MySource:Quolla6/Stillwell, 1903:Vol 3:657

From Source:Stillwell, 1903 Vol 3:657.

Person:James Grover (1), the founder of the Monmouth County Family was one of those brave, adventurous spirits, of whose history, prior to his coming to Gravesend, Long Island, at its first settlement, we know little or nothing.

The first positive knowledge of James Grover is the granting to him, Feb. 20, 1646, (Nov. 12, 1646, says T. G. Bergen, Esq.) in the first division of Gravesend lands, of a house, lot and farm of twenty acres.

1655, Mch. 9, with James Hubbard and George Baxter, he proclaimed the Republic of England and repudiated the Dutch Government, at Gravesend, but managed to escape, when they were arrested on a charge of treason, although his hands hoisted the English flag there. He went to Boston, and thence to England, but, in 1657, reappeared at Gravesend, bringing with him a letter from the Protector, Oliver Cromwell, addressed to the English inhabitants of Long Island, which he afterwards presented to the magistrates of Gravesend "to be opened and read"; but Director Stuyvesant had been informed of it, and he, Aug. 24, 1657, sent the following letter, addressed:

Honble, Dear, Faithful, the Schout and Magistrates of the village of Gravesend We received quite late your information that one James Grover had come there with a letter from the Lord Protector to the English inhabitants on Long Island . The Indians and English inhabitants outside of our jurisdiction and Government can take and read them to their people, but we are unable to understand how any letters from any foreign Prince or Potentate can be accepted within our Government by subjects under oath and obedience to us. Therefore you are hereby requested, and at the same time authorized to send said James Grover with his letters to us, in order to exhibit to us in our Council what writing he has for our subjects. Awaiting which, after cordial greeting, we shall commend you to God's protection, and remain, Honorable, Dear, Faithful, Your affectionate friends. The Director and Council of New Netherland, Petrus Stuyvesant ."

But James Grover was not anxious to see Stuyvesant and prudently made his escape, leaving the letter with the magistrates. They sent it, unopened, to Stuyvesant, and Oct. 30, 1657, he sent a communication to his superiors, in Holland, in the course of which he says:

"After closing and dispatching our general letter, we were informed that the English nation on the East end of Long Island had probably sent a petition to the Lord Protector to be released from the government of the Dutch, and to be taken under his protection, which we, for divers reasons, too long to be here stated, believed to be true. One of the foundations on which they built, is the letter of the Lord Protector written: 'To the English wel affectet In Habiting on Long Islant in America .' The aforesaid letter being brought into the village of Gravesend, the bearer of it, James Grover, requested it be opened and read; as is to be seen by the subjoined copies sent us on that subject, both by the bearer and Magistrates and our answer and order to prevent the same thereunto annexed. That letter was sent your Honors, per the ship de Waegh, as it was received by us, without our daring to open it, or allow it to be opened, so as not to be accused by the Lord Protector of the crime of opening his letter or rending his seal, or by your Honors of admitting letters to your subjects from a foreign Prince or Potentate, from which rebellion might result." * * * *

James Grover 's farm was on the southeast portion of the town, and, in 1657, he had six acres of it under cultivation. He must have been protected by the magistrates and people of Gravesend, for he continued to live there, although he was an open enemy to the Dutch government.

In 1663, when the Director sent Lieuts. Cowenhoven and Stillwell to hunt up volunteers for the war with the Esopus Indians, Christian Jacobse testified that Whitlock and James Grover, of Gravesend, had written to and visited the English towns on Long Island and dissuaded their inhabitants from enlisting, so that their efforts were unsuccessful.

About this time some of the people of Gravesend made up their minds to emigrate, and a number of them went in search of a place to settle. Stuyvesant heard of it, and sent a vessel in pursuit of the party, and from their journal so many interesting facts may be gleaned that we give it entire:

1663. Voyage to the Nevesinks made in the Hon. Company's yacht, and what has happened during the same, on board the yacht having been M. Krieger, Govert Lockermans, Jakes Cortelyou, and Peter Evel (Ebel) with ten soldiers, two sailors, the Sachem and another savage of Staten Island .

Dec. 6. About 3 o'clock we left Manhatans under sail and arrived behind Staten Island at about 6 o'clock in the evening, where the Sachem of the island and the savage went ashore; they remained about one hour on land, and then came again on board; the tide coming in we set sail and sailed through the Kill van Kull, passed Schutters's Island into the shallow water and dropped anchor to remain here until the tide should go out.

Dec. 7. About three hours before break of day, we heaved the anchor again, and went with the ebb down the Kill behind Staten Island . In the morning we put on sails and tacked until the ebb had run out, when we again cast anchor. The tide having run out at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon we raised the anchor and tacked again; toward the evening we saw a sail, with which we came up in the evening, and we hailed her, for it was Peter Laurensen (Lawrence) with his sloop, having on board Jacob Cowenhoven . They said they were going to barter for deer meat. We tacked with our two yachts the same evening as far as the end of Staten Island, and came to anchor at the mouth of the Raritan Kill [river], where two houses of Southern savages stand. The said Cowenhoven told us the English, numbering nineteen men, had gone in an open boat up the Raritan the day before, to where the Raritan and Nevesink were camping together about three long leagues up the Kill . The savages reported to us the same. We remained before the Raritan Kill over night to go up the Kill also the next day, and follow the English, but as it began to blow very hard from the Northwest during the night we had to remain over night.

Dec. 8. It still blew very hard from the northwest, so that we could not go up the Raritan Kill ; we had to remain through the day and resolved to send the savage, Hans, overland to the Newesingh [Neversink] savages, who were camping three leagues up the Kill . It was done directly. We sent him off immediately, with verbal orders to inform the sachems of the Newesinghs and Raritans that we were laying with the yachts before the Kill, and that we desired them to come down to us at once to speak with them. We directed Hans also to tell the sachems that if some English should come there, or were there already and wished to purchase from them some land, they must not sell the same to the English, for they had not asked the Dutch sachems at the Manhatans, and had stealthily gone here, and if the sachems of the Newesinghs wished to sell some land, they should come here to us and we would then speak together. Hans left directly at sunrise to tell this to the savages, while we remained before the Kill .

December 9. At about 9 o'clock in the morning we saw the English vessel come down the Kill, whereupon we raised anchor immediately and sailed to hail them. This done and come up with them, we inquired whence they came, the skipper, Stossel Elswart, answered: "Down the Kill ." Upon our question what they had done there, he said: "I carried the English there." I told them that was unbecoming and contrary to the laws of the country to proceed in this manner and that they would be punished. Thereupon William Golden [Goulding] called out: " 'Tis well, 'tis well." In the boat were Caerles Morgens [Charles Morgan], Jan Bon [John Bowne], Jeems Hobbart [James Hubbard], William Goldert [William Goulding], Randel Huyt [Randell Huet], Derrick Stout [Richard Stout], Jems [James] Grover, Jan Rotman [John Ruckman], Sam Spyser [Samuel Spicer], Tomas Wittock [Thomas Whitlock], Sergeant Gybbincks [Richard Gibbons], from Oyster Bay a man named Kreupelbos, one from Vlessingen [Flushing], two from Jamycke [Jamaica], and some others we did not know, about twenty altogether. At about three o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, Hans, the savage, whom we had sent on the 8th to the Newesinghs sachems, camping some way up the Raritan Kill, came back and brought with him six or seven savages, who told us the English had come to them the day before Hans, the savage, had arrived, and had given them some wine, two strings of black and one of white wampum, asking whether they were willing to sell some of their lands to them. Meanwhile Hans, the savage arrived, and nothing came of it, so that the English left again.

Dec. 10. We left the Raritan Kill again, and two savages came with us, who knew the country towards the Newesinghs . We went down the bay, came to the mouth of the Kill which empties into the sea between Rensselaer's Hook and the Sandpoint [Sandy Hook], and found there Stossel Elswaert with his sloop and all the Englishmen aground in the Kill . We could not enter the Kill with our sloop and landed in a boat. We went along the strand towards them, and when we came near we saw them standing under arms. The Schout Carles Morgen and Jan Bon [Charles Morgan and John Bowne] came without arms towards us, Jack asked them what business they had there, to which they answered: "They had come to trade." We told them: "Why are you come in such numbers if you only come to trade?" and they replied: "The savages are rascals, and cannot be trusted, therefore come we in such numbers." We then said we had been informed they had gone out to buy land from the savages, to which they replied: "We only go to look at it." Said we again: "They should not undertake to buy any land from the savages, as it has mostly been bought by the Dutch already." John Bon [Bowne] answered me: "Under what government do you consider us to be?" I said "that they stood under the jurisdiction of the State's General and under the Honorable Director-General and Council here," to which he replied: "Why may we not go out to look for land just as well as you do?" I answered: "They must not undertake to buy land from the savages unless they had proper permission from the Director-General and Council." Jan Bon said then: "It is well," and Stossel Elswaert called out: "I told them the same before that they should not do it." Govert Lockermans told them: "You are a pack of traitors, for you act against the laws of your country." They said the King's patent covered the whole of America, and Lockermans answered: "From whom have you your patents?" and they answered: "From the Manhatans ." Lockermans replied: "Why then do you act against the States?" To which Carles Morgen said: "Take notice of it." The English had with them a savage who was from the Newesinghs, and had taken part in the murder at Mespath Kill, so our savages whom we had on board of our sloop, and who had come with us, told us. His name is Suckkurus, and he lives beyond the Newesinghs Kill, on the land called Romsingh . We then left the English and went along on the west side of the strand up the Kill for about one hour, where the land is very mountainous, but, as the savage said, on the other side of it the land was level and good and much of it, there was much old corn land and some savage corn plantations which Jacques Cortelyou had visited and inspected formerly. We then went across the mountains again, and came back about 3 o'clock, We saw that Stoffel Elswaert, with his sloop and the Englishmen, had gone into the Kill, and we remained before it over night.

Dec. 11. The wind being southwest we resolved to return to the Manhatans, which we did.

The next year the country passed into the hands of the English, and Governor Richard Nicoll superseded Director Stuyvesant . And among the very first acts of the new Governor was the granting of the following license:

"Upon the request of Wm. Goulding, James Grover and John Browne [Bowne], in behalf of them and their associates, I do hereby authorize them to treat and conclude with the several sachems of the Nevisans or any others concerned, about the purchase of a parcel of land lying and being on the maine, extending from Chawgoraniss, near the mouth of the Raritans River, unto Pontohecke . For the doing whereof this shall be their warrant. Given under my hand at Fort James, in New York, on Manhattans Island, the 17th day of October, 1664.

R. Nicolls ."

Anticipating this permission, James Hubbard, John Bowne, John Tilton, Jr., Richard Stout, William Goulding and Samuel Spicer had bought, 25, 1mo., 1664, from the Sachem Popomora, and his brother, Mishacoing, for 118 fathoms of black and white seawamp down, and 82 fathoms, additional, in twelve months, 5 coats, 1 gun, 1 clout capp, 1 shirt, 12 lbs. of tobacco and 1 anker of wine, lands, at Nevesink, which conveyance the Indians acknowledged in New York, before Governor Nicolls, Apr. 7, 1665, who, the following day, Apr. 8, 1665, issued the "Monmouth Patent" to the preceding named individuals, with Richard Gibbons, James Grover, Nathaniel Silvester, William Reape, Walter Clark, Nicholas Davis and Obadiah Holmes added, and James Hubbard omitted. These twelve constituted the Monmouth Patentees, and of this number, seven were of Gravesend .

1666-7, Mch. 21. James Grover sold his farm, in Gravesend, to Thomas Delavall, and removed to East New Jersey, and was one of the first settlers of Middletown, where, Dec. 30, 1667, he had a town lot assigned him, in the first division of Middletown lands. The next day he was deputed to "survey the land that is to be laid out into lots," Richard Stout and James Ashton to assist him. One lot in this division was also assigned him.