did. But by the time an attempt was made to definitely fix the title to

lot No. 6 there were found to be more than three hundred shares into which this lot must be divided, each one amounting to something less than three inches in width, and extending from Lincoln avenue to Mount Prospect.

The hunt necessitated to clear this title led all over the country. One heir was traced as far as New Orleans, and lost; another vanished in the Civil War; another moved to Mystic, Conn., and could not be traced to his final end, and so it went. One was found in Kansas and another in Western New York.

It cost more to perfect the title than the land was worth, and when it was perfected the lot—or all that was left of it—was given to the city for a park, a memorial to the late John Morris Phillips.

THE ANTHONY WAYNE CAMP GROUND.

It is family tradition among most of those whose ancestors resided here during the Revolution that Gen. Anthony Wayne camped along the old Back road, but so far as can be ascertained the books are silent on the subject. The New York Historical Society can find nothing in its archives, and if the New Jersey Historical Society has anything bearing on this point it does not know it.

The only mention of the event that I have been able to find is an unsigned article which appeared in the Daily Advertiser of December 12, 1884, which is quoted here entire, as it contains much of interest. The Advertiser says:—

“The attention of an Advertiser reporter was recently called to a tradition that Gen. Anthony Wayne with 2,600 men was camped for a considerable time during the severe winter of 1779 in the vicinity of what is now Elwood avenue, and the old Belleville road in this city. It was rather doubted whether this could be possible, and all accounts of it lost. Such an event would certainly have left an impression which could not be entirely obliterated even in a hundred years. From information obtained, however, from the late John M. Phillips, whose grandfather was a revolutionary soldier; William A. Wauters, whose grandmother owned the woods in which it is alleged Wayne camped, together with a personal inspection of the ground made by Mr. Daniel F. Tompkins, of Woodside, his son and the writer, the following facts were ascertained:—

“General Wayne, with a detachment of the American Army, after the evacuation of New York, regained for a portion of the winter encamped in the Coeyman woods, in what is now Woodside. His encampment extended from a point a little west of and in line with the old Belleville road and north of Elwood avenue, along the ridge up to Second river. Traces of this encampment are found in the excavations which the soldiers made for their huts. The excavations are found also along the line of the Montclair & Greenwood Lake Railroad at the south side of the bridge across the Second river. They are found also on the side of the hill west of Mount Prospect avenue, and south of the line of Elliott street, and extending north several hundred yards, the most marked being at the northern limit. In one of these excavations the stones which marked the temporary fireplace still remain. The troops cut down the growing timber from these woods, and the owner, Minard Coeyman, was paid for it by the government. About half a mile northwest of this ridge the old barn, in which were slaughtered the cattle for the use of the army, still stands. It belongs to the Crane family. Mr. Nathaniel Crane, who was born in 1808, well remembers hearing his father and uncle talk about the encampment. Wayne had several field pieces with him, and the men used to take the horses down to Second river to water at a point 100 yards from the railroad bridge, and near the ruins of the old copper works, opposite Woodside Park. In February Wayne moved his army to Morristown. The close proximity of the British is given as the cause of Wayne breaking camp. In his position at Woodside he was liable to be flanked. Jasper King, father of the late William King, of East Orange, was a boy at the time Wayne was at Woodside, and his father was a soldier in Wayne’s army. Jasper went with his grandfather and his mother to say good-by to his father at the encampment in Coeyman’s woods.

“Jasper King related to the late John M. Phillips that when the roll was called the soldiers came out from their tents and some of them threw their caps on the snow and stood on them with their bare feet. He said it began to snow as the troops started on their march to Morristown and some of the soldiers left marks of blood on the snow as they marched. Their way was along the old Bloomfield road, which may have been reached by crossing the fields past the old Crane Mansion, or by the way of Keen’s lane, the outlines of which can still be traced southwest to the Bloomfield road. From Bloomfield the march was through Caldwell, where the snow became so deep that the artillery was left behind and remained imbedded in the drifts on a by-road near where the penitentiary now stands, until spring. At Bloomfield a picket was posted to guard the rear. One of the men climbed onto the fence to see if the British were pursuing. In the act his gun was discharged, killing him instantly.

“The story of Jasper King is corroborated by the known fact that on February 3, 1779, a snow storm set in, which lasted three days, and the snow was said to be eight feet deep on the Bloomfield road. The inference that Wayne’s encampment at Woodside was in the winter of 1779 is made more probable from the fact that in his attack on Stony Point in July, 1779, he had no artillery. That Wayne was on the coast and near New York in the winter of 1779, is made exceedingly probable also by the following letter from Lord Stirling, which if he had been at Morristown with Washington would have been directed to the Commander-in-Chief:—

“‘Ramapogh, Jan. 5, 1779.—Dear Sir: From every intelligence I have received I am induced to believe that Count D’Estaing is on this coast; in consequence of it I need not explain matters to you. Notwithstanding my situation of body, I will be at Paramis to-morrow and should be glad to see you there as soon as possible, to concert every necessary measure that may occur to us both.

“‘I am, D sir, your most ob’d sev’t. ”‘Gen. Wayne. STIRLING.’”

“That Wayne had artillery is evident from the fact that Mr. Tompkins found a grape-shot on the ground of the encampment. He also found a sword, which, evidently, had been worn by a noncommissioned officer.”

A REVOLUTIONARY INCIDENT.

“During the winter of 1780-81 the British were at Belleville and may have used the same encampment previously occupied by the Americans. It is known that they occupied ground near where the new steel works of Dodge, Blake & Lyon now are. During this time a party of British stopped for the night on Keen’s lane, mentioned before on what is now Mr. Henry J. Winser’s lot, on Washington avenue, opposite Carteret street. Another party coming from Newark along the Passaic, stumbled on the pickets of the first party and immediately began firing. There was quite a skirmish in the darkness before the true state of affairs was learned.”

PHILLIPS FARM HOUSE.

“The old house in which the grandfather of the late John M. Phillips lived stood flush with the old Belleville road at the time of which we write, and was visited frequently by the American officers. It now stands in the rear of the new house on Lincoln avenue, and is well preserved. A middle-aged Irish woman came to the door at the knock of Mr. Tompkins the other day and seemed inclined to deny an inspection of the premises; but when it was made known to her that the visit was to see the house where the men who whipped the British a hundred years ago had lodged, she accorded a right royal welcome. A mere glance was sufficient to prove that the house was not of modern date. There is no plastering, and the joists that support the upper floors are thick and strong and as substantial as when put in, more than a hundred years ago.”

THE BRITISH ON WOODSIDE SOIL.

“While the British were encamped on this side of Second river, near the steel works, the grandfather of Mr. Tompkins, who was a scout in the American Army and noted as an athlete, was reconnoitering, with four companions, on the old Belleville road. They accidentally came upon a picket post in the dusk, the officer of which rode up and cried out: ‘Who you be for?’ Tompkins, to gain time, asked the same question, ‘Who you be for?’ ‘For King George’, said the English officer. ‘We be for the Continental Congress’, shouted Tompkins as he sprang into the woods. There was a fence that stood in the way, and as Tompkins vaulted over it the entire picket guard fired. Two of Tompkins’s companions who, instead of jumping the fence had climbed over it, were killed, but the former escaped by the balls passing under him as he jumped. One of the scouts who was killed on that occasion lies buried in the old Bloomfield grave yard. The enemy probably not knowing that they had killed any one, left the bodies where they fell.”

THE MAGAZINE HOUSE.

The march of improvement, in the opening of Woodside avenue, has recently caused the destruction of the “Magazine house”, a low stone building which stood back of the present Summerfield M. E. Church. This dated back to about 1812, when it was built for the storing of powder made at the Decatur Powder Works, which were located on the site of the present De Witt Wire Works, Belleville. There was a spirit of mystery and adventure about the place that somehow tickled my boyish fancy greatly, and I always passed it with a sense of adventure, but the above is all that can be said of the spot. When Jacob Rutan was building the calico print works on Second river he lived here and his wife, Elizabeth, a member of the King family, formerly of the River road, boarded the men who were doing the mason work. How they all slept in this small building is a mystery.

EARLY LANES.

Just below the powder house; in fact, opposite the point where Elwood place runs into Summer avenue, the John Morris Keen lane led away to the Bloomfield road. This, it appears, was part of a lane from the River road, the easterly section of which was known as the Stimis lane. Whether the latter was opened for the purpose or, being established, was merely used because convenient, has not been made plain, but I am told that formerly a paper mill stood on the Bloomfield road, and that the paper was made from reeds gathered on the Hackensack meadows, brought up the Passaic river, landed possibly at the Point House landing and carted from there via the two lanes to the mill.

THE HAUNT OF THE HIGHWAYMAN.

The Back road, in the Elliott street neighborhood, seventy-five or more years ago, entered a deep gully surrounded on all sides by dense woods. It is possible that this gave the early name of “Drift” road to the highway, as it was a place into which snow could easily drift and cause trouble to travelers. This was a noted spot for highway robberies, many such having occurred here, and the place was long dreaded by those who were compelled to pass this way.

The only actual hold-up of which I have heard is said to have occurred in 1856, when four men who came out of the woods from the direction of the Magazine house attempted to rob a passing farmer. What success they had I do not know, but it appears that they were recognized and later arrested. One of these, at least, was a Woodside man, but the names of the others have been forgotten.

Tom Coeyman built about sixty years ago at the upper edge of this gully. His house stood near the junction of Summer and Grafton avenues, and this seems to have relieved the gloom of the place, for so far as known there were no robberies after the one mentioned above.

NOT A CHRISTMAS CARROLL.

Probably before our time the Back road was the dwelling place of “Owney” Carroll and his good wife Peggy. Both were convivial souls, and each a character in his or her way, but our most vivid memories cling about the old lady. One old resident recalls that in his youth the couple lived where now stands the Elliott street school, and that one time when he was passing with a load of wood Peggy was discovered in a somewhat awkward predicament.

It seems that one or the other—or possibly both—had been looking on the wine when it was red, as was their custom, and that the husband had concluded that his better half would be improved by a bit of fresh air and, having thrust her forth, locked the door. Now Peggy does not appear to have taken this in good part and, finding an open window, she proceeded to crawl within; but, when about half-sill over, the sash came down on her back and pinned her fast—just as our informant was coming down the road with a load of wood.

In the course of years Mrs. Carroll became a sort of attache of our back door, and I have a general recollection that the old lady’s methods did not always meet with the entire approval of my mother. She certainly thoroughly disagreed with one of Peggy’s capers. My mother was a great lover of plants, and among her treasures was a lemon tree which actually bore lemons; these Mrs. Carroll discovered one day while cruising about the back yard and, carefully gathering the treasured crop, she brought the fruit to the back door and tried to sell it to my maternal ancestor. Mrs. Carroll did not call at the house again for some time.

THE WOODS OF THE OLD BACK ROAD.

Those who sought knowledge at that fount known as the Elliott street school, when it was but a country schoolhouse, delight to recall how they were allowed to roam the woods that then bordered the old road on the west, for the first flowers of spring, and how the schoolmaster would ring the bell from the schoolhouse door summoning a return to study, and the children would come scampering back with hands full of bloom—windflowers and hepaticas mostly, whose blue and white are so emblematic of the springtime heavens. To those who can hark back so far that patch of woods is remembered as a wonderfully attractive spot.

JESSE C. BENNETT.

Jesse C. Bennett came to this country from Stockport, England, in 1833, to superintend the calico print works, which lined the south side of Second river from the Back road to the De Witt mill pond, and he built a house at what is now the southwest corner of Summer and Verona avenues.

Mr. Bennett was an Episcopalian, and as dancing was one of the accomplishments of the day and not barred by that creed, he engaged a master of the art who once in so often gave the small Bennetts (there were twelve of them) lessons in an addition at the rear of the dwelling which provided a suitable room. As time wore on Mr. Bennett became a Second Adventist and turned this rear room from a dancing hall to a place for prayer. One of the fervent brothers of these times was Mr. Harry Harvey, who was given to long prayers; in fact he thought nothing of praying for an hour at a stretch. For these exercises the children were brought in and ranged under the long mantelpiece on one side of the room, but an hour was a long time to be good in those days, and generally one or two or three would steal awhile away without being noticed. This gradually emboldened the others, and one time while the heads of the elders were bowed in devotion the entire youthful congregation managed to get out unnoticed, and there was considerable commotion when the fact was discovered and, as I understand it, the commotion was not entirely confined to the elders.

Later Mr. Bennett became a Methodist and joined the church of that denomination in Belleville.

Mr. Bennett once had a man working about the place who was fresh from the Emerald Isle and he, venturing out one evening shortly after his arrival, came running back a badly scared Irishman, and announced that the woods were full of fairies, for he had seen their lanterns. It proved to be his first acquaintance with fireflies.

THE CALICO PRINT WORKS.

The calico print works which lined the south bank of the Second river from the Back road to the De Witt mill pond developed into a large industry under Messrs. George and Jonathan Bird. This part of the river bank has been a mill site for more than one hundred years.

The first on record was the grist mill of Captain Bennett. His mill was a small affair which stood on the bank where the Back road crossed. Next came a Captain Stout, who rebuilt the mill. Both of these lived in the dwelling later known as the “Bird” house.

About 1824 the Stout mill and lands were sold to the Eagle Printing Company, which erected a large factory for the printing of calicoes along the south bank of Second river, extending from the Back road to the De Witt mill pond. The concern employed several hundred hands and conducted a business of great magnitude for those times, but it finally fell on evil days and failed about 1855.

At this time the Back road was so narrow that wagons could hardly pass; indeed, so much of a country lane was it that even as late as 1850 the passing of a load of calicoes from the mill was an event to call the few inhabitants to the windows to see the sight.

After this Andrew Gray and one Wright successfully conducted the business for some time, and finally George and Jonathan Bird became the proprietors. Jonathan Bird lived in the stone house that has since been known as the “Bird” house, and here dispensed a hospitality that was famed for many a mile around. In due course George Bird died, and later Jonathan sold to a stock company, of which John Eastwood was a member. This company put in some expensive machinery but, owing to internal strife, the business was abandoned after a brief existence.

After remaining idle for some time the hat manufacturing concern of Moore & Seeley purchased the buildings, but before they did much the factory burned, and was never rebuilt. The story given out to account for the fire was to the effect that it was due to Chinese cheap labor. According to this version the hatters introduced Chinamen and the Irish element, which predominated at the time, objected, and the fire gave point to their objections, but there are some still living who account for the fire in a wholly different way.

A FLESH AND BLOOD GHOST.

There was a time when the Back road bridge across Second river was haunted by a headless ghost—at least I am so informed—but it seems that when off duty the ghost was known as old Sam Adams’s daughter, Mary Ann.

When I was a boy the ruins of the old grist mill still stood close to the southeast corner of this bridge. It was then known as Benson’s mill, a man of that name having been the last miller. Some time some one was either murdered and thrown into the mill race here, or else was accidentally drowned. In either case the situation furnished the proper material for a mystery, and it would appear that there was talk of an apparition having been seen on the bridge shortly after the occurrence.

This was taken advantage of by Mary Ann Adams to frighten the boys, and as a result few people cared to cross the bridge after dark, as too many had actually seen the ghost to leave any doubt of its existence. This, of course, was long ago, when Mary Ann was young. She died some six years ago, an old woman.

WASHINGTON RESTS AT SECOND RIVER.

There is a legend that Washington once rested at the grist mill, and that here his troopers purchased feed for their horses. This was probably during the retreat from Fort Lee.

Somewhat south of the mill stood the miller’s house; in fact the building is still standing on its old foundations, at the southeast corner of Summer and Sylvan avenues. Here was born Col. Henry Benson, whose accidental death at Malvern Hill during the Civil War furnished Belleville with its first military funeral.

THE OLD BLOOMFIELD ROAD.

The old Bloomfield or Long Hill road is frequently spoken of by the older inhabitants as a former Indian trail “from the mountain to the river”. This may have been one of the many paths which intersected the great Minisink trail extending from the Shrewsbury river to Minisink Island, in the Delaware river below Port Jervis, where the council fires of the Leni Lenape constantly burned. This particular branch probably passed through Great Notch on the First mountain, meeting the main path near Little Falls.

The white man’s road began where what is now Second avenue joins Belleville avenue, and labored up the grade to the present Prospect place, where it turned toward the north for Bloomfield. The old road is less prolific in story and incident than any other part of this region. Those interviewed have invariably wished that I might be able to talk with some one now gone who was full of ancient lore, but as dead men tell no tales I have found myself at a disadvantage.

Not only have the inhabitants gone, but the old road itself is largely a memory, for those who are now exploiting this region have almost obliterated the former highway, finding that its meandering course interfered with their straight lines, and not having in mind the attraction that a bend in the road, the curving line of beauty, with its mystery of a fair, unknown country beyond, has for the stroller.

LORENZO DOW.

Along this road during the early days of the last century passed the eccentric preacher Lorenzo Dow, on his way to the little Methodist church beyond Sunfish pond. Dow was an occasional visitor in the vicinity and left a memory of peculiar sayings and doings that flavored the local gossip for the better part of a hundred years. It is said that a toll-gate once stood near the canal bridge, which was kept by Archibald Jacobus, and those who were boys when I went skating on Sunfish pond will recall the ruins of an ancient grist mill whose wheel was turned by the waters of the pond. Concerning this Mr. Walter S. Nichols remembers when a boy making regular journeys to this mill with a grist of corn for the grinding—this was in the fifties, after the Searing mill on the canal had been abandoned.

THE OLD ROAD A HIGHWAY.

Until the toll-gates were removed, some twenty-five or more years ago, from the Turnpike or “New” road, as the present Bloomfield avenue was called, the old road was the avenue for pleasure driving and also for much heavy traffic between Newark and Bloomfield. This made the highway of prime importance and may help to explain the inflated values set on land in this region before the panic of ’73.

ADRIAN SCHARFF.

The Adrian Scharff house, which stood just within the Woodside line, was erected some time before 1850. It seems that Mr. Scharff brought his old world ideas with him to this country and thought he must either have a river frontage for his home or a view. He had almost decided on the site now occupied by the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, but finding that that was not available, contented himself with the next best spot near the hilltop.

THE “WHITE-HOUSE” SMITHS.

Beyond the Scharff house the road ran through dense woods for a short half mile to the Robert Smith property—known as “White-house” Smith to distinguish him from “Brick-house” Smith further north. The records show that this property was sold by Thomas Saffin to Thomas Havens, and by him to Ebenezer Smith. When this house was built is not known, but probably it was erected by Ebenezer Smith, father of Robert.

Ebenezer Smith, born February 24, 1791, who was one of a large family, was the son of Scotch parents who immigrated to this country before his birth. Ebenezer had two sons, Robert and Ebenezer, Jr., and one daughter. Robert fell heir to the “White-house” Smith property. Ebenezer, Jr., married a daughter of Matthias Baker, and thus came into the property on which his son, Matthias Smith, erected the home of the “Brick-house” Smiths. Ebenezer, Jr., had two sons, Robert (2) and Matthias. Robert (1) lived in New York and used this as a summer home; he died in 1858. Robert Smith was a lover of fast horses and was in the habit of driving from Jersey City to his home. He had one horse, of which he was particularly proud, that would cover the distance in an hour.

In those days the Hackensack meadows were covered with a dense cedar growth which was a hiding place for those whose deeds were evil, and the road was the scene of many hold-ups. On one occasion Mr. Smith, while driving home, overtook a woman who asked for a ride, and he took her in his trap, only to discover that the supposed woman wore heavy boots; he then concluded that they would later meet with others who would assist in relieving him of the necessity of carrying his money home. Having made up his mind to rid himself of the passenger, he dropped his whip and requested her to get it, as he could not leave his restive horse; and, of course, once she was out, he did not wait for whip or passenger.

The children of Robert Smith all of whom are now dead, were Charles H., Eugene B., Robert A., Sarah and Agnes W.

LAND VALUES BEFORE THE PANIC OF ’73.

This property was purchased by Peter H. and John H. Ballantine just before the panic of 1873 (the deed is dated January 31, 1873) when prices were greatly inflated, and they paid therefor the sum of $217,000, paying $50,000 down and giving a mortgage and bond for the remainder. It was not long before the new purchasers saw the error of their ways and desired to relinquish the property and the $50,000, but to this the Smith estate would not agree. It is hardly probable that they will ever see a profit on the investment, as interest at 5 per cent (and it was more than five in those days) would in itself now amount to almost twice the original outlay, and when the taxes and assessments to which the property has fallen heir are added to the loss of interest, even eighty dollars a foot can hardly seem a large sum to the Ballantine estate.

WHERE JOHN MORRIS LIVED.

Passing the Robert Smith place we come to the home of the Bartholfs, which was erected more than sixty years ago, as it is so designated on the map of ’49. Who Mr. Bartholf was or where he came from I have not ascertained. The records show that John G. Bartholf purchased the property from Samuel Morris, who had it from Zebulon Morris, to whom it came from John Morris. This was probably that John Morris who was a resident of the old Bloomfield road during the Revolution.

Mr. John Morris Phillips, in the Daily Advertiser of February 19, 1880, stated that John Morris was his great-grandfather, and that it was to his house that the son of Joseph Hedden came when he fled from the British (referred to elsewhere), having nothing on but his night clothes and a pair of stockings. His feet were frozen to the bone as a result of the exposure.

Some time in the sixties Mr. Albert Beach acquired this property which he at first used only as a summer home. The house was taken down in November, 1909.

KEEN FAMILY TRADITION.

The Keen homestead adjoined the Beach property on the north. Just when the farm house was erected is not known, but that it is pre-Revolutionary there is no question.

In 1765 Thomas Keen, a native of England, and Miss Clorinda Lake, of Holland, were married on Long Island, and subsequently settled at Belleville, Essex County, New Jersey.

Their son, Joseph Lake Keen, was married to Abigail Morris in 1790.

Their son, John Morris Keen, was married to Peninah Sanford in 1820.

Their son, Zebulon Morris Keen, was married to Hanna Maria Garrabrant in 1863.

Their surviving son, John Morris Keen, was married in 1908 to Helen Virginia Brainard.

The grandfather of the present John M. Keen was born in 1797, and Peninah Sanford was born in Kearney (New Barbadoes) in 1792. She was a descendant of Capt. William Sanford, mentioned elsewhere.

The Keen homestead still remains, the house being substantially unchanged, but the barns, cribs and smoke house have long since been removed. Pear trees standing in the yard over twenty years ago were said by Mrs. Peninah Keen to be over two hundred years old. This same grandmother, who began life in 1792, has stated that Washington, in one of his journeys to and fro, came up the old Keen lane and stopped at the farm house for a glass of water. This lane has been in use for at least one hundred and fifty years, as seventy-five years ago trees lined its borders which were then not less than seventy-five years old.

THE “BRICK-HOUSE” SMITHS.

Almost opposite the Keen home lived the “Brick-house” Smiths. This building was erected fifty-three or fifty-four years ago by Matthias Smith on the site where formerly dwelt his maternal grandfather, Matthias Baker. The latter had the property from Isaac Soverhill.

THE SIDMANS OF OTHER DAYS.

The Sidman family dates back to the time of William the Conqueror, when the first ancestor of whom there is any record is said to have come to England from Normandy. He appears to have been a favorite of the great William and received from him a considerable grant of land on the river Syd and from this the family derived its name—Sydenham, which was later shortened to Sidman.

The introduction of the Sidman family to this neighborhood began with a romance, when John Sydenham ran away with Susannah Handcock, in 1711. It seems that Edward Handcock, “yoeman” (or Handcook, as one document gives the name) was living on this property in the year above mentioned, and that John Sydenham, who happened along from no one knows just where, fell desperately in love with Susannah, an only daughter, but the stern father frowned on the young man’s suit and Susannah was locked in an upper room.

However, John brought around a ladder one night, and the two adjourned to the parson. That they were promptly forgiven is evidenced by the following extract from a deed, made in 1711 by Edward Handcock, in which he says: “for and in consideration of the love, good will and affection which I have and do bear unto my loving son-in-law, John Sydenham, etc., and my only daughter, Susannah, his wife”. He then deeds to his son-in-law four acres of his land situated on the “highway to Acquacanong”, and six acres on the “highway to Watersson”, which latter adjoined land owned by Jasper Crane and by John Godon.

The following genealogy of the family is furnished by Miss Laura M. Sydenham of Plainfield, and is taken largely from the family Bible:—

John Sydenham (1) married Susannah Handcock, 1711. They had issue: John (2), born March 16, 1714; died in 1754. Samuel, who died intestate and unmarried in 1759. There is some doubt about this Samuel, there being but slight mention of him in the records, but it is presumed that he was the son of John Sydenham (1).

John Sydenham (2) married Martha Longworth, December 8, 1741. They had issue:—

Dorcas, born November 30, 1742.

David, born October 11, 1744.

William (1), born July 8, 1746.

John (3), born May 10, 1748. He removed to parts unknown on the upper Hudson river, and nothing further has been learned concerning him.

Susannah, born February 15, 1750.

William (2), born November 15, 1751.

Thomas, born November 4, 1753; died August 12, 1816.

Thomas Sydenham married Sarah Fordham, in October, 1779. They had issue:—

Susannah, born 1780; died 1852.

Martha, born 1783.

John (4), born 1785; died 1859.

Mary, born 1788.

Sarah, born 1791; died 1831.

David, born 1795; died 1822.

Bethiah, born 1798; died 1844.

John Sydenham (4) married Amelia, daughter of Matthias Baker, August, 1817. They had issue: Mary E., Martha A., Albert T., Sarah E., John E., Matilda L., Harriet and Julia.

John Sydenham (2) married Martha Longworth, as stated above; she was born August 23, 1724, and died May 12, 1804. Her sister Mary (born April 22, 1737, died September, 1793) married a Mr. Eckley. The sisters both resided in the Sidman house now standing. One Isaac Longworth, who owned a store in New York in 1759, and was the owner of a sloop which traded up the Passaic river, is believed to be the father of Mary and Martha, and also of a son Nicholas, who removed west to Cincinnati, and became the progenitor of that branch of the family.

The house now standing is not the Hancock house of 1711, though it is known to be more than one hundred and fifty years old. The Dutch oven, where bread and pies were formerly baked, is still a part of the structure, and the long-handled, wooden shovel, used to remove those edibles when baked, is still a part of its furnishings.

The present spelling of the name Sidman has been in occasional use for at least one hundred and fifty years, as the name is so spelled in the grave-digger’s bill for John (2), who died in 1754. In the paper detailing the settlement of the estate of John (2) the name is spelled Sidnham. In an inventory of his goods is mentioned “Hagar, a negro girl”, who was valued at £40. In a document dated in 1816 the name is spelled Sidingham. The present spelling came into general use with David, son of Thomas, who refused to sign his name other than Sidman.

Miss Laura M. Sydenham tells me that when she was a child a certain hollow on the crown of the ridge which had the appearance of having been surrounded by a heavy stone wall, and which was situated in the fields, she thinks, somewhere between the house of Mr. Elias G. Heller and the Presbyterian church, was pointed out by the elders as the site of a fort erected for protection against the Indians, but nothing more definite than this is known.

Miss Sydenham also remembers having been told that a Tory, whose house was burned because of his unpatriotic tendencies, resided between the present Sidman house and Murphy’s lane.

The woods on the Sidman place were used to some extent as a camping ground by certain Indians. Miss J. A. Sidman recalls having heard her grandmother tell of an invitation extended to her by these Indians to dine with them and, as she preferred not to offend the red-skinned neighbors, the invitation was accepted; but this proved to be one of the times when a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, for she arrived in time to see the dinner preparing and the careless and uncleanly methods of her hosts so nauseated her that she invented some excuse and came away.

Another of the early memories is Mollie, an old Indian basket maker, who frequented the neighborhood, securing her material from the Sidman woods. She frequently slept on the floor of the kitchen, always in a sitting posture. One day other Indians came this way and the wild instinct returned to the old basket maker who, after an excited conversation with her new-found friends, departed with them never to be seen again in the neighborhood.

The upper end of Branch Brook park, which was formerly a part of the Sidman domain, was known as “Blue Jay” woods.

FOREST HILL BEFORE MORRISTOWN.

Some years before his death Mr. Daniel F. Tompkins called at the Sidman house and made the statement that he had found in New York a document which contained information to the effect that Washington contemplated establishing his winter camp at “Sidman’s (Sydenham’s) Clove”, but owing to its proximity to the British lines the idea was abandoned and instead he fixed the camp at Morristown. Mr. Tompkins believed that this referred to this Sidman property which then covered a considerable tract, but no member of the family had ever heard any part of the estate called the clove, and nothing further was developed. A brief search among the records of the New York Historical Society fails to reveal the source of Mr. Tompkins’s information.

A KEEN HOMESTEAD.

On the corner of the old road and Murphy’s lane stands another Keen homestead. The original house, which has been added to until it has lost much of its identity, was part of the Crane estate and came into the Keen family through the marriage of Alfred Keen with a sister of Nathaniel J. Crane. The older part of the house was probably built a hundred years ago. The front part was erected by Alfred Keen about fifty years ago.

THE FARRAND FAMILY.

The old Moses Farrand home formerly joined the Keen property, extending to the canal. The building was torn down some years ago. It was a fine old place in its day, having been erected, it is said, near the close of the eighteenth century. The rooms were spacious for those days, while a great central hall extended from front to rear. The walls were thick and massive, the brown stone of which they were constructed is supposed to have been taken from the quarry at Soho.

Dr. Edward D. Griffin pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Newark from 1801 to 1809, was in the habit of riding out to this house to conduct religious services for those living in the neighborhood.

The family record in the old Farrand Bible, now in possession of Miss Anna B. Farrand, begins with Moses, who was born in October, 1728, and died September 19, 1805; following him comes Samuel, born July 25, 1759, died December 26, 1826; he married Sarah Andruss, who was born December 30, 1769, and died in June, 1874; Joseph, born January 10, 1792; Moses Andruss (2d), born October 11, 1793, died January 26, 1862; Rachael, born August 13, 1795, died August 19, 1816; Sarah Ann, born August 4, 1797; Charles, born July 29, 1799, died in June, 1874; Joseph, born December 20, 1801, died August 19, 1830; Phœbe, born November 23, 1802; Samuel Edward, born June 2, 1803; John Herman, born June 2, 1805, and Samuel Edward (2d), born May 19, 1807.

The oldest Farrand home in this region was situated on our old road, but across the line in Bloomfield. Here Washington is said to have been a guest. This property fell to Charles, father of Miss Anna B., who has given me most of the family history.

The Farrands, name originally spelled Ferrant, were Huguenots, and presumably were part of the emigrants who left France owing to the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, following which several hundred thousand Frenchmen were compelled to seek refuge in other lands. A considerable colony of these settled in the neighborhood of New York during the early part of the eighteenth century.

There is nothing further of interest concerning the old Bloomfield road; the short stretch beyond the canal which lies within the confines of Woodside offers no discoverable history or legend that may be used for this sketch.

MURPHY’S LANE.

The Lower Road From Belleville to Bloomfield.

THE VAN RIPER FLOWER GARDEN.

One who knew Murphy’s lane in years gone by would naturally begin with Charlie Van Riper’s flower garden. When we were young, Charlie Van Riper lived in a frame house, the northern windows of which overlooked Second river. The foreground of his view was a neglected expanse through which meandered Murphy’s lane, and also a second cart track which, as I recall it, merely shortened the distance a few feet for those seeking “Murphytown” from the south. This cart track, which is now Sylvan avenue, west of Summer avenue, ran close by the old-fashioned flower garden, which Charlie knew so well how to encourage to do its best, with its marigolds and hollyhocks, and all the old friends set out in little odd-shaped beds bordered with box. Charlie was as generous with his flowers as his flowers were generous to him, and many a child who stopped to gaze through the picket fence into that wonderland of gorgeous color went on his way with a bunch of blossoms given to him by the kind old soul.

That portion of the wild land which was not interfered with by the traffic of Murphy’s lane offered inducements to the youngsters that I am inclined to think they rather preferred to the Van Riper flowers, and these were the hazel bushes which grew in abundance, the ripened fruit of which was a great attraction.

BIRD’S WOODS.

“Bird’s Woods”, where “The slant yellow beam down the wood-aisle doth seem like a lane into Heaven that leads from a dream”, should have had a Sidney Lanier to immortalize its cool and delicious depths. It was the picnic resort of many a Sunday school, but picnics in the early days were simple affairs and did not call for changes that seriously marred the beauty of the forest. The growth was almost wholly pine and hemlock, and the balsam-laden air is refreshing even yet to think of. A few swings and a sheltered platform, where lunch was served, were the only attempts of man to improve on the situation.

Second river with its babbling waters, the ruins of the old paint mill, and the old dam, with its waterfall at the woods’ end, all combined with the forest to lend enchantment and to a child furnished possibilities for entertainment that were inexhaustible. How well I remember the rush of small feet when the Sunday school children reached the entrance to the woods, and how they spread out like a fan through its coverts of mystery, each one intent on finding something new or re-discovering some old friendly spot.

Then the woods were full of sound, and I can still recall the infectious laugh of Mr. Hine, who, as superintendent of the school and chief promoter of jollity, urged the children on to a full enjoyment of the occasion and his call to a stray robin that might at the moment be voicing his approval of the place, “That’s right, old fellow. Go it!” and then he would whistle to the bird in the tree in a way that started him all over again. We will never see the like of “Bird’s Woods” again.

NAMES OF FORMER DWELLERS ON MURPHY’S LANE.

As nearly as can now be recalled the line of houses on Murphy’s lane was in the following order: Joseph Johns (later John Tyner), William T. Wauters (later John Beardsley), John Murphy, Thomas Murphy, James Murphy, Pat Murphy (the chief ingredients of “Murphytown”), Bill “Whitehead” Bennett, N. J. Crane and Alfred Keen (on the corner of the old Bloomfield road).

The Shields Guards was, before the Civil War, one of the institutions of Murphy’s lane. The armory in which the guns and accoutrements, loaned by the state, were stored, was situated some distance back from Charlie Van Riper’s house, near the present Mt. Prospect avenue. There were many Irishmen in the neighborhood and they formed this company as a rival to the Continental Blues, which numbered Belleville’s best among its members.

THE FIRST SUNDAY SCHOOL IN WOODSIDE.

Among Mr. Hine’s papers is a note to the effect that about 1822 a Sunday school was carried on in Woodside (for how long he could not ascertain) in the house of Mr. Joseph Johns, on Murphy’s lane. This was an old stone house containing two rooms on the ground floor, in one of which, about fifteen feet square, the Sunday school was held. The house stood at the lower end of Murphy’s lane, very near Second river. It was torn down during the winter of 1886. Mr. Hine says:—

“Mr. Johns himself does not appear to have been exactly a saint, but his wife, Peggy, was a woman of exceptionally fine character and a devoted Christian. She died thirty-three years ago (this was written by Mr. Hine in 1887), and those who were children during her later years speak of their visits to her house as among the bright spots in their child life. From the best information I can obtain, it was she who gathered the children of the neighborhood together for Sunday instruction, but I learn also of students from a seminary in Bloomfield who came down there to teach, and who also established a school in Franklin; they called it Pobishon. Whether that was an Indian name of the region or merely a local title, I do not know, but children from Belleville used to go to both schools.

“I have not been able to find out whether this ancient Woodside school was divided in classes or taught in a body by the person conducting it; but the exercises were simple and now and then a tract would be given to a child, who in those early days, set great store by the simple gift. I only know of two persons now living who attended this school of sixty-five or more years ago: they are Mr. Henry Stimis, who lives on the River road in Woodside and his sister Eliza, who are well known to many of us. Mr. William Wauters, who was a cousin of Mrs. Peggy Johns, has for many years, and until recently, been a resident of Woodside, and is the father of two former faithful workers in this school, the Misses Lizzie and Lucy Wauters.”

In view of the fact that the first Sunday school in Newark was held in 1814 (Daily Advertiser, Oct. 27, ’83.) it speaks well for this country region that one was held here only eight years later.

AN EASY WAY TO DIVIDE EVEN.

As nearly as I can gather from current remark, Mr. Joseph Johns was a remarkably fine specimen of an awful example for a temperance lecture—certainly that appears to be the impression he left behind among the neighbors. A story still survives which indicates that Mr. Johns was also somewhat original in his method of doing things.

It seems that he once had a sum of money in shape like a parcel of bills of tempting thickness, and Mrs. Johns, believing that it would be rather more safe in her possession than in his, tried to persuade him to give it up, but, failing in this, she firmly insisted that half of the amount belonged to her, and that he should at least divide. To this proposition he agreed and, taking the package to the chopping block, with one whack of an axe he cut it in two and handed one bundle to his wife, saying “there’s your half”.

When he came to and realized the destruction he had wrought, he was at great pains to paste the bills together again, and in this condition they were put into circulation. For some years it was a common thing to find some of “old Johns’s money” among change received at the Belleville stores.

WAUTERS—WAUTERSE.

Beyond the Johns house stood the dwelling of William T. Wauters—Wauterse, as his Dutch forefathers spelled it. The house is shown on the map of 1849, but could not have been erected a great while before that date.

POLLY VAN WINKLE AGAIN.

It seems that Polly Van Winkle, mentioned in connection with the River road, was an inhabitant of Bloomfield and used Murphy’s lane as one of her routes to and from the water side. She left the same general memory here that she did elsewhere—a little, old woman, bent nearly double with years and the weight of an enormous pack, which was her constant companion.

MURPHYTOWN.

Not much has been learned of the Murphys, who appear to have been brought over to work in the calico mills, and who settled so thickly about midway of the lane that the spot became known as “Murphytown”.

THE GYPSIES DO BUSINESS.

Some time before the Civil War a small band of gypsies, headed by one James Trail, who had been in the habit of camping in the woods on the south side of the lane, purchased some of the Murphy property for the purpose of establishing a winter home. In those days this was an out of the way spot and quite suitable for the nomads.

During the warm months these gypsies wandered over the country and at one time, while in Tennesee, they came upon a gullible person named Ferris. Him they induced to bury a pot of gold, or at least to allow them to bury it, at an auspicious moment when the moon and stars favored increase, on the theory that if left a certain length of time, long enough to allow them to get well out of the country, it would multiply the dollars to a marvellous extent.

At the proper time Mr. Ferris dug up the pot and found it heavily laden with—lead, and was sorely vexed. So far the plans of the gypsies had worked as they wished, but what they had not counted on was the persistence of their victim, who managed to trail them to their winter lair. He then sought out ’Squire Sandford of Belleville, and offered him a reward if he would capture the thieves and get the money back, which the ’Squire did in short order.

All who knew ’Squire Sandford in his active days know how useless it was to attempt to bluff him, and it is hardly necessary to state that the gypsies promptly came to terms. This resulted in their giving up the property on Murphy’s lane in order to avoid further trouble, and the ’Squire received half of the land in lieu of a money reward.

THE BENNETT PROPERTY.

On the far edge of Murphytown stood the home of Bill “Whitehead” Bennett. There were many Bennetts in the neighborhood, and it was necessary to distinguish one “Bill” from another—this one appears to have been a blond. The records show that the heirs of Joseph Crane sold this property to John P. Durand, and he to Simon Sainsimon, he to Daniel Crane, he to Aaron I. Crane, he to William Bennett, he to Abram S. Hewitt, and he to Dr. Grenville M. Weeks. The following items in regard to the ownership of the property I have from Dr. Weeks.

PETER COOPER OWNS LAND HERE.

Early in the fifties Peter Cooper and Abram S. Hewitt bought a tract comprising about 38 acres just beyond “Murphytown”, their intention being to make a homestead of it, but they did not build. In 1860 Dr. Grenville M. Weeks who was then a young man, living in Bloomfield, discovered the place and, liking it both for its beauty and for what he thought would be its future possibilities as the city grew, saw Mr. Cooper and asked if he would sell. The latter said no, as he had purchased intending to make his home here, but that since then he and his son-in-law had been looking at a place near Greenwood Lake, and they might sell a year hence, if they decided on the latter place, as Hewitt thought the city would crowd them out of this spot.

DR. GRENVILLE M. WEEKS COMES ON THE SCENE.

In ’61 the Doctor again called on Mr. Cooper, who said, “Well, are you as hungry after that place as ever?” and when the young man said yes, the owner wanted to know how much he would pay down. The Doctor who was only twenty-one, had a half interest in a small drug store in Bloomfield, which had netted him $500, a very considerable sum to him, and when he said he had $500, Peter Cooper said, “$500! Young man, have you any idea what the relation of $500 is to a $10,000 place?” The Doctor then thought he could raise another $500, and the owner said, “I will make a contract and give you a deed when you can save another $1,000 and give me a mortgage for $8,000.” The Doctor had by this time entered the Navy, and was thus enabled to secure the second thousand and the deal was consummated.

In the course of time John I. Briggs bargained for the property, agreeing to pay $15,000, and paid $100 down to bind the contract, but he never paid interest on the mortgage, and the Doctor was compelled to foreclose.

MR. JAS. YEREANCE A RESIDENT.

Next came Jeremiah Counsellor, a conductor on the M. & E. R. R., and a well-known character, and he asked the Doctor for an opportunity to sell the property, stating that he would sell it inside of a month, and that he wanted as his commission half of all he could get over $50,000. This was just before the panic of ’73, when prices were largely inflated and the Doctor was naturally pleased, as, having been attached to the government service most of the time, he had not appreciated the rise in land values. Shortly thereafter the sale was made to Mr. James Yereance, a New York business man, for $57,000, $25,000 being paid down. The interest was paid for some years, but Mr. Yereance was finally unable to meet the payments, and an amicable arrangement was made whereby part of the property was deeded to the father of Mr. Yereance and the remainder was bought in by the Doctor at Sheriff’s sale. The Doctor speaks very highly of the honest manner in which Mr. Yereance treated him all through these transactions.

DR. WEEKS AND THE MONITOR.

Dr. Grenville M. Weeks carries with him a useless right arm as a memento of the Civil War. He was surgeon on the Monitor when she sank, and tells such an interesting story—not only of this event, but also of the conception and building of the Monitor, many points of which he says are not commonly known—that a brief outline of his story is embodied here:—

DR. THEODORE RUGGLES TIMBY.

Dr. Theodore Ruggles Timby, who died November 10, 1909, at the age of 91 was, the Doctor believes, the real inventor of the Monitor. In 1843, Dr. Timby gave thought to the immense unprotected stretch of coast which this country presented to an enemy, and recognized how impossible it would be to construct forts that would cover its vast extent. It then occurred to him that if floating forts could be constructed which could be taken to any point threatened, the difficulty would be met. It is said that the old circular fort on Governor’s Island first suggested a revolving turret to him.

By much thinking he gradually evolved the Monitor type, and fifteen years before the Civil War broke out had perfected his plans and submitted them to the various European governments, even sending them to China, but they all scouted his idea, some one of them remarking that every inventor had his soft spot, and evidently that of Dr. Timby was the thought that he could float an iron ship.

Dr. Timby returned home and continued to work over his plans, placing airtight compartments in bow and stern, and in such other ways as he could devise meeting the objections that had been raised.

When the Civil War came the inventor managed to get his plans before Mr. Lincoln, who immediately became interested, and who used frequently to visit his workshop in Washington to discuss them. Finally Mr. Lincoln, who had some knowledge that the Merrimac was being constructed and knew that something must be done to meet the emergency, sent Dr. Timby with his plans to three of the wealthiest and most prominent men in New York, with a request that they submit the plans to the best engineer they could find.

These took the model and plans to John Ericsson, then regarded as the best engineer in the country, and he, after shutting himself up with them for ten days, submitted a report in which he stated his belief in the feasibility of the plan, and that he could construct the vessel in one hundred days. The order was immediately given to go ahead, and at the end of the one hundred days the “Monitor” was floating on the waters of New York harbor, to all appearances a success.

An interesting addition to this story, which belongs here, comes from Mrs. Lucy Cate Abercrombie of Forest Hill, and, while it is not part of the Doctor’s narrative, it helps to complete the history.

When Ericsson announced that the Monitor could be built, he was called to Washington for consultation and, among other questions, was asked where the plates necessary to armor the proposed vessel could be secured. He responded that he did not know, that such plates were only made in Glasgow, and that it was impossible to secure them from there, but that there was a man in Baltimore who had invented machinery for rolling large plates, and perhaps he could do the work.

MR. HORACE ABBOTT MAKES THE MONITOR A POSSIBILITY.

This was Mr. Horace Abbott, the grandfather of Mrs. Abercrombie, who had perfected a machine for rolling heavy plates, by the invention of the third roll, but he had put his last dollar into the invention and the stagnation of business due to the war was writing ruin for him in very large letters. Mr. Abbott was sent for and a contract was signed, and in forty-eight hours thereafter the first plate had been rolled, and this led to other government work. Thus the Monitor not only saved the fortunes of the Union, but also those of one of its inventive citizens.

Mr. Abbott’s invention revolutionized the methods employed in rolling heavy plates; it has never been materially changed and is in use to-day in every rolling mill in the country.

THE MONITOR GOES TO HAMPTON ROADS.

Word was sent to Lincoln that the Monitor was afloat and he, knowing that the Merrimac was almost ready, ordered it to proceed immediately to Hampton Roads. Ericsson, however, responded that this was impossible, that the vessel was intended only for harbor defense and would not last in a sea, as she was merely an iron deck set on a scow with an overhang at each end of twenty-five feet, and that the force of the waves under this overhang would lift the upper works from the hull. He had not followed Dr. Timby’s plans as to the hull, which would have saved the vessel in the storm off Hatteras referred to below. The only excuse for the twenty-five foot overhang that can be thought of now is that the short hull was sufficient to float the structure and cost less than a longer hull. The President, however, sent peremptory orders that the Monitor should go, and we all know the result.

TALE OF THE MERRIMAC’S ENGINEER.

Some years after the close of the war Dr. Weeks met the engineer of the Merrimac in Dakota, and as the conversation drifted to the days that had been, the engineer told how the Southerners were highly elated at the first success of the Merrimac, and felt that nothing could stop them, and when they came out of the James river on the morning that the Monitor arrived, the captain was annoyed to see what he supposed was a raft lying between him and his intended prey, the Minnesota, and not realizing what it was or that it could offer resistance, ordered full speed ahead, expecting to ram and destroy the obstruction.

“You can imagine our amazement”, said the engineer, “at the shock of the impact, which threw us to the deck; it was like running on a ledge of rock. The iron prow of the Merrimac, which was made for ramming, was bent and useless, and had we not struck a slanting blow the result to the Merrimac would have been serious.

“But what finally overwhelmed us were the enormous balls, eleven inches in diameter, which came thundering at our railroaded sides until they began to make breaches. Finally one of these ripped through us from stem to stern, killing or wounding seven or more, upsetting gun carriages and causing terrible devastation. Then it was that we realized that destruction awaited us unless we could escape.”

DR. WEEKS TRANSFERRED TO THE MONITOR.

One of the mistakes made by Ericsson was the placing of the conning tower, from which the vessel is fought, aft of the turret instead of on its top, as the plans called for. Because of this the officer in charge was compelled to swing the bow forty-five degrees out of her course in order to see ahead. This delayed the fight greatly and also caused Lieut. John L. Worden, who fought the Monitor, to be almost blinded by smoke and burned powder. This fact led to the transferring of Dr. Grenville M. Weeks to the Monitor, as it was necessary to relieve Lieutenant Worden and the Monitor’s surgeon, Dr. Daniel C. Logue, went with him to the Brandywine, while Doctor Weeks, who was surgeon on the Brandywine, was ordered to replace Dr. Logue.

CAPTAIN BANKHEAD IN COMMAND.

Captain Bankhead succeeded Lieutenant Worden in command of the Monitor and, as the Doctor says, there was a certain poetical justice in the succession of Captain Bankhead to this command. It seems that a board consisting of General Bankhead, the Captain’s father, and Colonel Thornton of the army, and Joe Smith of the navy, had been appointed some years before to determine whether this was a great piece of folly, as the Europeans thought, or whether it was of value, as the inventor believed. Thornton and Smith reported against the invention, while General Bankhead made a minority report in its favor. The Bankheads were Southern men, but loyal when the Civil War came.

SINKING OF THE MONITOR.

The Monitor was ordered to Charleston, S. C., and on December 29, 1862, was taken in tow by the Rhode Island, a powerful side-wheel steamer. A West India hurricane was raging up the Atlantic Coast, and two days after the start that very thing happened to the Monitor that was predicted by Ericsson, the tremendous lift of the seas under the long overhang of twenty-five feet caused the deck to break away gradually from the hull, and soon the cabin was awash and the heavy dining table was crashing into the stateroom doors and cabin sides as the rolling of the clumsy little vessel rushed the water from side to side.

At this point the Doctor went below for something and found an engineer so sick in his stateroom that he did not realize their perilous position, and when the man refused to move the Doctor attempted to force him out, but now a wave swept over the deck and the Doctor, supposing the Monitor was going down, sprang for the companionway and had to fight his way up through a solid wall of water.

Once outside he sought the top of the turret with the Captain; in the meantime rockets had been set off to notify the Rhode Island that her tow was sinking and the latter had cut her loose. By this time the fires were nearly out and the Monitor was so waterlogged that she did not rise to the seas, but dived into them, while her officers and men could with difficulty hang on, shutting eyes and mouth until the flood had swept astern.

The Rhode Island immediately proceeded to lower a boat on its port quarter, but while this was being done one of the most desperate situations of this desperate night occurred. In some way an end of the immense tow rope which had been trailing astern became entangled in one of the paddle wheels and stopped the machinery. Thus she lay helpless for the time being. In the meantime the Monitor, which was still slowly running under her own power, her fires as yet not having been drowned out, was bearing down on the Rhode Island. In the darkness the proximity of the two boats was not discovered until the Monitor was on the point of ramming. Just at this critical moment the paddle wheel was cleared and the Rhode Island began slowly to forge ahead, and consequently the blow was not severe enough to cause serious damage, but it was a heart-rending moment to those on both of the vessels, who felt that they were very close to eternity.

The collision smashed the boat which was being lowered but another quickly took its place and, recognizing how easily it could be stove, this was well guarded with rope fenders.

It was midnight and very dark, the two vessels had drifted apart again, but finally the small boat was discovered close in on their starboard quarter. It did not dare come alongside, however, for fear of being smashed, and the men were compelled to jump.

The Doctor was one of the last to leave the Monitor, and by this time the small boat had drifted so far off that he fell short into the icy water, but those on board caught him by the hair and collar and he was dragged to safety. The Doctor will never forget seeing one of the engineers, who had been the life of the party and who was loved by all, miss the boat by five feet as he jumped, and go down in the darkness never to be seen again.

There were sixteen in the small boat, but it was staunch, and they felt comparatively safe. The waves were tremendous; at one moment the boat was riding the crest of a mountain, the next it was engulfed in the depths. While thus momentarily between two great seas they dimly saw the bow of a second boat from the Rhode Island hanging above them, which the next moment would come down athwartships and grind them to pulp. A shout of warning enabled each helmsman to throw his tiller over and sheer off to some extent, but what saved the situation from becoming a catastrophe to all was the Doctor’s quick wit. He tells the story very modestly himself. Springing up and bracing his feet he grasped the bow of the oncoming boat as firmly as possible and pushed it to one side and this, with the prompt action of the helmsman, just prevented the impending collision, but, as the one boat came down on the other, the Doctor’s arm was gripped between them and he was pulled down to the water, his arm was dragged from its socket and hung attached to his body by a few stretched muscles. The intense pain caused him to faint, and had it not been that the cold water revived him as his head went under he would have been pulled overboard.

When the boat reached the Rhode Island they found a spar extended from which depended ropes up which the sailors scrambled as only a sailor can, and then the Doctor thought of death, and it was not pleasant in spite of the intense pain he was enduring. One sailor lost his grip and fell into the sea, never to be seen again.

What could a man so maimed as the Doctor was do to save himself under such circumstances? Nothing. There seemed no hope for him, and he thought of descending into that watery grave and slowly disintegrating in the ooze at the bottom of the ocean; and the horror of it took hold on him, for he was a young man and wanted to live.

Finally all were out of the boat but the men at bow and stern, the Doctor, and George W. Tichenor, when the latter shouted that they must do something to save the man who had saved them all. A rope was then thrown from the vessel and a bowline passed over the Doctor’s right shoulder and under his left arm, and the poor, maimed body was dragged on board as a bag of potatoes might have been, but he was saved. It was good to feel the wooden deck under foot once more.

NOTES ON THE CRANE FAMILY.

The last property on this old road was the Crane estate. The first of the name to settle here was Jasper Crane (born 1680), and he is supposed to have come here about 1730. The family genealogy goes back to an earlier Jasper, born 1600, who is said to have been a son of Gen. Josiah Crane, who was in the service of King James I. of England. Jasper married in England, as his son John was born there in 1635. Jasper came from England about 1639 and was one of the early settlers of New Haven, Connecticut, where he was a magistrate for several years. From there he removed to Branford and from the latter place to Newark in 1665. Here he was a magistrate, was first president of the Town Council and was first on the list of deputies to the General Assembly of New Jersey for six years after the settlement of Newark.

John Crane, born 1635, had a son Jasper, born 1680 (the first to settle here). His son Joseph was born 1722; this Joseph had a son Joseph, born 1767, and his son was Nathaniel Jonas Crane, born 1808.

The old Crane stone house is supposed to have been erected about 1760 by Joseph Crane; this was taken down about 1890. The small wing at the right of the building is believed to have been the older part of the house. Those now living remember that in the attic of this part were several swords of various descriptions which Nathaniel J. Crane has said were used by members of the family who fought in the French and Indian War. The barn which stood in the rear of this house is the one referred to elsewhere as having been used as a slaughter-house when General Anthony Wayne was camped under this ridge.

Beyond the Crane house is the Keen homestead, which is mentioned in connection with the old Bloomfield road.

Note for page 126.—Information concerning the Sidman family which was received after this book was in type and inserted at the last minute, shows that Jasper Crane owned land here as early as 1711. See page 100.