Nothampton River location in Burlington County?

[Wreckless]

Does anyone know what waterway is currently the old Nothampton River in Burlington County? Looks like Northampton is now Mount Holly Twp. Seems and old family deed entry as follows:
1696 July 21. Deed. Henry LOW of Northampton River, Burlington
Co., planter, to James SHERWIN of said Co., yeoman, for 70 acres, sur-
rounded by grantee's land, part of which he bought of John RUSH,
grantor having bought the said 70 acres of Thomas KENDALL August 17, 1695. 562

Mentions it. Can anyone help? Thank you.

 

[Jerseyman]

Does anyone know what waterway is currently the old Nothampton River in Burlington County? Looks like Northampton is now Mount Holly Twp. Seems and old family deed entry as follows:
1696 July 21. Deed. Henry LOW of Northampton River, Burlington
Co., planter, to James SHERWIN of said Co., yeoman, for 70 acres, sur-
rounded by grantee's land, part of which he bought of John RUSH,
grantor having bought the said 70 acres of Thomas KENDALL August 17, 1695. 562

Mentions it. Can anyone help? Thank you.

Wreckless:

The Northampton River is an alternate and ancient name for the Rancocas Creek, named for the original Northampton constabulary, later Northampton Township, first established by the Burlington Court in 1688. At one time, Northampton Township wholly encompassed present-day Southampton Township, Westampton Township, and Eastampton Township, along with portions of Pemberton Township and Borough, portions of Washington Township, and portions of Lumberton Township. In November 1931 the voters remaining in Northampton, by now greatly reduced in landmass, approved a referendum to change the name of the old municipality to Mount Holly Township.

The deed you reference above is recorded in West Jersey Deed Liber B, page 562, and likely relates to land in either present-day Mount Holly, Lumberton, or Pemberton. Some of the other prior deeds you mention can also be found in Liber B.

If you can tell me which of the men you name above is numbered among your ancestors, I might be able to better pin down the location of the land transaction.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[Wreckless]

Thank you Jerseyman. I knew I could count on you for the answer. Henry Low would be the ancestor in question. I would appreciate any help that you can muster on my behalf.

 

[Jerseyman]

Wreckless:

Glad I can help you out.

Henry Low acquired his 70 acres of land in 1689 from Thomas Kendall by the deed recorded in West Jersey Deed Liber B, page 469. After selling his land to James Sherwin (or Sherwyn) on 21 July 1696 (West Jersey Deed Liber B, page 562), nothing further is noted of Henry Low in land transactions until he acquires a 100-acre parcel of land from Samuel Terret (or Terrett), of Burlington, on 16 September 1700, recorded in West Jersey Deed Liber BBB, page 371. Henry paid £5 0/- 10p for the property. While you will not find this deed in Volume XXI of the New Jersey Archives series, I do have it on microfilm here in my library, along with the ones recorded in Liber B. The deed records Henry’s tract as situated between the land of Richard Boyes and John Woolman on the SOUTH side of the Northampton River. Interpolating the lands of Boyes and Woolman, I place Henry Low’s second parcel in Chester Township, now Moorestown Township. I suspect his first parcel was there as well, since it adjoined Sherwin’s land and Chester Township appointed James Sherwin as one of two “sessors” (or assessor) in March 1693.

Henry does appears in the Burlington Court Book. In November 1694, he brought suit against Burlingtonian Isaac Conoroe for a debt owed. It appears Isaac purchased a horse from Henry for 50/- and never paid the money. Apparently Isaac ignored the court summons, so the judges continued the matter until after dinner, but Isaac still did not make an appearance. So, by default, the court found in Henry’s favor and ordered Conoroe to make full restitution along with all legal fees that Henry incurred in bringing suit against Conoroe. He appears again in May 1701, but the court continued the proceedings.

I cannot find any record of a Will or probate proceedings in Burlington County for Henry Low, so it unclear what happened to Henry and his landholdings. It is entirely possible that if Henry sold the land while yet alive, the subsequent buyer failed to have the deed recorded and only an incredible amount of title work would reveal that transaction.

If you have any additional information about Henry Low, please provide it and I will see if I can locate more material for you.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[Wreckless]

Thank you once again! I do not have any additional data at this time as I am a very preliminary stage and the familial link is tenuous at this time. I have much more "digging" to do.

 

[bobpbx]

Say Jerseyman, while on the subject of Wills in Burlington County, do you know if the Thomas Potter Will is in there? The reason I ask is that I have a document in my possesion that is either the Will itself or merely a copy. In the Will he gives land for a church to John Murray, founder of the Universalist Church.

PS: you must have missed my post of 2 years ago on this subject:

http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/showthread.php?p=39569&highlight=potter#post39569

 

[Jerseyman]

Say Jerseyman, while on the subject of Wills in Burlington County, do you know if the Thomas Potter Will is in there? The reason I ask is that I have a document in my possesion that is either the Will itself or merely a copy. In the Will he gives land for a church to John Murray, founder of the Universalist Church.

PS: you must have missed my post of 2 years ago on this subject:

http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/showthread.php?p=39569&highlight=potter#post39569

Bob:

Thomas Potter’s Last Will and Testament is filed in Monmouth County, from which the New Jersey State Legislature erected Ocean County in 1850. So, anything prior to that date would be filed at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold. There is also a copy on file at the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton as part of the Secretary of State files. He heirs probated Potter’s estate in 1782. Apparently no one prepared an Inventory of the real and personal estate, or, at least, no one filed such a document.

No, I think I remember reading the transcript of the will when you posted it, but I guess I didn’t have anything to say about it at the time.

BTW, are you aware of book titled, From Good Luck to Gloucester : The Book of Pilgramage 1770-1920? It is book about John Murray, Thomas Potter, and the first Universalist church at Good Luck a.k.a. Murray Grove. It is a nice association piece for the Will you have in your possession.

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[bobpbx]

There is also a copy on file at the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton as part of the Secretary of State files.

Thanks. There is also a section of an 1812 map in the same frame. I'm going to unload this somewhere since it is taking up space. Both must be just copies by a gent in the 1920's.

"Secured by Walter T. Otto, 1921".

 

[Jerseyman]

Thanks. There is also a section of an 1812 map in the same frame. I'm going to unload this somewhere since it is taking up space. Both must be just copies by a gent in the 1920's.

"Secured by Walter T. Otto, 1921".

Bob:

That is very interesting! During his lifetime, Walter T. Otto lived at 846 E. 34th Street in Brooklyn, New York, and served as the treasurer of the Universalist Church. It is not surprising that Otto would secure such a document as an assurance of title in the property at Murray Grove. I’m not sure where you obtained the Will and map, but I suspect both originally came from the official files of the church sometime subsequent to 1921.

Very nice, indeed!

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[bobpbx]

Bob:

That is very interesting! During his lifetime, Walter T. Otto lived at 846 E. 34th Street in Brooklyn, New York, and served as the treasurer of the Universalist Church. It is not surprising that Otto would secure such a document as an assurance of title in the property at Murray Grove. I’m not sure where you obtained the Will and map, but I suspect both originally came from the official files of the church sometime subsequent to 1921.

Very nice, indeed!

Best regards,
Jerseyman

Jerseyman... thanks for that info!

A neighbor gave it to me. He told me he was cleaning out the attic of the church in Forked River and the preacher gave it to him.