, 1670, town lot No. 33 is transferred to him, which indicates that he must have completed his part of the contract. He did not, however, operate it long, for soon after we find James Grover in possession of the mill and running it. I think Daniel Hendricks purchased the property of Whitlock and Wall on ac- count of the close proximity of this mill. He was a man of more than ordi- nary intelligence and energy for we find him a constable and then sheriff in less than fifteen years after he settled. This, too, among strange people of a different race and language. It was doubtless his ownership of the adjacent lands which enabled him to secure this mill site for his brother William. At all events this same family held it from 1705 until the close of the century, as the deeds of 1789 inform us. A miller and blacksmith were two of the most important men in a new settlement. A great demand existed in early times, as the settlements were pushed to west and south, for men understanding these trades. William Hendricks married Willimp- tje, (baptized at Flatbush, L. I., Sept- ember 16, 1677,) a daughter of Guisbert Thys Laen VanPelt and Jannetje Adrianse Lambersen, his wife, who are named among the organizing members of the Monmouth Dutch church in 1709. His name, however, on church records is entered "Gisbert Laen" for the Van- Pelt was dropped. At a later date the name was spelled "Lane," which sur- name has been retained by his descend- ants to this day. One of his daughters, "Moika" (Micha) married Stoffel Dirck- sen Longstraat of Flatlands, L. I., who also removed to Monmouth county, and were the parents of Stoffel Longstreet (baptized December 25, 1713, died 1784) who was the first settler of this name in Upper Freehold township and lived there until his death. William Hen- dricks died in April or May of 1711, be- fore any of his children had arrived at age. His will is dated April 2 and proved June 14 of the year 1711, and recorded at Trenton. N. J., in Book I of Wills, page 326, etc. Cornelius Doorn (VanDorn), William Brudenseck and Barnes Lambersen are the subscribing witnesses: His brother Daniel Hen- drickson, and friends. Peter Wyckoff and Stoffle Longstreet are named as ex- ecutors. He does not mention his wife, Willimpe, and I therefore infer that she had died prior to this time (1711). He mentions Guisbert (Gilbert) as his eld- est son and gives him four shillings extra on this account. He gives his youngest son Daniel, £20 more than the others. This is the nephew Daniel Hen- drickson also mentions in his will, giv- ing him a small lot of land at Perth Amboy which he purchased of Stephen Warne. William Hendricks also speaks in his will of his daughters, but does not name them or any other sons except Gilbert and Daniel. He states, how- ever, that all his children are minors. Gilbert Lane, his father-in-law. in his will dated Nov. 7, 1720, proved May 17, 1727, and recorded at Trenton in Book B of wills, p. 66, etc., speaks of his grand-children "born of my daughter Williamea Hendrickson, late deceased, formerly the wife of William Hen- drickson, likewise deceased, and gives them their mother's share in his estate. These orphan children of William Hen- dricks and Williamptji Lane, his wife, who were all under age in 1711 were: Guisbert, Geesye, Hans (John), Jannetje (Jane), Hendrick and Daniel. As their father ran a grist mill on Mahoras brook, it is likely that these boys all learned the business of a miller, for we find some of them or their children fol- lowing this business at a later date in other parts of New Jersey. I do not now know of any descendents of these four sons residing in the old township of Middletown. They all removed to other parts of this county or state and to Bucks and Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania. Some retained the name of "Hendricks" and others the "Hen- drickson" surname. Guisbert, the eldest son, married about 1728, Elizabeth (bapt. Aug. 13, 1710,) daughter of Johannes Polhemus and Annetje TenEyck, his wife, who have been heretofore mentioned. She was a sister of Tobias and Johannes Polhemus. who also settled in Upper Freehold township probably soon after Guisbert Hendrickson settled in that vicinity. This part of Monmouth together with adjacent territory in what was then Bur- lington and Middlesex counties, went under the general name of Crosswicks, now confined in one small village. Nottingham township was then in Burlington county. Part of this town- ship was taken off of Burlington and called Hamilton township when Mercer 150 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. county was formed in 1838. I think Gilbert Hendrickson settled in this part of Burlington, but now Mercer county, somewheres near Yardville. He devised this plantation or farm to his youngest son, David Hendrickson, who I believe lived and died on it. I should not be surprised to learn that Gilbert Hendrickson operated a grist mill in the vicinity of his farm. This however is a conjecture. As his father helped organize the Dutch church in 1709; so Gilbert helped the first Pres- byterian church at Allentown. As will be seen from his will he remembers this church with the gift of £10 or fifty dollars, which was a considerable sum in those days. Gilbert Hendrickson, like his father, read his Dutch Bible and accepted its teachings when he read therein. "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his ser- vant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." "I, even I am he that comforteth you; who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall die, and the son of man which shall be made as grass?" "And forgettest the Lord, thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth?" "Fear thou not, for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea I will help thee; yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." He believed in the word of God and trusting in the "righteousness" of God, and not his own goodness, he passed away from this earth in March or April of 1777, leaving his wife surviving and seven stalwart sons. He mentions no daughter in his will, but a granddaugh- ter, Margaret Emley. He therefore may have had a daughter who married an Emley and died prior to date of this will. His descendants are numerous and will be interested in his will where he speaks for himself. The will and inventory of Guisbert Hendrickson: -- In the name of God, amen, I Gisebert Hendrickson of the township in the county of Burlington in the Western Division of the Province of New Jersey, being weak in body but of Sound Mind and Memory Blessed be God, do this Eleventh day of Novem- ber, in the year of Our Lord one thous- and seven hundred and Seventy-Six I do make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner and as fol- loweth that is to say FIRST I give and Bequeath unto my beloved Wife Eliza- beth the sum of fifteen pounds Yearly during her natural Life and to have any one of the rooms in the house where I now live that she shall Choose with every necessary thereunto belonging with the use of one Negro Wench with all other necessaries of life found her as long as she shall remain my Widow, and it is my will that all the Estate that my Wife shall have at her death shall be equally divided between my six sons hereafter mentioned or the Survivors of them. ITEM I give and bequeath unto my Son William the sum of One hundred pounds Besides his Equal part with the Rest of my Sons that is to say with himself & John & Daniel & Tobias and Cornelius & Jacob and it is" my desire that he may be Contented with the pro- portion of my Estate with what he al- ready had. ITEM I give and Bequeath unto my son David all the Plantation whereon I now dwell which I purchased by Sun- dry Surveays now adjoining together to him his Heirs and Assigns for ever together with four horses three cows twelve sheep Waggon plows Harrows Gears He paying to my Six Sons above named three hundred pounds in three Years after my Decease and fifteen pounds Yearly unto my Widow as above said during her Natural Life and make such provisions for her as is Bequeath- ed her in this Will. ITEM it is my will and do Bequeath to Margaret Emley my Granddaughter one hundred pounds four years after my decease to be paid by my Son David. ITEM It is my Will and I do Order that that Lot of Land lying at the North East Corner of the Plantation formerly Abraham Tilton's lying upon Doctor's Creek to be sold by my Exec- utors And the Money arising from the sale thereof to be Equally Divided amongst my Six Sons above mentioned to them their heirs and Assigns for ever. ITEM it is my will & I do Order that if either of my said sons should die without issue that his part and portion herein bequeathed him shall be equally divided amongst the Survivors that have Issue to them their heirs and Assigns for ever. ITEM it is my Will and I do order that all my Moveable Estate be sold Except what is already Bequeathed in this Will and after all my just debts and funeral Charges are paid that then the Overplush be Equally Divided amongst my Six Sons above mentioned that is William, John, Daniel, Tobias, Cornelius, & Jacob all as aforesaid to them their Heirs and Assigns for ever. And I do hereby ordain and appoint my 151 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. two Sons William Hendrickson and Tobias Hendrickson to be my true & lawful Executors to this my last Will & Testament. Item it is my Will and I do Order that my Executors first of all do pay to the Elder of the Pres- byterian Church of Allentown ten pounds for the use of said church I do hereby revoke all other Wills by me heretofore made. IN WITNESS Where- of the said Guisbert Hendrickson have to this my last Will and Testament set my Hand and Seal the day and year above written. Guisbert Hendrickson (SEAL.) Signed Sealed and Delivered by the said Guisbert Hendrickson as and for his last Will and Testament in the presents of us who were present at the signing & Sealing thereof. Tobias Polhemus Margaret Magaliard (w) her mark William Reynolds. Tobias Polhemus. one of the witness- es* to the within will being first sworn ____________ * The old wills now on record in Secretary of State's office at Trenton, N. J., were origin- ally recorded at Burlington, for West Jersey and numbered. While in East Jersey they were recorded at Perth Amboy and books lettered. Thus there are two sets of books covering the same period of time. Some of the Monmouth county wills, although in East Jersey, are re- corded at Burlington, as is shown in this article. _____________ on the Holy Evangelist of Almighty God doth declare and say that he was present and saw Guisbert Hendrickson the Testator in the within will named Sign and Seal the same & heard him Publish pronounce and declare the within Writing to be his last Will & Testament And at the doing thereof he was of sound and disposing mind and Memory as far as he knows and as he Verily believes and that Margaret Ma- galiard and William Reynolds were also present at the same time and Signed their Names as Witnesses to the Will together with this Deponent in the presence of each, other and-in the pres- ence of the Testator. Sworn the 28th day of April 1777 at Burlington before Robt Burcham. The foregoing Will being prov'd pro- bate was Granted by his Excellency Govr. Livingston unto William Hen- drickson and Tobias Hendrickson Ex- ecutors in the sd. Will named being first sworn truly to perform the same ex- hibit a true Inventory and render a true Accot. when thereto lawfully re- quired Given under the Prerogative Seal the day and Year aforesaid. Cha. Pettit Regrr. ========================= WILLIAM HENDRICKS AND WILLIAMPTJE LAEN HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN. 1. William, eldest son of Guisbert, married according to license granted February 22, 1768, Rachel Longstreet. In Book I of deeds, page 496, Mon- mouth Clerk's office, is record of a deed dated February 2, 1778, from William Hendrickson and Rachel, his wife, of Upper Freehold, to Gilbert Longstreet of the same township. The grantors convey for £4,000 a tract of land in that township which Stoffel Longstreet had deeded to William Hendrickson, and "Peter Wecoff's" land, Albert Couwen- hoven's lands, and Doctor's Creek are called for as monuments. 2. John, second son, married Novem- ber 14, 1763, Anna Cox, and resided in what is now Ewing township, Mercer county. 3 Daniel, third son, was born about 1737; married Ann Stewart, and settled somewhere near what is now Hamilton Square. He was a zealous patriot and soldier of the Revolution. 4. Tobias, fourth son, married accor- ding to license dated March 21, 1762, Rebecca Coward, and died May 23, 1811, aged 70 years, 10 months, and 2 days, according to his headstone in Old Yel- low Meeting House cemetery. His will is recorded at Freehold as heretofore mentioned with some of his descendants in Barkalow genealogy. 5. Cornelius, fifth son, is supposed to be the same person named in marriage license granted January 28, 1767, to Cornelius Hendrickson and Mary Thorn of Monmouth county. No other knowledge. 6. Jacob, the sixth son, married ac- cording to license dated May 2, 1771, Elizabeth Mount, and died July 24, 1831, aged 72 years, 6 months, 12 days, ac- cording to his headstone in the Old Yellow Meeting House cemetery. His wife is buried by him. 152 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. 7. David, the seventh and youngest son, to whom his father left the home- stead, which lay, I think, in what was then Nottingham township, Burlington county, but now part of Mercer county, lived and died on this farm, but I have no dates of his marriage or death. One of the maternal uncles of these seven sons was John Polhemus, who lived in Upper Freehold township and died there without children. His will is dated June 7, 1788, proved 1793, and recorded at Trenton, N. J., in Liber, 33 of Wills, p. 234. This John Polhemus married Alice, daughter of Joseph Holmes and Elizabeth Ashton* his wife, of Upper Freehold. She died April, 1788, according to her headstone in Yellow Meeting House cemetery, aged 61 years, 10 months. Her husband died September 15, 1793, aged 72 years, and is buried by her. In his will he names his wife's cousins. Elizabeth and Sarah, daughters of Jonathan Holmes, and Elizabeth, daughter of John Holmes, and Elizabeth Wyckoff, daughter of Peter Imlay. He also mentions his own sister, Catherine, who married Matthias Laen (Lane). (They are named as members of Dutch church in 1750). If she is dead he orders legacy paid to her children. He mentions children of his brothers, Daniel Polhemus, Tobias Polhemus and Cornelius Polhemus, and children of his sisters, Nelly Couwen- hoven and of Elizabeth Hendrickson. "My brothers' and sisters' children." ________________ * Joseph Holmes was the second son of Obadiah Holmes and Alice Ashton, his wife, and their son named in his will to whom he devised his lands at Crosswicks (Upper Free- hold vicinity). Joseph Holmes was born in 1699 ; married Elizabeth, daughter of John Ash- ton, and lived on his farm in Upper Freehold, and died in July, 1777. He is buried in Ash- ton graveyard. His will is recorded in Liber, 19, page 7. He had the following seven child- ren: Allis (Alice) born June 10, 1726, married John Polhemus, died without issue April 1, 1788, buried by her husband in Yellow Meeting house cemetery; Obadiah, born October 13, 1728 ; James, born March 6, 1732, died young ; Mary, born September 17, 1733, married Peter Imlay: Joseph, born December 3, 1736, married Phoebe Wardell, died August 31, 1809, leaving only one child, a daughter, (his will was proved September 16, 1809, and recorded at Free- hold in A of Wills, page 317. He leaves £300 to Baptist church of Upper Freehold) ; Jonathan, born December 4, 1738, married Lydia Throckmorton, died August 4, 1777, from exposure and hardships in American army during the war (he was a captain or lieuten- ant), buried in Yellow Meeting House cem- etery by his wife: John, born March 29, 1744, married Deborah Leonard, died August 10, 1783. (his wife died May 6, 1811, also buried in Yellow Meeting House cemetery.) ________________ are his words. His nephew, Jacob Hen- drickson of Upper Freehold, and his brother, John Polhemus of Middletown. are appointed executors. The will is witnessed by Garret Wyckoff, Robert Imlay, and Samuel Imlay. It thus ap- pears that the Polhemuses, Hendrick- sons. Longstreets, and Wyckoffs, set- tlers in Upper Freehold, were closely connected by blood or marriage. Jonathan Holmes, the soldier of the Revolution, by his wife, Lydia Throck- morton, had a son Joseph, born 1772, married Mary Bruere, and died July 16, 1815. His youngest son, Joseph, born November 24, 1810, married Martha Ann Miers, and died August, 1897. They were the parents of Joseph Holmes, our present Chosen Freeholder from Upper Freehold township, and who still (1901) owns and resides on old Holmes home- stead in that township. The Joseph Holmes who died July, 1777, and the progenitor of the Upper Freehold Holmes family, was a delegate to the Provincial Congress of New Jersey and a member of the Council of Safety in 1775-76. He was one of the most en- ergetic and trusted of the patriot lead- ers of Monmouth county and his death at the very beginning of the war was a great loss. Col. Elisha Lawrence, who raised a battalion of Jerseymen to serve in the English army and who was very active on the royal side, was a near neighbor to Joseph Holmes. There were other very bitter and malignant Tories among his near neighbors. His dwell- ing on one occasion was attacked by the Refugees and plundered. William Hendricks and Williamptje Laen, his wife, and their children: Geesye, or Gezina, as spelled on page 87 of Wells' address at Brick church, where she and her husband are put down as members of the Dutch church in 1743, married Matthias Peterzon, or Pietersen and was the second child of William Hendricks. In the record of the baptism of his children, her name is sometimes entered as "Geesye William- se," meaning Geesye, the daughter of William. Matthias Pieterson, her husband, was a son of Peter Thys Laen VanPelt, and Barbara Houlton, his wife. He was known as Matthias, son of Peter, and so Pieterson became his surname. Some of his descendants, it is said, removed to Hunterdon and Somerset counties in this state, and others over into Bucks and Chester counties, Pa. Matthias Pieterson and Geesye Hen- dricks had the following children: Barbara, baptized May 26, 1717. Peter, baptized November 23, 1718. 153 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. William, baptized January 13, 1723. Mary, baptized January 10, 1733. Daniel, baptized June 17, 1738. Hans (John) the third child of Wil- liam Hendricks, married Sarah Mosier, and died March 25, 1789, aged 89 years, according to his headstone in yard of Marlboro Brick church. His wife is interred by him and date of her death given as March 31, 1782, aged 80 years, 24 days. On page 86 of Wells' address her name is spelled "Sarah Meser" and she became a communicant in 1731. John Hendricks, as he wrote his name, made his will May 18, 1785, proved April 15, 1789, and is on record in Trenton in Book 30 of Wills, page 178, etc. He or- ders his executors to sell his land at Imlaystown, Upper Freehold township, and one half of his mill where his son, Abraham Hendricks, now lives in that township, and all other lands owned by him. He gives his old Dutch Bible and £10 to his son Abraham. He mentions his granddaughter Charlotte, and four children of his deceased son William. He also mentions his grandsons, Jacob and John Vanderbilt, children of his deceased daughter Elizabeth. He speaks of two children of his son Conradt, ap- points his son Abraham Hendricks, and his two grandsons, Jacob and John Vanderbilt, executors. The will is wit- nessed by Mary Vanderbilt and Lewis Forman. Seven of the children of John Hendricks and Sarah Mosier, his wife, are buried in the yard of the old Brick church at Marlboro. All have the Hen- dricks surname. Some of his descend- ants removed to Easton, Pa., and to Rockingham and other counties in Vir- ginia. By Sarah Mosier he had the following children: Johannes, baptized April 8, 1733, mar- ried, according to the license granted October 31, 1759, Phoebe Smith, and died, according to his headstone, July 13, 1760, aged 28 years, 5 months, 1 day. His will is dated July 2, 1760, proved July 26, 1760, and recorded at Trenton in Book 9 of wills, page 258, etc. He described himself as a resident of Mid- dlesex county, New Jersey. I think it was in that part of Middlesex county taken off in 1838 to form Mercer county. He mentions his wife Phoebe, but had no children. He gives his brother Wil- liam, six shirts and two beaver hats, and to his brother Guisbert (Gilbert) the remainder of his wearing apparel. He also mentions his brother-in-law, John Vanderbilt. The will is witnessed by John Hendricks, Andrew Forman and Lewis Forman. This John Hen- dricks, the witness, I think was a son of Gilbert Hendrickson and Elizabeth Polhemus, his wife, already mentioned, and residing in what was Nottingham township, Burlington county, but now Ewing township, Mercer county. Elizabeth, baptized August 25, 1734, married according to license dated May 20, 1754, and recorded in office of Sec- retary of State at Trenton, N. J., John Vanderbilt of Staten Island, N. Y., and died August 13, 1760, aged 26 years, 1 month, 13 days, according to her head- stone in Brick church cemetery. She left two sons, who are the executors named in her father's will made 25 years later, or in 1785. Under this will they sold and conveyed away his real estate, as appears from deeds recorded in Monmouth Clerk's office. William, baptized December 25, 1736, married, according to license granted December 21, 1756, Charity Robinson of Monmouth county and died before his father, leaving four children surviving. One child named Charity, died Decem- ber 23, 1761, and is buried in Brick church cemetery with a headstone giv- ing her name and age. He also had a son John, baptized November 19, 1757, who was his firstborn. As no others are buried in Brick church yard it is likely that they removed to some other place or colony. Conradt, baptized August 27, 1738, married first, according to license dated June 18, 1759, Mary English. She died October 26, 1762, aged 27 years, leaving one daughter, Elizabeth, baptized at Tennent church November 22, 1761. He married for his second wife Mary Knott. This license is dated June 17, 1763. During the Revolution he sided with the King and enlisted in the com- pany raised by Capt. Thomas Crowell which served in the battalion under Col. Elisha Lawrence, the ex-sheriff or last of the Kings' Sheriffs in Monmouth county. This battalion was in Skinner's Brigade and was stationed much of the time on Staten Island. On page 12 of Book A of Executions in the Monmouth Clerk's office is record of an execution issued May 1, 1779, against Thomas Crowell of Middletown township who had been found guilty under an inquis- ition of joining the King's army. On the next page, No. 13, is record of an execution against Conradt Hendricks, who had also joined the King's army. The real estate of these men was sold under these executions. They, how- ever, never returned to this county, so far as I can learn. They may have removed to Nova Scotia. Guisbert (Gilbert), baptized May 24, 1741, died single March 25, 1785, aged 154 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. 44 years, 1 month, 2 days, according to his headstone in Brick church cemetery at Marlboro. Mary, baptized April 7, 1744, married Thomas Hendricks, who, I think, resid- ed somewhere near Hopewell, N. J. She died November 5, 1768, aged 24 years, according: to her headstone in Brick church cemetery. Her husband is not buried in this yard and I do not know what became of him or whether she left any children. Sarah, baptized June 28, 1747, died single February 28, 1772. Abraham, born ____, married, accord- ing to license dated December 17, 1754, Mary, daughter of William Wyckoff and Agnes VanDoren, his wife. She was born October 1, 1733, and died February 12, 1796, and is buried in Brick church cemetery. Abraham Hendricks may have been the oldest of the eight chil- dren of John Hendricks, but there is no record of his birth or baptism unless the "Old Dutch Bible," which his father mentions in his will, be found. Neither do I know where Abraham died or where he was buried. He seems to have resided in Upper Freehold and run a grist mill at or near Imlaystown or Allentown. During the Revolution he was an earnest and energetic patriot and a soldier. I have no information or knowledge of his children, if any. His father's selection of him as executor and gift of family Bible to him leads me to think he was the oldest son. Jannetje, the fourth child of William Hendricks and Willaimpe Laen, his wife, married Christopher Warmsley, and moved to some other part of New Jersey or some other colony. She had, however, three of her children baptized in our Dutch church while visiting her parents, viz: William, baptized May 3, 1719, and two others unnamed, one October 25, 1724, and the other April 16, 1732. Hendrick, the fifth child of William Hendricks, was born November 11, 1706, married about 1728, Altje, daughter of Albert Couwenhoven and Neiltje Schanck, his wife, and died July 28, 1783, aged 76 years, 8 months, 6 days. His wife was born January 20, 1709. Her father and mother are both buried in Schanck-Couwenhoven yard, and dates of their deaths from headstone inscriptions show that the printed state- ments heretofore given are incorrect. Albert Couwenhoven died September 13, 1748, aged 72 years, 9 months, and 6 days. Neiltje Schanck. his wife, died July 27, 1751, aged 70 years, 6 months, and 4 days. Hendrick Hendrickson and Aeltje Couwenhoven, his wife, had two sons baptized in the Dutch church, viz: Hendrick, June 20, 1730, and Albert, July 16, 1732. There may have been other children born and not baptized. Hendrick, according to license granted April, 1751, married Sarah Tomson or Thompson. Both are put down as res- idents of Middletown township. They had the following children baptized: Hendrick, May 3, 1752; William, Feb- ruary 26, 1757; Albert, July 8, 1759; Arrinthia, September 6, 1761. Albert, the second son of Hendrick, married, according to license dated January 3, 1755, Johanna Mills. Both are named as residents of Monmouth. This couple had the following children: Hendrick, born June 27, 1756; Altje, born July 12, 1758, Elaxander Clark, as his christian name is spelled on church records, and had seven children bap- tized between 1776 and 1794. viz: Re- becca, November 29, 1761; Catherine, September 21, 1766; Mary, August 25, 1768; Nelly, February 3, 1777; John. February 3, 1777; William, February 3, 1777; Sarah, April 22, 1778. I do not know of any of the male descendants of Hendrick Hendrickson and Altje Couwenhoven, his wife, now residing in Monmouth county. I think some of them settled in Gloucester and Salem counties and others removed to New York and Pennsylvania. Daniel, the youngest son of William Hendrickson and Willaimpe Laen, his wife, is so named in his will and is also named in the will of his uncle, Daniel Hendricks, published heretofore in full. He re- moved from this county. [Omission:- After date "July 12, 1758" insert word "married."] I find Daniel Hendrickson running a grist mill on the Millstone river, in Somerset county. N. J., in the year 1741. This may be the same person. His grandfather, Hendricks Hendrickson, with Peter Cortelyou, Stoffel Probasco, Thepdon Polhemus, Hendrick Lott, Jacques Cortelyou, Dionje Denyse, and Cornelius Wyckoff, purchased in 1701, of John Harrison ten thousand acres of land in Franklin township, Somerset county, N. J. This land extended from Millstone river over to the old Indian path which ran from the tails of the Delaware River across New Jersey to a point about three miles from the mouth of the Raritan river. Here the river was crossed and the path ran over to Mount Pleasant and from there to Crawford's Corner, and from there over the hills by the residence of Daniel Hendricks, the pioneer settler to Ruck- man's Hills at Middletown village, and here intersected the old Indian path from Freehold to the bay shore and to Sandy Hook. The eight purchasers divided this trad into eight parts. Now Daniel 155 EARLY DUTCH SETTLERS OF MONMOUTH. Hendrickson, the youngest son of Wil- liam, had an opportunity to learn the miller's business in his father's mill on Mahoras brook, heretofore mentioned. His uncle Daniel, left him by will a small lot of land at Perth Amboy. This would indicate that Daniel had removed to this town or vicinity at the mouth of the Raritan river. His grandfather, Hendrick, owned lands on the Millstone River which afforded a good site for grist mills, a business which he under- stood. Neither is Daniel Hendricks, the youngrest son of William, named in any of our county records after the probate of his uncle Daniel's will. There is a probability from these considerations that the miller of this name on the Mill- stone river in 1741 may have been this man. This concludes the family records of some of the Dutch settlers of Monmouth county. I have not written these arti- cles to gratify any foolish family pride or vanity, or to instill notions of super- iority; for "birth is an accident," and transmits neither brains nor virtues of parents to children. The plodding, in- dustrious, and economical habits of our Low Dutch ancestors are worthy of re- membrance and imitation. Their ardent love of liberty, independence, and truth was a mighty factor in the establish- ment of this great Republic. Their des- cendants are bound by every principle of right and duty to carry forward their beneficent work, until mankind is freed from caste kings, priests and all other forms of hereditary bondage or oppres- sion. The following lines by Lowell express the truth: "Let those who will, claim gentle birth, And take their pride in Norman blood, The purest ancestry on earth, Must find its spring in Adam's mud. And all, though noble now or base, From the same level took their rise, And side by side with loving grace, Leaped crystal clear from Paradise. "Among our sires no high born chief, Freckled his hands with peasants' gore; No spurred or coronetted thief, Set his mailed heel upon the poor. No! We are come of a purer line, With nobler hearts within the breast; Large hearts, by suffering made divine We draw our lineage from the oppressed. "There's not a great soul gone before, That is not mentioned in our clan, Who, when the world took side with power, Stood boldly on the side of man. All hero spirits plain and grand, Who for ages ope the door, All labor's dusky monarchs stand Among the children of the poor. "Let others boast of ancestors, Who handed down some legal right, To stand behind their tyrant's horse, Or buckle his spurs before the fight. We, too, have our ancestral claims Of marching in the van; Of giving ourselves to steel and flame, When aught is to be achived for man. "And is not this a family tree, Worth keeping up from age to age; Was ever such ancestry Gold-blazoned on the herald's page? In old Monmouth let us still, Maintain our race and title pure, The men and women of heart and will, The people who endure." ==========================