The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-08-26
JERSEY HISTORY.
Times Stained Letters, Found
Amongst Gov. Paterson's
Papers, Of State In
terest.
AARON BURR TO ROBERT NORRIS
How Lord Stirling Engaged
the Legal Services of the
Future Governor.
AARON BURR TO ROBERT NORRIS

At p1tfdtc papers VI VtlitdHi 1dtC1o0hs
one of the early Governors Of New jersey
as a State, says the Newark Sunday
Call" furnish much material for the
passing of an interesting hour or two,
particularly to any one interested in New
Jersey history of the time that immedi-'
ately followed the Revolution. During the
latter years of his life Governor Paterson
was a Justice of the Supreme Court, by
the appointment of Washington, and
while holding that office he, Of course,
came to know many of the leading Amer
leans of his time. Judge Paterson, then,
is perhaps a more Interesting parsonage
to theaverage student of American his
tory thar Governor Paterson. All the
Governors private papers, that Is, all that
his descendants were willing to part with,
came into the possession of Noah Farm
ham Morrison, whose store Is on lower
Broad street. The family refused to sell
some of his papers, such as his gradual
ing thesis from Princeton, but such docu-
ments have little more than a personal
value, and therefGe the collection is prae-
tically unimpaired by their absence.
Some forty or fifty years ago. however,
some branch of the Paterson family SCI
cured a number Of letters and other docu-
ments written or signed by Washington,
or both. That there was considerable
Washington correspondence in the Pat
erson papers is pretty generally recog-
nized. Judge Paterson was a jurist OF
eminence and as such attracted the IA
vorabie attention of Washington, VINO
came to esteem the Jerseyman highly a
good part of the year Judge Paterson
passed at his home in New Brunswick,
and that matters of State would cause the
Judge to write to the President and the
latter to answer him as well as that let
ter of personal nature should pass pc
tween them, may readily be believed. But
when Mr.. Morrison came to go over the
collection he found, the Washington cor
~respondenee absent, all save one auto
graph. This is in fine condition ana was
appended to a State document OF SOME
sort. together with that OF JEFFERSON, IN
his capacity Of Secretary of State Jener7
sons autograph, as usual. IS beautiluny
clear and like copper-plate- rms uocu-
menf was. of course, of rare value, ana
Morrison soon disposed of it. There -
stiu in the collection, however, a hne Jel-
farson autograph, attached to q state
naner. the whole In Jefferson's hand ms
is of course. one of the gems.
paner that was fit to write upon, tnat
would not blur with every stroke Of the
quill. was not easy to tlnd Always $50
among those of high degree IN the iauu'
and many of the Paterson letters are 90
necially valuable for the reason Ina q
letter written by Judge Paterson VIOLIN
oeten he returned with the answer VIII
ten upon 1t, to save the paper for
oo,,actor 10 possess both The letter anu
t4s answer is decidedly a fnd, ana there
sra many such in this collection. lhere
were no envelopes In those rare Gays .ha.
r,.rxad the last dozen years OF the last
cent11rv and the first decade or SO o. =
present. And 1t is only after the presens
has been in existence TWO of
three wears that the letters pear such q
+h,ng il a postmark. The name OIL the
sanaar Il almost invariably written On
~ a,,ts;de of the letter after It was
salaea 80 that II the writer was a per
~ 4 nrominence, the owner of the let
Ear today has his autograph in two places
Judge Paterson seems TO nave preset
nearly every letter or paper ehal
into his personal possession, proViaeu y
was his own property, and not mat y
+be state or the nation. He was esiuen.is
ne If those shrewd and cautious souis'
Who believe in destroying notnlhs tnas
nav nv any hook or crook pc Oh @i1
:, +ba f,,ture. and we have him 10 tnahA
-. +bst -shrewdness and foresight To-Day
= ~ collection is an autograph letter
-, Aaron Burr himself. a document y
aa.t IL Iersevmen. The subject mat
- ! not If special import, and the oniy
val,,e In the document lies IN ene
+bat R,,rr. the descendant or a me y
Nanrark ministers, anu nial-
self ! prominent figure In the cary uays
- no country. wrote it. Ii Is IN d ia
S ~ preservation, and 1t is written
samewbat cramped hand when at
-. + scarcely legible, not because %
.ass,ne ~ time, but because Burf
oaor a penman. The letter was
Hss4tan ~ no less a parsonage than ROD
err Morris, at Morristown. VI
side. Burr, according 70 the cuse ~.
tba day. as described ABOVE.
name and the date, as 1olio~ss
p,,rr sent. 17S4.' This IS the way
,attar begins:-.Dear Sir-Mr- Jonn
.,,Ian has settled his SUIT win osi
rraporv and begs you will disconsAiu
sama He. the defendant, pawn u.s.
~ thar YOU will send the BOND OF Nose
10 the plaintiff or me.
.nothar letter which Judge Pateison
aonht prized highly was one "ri.sei
!. n;mself by Lord Stirling, the douen.s
n..t,sh ~s,,5iars who figured prominently
- no war for Independence. II was
a,rs,fen lust before the trouble GOT wen
NOV and is in a perfect state OF