A FURTHER ACCOUNT OF New JERSEY, In an Abstract of LETTERS Lately Writ from thence, By several Inhabitants there Resident. Printed in the Year 1676. A further Account of New Jersey, in an Abstract of Letters lately writ from thence, by several Inhabitants there resident. Dear Friend, MY Love is to thee, and thy Wife, desiring your welfare, both inward and outward; and that we may be found steadfast in that truth which is saving, for the welfare of our immortal Souls; And dear Friend, the desire of my Soul is, that we may know true Love; and I should be glad to see thee and thy Wife; I have partly a remembrance of thy Wife; And I have thought on thee many times with tears in my eyes, and the Lord hath done wondrous works for me; unto him I return thanks & praises, who is God over all Blessed for ever. Now Friend, I shall give thee something of an information concerning New Jersie, but time will not permit me to write at length. Thou desirest to know how I live, through the goodness of the Lord I live very well, keeping between 30 and 40 head of Cows, and 7 or 8 Horses or Mares to Ride upon, etc. There are 7 Towns settled in this Province, (viz.) Shrewsbury and Midletown, upon the Sea side, and along the River side and up the Creeks there is Piscattaway, & Woodbridge, Elizobetown, New wake, and Bergane; most of these Towns having about 100 Famileiss; and the least 40. The Country is very healthful, etc. In Middletown, where I live, in 6 years and upwards there have died but one Woman about 80 years old, one Man about 60, a Boy about five years old, and one little Infant or 2: there are in this Town, in twenty five Families about 95 children most of them under 12 years of age, and all lusty children. The produce of this Province, is chief Wheat, Barley, Oats, Beans, Beef, Pork, Pease, Tobacco, Indian Corn, Butter, Cheese, Hemp, & flax, French-beans, Strawberries, Carrots, Parsnips, Cabbage, Turnips Radishes, Onions, Cucumbers, Water-mellons, Musk-melons, Squashes; also our soil is very fertile for Apples, Pears, Plums, Quinces, Currants red and white, Gooseberries, Cherries, and Peaches in abundance, having all sorts of green trash in the Summer time, & the Country is greatly supplied with Creeks & Rivers which afford store of Fish, Perch, Roach, Baste, Sheehead, Oysters, Clams, Crabs, Sturgeon, Eels, and many other sorts of Fish that I do not name;. you may Buy as much Fish of an Indian for half a pound of Powder, as will serve 6 or 8 men; Deer are also very plenty in this Province; we can buy a fat Buck of the Indians much bigger than the English Deer for a pound and half of Powder, or Led, or any other trade equivalent, and a peck of Strawberries, the Indians will gather, and bring Home to us for the value of 6 d. and our Beef and Pork is very fat and good; the natural Grass of the Country is much like that which grows in the Woods in England, which is food enough for our Cattle; but by the water side we have fresh meadows & salt Marshes; we make good English Bread and Beer; besides we have several other sorts of Drink; and travelling in the Country, and coming to any House, they generally ask you to eat & drink, and take Tobacco, and their several sorts of drink they will offer you as confidently as if it were Sack. Here are abundance of Chestnuts, Walnuts, Mulberries, and Grapes, red and white, our Horses and Mares run in the Woods, and we give them no meat Winter nor Summer, unless we work them; but our Cows must be looked after; our Timber stands for fences about the Land we manure; we plough our Land with Oxen for the most part; a Husbandman here and in old England is all one, making most of our utencils for Husbandry ourselves, and a man that has 3 or 4 Sons or Servants that can work along with him, will down with Timber amain, and get Corn quickly. The best coming to this Country, is at the Spring or Fall, we make our Soap & Candles, & all such things ourselves; in the Winter we make good fires, and eat good meat; and our Women & Children are healthy; Sugar is cheap; Venison, Geese, Turkeys, Pigeons, Fowl, & Fish plenty; and one great happiness we enjoy, which is, we are very quiet. I could give thee more information concerning this Country, but time will not give leave, In short, this is a rare place for any poor man, or others; and I am satisfied people may live better here then they do in Old England, and eat more good meat etc. The Vessel is going away, I have not time to copy this over; therefore take the sense of it, my Love salutes thee, farewel, Richard Hartshorne. New Jersie, Midleton 12, of the 9th. Month 1675. For my Dear Bro. Richard Craven in Limehouse. Dear Bro. and Sister, I And my Husband do dearly salute you, hoping in the Lord you are all in good health, as we are all at this time, praises do I return unto the Lord for the largeness of his love unto me, the which I have great cause never to forget. I having this opportunity, took it, to let you hear from us: And dear Sister, it would be the joy of my heart to see thee, and thy Husband, and children here; and dear Sister, I have more comfort in one day here, than I had in many days in England, which is great joy to my soul, and do desire if the Lord be pleased we may end our days together; and you may believe me, it is a brave Country, and we have Cows, Swine, and Hens, and are like to have Sheep shortly; and we are going to set up a good House, for we have not a very good one at present, and we would take up some Land for you if we were sure you would come, & if the Country be unto you as it is unto us, if you lived better than you do, you would not repent your coming hither; but be sure you come with an honest Shipmaster, and bring some comfortable things in the Ship with you to take by the way; but I have found no want since I came out of the Ship: And so my dear Sister and Brother, I long to see your faces if you be free to come. Thy Dear Sister, Martha S. New Jersey the 22. of 9th. Month, 1675. Dear and Loving Wife, HAving now an opportunity to let thee understand of my welfare through the great mercy of God, etc. and as to the other place it is as good a healthful place as men can desire to live in, and here is plenty enough of all provisions, and good English Wheat and Malt, plenty of Fish and Fowl; Indeed here is no want of any thing, but honest people to Inhabit it; there is Land enough purchased of the Indians for ten times so many as we were, and these Indians here are very quiet and Peaceable Indians; In New England they are at Wars with the Indians, and the news is, they have cut off a great many of them; but in this place, the Lord is making way to exalt his name and truth; for it is said by those that live here abouts, that within these few years, here were five Indians for one now, and these that be are very willing to sell their land to the English; and had John Fenwick done wisely, we had not been dispersed, but I hope it may all work for the best; And dear Wife, I hope thou wilt be well satisfied to come and live here, where we may live very quietly and Peaceably, where we shall have no vexation, nor tearing nor rending what we have from us; I have bought a Plantation by the advice and consent of some Friends, upon which there is a very good house, a great deal of Out-housing, Orchards, and Gardens ready planted, and well fenced; I do intent (if God permit) after the Harvest is gotten in, to come to England for thee, and I hope thou wilt be willing to come, seeing here 〈◊〉 will be several of thy Neighbours whom thou knowest well, as Richard Guy and his Wife, and William Hancock and his Wife, and many others; and here is an honest Friend with me, that would have a fourth part of the Land, etc. And so hoping these lines may find thee in good health, as through the great mercy and goodness of God, I have never been better in health. My love to Richard Green, he desired me to send him some account of the Country, which to the best of my knowledge I will do; as to Building here is little until more People come over, for the Inhabitants that were here did generally Build their own houses, though after a mean manner, for they fell down Trees, and split them in parts, and so make up a sorry House, etc. But here is Earth enough that will make very good Brick, and Stone enough of several sorts, as four that will strike fire, which may make Millstones, or what a man will put them to; they make their Lime of Oyster-shells; here is good Land, and a Healthful and Plentiful Country, here is no Tanner in all the River, but some Tann their Hides themselves, after their own manner. Here is good Oak enough, here is Hemp and Flax, good Water, and the Ground will bear any thing that groweth in England, and with less Pains and trouble; with my dear Love to thee I rest thy Loving Husband Robert Wade. Delarware River the place called Upland, the 2 d. of the 2 d. Month 1676. Dear and Loving friend John Sunison, MY kind love unto thee and to thy Wife, hoping these lines may find thee in good health, as thanks be unto the Lord we are all safe through mercy arrived at New Caesarea or New Jersie: having an opportunity I thought good to send a few lines unto thee; I sent one to John Jones of Chipman Cardmaker, & if any are minded to come over, they may go thither and know what goods to bring over that are fit to sell or use here: here is no want of any thing but good people to Inhabit; here is liberty for the honest hearted that truly desire to fear the Lord; here is liberty from the cares and Bondage of this World, and after one year or two, you may live very well with very little labour; here is great store of Fish and Fowl, and plenty of Corn, and Cows, Hogs, Horses, Oxen, Sheep, Venison, Nuts, Strawberries, Grapes; and Peaches here is good English Wheat ripe in three Months, Wheat is at 4 s. a bushel, Barley at three, good White Rye at three, good Indian Corn at 2 s. 6 d. a bushel; half a bushel when it is planted will find a great Family a whole year with bread and drink, it is so great increase; but in English goods it will cost but half so much; the Beef fat its self, and Hogs fat themselves, they are fat all the year, and People may kill them when they have occasion; here is good Land enough, and wood enough, Servants are in great request, young Men and Maids come to great fortune (as they call it,) and do very well, the friends Daughter or Bathford, is very well, and wisheth her Father were here, he might live very well. I have sent you nothing but the truth, here are many things too tedious to relate, my mother remembers her to thee, etc. & she would not have you be discouraged because of the Water, for the Lord is as well able to preserve by Sea as Land, we were near two Hundred People on board the Ship we came in, and there was an ancient Woman judged near fourscore years of Age, and she did very well, and several others that were very ancient; we lost but two, and they were Brothers, So I rest thy loving Friend till death, Ester Huckens. New Jersie Delaware, April the 4th. 1676. Dear and loving Wife; THis may let thee understand that I am very well in health through the mercy and goodness of the Lord towards us, and I now having this oprortunity, I thought fit to let thee understand of our welfare. Now dear Wife I hope thou wilt make provision to come to this place against I come, which I hope will be in the Winter if I can have convenient passage. R. Guy hath bought a Plantation close by me, so we shall be very near Neighbours, and the rest of our acquaintance are near us, and I hope now thou art satisfied by John Meadock that I could not write to thee before, and as to any news of the Natives or others, here there is little, for all is at peace and quiet, and I do not hear but they are like so to continue; and Jo. F. is now about to lay out some Land for those that have purchased of him, now he sees he cannot bring us to subscribe to him, for his aim was altogether for his own exaltation; and not the public good, my love to all our Friends and Neighbours, with my dear Love to thee and your Family, I rest thy loving Husband, Robert Wade. The 17 th'. day of the 4 th'. Month 1676. Dear and loving Wife, MY dear love to thee and thy children; loving wife this may let thee understand that it was late before we came into this Country, but the Land was bought presently, the Natives were as willing to sell as we were to Buy; and there is Land enough bought, and here is very good Marsh as well as upland & good Timber for Shipping, and it is a very free and plentiful Country for all provisions, as Corn, and Cattle, Fish, and Fowl, etc. But Jo. F. would not set us out our land, except those that were concerned would set their hands to such papers as he drew up, which would have been to ensnare us and all that come after us; I do not write this to discourage any; dear Wife, I hope to see thee here before this may come at London, if not, I desire thee to come as soon as thou canst; I am with Robert Wade, who has bought a plantation, and I am to have part with him, which will come to a little above 26 l. and here is a brave River Fishing and Fowling; the Whales run a shore here sometimes; and for Sturgeon, and all other fish here are abundance, we want Cooper's to make Barrels Tubs, etc. if any be desirous to come, here are plantations enough, and good English Wheat plenty; and here is Tobacco enough made on this River to freight a Ship, so dear Wife; expecting thee the first opportunity to come away; with my dear Love, to thee and all friends and Neighbours, I rest thy Loving Husband Roger Pederick. From Delaware River the 14 th'. day of the 14 th'. Month 1676.