Thanks TJ!
I'm still trying to figure out West Mill. Are there two ancient mills operating within two miles of each other – Sleepy and West? What is the earliest references we have for each?
According to the
Pennsylvania Gazette advertisement the saw mill for sale is in ruins by 1782, although its iron work infrastructure remains intact.
Jerseyman in an earlier post indicated that Foster
et al. sold the Sleepy Creek Mill during the late 1780s or early 1790s to Samuel Murdock, and in turn Murdock was selling an operating mill in 1795.
If the Murdock advertisement description is accurate ("
as there is not another saw-mill within many miles"), then West Mill (~2 miles distant from Sleepy) was already in ruins by 1795.
If the
Pennsylvania Gazette advertisement was about Sleepy Creek Mill, then Foster would have needed to rebuild on the ruins of an older Sleepy Mill.
According to Jerseyman, Sleepy Creek Mill is first referenced as “old” starting c.1850.
Sleepy Creek Mill is about five miles from the Forks, West Mills about five-and-a-half miles from the Forks.
S-M
I figure that it was rebuilt and continued to operate into the next century.
You ask for the earliest references for each of the mills. According to the Colonial Conveyances and other sources, here is a bit of a timeline.
1. On Aug. 15, 1761 John Estell acquires land "situate along Sleepy Creek" from John Monroe and Vincent Leeds.
2. On Aug. 28, 1764 John Estell acquires land from James Inskeep "Atsion, Bur"
3. On May 23, 1765 John Estell sells land to Charles Read "Near Atsion R. Bur & Glo"
4. In 1765 John Estell obtains the right to dam the Little Egg Harbour River
5. On Sept. 12, 1774 John Estell sells to Josiah Foster "Gloucester". This may have included both the Sleepy Creek mill and the mill at the lock.
6. On Feb. 5, 1777 Josiah Foster puts ad out for the sale of the mill at the lock [see post #102]
7. On July 23, 1777 Josiah Foster again runs an ad for the sale of the mill at the lock [see post #103]
8. On March 20, 1782 Josiah Foster publishes an ad in the
Pennsylvania Gazette for the mill on the Sleepy Creek to be sold. [see post #104]
9. On March 2, 1791 in the Pennsylvania Gazette an advertisement offering the Atsion works for sale includes as assets 2 saw mills in good working order and a mill seat complete with dam. These may be the saw mill at the works the other operational mill may be West's which they had acquired by this point. The mill seat would be the site of the former mill at the lock [see post # 172]
10. The Sleepy Creek mill ends-up in the hands of Samuel Murdock who put it up for sale on Feb. 11, 1795 [see post # 205]
11. The Atsion Works again goes up for sale on Dec. 8, 1804 offering the same, almost word for word as the 1791 advertisement. [see post #172]
12. The date of this next sale advertisement is unknown but must be sometime after 1802 because it says it is in Burlington County:
Tracts of Land for Sale in Washington Township, Burlington County:
No.1–Two-fifths parts of Sleepy Mill Tract, supposed to contain in the whole 700 acres, well covered with Pine, fit for sawing; the foundation of the mill is supposed to be good, the dam ready made. This mill-seat will be very valuable, being within one-fourth of a mile of a large cedar swamp, where boards are taken from the mill-tail by water to the Forks. This tract lies three miles below Atsion Works.
As for the West's Mill, I have that advertisement in the
Pennsylvania Gazette on Nov. 10,1763 offering it to be sold or lett. [see post #172]
In the Colonial Conveyances we have a number of entries for John West and his relations with the same surname.
It is difficult to tell which may pertain to the mill in question. One in particular stands out:
July 28, 1783 John West to Henry Drinker "glo".
