The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1906-12-12

According to the early history Of
New Jersey, Hunterdon county was
set off from Burlington county by an
act from the crown i'll lil3 and was
named in honor of Coy. Robert Hunt
er who was Governor OF Enst and
West Jersey united from lst0 To 1913.
According to the census of 1900 the
population of Hunterdon county WAS
20, 1873, ii being the largest county in
the state. The populations Of the
townships were Amwell, which nj
that time was comprised of Raritan,
Delaware, East and West Amwoll,
5,20l; kingwood, LILO; Horewel,
$50; Trenton, 1916; Alexandria,
/ DOB; Bethlehem, Lose; Lebanon,
Readington, and Tewksbury are com
bined, 1870. The number of slaves,
1901. Free eolored, 1at. Tho popu-
lation of the state was 100. Dol. The
number of slaves in the state was
II 1923. Free colored, >, 7G9.
Iu 1888 Huntefdon county was re
dueed by the formation of Mercer
county, This county was named III
honor of Gen. Mercer, who at the
battle of Princeton, on the 81 day of
January, III, while endeoyoring to
rally his broken detachment, was left
i'll tho rear, lie was on foot Mt the
time, tho handsome gray horse he
rode Mt the beginning of tho action
having been disabled by ball IN the
foreleg. lie WAS Overtaken 10y the
enemy and WAS MORALLY wounded by
British bayonets. lie was carried 10
the house of Thomas Clark aud col.
ored Indy for nm assistant, kindly
cared for him until death ended ms
sulferngs. Ills body WIS taken to
Philadelphia where ii WINS inferred
with military honors.
Only three executions hive taken
place in Hunterdon since ii was set
of as separate county almost tive
centuries ago. The first to suffer the
death penalty was James Van Natn,
ii white man 30 years old, who lived
in Alexandria township. The nipple
of discord between him and his neigh
Dor was II line fence, Van Nnta set
tied the dispute by shooting his
enemy and burying the body in II
woods. He WINS executed in July,
1871.
A slaye named Brom, owned by
Philip Case, who lived on farm II
short distance west of Pennington, OH
the road to Stockton, was hanged
Nov. II, 1903. Brom and fellow
slave got into quarrel. Brom seized
II trammel and beat his opponent TO
death In his masters kitchen.
The last, Nov. 2s, 1923, was the exc.
cution of james Bum, IL colored boy
aged II, who lived between Marshall =
Corner and Pennington. His crime
was the murder of an old lady named
Beaks, whom he bent to death with
an OK yoke because she refused tt
lend him gun. The tragedy oc
cured in house now occupied BY
Geo. Taylor, colored. AT this exeeu-
ton, public according to the customs
of the day, companies Of both infantry
and cavalry were called ont. The in
fantry formed into hollow square
about the gallows, was itself surround
ed by a similar square of cavalry. Some
fence posts Ind been removed TO fuel
itate marching, and the holes loosely
filed with dirt. A soaking ruin mad,
the innocent-looking fresh dirt very
deceptive. When an infantrymal
stepped into one Of these holes nearly
to his knee, aud covered himself from
head to foot with the red mud O
Pennington, the condemned boy j
said to have laughed ont as hearth
as if he had been ON the way to
coon hunt or 'possnm roast.