Descendants of Founders of New Jersey

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Cornelis Couwenhoven was born at Flatlands Brooklyn, Long Island, New York in 1672. He purchased 500 acres in Middletown, New Jersey in 1695. He was married to Margaretta Schenck. Cornelis died May 16, 1736 and was buried on his farm in Middletown. His will divided his many land purchases between his sons William and Rulif ; bequests were also made to his wife and eleven daughters.

Thomas Cox was born c. 1620 in Herefordshire, England; died in 1681 in Middletown, New Jersey. He married Elizabeth Blashford at Mespath Kills (now Newtown) on 17 April 1665. She died after 1691 in Middletown, New Jersey.

Thomas was a first settler of Mespath Kills, Long Island, New York, in 1665. He took up land in Middletown, New Jersey on 30 December 1667 from the Indians to whom he paid in full for portions guaranteed him under the Nicolls Patent. He was a Monmouth Patentee and assigned lot #8 in Middletown and lot #21 in the Poplar Field, 31 December 1667.

Tho:Cocks his marke is the top of the right eare cutt off and a swallow taile and a hole in the left eare, recorded on 4 January 1668. With three others he was chosen that same year to make prudential laws for Middletown and in the next year he was appointed rate maker of the town.

A few years after his settlement at Middletown, he had become an extensive land owner and a recognized man of affairs in Middletown, Monmouth County, serving as a juryman and overseer of fences and constable. The first record of his mark on documents is 8 November 1673.

Chosen deputy to meet the Governor and Council at Woodbridge on 1 January 1676, he was chosen a town overseer, and two years later was named to see that highways were mended and cleared. He received tobacco for surveying of Towne bounds.

A man who stood well in the estimation of the people with whom he had cast his lot, Cox was believed to have taken an active part in all the movements of his day. He was a Baptist and was the father of four sons and probably two daughters.

Dr. Daniel Coxe was an eminent physician, writer on chemistry and medicine, staunch Church of England man and physician to Charles II and later to Queen Anne. Although he never came to the New World he acquired some 600,000 acres of the Propriety of West Jersey, together with the right to govern. He appointed Edward Hunloke his Deputy Governor of the largely Quaker West Jersey.

Dr. Coxe’s eldest son, the third Daniel Coxe, was baptized in London in 1673. He traveled to America in 1702, probably with Lord Cornbury, who was appointed Daniel Commander of the forces of West Jersey. Colonel Daniel did not stay long in West Jersey; by 1704 he was back in London, waging a defense against some of the New Jersey Proprietors.

In 1706, notwithstanding the hostility of the Quakers, Lord Cornbury appointed Colonel Coxe an associate Judge of the Supreme Court of the Province of West Jersey. Overlooking his contempt for Quakers, in 1707 Daniel married Sarah Eckley, the daughter of John Eckley, a Philadelphia Quaker. The couple was married by Lord Cornbury’s chaplain and two days later the bride was baptized by the same chaplain. Most of Daniel’s life in New Jersey was spent in Burlington; however, in his later years he lived at Trenton, where he died 25 April 1739.

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Jasper Crane, born c. 1605 probably in Spoxton, Somersetshire, England, came with his wife Alice (-) to New England. He died in Newark, New Jersey, his will dated there 19 October 1681. His wife Alice was not mentioned in the will therefore presumed to have died earlier.

Jasper Crane was in the New Haven colony by 1642 when his son Delivered Crane was born there 12 July. He was one of those at New Haven who attempted the settlement of lands on the Delaware and were repulsed by the Dutch, Swedes and Finns. Returning to Connecticut, his name is found heading the list of those in Branford who on 30 October 1666 signed the agreement to establish a Congregational Church- controlled settlement in Newark, New Jersey. He was about 65 years of age at this time, a close friend of Robert Treat and the others undertaking the new settlement in New Jersey.

Experienced as a merchant, surveyor, Magistrate, Selectman, he became the first President of the Newark Town Court and the first Deputy to the General Assembly of New Jersey.

In the 1667 drawing of home lots Jasper and his sons Delivered and John Crane drew lots 49, 62 and 40. Jasper served the new colony at Newark in many capacities from 1666 until 1678. His will was dated 1 October 1678, the inventory of his estate was made on 28 October 1681, and letters of administration were granted on the estate 15 November 1681 to his son John and Thomas Huntington, a son-in-law.

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James Davis was born in Pilesgrove, New Jersey in 1675. His parents were Joris Christoffelse Davidse, born in 1653 in Beverwyck, NY, and Janetje Johanna Lopers, born about 1650 in Marbletown, NY. James married on 30 April 1702, Elizabeth Sandford who was born in North Carolina. He died after 23 May 1769, in Elizabethtown.

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David Demarest, a Huguenot, was born about 1620 in Beauchamps, Picardy, France. David first shows up in the history when he married Marie Sohier on 24 July 1643 in the Walloon Church, Middleburg, Island of Walcheren, Zeeland.

After his marriage and start of a family, his life is divided into four eras of about a decade each; Middleburg 1643-1651; Mannheim, Germany 1651-1663; Staten Island and New Harlem, New Amsterdam/New York City 1663-1678; and finally, the “French Patent” along the Hackensack River in 1678 until his death in 1693.

The Demarest family came to the New World on the Bonte Koe (Spotted Cow). The Emigrant’s Account book has David de Marie, wife and four children. Not much is known about his activities on Staten Island; in New Harlem he was a lot owner, magistrate and constable.

David and his surviving sons, Jean , Samuel and David with their families moved to the Hackensack area in May 1678. He built a house and a mill near what is now the Old Bridge. The land had been purchased from the Tappan Indians for wampum and useful articles; the deed dated June 8, 1677. That and later purchases may have amounted to 5,000 acres.

Though there is no physical evidence of it, there was a French Church built there that lasted for several years near the present French Burying Grounds. In his final will, written 26 August 1689, he refers to himself as a Yeoman and Miller. By the time of his death he had seen some twenty-six grandchildren born to his sons.

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Jean Demarest was baptized in Middleburg, The Netherlands on 16 Apr 1645.

Jean was the oldest of seven children born to David Demarest and Marie Sohier. Jean, along with his parents and three siblings, left the Netherlands aboard the Bonte Koe and arrived in the new world in the late spring or summer of 1663. Upon arrival, the family settled in Staten Island.

Jean married Jacomina de Ruine, born in the Province of Hainault, France, in New York City, NY on 9 Sep 1668. Jean and Jacomina had eleven children together:

David bap. Aug. 18, 1669, at New York
Jan (John) bap. June 18, 1671, at New York
Mary bap. 1673 probably
Sarah bap. Oct. 12, 1675, at New York
Simon bap. Nov. 22, 1677, at New York, (?) d. young
Rachel
Jacomina bap. Apr. 21, 1680, at New York
Lea bap. Apr. 18, 1682, at Bergen
Peter b. 1683 (family memorandum)
Magdalena b. 1685, bap. Probably at French church, Kinderkamack
Samuel bap. Nov. 13, 1687, at New York, (?) d. young
Jacomina died sometime after 1687 and Jean married twice more: (2) Marretje Van Winckell on 23 Mar 1692 and (3) Magdalena Laurens on 20 Dec 1702.

In 1670, Jean was elected constable in Harlem. In 1683 he was commissioned Lieutenant of Militia for the County of Bergen. Jean joined the Dutch Church of Hackensack on 10 Jul 1696 by letter from the French church of Kinderkamack.

On 16 Oct 1719, Jean Demarest died in New Barbados, Bergen Co. New Jersey.

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Robert Dennis was probably born in County Essex, England. He was in Yarmouth, Massachusetts from 1643 to 1669. He married Mary (-), no marriage or death dates known; he died after April 1683.

There have been many conflicting statements published about Robert Dennis' life in New England, but there are many records to substantiate his activities there.

He was a surveyor, farmer, carpenter, jurist and tax collector. The family removed to New Jersey at the invitation of Governor Carteret #117. A patent for land in Woodbridge dated December 1667 named him "Robert Dennis of Yarmouth", with others.

Dennis was named a "Burgess" to represent Woodbridge in May 1668. In December 1674 he and his wife Mary conveyed land to four of their eight children. His land in Woodbridge was named as a boundary in several deeds, and the published archives of New Jersey contain many References: to him and his sons.

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Daniel Dod was born in 1649 or early 1630 in Branford, Connecticut. He supposedly married Phebe Brown, daughter of John Brown who named his daughter Phebe Dod in his will dated 1689. It is family tradition that Daniel died from a fall from a load of hay, sometime between 1701 and 1714 in Newark, New Jersey. His wife's death date is unknown.

Although he was still a minor, Daniel appeared on the first Tax List of Newark in 1666. His estate was approved at Pounds 150 with deductions of Pounds 100. In 1668 he applied for, was later granted and paid for a one and a half acre lot in the Northwest Section, at present Orange and High Streets, in Newark. He was granted various other pieces of land, including acreage in the second and third purchases from the Indians, as they were completed. Eventually he and many of his descendants occupied those lands in what is now Bloomfield, New Jersey.

Daniel returned to Branford in 1671 to sell his father's property and described himself in the deed as in his 22nd year, the lawful heir of Daniel Dod, deceased.

In the Town Records of Newark, Dod was mentioned in 1677 and 1680 as being appointed one of the Warners of Town Meetings. He and Edward Ball were appointed in 1678 to run the Northern line of the Town. In 1686/87 he was named to an advisory committee concerning establishment with the Proprietors of the Town Bounds. With the other residents he signed an agreement in 1687/88 concerning support of the minister. He and Nathaniel Ward were assigned in 1701 to set the rate of payment for the minister.

When the third purchase of land from the Indians made it possible, Dod was named to the Committee in 1699 to extend the Town Bounds to the South Branch of the Passaic River.After 1701 there are no public records for this Daniel Dod. Later records seem to refer to his son and a nephew, both named Daniel Dod.

Cornelis Doremus was born in France, but moved with his family to Holland. On 12 May 1675, in Arnemuyden, Holland, he married Janneke Joris. After living in Middleburg, Holland for many years, the family emigrated to America sometime after the birth of their son Johannes who was baptized in Middleburg in 1684, but before son Thomas’s’s baptism on 11 April 1687 in Bergen, New Jersey.

Cornelis was a planter and in 1708 he purchased an extensive farm of 150 acres at Wesel (now Paterson). In 1711 he purchased an additional, much larger farm of 350 acres on Wesel Mountain, where he settled his son Thomas. Janneke and Cornelis were the parents of nine children, six sons and three daughters. Cornelis died at Wesel c 1715. There is no record of the date of death of his widow.

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Samuel Doty, son of Edward and Faith (Clarke) Doty was born about 1643 in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts; he married 15 November 1678 Jane Harmon at Piscataway, New Jersey; died between 18 September, the date of his will, and 8 November 1715 when the will was proved in Piscataway. His wife Jane survived him.

In July 1675 “Samuel "Doughty” was commissioned Lieutenant of the New Piscataway Company of militia. On 4 July 1681 Lt. Samuel Doty was a member of the Military Commission for New Piscataway. His extensive holdings are named as a boundary in several early Piscataway deeds. He received a patent for 100 acres of land that was at Sacunck on Bound Brook in 1691, then on 3 October 1693 he received a patent for another 100 acres of unsurveyed land in Middlesex County.

There were four children of Samuel Doty and Jane Doty baptized in Piscataway, their baptisms recorded in the Piscataway Town Book between 1679 and 1685.

Francis Drake was born in Devonshire, Essex, England in 1615 according to the family Data Collection-Births, he is believed to be the nephew or grands nephew of the famed circumnavigator Captain Francis Drake. He emigrated to the Massachusetts Colony abt. 1640 and ended up being the progenitor of a huge family of Drakes in New Jersey.

Shortly after arriving in the New World, Captain Francis Drake married Mary Walker. They had at least three children. The family settled in the Strawberry Bank on the western side of the Piscataqua River. Later called Portsmouth, New Hampshire. While there, he practiced his Baptist faith. He served on the Grand juries in the 1650’s and 1660’s. In April of 1646, he was one of 21 people who signed an agreement to have a committee lay out the land in the area. During July of 1661 he was made an Ensign. In 1665, he signed two petitions to the Commission for Affairs of New England (the governing body of the English Colonies) and to the King asking that Portsmouth be removed from the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, as the colony was known for its rigid Puritanism and governed the territories with a heavy hand. After having land boundary disputes and religious differences with the Puritans and Congregationalists, he removed to Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey c.1668. New Jersey’s, Articles of Agreement provided freedom of religion as well land grants.

Francis Drake was a very prominent citizen in both Portsmouth and Piscataway. In his early days in New Jersey, he was granted a license to own a tavern in 1673. In 1674 Frances was commissioned Captain of the local militia, The Jersey Blues, which he was credited with founding (also believed to be the reason why he was called captain). Later the militia served the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. In 1675, according to the list of patent holders, he was listed as owning 245 acres of land. One of his sons, the Reverend John Drake (1665-1741) was the first pastor at the Stelton Baptist Church of Piscataway. He served in that capacity for 50 years and ultimately was buried there. The exciting life of Captain Francis Drake came to an end on 24 September, 1687 with the reading of his will in Piscataway, New Jersey.

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Gavine Drummond, son of Robert Drummond and Isabel Melvine, was born in 1659, Prestonpans, Scotland. A notary public in Edinburgh, and brother of John Drummond, merchant burgess in Edinbugth, Gavine purchased land from his kinsman, John Drummond of Lundine, an East Jersey Proprietor, and later, Earl and Duke of Melfort in Scotland.

Settling on his land in Shrewsbury, East New Jersey in 1684, Gavine married Mary Layton, daughter of William and Violet Layton. They had numerous children. Gavine was appointed Clerk of the Court of Sessions for Middlesex County in 1701. Like other hopeful settlers, he cultivated his land, built a thriving sawmill, and speculated in other properties.

Gavine died intestate in 1724. His land passed to his second son, Robert . (Gavine junior, the eldest son, died intestate and without issue in 1748). Upon Robert’s death the land was inherited by his only son, Gavine, third of the name. Portions of the original tract of land remained within the family’s possession until the early nineteen hundreds

Let’s go back almost 900 years to the summer of 1137, to a grand castle outside of Bordeaux. She’s beautiful- tall-elegant, with reddish blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. She is the most sought after heiress in all of Christendom. She is head strong, fifteen years old, ambitious, high-spirited, well-traveled and literate. She is Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitou. She marries Louis VII of France and Henry II of England. The mother of two kings - Richard the Lion Hearted and King John of Magna Charta fame. Eleanor counts Charlemagne and Kings of Italy as her earlier grandparents. She is the many great grandmother of Sarah DuBois, baptized 14 September 1664, at New Paltz, New York.

Sarah DuBois‘s father Louis DuBois and his wife Catherine Blanchan arrived from England at Wiltwyck(Kingston), New York on the ship St. Jean Baptist on 6 August 1661. Her Father was known as Louis the Walloon, a wealthy man who founded New Paltz. Sarah grew up as part of the Huguenot society in America, French Protestants who immigrated to America.

Sarah DuBois married 12 December 1682, Joosten Jansen Van Meter (John), born ca. 1656. Their son John Jansen Van Meter settled in Somerset County New Jersey, where he married Sarah Bodine. She was also from a French Huguenot family, which had settled along the Raritan, in Somerset County, New Jersey. Sarah Bodine was born in 1687 and died ca. 1709 in Somerset.

Meanwhile, Sarah DuBois was now a widow living in Salem County in the Western Division of New Jersey. She purchased with John VanMeter, Issac VanMeter, and Jacob DuBois 3,000 acres of land on the branch of Prince Maurices River at the head of the main branch of the Cohanzy, in the county of Salem (now Cumberland) from Daniel Coxe for 750 pounds. Sarah DuBois died in 1726 in Salem County, New Jersey.

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Jonathan Dunham was born 4 November 1639/40 in Salisbury, Massachusetts. He married in 1661 Mary Bloomfield, daughter of Thomas and Mary Bloomfield of Newbury, Massachusetts. He came to Woodbridge, New Jersey, in 1665 with his wife's family, where he died about 1702/3. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Under a contract with the Town of Woodbridge, dated 8 June 1670, he received 213 acres of land for erecting the first gristmill in this part of the country for the benefit of the inhabitants of the town. On 18 May 1670 he was a member of a jury sitting at Elizabethtown. In 1671 he was appointed overseer of the highways; the following year and in 1675 he officiated as Clerk of the Township Court.

In 1673 he was chosen Deputy to the General Assembly representing the Woodbridge district; in September 1673 he was a member of the militia when East Jersey was taken over by the Dutch. In 1674 and in 1694 he was an Assessor or Rate Maker for Woodbridge and in July 1674 he was appointed an Attorney to defend the interest of Woodbridge in settlement of a controversy with Piscataway over a claim for some upland and meadows. Later, in 1686, he was one of the citizens empowered by the people to prevent encroachment and trespass upon the rights of the Corporation, with full authority to prosecute and punish any such offender.

Dunham was one of the persons delegated to superintend laying out and appropriating the second division of land of the Woodbridge Freeholders. In 1701 he was one of a dozen citizens chosen to procure the services of a suitable town minister and was again chosen Deputy to the General Assembly at Elizabethtown and Perth Amboy, representing the Woodbridge district. The property owners trusted him, with other Associates, to attend to important provisions of 100 acres of land for educational purposes. The Dunham Homestead built in 1670 is presently the Rectory of Trinity Church, Elizabeth, New Jersey. The mother of President Barack Obama, Stanley Ann Dunham, iss the seventh great-granddaughter of Jonathan and Mary Dunham.

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Nicholas DuPui (a member of the lesser or minor nobility of France and a merchant, a seller of camlet or cloth used to make cloaks and petticoats) was born in Paris c.1634. He fled Artois France and arrived in New Amsterdam 12 Oct. 1662 aboard the ship Purmerland Church, captained by Benjamin Barent. He was accompanied by his wife Catherine Renard (de Vos) born c.1634 and their three sons: John age 7, Moses 5 and Nicholas 2. Six additional children were born in the new world. Moses would later marry Maria Wynkoop and become one of the three trustees to receive a grant from Queen Ann of England to form Rochester, Ulster County New York in 1703.

Nicholas prospered in the new world; on 19 March 1663 he patented a 480 acre Plantation on Staten Island, and in June of 1665 he was sworn in as Beer and Weigh House Porter. He was also engaged in the fish packing business and enrolled in the service of Capt. Cornelius Steenwyck's Company of Militia for service against the English in 1673.

The family removed to Bergen New Jersey in 1677, was admitted to The Dutch Reform Church for membership. There he purchased 480 acres and 210 acres of land, respectively on 16 April 1687.

Nicholas later returned to New York City where he died at his home on Beaver Street c. 1691. His wife died c.1705.

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John Ellison was born about 1695 in Monmouth County, New Jersey. He married Susannah (last name unknown). Their son James was born in 1730 in Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, New Jersey. John died in Mansfield Twp., New Jersey in 1761 and his wife died in January 1795.

Joshua Ely was born in England and came to Trenton, New Jersey from Dunham, Nottinghamshire. He married 1) Mary Senior, who died in 1698 at Trenton, New Jersey. He married 2) on 9 November 1699 Rachel Lee who survived him. He died in Burlington County between 6 November 1700 and 16 June 1702, the dates of his will.

In October 1678 the Ship Shield from the port of Hull, Yorkshire, England, dropped anchor in the Delaware River before the present site of the city of Burlington, New Jersey. It was the first trans-Atlantic ship to go so far upstream. Among the passengers were Mahlon Stacy and his wife Rebecca Ely Stacy, sister to Joshua Ely.

Joshua Ely with his family had joined the West Jersey Colony some time prior to 1685 when 400 acres of Balifield, Nottingham Township, Burlington County plantation were transferred to him. He was commissioned a Justice of Burlington County in 1699 and again in 1700. This office was one of high importance in colonial days and generally carried with it the title of Justice of the several courts: Common Pleas, Quarter Sessions and Orphans Court.

Of the many children of Joshua Ely, two had died and were buried at Skegly, Nottinghamshire, England. The surviving children and his wife Rachel were named in his will made 6 November 1700 at Burlington, N.J. Two were twins: Benjamin and Ruth. One child, Hannah, was not mentioned in her father's will, but "at age 14 years" on 13 October 1712, her uncle, Mahlon Stacy, was appointed her guardian.

It is not hyperbolie to say that Joseph English had a part in the greatest migration, for reasons at least partly religious, of a people from one continent to another, over a thousand Leagues of sea, in the unknown history of the world. (1) He arrived in Burlington, West Jersey, in 1677, with his wife Hanna and her family, the Clifts. Here they progressed from wigwam living upon their arrival, to occupying multiple large estates - an early example of the realization of the "American Dream."

Joseph’s early years in America were dedicated to a cooperative effort with his aging father-in-law Samuel Clift, to establish a ferry service between West Jersey and Pennsylvania. Upon Clift’s death in 1683, he inherited 30 acres of land, a house, and the ferry. He continued to manage that venture until 8 May 1686, when he leased it to Abraham Cooks.

English appears to have had a genius for making good property investments in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania along the Delaware River. He maintained, on a small scale, a land office of his own, buying and selling land to later immigrants. Deeds referred to him as Yeoman (landed gentry) of Burlington County. His prized purchase was the estate at Labour Point, after the death of its owner John Cripps, who had sailed with English on the Kent in 1677. The Cripps-English site was described as the most beautiful estate on the Delaware River. It was directly opposite Pennsbury Manor, the private residence of William Penn. It was where his family reached maturity, where he spent most of his life and realized the purpose and hopes of coming to America. Prior to purchasing this estate he acquired another in Great Egg Harbor, Mansfield Township, and it is here that a creek is named for him "English Creek" which enters the Delaware. He gave this property to his son John four years after he had purchased it.

The illness that would claim his life in 1725 occurred on a Pennsylvania purchase he made in 1714 in the forks of the Brandywine. His will was written 40 days before he died; it was recorded where his family lived in New Jersey. The will bears the an armorial seal of the Scottish thistle and The English Rose under a Tudor Crown, symbolizing the coup of Queen Anne's reign of joining Scotland and England. The motto "same as always" was used by Queen Elizabeth.

Joseph English’s will names children: Joseph, as oldest son; William; Elizabeth the oldest daughter and probably deceased when his will was written since the will names her husband Peter; Rachel (Mrs. Thomas Greene); and Hannah English (Mrs. John Wells.

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David Falconer was born c. 1630 in Montrose, Scotland; married 7 March 1672 Margaret Molleson, daughter of Gilbert Molleson in Aberdeen, Scotland; died 18 April 1713 at Kingswells and was buried at Urie, Scotland; as was his wife who died 22 July 1697.

David Falconer was imprisoned in Scotland several times for his activities as a Quaker. He was appointed business manager (factor) to Col. David Barclay of Urie and his son Robert Barclay, the main theologian of Quakerism. On 1 May 1671 he was admitted Merchant and Guild-brother of the City of Aberdeen. His marriage in 1672 was to Robert Barclay's sister-in-law. He was a successful merchant in Edinburgh from 1674 to 1689, and as their Treasurer he kept the books of the Edinburgh Monthly Meeting.

When the Duke of York (later James II) made William Penn the Proprietor of Pennsylvania and Robert Barclay, David's brother-in -law, Proprietor and Governor of East New Jersey, Falconer purchased several parcels of land there while he continued to administer Barclay's affairs, * including those involving the settlement of East New Jersey. Barclay sold Falconer 500 acres in New Jersey on 20 and 21 February 1682/83, and subsequent to this purchase David was characterized as a "Proprietor" in several archival documents.

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Joseph Ephraim Frazee (Frasey) was born in Scotland 1635. He was a One-Lot-Right Associate in the Elizabethtown purchase, taking the Oath of Allegiance there on 19 February 1665. In the same year he married Mary Osborn, daughter of Steven Osborne, a Two-Lot-Right Elizabethtown associate, and Sarah Stanborough; the family came with many others from Eastern Long Island to Elizabethtown. It is not clear where Frazee lived prior to New Jersey; however, since he married the Osborne daughter shortly after coming to Elizabethtown, it may be that Frazee also came from Long Island.

As a One-Lot-Right man Joseph received a six acre town lot and in May 1676, 120 acres beyond the town. In 1685 he was awarded an additional warrant for 50 acres as compensation for two “highways” passing through his land, one leading to Vincents and the other to Woodbridge.

The Frazees had twelve children. Joseph died 8 January 1713; his will was proved 10 February 1714. His wife and two of his sons were executors.

Thomas French was baptized 3 November 1639 in the Protestant Episcopal Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire, England. He married 1) Jane Atkins at the Parish Church of Whilton, England on 12 June 1660 and married 2) on 25 8 mo. 1696 Elizabeth Stanton of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. Thomas died in 1699 at Rancocas, New Jersey.

Thomas was the son of Thomas and Sara French, and although baptized in the established church in England, the family was Quakers and suffered for their faith numerous times. At one time Thomas was sentenced to forty-two months in prison for refusing to pay tithes. Being a man of intense commitment, he signed the "Concessions and Agreements" at London in 1676 which provided for the settlement of New Jersey. Thomas arrived at Burlington, New Jersey 23 7 mo. 1680 bringing his wife Jane and their four sons and five daughters, the oldest child being sixteen years.

Thomas was a cooper and settled his family on a tract of about 600 acres along the banks of the Rancocas, about four miles from Burlington. He held an influential place in the colony and was commissioner of highways 1684-85. In Burlington Monthly Meeting of Quakers, he became an active and courageous member, standing up for principles he cared about. His wife Jane died 5 8 mo. 1692 at Rancocas after the birth of their 13th child, who also died a few days later. Thomas married about four years later Elizabeth Stanton and they had one daughter.

A copy of French's will dated 3 May 1699 states that he was about to sail for England, where he owned land in Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire. He left a large estate of lands to his children, for he had about 1200 acres of improved land, and as he was a Proprietor of West Jersey, he also held about 2,000 acres as his unsurveyed proprietary share. Thomas and his first wife were buried in a private burial plot on the homestead plantation, the exact location now unknown. Elizabeth, his second wife, survived him and was devised the house and 420 acres which would revert to his daughters named.

Hannah Fuller was born circa 1636 in Scituate, Massachusetts, the daughter of Samuel Fuller and Jane Lothrop. Samuel had arrived on the Mayflower as a child. His parents perished in that first awful year and Samuel was raised by his uncle Dr. Samuel Fuller, also a Mayflower survivor.

Hannah married Nicholas Bonham in Barnstable, Massachusetts, 1 Jan. 1658/9. They relocated to Piscataway, East Jersey, 6 May 1667. Nicholas signed the Oath of Allegiance in Piscataway in 1672. The Bonhams founded Bonhamtown to the east of Piscataway. They had eight children. Nicholas died 20 July 1684; Hannah died after 1686 at Piscataway. Their daughter Mary married the Rev. Edmund Dunham, and their son Edmund Fuller the second married Dinah Fitzrandolph. Their son Edmund the third married Mary Dunn, who was the daughter of Hugh Dunn and Amy Sutton. Edmund Fuller the third and Mary had a daughter Elizabeth Dunham who married Capt. Jacob Martin who served with Washington at Valley Forge. He was also the great grandson of John Martin (one of the original founders of Piscataway).

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Hananiah Gauntt was said to be a tall and powerful man, well educated, plain, sincere and honest. With a mind capable of penetrating to the truth and right, the education of his children and the duty to his neighbors occupied his entire time. Addition of the final “T” to the family name was supposedly Hananiah’s idea so that his descendants would know each other down through the generations to come. On 10 May 1679, he married Dorothy Butler at Barnstable County, MA.

On becoming a Quaker, Hananiah and others of the new faith came under great per-secution. Looking for a more peaceful place in one of the other colonies he left Yarmouth, Barnstable, MA and on 30 January 1668 bought land in Monmouth Co., NJ from his brother, Zachariah Gauntt, who had gone there before him. In 1670 Hananiah “transferred to my brother Israel Gauntt my whole share of lands at a place called New Eason in NJ, with cattle and horses that I then had in said New Eason." A thorough search of old maps of NJ failed to reveal a New Eason, but it is possibly Eatonton, NJ about two miles south of Shrewsbury, Monmouth Co., NJ. A deed of 4 March 1678 identifies Hananiah as "husbandman", whereas a deed of 6 Feb, 1677 identifies "Hanny" as a carpenter and Israel as a shoemaker.

About 1680 Hananiah moved to RI, and finally settled in Springfield, Burlington County., NJ where he bought 500 acres of land there by the name of 'Hananicaon' (an Indian name). The deed states that Hananiah Gaunt of RI bought 500 acres at Oneanickon (another spelling) from George Hutchinson, a Burlington County distiller. The deed is dated 11 May, 1685. There is also a deed for 200 a. of land on Burlington Island in the Delaware River that Hananiah purchased from George Hutchinson in 1690. Hananiah served on the Burlington County Court in 1686, 1688, and 1706. He was the "Overseer of Highways" in the Birch Creek area from 1691-1693. In the early 1700's, he applied for permission to establish a Quaker Meeting at Little Egg Harbor, NJ. His grandson, Hananiah, was one of the originators of the Friends Meeting at Bordentown, NJ.

Dorothy Gauntt died 26 April 1714 and Hananiah died in 1721; they are buried on the Jobstown property. His will is dated 17 Jul 17, 1720; inventoried on 15 Nov, 1721; and was probated 23 Dec, 1721.

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William Gifford was born about 1615, England, died 9 Apr or 21 Dec 1687. He married first Patience Russell and second, in 1683 at Sandwich, Massachusetts, Mary Mills. Mary was a daughter of John and Sarah Mills of Blackpoint, MA. (now Scarborough, ME). Mary arrived in New England after 1643 and was living in 1734 per Friends records. William was a member of the Society of Friends, and his wife, Mary, was a traveling Quaker missionary.

William Gifford is found at Sandwich in 1650, and authorized as one of four men to call a town meeting in 1651. Although he repeatedly suffered the persecutions visited upon the Quakers, he prospered in material affairs and became a large land owner. William owned land in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey. Some of William’s Rhode Island lands were purchased in 1670 from “Mistress Sarah Warren of Plymouth, widow of Richard Warren, ” including one half her share in the land at Dartmouth. His Massachusetts possessions consisted of lands in Sandwich, Falmouth and Dartmouth.

Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England record various confrontations with authorities. William was before the court of that settlement in 1647 or before. The sentence of the court against him was that he be whipped at the court's discretion and banished. He continued to reside in Sandwich until his death, with the exception of five years between 1665-1670, when he with George Allen and the sons of Peter Gaunt, all of Sandwich, together with others, were first proprietors of and settled Monmouth County, New Jersey, having purchased the land of the Indians and to whom the Monmouth Patent was granted, 8 April 1665. In a deed by his son Christopher he was described as a tailor.

William Gifford was fined by the authorities for comitting fornication before marriage or contract, fined each five pounds to the vse of the collonie and again for takeing his wife without orderly marriage, forasmuch as there were many cercomstances in the action that did alleuiate the fault, is onely fined fifty shillings, the Court abateing the fine in the extent of it respecting the pmises. William Gifford married his second wife, Mary Mills, on 16 July 1683, but obviously in the Quaker manner, unrecognized by the colonial authorities.

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The Grasset family was Huguenots, originating in Ancientia Poicton, France, immigrating via La Rochelle to London, then to New York, Staten Island and then New Jersey. The name Gracy is from the French word gris meaning grey. The name when pronounced in French sounds as Grah-cee. It soon took on many forms, such as Gracie, Greasie, Graycy and other variations.

The earliest record of Matthew Gracey is a deeding of land in Monmouth County, New Jersey on 13 November 1694 to John Cockburn. The name of his wife is unknown. They had at least one child who they named Matthew. Matthew Gracey Sr. died in New Jersey in 1715.

Matthew Gracey, Jr. is recorded in 1715 in the New York State Military Records, where “Math. Grace a farmer” is in the New Jersey militia regiment under the command of “Col. Tho; 1st Company, Col. Parker as Capt. and Nathaniel Moore as Lt.”

In 1727 Matthew Gracey, Jr. inventoried the estate of Eleazer Contrill of Middletown, Monmouth County. He married Rebecca Applegate, 20 June 1735, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The only known child of Rebecca and Matthew Gracey was Parthenia Bethany Gracey, born about 1752.

John Gregory was likely born in Nottingham England c 1612/15. He was a man who was very active in civic affairs, holding offices such as selectman and deputy to the colonial legislature in Hartford, Connecticut. He sat in a special meeting that discussed the possibility of declaring war on Holland. He was also part of the settlement group in Norwalk, Connecticut.

John Gregory was a leader in the plan that led to the founding of Newark. In 1662 he met with Dutch authorities for permission to build a settlement in the area. In 1666 Gregory and Robert Treat conferred with Governor Carteret of New Jersey, concerning establishment of a new settlement. With Carteret approval, Treat and Gregory selected the site for Newark, which was subsequently purchased from the Indians. Gregory selected a town site in the new town; however he never lived there, and in 1668 his lot was sold to Henry Lyon.

He and his wife Sarah had sons John , Jacim , Judah Gregory, Joseph and Thomas . Daughters, Phoebe and Sarah, married brothers John and James Benedict, respectively. His will was presented for probate on 9 October 1689. His estate was worth 215 Pounds 4s 6 p.

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James Grover was active in the settlement of East Jersey. He settled in1648 at Gravesend, Long Island. In 1655 he was sent by the English Colonists on a mission to Cromwell. He was one of the grantees of the Monmouth Patent , in New Jersey. He died in 1686.

Abigail Grover, daughter of James, was active in the settlement of East Jersey. She married Benjamin Borden on 1 Sept 1670. Benjamin settled some of his father’s lands in Monmouth County, New Jersey; first at Shrewsbury and latter Middletown. In 1695 and 1698 he was elected to the assembly of Middletown. In 1713 the family moved to Evesham, Burlington County. Abbigail died 8 Jan 1720. Benjamin left a large estate at his death about 1728.

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John Haines was born in Aynho, Northampton, England on December 10, 1664. He married Esther Borton in 1684. They had six sons and seven daughters together. John died on November 4, 1728 in Burlington County, New Jersey. John was the eldest son of Richard Haines (originally spelled “Hayne”) and Margaret, who came from Anyho, a parish of England, in Northampton. John traveled to America in 1680 and initially lived in a cave in “Haines Bank” near Lumberton. John’s parents and siblings made the voyage in April 1682 on the ship Amity. John’s father died and his younger brother was born during the voyage. In 1683, John located 200 acres of land below Lumberton on Bull’s Head Road. Later, he purchased additional land in the area, including that at Cotoxen Creek at Kirby’s Mill. He built a dam, establishing the first sawmill and gristmill in that area. During his life, he purchased over 3,700 acres of land, which includes what is known as the “Friendship Tract” in 1711. Part of his plantation remained in the family until 1919. John’s wife Esther predeceased him in 1719. He then married Hannah Wood in 1722. John and his first wife Esther were documented “zealous” Quakers. John was an appointed Quaker elder. Both were buried in the Evesham Burial Grounds.

Samuel Hale was born the 9th of February 1639/40 at Newbury, Massachusetts, a son of Thomas and Thomasine Dowsett Hale. He married 1st Lydia Musgrave (although no official record has been found of this event), and 2nd Sarah Ilsley, a daughter of William and Barbara Stevens Ilsley. She was born at Newbury, Massachusetts on 8 of August 1655 and died at Woodbridge, New Jersey 16 January 1680/81. They had two daughters, Sarah born in the year 1675 (she died young) and Mary who married 1st a Higgens and 2nd, Moses Rolfe, with whom she had ten children.

According to sources, Samuel moved to Woodbridge, New Jersey about the year 1670, along with a large group of residents from Newbury, Massachusetts. Samuel was a prominent and active citizen of Woodbridge, holding many religious and civic offices. He was an Officer of the Militia, Justice of the Peace, Marshall of the Woodbridge Town Court, and served on various committees at Woodbridge during the years 1682, 1693, 1695, and 1697, a Constable in 1680, Associate Justice of the Woodbridge Town Court in 1683, 1687, 1689, Lieutenant of the Militia Company 1682-1697, Tax Collector (1684) and was a large landowner in the Woodbridge, New Jersey area.

Samuel was active in the church at Woodbridge, New Jersey, and his name appears on the list of members.

Samuel Hale died at Woodbridge, New Jersey of small pox at the age of 69 years, 7 months and 3 days on 5 November 1709. His will, dated the 23rd of May, 1707 names his “well beloved son in law, Moses Rolfe” as his only legatee and executor.

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Encouraged by the proprietors of East Jersey, John Hampton (Hamton) came to America from Scotland as part of the early Quaker migrations beginning in 1682. The proprietors of East Jersey desired to create a safe haven for Sottish Quakers and Presbyterians, both groups facing increasing persecution in Great Britain. Hampton was from Elphinstown (Ephingtown), East Lothian, Scotland. He and his family were among the first to arrive in this Quaker migration. Hampton and his eldest daughter Janett were listed as “redemptioners” in early records, indentured for four years. Hampton received a deed from the Proprietors for 10 acres at Amboy Point in his first year in East Jersey.

Skilled “gardeners,” Hampton and fellow Scotsman John Reid were enlisted by the East Jersey proprietors as Overseers. As such, Hampton and Reid helped provide leadership to the Scottish colonists and were granted extensive lands in both Middlesex and Monmouth Counties for their services. As a portion of these lands, Hampton received a Patent for 164 acres on the Naversink River, in Monmouth County on 8 Jan 1685.

John Hampton was a well-respected Elder in the Friends meeting and was often appointed to participate in various quarterly and annual meetings held in the region. At one such meeting held in Burlington, Hampton is listed among the Elders present, and guests included William Penn.

A widower, John Hampton married Martha Brown of Shrewsbury in 1686. The marriage was recorded in the records of the public meeting house of Friends in Shrewsbury. Hampton resided for several years in Shrewsbury after this marriage. While residing there, his eldest daughter Janett married Robert Rhea (Ray).

In 1695, Hampton removed to Freehold where he is listed as paying quit rent on 544 acres there. Martha Brown Hampton died in 1697, and the next year John Hampton married once more - to Jane Curtis Osborne. A son, Joseph , was born to them in 1702. John Hampton died in Freehold that same year.

John Hampton had nine children by his various wives: Janett Hampton, John Hampton, David , Andrew , Jonathan , Noah , Elizabeth , Lydia , and Joseph.

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In the middle of the 1690s, three brothers came to Cape May County from the eastern end of Long Island. Shamgar , Benjamin , and Thomas Hand were sons of John Hand and Alice Gransden. John Hand came to the “new country” from Stanstede, Kent, England, circa 1636 to Lynn Massachusetts. The Hands arrived in Southampton, Long Island, around 1644. Subsequently John was one of the founders of the adjacent community of East Hampton. He died in East Hampton shortly before 24 January 1660.

According to the old Cape May County land deeds, Thomas Hand purchased 400 acres of land on the Delaware Bay side of Cape May in 1695, while Benjamin purchased 373 acres in 1692 and Shamgar purchased 700 acres in 1695, both on the Atlantic Ocean side of Cape May. Shamgar was listed as a “gentleman”, Benjamin as a “yeoman” (a colonial word for someone who owned the land on which he farmed), and Thomas, a “whaler”.

Thomas is listed in several books as having been born in Southampton in 1646. However, in his will drawn on 21 October 1707, Thomas states that he is “aged fifty-nine years.” This age would imply that he was born in 1647 or 1648. His will was proved on 3 November 1714 and his inventory was proved on 29 November 1714. At the top of the inventory is the date of 9 October 1714 which may be his actual date of death. Depending on his birth year, he would have been between 62 and 64 years old at the time of his death. When he wrote his will, he said that he was “in good health and strength and memory” but recognized “the frailty and mortality of all men”.

We know little about Thomas Hand's life. He came to Cape May as a whaler, but in his will he lists his occupation as a “yooman” (sic). This would imply that he switched from whaling to farming late in his life.

From his will and land deeds we know that he had five sons, Jeremiah Hand, Thomas, Recompense , John , and George (in no particular order of age). He also had three daughters, Alice , Deborah , and Prudence . Recompense was given most of Thomas' land and improvements. His wife, Katherine , was given her choice of one room in their house along with two slaves, one male and one female, during “the time of her widowhood and no longer.” The inventory of his personal estate amounted to 502 pounds, 14 shillings.