Gloucester County Democrat., 1909-07-29
THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY Of GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
C0URTs OF GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
Paper Prepared by Dan1 L. Pine and
1 Read before the Gloucester Coun-
ty Historical Society, July IS,
1909, by Geo. w. Hughes.


Some items of interest CLEANED from
the acts of the Free Assembly of the
Province of West New Jersey and the
early records of Gloucester County.
These notes are given as found in
the written records.
AT a session of the General Free
/ Assembly of the Province of West
New Jersey held at Burlington from
the one and twentieth day of the ninth
i month called {NOvember) until the
eighth and twentieth day of the same
month A. d. 1851 and confirmed by
the Governor.
Be it enacted by authority afore-
said that there shall be a highway
surveyed and set forth between Bur-
4'lington and Salem, the same to be be-
gun at or before the first day of the
second month next, and that twenty
men in the whole shall be appointed
/ for said work, ten from Burlington
and ten from Salem. We hear moth
1 ing more of roads from the Free AS
sembly, but that some road was es-
tablished is evident from an act of the
General Assembly passed in 1894
which we will see presently.
4 At a session held in the third month
|E16S3, an act was past regulating the
IIsize and making of bricks. After
sspecifying the dimensions of the
kmoulds (Which are about the same as
kthey are at present. it concludes by
Adeclaring that they shall be we'll and
merchantbly burned, and shall be
/ viewed by two persons authorized by
the court, and when they shall find
4 bricks faulty they shall break them
and return the names of the parties
who shall make such default to the
! Court to be fined
The Free Assembly of the Province
of West New Jersey at a session held
at Burlington May II, 1894, adjourned
to the 18th, same month and contin-
ued to 18th of same, enacted this law:
BE it enacted that the third and 4th
ftenths to be laid out into one county
be named Gloucester, the limits shall
be the river called Cropwell (Pen-
Eshawken) on the north, and Barkley
kriver, formerly called Old Mans Creek
on the south fnow Old Man S CreeK}s
In the title of the act, Egg Harbdr is
named to be part of the county, but
the above is the exact wording of the
! act, no mention of Egg Harbor being
made.
This seems to have been the first
enactment of the Provincial Assembly
relating to Gloucester but the inhabi-
tants of these two tenths had prev
| iously established Court for their
Government and given them the name
of Gloucester as will be seen here
i after.
An act for the laying out, regulating
and clearing and preserving Public
common highways throughout this
/ province passed by the General AS
! sembly, May 1904.
The act begins by giving directions
for road from Perth Anboy to Bur-
lington which we omit, then from Bur-
/ lington to Ferry Point for Philadel
phia, as now laid out. Also from
Burlington to Hollinshead Ferry over
Northamton River (Rancocas) and
from thence to Cropwell Creek (Pen-
shawken) from thence over Coles
Branch, from thence to Howels Mill on
/ Coopers Creek (all as the road is now
laid out) from thence as near as con-
veniency will allow in direct line to
the bridge over Gloucester River
branch Gas already laid out), thence
! to the bridge over Gloucester River
Great Timber Creek, thence the road
to great Manto's Creek and so to
Stephen Jones farm, from thence to
Wallo Dalbo's so over Racoon Creek
and in direct line to Old Mans and
thence to Salem We notice that not
a word is said about Woodbury. or
Woodbury. Creek. This road crossed
Timber Greek above the present eros
sing. The pilings of the old bridge
were to be seen several hundred yards
above the present bridge not many
1 yars ago. The road crossed Manto
Creek at the same place as now, Ste
phen Jones farm was below Mickleton
and Dalbo's was Swedesboro.
The same act appointed commits
sioners for each County to lay out and
survey such road The commission
4 ers for Gloucester County we're: Sim
con Ellis, Thomas Sharp, Mathew
Medcalf, Mordeci Howell, Richard
Bromley, John Roe and William War
ner. This is all of the acts of the As
1 sembly
Gloucester the 2Sth of the 9TH month
/ (May), 1856. BY the proprietors, free
4 holders and inhabitants of the third
and fourth tenths talias County of
4 G1oucester) then agreed as follows
Imprimis, that court be held for the
4 jurisdiction and limits of the afore-
said tenths or county, one time at Ar
wamus or Gloucester and at another
i time at Red Bank.
That there be four courts for the
4 jurisdiction aforesaid held in one year,
at the days and times hereafter men,
toned, iz:-upon the first day of the
\ first month, upon the first day OF the
fourth month and the first day of the
seventh month and upon the first day
/ Of the tenth month. That the first
court shall be held at Gloucester on
the first day of the seventh month
Also, that all persons within the iuris-
diction aforesaid shall bring into the
next court the marks Of their hogs
and their cattle in order to be APP
proved and recorded
Red Bank, 4th month, 1857. The
grand jury returned and have agreed
4 that the upper division of Gloucester
Il