Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1908-03-05
THE SETTLEMENT OF
NEW JERSEY.
Its Division into East Jersey and West
Jersey, and Formation into
Counties.

Counties.
Tread before Gloucester Co. Historical Society
Jan. II. 1905 by Wallace McGlorge, ". ~
The first white settlement in New
Jersey on the North river, was made
by the Dutch in 1917, at Bergen, near
" opposite the Battery in New York
City, (a). This was effected by
Michael Pauw, who later became one
Of the PATRONS under the Dutch West
India Company OBJ.
Mellick, in his STORY of an Old
Farm says, "This is considered the
most ancient permanent settlement in
New Jersey, dwellings, having been
erected at Pavonia within the con
fines of the township as afterwards
established as early as 1880. ..
PAW gave his name to this territory
arst latinizing it into Pavonia, paw
in the Dutch, and pavo in the Latin
meaning peacock" (c).
Ridpath in his History of the Uni
ted States while admitting it's settle
ment in 1913, says that it was nearly
forty years afterwards before there
were any permanent buildings in that
neighborhood. Id.
This ancient village is now called
Communipaw, and thousands of peo-
pie ride through this early settlement
on the New Jersey Central Railroad
daily, where less than three hundred
years ago, no white man had trod the
soil of our State.
The first white settlement on the
South river, was made by the Dutch
under Captain Cornelius Mey, in 1923
at the southwest part of Gloucester
near the mouth of Timber creek Id
(e). Here Fort Nassau was built and
here few years later the first brick
house in West Jersey was erected,
the bricks having been brought over
from Holland (e).
When Captain Mey landed on the
beach, at Arwames, as the land north
OF Timber creek was called, he was
greeted by Indians belonging to the
Delawares, or as they called them.
selves the Lenni-Lennape, or First
People. (e).
In 1881, Capt. David Petersen De
Vies brought over a colony of thirty
four persons from Holland, and set
tied on the opposite side of Delaware
bay, near Lewes, Delaware. In 1893
he visited Fort Nassau, but after his
escape from treacherous Indians in
Coopers creek, he did not tarry long
at the Fort, but returned to Holland,
taking back the supplies he had
brought along with him. (e).
In 1881, Charles the First of Eng
land, made a grant to Sir Edmund
Ployden of all the territory, now COM
prised within New Jersey, all of Della
ware and parts of Maryland, Pennsyl-
vania and New York Five years lat
or Beauchamp Plantagenet, "the old
est and best traveller" visited all
parts of Sir Edmund's vast tract and
under Cato's rules of colonization, to
wit, to secure pure air, fresh
navigable river, and a rich country
he fixed upon the land on the Della
ware, "just midway between Virginia,
too hot and aguish, with the blasted
rains on one side, and the cold New
England on the other' He only
sailed sixty miles up the Delaware, FL.
Previous to this trip of Plantage-
net, in 1888, four settlers from Vir-
ginia, under Captain Young, had sail
ed up the river, and built a fort at
the mouth of Pensauken creek, (the
original boundary line between Glou-
cester and Burlington countless, and
named it Erowomeck. At this fort,
the exact site of which is lost, these
English settlers kept up a trade with
the Indians for four years Soon af-
ter it was occupied by Bogot, a
SWede and a pioneer of Menewe's Col
ony, who by proelaiming a gold mine
in the neighborhood, drew several
more to him and laid the foundation
of Sineessingh. e..
In 1887, few Swedes and Fins
came over and landed at Cape Inlo
pen, which they named Paradise Point
and later they purchased from the
indians, the land on both sides of the
Delaware to Trenton Falls, and called
the river New -Swedeland stream. XNA
In 1910, as stated by Trumbull. in
his history of Connecticut, some per
sons at New Haven, by Captain Ma
thaniel Turner, their agent, purchas
ed for $50 ($150), a large tract OF
iandfor plantations on both sides of the
Delaware, erected trading houses. and
sent out nearly fifty families to settle
IN this State. They located at Wat
sessi, the present site of Salem, and
also on the Schuylkill river, but they
were driven away by the Dutch and
SWedes under Kieft, in 1912, (g) and
iater on settled in Delaware. CHI.
In February, 1912, number oil
Swedish emigrants under Colonel John
Printz, and Rev. John Campanius. q
clergyman and subsequent historian
OF New Sweden arrived in the Della
ware and established themselves or
the island Of Tennekong, now called
T1nicum, nearly opposite Billings
port, in our county. Here a fort
which was called New Gottenburg and
convenient dwelling which was
named Printz Hall, were built. %. Or
this island, on September 4, 1916, a
decent wooden church .. was
with the burying place this day conse
Grated by the Rev. John Campanius
who it will be recollected, came Out
with Gov. Printz." (k).
Acrelius says that Printz' daughter
Armegot, fwho was the wife of Pape
goiya) when she sold her farm, before
haTs 10