"30-got to Amboy and was qualified in ye house. "Extract of Mr. Thomas Eatton's accts. deduct for ye Comrs of 28 10 lost at ft. Wm Henry "April 8, 1761-Rid to Burlington. "April 10th last night lodged at Mr Jno Coxe's, & to day rid to Philada. "Apri 12—I came out of town. 14th was at Mr. Page's and 15th I got home. "1761. New Jersey (to raise) 600 (troops which was 2-3 of 1760 quota.) "May 31, 1761 I set out from home to go to Philada to buy a negro or two. "June 2 got to Philada. "Bought "Troy," of Willing Morris & Co., for £40. "July 4, 1761, Set out to go to Burlington. "6th Got to Burlington "8 Broke up after passing a law to take 64 men & 2 officers into pay out of our Regiment, their service to commence the first of November 1761 & last a year; to have 3£ bounty & the officers 10s p of money this Levy money created a dispute. Wetherel & Spicer was uncommonly harsh against allowing levy money, and the reasons they assigned was the Poverty of Major McDonald who they suggested is to have the command of the 64 men-& they say is unworthy the reasons for it is that let who will enlist the men they must give a Dollar to drink the Kings health, that being so antient & established a custom that no soldier ever pertends to enlist without it they pushed this matter in a very uncommon manner-when we came to vote I proposed a Dollar being the exact Sum we all knew must be given, but the leading voters placed it at 10s and I was forced to vote for the 10s or the voters for nothing would have carried it-and that would have defeated the Service & occasioned the Assembly to have been called again. "9 of July 1761. I set out homeward. "Got home. Concerning the Baptist Church at Court House, Leaming said: "Oct 24, 1761, met and made arrangements for parsonage, and pews always to be free. Wanted 62 acres Millicent Young's for parsonage-171£. 1741-undertook to build meeting house." "Nov 6, 1761-Burned (branded) cattle on 5 mile beach, Nummy island & on 7 mile beach." In the Assembly, on December 3, 1761, when a bill or proposition was being passed upon imposing a duty on the importation of slaves, which Leaming considered really prohibitive, Leaming voted against it, while his colleague, Spicer, voted for its passage. In 1761, by act of the Provincial Assembly, Wills' Creek was ordered dammed to preserve the "marshes and cripple swamps." A bank was ordered erected from the upland of Thomas Smith to extend by the causeway then in existence, to the land of Nathan Hand. The managers were to be selected on the first Tuesday of each September, at the house of Thomas Smith. Smith and William Goff were appointed the first managers. Elihu Smith was appointed to make the county assessment for the year, and Joseph Hildreth was to collect the taxes. That same year Jacob Spicer was made one of the commissioners to provide aid for men wounded in the service of King Gorge III in fighting the French and Indians. In 1762 Joseph Corson, Isaac Baner, John Mackey, James Willets and "sundry other persons," had petitioned for a toll bridge over Cedar Swamp Creek at Fast Landing. And the Assembly passed a law for its building and a causeway. The following were the Rates of toll: Waggon or ox-cart, with team and driver........6 pence. Chaise or horse cart, passenger, horse, mare or gelding This road opened by way of Petersburg a more direct -communication with the upper part of the county. March 22, 1762, Jacob Spicer and four others from other counties were appointed by the Assembly to "purchase convenient tract or tracts of lands" for the Indians who were satisfied with the New Jersey government to settle upon. These were purchased in Burlington county and measured 3000 acres, which extended to the seashore. The last Inlian of the descendants of these settlers died in December, 1894. The same year Jacob Spicer was chairman of the Assembly's commission to settle claims for damages incurred by the French and Indian war. On December 8, 1762, Henry Young, Nathaniel Foster, John Willetts, Nicholas Stillwell, Thomas Leaming, Joseph Corson, John Leonard, Jonathan Smith, Jacob Hand, Daniel Swane, Robert Parsons were commissioned to be Judges of the Common Pleas, while Henry Young was to be Judge of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, holding office during pleasure. The same commission was granted to each Nathaniel Foster, Nicholas Stillwell, William Smith and John Willetts. Clamming, as well as oystering, occupied the attention of the inhabitants when there was no farming or other work pressing them. The following petition was presented to the Royal Governor, which sets forth their grievances, as well as shows who at that time were interested in the matter: To his Excellency William Franklin, Esq., Captain General and Governor-in-Chief in and over the province of New Jersey, Chancellor and Vice-Admiral in the same, and To the Houses of Council and Assembly for the said prov ince: "The petition of the inhabitants of the county of Cape May humbly sheweth That the act for preserving oysters is of great advantage; but as it seems uncertain whether clams are included there in, strangers make so large a practice of gathering and carrying them away, that in some places where they are the best, there are not enough to be found for the use of the neighborhood, and as this evil is increasing, we beg leave to solicit a law to prevent persons, who are not inhabitants of this province, from gathering clams in or exporting them out of this county. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will pray. Dated July 11th, 1763. Thomas Stites, Thomas Hewet, Robert Cresse, Ephraim Bancroft, Jonathan Cresse, Nathaniel Foster, ESQ James Whilldin, Elihu Hand, Downs Edmunds, Ezekiel Cresse, Joseph Hildreth, William Goff, James Hildreth, Nathaniel Shaw, Shamgar Hand, Daniel Hildreth. Jedekiah Hughes, Silas Swain, James Eldredge, Jeremiah Mills, Elijah Hughes. Jeremiah Leaming, George Stites. By this year the French and Indian War was at an end, and the results of it were the retirement of French control from North America, the unification of the colonists, the training of thousands of men in the use of arins to face an enemy, and the preparation for the War for Independence, then not far from beginning, the removal of the need of the British protection because the frontier foe had vanished, and opened up the trend of thought toward a government of themselves and by themselves. The colonists were nearly all English speaking, and nearly all Protestant, and of the same social class from the mother country. They were humble, upright and persevering, and one might believe, almost ignorant of dangers. The foreign trade of the country was prosperous. The mass of the people lived simply. but comfortable. There were but two really rich men in the county-Spicer and Leaming, the latter, however, worth nearly four times the former. The farm houses were generally built of huge timbers, covered with rough, unpainted clapboards, mostly one storyUsually the centre of the houses were taken up with an immense fireplace. On snapping cold winter nights there was no more cheerful sight, however, than such a fireplace, piled up full of blazing, burning wood, which had to be gathered in the day time by much hard work. The farmer bought little at the store. He raised his own food; his sheep furnished wool, and his wife and daughters. spun and wove it into stout "homespun" cloth. The old rags were saved, carefully washed, cut into strips and woven into "rag carpet." For recreation there were sleighing and skating parties in the winter and husking bees, wood-choppings and hog-killings at other proper seasons. The threecornered cocked hats and knee breeches were worn. Travel was by sail vessel or slow-going stages and "carry-alls.” Cape May had the stocks for punishment of criminals. In 1763 a large number of the freeholders of the county petitioned the State Assembly for the privilege of erecting a court house and jail on the plantation of Daniel Hand, in Middletown, near his dwelling house. The petition was granted and the cost was limited to £300. The reason given by the petitioners was that the court house and jail were out of repair. much too small and incommodiously situated. In 1764 Hand, who was a grandson of Shamgar, deeded oneacre for the purpose, free of cost, and the building was 24x30 feet, and lasted until 1849. This Assembly decided to raise £25.000 tax in the colony in 1764, and Cape My's share was apportioned at £417 14s. 81d. On September 17, 1765, Jacob Spicer, 2d, died. With all the many records here presented of his life as a public and |
