Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-12-08


park commissioners in response tt
a petition from the Perth Amboy
Historical Society, will help to keeI
alive the name of family which
| has had to do with the better side OF
Perth Amboy for nearly two cen
turtles. 1t was in 1716 that the first
of the name came here from Mon
] mouth county, having migrated from
| the could sod" to the shores OF
| Eastern Jersey some time before
The first to come here was Michael
and until very few years ago the
remnants of a brick wall could still
be seen about on the line between
! the property of E. V. Ricci and
that Immediately north of it, which
was a part of the foundation of the
| first Perth Amboy home of the
| family which was to give to the
community number of most useful
| citizens. There, south of the knoll
| upon which stands st. Peters
church, he built his home overlook
I ing the beautiful waters of the bay
and the beauties of Staten Island,
with the Highlands hills far away In
| the distance. When he came from
| ireland Michael Kearny brought his
wife with him, but she died soon
after arriving here, in Philadelphia.
Then, after a time, he married
| Sarah, daughter of Lewis Morris,
who was governor of the Jerseys In
1871 and 1882, as president of the
council.
AS was frequently the case with
men of brains and character, Mr..
Kearny was not long a resident here
L. Iad n
up the duties of public service. 1t
has frequently been subject of
comment that Perth Amboy shows a
partiality for newcomers in the mat
ter of political preferment and II
this is SO now, there is precedent for
it, going back nearly or quite two
hundred years.
Mr.. Kearny was secretary of the
province. He was clerk of the as
sembly and of the court of common
pleas of the county, then much
larger than 1t now is. For many
years, Whitehead says, before the
Revolution, the old mansion of the
family, standing on the land referred
to south of st. Peters church, was
occupied by a son of Mr.. Kearny by
his first wife. In 1735 the property
was referred to as owned by Cover
nor Robert Hunter, although how
or when he owned it the records do
not show. When Mr.. Kearny Sc ught
to induce Governor Morris to occupy
the house, he said that it had the
"best conveniences of any house in
town, besides a good stable for three
or four horses, and there is cellar
big enough to hold all his liquors,
with lock and key" One Of the
conveniences was a well, dug In
1892, and remarkable for the quality
and flow of water.
The son of Mr.. Kearny who occu7
pied the old homestead was Philip,
referred to as eminent as a lawyer
and as dying universally lamented
in 1775. He was member Of the
assembly and held other offices of
honor and trust His first wife was
Lady Barney Dexter, whose maiden
name, Ravaud, furnished a we'll
known descendant with his name.
They had four children, one named
for the father and one taking the
mothers maiden name, and these
two sons had sisters twain, Elizabeth
and Susannah. Philip, the eldest
son, was the grandfather of Phil
Kearny, the heroic soldier who
served his country we'll in two wars
and between their periods sought
adventure in foreign legions under
friendly flags. He lost his arm in
the Mexican war and his life in the
conflict between the states. Both of
the daughters of Lady Barbara mar
ried into notable families. Elizabeth
became the wife of Cortlandt Skin
ner and Susannah married Richard
Stevens.
Ravaud, whose wife was Ann
Hude, by whom he had four chill
dren. One of them, James Hude
Kearny, who died in 1911, was the
father OF Ann Hude, who married
Rev. Alexander Jones, a Protestant
Episcopal clergyman, and Gertrude
Parker Kearny, who became the
wife of DIR. Charles McKnigl Smith.
They were the parents of Captain
A. B. Smith and Mrs. A. b. Marsh.
still living in this city to pass on the
traditions of the family and cherish
an honored name.
Then, by second marriage,
Isabella Hooper, daughter of Robert
Lettice Hooper, became the bride OF
the original Philip and by her he
had five children, of whom we are
chiefly concerned with Michael, the
second child and the eldest son, for
Michael it was who built the Kearny
cottage, now resting upon the same
brick foundations upon which he
placed it seven score years ago, but
transplanted to the park just named
kearny.
Michael Kearnys wife was Eliza
beth Lawrence, of Burlington. Her
father was prominent jurist and
her half-brother was Captain James
Lawrence, commander of the Chesa-
peake, who cried Don't give up the,
ship" when carried below mortally