September 19th 1723-Received of Aaron Leaming the Consideration money mentioned in the within deed by money formerly Paid and a bond now given for the Remainder I say received by me Lewis Morris Agent.

In 1726 the first census of Cape May county was given, and there were then but 668 persons residing within its territory.

The census is abstracted from a letter of May 9, that year, from Governor Burnett to the Lords of Trade in London, and shows the total number of white residents to have been 654, of which 209 were males above 16, 156 females above 16, 148 males under 16, 141 females under 16, and the total number of negroes to have been 14, of which 8 were males above 16, 5 females above 16, and one male under 16. The total population of the State was 32,442, of which 2581 were negroes.

But the residents must have been a thrifty and pious set, because they seemed to accomplish a great deal with the little which they had to do. In the matter of religion they were a devout people. There had, with that small population, been established three meeting houses in the county, all on the one long main road which by that time had extended from Town Bank to Cold Spring, on by the Baptist church at Court House, and the old Cedar Quaker meeting house at Seaville to Beesley's Point. From the journal of Thomas Chalkley, a traveling Friend from England, who visited Cape May this year, it appears to have been a wilderness between Cohansey and the main road, but Chalkley, under date of 2d month, 1726, of his journey here:

"From Cohansey I went through the wilderness over Maurice River, accompanied by James Daniel, through a miry, boggy way, in which we saw no house for about forty miles, except at the ferry; and that night we got to Richard Townsend's, at Cape May, where we were kindly received. Next day we had a meeting at Rebecca Garretson's, and the day after a pretty large one at Richard Townsend's, and then went down to the Cape, and had a meeting at John Page's, and next day another at Aaron Leaming's; and several expressed their satisfaction with those meetings. I

lodged two nights at Jacob Spicer's, my wife's brother. From Cape May, we traveled along the sea-coast to Egg Harbor. We swam our horses over Egg Harbor River, and went over ourselves in canoes; and afterward had a meeting at Richard Sumers, which was a large one as could be expected, considering the people live at such distance from each other."

In this year the tax levied upon Cape May was £157 195. 8p., and Richard Townsend was entrusted to collect it. This was an average of four shillings for each inhabitant, or about $1.25, so that the tax was not very heavy upon them. On April 9th this year Benjamin Hand was commissioned a lieutenant in Captain Downes' company. On August 30, 1733, the following were appointed a Commission of the Peace: Jacob Spicer, Humphrey Hughs, Robert Townsend, William Smith, Richard Townsend, Henry Young, John Hand, Samuel Eldridge, William Seagrave, Henry Stites, Richard Stites, William Eldridge and Anthony Ludlam, and the judges selected were Jacob Spicer, Humphrey Hughs, Robert Townsend and William Smith.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSIES.

After Rev. John Bradner, the first pastor of the Cold Spring Presbyterian Church, ended his labors there in 1731, he removed to Goshen, Orange county, New York, where he died two years later. His estate was purchased for the church in 1721 by the following persons: Humphrey Hughes, Barnabas Crowell, Nathaniel Rex, George Hand, Jehu Richardson, Yelverson Crowell, John Parsons, George Crawford, Josiah Crowell, Colonel Jacob Spicer, Benjamin Stites. William Mulford, Shamgar Hand, Jeremiah Hand, William Matthews, Joshua Gulicksen, Samuel Eldredge, Samuel Bancroft, Samuel Johnston, Recompence Hand, Jonathan Furman, Eleazer Norcault, Constant Hughes, Ezekiel Eldredge, Cornelius Schellenger, Eleazer Newton. Joshua Crawford, Jehu Hand, Nathaniel Norton, John Matthews.

After the removal of Mr. Bradner the church was without a pastor till 1726, when the Rev. Hugston Hughes was settled and stayed one year only, as he was given "to too strong drink."

From Aaron Leaming's, 2d, manuscript we read:

"My father's father, Christopher Leaming, was an Englishman, and came to America in 1670, and landed near or at Boston; thence to East Hampton. There he lived till about the year 1691, and then leaving his family at Long Island, he came himself to Cape May, which, at that time, was a new county, and beginning to settle very fast, and seemed to promise good advantages to the adventurers. Here he went whaling in the proper season, and at other times worked at the cooper's trade, which was his occupation, and good at the time by reason of the great number of whales caught in those days, made the demand and pay for casks certain. He died of a pleurisie in 1696. His remains were

interred at the place called Cape May Town, was situated next above now New England Town Creek, and contained about thirteen houses; but, on the failure of the whale fishery in Delaware Bay, it dwindled into common farms, and the graveyard is on the plantation now owned by Ebenezer Newton. At the first settlement of the county, the chief whaling was in Delaware Bay, and that occasioned the town to be built there; but there has not been one house in that town since my remembrance. In 1734 I saw the graves; Samuel Eldredge showed them to me. They were then about fifty rods from the bay, and the sand was blown to them. The town was between them and the water. There were then some signs of the ruin of the houses. I never saw any East India tea till 1735. It was the Presbyterian pa:sons, the followers of Whitefield, that brought it into use at Cape May, about the year 1744-5-6, and now it impoverisheth the country."

"Aaron Leaming (the first), of the County of Cape May, departed this life at Philadelphia, of a pleurisie, on the 20th of June, 1746, about five o'clock in the afternoon. H was born at Sag, near East Hampton, on Long Island, Oct. 12th, 1687, being the son of Christopher Leamyeng (as he spelt his name), an Englishman, and Hester, his wife, whose maiden name was Burnet, and was born in New England. Christopher Leamyeng owned a lot at Easthampton, but he came to Cape May, being a cooper, and stayed several years and worked at his trade; and about 1695-6 he died at Cape May, and his land fell to Thomas Leamyeng, his eldest son; the rest was left poor."

Dr. Beesley says:

"Aaron Leaming was bound to Collins, a shoemaker in Connecticut, but did not serve his time out, and came into the Jerseys at about sixteen years of age, very poor, helpless and friendless; embraced the Quaker religion, lived a time at Salem, came to Cape May while yet a boy (in 1693), settled at Goshen, raised cattle, bought a shallop and went by water, gathered a considerable estate, but more knowledge than money. The 12th day of October, 1714, married Lydia Shaw, widow of Wiliam Shaw, and daughter of John Parsons. By her he had four children, Aaron, Jeremiah,

Matthias and Elizabeth. He was first a justice of the peace at Cape May. In 1723 he was made clerk of Cape May, and in October, 1727, he was chosen assemblyman, and served in that post till July, 1744. He died June 20, 1748, aged 58, and his remains lie in vault 50, in Christ Church yard, Philadelphia. He was universally confessed to have had a superior knowledge; he amassed large possessions, and did more for his children than any Cape May man has ever done. He left a clear estate, and was buried in the church-yard in Philadelphia. At Salem and Alloway's Creek he became acquainted with Sarah Hall, an aged Quaker lady, mother of Clement Hall. She herself was an eminent lawyer for those times, and had a large collection of books, and very rich, and took delight in my father on account of his sprightly wit and genius, and his uncommon fondness for the law, which he read in her library, though a boy, and very small of his age (for he was a little man), and could not write; for the Presbyterians of New England had taken no other care of his education than to send him to meeting."

Another old record says:

"There was an Indian killed on Foxborough Hill, at Beesley's Point, in 1736, by old Joseph Golden, who got into a quarrel and probably unintentionally killed his opponent. It is said the Indians were so enraged against Golden that he was for a long time obliged to secrete himself to avoid their vengeance. A suit was instituted against him in the county which was removed to Burlington, where he was tried and acquitted; but its great cost obliged him to dispose of that part of his place northwest of the main road to the Point, to Nicholas Stillwell."

Concerning this event "The Pennsylvania Gazette," of August 2-7, 1736, says:

"Cape-May, July 17. Yesterday the Coroner's Inquest view'd the Body of an Indian man, said to be kill'd by Joseph Golden, an English Inhabitant here. Isaiah Stites being present and seeing the whole Difference, gave his Evidence to the Inquest, the Substance whereof was, That Golden having hired the said Indian with another Indian Man and Woman to pull some Flax, was to give them