The Histories of 700 New Jersey Families
The Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey, by Francis Bazley Lee, was published in four volumes in 1910. All four volumes are available online with free access at archive.org. I've created an index of the names featured in all four volumes - over 700 names choose a name to jump to the book and page. Take a quick look to see if any of your family surnames are found!
From Volume I we read that the Lenni-Lenape occupied the region before Europeans arrived in what we know of today as The Garden State - New Jersey. An unsuccessful English proprietary scheme called New Albion appeared in the 1630s, followed by Swedish settlement along the Delaware beginning in 1638. Dutch settlers established communities around Hoboken, Pavonia and Bergen, leaving a particularly lasting influence through their churches, schools, customs and family names.
New Jersey was developed from several overlapping colonial populations. English settlers arrived in greater numbers after 1664, establishing communities such as Elizabethtown, Middletown and Shrewsbury. Many came from Long Island, New England and Rhode Island, including Baptists and Quakers escaping religious persecution.
New Jersey was divided into East Jersey and West Jersey in 1676. William Penn and other Quaker proprietors encouraged settlement in West Jersey, especially around Burlington. Later immigrants included persecuted Scottish Presbyterians and French Huguenots. The proprietary governments were surrendered to the Crown in 1702.
Religion and education were central to New Jersey’s development. Dutch Reformed, Quaker, Baptist and Presbyterian congregations helped organize early communities, while schools appeared at Bergen, Woodbridge and Newark. These traditions eventually contributed to the founding of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1746, and Queen’s College (now Rutgers University).
Comments