JOHN FENWICK BIOGRAPHY and FAMILY TREE - Salem County NJ Information located at http://www.rootsweb.com/~njsalem/ On a USGenWeb/NJGenWeb Web site TRANSCRIBED BY JANICE BROWN, County Coordinator in 2007 Please see the web site for my email contact. ---------------------------------- Copyright 2007 Janice Brown The original source of this information is in the public domain, however use of this text file, other than for personal use, is restricted without written permission from the transcriber (who has edited, compiled and added new copyrighted text to same). ======================================================== SOURCE: HISTORY AND GENEALOGY OF FENWICK'S COLONY; Bridgeton, N.J., by Thomas Shourds; pub. by George F. Nixon, 1876 pages 9 JOHN FENWICK, the proprietor of the one-tenth of West New Jersey, was born in Northumberland county, at Stanton Manor, in England, in the year 1618. He was the second son of Wm. Fenwick, and in the year 1640 he became a member of the church of England. In the year 1645 he was a student of law at Grey's Inn, in London. Soon after he was made captain of Cavalry by Cromwell; he taking such active part against the crown, it has been the opinion of many, that it was the primary cause, after Charles II ascended the throne, that there was so little favor shown him in the affairs of the colony. About the year 1648 he married Elizabeth Covert, of the county of Sapoy. The Coverts as well as the Fenwicks were ancient families, and they can be traced back in English history as early as the 12th century. He had three children by Elizabeth Covert, all daughters; Elizabeth, Anne and Priscilla Fenwick. His second wife was Mary Burdet, the daughter of Sir Walter Burdet, and there was no children by that connection. In 1665 he and his wife Elizabeth became members of the society of Friends. He, like many others of that religious faith and other descendants, were imprisoned for conscience sake. About that time Lord Berkley offered West New Jersey for sale. There appeardd to have been an understanding between Edward Billinger and John Fenwick, for John Fenwick to purchase the whole of West New Jersey, and Fenwick to have the one-tenth of the whole. The deed was given by Berkley in the year 1673, and the consideration money mentioned in the deed was soon after the purchase by mutual understanding. The land compromising Salem and Cumberland counties, as now divided, were set off as Fenwick's tenth. He immediately afterwards made preparations to emigrate and take possession of the lands in West New Jersey, in America, and held out inducements for others to emigrate with him. There was a large number accepted the invitation, principally members of his own religious faith. Many of them purchased land and paid him for it before they embarked, which afterwards gave rise to many difficulties between them and the proprietor, because their lands were not surveyed to htem as soon as they desired. The following are the names of some of the principal persons who embarked with John Fenwick: John Pledger, Samuel Nicholson, James Nevil, Edward Wade, Robert Wade, Samuel Wade, Robert Windham, Richard Hancock, and their families, and several others. There were several single men, Samuel Hedge Jr., Isaac Smart, and others. The servants that hired in England to persons above mentioned, and likewise to John Fenwick and his two son-in-laws, were Robert Turner, Gewas Bywater, Wm. Wilkinson, Joseph Worth, Joseph Ware, Michael Eaton, Eleanor Geeve, Nathaniel Chambless, his son Nathaniel Chambless Jr., Mark Reeve, Edward Webb, Elizabeth Waiters. Smith, in his history of New Jersey, says in many instances the servants became more conspicuous members of civil and religious society than their employers. I myself, in tracing families, find the remark to be correct. Fenwick's immediate family that came with him were his daughter Elizabeth and her husband John Adams, his daughter Anne Fenwick who married Samuel Hedge Jr. the spring following, and his youngest daughter Priscilla, whose husband was Edward Champney. His wife, Mary Fenwick, did not accompany him to his new home in the wilderness, for some cause that has never been explained. The letters passed between them manifested a sincere and filial attachment, and they continued to correspond while life remained. They embarked from London in ship Griffith, Robert Griffith being master, on the 23d of the 9th month. They arrived at the mouth of Assamhockin, and ascended the stream about three miles, and landed at a point of land at a place Fenwick and his friends that were with him thought it a suitable location for a town. He gave it the name of New Salem, because he remarked to one of his intimate friends the name signifies Peace, but it did not prove so to him, as the sequel of his history will show. He, like his great friend and benefactor, William Penn, and also Roger Williams, found in settling colonies that there were more thorns than roses. As soon as it was practicable after they landed, the proprietors held a council with the Indian chiefs that lived within the compass of Salem county, and purchased all their lands of them, thereby securing perpetual peace with the natives, and the same kind of treaty was made with them by Billenge or his agents for the remainder of West Jersey. They reserved certain rights for themselves--trapping, fishing, and the privilege of cutting certain kinds of wood for the purpose of making baskets, also in making canoes and other things. The treaty was faithfully fulfilled. About fifty years ago [from 1876] the few remaining Indians in this State made application to the New Jersey Legislature to sell all their rights and privileges they held in the State, which was accepted by the Legislature, and they were paid the price they asked. They then removed to the State of New York to dwell with the Mohawks and other scattering tribes that remained in that State. John Fenwick, after his arrival here, issued a proclamation granting civil and religious liberty to all persons who should settle within his province. In the year 1676, he turned his attention to providing homes for his children, and accordingly directed Richard Hancock, his surveyor, to lay out and survey two thousand acres in Upper Mannington for Samuel Hedge Jr. and his wife Anne. The said land was called Hedgefield. He also directed him to survey two thousand acres for his son-in-law, Edward Champney and his wife Priscilla, which land was bounded on the west by John Smith's land, on the north by John Nevel's farm, and Alloways creek on the south. To his son-in-law John Adams and his wife Elizabeth, he gave all that tract of land located in what is now called Penn's Neck. It is known at the present day as the Sapaney. Fenwick built himself a house in the town of Salem on what he called Ivy Point. From said house he was forcibly taken in the middle of the night by a party of men from New Castle and taken to that town, and from thence to New York, and there imprisoned by an order of Governor Andross, under pretence that he was infringing on the rights of that State, which they claimed to own to the eastern shore of Delaware river. After he was released, he for some time neglected to attend meetings. Accordingly, Salem Monthly Meeting, held the 6th of the 3d month, 1678, appointed Richard Guy and Christopher White to visit John Fenwick to inquire of him whether he owned the truth that he formerly possessed, and if he owned it to desire him to come to the next monthly meeting, if not, return his answer to the next meeting. At the next meeting, the Friends that were apopinted to visit Fenwick on account of his non-attendance of meetings, reported they had an interview with him, and he informed them that he loved the truth he formerly possessed, and that an answer to a letter he had received from George Whitehead, a distinguished Friend in London, he wished to be forwarded to the meeting. The contents of the letter, I believe, were never preserved, but the proceedings of the meeting shows plainly that difficulties existed between him and some of the members of his own society; which was at fault, they or him, no one can tell to a certainty at the present day. After two or three years more of perplexities and trouble in endeavoring to establish a government in the colony, he wisely abandoned it by selling all the lands he had in the Salem tenth, (reserving one hundred and fifty thousand acres for himself and family), to Governor Wm. Penn. The deed was given the 23d day of March 1682. From that time the whole of West Jersey was under one government. The Legislature met at Burlington, and Samuel Jennings, of that place, was elected Deputy Governor at the first Legislature afterwards. John Fenwick was elected one of the members of that body from Salem county, in the fall of 1683, but being unwell, he left his home in Salem and went to Samuel Hedge's, his son-in-law, in Upper Manningotn, there to be cared for by his favorite daughter, Anne Hedge, in his last days, for he died a short time afterwards at an age of 65 years. He requested before his death to be buried in the Sharp's burying-ground, which was complied with. The said ground was formerly a part of the Salem County ALms-house farm, but now belongs to Elmer Reeve. If the ground could be designated where the grave-yard was, although the exact spot where Fenwick lays could not, it would be a grateful deed for his descendants and the citizens of this county to assist in erecting a monument to his memory there on the spot where the grave-yard was, for gratitude for favors received is one of the noblest traits of mankind. His will [Fenwick's] made not long before his death, shows no alienation on his part toward the members of his own religious society, for he leaves his friend, William Penn, one of his executors, and also trustee for his three oldest grandsons, Fenwick Adams, Samuel Hedge and JOhN Champney. His other three executors were Quakers, Samuel Hedge, John Smith of Smithfield, and Ricahrd Tindall of Penn's Neck. The last named was his surveyor. John Adams married Fenwick's oldest daughter, Elizabeth whilst in England. They had three children born in that country, Elizabeth, Fenwick and Mary Adams. Soon after their arrival in this country, he built a house on Ivy Point, near the one that Fenwick built, both of which were located a few rods west of Market street, on a rising ground near where Thomas T. Hilliard's lime kiln is built. They were standing there about fifty years ago, and there John Adams and his wife Elizabeth ended their days, which event took place prior to 1700. Fenwick Adams, their son, married and settled on his parent's property in Penn's Neck. William Adams was his grandson and he had one grand-daughter whose name was Susannah, and she married a man by the name of Towsend, a native of Cape May county. They had two daughters, Susannah and Sarah. Susannah married Thomas Hartly, of Elsinborough, who lived and owned where William Morrison lives at the present time (1876). Thomas and his wife had four children named Elizabeth, born in the year 1765; Susannah, born 1772; Sarah, born 1774; and Thomas, born 1775. Sarah Townsend married William Nicholson, of Mannington, in 1773. They had seven children-- Rachel, Milicent, Samuel, William, Daniel and Ann. The first two mentioned died young. William married ELizabeth Thompson, daughte of Joshua Thompson of Alloways creek. Daniel married Mary Chambers. Sarah had two husbands, the first Chambless Allen, the second Amos Peasley. Ann married George M. Ward. The first wife of the late Benjamin Griscom, of Salem, was Susan Adams, a direct descedant of Fenwick Adams. Benjamin and his wife Susan had five children, named Sarah, Andrew, Benjamin, John and Mary. Edward Champney and Priscilla his wife had two children born in England, John and Mary Champneys, also a son born in this country, Edward Champney Jr. I am inclined to think that John Champney married and died a young man. Edward Champney Jr., as late as 1720, sold large tracts of land (being part of the 2,000 acre allotment that his grandfather, John Fenwick, deeded to his father and mother) to Abel Nicholson and others. The Tylers became the possessors of a large part of the said allotment, either by marrige or purchase. Samuel Hedge 2d was the son of Samuel Hedge, a merchant and citizen of London. To be a citizen at that period required a perosn of wealth and influence to have the privilege of voting for members of Parliament. It was the opinion of some persons that there was an attachment formed between Samuel Hedge 2d and Anne, the daughter of John Fenwick, whilst living in their native land. Perhaps on that account he was willing to leave his father's home where wealth and comforts abounded, to seek his fortune and happiness in the wilds of America. By so doing he verified the lines of the poet when he said: "Love is mightier than all." They were married at New Salem, in the spring of 1676, and soon afterwards went and lived in Upper Mannington on at tract of land containing 2,000 acres that Fenwick deeded them in the 11th mo. of the same year. It was called the Hedgefield tract. Samuel and his wife remained there until 1685; he being one of this father-in-law's executors, and having been appointed by Fenwick to carry out his plans in laying out streets in Salem and Cohansey. He built a brick house on Bradway street, where they resided until their death. The old mansion was removed a few years ago by the late Wm. F. Miller, and he built one of more modern architecture on the stie of the old one. The property isnow owned and occupied by M.P. Grey. Samuel Hedge and his wife Anne, died sometime between the year 1694 and 1697, leaving one son, Samuel Hedge 3d, and he married Rebecca Pyle. They had four children-- Samuel F. Hedge 4th, John Hedge who died a minor, William Hedge who died 1749 leaving his estate to his mother, and Nathan Hedge who died 8th mo 1735. The latter, by his will, bequeathed to his mother (whom he also made his executrix) the greater part of his estate. Her name at the time was Rebecca Cox. Samuel Hedge 3rd died 3d of the 11th month 1709. His widow, Rebecca Hedge married Daniel Cox of Burlington, 1712. Samuel Hedge 4th, went to Greenwich to reside, and went into partnership in the mercantile business with Nicholas Gibbon. Sometime after the death of Nicholas Gibbon, Samuel married his widow, whose maiden name was Anne Grant, the daughter of Alexander Grant. She had three children by her first husband, Nicholas rant and Jane Gibbon. Samuel F. Hedge 4th and his wife, Anne, had two children, Samuel Hedge 5th and one daughter Rebecca Hedge. She was born 1st of the 2nd mo. 1728, and her brother Samuel in 1726. In 1728 Samuel F. Hedge deeded one acre of ground on the south side of Market street to the Episcopal church. In 1733 he died, having made his will in 1732, leaving his wife, Anne Hedge, executrix. He devised to his widow a lot of eight acres in Salem, located on the south side of Market street; also sixtreen acres of woodland adjoining the first mentioned lot. The woodland was bounded on the south by Nathan Hedge's land. He also bequeathed to her a lot of meadow on Fenwick creek, of four acres, together with one thousand acres of Fenwick's Grove out of 1,900 acres surveyed to him. The whole tract originally contained 15,000 and was located in Upper Mannington, running from Mannington creek to Salem creek. It included the lands owned by the Bassett family at the present time, and extended to Salem creek, and was bounded on the south by the Hedgefield tract. In 1735 Benjamin Acton, a practical surveyor at that time, was employed to survey and set off the one thousand acres to the widow. The balance of the 1,900 acres he devised to his son Samuel Hedge 5th. After the death of Anne Hedge, the widow of Samuel Hedge, she left the property in Salem that she received from her second husband, to Grant Gibbon and Jane Gibbon, the children by her first husband Nicholas Gibbon. Robert Johnson Sr. married Jane, and she was the mother of Robert G. Johnson. About the year 1758 there was a division of the town lots on the south side of Market street, between Samuel Hedge 5th and Robert Johnson Sr. Rebecca Hedge, Samuel F. Hedge's daughter, married Giles Smith. He was born the 18th of 2nd mo. 1719, and was the son of Samuel Smith of Mannington, who lived on and owned the southern portion of Hedgefield. Giles and his wife Rebecca had one son whose name was Christopher Smith. Christopher married Rebecca Hancok in 1675. They had five children--Rebecca was born in 1766, Elizabeth was born in 1768, John Smith was born in 1770; he married the daughter of Benjamin Smith and left one son whose name was Samuel. Susanna Smith was born 1771; she married Job Ware of Alloways Creek, and left no children. Esther Smith was born 1774, and married Robert Moore of Easton, Maryland. Samuel Hedge 5th married Hannah Woodnutt of Mannington, daughter of Joseph and Rachel Woodnutt. She was born in 1729. Samuel and his wife Rachel resided in Salem in the old family mansion on Bradway street. They had three children--Rebecca, born 20th of the 1st mo 1751, Joseph W. Hedge born 1756, and Samuel Hedge 6th born 1758. In 1770 Rebecca Hedge, daughter of Samuel and Rachel Hedge, married Thomas Thompson of Salem. He was born in 1745 and was the son of Thomas Thompson, and grandson of Andrew Thompson of Elsinborough. Joseph W. Hedge and his brother Samuel Hedge Jr. died in 1790, at the family mansion in Salem, within a short time of each other, with an epidemic fever that was prevailing at that time. Neither of them was ever married, and consequently their large real estate was heired by their sister, Rebecca Thompson. Thomas Thompson and his wife Rebecca had seven children. Their names were Ann, Hannah, Hedge, Mary, Rebecca, Jane, and Rachel. They lived and owned where the First Baptist Church now stands, and they lived together happily nearly sixty years. Thomas died in his eighty-second year. His widow survived five or six years after his death, and was in her eighty-first year at the time of her death. Neither of them were members of the Society of Friends but professors, and regularly attended all of their meetings of divine worship. They were buried in the Friends' burying-ground at Salem, with their ancestors. Fenwick Archer, their grandson, as soon as the Society permitted it, much to his credit, had their graves done up, ,and his great uncles' graves, Joseph and Samuel Hedge, and his great-grandmother's, Hannah W. Hedge, and a small monument with their names and ages, cut upon them placed at the head of each. Ann Thompson, daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Thompson, married John Firth. They had four children--Elizabeth, Thomas, John and Samuel Firth. Hannah Thompson's first husband was John Anderson. They had one daughter, Rebecca Anderson. Hannah's second husband was Leonard Sayres, a native of Cumberland county, but at that time his home was in Cincinnati, Ohio Hedge Thompson, Thomas' son married Mary Ann Parrott, daughter of Richard Parrott. Hedge and Mary Ann, his wife, had five children--Richard P., Thomas, Joseph H., Rebecca and Mary. Richard P. married Maria Hancock; Thomas married William Johnson's daughter; Dr. Joseph H. married Rebecca Kelly, and Mary married Samuel Starr, and Episcopal minister. Rebecca Thompson, youngest daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Thompson, married John Holme of Elsinborough. She left one daughter, Rebecca Holme, who married George W. Garrison. Jane Thompson [dau of Thomas and Rebecca] married John Smith, of Manington, son of Hill Smith. Their children were Ann, Hill, and Thomas T. Smith. Ann married George W. Garrison, being his second wife, and Thomas T. married Elizabeth Hancock, daughter of Joseph Hancock. Rachel Thompson, the youngest daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Thompson, married Dr. Benjamin Archer; they had one son, Fenwick Archer. Mary Thompson, third daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Thompson, died single. Within a few years there had been different opinions respecting the property in the town of Salem, held by the county. Some persons have contended the land was given for a particular purpose, while others have contended the land was given to the county without reservation, and held that the representatives of the people of the county had a right to sell or rent any part of the ground, as they should think would be for the interest of the county. Samuel Hedge was left to carry out the wishes and designs in the town of Salem, and also in the town of Cohansey, of his father-in-law, John Fenwick. After the death of Fenwick all the land on the south side of Bridge street, now Market street, extending from Broadway to Fenwick creek, Samuel Hedge and his wife, Anne, became the owners. The following is an order I find in Richard Tindall's book of surveys, eighteenth page. A warrant given 7th of 11th mo., 1688. "A warrant to Richard Tindall, Surveyor-general for the county of Salem, and to John Woolidge, his deputy, to lay out one acre of land in Salem town, given by John Fenwick to erected "a Court House and Prison." Agreeable to the words of the warrant, it was certainly given for a particular use-- to erect a Court House and Prison--and if the inhabitants of the county should in some future time remove the said buildings from the said ground, it is reasonable to suppose that the property would revert back to the heirs of the donor. Erick Yearness and Henry Neilson arrived in this country as early as 1640, and located themselves at the first fast land above the mouth of what is now known as Salem creek. They, like their neighbors the Swedes, believing the Indians to be the rightful owners of the soil, purchased a large tract of land of the Indian chiefs and gave it the name of Finn's town point. When John Fenwick arrived in this county in 1695, he claimed the land the Finns and Swedes were located upon. They submitted to his authority, and in the year 1676 Richard Hancock, Fenwick's surveyor, laid off one thousand acres of the same size for Henry Neilson, and gave them a proprietary deed for the same. In the year 1688, by the request of Stephen Yearness, son of Erick, James Nevell gave Richard Tindall an order to re-survey the said tract at Finn's town point, and if there should not be the full quantity to report to him at his office in Salem within three months from date that the order was given. I have no records to follow the family of Erick Yearness further than his son, Stephen Yearness. Tradition informs us that Edmund Gibbon married a young woman, owner of a large tract of land at Finn's point, who was a lineal descendant of Stephen Yearness. I believe Edmund and wife left four children, three sons and one daughter. (end)