Parsons Towne, Cumberland County

[Cyanna]

Cyanna,

Now I know why I shy away from genealogy. Shish! The names all sounded so familiar. Smith’s have been cutting wood in the area since the mid eighteenth century (e.g., Smith’s Little Mill near Weymouth). The often worked for and with the Woods of Millville. Jonathan Harris Smith had a steam-powered sawmill two miles above Bennetts Mill on the South River Road between the Oasis (New Italy) and Doughty’s Tavern at a place called the Cannon Range. There he cut Vanaman’s Thick n’ Hole Tract.

In 1879 Smith disassembled the mill and reassembled it to process wood cleared from the West Jersey Railroad right-of-way and provide construction materials for Richland – an Edward Randolph Wood scheme. That mill location is now know as Sawmill Park. Note that the Blue Anchor Trail is also named the Mattox Trail on Figure 1 of my first post. Mattoxs’ were also tavern keepers and provisioners. According to Boyer (1962: 149–150) the Mattoxs establishment was along an old Indian Trail called the Long-A-Coming. The Blue Anchor Trail met up with the Long-A-Coming at Inskeeps Ford and its famed blue hole. I relate this in hopes some of these might be kin.

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Figure 1 Photo of Doughty’s Tavern at the Intersection of Millville Road & Tuckahoe Road c1910. The McClure home was immediately behind the tavern and is blocked by the center-right tree. You are looking south down Tuckahoe Road.

Boyer, C.S., 1962: Old Inns and Taverns in West Jersey. Camden, NJ: Camden County Historical Society. 326 pp.

Thank you, Spung Man. Most likely they are all kin in some way. I think I'm related to most of the South Jersey families in some way, from the early SOMERS, SCULL, ADAMS, BELANGEE, RISLEY and other Quaker families and through the SMITH, CRANDALL, WILSON, JOHNSON, BOOZ, ANDREWS, CORSON, KELLING, NICHOLS, COBB, DAVIS, CASSADAY, WHILDEN and about 100 other lines, LOL! Anyway, you get the picture. My SMITH family started in the Tuckahoe region and then headed to other South Jersey locations, like Doughty's Tavern. My FORD people started out in Burlington County and migrated to Cumberland County.

I love this forum. Since I have never been to NJ yet in all my 48 years, it helps me to get a feel for the birthplace of my parents, sister and ancestors.

 

[manumuskin]

Just went to port norris yesterday,a 7 minute ride from my house.Went to see my daughters new place she's renting which happened to be my wifes ex-husbands mothers old house before she moved to NC about 12 years ago,any way on portnorris haleyville road just north of yock wock road there is a dead end street that i walked one time while doing volunteer work for the "earth Science Corps" updating the dividing creek 7.5 min topo.This road is Parsons lane and has maybe half a dozen houses along it.It is right smack in the middle of jerseymans map he posted on this thread.I knew the road but had forgotten the name.
While there are about 20 parson/parsons in the phonebook none of them are listed for port norris so there may not be any Parsons left on parsons Lane.
Al

 

[manumuskin]

Cyanna,

Perhaps we have more than one Parsons Towne, as is the case with Steelman- and Carman-Towns! Here’s some more information about Cumberland Furnace's Parsons or Parsons Field. I heard the name used by old woodcutters, forest-fire fighters, and local hunters to describe this site. Margaret Louise Mints (1968: 11) in the The Great Wilderness writes of a log church where the famed missionary John Brainard preached to Indians near Parsons. She claimed that “The Place of the Stone” was a favorite Indian “meeting place,” which was not far from a small campsite known as “The Pond on the Hill.” Brainard’s Mission was said to have been built of Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) beams with a shingle roof.

Location of Parsons Field:

http://maps.njpinebarrens.com/#lat=39.411893541267474&lng=-74.93182182312012&z=16&type=nj1930&gpx=
​

I was told that Cumberland Furnace coalers also used the site, as did ore raisers at the nearby Stone Holes along the Manumuskin that Al noted. Unfortunately the history of Indians and coalers was not worthy of chronicling by early historians. Indians and colliers were marginal transient people who lived in geographic isolation. In the absence of formal research I present these observations as snippets of local knowledge as I too learned it growing up along the edge of the Great Wilderness. Mints like Beck recorded the oral traditions, which may or may not prove accurate under scrutiny. In the absence of formal documentation we are left with tantalizing tidbits that beg further documentation.

Click to enlarge
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Figure 1 Excerpt of Hartman (1978: Map #7) showing the eighteenth century coalers' settlement in relation to Bennetts Mill. Indian trails met at a collection of spungs known as the Parsons Ponds. The red arrows indicate trail destinations: 1) Blue Anchor Tavern; 2) Cumberland Furnace; 3) Bears Head Pond; and 4) Leamings Mill.

Hartman, C.S., 1978: Eight maps made by Charles S. Hartman, 207 W. Main Street, Millville, NJ during period 1920 and 1978 and were compiled from searches made at Courthouses Bridgeton, Salem, Cape May, Mays Landing, Woodbury, Gloucester and from ancient survey maps made by old surveyors. 20 chains = 1 inch. Single sheet.

Mints, L.M., 1968: The Great Wilderness. Millville, NJ: Wheaton Historical Society. 148 pp.

Spung man
I tried to find that parson foundation on your map once but found nothing but I have followed most of the blue anchor road which has not been used for some time but is a deeply rutted wagon road that has what appear to be 60 year old pines or older growing in the middle of it.I do like following abandoned old roads.Part of the old road to doughty tavern from cumberland is also long abandoned,shown on hartmans map is a good follow also as well as portions of the old cape may road.
Al