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MOORESTOWN, 
 
 OLD AND NEW. 
 
 A LOCAL SKETCH 
 
 By JAMES C. PURDY. 
 
 / 
 
 MOORESTOWN, NEW JERSEY, 
 1886. 
 
 to^W' 
 

 Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1886, 
 In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
 
 Printed and Stereotyped by 
 W. J. Lov«ll, JMoorestown, N.J. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER T. 
 Introductory, ^ 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The Beginning, 8 
 
 CH'APTER HJ. 
 
 After the Stot 13 
 
 CHAlIf im IV. 
 "Thei?eLiveda IVUn,'^ s; 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Revolutionary Days, 31 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Rapid Transit, 51 
 
 CHAT TER VII. 
 
 Coaching Times, 65 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Coming of the Railroad, 80 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 New Elements, •, . ' 93 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 StroatiS and Roods, 1^2 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 North of the Railroad, 115 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Religious Bodies, 125 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Schools, 159 
 
 THAPTER XIV. 
 Societies and Institutions, 190 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The News of the Day, 229 
 
 CHAPITER XVI. 
 
 The New Station, . 243 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 In Later War Times, 248 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Old Houses and Landmarks, 257 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 A Dish of Old Gossip, 292 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Some Old Reading Matter, 314 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 An Old Neighbor, 329 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Moorestown To-Day, 344 
 
 CHAPTER XXIIt. 
 Moorestown in 1900, 352 
 
Moorestoiun, Old and I\Fe 
 
 zv\ 
 
 Chapter T. 
 
 Introductory. 
 
 'OORESTOWN had its pioneer days as trul)/- 
 as Tincup, or Tombstone, or Chicago, 
 or Denver, only longer ago. Not many 
 of us stop to think of those days, how- 
 ever ; and there is nothing in the present 
 aspect of the place to encourage such thinking. 
 The pleasant old town with its steady and com- 
 fortable solidity, and with the lighter elegance of its 
 more recent development, seems to those of our 
 day almost a part of the landscape itself; and to 
 imagine the landscape a wilderness, with no Moores- 
 town in it, and with only Indian wigwams to mark 
 the site of the undreamed of town, demands a 
 nimble play of the faculties. 
 
 Still, we all like to "think back," and it is some- 
 times a profitable as well as an interesting thing to 
 do. The man who gives a sympathizing thought 
 to the first settler riding his horse through storm 
 and mud along a path of his own surveying, will 
 (5) 
 
t> MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEV 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 [thus better appreciate his own quick and easy trips; 
 in a comfortable railroad car ; and the lady of to- 
 day will find a new pleasure in her next shopping^ 
 expedition if she has bestowed a sympathetic sigh 
 upon her early predecessor, who had to make the 
 thing she wanted " and make the thing to make it 
 with." The citizen will take an added interest in 
 the beautiful streets of his town, and in the cosy 
 homes ranged all about, after he has tried to find 
 traces of the abundant spring that is said to have 
 first attracted white settlers, and induced them to^ 
 place their cabins among the Indian wigwams on 
 the ridge in Rodmantown ; and we will all enjo}^ 
 our holiday seasons the better for remembering 
 that the old-time residents had their fun too, and 
 that the mineral spring at Colestown attracted gay 
 parties of pleasurers to the Fountain Hotel there. 
 
 And all the steps of progress from the old times 
 to the new, if we could trace them, would be of 
 interest and of profit. The advance from the Indian 
 trails to turnpike roads, and to railroads ; from the 
 casual news a distant neighbor chanced to bring, tO' 
 the frequent daily mails, and the telegraph and the 
 telephone ; from the wigwam and the log cabin to 
 the elaborate modern home ; from the horse-back 
 journey to the stage-coach ride, and from that to 
 the speedy railroad trip — all these things must 
 interest each of us. 
 
 It is partly with the purpose of meeting and satis- 
 
INTRODLCTOIIV. 
 
 lying the interest sugf^estecl that this unpretentious 
 little volume has been prepared. There has been 
 jio effort to make it a detailed and exhaustive his- 
 tory of Moorestown. That is a task which, it is to 
 be hoped, an abler and more competent hand will 
 accomplish some time in the future. Some little 
 history there is in the book, but so far as the old 
 times are concerned the aim has been to eive 
 reminiscences rather than history; personal recol- 
 lections and traditions rather than official records. 
 But it is not alone with the old times that w^e are 
 ■concerned. After all, the old times were but step- 
 ping stones on the way toward the new times ; and 
 if Moorestown had remained what it was a hundred 
 or even fifty years ago, our interest in it would have 
 been but vague and remote. It is the Moorestown 
 of to-day that w^e care most for. Therefore the 
 town as it now is, and the process of its evolution 
 have been dealt with to some extent ; and note has 
 been made of the introduction of new elements and 
 the growth of new influences which, working in 
 connection with the old, have made Moorestown 
 v/hat it is — one of the most thriving as well as one 
 of the most charming places of rural residence to 
 be found within a long journey from Philadelphia. 
 
Chapter II. 
 TJie Beginning, 
 
 'HE first house in Moorestown was un- 
 ?<MIU14 doubtedly a wigwam. The town, as we 
 6"3c^i^ know it, lies along a ridge a little South 
 of the center line of Chester township. 
 This ridge is about two miles in length, 
 and its direction is a little North of East and South 
 of West. The town, long and narrow, stretches 
 from below the " Forks of the Road" on the West 
 well up towards "North Bend" on the East; over- 
 looking a lovely valley that borders its whole 
 length on the South, and spreading out, in recent 
 years, a goodly distance beyond the railroad on 
 the North. Every one must appreciate the charm 
 of the location; and the Indian had been gratifying 
 his appreciation of it a long time before the first 
 white man came to share the situation with him. 
 
 An abundant spring of good water existed at the 
 foot of the ridge ; south of where Elisha Barcka- 
 low's l.ouse now stands, on the South side of Main 
 street, below Union street, West Moorestown. 
 Tradition says that that spring, with its bountiful 
 supply of pure and sparkling water, decided the 
 location of MooiLStown, The Indians understood 
 
 (8) 
 
THE BEGINNING. g, 
 
 its advantages and settled on the ridge in its neigh- 
 borhood. As the squaws had to carry the water 
 this fact would indicate that our red predecessors 
 here had a tenderer consideration for their women- 
 folk than is generally supposed; or else that 
 women's rights had thus early gained a foot-hold 
 among the aborigines. Later, when the white 
 settlers came in, the spring was a decisive influence 
 with them also, and their cabins grew up among 
 the wigwams on the slope near the fountain. The 
 spring still exists but its ancient glory has departed. 
 Its mission was accomplished long ago. 
 
 Just when these first white settlers came here, or 
 who they were or whence they came, are matters 
 that neither history nor tradition sheds much light 
 upon. According to the law of primitive growth 
 the navigable water-courses controlled the location 
 of the first settlement in the region. Penisauken 
 and Rancocas creeks were such water-courses, and 
 the first English settlement in this vicinity was 
 planted between the branches of the Penisauken; 
 and all Chester township, including what are now 
 Cinnaminson and Delran townships, was originally 
 named Posomokin, or Penisauken, from the Indian 
 town already existing there when the first white 
 settlers came. The banks of the Rancocas gained 
 their share of settlers not long afterwards, and the 
 holdings of white men gradually extended along 
 both streams. People are easily crowded in a new 
 
lO MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 country. Where there is plenty of room every- 
 body wants a good deal ; and so the pioneers and' 
 their civilization are shouldered farther and farther 
 into the wilderness. So the first creek settlements 
 soon began to throw out off-shoots ; but not, at 
 first, into the interior. 
 
 Tvloorestown has no navigable streams, and so it 
 had to wait for roads. The Burlington and vSalem 
 road, called " King's Highway," was laid out in 
 16S2, and passed along the ridge on which Moores- 
 town stands. With the road came settlers, and 
 they appear to have come from the Penisauken and 
 Ran cocas settlements at about the same time, the 
 Penisauken pioneers coming by way of West 
 Moorcstown, and those from Rancocas by way of 
 East Moorcstown, meeting and mingling after a 
 time on the ridge in the neighborhood of the spring. 
 The official records do not deal with these scouts 
 who came ahead of the adv^ance guard of civiliza- 
 tion. Those Vv'ho came later came with due 
 regard to the formalities, and their names and 
 the limitations of their holdings were properly 
 recorded. But these first comers were ''squatters,"" 
 as are the first comers into all new regions. Their 
 enterprise gave them the choice of location, and. 
 dicy sat them down where they pleased, and pos- 
 sessed such of the land as suited their notion.. 
 Afterwards, when an adjustment of titles became 
 necessary, some of them formally secured their- 
 
THE BEGINNING. 1 1 
 
 poscjsslons, and others established squatter sover- 
 eignty elsewhere. 
 
 There are no log cabins left among the land- 
 marks of old Moorestown. If there were they 
 would be older than the oldest building now left 
 standing here, for they would show the earliest 
 order of architecture introduced by white men into 
 these parts. In the course of time men generally 
 contrive to command circumstances to some extent, 
 but to begin with, the circumstances command 
 them. The earliest homes in any community arc 
 of the kind dictated by the surroundings. On the 
 great prairies sod-houses and '' dug-outs" shelter 
 the first families ; in the depths of the forests log 
 cabins are the obvious refuge. There was no 
 prairie here, and logs w^ere the available building 
 material. The whole region, in the early times, 
 was thickly wooded, and the settler had a very- 
 different experience to that of the *' homesteader" 
 of our day who takes up a claim in the treeless 
 regions of the West. Here the axe had to clear the 
 way for the plow, and the plow had to make a large 
 allowance for stumps. In these days one has to 
 take a long walk to get into the woods. In the 
 days of old a still longer walk was necessary to get 
 out of them. The clearing process would seem to 
 have been a slow one; for even so late as forty 
 years ago the forest still held to much of its 
 ancient dominion, and people not much past middle 
 
12 MOORESTOV/N, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 age talk of taking little walks out of the village into 
 the woods in all directions. 
 
 As may be supposed there were a great many 
 more logs than were needed to build the walls of 
 the few cabins, and about the first busiuess enter- 
 prises we have record of were saw-mills and tan- 
 neries. Much of the timber here consisted of oak 
 and chestnut — kinds that saw-mills and tanneries 
 could make good use of. Grist mills were put up 
 here and there ; schools and places of worsliip were 
 provided, and, with the agricultural beginnings 
 already made, here was a civilized community iiv 
 full process of development, and MoorestQVv'u had", 
 passed beyond its be^^innin^"". 
 
Chapter III. 
 After the Start. 
 
 rLTHOUGH somewhat bigger, Philadelphia 
 is only a very little older than Moorec- 
 town. About 1682, the year that Wil- 
 liam Penn reached the shores of America, 
 and the year befoie he purchased his 
 town site on the bank of the Delaware, Thomas 
 Hooten and his son Thomas located 600 acres of 
 land on Rancocas creek. This was the year in 
 which the "King's Highway" v/as laid out, and wao 
 a good time for real estate investments here. In 
 1689 John Hollinshcad, already in possession of 
 1000 acres, had 150 acres additional surveyed for 
 him. These two properties extended from Ran- 
 cocas creek to near v/here the toll-gate nov/ is on 
 the Mt. Plolly and Moorestown turnpike. 
 
 In May, 1686, v/hen Philadelphia was about 
 ■three years old, Dr. John Rodman bought 500 
 acres in what is now known as West Moorestown ; 
 and in July of the same year Thomas Rodman 
 bought 533 acres in the same neighborhood. These 
 were the two wings of the regular army of title- 
 lioldcrs, advancing from the East and from the 
 V/jst upon the domain of the " Squatters." 
 (13) 
 
14 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 The beautifully simple and direct way of doing 
 things in those days would at first sight appear to 
 have obviated all difficulties as to the ownership of 
 real estate ; but in reality the methods adopted had 
 served to complicate matters, and the squatters had 
 far the easiest time of it. In 1664 Charles II., King 
 of England, had, by such means as satisfied him- 
 self, come into possession of the New Netherlands. 
 
 Of this additional American territory he, by 
 Royal charter, dated March 20, 1664, granted an 
 extensive tract to his brother, the Duke of \^ork ; 
 and the Duke, with a generosity easily afforded 
 under the circumstances, made a present of what is 
 now the whole of the State of New Jersey, to a 
 ■couple of his friends — Lord John Berkeley and Sir 
 ■George Carteret. This munificient present was 
 bestowed on the 23d of June, 1664, and to save the 
 formalities pretended to be a sale ; James, Duke of 
 York, receiving the consideration of ten shillings 
 lawful money of England, and barg-iining for an 
 annual rent of one pepper-corn. The two noble 
 proprietors of New Jersey — or Nev/ Cesarea — 
 granted a constitution to their province, and invited 
 settlers ; but troubles about titles arose, and some 
 settlers who had bought land of Indians refused to 
 pay rent to the new proprietors. An insurrection 
 ensued ; then the Dutch recaptured their old pos- 
 sessions, and after mixing things up somewhat, 
 surrendered the territory to the English again. 
 
AFTER THE START. 
 
 15. 
 
 All this raised doubts as to the validity of the 
 Duke of York's title to the property he claimed^ 
 and he obtained a new patent. His governor 
 under the new charter, claimed jurisdiction over 
 New Jersey, holding that the two proprietors had 
 lost their right by the Dutch conquest. This 
 claim of his was finally negatived, but for a long 
 time a troubled and unsettled condition of affairs 
 existed. 
 
 Finally Lord Berkeley became tired of the real 
 estate business, and seeing little prospect of profic 
 from his five shilling investment, offered his share 
 of New Jersey for sale. His interest was purchased 
 by John Fenwick and Edward Byllings, two mem- 
 bers of the Society of Friends, for one thousand 
 pounds, and became known as West New Jersey. 
 Fenwick came to America with his family, and 
 settled upon his new possesions ; but Byllinge 
 remained in England and before very long, by 
 reason of financial difficulties, assigned his property 
 for the benefit of his creditors, William Penn and 
 some other Friends being the assignees. In the 
 adjustment of his affairs the assignees sold a con- 
 siderable portion of his share of West New Jersey, 
 the sales being to many different purchasers and of 
 various extent. Those who bought became part 
 proprietors of the future state. 
 
 A constitution was adopted, a formal division 
 of the province was effected, and many immigrants. 
 
1 6 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW, 
 
 chiefly Friends, came in from England to settle. 
 Commissioners were appointed by the new pur- 
 chasers to examine and confirm titles ; and it may 
 readily be imagined that their task of adjusting and 
 clearing the claims to ownership was no easy one, 
 for King Charles' simple method of acquiring and 
 conveying had resulted in a badly tangled state of 
 affairs. The task was satisfactorily accomplished 
 in time, however, and so effectively that the work 
 done then has held good ever since. Under Queen 
 Anne, after the transfer of the province to the 
 crown by the proprietors on April i/th, 1702, there 
 was no disturbance of titles; and after the colony 
 became a state, titles seem to have been adjusted 
 to the new order of things without any friction. 
 It is claimed that all land belonging to the Indians 
 was obtained from them by fair and honorable 
 purchase, and that good titles were good by right 
 as well as by legal observance. 
 
 The building of Moorestown, instead of begin- 
 ning in the centre and spreading outwards, began 
 at both ends and advanced towards the middle. 
 There were two settlements, and neither of them 
 was Moorestown to begin with. The one at the 
 East was Chesiertown when it had grown sufficient- 
 , ly important to have a name, and the one at the West 
 was Rodmantown. Perhaps it would be more nearly 
 correct to say that the place as a whole was some- 
 times called Chcstertown, and that the Westenii 
 
Ai'l'KlL THE START. j^ 
 
 end was occasionally spoken of as Rodmantown: 
 Both names are easy to trace. Some of the more 
 prominent and influential ones amon:;- the early 
 settlers were from Chester, England, and love 
 lor the old home led them to transfer its name 
 to the new home they had chosen. So the town- 
 ship in which they settled was called Ciicstcr, 
 and the name was easily extended to the chief 
 village within its limits. The extensive proprietor- 
 ship established by the Rodmans in the Western 
 part of the settlement, would readily explain the 
 fastening of their name upon that portion of the 
 village. It would appear, however, that the name 
 was not generally adopted, or applied for any long 
 time. 
 
 The aboriginal inhabitants whom the vAutc set- 
 tlers had for neighbors were one of the numerous, 
 branches of the Delaware tribe. They were friendly, 
 as that term goes in describing the relations of 
 Indians and white men, and for the most part they 
 and their white neighbors got along harmoniousl)^ 
 enough together. It would appear, however, that 
 the red man did not forget that he was the first 
 comer ; and he had his own way of asserting himself 
 as rightful lord of the domain, and showing that he 
 regarded the whites a.s merely tenants at will. 
 Whenever, for instance, he took a notion to enjoy 
 civilized cookery, he had no hesitation in saying 
 so; and the housekeeper of whom the demand was 
 
15 iM(JOKi;.-5l'UWx\', (JLU AND NET/. 
 
 made was generally prompt in complying with it. 
 It may not always have been cuite convenient — 
 indeed, there are vag"ue traditions of in.-^tancc;; when 
 it was quite th: reverse — but that was a condition 
 of affairs that had to be accepted and vj'\dc tlu 
 best of ; and the compromise v/as maintained 
 unbroken. 
 
 Then, too, the Indians, when they had gathered 
 a good deal of rancor toward the white men in 
 general, sometimes worked off some of it on the 
 particular white men hereabouts, and made life a 
 somewhat uneasy, if not uncertain, aftair for the 
 time being. Various annoyances were visited upon 
 the settlers ; live stock was made to suffer ; the 
 people were made to feel apprehensive and dis- 
 trustful ; women and children were terrified ; soli- 
 tary riders had more or less unpleasant experiences 
 in the woods, and sometimes word came of murders 
 ■committed. It was the old, old story — old as the 
 first contact of the two races — of wrong done and 
 revenge wr'^aked. But here, so far as known, no 
 serioLis wrong was complained of, and the minor 
 ann(^}-ances and depredations experienced at the 
 hands of the Indians seem to have been but the 
 rcsmlt of general irritation, while the usual character 
 oftlieintercoursebetween the two races was amicable. 
 
 In 1758 the Indians here, in common with all 
 those in the colony, released all their claims to 
 lands and removed to the reservation of 3044 acres 
 
AFi'KM iill-: START. 1 9 
 
 purchased for them in Evesham township, in this 
 County. There they hved in complete harmony 
 with their v.diite neighbors until long after the Rev- 
 •olution. Buildings of various sorts, including houses 
 of worship, were erected for them, and their settle- 
 ment was called Brotherton. At length the rem- 
 nant of the red men there removed to Oneida Co., 
 -N, Y,, where they had relatives whom they wished 
 to join. Atthis time they numbered only 63 adults 
 In 1822 they removed to Green Bay, on Lake 
 Michigan ; and in 1832 the last of the Indian claims 
 in this State was extinguised by the purchase of 
 their remaining fishing and hunting rights. So 
 disappeared, with their brethren, these earliest 
 .inhabitants of Moorestown. 
 
 The purchasers of the Indian Reservation lands 
 'in Evesham indulged their natural antipathy to 
 .the tax-collector so far that they resisted the .pay- 
 ment of taxes on the lands they had purchased. 
 They claimed exemption under the act by which 
 the lands were granted to the Indians, and the 
 'Supreme Court sustained tlieir claim. In 18 14, 
 however, by some adjustment of the difficulty, the 
 payment of taxes began ; and in 1877 it was lorm- 
 -ally decided that the lands were taxable. 
 
 As has been said, saw mills and tanneries repre- 
 sented the earliest business enterprises here, always 
 excepting agriculture. Perhaps the first saw-mill 
 ■erected in this section was ivlatlack's. It stood on 
 
1>20 
 
 MOORESTOVVN, OLD AND NEW.. 
 
 Wagon Bridge Run, a stream that rises East of 
 Moorrstown and runs Southwesterly, about half 
 a mile South of the Moorestovvn ridge, to join the 
 North Branch of the Penisauken Creek; before 
 reaching which it takes the name of Hooten's Mill 
 Stream. The mill stood near the Elbow Lane 
 Road. Hooten's saw mill, on the same stream, 
 stood East of the Marlton Road. It \v^s a very- 
 old mill when it was taken down in 1850. Another 
 old saw-mill was Samuel R.obbins' mill, on a stream, 
 that empties into the South Branch of the Peni- 
 sauken. LcConey's grist mill now occupies its 
 site. Another was Joseph Burroughs' mill on a 
 small branch of the Penisauken. It has entirely 
 disappeared. 
 
 As to the tanneries, there were many of them, 
 some occupyiiig positions in the town which it would 
 occasion no small amazement to see so occupied 
 now. One old establishment of the kind was 
 located on the Main street, West of Union street. 
 The buildings, greatly dilapidated, remained on the 
 ground until 1879, when they were torn down. 
 The property passed into the hands of Albert C. 
 Heulings,and handsome residences took the place of 
 the tannery buildings. When the tannery business 
 was started there is not known, but the place \v3.s 
 owned and operated by Thomas Bispham for some 
 time prior to 1 806. In that year he sold the property, 
 and successive owners carried on the business 
 
AFTER THE START, ' 21 
 
 until some time after 1820, when active operations 
 -ceased. The buildings, however, were left to 
 •cumber the ground until a few years ago, as already- 
 stated. This location is also memorable, in that 
 tradition says that on it was the site of the hotel 
 kept by Thomas Moore, the enterprising settler 
 who gave his name to the town. 
 
 On the eastern portion of the farm of the late 
 John Perkins, in the extreme western end of the 
 village, there was a tannery which was burned 
 down in 1 820. George Matlack was the last to 
 -carry on business there. The old well used in the 
 business was filled up not many years ago. 
 
 But the largest establishment of the kind here 
 was situated in what is now the heart of the village. 
 It was on the North side ot Main Street, and 
 •occupied the ground on which the Methodist 
 Church and two or three of the buildings below it 
 now stand. It extended back to Second Street, and 
 was for a long time actively operated by James 
 Robinson, an English bachelor. This property 
 •also, was a part of the ground owned by Thomas 
 Moore, but he and his wife Elizabeth sold it a good 
 many years before Robinson got possesion of it. 
 It passed through a succession of ownerships until 
 1793, when it was purchased by Robinson. After 
 his death his niece, who had lived with him, return- 
 •ed to England ; and in 1822 the tannery was pur- 
 chased by William Boradaile and SamueJ H. 
 
22 MOORESTOWN, OLD A^^ NEW. 
 
 Edwards. They carried on the tanning business, 
 for a number of years when they were succeeded by 
 Isaac Saunders. He continued the business for a. 
 time, and eventually the .property passsd into the 
 hands of Amos Stiles. Under his ownership the. 
 old business was not carried on, and the tannery 
 went to decay. The old buildings were destroyed 
 by fire in 1838 ; and after the death of Amos Stiles, 
 in 1856, the ground was sold off in building lots.. 
 Another industry, tributary to farming, milling 
 and most other operations, was blacksmithing. 
 Farming was not done by machinery in those days.. 
 There were no mowing machines, no reapers and 
 binders, no steam threshers, no horse drills — only 
 the simple appliances that took account of personal 
 skill and strength as a principal element of success^. 
 Therefore the blacksmith was, to a considerable 
 extent, an agricultural implement maker. An. 
 enterprise in this line was undertaken by Reuben 
 Matlack, about the year i r8o. He had been trained 
 to the blacksmith's calling, and set up a sickle and. 
 scythe mill on the South Branch of the Penisauken,, 
 near wdiere the Salem road crossed it. He fitted 
 up his mill with a trip hammer, and for a time 
 carried on the manufacture of the curved swords of 
 peace quite actively. A difficulty arose, however. 
 To gain sufficient power to operate his mill he was 
 obliged to *'back" the water of the stream to such 
 an extent that the back water overflowed the lands. 
 
AFTER THE START. 2% 
 
 of some of his neiglibors ; and that no wrong mlgnt- 
 be done he suspended his work for a time. A way" 
 seems to have been found ot obviating the difficulty,. 
 for operations were eventually resumed. The- 
 sickle mill was afterwards changed to a saw mll)-^ 
 and iw that capacity did good work for many 
 years. The foundation of the old mill still remains, 
 and upon it stands another saw mill, now and for 
 many }'ears operated by Asa IMatlack, grandson of 
 Reuben. The present mill was erected in 1 8 14, and 
 may itself be regarded as a venerable institution. 
 Antedating it and the other early saw mills were 
 the saw pits in which man-power took the place of 
 water power, and two men, by the aid of a two- 
 handled saw, worked up the logs into such lumber 
 as they could, 
 
 Moorestown v/ent early into the fruit-raising and 
 gardening business, and the farmers here and in 
 the immediate vicinity for years furnished peaches 
 to the New York market. The peaches were 
 carted from here to New Brunswick or Amboy, 
 and taken thence by boat to New York. That was 
 a state of affairs that could not be permitted to last. 
 The farmers nearer to Nev/ '^''ork did not relish 
 standing by and seeing the dollars roll past them 
 towards this distant point. There were nurseries- 
 } here as well as orchards, and the Monmouth county 
 farmers supplied themselves with Moorestown peach 
 trees. About 1830 they began to furnish the Jer- 
 
24 I.IOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 scy peaches required by the New York market, 
 and that branch of the business here was killed. 
 It was only a branch, however, and the fruit-raising 
 and nursery business is still extensively carried 
 on here. 
 
 The settlers, obliged at first to depend on distant 
 sources of supply for bread-stuffs, took as early an 
 opportunity as might be for obviating that incon- 
 venience by erecting grist mills nearer home. 
 There would seem to have been no grist mills 
 erected in early times in the immediate neighbor- 
 borhood of Moorestown, but quite a number were 
 established within reach. Walton's, Haines' and 
 Warrington's mills were all established at a com- 
 paratively early date. They were located in what 
 is now Delran township, and all stood on a small 
 stream known as Wright's Mill stream. Ideas as 
 to " immediate neighborhood" differ, and the people 
 of those days no doubt felt' that their base of sup- 
 plies was very conveniently near with the grist 
 mills no farther away ; and they would have shut 
 up, as a dangerous lunatic, any one who had fore- 
 told a steam grist mill in the middle of the town, 
 with wagons to convey the grain products to the 
 doors of the purchasers. Such a vision of mad 
 luxury would have been too much for them. 
 
 It is to be observed in passing that liquid 
 comfort was looked after as well as solid nourish- 
 ment ; for Wri""ht's Mill Stream, besides doino- 
 
AFTER THE START. 
 
 2S 
 
 -service for the grist mills, had on its banks Hollins- 
 head's distillery and Garwood's combination enter- 
 prise of saw mill and distillery. And there were 
 •other distilleries hereabouts, in different directions 
 and at various distances. Local option was the 
 unwritten law of those days. But the option of 
 most localities was in favor of having whiskey and 
 kindred fluids within comfortable reach. 
 
 In those old times, as in the still older times, 
 ■^' Adam delved and Eve span." Homespun was 
 ihe principal wear, and " store 'clothes," except for 
 " quality folks," were rarely seen. The men raised 
 the flax and sheared the sheep ; the women spun 
 .the fibre and wove the cloth ; and after the cloth 
 was woven they cut it up and sewed it into garments. 
 There was a trade in flourishing existence then, 
 the artisans in which would starve to death now. 
 Men went about from house to house combing 
 ■Avool and hetchelling flax, making them ready for 
 rthe women to spin. Another queer custom that is 
 now obsolete gave an added interest to life then. 
 The families received professional visits from the 
 ■shoemaker, just as some families now receive pro- 
 fessional visits from the dressmaker. The Crispin- 
 lite came witli his full equipment of tools and 
 materials anil staid until he had cut out and made 
 .up such shoes as the family needed, or could afford. 
 At some houses lie came once a year and made two 
 pairs of shoes foi- every member of the fmilly — on:: 
 
26 J).IOORt:.-5iO\VN, OLD AND I\ i-:v.'. 
 
 pair for "common" and one pair for " best." We 
 may be sure that neitrher pair was of the tooth-pick 
 or the hig-h-buttonecl type; but such as they were 
 they had to do the owner until the time came 
 round for the next annual manufacture. It is to be 
 hoped that the shoe-maker was always of a genial 
 and sociable disposition, for his visits were depend- 
 ed, upon more than almost anything else to drop 
 the ripple-making stone ot gossip into the quiet 
 stream of rather isolated home-life. 
 
 They were a robust, hardy, enterprising people, 
 those early settlers here. They battled agamst 
 obstacles right sturdily, and encountered hardsltips 
 with a cheerful spirit. Indeed they seem not to 
 have known that there were hardships, and regard- 
 ed their Jersey home as a kind of earthly paradise,, 
 where life was easier and more bountiful than else- 
 where. Some of their business enterprises v<'ere on 
 a large scale ; and the manner in which they were 
 carried forward to success would be creditable with 
 the facili'ties of to-day at command; with the dififi- 
 culties and restrictions then to be encountered^ it i.s. 
 astonish I iKr. 
 
Chapter IV. 
 " TJicre Lived a Man!' 
 
 ^N one occasion I spent a few linnrs in a 
 new railroad town West of the Rocky 
 1^ Mountains. On leavin^^ the train. I saw 
 a citizen standin^^ in h'ont of one of the 
 board and canvas buildings on tflie prin- 
 cipal street. He seemed to be the only man in the 
 place who was standing- still, so I approached him 
 and made some inquiries concerning the young 
 metropolis. He listened with good-natured cour- 
 tesy and regretfully replied: "I'm sorry, stranger, 
 but Fin a stranger here and can't tell ye much about 
 it. But" — and here his face brightened benevo- 
 lently, and his' voice took a hopeful tone — * 'here 
 comes a man 't can tell ye all you want to know, 
 fur he's one o' the first settlers in the place. He's 
 been here a week." 
 
 The m:ui was not joking. That town was just 
 seven days old. It had a population of about 4,000 
 souls; long streets of shanties and tents stretched 
 in all directions, and the business of the pk'.cc, 
 although not always of a type to be commended, 
 was booming with a prosperous rush that was. 
 ;^hilerating. 
 
 To find out all that was to be found out con- 
 c.-rning such a place as that Vv^ould not be a iiard. 
 1^7) 
 
28 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 matter, provided the investigator was prepared to 
 accept the accompanying risks. 
 
 But it is difficult to trace the steps of a commu- 
 iiity that has traveled over a couple of centuries of 
 history. The dust of the past has drifted deep and 
 has packed down hard along the road, and in some 
 places no efforts at excavation will avail. Under 
 these circumstances there is comfort in the old say- 
 ing that it is a happy people that has no annals. 
 'Eliere is comfort, also, in the recollection that only 
 fossils leave their exact imprint in the hardened 
 mud of the past ; and our old town is proving most 
 conclusively that it is not a fossil. Still it could 
 be wished that the record of old times was a little 
 more complete. 
 
 In a certain way, and to a limited extent, Moores- 
 town professes to be the monument of Thomas 
 Moore ; but the monument bears only his name. 
 The epitaph has been almost wholly obliterated. 
 Moore left his name to the town of his adoption, 
 but with that gift his bequests ended; and even 
 the name would probably have been forgotten had 
 it not been transferred from the individual to the 
 town. Many other names that have come down to 
 us from times still c.::irlier than the time of Thomas 
 Moore have brought w^ith them a strong flavor of 
 personality; but there is only the faintest sugges- 
 tion o( such a flavor about the name of Moore, 
 or some who helped in laying the f )undations of 
 
liilLKt, HVEU A -MAM. 29 
 
 r.Ioorcstowii we know all the leading facts of their 
 fives ; the man who was important enough to give 
 his name to the place is but little more than a 
 myth. We know not whence he came, how long 
 he staid or whither he went. Other men of the 
 olden times have left descendants who still bear 
 the histor-ic name among us ; we do not even know 
 whether any child ever blessed the home of Thomas 
 Moore. The original homesteads of some of the 
 old settlei's ai^ still known and occupied ; we da 
 not know, with any dQg:ree of accuracy, whereabouts 
 Thomas IMoore livod ; and his root-tree, wherever 
 it was, has long since disappeared. 
 
 What manner of man was he ? Was he big or 
 little? fair or dark? jolly or morose? It would 
 be interesting to know, but there is nothing to tell 
 us even whether he was good or bad. It is not 
 known where he came from ; whether he came 
 here as a young man, to grow up with the country ; 
 whether he remained until his death, or where and 
 when he we^it if he moved awa}'. 
 
 Thomas Moore appears to have settled here in 
 1722. In 1732 he bought thirty-three acres of land 
 on the north side of the King's Highway. This pur- 
 chase would indicate that he had a good head for 
 business, for this was an exceedingly well selected 
 tract. It extended from, the west side of the Friend's 
 grave yard on the East, to Locust street on the 
 West; and from the north side of Main street on 
 
20 LIOORKSTOWX, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 the South to the middle of Second street on the 
 North. Somewhere in the western portion of this 
 tract — ^just where is not known — ?,Ioore set up a 
 hotel. What name the hotel had is a matter of 
 •ignorance ; but whether it bore a taking title or 
 ■not it seems, according to tradition, to have been a 
 quite popular place of resort ; perhaps because the 
 tipple supplied there was good, perhaps because 
 the landlord wa^ a genial fellow with a taking way. 
 At all events the place seems to have been one of 
 importance, as importance v/as reckoned in those 
 days. 
 
 Thomas Moore himself appears to have become 
 •recognized as an important parsonage in the com- 
 munity. He was apparently a keen and enter- 
 prising business mm, and the records show that he 
 did a great deal in the way of buying and selling 
 town lots. He must have been a man of some 
 ■strong traits, or he would not have been able to 
 "io^Dress his individuality upon his neighbors so 
 deeply that they chose his name as the one to be 
 given to their village. He had a wife, and her 
 name was Elizabeth, but even that much would 
 not be known were it not that her name appears 
 with his in the conveyances of some of his real 
 estate. Beyond that one fact nothing seems to be 
 known of the private and personal lite of Thomas 
 Moore. His biography might almost be summed 
 up in the one line : " There lived a man." 
 
Chapter V. 
 
 Rjz 'j'.utionary Days. 
 
 ?fHEN the Revolutionary war hcc^in, the 
 dove of Peace was sore disma)-^ J U) find 
 ^S^-^^ how many young eagles she had nur- 
 -^^^■^ tured in her Quaker nest. Young blood 
 IS hot, and in war times it is apt to tingle as sharply 
 under a drab coat as under a knight's armor; the 
 restraining inHuonccs of faith and discipline are not 
 always strong enough to hold in check its wayward 
 impulses, and sometimes the man of peace becomes 
 the man of war. Therefore it is that the Meetings 
 liad a good deal to do in those stormy days, calling 
 to account those members who were guilty of 
 bearing military arms in a military manner, and 
 dealing with those who refused to return to the 
 ways of peace. 
 
 It is to be supposed that Chester Meeting had its 
 sh.'.re of trouble with recalcitrant members in and 
 about Moorestown ; for unquestionably Moores- 
 town had her spoon in the hot dish that was cooking 
 by the heat of battle flames. The tradition is that 
 the town furnished its quota of minute men under 
 the act of August 15. 1775, and that they duly 
 furnished themselves " with a good musket or fire- 
 
32 
 
 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND KEv:. 
 
 lock, and bayonet, sword or tomahawk ; a stcet 
 ramrod, worm, priming wire, and brush fitted 
 thereto; a cartouclie box to conuii;! thirty-two 
 rounds of cartridge:-; ; twelve flints and a knapsack." 
 At that time, although Moorcstown remained, as it 
 still remains, v^ery largely a community of Friends, 
 other elements had mingled in its population; and 
 from these elements the minute men and the re- 
 cruits to the Continental Army Vv-ere principally 
 drawn. Still the Society of Friends had among its 
 members some who felt that, in such a time the 
 ways of war were the ways of peace, and whose 
 convictions drew them to handle the sword and 
 shoulder the musket. No state gave a warmer or 
 more cheerful support to the cause of the struggling 
 Union than New Jersey ; and ]\Ioorcstown and the 
 country around it was no with behind the jest of the 
 State in the encouragement — peaceful or warlike — 
 that it gave. 
 
 The terrors as well as the fervor of war were 
 experienced here to the full. The I'litish soldiery 
 Avere here more than once or twice, and each visit 
 added to the apprehensive terrors of the next. For 
 a time the enemy had complete possession of New 
 Jersey and during that time scouting parties and 
 bodies of stragglers went to a good many places 
 where they were not wanted, Moorestown among 
 the rest. So, also, when Gen. Howe held Phila- 
 delphia, New Jersey was invaded by parties oi" 
 
REVOLUTIONARY DAYS. 
 
 raiders and all this section of the State was kept in 
 a perpetual condition of worry and apprehension. 
 The coming of the British was the haunting night- 
 mare of the people here and hereabouts ; and so 
 extreme did this panicky condition become, not 
 only here but throughout the State, that we are 
 told "in 1/79 there was a total cessation of public 
 worship in the province." 
 
 The state of affairs which prevailed had its draw- 
 backs, most certainly, but monotony and dulness 
 were not among them. Ex^erybody was on the 
 alert, and the wits of the community became keen 
 and sharp-set. It was known, h-om both direct and 
 circumstantial evidence, that when King George's 
 troopers were about, the best place for cattle and 
 silver was a hiding place. An aftiiuty existed: 
 between the soldiers and other people's propirtv,, 
 and it was detrimental to the property. There wa.^ 
 no use in attempting to break the bond of connec- 
 tion when it had once been formed ; the only thing 
 to do was to keep it from forming. To effect this 
 it was necessary to know when the British \\erc 
 coming, and to get everything they would most 
 desire out of reach before-hand. To accomplish 
 these purposes kept people exceedingly wide-awake 
 and active. Danger signals were established ; v/arn- 
 ings were quickly given and promptly heeaed when 
 cause for alarm appeared. Sometimes the hiding 
 was accomplished unnecessarily ; sometimes, alas I 
 
34 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 it ^vas not accomplished soon enough, and the 
 consequences were disastrous. 
 
 On the farm of Mr. Ilooten, on the Marlton 
 road is an old bell which is said to be a relic of 
 those stormy times. During the Revolution it was 
 mounted on one of the farm buildings, and dici 
 service as an alarm signal, being rung for the 
 "warning of the neighbors and the calling of the 
 ■men from their distant occupations when there 
 were signs of British approach. At the sound of 
 its note cattle and horses w^ere hurriedly driven to 
 safe places of retreat, and household and personal 
 valuables were put out of reach as effectively as 
 possible. In these days of humdrum peacefulness 
 the bell has a more prosaic mission — that of 
 ■calling the farm hands to dinner. Other signals 
 Vv'cre established elsewhere; and between here and 
 t1ie Pen'sauken self-appointed pickets did duty in 
 times of special apprehension. At the w^arning 
 thcv gave all the live stock was quickly driven off 
 into the Deer Park Swamp. The times would 
 seem to have been full of interest for the cattle as 
 well as for their owners. 
 
 An instance is related which well illustrates the 
 'Cxcitcd state of mind in which people lived at that 
 time. It was a very successful scare, wrought 
 ■up — most probably with malicious intent — by an 
 eccentric and rather cranky indi\M"dual w^ho lived ir 
 TJuOrc5tov.n then. The incident occurred on i 
 
■REVOLUTION AKV DAYS. 
 
 35 
 
 Thursday morning, when the Friends were assem- 
 l)led in their meeting house for Fifth-day meeting. 
 Suddenly the mischievous fellow rushed into the 
 building and disturbed the solemn quiet of the 
 assembly by shouting : " Here you are, all sitting 
 with your hats on and the British just down by 
 Neddy French's !" The British were not down by 
 ISfeddy French's, but the announcement broke up 
 the meeting all the same, and the result of the 
 prank was everything that the pestilent fellow could 
 have desired. The horses of the worshippers were 
 driven out of the meeting house yard at a pace 
 that astonished them and startled the neighbors ; 
 and it is safe to assume that after it was all over, 
 some of those Friends inwardly wished that the 
 discipline of their body had been a little less rigid 
 ■concerning personal violence. 
 
 Not all the inhabitants were so grieviously dis- 
 turbed at the imminence of a British visitation. 
 There were some tories among the residents here 
 as well as elsev/here throughout the country, and 
 to them the prospective or actual presence of their 
 red-coated friends, was not a cause for lamentations, 
 but for rejoicing, rather. They made the soldiers 
 welcome, and in return for this sympathy enjoyed 
 freedom from the harassments and annoyances of 
 their " rebellious" neighbors. They sold what they 
 liad to part with and received in return therefor 
 :good hard money of the realm, the virtue of loyalty 
 
36 • MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 not being, in those days, of the kind that is its own' 
 reward. But there were not many of the tories 
 here, the community being for the most part warmly 
 patriotic ; and here as elsewhere the cause of inde- 
 pendence had no more cordial supporters than the 
 Friends, despite their deprecation of the appeal to 
 arms. 
 
 There was at least one man who did not live 
 here, and had no possessions or business interests 
 here, but who nevertheless had reason to wish most 
 devoutly that the British soldiers had 'staid away 
 from Moorestown, and minded their own business. 
 Kendall Coles was an active and Avidely known 
 patriot, living a short distance south of Moorestown, 
 on the road to Haddonfield. His principles and 
 prominence brouglit him and his family into ac- 
 quaintance witli very many of the leaders of the 
 Revolutionary cause, in the army and out of it, and 
 among the rest with Lafayette. Lafayette had in 
 in his train a number of gay young French officers, 
 and Mr. Coles had in his household a number of 
 voun^r and attractive dauc^hters. Now since the 
 world began, properly constituted young men, 
 whether French lieutenants or not, have sought 
 the society of bright and winsome young women, 
 and have overcome obstacles and braved dangers 
 that they might enjoy the pleasures of such com- 
 panionship. Therefore it is that on various occa- 
 sions one and another of Lafayette's young friends 
 
REVOLUTIONARY DAYS. 3/ 
 
 Avere guests at the Coles mansion. One day a 
 young Frenchman was enjoying the hospitahty 
 of the mansion when a scouting party of British 
 soldiers rode up. There was consternation in the 
 house, but quick wits were equal to the occasion. 
 The imperilled guest was hustled into the cellar 
 and effectually hidden, but in such close and 
 straightened quarters as made him devoutly hope 
 that the other fellows would not stay long. The 
 British soldiers entered the door almost in time to 
 ■see the hurried exit of their predecessor, and were 
 in no haste to resume their ride. They did go at 
 last but not until after what the Frenchman con- 
 sidered an extravagantly long stay; and the im- 
 prisoned guest resumed his visit where it had been 
 interrupted. 
 
 The evacuation of Philadelphia by the British 
 luider Gen. Clinton, and the retreat of the army 
 :across New Jersey towards New York brought 
 sore tribulations to the people here and hereabouts. 
 The evacuation took place in the morning of June 
 1 8, 1778, and the army crossed the Delaware into 
 New Jersey. Three columns took up the march 
 though the State by different roads, and one of the 
 ■columns took the road through Mcorestown. On 
 the night of the i8th this body of troops encamped 
 at Haddonfield, and on the morning of the 19th 
 resumed th^- march in this direction. One of the 
 dauo-htcrs of ^Ir. Coles, then a young girl and 
 
2 8 .\IOORESTOWx\, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 afterwards the wife of Reuben Matlack, remembered 
 vividly to the day of her death, the march of that 
 June day, and in later years entertained her chil- 
 dren and her grand-children with the recital of 
 incidents that came under her obscr\'ation. Happy 
 were those patriots alonix the line of march who> 
 had received and heeded timely warning of what 
 was coming ; who had hidden their valuables and 
 driven away their live-stock, and who kept them- 
 selves and their families in seclusion. And miser- 
 ably unlucky were those Vv'hose action had been 
 differently taken. 
 
 Mrs. Matlack, like the other members of her 
 father's family, had had abundant opportunities of 
 forming acquaintanceship, either personally or by- 
 description, with the prominent men of , both sides 
 of the great contest, and her belief was that Gen. 
 Howe was in command of the column of the 
 retreating army that passed over this road. How- 
 ever that may be, tradition has it that Gen. Howe 
 was at one time personally in Moorestown and 
 staid here over night. Whenever it vras, the Gen- 
 eral seems to have had no scruple about giving 
 trouble to his involuntary hostess on the occasion 
 of his visit. The butter already on hand in the 
 family spring house did not answer his purpose^ 
 and a special batch of " gilt-edged" was prepared. 
 In a family now living in Marlton there is said to 
 be still kept as an heir-loom, the churn in whiclx 
 
REVOLL'TIONARY DAY.3. 39 • 
 
 the butter was made for Gen. Hov/e on the occasion 
 of his visit to Moorestown. 
 
 The army reached Moorestown on the afternoon - 
 of the 19th, and encamped on ground not far from 
 the Friends' meeting houses. Probably a more' 
 unv/elcome body of men never made themseh'cs at 
 home where they were not wanted. Their popu- 
 larity had not been great along the road ; and^hey 
 made life a burden to the peaceful folk here, i hey 
 pillaged right and left, wantonly destroyed property 
 they had no desire to possess, " confiscated" all the 
 livestock they could lay hands on, and in various 
 ways made themselves a grand nuisance. 
 
 Here as elsewhere the citizens who had timely 
 tidings of the coming irruption made such pro- 
 visions as they could in the way of getting their 
 livestock out of reach and hiding their portable 
 property. But there was no telegraph then to give 
 news of the event before it had fairly happened ; 
 only mounted couriers could be depend :d upon to 
 give the needed warning, and the men between 
 here and Camden were too much occupied in 
 looking after their own interests and those oi their 
 immediate neighbors to admit of a very early 
 warning to their Moorestown friends. However, 
 the warning came here in advance of the British, 
 . although not so far in advance that much margin 
 oftime'^w^as allowed for precautionary measures. 
 Some of the people here had wonderfully narrow 
 
40 
 
 I.IOORESTOV/N. OLD AND NEV, 
 
 escapes from failure in their efforts to hide valua- 
 bles. One of these was a farmer named Middleton 
 who lived on v/hat was niore recently known as the 
 Stiles Farm, on what is now Central avenue, 
 north of the railroad and west of Chester avenue. 
 When he heard of the approaching visitation he 
 dug a hole in the ground near his house, and hur- 
 riedly deposited therein his silver and such other 
 belongings as he wished particularly to save. He 
 had just finished iilling up the hole when the red 
 coats appeared in sight down the road. Fearing 
 that the fresh appearance of the earth would arouse 
 suspicion he, with with a quick command of re- 
 sources born of the time, scattered some shelled 
 corn over his buried treasure and called the pigs 
 and chickens to the spot. They soon obliterated 
 the traces of the spade and his property was saved. 
 At that time one of the most prominent families 
 here was that of Richard Smith ; and his mansion, 
 on the King's Highway was perhaps the largest and 
 most pretentious in the place. At this house dis- 
 tinguished visitors to the town were received and 
 entertained as guests; and on the 19th of June, 
 1778, distinguished visitors who were disposed to 
 entertain themselves were received, under the pres- 
 sure of circumstances over which the Smith family 
 had no control. Their visit was of a distinctly 
 different character to that of the visits the family 
 liad been accustomed to receive, and seems to have 
 
REVOLUTIONARY DAYS. /^l 
 
 been an absolute reigii of terror. The household 
 at the time included a number of' ladies, but there 
 would seem to have been no m :n about the house 
 except the servants. The chief of these men- 
 iservants q-ot notice in advance of the cominc^ of the 
 British, and he was prompt in running off all the 
 horses belonging to the place, and shrewd in hiding 
 them before the arrival of the unwelcome visitors. 
 He took them through the woods at the back of the 
 house into a swamp some distance away to the 
 south, and secreted them there so successfully that 
 none Avere captured ; but they were the only live- 
 -stock on the place that escaped the clutches of the 
 soldiers. 
 
 It would have been well if the faithful servant 
 had foreseen what was to take place, and had 
 driven every other living thing on the estate into 
 the same swamp; for the commanding officer of 
 the British made the Smith mansion his head- 
 quarters, and that meant a great deal in the way of 
 ■uncomforiable experience to the members of the 
 household. I le was accompanied by the members 
 of his staff, as well as by a number of common 
 soldiers detailed for headquarters duty, and his 
 military family comprised a number of Hessians. 
 The policy adopted of " living off the country" was 
 freely carried out in this instance, and such re- 
 sources as the house and farm afforded were taken 
 .advaiilap-e q[ to the utmost. Tlicv were bountiful 
 
43 
 
 JIOORESTOWN, OLD AND XEV/. 
 
 and the resulting" feast was in. the nature of a. 
 carousal. Every fowl on the place was sacrificed, 
 and to make the banquet complete a calf was killed, 
 dressed and cooked. The roystering was loud and 
 long continued, and the ladies of the house wished 
 many a time before morning that either they or 
 their guests were somewhere else. 
 
 On arriving, the commanding officer informed 
 Mrs. Smith that she and the members of her family 
 must remain secluded in their rooms, as otherwise 
 he could not undertake to protect them from insult 
 at the hands of his officers and men, particularly 
 the Hessians. The ladies accordingly went into 
 close retirement ; but they did not all stay there,, 
 and a commotion was the result. 
 
 Visiting at the house was Miss Elizabeth Murrell, 
 a niece of Mr. Smith. She was a bright and lively 
 young girl of about fourteen years, whose home 
 was in Burlington. Years afterwards she became 
 the wife of Reuben Stiles ; and when she was an 
 elderly woman Reuben Stiles the younger — at the 
 time of his recent death one of the best known 
 and most respected citizens of Moorestown — was 
 born to them, the youngest of their family of ten 
 children. Mrs. Stiles retained to the time of her 
 death a vivid recollection of the visit of the British 
 at her uncle's house, as well as other memorable- 
 events uf iho ,j ti'O'-ibled times, and frequent!}' re- 
 
REVOT-UTIOXARY DAYS. 
 
 43 
 
 ,1^ u 
 
 her family. 
 
 Elizabeth Murrell it was who went out of her 
 room contrary to orders. During the evening she 
 wished to go from one apartment to another — it is 
 hard for young people to stay shut up on compul- 
 sion — so she peeped out of her door and thought the 
 coast sufficiently clear to warrant the risk. She ven- 
 tured out and very sliortly was convinced that she 
 had made a mistake. She had hardly got jairly 
 into the hall before a Hessian caught her and tried 
 to kiss her. She struggled and screamed, and her 
 screams brought the commanding officer to the 
 spot. At sight of him the Hessian released his 
 indignant captive, giving her an impatient push and 
 exclaiming, with a contemptuous wave of the hand : 
 *' Footy, footy, footy!" After this adventure the 
 ladies remained closely shut up in one room with 
 the door locked until their too demonstrative guests 
 had taken their departure. The British command- 
 er placed a guard at their door, and they were 
 secure from further molestation ; but we can well 
 fancy that they passed the night in a more or less 
 hysterical condition. 
 
 In the morning the soldiers marched away ; but 
 not alone, for they drove off all the cattle on the 
 place. However, the imprisoned ladies were once 
 more at liberty ; and that v.3> a joyful fact until 
 
2).4 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND KEW. 
 
 they had seen t1ie condition of the house and prem- 
 ises, and then all joy was killed for the day. Such 
 a condition of tilings as confronted Ihcm cannot be 
 described. The chickens for the banquet had been 
 killed, plucked and cleaned in the parlor ; and blood, 
 feathers and filth were on the carpet, the walls and 
 every article of furniture. The other rooms of the 
 liouse were in keeping with this ; and a scene of 
 ravage and desolation presented itself everywhere. 
 
 The horses were brought back from the swamp; 
 and later in the day a vocil^erous cow ran bawling 
 into the yard. She was the mother of the calf that 
 had been slain to make the soldiers' feast, and she 
 had been driven off with the rest of the stock in the 
 morning ; but her anxiety to get back to where she 
 had last seen her offspring was more than a match 
 for the vigilance of her captors. She made her 
 escape in some way from the drove :;nd ran noisily 
 all the way home. She v/as the only member of 
 the herd the family ever saw again. 
 
 Another old house in Moorestown a.'-sociated in 
 tradition with British visitations here is that belong;- 
 ing to the estate of the late Asa Schooley, at the 
 •corner of Main and Schooley streets. It seems 
 tolerably certain that the British had possession of 
 the building at one time, but tradition cri'ows vap-ue 
 and weak Avhen it comes to telling when, for how 
 long, in what force or under what circumstances. 
 It seems most probable that the occupation of 
 
REVOLUri»NARY DAYS. 
 
 45 
 
 the premises was, like the other occupation just 
 described, on the 19th of June, 1778, and that the 
 house was used as headquarters by some of the 
 lower officers of the command. There is no cer- 
 tainty, however, in the minds of any regarding the 
 facts. 
 
 The mansion of Richard Smith was the scene of 
 another reception, very different in character to 
 that of the men who killed the chickens and drove 
 OiT the cattle. Lafayette was the visitor, and his 
 visit preceded that of the British. Elizabeth Mur- 
 rell was a guest at her uncle's house on this occa- 
 sion also, and she is the authority for such details 
 of the visit as are novv^ known. This was an hon- 
 ored guest who came with a gallant party of 
 young aids to the hospitable mansion, and he was 
 made welcome with all the stately and elaborate 
 courtesy of the time. He was on his way through 
 New Jersey to join Washington, and spent a night 
 at the house of his entertainer. It is related that 
 he had been ill for some time, and still showed the 
 effects of his sickness. Mrs. Stiles' memory was 
 strongly impressed by the pale face and delicate, 
 refined appearance ot Lafayette. Another of her 
 abiding recollections was of tlie remarkably fine 
 horse he rode. It was a sorrel, and was extraor- 
 dinarily handsome. The animal had hurt its foot 
 in some manner, and one of the Gsneral's aids, with 
 a servant to hold the torch, went out in the evening 
 
,jj.5 LI09REST0WN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 to examine the injury. Elizabeth Murrell watched 
 the investigation from the porch, and admired the 
 ]iorse at her leisure. 
 
 The tradition is general and persistent that 
 Washington not only passed through Moorestown, 
 but that he passed a night here. No well regulated 
 old place considers itself quite happy without the 
 existence of some such link connecting it with 
 Washincfton, and that hero-statesman would have 
 needed a longer and more slumberous life than the 
 one he lived to have slept under all the roofs 
 assigned to him throughout the country. He was 
 pretty enterprising, and a good deal of a traveller, 
 but even he was not equal to all the claims made 
 upon him by tradition in behalf of sacredly historic 
 feather-beds and guest-chambers. 
 
 One of our local stories is that he passed a night 
 ^t the old Smith mansion previously referred to. 
 This, however, is contradicted by those most likely 
 to know, and the explanation is given that the tra- 
 dition arose from the visit of Lafayette to the house 
 in question. Another and more positive statement 
 is to the effect that Washington made his halt for 
 the night at an old house on Main street below 
 Church Road, which was torn down only a few 
 years ago. One or two other old houses are men- 
 tioned as having had the honor of sheltering the 
 Father of his country on the vague night in ques- 
 -tion ; among them being the ancient building r.t 
 
REVOLUTIONARY DAYS. 47 
 
 \\'hat is now known as Fair Ground avenue, in 
 which Mrs. Mary Lippincott's boarding .^^cbiOol was 
 icept. The claim in all these cases is prefaced by 
 "they say," and is unsupported by anything- like 
 incident or definite statement of any kind. 
 
 A very positive statement has been made that 
 Washington did pass the night on one occasion at 
 the old Matlack homestead, between the Haddon- 
 field and Camden roads, a couple of miles below 
 Moorestown. This visit was said to have been a 
 matter of history supported by positive evidence, 
 and not dependent upon tradition at all. Trees 
 were said to be still standing on the place which 
 were marked in a peculiar manner on the memora- 
 ble occasion — whether by the historic hatchet of 
 immortal visitor was not stated. Inquiry of Mr. 
 Morc^ccai Matlack elicited the information that if 
 sucli a visit were ever made he never heard of it ; 
 a statement rather discouraging to further investiga- 
 tion in that direction. 
 
 It is pretty certain that if Washington passed a 
 night on the Llatlack farm, he did not pass a night 
 in Moorestown — on that march at least. For the 
 Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army was 
 not travelling for pleasure ; and the distance from 
 the Matlack homestead to Moorestown would not 
 constitute a day's march, even in more leisureh- 
 times than the Revolutionary period. Pleasant as 
 Moorestown is and ahvays has been, he would 
 
48 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 hardly have tarried here for the mere sake of 
 enjoying the beauties of the place. 
 
 The discrepancy between the difrcrcnt traditions 
 is reconciled in some minds by the supplementary 
 theory that two visits were made. Indeed the 
 tradition exists, independent of any effort to recon- 
 cile conflicting statements, that Washington tra- 
 versed the highway through Moorestown on tv/o 
 different occasions — going from Philadelphia at 
 one time, and again going towards that city. The 
 confirmation of this belief would verify the claims 
 of two of the houses that sheltered Washington 
 over night ; but the others would still have to be 
 content with the lesser glory of a possible daylight 
 visit. 
 
 It will be seen that the record of Washington's 
 visits here would make a long and interesting 
 chapter; but after all it would be in the nature of 
 that famous chapter which was headed " The Snakes 
 in Ireland," and which consisted of the one line, 
 "There are no snakes in Ireland." We greatly 
 fear the conviction must be accepted that the great 
 Commander never was in Moorestown at all. 
 
 But if Washinf^ton never saw Moorestown, at 
 least one person intimately associated with Moores- 
 town saw Washington. It was the same Elizabeth 
 Murrell who had the memorable adventure w^ith 
 the too gallant Hessian, and who seems to have 
 had the luck of seeing notable people and witnessing 
 
U EVOLUTIONARY DAYS. 
 
 49 
 
 notable events. She had returned to her father's- 
 house in Burhngton, and there, as the French say, 
 "assisted" at a grand review of the army by the 
 Commander-in-Chief. Mrs. Washington — or "Lady 
 Washington" as she was then called — accompanied'- 
 her husband; and the General's scrupulous and 
 deferential attention to his wife struck this girlish) 
 observer as something remarkable even for those 
 ceremonious days. She used to relate that the 
 General, in order that his wife might enjoy a better 
 view of the proceedings, procured a thick and heavy 
 book for her to stand upon. This he laid upon 
 the ground as a pedestal upon which her feet were 
 to rest; but before he permitted her to stand upon 
 it he took out his handkerchief and carefully dusted 
 ^;_^'the cover of the book, in order that it might be 
 clean enough to fittingly support the feet just lifted 
 from the muddy earth. Truly either George was a 
 model husband, or Martha Vv-ell knew the value of 
 discipline! 
 
 Tlie father of this same \'Oung military tcporter, 
 and the grandfather of our townsman, P^euben 
 Stiles, was an officer in the Continental army ; and 
 his exceptionally intimate knowledge of the coun- 
 try led to his being selected as a cavalry scout, his 
 duty being to obtain and impart such information 
 as was possible of the enemy's whereabouts, doings 
 and purposes. When the British held Euilington 
 Captain Murrcll m:idc fi-oqucnt night entries to the 
 
io 
 
 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 own, in one disguise or another, and ir?s''i -^ visit- 
 ing his family, managed to take away w'Xh liim con- 
 siderable useful knowledge. 
 
 On one of these occasions he learned that a coun- 
 -cil of war was being held in a certain house, and 
 mounting the steps of the building he preceded to 
 investigate through the key-hole. There had been 
 .Q. recent fall of sleet and the steps were slippery. 
 -As a consequence the uninvited member of the 
 'Council took a tumble off the steps to the pavement. 
 The noise of his fall was heard within the house, 
 :and the assembled offuers rushed to the door just 
 ■in time to see him ri se to his feet and make off In 
 his haste the coat he wore as a disguise was disar- 
 ranged, revealing his Continental uniform beneath. 
 He was recognized and the British officers made 
 straight for his house, supposing that he would go 
 there for concealment. By the time they reached 
 the house, however, Captain Murrel's fleet horse 
 had borne him to a safe distance in another direc- 
 tion, and as the officers afterward stated, they 
 ■*'.found t!ij nest, but the bird had flown." 
 
Chapter VI. 
 Rapid Transit. 
 
 T Is a very curious twist In human nature — the 
 human nature of these days at least — that 
 causes men to be always in a hurry when 
 '^^ they go from one place to another. They 
 may have an abundance of leisure and more time 
 than they know what to do with ; but they don't like 
 to spend any more of It than they are compelled 
 to on the road. The highest priced horse is the 
 one that can save a few seconds In taking to a given 
 point a man v/ho has nothing whatever to do when 
 he gets there, unless it be to turn around and come 
 back at still greater speed, if possible. The train 
 that lowers the schedule time between New York 
 and Chicago is the train that commands the greatest 
 patronage from the moneyed people of leisure. I 
 have seen men elbow their way to the bow of a 
 ferry-boat as it entered the slip, jump ashore before 
 the boat was made fast, and then stand by idly, 
 with their hands in their pockets and watch the last 
 man and woman file off from the boat. And yet 
 we talk of the luxury of leisure. 
 
 This same luxury of leisure, looking at things 
 .from our stand-point, was enjoyed to the full by 
 
 (51) 
 
52 
 
 ?,I00RE3T0"'M, OLD AND NEV/. 
 
 those who preceded us here. They did not fly at 
 top speed from one place to another ; they did not 
 tear about the country and about the Vv' orld, spending- 
 the Fourth of July in Canada and Christmas in 
 Florida; the month of March in Santa Barbara and 
 the month of November in Rome. They had all 
 the time there was and they used it in a very delib- 
 erate fashion. Most of it they used in one place ;:. 
 for when they got anywliere they were very apt to 
 stay there, and to take the weather and the other 
 conditions of life as they came along. It is a recent 
 idea, this one of rushing away to a hot country in 
 cold weatlicr, and to a cold country in hot v/eather. 
 It has a good deal to recommend it, but it did not 
 enter into the plans of the old-time folk. Indeed if 
 they had tried to carry out such an idea the weath- 
 er would have had plenty of time to change before 
 they had got to the plage they set out to reach ; for 
 v,'hen they did go from one point to another they 
 took plenty of time for it. 
 
 But it was only because they had to. They 
 vvould have been just as migratory as the rest of us, 
 and just as speedy in their migrations if they had 
 known how. Their blood would have been fevered 
 by the ferment of unrest to just the same extent 
 that ours is ; and tlieir nerves v.'ould have been 
 stretched and racked to the sp.rn. .is/groe as ours by 
 the demon of hurry, if thet-e h:^ I ' en n. cl^ance for 
 hurry to accomplish an^L.^m-. i.ideed I imaf^ine. 
 
RAPID TRANSIT. 53 • 
 
 they did hurry as much as we do, only in slower 
 fashion. They got over the ground as fast as they , 
 could, and wished they could go faster; and that is j 
 all we do. The difference is merely one of stan- 
 dards. It is quite possible that bye and bye, when 
 men go flying through the air in balloons sped by 
 electricity, they will regard the crawling pace of our 
 present railroad trains much as we regard the cum- 
 brous wagon travel of the men who lived before us. 
 There were all sorts of difficulties in the way of 
 rapid transit for them ; but they accomplished it 
 according to their ideas and opportunities, and 
 were tolerably well pleased with the results— until 
 they could see the v/ay to something better, and 
 then they tried for that. The great drawback in the 
 way of free and easy going about was the character 
 and general condition of the thoroughfares that had 
 to be traversed. We can form only the faintest and 
 most incomplete idea of what the roads were then, 
 or of what tribulations beset the tourist between 
 here and Philadelphia. That bit of travel does not 
 afford an experience of delight even now if it be 
 undertaken in a springless wagon in an "open 
 winter" or in the early spring ; but it is as the 
 flight of the swallow compared with what it used to 
 be. The experiences oi: long ago are probably be- 
 ing repeated now, in modified form, in remote 
 wooded regions that are newly settled ; but we can 
 -form no conception of them, and therefore can have 
 
^4 LIQORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 no adequate sympathy with either our predecessors- 
 or our contemporaries. 
 
 The earliest roads were scarcely roads at all, 
 although dignified by that name. They were little ■ 
 more than bridle paths, and were not constructed 
 with the view to accommodating vehicles. To be • 
 sure there were not many vehicles to be accommo- 
 dated ; but neither were there any modern appli- 
 ances for the removal of stumps, and any wagon 
 or cart which had attempted the passage of a public: 
 road, even where it was broad enough, would have 
 had a rough and stormy voyage and would most 
 probably have been wrecked on some stumpy reef 
 before the passage had been completed. Indeed 
 many of the less impoitant of the old roads were 
 only foot-paths. 
 
 As time passed on there was improvement, of 
 course; but even so late as 1716, in the rates, 
 allowed by the assembly for the New Brunswick 
 Ferry, provision was made only for " horse and 
 man," and for the "single person," no account being 
 taken of vehicles. So the improvement could not 
 have been very rapid. If wheeled vehicles had' 
 had been in use to any extent they would certainly 
 have been considered and that they were not more 
 generally in use argues a most undesirable condi- 
 tion of even the most important public roads. 
 
 Even such use as was made of wheeled convey- 
 ances serves, rather than otherwise to eniDhasize- 
 
RAPID TRANSIT. 
 
 5? 
 
 the difficulties that beset the traveller. There was 
 no public means of conveying passengers ; but pri- 
 vate individuals had obtained privileges, amounting 
 to monopoly, in the way of transporting persons 
 and goods between New York and Phi'adelphia. 
 A man named Belaman seem.s to have had things 
 all his own way in this respect. He had in some- 
 way attained spec'al privileges; and although he- 
 had no set time or regular prices for his trips, he 
 held his right against any proposed competition! 
 until after Governor Hamilton's recall in 1710. 
 Then his monopoly ceased and there was competi- 
 tion. A new era of travel began, and ''stage - 
 wagons" were run between the two great cities. 
 We smile as we read the proviso that invariably 
 accompanied their announcement : " Wind and 
 weather permitting." The restriction must have been 
 an elastic one, or travel must have been frequently 
 interrupted ; for during a considerable portion of 
 the year the weather in this section of the country 
 is apt to be not of a permissive character. 
 
 In 1750, such had been the progress of improve- 
 ment, a line of transportation was established, the 
 owner of which informed the public that a stage- 
 boat would leave New York every Wednesday, for 
 the Amboy Ferry on Thursday, where on Friday 
 a stage-wagon would immediately convey the pat- 
 rons to Bordentown ; whence another stage-boat 
 would convey them to Philadelphia. In 1752 such. 
 
5 6 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 advancement was made that the stage-boat left New 
 York twice a week instead of once; and the in- 
 crease of speed had been so great that the trip to 
 Philadelphia was sometimes accomplished in five 
 days, although it more commonly occupied seven. 
 Later still stage-wagons " with seats on springs" 
 (mark the luxurious ease the travelling public in- 
 indulged in) made the summer trip in tv/o days; 
 the winter trip occupied a day more, but the spring 
 seats still made glad the passenger. The wagons 
 that achieved this phenomenal speed were justly 
 called *' flying machines." 
 
 That was all very well and compels the belief 
 that very great improvement had been made ; but 
 we are led with many misgivings, to inquire what 
 must have been the unimproved condition of affairs, 
 when we read what Governor Franklin said so late 
 as 1768. In a speech delivered in that year, urging 
 v.pon the assembly the necessity for an improve- 
 r.ient of the roads in the province, the Governor 
 stated that "even those roads which lie between 
 the two principal trading cities of North America 
 are seldom passable without danger or difficulty." 
 The Governor may not have been so good an 
 authority as his father on many subjects, but when 
 it came to the condition of the roads he undoubt- 
 edly knew what he was talking about. 
 
 With such a rate of progress as we have described, 
 and with such a condition ^i roads as Governor 
 
RAPID tra::.^]' 
 
 57 
 
 Tranklin described, between the great centres cS 
 population, it may readily be imagined what kin ! 
 of travellincr facilities existed between Moorestown 
 and the outside world. The trip to Philadelphia 
 was a more or less adventurous journey, by forest 
 path and winding stream ; and it was not always 
 free from the added excitement of Indian dangers 
 and annoyances. True tlie aborigines here were 
 for the most part friendly, ;ind did not go regularh' 
 upon the war-path, but still they sometimes caused 
 the settlers' souls to be more or less tumbled up 
 and down within them. 
 
 But with or without aboriginal accessories the 
 journey was a rather momentous one. And it was 
 a journey that had to be undertaken from time to 
 time. The commerce of the place v/as not large, 
 and the demands of the Philadelphia markets were 
 not excessive in the early times. Still there were 
 things to be sold, and things to be bought ; and 
 there were no ''drummers" then to come out from the 
 city, show samples, take orders and send the goods 
 delivered by express or mail ; and there were no 
 dealers or dealers' agents to go through the countr\- 
 districts, gather up the spare produce and pay the 
 market price for it. Those things had to be at- 
 tended to by the parties interested ; and therefore 
 Moorestown had to go to Philadelphia sometimes. 
 
 The first part of the journey wa> made on horse- 
 back ; and if the female members of the family 
 
^3 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 wanted to do any shopping — and what female 
 member of any family does not want to do shoppings 
 sometimes ? — they went along, also on horseback,, 
 but not always on separate horses. More fre- 
 quently the lady rider sat on a pillion behind her 
 male escort, and secured herself in her seat by 
 clasping him around the waist. To make things 
 even, the front end of the conveyance was balanced 
 by a bag of grain laid across its shoulders, a quantity 
 of fresh meat sewed up in a cloth, a basket of eggs, 
 or a basket of garden produce — for the " truck 
 business" was very early entered into hereabouts. 
 Considering what can be achieved even now in the 
 way of mud, it is natural to suppose that in those 
 days horse and man and woman would sometimes, 
 conclude by the time they ,got back home, that 
 living in the country had its disadvantages as well 
 as its pleasures. 
 
 But a change of conveyance was necessary before 
 the journey was completed. There were streams 
 in the way that had not been bridged and were in- 
 convenient to ford. And in any case the trip by 
 boat was easier and more expeditious than by 
 horse. So when Penisauken was reached the horse- 
 was unloaded, and the passengers and merchandise 
 stowed into a skiff or flat-boat, and the remaining 
 distance was accomplished by water. The water 
 highway to Philadelphia was not a very formidable 
 or tutbulent one, but it involved its share of adven- 
 
RAPID TRANSIT. 
 
 59. 
 
 ture, difficulty and discomfort, especially when; 
 "wind and weather" were not of the favorinsf sort. 
 The boating part of the expedition had one thing to 
 recommend it. Penisauken was the port for the 
 farmers in all parts of the section ; so the Moores- 
 town travellers had for fellow passengers in the 
 boat men and women from other neighborhoods, 
 and thus contact with the outside world was estab- 
 lished to some extent, and the marketing party 
 came home richer in social experience as well as in 
 more material ways. 
 
 If the thoroughfare between here and Philadel- 
 phia were of a character to impose such difficulties, 
 what must the roads connecting Moorestown with: 
 the other out-lying places have been like ? We read 
 that roads were open in this direction and in that, 
 and that the region all about gradually filled up 
 with settlers. They must have been a self-reliant 
 and self-contained sort of people, inured to soli^ 
 tude, and content to invite their own souls; for it 
 would have been difficult for an}^ other souls to 
 respond to an invitation given. Family life ought 
 to have been very sweet and satisfying in those 
 days, for it had to suffice in very great measure for 
 the needs of every member of the family. 
 
 The social instinct must have been subjected to 
 a severe strain, and the visiting between distant 
 friends was, we can readily believe, something like 
 the proverbial visitations of angels, as to frequency 
 
v5o MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 of occurrence and shortness of Intervals between 
 them. Still visitations did occur from time to time. 
 Solitary Imprisonment Is a thincjnot to be endured, 
 either In the wilderness or the penitentiary, If there 
 is any way of avoiding it ; and in the wilderness 
 even greater obstacles than the old roads offered 
 would not have sufficed to keep people wholly 
 apart. So neighbors did visit from time to time. 
 And I doubt If any people ever did succeed yet In 
 constructing a road bad enough to keep the young 
 men wholly apart from the young maidens that 
 attracted them, no matter how great the distance 
 between them. Happily the roads here v/ere not 
 bad enough to accomplish such a result, and court- 
 ship and marriage went on almost as if the roads 
 had been good. 
 
 The obstacles in the way of intercourse grew less 
 with time, and in the progress of events wheeled 
 vehicles could be used with more or less difficulty. 
 But not yet had the time of the gently swinging- 
 phaeton and the luxurious family carriage arrived. 
 PIcavy wagons, frequently of the Cones toga p?c':tern, 
 were the village carts of the olden time here. Such 
 as they were, however, they made sociability more 
 attainable, as well as the transportation of market 
 commodities more easy. There yet linger tradi- 
 tions of wagon journeys to and fro "for fun" which 
 bore soaiething of the character of the "strav/ 
 rides" of to-day. 
 
RAriD TRANSIT. , , 6p 
 
 From the first the difficulties in the way of 
 going about were not sufficient to keep the sturdy 
 worshippers of old from gathering themselves to- 
 gether in the places appointed for the religious 
 services they loved. The first settlers here were of 
 the sort that gave first care and thought to the 
 matter of regular and authorized worship. They 
 believed most heartily in going to church or meet- 
 ing ; and they went, be the weather what it would 
 or the condition of the roads bad as it might be. 
 As the obstacles grew less, the lessening made the 
 attend.inco at worship easier, but it may be doubted 
 if it mid J it more gcn:ral. 
 
 At first thought v/e would suppose that the 
 postal service would have illustrated the high water 
 mark of rapid transit, in the old times as in the new ; 
 but in its beginning it did not; people were riot 
 yet accustomed to having the news sent to them, 
 and had not acquired the habit of being in a hurry 
 for it. The element of speed seems not to have 
 been considered in the inception of the enterprise. 
 The scheme which finally resulted in the establish- 
 ment of the post office was devised and patented 
 about 1694 by Col. John Hamilton, son of Gov- 
 ernor Andrew Hamilton. The patentee sold his 
 right to the crown, but the enterprise does not seem 
 to have been pushed forward very rapidly in the 
 line of improvement. Soma attempt was made at 
 regularity, but the main idea was that the mail 
 
.J(j2 I.IOJRESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 should go through sometime ; how long it took was 
 a minor consideration. But after a time .speed 
 'Came to be thought of, and In the course of events 
 .the boast was made that the mail achieved even 
 ^better time than the flying machines ; which is 
 accounted for by tlic fact that it was carried on horse- 
 back. It was subject to the weather, however, then 
 as now ; and in May 1704 a New York paper com- 
 iplained that " the last storm has put our Penn- 
 sylvania post a week behind, and it has not yet 
 Gom'd in." In 1754 under the superintendency of 
 Benjamin Franklin, the service was so far improved 
 •that the mails left Philadelphia and New York three 
 times a week. But notice was given that after 
 Christmas they would leave only twice a week, 
 ^' being frequently delayed In crossing New York 
 Bay." 
 
 All this notable Improvement was of value to 
 the dwellers here, although only indirectly. No 
 mail came here. Indeed In 1791 there were only 
 six post-offices in New Jersey, and none of the 
 six was in Burlington county. Moorestown had 
 to wait until after the Nineteenth Century had 
 begun for Its postoffice. But as has been said it 
 derived indirect benefit from the general progress 
 that had been made. Philadelphia had postal com- 
 munication with the world at large, and Moores- 
 town had communication, more or less interrupted, 
 with Philadelphia. The man who rode to market 
 
RAPID TRANSIT. Oj 
 
 in Philadelphia came back home with a morsel of 
 outside news to impart to his neighbors ; and so 
 the community came to feel on more intimate terms 
 with the world. It seems a curious state o( affairs 
 to us who are taken aback if telegraphic communica- 
 tion is interrupted for even a day, and who would 
 feel a sense of personal loss if anything were to 
 happen to the Atlantic cable ; but they were as 
 happy under their conditions as we are under ours. 
 One of the results of the difficult communication 
 was that doctors and patients saw far less of each 
 other in the old times than now. A call for the 
 doctor and the doctor's response to the call consti- 
 tuted an enterprise having time and difficulty for 
 its chief elements ; and only a case of exceptional 
 importance was held to justify it. When the regu- 
 lar physician adjusted his saddle-bags and rode off 
 through the woods it betokened something more 
 serious on the part of the patient than an " attack 
 of malaria," or "ah inactive liver," or "a functional 
 derangement of the diaphragm," or " a run-down 
 condition of the general system." Every family 
 had within itself sufficient medical knowledge and 
 skill to cope with any of the every-day ailments 
 that afflict humanity ; and the neighborhood held 
 more than one kindly old woman whose special 
 knowledge of the healing virtues of ''roots and 'arbs" 
 constituted her a practicing physician in the homes 
 of her neighbors. The medical profession had its 
 
6 , MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 firm footing, however, and the physician, in those- 
 days, as in these, was the friend as we, as the 
 protector of those among whom h: hved More 
 than one honored name has its place in the early- 
 medical records of Moorestovvn and vicm.ty ; and 
 more than one of these names illustrates anew to- 
 day the honor that its early possessor bestowed 
 
 "Tf course we loo'< back with a sigh of wondering 
 sympathy to the cariy experience of our ancestors. 
 That is the proper thing to do ; and not one of us 
 would change places and times with them. But 
 after all they may have got a kind of enjoyment 
 out of life that we can know nothing of. It may not 
 have been a better kind of enjoyment-it certamly 
 was not-but it was a different kind. There was a 
 bloom on the peach for them, as they rode then- 
 horses through the woodland paths, that the swift 
 rush of life has brushed off for us. 
 
Chapter VII".. 
 Coaching Times. 
 
 g|r'P^ND now, Sammy," said the elder Mr. 
 
 ^^jj^, Weller, "it's time I was up at the office 
 to get my way bill and see the coach 
 loaded; for coaches, Sammy, is like 
 guns — they requires to be loaded with very great. 
 care, afore they goes off." 
 
 Mr. Weller liked his little Joke on occasion, but 
 even his jokes had the core of a serious philosophy 
 in them ; and the weight of his business was never 
 wholly lifted from even his sportive thoughts. He 
 was a thorough expert in coaching, with an ex- 
 pertness to make ashamed the millionaire revivalist 
 of stage-coaching in our days ; and when he had. 
 loaded his coach we may be very sure that it went 
 off in a proper manner, in spite of the little accident 
 on the canal bank the night before election, as de- 
 scribed by his son Sam. 
 
 But the art Tony Weller possessed was expended 
 on such stage-coaching as England knew in the 
 good old times — the coaching that Irving and 
 Dickens have delighted to celebrate, It was all 
 very charming and picturesque, with its summer 
 beauties and its winter cheer; with, its robust 
 (6=;) 
 
^6 lTt)ORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 heartiness and its inspiring speed ; with the gay 
 music of the guard's hdrn, the quaint humor of the 
 driver's talk and the odd characters among the 
 " insides" and the ** outsides." But it is interesting 
 to speculate how long the heartiness and the in- 
 spiration and the gayety would have lasted, and 
 'what relations would have been developed between 
 guard and driver and passengers if the whole party 
 of them had been set going in a Jersey coach, on a 
 Jersey road a hundred years ago. 
 
 What must by courtesy be called a stage-line 
 "was established between Mount Holly and Phila- 
 delphia at a very early period ; but it did not move 
 to the gay tra-la-la music of a guard's key-bugle, 
 r.nd Dickens or Irving would have had hard work 
 to adjust his enthusiastic paragraphs to its descrip- 
 tion. It afforded plenty of opportunity for pic- 
 turesque writing, but its picturesqueness was of a 
 totally different kind to that dwelt upon by the 
 authors mentioned, and was made up of elements 
 that they were not familiar with, or at all events 
 chose not to say anything about. 
 
 The coach of that ancient stage-line was a Cones- 
 toga wagon ; and when we take into account the 
 fact that it had no springs, and the further fact that 
 the roads in its day were not Telford pavements, we 
 may conclude that a reasonable amount of discom- 
 fort could be got out of the ride to Philadelphia. 
 Such measures as could be tak jn to lessen the dis- 
 
COACHING TIMES. 6/ ; 
 
 comfort were brought into use. Woo.den bows 
 spanned the top of the conveyance, and over these 
 bows canvas was stretched, so that the passengers 
 ■were shielded from the sun and the rain, and 
 measurably from the wind also. Their view of the 
 landscape was somewhat curtailed, but there is no 
 pleasure without its compensating disadvantage, 
 and they could no'; expect to have everything. 
 
 The stage-wagon ran at uncertain intervals, and 
 the journey v/as of uncertain duration. Whether 
 the modern livery practice of charging by the hour 
 for the ride was adopted we are not informed, but 
 probably not. At all events, such as it was, the 
 line was run for the convenience of the public, and 
 the people were enabled to make the trip in rather 
 less time — occasionally, perhaps, with rather less 
 comfort — than on foot. When there was mail to 
 be carried the stage-v/agon carried it; and from 
 that day until the railroad came into operation there 
 was always a stage line running from Mount Holly 
 to Philadelphia, and it always carried the mail. 
 
 The Conestoga, we are told, held its position as 
 the public conveyance until about the year 1826, 
 when it was superseded by a modification of the 
 Concord stage-coach. When that made its appear- 
 ance the travelling public felt that the acme of 
 luxury had been reached, and that frame of mind 
 was enjoyed to the full until the railroad put new 
 notions into the public head, and bred discontent. 
 
^S MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW.. 
 
 In the meantime Moorestown enjoyed the advan-^ 
 tage of the best that was to be had in the travelling 
 way ; for the road from Mount Holly to Camdea 
 runs through Moorestown, and the stages took up 
 and set down such passengers as might so desire.. 
 In process of time these passengers became sq 
 numerous that the advantages of an independent 
 stage line from Moorestown to Camden suggested 
 themselves. Just when the idea began to take 
 shape, and when it was practically carried into- 
 effect are points that nobody seems to have definite 
 information about. Neither is it positively known 
 to whom the honor belongs of starting the first 
 stage-line from Moorestown. Whoever he was 
 he had a goodly share of energy and enterprise,, 
 qualities that were by no means lacking in the 
 community generally. 
 
 One of the earliest stage proprietors of whom 
 we have mention here was Peter Venable, and it is 
 probable that he ran his line of coaches about 1820. 
 He was succeeded in the business by John Keen. 
 How long either of them maintained the business 
 is not known ; but David McCoy, who succeeded 
 John Keen as proprietor, is thought to have taken 
 the business before 1825. Under his administra- 
 tion two coaches were run, and McCoy and Charles 
 Wilcher were the drivers thereof. McCoy seems 
 not to have held the proprietorship of the line for 
 any very long time, but sold out in his turn ta 
 
COACHING TIMES. U9 
 
 John West, and became once more a driver in the 
 service of the new proprietor. 
 
 The business of the line in the meantime con- 
 tinued to increase as Moorestown and the region 
 around it gained more and more in population. 
 The two stages of the line went and came loaded 
 with passengers, for the people of the place kept up 
 a brisk communication with Philadelphia. There 
 were cfood inducements for them to do so, aside 
 from the fact that Philadelphia is a desirable place 
 to be in communication with. In the first place 
 the fare was cheap — only thirty-seven cents ; and 
 in the second place the stages were " accommoda- 
 tion wagons" in the literal sense, and went out into 
 the country round about, within reasonable limits, 
 to take up outgoing passengers and leave incoming 
 passengers at their homes. The vehicles used, too, 
 were now comfortable spring wagons, with cur- 
 tained covers. 
 
 The condition of affairs Avas such as to invite 
 ■competition, and competition came, as it is very 
 sure to do in any promJsIng line of business. 
 About the year 1831 William Doughten, a resident 
 'business man here, established an opposition line 
 of stages, and from that time for a term of years 
 Moorestown enjoyed the experiences of a lively 
 business contest in that particular Industry. The 
 old line had its headquarters at the William Penn 
 Hotel ; the new line established itself at the Wash- 
 
pro RIOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 ington Hotel, and so the people of both sections of 
 the town were given the right to feel a proprietary 
 interest in the two enterprises. 
 
 The proprietor of the opposition stages offered 
 his patrons the inducement of improved vehicles to 
 ride in. His coaches are said to have been hand- 
 somer and more comfortable than those previously 
 in use. What additional advantages were offered, 
 by the old line v/e are not informed, but v/e may 
 be sure that the nev/ line was not permitted to have, 
 things all its own vv-ay. The great advantage, how^^ 
 ever, was offered by both lines to the general 
 travelling public ; and it came in such shape as 
 is now offered to competing railroads that take 
 position outside the pool — " cut rates." It is not 
 recorded that the cutting in fares reached such an 
 extreme as they once did on the Hudson River,^ 
 v/hen one line of steamers advertised to take pas- 
 sengers from Albany to New York and back for 
 nothing, and the rival line promptly offered to pay 
 every passenger a silver quarter for taking the trip 
 on its boat; but still the reduction in rates was 
 appreciable and appreciated. 
 
 Which parly began it we are not informed, or 
 hov/ dejp the first cut extended ; but the fares were 
 finally red Lice J by both parties from thirty-seven 
 cents to tw'onLy-five cents for tlie trip, Moreover 
 the extent of territory outside tlie vilh'.ge to whick 
 the accommodation w.-.s offj.jJ iCicW wider and 
 
COACHING ti:.:Eo. ^ji 
 
 wider. In the days before the opposition the stage" 
 was accustomed to go a mile or so outside the 
 town to accommodate a passenger; but under the 
 new order of things the opposing Hnes beat up the 
 country within a circuit of five miles, and pas- 
 sengers as far away as Borton's Landing took a 
 breezy stage-ride to Philadelphia for the sum of 
 twenty-five cents. 
 
 In the meantime two lines of stages were running 
 from IMount Holly, the through fare from that place 
 being fifty cents. Truly those were lively times for 
 Moorestown, and we can fancy the brisk state of 
 affairs on Alain street at "stage time," and the 
 excitement at the opposition hotels when the local 
 stages were arriving and departing, and the Mount 
 Holly stages made their stops in going and coming. 
 Their stops, by the way, were a mere matter of 
 form except for the changing of the mail bag, for 
 there were no Moorestown passengers for them at 
 that time. Home patronage of home institutions 
 was the motto then, we can believe. 
 
 The earnest competition of the two lines vras 
 shared to the full by the local population, and the 
 community ranged itself, on strictly party lines, in 
 two bodies, according as sympathy lay with one 
 proprietor or the other. Party feeling ran high ai 
 times, and an unpleasant state of affairs existed ir 
 the neighborhood. The contention took a range 
 outside of strict business limits and became in a 
 
^2 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 manner a public issue. It became more and 
 more desirable that the business difference should 
 be adjusted and the resulting irritation allayed. 
 Whatever efforts at compromise were made were 
 ineffectual, and it became evident that the only 
 practicable way was the consolidation of the two 
 lines. 
 
 About the year 1 83 1 William Doughten's son, 
 George F. Doughten, had come to Moorestovvn 
 to establish a mercantile enterprise. He formed a 
 partnership with John Courtland Haines, and they 
 began keeping a store in the old frame building 
 that occupied the site where George F. Doughten's 
 store now stands, at the corner of Main street and 
 Chester avenue. It was through the action of these 
 two partners that the competition in the stage 
 business, and the unpleasantness resulting from it 
 were ended together. This desirable end was 
 was r'.ccomplished in the most direct manner possi- 
 ble, \)y the purchase of the two opposing interests, 
 and the consolidation of them into one enterprise. 
 
 It was about the year 1835 that Haines & 
 Doughten bought and consolidated the two lines, 
 and the competition had existed then, with varying 
 degrees of acrimony, for about four years. The 
 term of the new ownership was of a duration not 
 to be compared with that, and was probably the 
 shortest period of proi)rietorship in the history of 
 staee-coacliinsj here. In fact the new owners did 
 
COACHING TLM 
 
 75 
 
 not harness a team, start a coach or crack a whip 
 while they held control of the consolidated lines. 
 They made their purchase on Saturday evening, 
 rafter the week's travel had ended, and sold out 
 •early the following Monday morning, before the 
 week's travel had begun. The last trip of one week 
 was made under the old conditions of sharp compe- 
 tition, and the first trip of the next v/cck v/as made 
 under a single ownership without rivalry; and the 
 business had changed hands twice in the interval. 
 David McCoy, the man who had succeeded John 
 Keen as proprietor of the single line, who had sold 
 out to John West, and subsequently acted as his 
 driver, purchased the consolidated line from Haines 
 & Doughten, and again became proprietor of a single 
 line, composed of the two strands that had wrought 
 such a tangle in the intervening years. He estab- 
 lished the headquarters of his coaches, not at the 
 William Penn or Washington Hotels but at Cox's 
 Tavern, the building now occupied as a double 
 dwelling house just above the residence of Mr. 
 George F. Doughten, on the Main street. He 
 built a barn on the premises, which is still standing 
 there, and had a shed put up which would hold 
 six stage wagons. The shed occupied the ground 
 on which Mr. Doughten's residence now stands. 
 In 1842, after occupying the tavern for several 
 years as a renter, McCoy purchased the Cox prop- 
 erly. Previously he had endeavored to buy the lot 
 
AIOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 on which the wagon sheds stood, with a view to 
 building there, but I\Ir. Doughten had already 
 negotiated for the purchase of that as a residence 
 lot, and McCoy concluded to stay where he was. 
 
 After exercising the rights of ownership for a 
 number of years David r\IcCoy sold the stage line 
 to Abel Small. McCoy's proprietorship had been 
 without competition; but the administration of 
 Abel Small was marked by a revival of opposition, 
 accompanied by some degree of the old neighbor- 
 hood feeling. Elihu Sheppard Low — or " Shep" 
 Low, as he was generally called — established an 
 opposition line, and lor a time Moorestov/n exper- 
 ienced a revival of the old lively scenes. This 
 state of affairs seems not to have lasted very long, 
 however, and the conflict was settled by the pur- 
 chase of Small's interest, and the consolidation 
 of the two enterprises under the partnership of Low 
 & Westcott. After a time the firm w^as changed 
 by the sale of Westcott's interests to Nathan H. 
 Stokes, by which substitution the firm name became 
 Low & Stokes. 
 
 Stokes was at that time proprietor of the Wash- 
 ington hotel, which v/as the headquarters for the 
 coaches. Low represented his own interest on the 
 coach box by driving for himself; but Stokes had 
 to employ a substitute in that capacity, as his time 
 was fully occupied by his hotel interests. On Dec. 
 I, 1850, E. B. Brown came to Moorestown to drive 
 
COACHING TIMES. 
 
 75. 
 
 stage for Stokes. Two stages ran each way every 
 day ; one down in the morning and up in the after- 
 noon, and the other down in the afternoon and up 
 in the morning; and Low drove on one of these 
 round trips and Brown on the other, occasionally 
 " chano-'Ug off" with each other as mutual ac- 
 ccmir.odation made it desirable. 
 
 After an experience of four years as driver, E. B. 
 Brown bought the interest of Nathan Stokes in 
 the line, and the style of the line became Low c: 
 Brown. Under the new administration Moores- 
 town invaded Mount Holly and absorbed its stage 
 coach interests. Lov/ 8c Brown maintained two 
 lines of coaches, one running from Mount Holly 
 to Camden and back, and the other running from 
 Moorestown to Camden and back. The Mount 
 Holly coach carried the mail and as it passed 
 through Moorestown on every trip this place en- 
 joyed the full advantage of both lines. Low drove 
 the Mount Holly coach and Brown the Moores- 
 town vehicle. 
 
 The coach headquarters in Mount Holly was 
 the Arcade Hotel, and after a time Low purchased 
 the hotel aiid employed a driver to represent him 
 in the st.igo coacli business. He retained his part- 
 nership interest for sonic years after his purchase 
 of the Arcade, but hiudly the firm of Low & 
 Brown was dissolved and the IMount Holly and 
 ^loorebtown stacre lines became (.l.^linct, Low re- 
 
_76 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 taining the proprietorship of the Mount Holly 
 business, and Brown becoming sole owner of the 
 Moorestown line. The old firm had held the con- 
 tract for carrying the mail ; and when the new 
 contract was let after the dissolution of the partner- 
 ship, it was found that Brown's bid was the bid 
 which had won, and to him was given the job of 
 carrying the mail between Mount Holly an i 
 Philadelphia. The mail bag went back and fortli. 
 on his former partner's coach, the only difference 
 being that Low got his pay for carrying it from 
 Ih'own instead of the Government. 
 
 In the summer of 1 86a, Mr. Brown decided to 
 dispose of his stage coach interests and go into 
 other business. So he sold the staere line to 
 Chalkley Justice, and went into r.icrcantile business 
 where the store of E. B. Brov/n and Brother now is. 
 Justice, after his purchase from Brown, entered into 
 partnership with Low, and once mure the Mount 
 Holly and Moorestown stage lines ca:ne under one 
 management. The new partncrsliip was not of 
 long continuance. Some time the next year Low 
 and Justice sold the two lines to John Coles; and 
 he, after a rather short term of ownership, sold 
 them to William A. Nestor, of Philadelphia. Nes- 
 tor kept the business but a few months, and then 
 in 1863, sold out to C. C. Coles and Benjamin Coles, 
 b.'-others of John Coles, foraier proprietor. The 
 slylo of the firm was C. C. Coles and Brother. They 
 
COACHING TIMES. 
 
 7T 
 
 ran the two lines for four years and during those 
 years did a splendid business. Population had in- 
 creased, the road had been improved, and travel to 
 and from the city was exceedingly brisk. 
 
 But on October 20, 1867 their enterprise came to 
 a sudden stop, and the stage-coach business between 
 here and Philadelphia received its death blow. 
 The railroad had been completed, trains had begun 
 to run, travellers went by rail instead of by coach, 
 and the Coles Brothers found themselves in posses- 
 sion of several coaches and a number of good 
 horses that they had no earthly use for. The 
 horses were disposed of from time to time as oppor- 
 tunity offered, and the coaches were sold at public 
 sale, at more or less of a sacrifice. The brothers 
 had become proprietors of the William Penn Hotel, 
 and devoted themselves to the business of hotel 
 keeping. Their mail contract continued in force 
 till the following spring, and with its expiration the 
 last link that connected them with their former 
 business disappeared, and the old coaching days be- 
 came a tradition, so far as Moorestown is concerned. 
 
 One can sympathize with the sigh of regret with 
 which the former proprietors speak of those old 
 stage-coach times. Jiven the enthusiastic admirer 
 of English coaching might have had some inspira- 
 tion from the later years of stage coach experience 
 here. This was a splendid line — probably the best 
 in New Jersey; and after the turnpike was made 
 
■yS MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NE'w. 
 
 ihe road between here and Philadelphia v/as a 
 iine one. The horses were of good stock and 
 the coaches w^ere comfortable and easy vehicles. 
 Trav^el was very active, and it is said that during 
 the height of the competition a good many people 
 went to Philadelphia who had no other reason for 
 going than to patron'ze the line they favored and 
 sliow on which side their sympathies lay. 
 
 Saturday nights and Monday mornings were the 
 "imes of especially heavy travel. At that time 
 Mrs. Mary Lippincott's boarding school was in the 
 full tide of its prosperity, and pupils living in Phila- 
 delphia, or between here and there, crowded the 
 Saturday night stages going home and the Monday 
 morning stages coming back. Tsloreover, IMoores- 
 tovv'n was a favorite p'.ace for rural sojourning, and 
 city people came ou' liere in numbers on Saturday 
 nights and returned Monday mornings ; and so the 
 tide of travel r,wept heavily in both directions at 
 these times. Six horses to the coach was t'le rule 
 for those trips, and we are told by some of the 
 •proprietors of single coach loads composed of fifty- 
 three passengers. It would seem that the art of 
 high pressure packing did not originate with the 
 street cars ! But even this does not fully indicate 
 the extent of travel over this line, for the regular 
 coach had to be supplemented on extra occasions 
 -by another, and it was no extraordinary thing for 
 
COACHING TIMES. - 79 
 
 the Satm-d.iy nlglit trip to be made by four or five 
 coaches and a hack beside. 
 
 In the competition days there was hot haste m 
 makin- the trips, we may be sure; the drivers 
 cnteri.v- into the spirit of the contest as ardently 
 •IS the proprietors. The drivers of each hne made 
 everv effort to make better time than their rivals ; 
 and if one of them could achieve the feat of over- 
 tokino- and passing an oppsition coach on the road 
 it was a thin- to remember and boast of in after 
 years But the highest glory for a driver lay in 
 secvring for his own coach a passenger that the 
 other Ime regarded as already secured for itself. 
 It is related of one driver that he not only overtook 
 the opposition coach on the road ; but that recog- 
 no- a lady acquaintance in the other vehicle, he 
 
 VAZl 
 
 illV 
 
 Hivited her to finish her ride with him, and actually 
 transferred her to his own conveyance and drove 
 off with her, while his discomfitted rival exhaustea 
 the English language in compressing his emotions. 
 Veriiy.Vine stirring times were those old Coacmng 
 
 IjdVS. 
 
CllAmti VIII. 
 
 Comiitg of the Railroad. 
 
 'UMAN life adjusts itself pretty readily to 
 circumstances, and in that way becomes 
 measurably independent of them. It is 
 an easy thing to do when the adjustment 
 is in a forward direction, and the change is from 
 bad circumstances to good, or from good to better; 
 but it i^ more difficult in going backward. Horse- 
 back riding and skiff navigation were all well enough 
 so long as there were no more expeditious ways of 
 accomplishing the desired journey; but when the 
 old stage-wagon and the stage-boat came to the 
 fore the people Avere ready for them and the new 
 methods readily became the accustomed methods. 
 These in their turn Avere all right until the Concord 
 stage and the more commodious passenger boat 
 made their appearance; then these quickly took 
 their place in the established system of things and 
 were most satisfactory institutions. The stage in 
 turn gave place to the railroad car, and people 
 adjusted themselves with wonderful facility to the 
 new mode of progress. 
 
 But how would it be about going back from 
 the railroad car to the stage-wagon, or even the 
 (80) 
 
COMING OF THE RAILROAD. 8V 
 
 newer Concord? It could and would be done,, 
 of course, if the necessity arose; but it would not 
 be done with the same readiness as in the other 
 casc^;. for it is harder to walk backward than for- 
 V.' ird. A railroad is a very hard thing to do with- 
 out when you have once got used to it ; and we 
 have become thoroughly accustomed to it. Our 
 system of life is adjusted on that basis, and it would 
 be hard indeed to re-arrange our way of living so 
 as to have no reference to the iron rails. 
 
 Stage-coaching ended abruptly when railroading- 
 began. They did not overlap ; and they did not: 
 go on in parallel lines. The stage-coach was ex- 
 changed for a railroad-car, and that was the end of 
 it. The time was not so very long ago that the 
 exchange was made, but even now the event seems 
 to belong to a remote historical epoch, and the old 
 stage-coach is nothing to us but a picturesque tradi- 
 tion. Some of the men who owned and drove the 
 old coaches are still among us, in the prime of life ; 
 but when they tell of their coaching experiences 
 they seem to refer to a very far away time, instead 
 of to a time that ended less than twenty years ago. 
 
 It was not by wishing for it that Moorestown got 
 the railroad, nor yet by striving for it. The attitude 
 of the community toward tht .^-ojected enterprise- 
 was rather that of expectant waiting than that of 
 active effort for or against. How it might have 
 been if this had been a terminal point of the pro- 
 
32 M00RE3T0WN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 posed line cannot be said. Then there might have 
 been active hostihty and ardent advocacy and a 
 sharp drawing of Hnes on one side and the other. 
 But Moorestown would be an intermediate point 
 if the road were built, and therefore had less at 
 stake upon the decision for or against than it other- 
 wise would have had, and so waited on the issue of 
 the contest waged by others, herself taking no very 
 .active part one way or the other. 
 
 The community waited with a divided mind, how- 
 •ever. The prevailing sentiment was in favor of 
 the proposed railroad, and the majority of residents 
 welcomed the prospect with gladness. The new 
 mode of transit would be an added convenience, 
 they argued; it would bring Philadelphia on the 
 one hand and Mount Holly on the other n:}arer to 
 Moorestown, and the result could not be otherwise 
 than good. New people would come here, the 
 town would be built up and its prosperity advanced, 
 while life would have new pleasures and opportuni- 
 ties added to it. That was the feeling of the 
 majority; but there seems to have been a strong 
 minority entertaining a very different feeling. With 
 this class the very arguments advanced in favor of 
 the railroad wore arguments against it. 
 
 Philadelphia would be brought closer to Moores- 
 town, but to Moorestown's disadvantage, they 
 thought. The business of the local storekeepers 
 would be injured by the easier access to the city. 
 
COMING OF THE RAILROAD. ^'» 
 
 l^ew people might come, but there was the fear that 
 the good and desirable new-comers might be out- 
 
 i numbered by a class not at all desirable. Property 
 might be advanced in value, but taxes Avould be 
 
 ^ corresp.Midingly increased. And after all, said some 
 of these objectors, things were very well as they 
 were. There was no need of a railroad. The drive 
 to Philadelphia was a very pleasant one, and people 
 could go th^re very comfortably whenever they 
 needed to go Many of the residents owned their 
 carriages, and for those who did not the stages were 
 always available. 
 
 These were the grounds the two opposing parties 
 occupied on the railroad issue. The difference of 
 sentiment did not advance to the point of contro- 
 versy, and if there v/as no very ardent and enthu- 
 siastic support given to the enterprise here, on the 
 other hand there was no active and or2:anized 
 hostility to it. In the end those who had favored 
 the building of the road were made glad, and those 
 who had not favored it made the best of what had 
 to be, for the railroad came and staid. 
 
 It was by a somev/hat complicated series of links 
 lh;itthis place became finally bound to the railroad 
 .system of the State. If Mount Holly had desired 
 3uch a connection l.:ss strongly and pertinaciously 
 thaji she did, IMoorcscown might have been without 
 ic for an unknown period. In iS36a company was 
 
 ■ incorporated under tl.j title of the Mount Holly 
 
S4 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 and Camden Railroad Company. Tlie charter was: 
 granted for a railroad to extend from Mount Holly 
 to Camden. A large amount of stock was sub- 
 scribed for the enterprise, but not enough to insure 
 its success. It is said that the Camden and Amboy 
 Company discouraged the project and brought their 
 forces to bear against it. At all events the road' 
 was not completed within the specified time and 
 the charter became void. So Moorestown did not 
 become a railroad town then. 
 
 Another charter was granted in February, 1848; 
 which specified that the proposed railroad was to 
 run from Mount Holly to Camden, passing through 
 or near the village of Moorestown. The bed of the 
 road was to be not more than sixty-six feet wide,, 
 with as many sets of rails as might be necessary, 
 and the road was to be completed within five years 
 from the next ensuing Fourth of July. But the- 
 specified time passed, and Moorestown did not cel- 
 ebrate its Fourth of July with the aid of a railroad 
 train ; neither were there any rails for the train to 
 run upon. 
 
 In 1848, which seems to have been a very good 
 year for paper railroads, the Burlington and Mount 
 Holly Railroad and Transportation Company was 
 incorporated by act of the Legislature. The enter- 
 prise, it is stated, was fostered by the Camden and 
 Amboy Company, to enable the people of Mount 
 Holly and vicinil)^ to go to Philadelphia by way of 
 
COMING OF THE RAILROAD. g- 
 
 its railroad. The road was to run from Mount 
 Holly to Burlington, and was to be completed and 
 in use within five years from the next Fourth of 
 July. The road was promptly built and put into 
 service. In 1857, by a supplementary act, the 
 name of this company was changed to the Burling- 
 ton County Railroad Company, and the company 
 was authorized to build an extension of its road 
 from Mount Hjolly to Pemberton in this county, 
 and to New Egypt, in Ocean county. 
 
 The Mount Holly people were not yet satisfied 
 with their railroad facilities; and notwithstanding 
 die failure of their previous experiments they be- 
 sieged the Legislature industriously for another 
 charter, and finally, notwithstanding the opposition 
 of other railroad interests, they got wliat they were 
 after. In March, 1859, the Camden, Moorestown, 
 Hainesport and Mount Holly Horse Car Railroad 
 Company had been incorporated. The road was to 
 run from Camden to Mount Holly, passing through 
 the villages of Moorestown and Hainesport, and 
 was to be completed within five years from the 
 same patriotic date specified for the other roads. 
 The idea of a horse-railroad, derived from the suc- 
 'Cessful experiments in that line in England and in 
 some parts of this country, seems to have been 
 entertained in good faith, and the line was located 
 with a view to horse-power rather than steam-power. 
 
 The horse railroad was not put through ; but the 
 
^^ MOOKKSTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 promoters of the railroad project succeeded in using 
 the old charter indirectly. On the 6th of February, 
 1B66, the Legislature passed an act consolidating 
 the Burlington County and the Camden, Moores- 
 town, liainesport and Mount Holly Horse-Car 
 Railroad Companies, under the name of the Cam- 
 den and Burlington County Railroad Company. 
 This change of name was of the utmost benefit to 
 railroad literature ; for few things qan be imagined 
 more appalling than having to write or to read the 
 string of initials that would have been necessary 
 had the old namie been retained. People would 
 have been justifiably afraid to ride on a train run. 
 by the C, M, H. & Mt. H. H. C. R. R. Co. 
 
 The capital stock of the consolidated company 
 was ^300,000, with the privilege of increasing the 
 stock to $500,000, divided into shares of ^25 each. 
 The consolidated company was authorized to con- 
 nect v/ith the Camden and Amboy Railroad before 
 reachino' Camden, and to run their cars and trains 
 upon the same on such terms as might be agreed 
 upon by the two companies. The road was requir- 
 ed to pay to the State a tax of one half of one per 
 cent, on the cost of the road annually. 
 
 Full right and authority v/as given in the chartei 
 to use ^steam on the road ; and when work began it 
 was not work such as would be required for a horse 
 car railroad, but for a regularly equipped stean 
 road, and the horse-car fiction dropped finally out- 
 
COMING OF THE RAILROAD. 8/ 
 
 SI 
 
 ight. Work was pushed forward and the* 
 opposition which had existed ceased. It was 
 changed to active support, and the opposing force 
 turned ; its efforts towards securing a controUing; 
 interest in the new road. In October, 1867 trains,, 
 began running between Mount Holly and Camden,.. 
 and Moorcstown became at once a raih'oad town,. 
 connected vAth Philadelphia on the one hand ; and,, 
 by a very convenient railroad system, v^-ith numer- 
 ous desirable points on the other. 
 
 In 1S61 the Vincentown branch of the Burlington 
 County Railroad was incorporated, and afterward 
 consolidated with the latter road. In 1864 the 
 Pemberton and Hightstovv^i Railroad was incor- 
 porated, to run from Pemberton, in this county, to 
 Hightstown in Mercer county ; connecting at Pem- 
 berton with the Burlington Country road, and at 
 Hightstown with the Camden and Amboy road ; 
 and passing the villages of Wrights -own, Cooks- 
 town, New Egypt, Harmertown, Filmore and Im- 
 laystown. The i\Iount Holly, Lumberton and Med- 
 ford road was chartered in 1866. It runs from 
 Mount Holly to Medford, passing through Lum- 
 berton. In 1866 the Columbus, Kinkora and 
 Springfield Railroad Company was also incorpor- 
 ated, the road to be laid on the old bed of the Dela- 
 ware and Atlantic Railroad Company. The Long 
 Branch and Seashore Railroad Company was incor- 
 porated in 1863, the road to run from " a point oa 
 
' 38 MOORESTOAVxV, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 I 
 
 I Sandy Hook in the county of Monmouth, at or 
 ' near the Horseshoe, running through Long Branch ; 
 thence through or near Squan village to a point on 
 Tom's River, at or near Tom's River village in the 
 county of Ocean ; thence to Tuckerton in the 
 county of Burlington." In 1870 this company and 
 the New Jersey Southern Railroad Company were 
 authorized to consolidate, the roads to be united at 
 or near Long Branch. This road ran to Pcmber- 
 ton, and in 1878 the mortgage on it was foreclosed, 
 and Isaac S. Buckalew was appointed receiver. He 
 sold it May, 1879, and afterwards it was reorgan- 
 ized as the Pemberton and Seashore Railro:id. 
 With all these, and more, railroad connections it 
 would seem that Moorestown has a very fair oppor- 
 tunity to do business errands or go pleasuring by rail. 
 At present these roads all form parts of a com- 
 pact system under the control of the Pennsylvcinia 
 Railroad Company. First the Pemberton an 1 
 Hightstown road ; the Columbus, Kinkora and 
 Springfield road; the Camden and Burkngtcn 
 County ; and the Mount Holly, Lumberton and 
 Medford roads, and the Vincentown branch w^rc 
 leased to the United New Jersey Railroad and 
 Canal Company ; and then the United New Jersey 
 Railroad and Canal Company was leased by the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad Company, at an annual rental 
 of ten per cent, upon the capital stock and interest 
 on its bonds free of all taxes. All the roads nun- 
 
COMING OF THE RAILIiOAD. 
 
 S9 
 
 tioned above are operated by the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad Company as lessees of the United New 
 Jersey Railroad and Canal Company. 
 
 This lease was effected June 30, 1 871, and on 
 March 27, 1873, an act was approved by which 
 the lease and contract ** between the Delaware and 
 Raritan Canal Company, the Camden and Amboy 
 -Railroad and Transportation Company now merged 
 into and known as * The United Nev/ Jersey Rail- 
 road and Canal Company,' which companies, to- 
 gether with the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad 
 Company, are the lessors ; and the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad Company, which is the lessee, be and the 
 same is validated, ratified and confirmed/* &c. 
 
 The first passenger train from Camden to Mount 
 Holly passed through Moorestown on the opening 
 •day of the Mount Holly Fair, in October, 1867. 
 It stopped here, and the people of Moorestown 
 enjoyed their first opportunity of going to the Fair 
 by rail. That was a special train, however, and not 
 the first of the regular running. It was but a short 
 time afterwards that the road was fully opened to 
 b'^^iness, and trains were set going on regular 
 sc-.edule in both directions. There was no formal 
 demonstration at the opening of the road. Several 
 friends of the directors took a ride to Mount Holly 
 as invited guests, had supper there and came back 
 home, and that was all. 
 
 At the beo-innin": of its rail.oad expe^'e^icj 
 
no . MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. , 
 
 ]\Iooi'C3to\vn had but one station, and that was the 
 one at present called East IMoorestown. It was not; 
 so designated then, but was simply the Moorestown 
 station. The location of the stopping place was the 
 subject of a good deal of discussion, and the occa- 
 sion of some feeling between the two sections of 
 the town. When the present site of the station 
 was suggestoa, the people In the western portion of 
 the tow^n entered a protest against the location as 
 one that would render the railroad almost impracti- 
 cable for them, being so far away from their homes. 
 With such a journey to accomplish they would 
 never be able to catch a train, and as they were unac- 
 customed to the work of catching trains, it would 
 be hard enough under any circumstances. Resi- 
 dents in the eastern part of the town argued that it 
 was just as far from East to West as it was from 
 West to East, and therefore they did not favor a 
 station in W^est Moorestown. A location at the 
 foot of Mill street was urged as one that would 
 accommodate the people of both sections. This 
 was opposed on the ground that it would not ac- 
 commodate either, but would be inconvenient for 
 both. 
 
 Those who favored East IM ^orestown were con- 
 vinced that in the course of time another station 
 would be built in the western part of the town and 
 that in the end the people of both sections would 
 be better served by having the first station put near 
 
COMING OF THE RAILROAD. 
 
 9r 
 
 one end of the town, even if the other end did have 
 to wait a httle while for the fulfillment of its desires. 
 Their efforts were successful, and the first station, 
 as has been said, was established at East Moores- 
 tovv'n. Some public spirited property owners gave 
 the ground on which the station stands, and when 
 the trains began running that was their stopping 
 place. For a time a platform was the waiting room 
 and a switch-house the ticket office ; but that was 
 only for so long as it took to build the station. 
 The station was built and ready for occupancv 
 when the winter of 1867 began. It is a neat and 
 comfortable frame building with a waiting room at 
 each end, one for ladies and the other for gentle- 
 men, the ticket ofifice being between. Some time 
 after its erection it, like all other stations on the 
 road was lowered, together with its platform, to 
 conform to the newly adopted style of steps on the 
 cars. The first ticket agent at East Moorestown 
 was Allen Haines, son of Barclay Haines, one of 
 the directors of the road. He was succeeded by 
 Robert Stimus, who remaincvi in charge there until 
 his transfer to West Moorestown. His successor 
 was William Carney, whose term of service extend- 
 ed through several years and ended with his trans- 
 fer to Camden. After Mr. Carney came Mr. Lamb, 
 then ]\Ir. Evans, then Mr. Wright, and last ]\Ir. 
 Lippincott, the present agent. 
 
 The people in the Western end of the town did 
 
,Q2 IMOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 J? 
 
 not forbear to agitate the subject of a station that 
 would be more convenient for them, and eventually 
 'they succeeded in their efforts. The present sta- 
 tion on Church Road was erected in the latter part 
 •of 1870, and was opened for business January ist, 
 1 87 1. On that date Mr. Stimus was transferred 
 from East Moorestown to be the West Moorestown 
 agent, a position he has filled uninterruptedly ever 
 since. This station was the freight and express 
 station for the town from its first establishment, 
 and was provided with a freight house and platform, 
 and with the necessary switches and sidings. It 
 was after the erection of this station that the dis- 
 tinction was introduced of East Moorestown and 
 West Moorestown. 
 
 Over a dozen trains going Eist and as many 
 going West stop at eacli of those stations every 
 day and Moorestown very reasonably prides her- 
 :self on being a well served railroad town. Even 
 •those who regarded its advent with niorc or less of 
 foreboding have long since been bro'jglit to rejoice 
 in the cominq; of the railro:id. 
 
 I 
 
.I\ 
 
 CiT.MMT!- IX. 
 
 Nczv Elements. 
 
 N'thls country all the elements of populatiorr 
 are comparatively new elements. England 
 goes back to the time of William the Con- 
 queror for the standard of family antiquity;, 
 in China the Emperor is brother to the sun, and 
 all the nobility have claims to some .sort of celestial 
 relationship which imply a considerable degree of 
 remoteness in the time of the starting; India dates 
 back very successfully, and in Ireland it is well 
 understood that Adam came to that country for his, 
 second wife. But here we are all new comers. 
 
 The first white residents in Moorestown consti- 
 tuted an entirely new element; and there is small 
 
 reason to doubt that the original— or aboriginal 
 
 first families regarded them somewhat in the light 
 of intruders, and were to some extent inclined ta 
 receive them in war-paint and feathers. The red 
 aristocrats, however, making a virtue of necessity 
 and accepting the inevitable, as we all must do, 
 decided to forego their exclusive preferences, and 
 at least make the best of their interloping neigh- 
 bors, since they could not get rid of them. It was 
 the wisest thing they could^io. Tlu right to come 
 (93' 
 
-94 
 
 Mvj j:ih:sTO\yN. old and new. 
 
 and go is inalienable, and no community can for- 
 bid its exercise. New elements will appear, and 
 the thing to do is to attract the best, and then 
 accept the fact that the resulting compound cannot 
 be quite the same as the old one. In the long run it 
 will generally be found that the difference has its 
 advantages. The intrusion brings its own com- 
 pensation, if only in the way of varied interests and 
 added Hfe ; for even in a small stream a moderate 
 current is far better than the quietest stagnation. 
 So the Indians did well to accept the situation. 
 
 For a time after the white settlers began to make 
 their homes here there was a continual mingling of 
 elements going on. The community grew by 
 accretion, and the additions were as diverse as they 
 were active. Those who v/ere already here were 
 glad to welcome the next new-comer because his 
 coming added to the resources of the growing- 
 place ; and the new-comer was glad to find the 
 others here before him, because they gave him the 
 more to do. It was a time of growth ; the place 
 assimilated all the new food it could get, and v/as 
 continually hungry for more. 
 
 This went on for years ; then at length there Vv'as 
 a pause in that phase of the community's growth. 
 The diversity in the character of the additions be- 
 came less. The place continued to grow, but more 
 by the increase of elements already introduced, and 
 less by the inti'o J action of new elemjnts. It had 
 
l^EW ELEMENTS. _ 93 
 
 shaped itself into a more or less homogeneous body 
 and its growth was the growth of proportions 
 already established. It was very far from settling 
 into inactivity; its activity became more and more 
 vigorous. Enterprises which, considering the re- 
 sources at command and the difficulties to be over- 
 come, were remarkable in their inception and results 
 were undertaken and successfully carried through. 
 r>ut the activity was on lines already laid down in 
 harmony with the tendencies of an established 
 community, not so much in experimental directions 
 as in the earlier period. 
 
 Later still another stage Vv^as reached in the pro- 
 cess of development. As a man of energetic nature 
 but of moderate and disciplined desires, after 
 acquiring by hard toil and vigorous struggle, a 
 sufficient fortune to maintain him in reasonable 
 comfort, will sometimes relinquish the effort for 
 more and settle down to the peaceful enjoyment of 
 what he has ; so now and then a community, look- 
 ing at the position it has conquered for itself and 
 seeing that it is very good, rests for a time in the 
 pleasant enjoyment of what it has earned. It is a 
 rare enough thing for either a man or a community 
 to do, and in this time of feverish and never-satis- 
 fied hurry we could wish the example were more 
 frequently set ; for it is a good example if not car- 
 ried too far— if the man does not rust and the com- 
 munity does not stagnate. 
 
p5 IMOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 Some such point of quiet, restful content ]\Toorcs- 
 town reached in the process of time. It had 
 achieved, now it would enjoy. It hid quiet tastes, 
 and its pleasures it took quietly. 1 Uit though quiet 
 it was as far as possible from lethargic. From the 
 first a goodly degree of culture, and refinement had 
 characterized tlie place, and these became more 
 and more characteristic of it. A circle large enough 
 at least to give tone to the little com.munity took 
 pride and pleasure in keeping up with the best that 
 was achieved in literature and science. Public 
 spirit lound its mission in ministering to this predi- 
 lection, and men of wealth, scholarship and energy 
 organized to promote the best enjoyment of the 
 community in the most thorough manner. Educa- 
 tional and literary facilities were systematically 
 increased, and season after, season courses of lec- 
 tures on literary, scientific and historical subjects, 
 by the best lecturers obtainable, were furnished the 
 public. And the public responded most cordially. 
 People came from every part of the town and from 
 the surrounding country to listen to the speakers 
 wlio came, and every lecture night the hall was 
 crowded. 
 
 In the meantime the population of the town was 
 increasing, but by the addition of people quite in 
 harniDuy with the general comiiumity. Prosperous 
 i'armers who (At that they had earned rest for the 
 >'emaindjr of tlijir years, sold tiuir farms or made 
 
NEW ELEMENTS. ... ^^ 
 
 them over to their children, bought houses in the 
 village and with their wives and some portion of 
 their family circles, entered into the quiet pleasures 
 of life as they were to be found here. The people 
 wore acquainted, every man with his neighbor, and 
 •social life of a serene and undemonstrative, but not 
 the less pleasant sort prevailed. 
 
 But Moorestown was young yet, in spite of its. 
 generous measure of years, and had the vigor of a 
 wholesome prime within it. In youth and middle 
 age the greatest of pleasures is the pleasure of new 
 achievement. A resting spell is highly enjoyable 
 but it adds a new zest to the work that comes after 
 it. The community as a whole was ready to wel- 
 come new elements and such changes as a whole- 
 some admixture of them might produce. 
 
 The new elements came, and the ferment of new 
 influences began to be felt in the life of the place. 
 The people came, not from the neighboring farms 
 this time, but from the busy streets of the city. 
 Before the advent of the railroad the advantages of 
 Moorestown as a good place for city people" who 
 wished a home in a rural quarter had begun to be 
 recognized, and now and then a city family had 
 taken up its abode here. But these had not been 
 numerous. Visitors had come from time to time, 
 taking pleasant recollections away with them ; occa- 
 sional leisurely sojourners spent a summer here, 
 and enjoyed their quiet experiences; pupils at the 
 
98 
 
 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 boarding school, and friends who had visited them, 
 remembered what a goodly place Moorestown was. 
 But all these impressions and recollections referred 
 
 ■±o a place apart ; a place that was good to visit but 
 
 ••would be inconvenient to live in. So people from 
 the city were slow in coming to make their homes 
 
 .here. 
 
 The railroad came, making the pleasant old rural 
 
 ttown practically a suburb of Philadelphia. Then 
 the gathered recollections of the people who had 
 been here began to suggest practical possibilities. 
 The railroad had made available what before had 
 been out of reach. Here was a beautiful old village 
 .s6t amid delightful country surroundings ; its loca- 
 tion was most encouragingly healthy; it was the 
 home of an orderly and well-settled community, 
 ■with solidly established social life and institutions ; 
 there was nothing new and raw about the place ; 
 here pure country air could be enjoyed, and the 
 •wholesome quiet of village life realized ; the ex- 
 penses of living would be lessened and the advan- 
 tages of living — some of them at least — would be 
 increased; and the railroad placed this desirable 
 opportunity for a change of home within reach 
 of the city clerk and the city business man by 
 enabling him to pass quickly and conveniently be- 
 tween his country home and his city working place, 
 and so enjoy the pleasures of country living and 
 the profits of city working. Is it any wonder 
 
NEW ELEMENTS. 
 
 99 
 
 *that Philadelphia families began to invade r^Ioores- 
 
 town in increasing numbers ? 
 
 The desire of the man who lives in the city to 
 ■get into the country is only equalled by the desire 
 
 of the man who lives in the country to get into the 
 
 * city. Here was a good place for both classes to 
 compromise on; a place where they could have 
 the advantages of the country and still be within 
 
 -easy reach of the city when they should want the 
 
 ^ city. So those who were already here staid, and 
 
 those who were not already here came — a good 
 
 many of them at all events. Men from the city 
 
 bought houses and established their families here; 
 
 other men from the city bought lots here and built 
 
 'houses to suit themselves ; while still others, who 
 
 V could not afford to build, or who wished to try the 
 
 experiment of a temporary residence first, became 
 
 tenants and rented such houses as were for rent. 
 
 .And so the population grev/ and the old town 
 
 enlarged its borders. 
 
 These new-comers brought with them their own 
 "ideas and predilections, and a new force was intro- 
 
 • duced into the life of Moorestown. A big stone 
 had been thrown into the placid pool and the sur- 
 face thereof v;as broken into restless ripples. The 
 
 - spirit of change had begun its ceaseless work, not 
 ^violently but none the less effectually. New im- 
 7 pulses rubbed against old methods and the result 
 nvas acritation in a Ljrcater or less degree. The 
 
100 MOORE.STOVv'N, OLD AND NE'.Y. 
 
 movements of life became modified in one way and" 
 another by the action and reaction of the new ele- 
 ments and the old, and changes gradually came to-- 
 pass. The old social life maintained itself, but 
 another type was established beside it. Facilities 
 for education had to be increased to answer the- 
 purposes of so many additional children brought 
 from the city by the new residents. Business,, 
 which had dreaded the influence of the railroad to 
 some extent as a depressing force, was increased 
 by the demands of the added population. The 
 churches felt the fore : of tlie change and had a 
 larger and different membership. In every direc- 
 tion a difference was felt. 
 
 The community as a whole welcomed the differ- 
 ence and accepted the changed conditions. But; 
 for a time there were exceptions. Not all the old 
 residents could see and feel that this state of affairs 
 was any improvement over the old. Some of these- 
 new-comers, they said, were very outspoken^ about 
 demanding improvements and very reticent about 
 paying for them. Others insisted on changes which, 
 were not to the taste of the old community. Others 
 were here merely for their own temporary advan- 
 tage, with no corresponding advantage to the place. 
 Burdens were being put upon the whole community 
 for the sake of benefitting the new-comers solely. 
 Altogether the change was not unqualifiedly for 
 the better, they thought. 
 
TfEW ELEMENTS. XOI 
 
 But this state of mind — at no time the general 
 :state of mind — gave place to other convictions in 
 the course of time. The changed condition of 
 affairs was accepted, and now everybody's clock is 
 set according to the new standard of time. Moores- 
 town is what it is and not what it wa^ ; that fact is 
 acquiesced in by all. The two populations, the old 
 and the new, have become one population, and a 
 well ordered progress in the line of desirable im- 
 provements is the common purpose of all. Busi- 
 ness and social life have been adjusted to the new 
 order of things. Enterprises have been projected 
 and carried forward, with the aim of making a resi- 
 dence here still more attractive and advantageous 
 to new-comers ; and the general tone of feeling in 
 the community is that every addition to the right 
 kind of new elements here is a thing to be greatly 
 -desired. 
 
Chapter X. 
 Streets and Roads. 
 
 i IE Main street of Moorest^wncxlenJs frofii' 
 
 Mount Holly to Camden, and thus alTords 
 
 ji,'«?^v-^^n ample scope for the growth of the town 
 
 ^g'^g-vf in either direction. The old Burlington, 
 and Salem road — "The King's High- 
 way" — laid out in 16S2, occupied in its course 
 through Moorestown nearly the same ground that 
 the Main street now covers. In 1794 the present 
 turnpike from Mount Holly to Camden was laid; 
 out; and from the toll gate on the East to the same, 
 distance below Moorestown on the West it extends 
 over much the same course as the old highway,, 
 and comprises the Main street as one of its parts. 
 
 As the region filled up with settlers other roads 
 were constructed fiom time to time, connecting the 
 newly settled poi-iIons with the established centers 
 of population ; and with the river on the one hand 
 and the ocean on the other, tliese roads have a 
 double usefulness to-day, Vv-hen the regions they 
 connect are no longer new. They form the chan- 
 nels through which Hows a rich and never-ceasing 
 tide of tniffic, and they offer a series of the most 
 (102) 
 
Streets and roads. 10^, 
 
 dcliglitrul rural drives to those wiio seek the Oppdr'-- 
 tunity to enjoy one of the prime pleasures of life. 
 
 As its name implies, Main street is the principal 
 thorouc;,hfare of the place. It is a section of thc^. 
 turnpike road, and is broad and well kept. It prac-- 
 tically forms the Southern border of the ti^-.vn; and' 
 as a street may be said to ext ond from Mr. Arthur - 
 Miller's residence on the East to the ''Forks of the 
 Road" — \vhcre the Mount Holly turnpike andl thc- 
 Haddonfield road separate — on the West, over-look'- 
 ing the southern valley through all its length. On 
 this street are located all the churches save one ; 
 both the Friends' meeting houses ; nearly all the 
 stores and shops ; both the hotels ; the Academy, 
 the Bank, the Postoffice, the Town Hall and the. 
 various lodge and society rooms. 
 
 But it is not merely — or chiefly — a busmess^ 
 .street; it is also one of the principal residence 
 streets of the town, and, ranged on either side of it 
 throughout its extent, are many beautiful homes. 
 In no part of its course is the street entirely given 
 over to traffic ; and business houses arc neighbored 
 by private residences with their well-shaded door- 
 yards, and in some cases their long stretches of 
 lawn and shrubbery. Along- the South side partic- 
 ularly, there is an almost continuous line of resi- 
 dences through the distinctly business portion of 
 the street ; and each of them is set well back from 
 the highway and fronted by green lawn, shaded by 
 
104 T.IODRESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 ^oble trees and made more attractive by fio\vcr3 
 and ornamental shrubbery ; while in some instances 
 the houses are old mansions wit'i lustoric associa- 
 tions gathering about them. J>jlo\v Church Road 
 and above Chester avenue the street is almost 
 ^entirely given up to homes. 
 
 As has been said, many of the dwelling houses 
 •on this street are old homesteads and venerable 
 structures, as that term goes in this country; and 
 these afford fine examples o( the plain and solid 
 imerits of old-time architecture. Many more are 
 ■modern buildings ; and some of these are handsome 
 •specimens of the mere elaborate and ornamental 
 styles of building that now prevail. The two types 
 ■combine well to make Moorestown the very beauti- 
 ful and interesting place it is. 
 
 Ivlany a rural town lias [),-etty streets. Indeed a 
 village street with anyth ng like a fair op[)ortunity 
 ds very su-e to make itself pretty and picturesque^ 
 But one must journey long and far to see a village 
 thorv^ughfare more beautiful than our Main street, 
 -with its long lines of noble old shade trees, its 
 Tanks of handsome and comfortable locking resi- 
 dences and its charming glimpses of the lovely 
 southern valley and the heights beyond. Even in 
 winter its picturesque beauty does not depart from 
 it, and in spring, summer and autumn it is lovely 
 indeed. Perhaps the same degree of exciting activ- 
 :itv does not characterize it now as in die old staee- 
 
STREETS AND RuaDS. IO5 
 
 coach days, when the Mount Holly and Moores- 
 town coaches rattled along its length, and the 
 throngs of incoming and outgoing passengers 
 hurried to and irom the stage offices; but there are 
 animation and variety now — as much as comports 
 with the pleasantness of a rural home-town, and 
 enough to suggest the prosperous activity of the 
 resident and surrounding community. 
 
 It is the highway of the farmers and "truckers" 
 between their homes and the city markets ; and in 
 the recurring seasons processions of farm-wagons 
 or "shelvings" pass along the street, drawn by 
 teams of the fine horses that the people here pride 
 themselves upon, and loaded high with hay or 
 straw, or with baskets of glowing fruit and other 
 farm products. Phaetons, buggies, family carriages, 
 and not unfrequently the more conspicuous village 
 cart, and tlu more elegant private turn-out add 
 liveliness to the movement. People in the city 
 liave learned that Moorestown is a very pleasant 
 place, and that the road leading to it offers a goodly 
 drive; and in addition to those who make pro- 
 longed summer sojourns here, pleasurers drive out 
 on occasions. The bicycler has discovered Moores- 
 town also, and besides our own numerous wheel- 
 men, many picturesquely costumed riders from Phil- 
 adelphia make tours to this place and beyond. So 
 there is no lack of variety to meet the demands of 
 any reasonably moderate taste. 
 
10 J MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. * 
 
 On the north of Main street, and also running 
 lengthwise of the town, Second street extends from 
 Chester avenue on the Eist to join the turnpike on 
 the West, after it has tui-ned off in a northwesterly 
 direction at the Forks. The two streets are not 
 strictly parallel, being considerably closer together 
 at the western portion of their course than at 
 -Chester avenue. On this street are the Friends' 
 High School building, the Public School building, 
 the Friends' Greenlawn Cemetery, the churchyards 
 of the Baptist and Episcopal churches, and two or 
 three business places ; but for the most part the 
 thoroughfare is devoted to residences. A large 
 proportion of these are small in size and modest in 
 appearance; although among them are some of 
 larger proportions and more elal^orate modern con- 
 struction. Nearly all give the idea of a quiet, cosy 
 comfort; and almost without exception they are 
 set a little back from the street, and are surrounded 
 by moderately proportioned grounds, set with fruit 
 trees, shru1:>l>2ry and flowers, while at the porch of 
 nearly every house are climbing vines of one sort 
 or another. 
 
 Second sli-eet was laid out about forty years ago — 
 at least thrit portion of it extending from Chester ave- 
 nue to Church Road. It was not until several years, 
 later that the street was opened through the re- 
 mainder of its present course. It seems a curious 
 thing to us present dwellers here, but way had to- 
 
STREETS AND ROADS. 
 
 107 
 
 be maJe for the new thoroughfare through the- 
 woods by chopping down trees and grubbing up. 
 stumps. Where the pretty homes of Second street 
 now stand a thick forest then existed, which 
 stretched fcir away to the northward. Men who 
 are not now past middle-age tell stories of getting 
 lost in the woods when they were school boys, and 
 wandering for hours unable to find their way out. 
 Of course it is an easy thing for a school boy — 
 still more easy for two school boys together — to 
 get lost in the woods on a pleasant autumn day, 
 when they utilize the noon intermission for a little 
 scout after nuts. But for those same school boys 
 to go wandering about the woods for a considerable 
 space after supper time, and then emerge on an 
 obscure road half a mile to the north, with a neces- 
 sary walk of a couple of miles still between them 
 and supper, argues a degree of earnestness about 
 the getting lost that is not quite consistent with 
 *' hookey"; so we may accept the fact that the 
 woods were dense and wide. 
 
 North of Second street, and parallel to it, is Third 
 street extending from East TJoorestown station to 
 a considerable distance below the station at West 
 Ivloorestown. Along a portion of this street is the 
 railroad, but the railroad was an after-thought, and 
 the street was a village thoroughfare many years 
 before the iron horse adopted it as a race course,. 
 Third street was laid out about the same time as 
 
J08 M00RE5T0WN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 Second street, and encountered just about tlie same 
 difficulties in getting a start. The woods have re- 
 ceded far enough from it now, but then the retreat 
 had not been effected. 
 
 The two railroad stations are on Third street; 
 and at the southwestern corner of this street and 
 Chester avenue stands the Chronicle Building, the 
 nev7 and substantial brick structure in which 
 Moorestown's one newspaper is published. Ware- 
 houses and coal yards have place near the eastern 
 and western stations on the street, and near the 
 eastern end is a small building erected for manufac- 
 turing purposes; but with these exceptions the 
 thoroughfare has only dwelling houses upon it. 
 They are principally upon the southern side, and 
 there is a considerable portion of the street not yet 
 built upon. Third street and the railroad form the 
 Northern boundary of the older portion of the town. 
 
 These three streets. Main, Second and Third, 
 .running in a general way east and west, form wlnt 
 might be called the warp of the older section of the 
 Moorestown web. The transverse streets form the 
 v/oof, and the resulting meshes are rather open, foi- 
 the cross streets are a considerable distance apart. 
 In the eastern portion of the town, just beyond the 
 residence of Mr. Isaac Collins, the Mount Laurel 
 Road leaves Main street at right angles, runs down 
 .into the soiit1v.M-n valley anJ n -> the opposite hill, as 
 .iiiiicii'^ht as a Ciovv's flight. Tiic loaJ is an old on?, 
 
STRl'-ETi AND ROADS. jOq: 
 
 having been laid out as a public highway In 1761.. 
 It originally formed part of a road running from 
 the Delaware river to the ocean. It cannot be 
 called a street, however, and is to be reckoned a 
 part of Moorestown only as it forms a link of com- 
 munication between here and somewhere else. Its 
 value in that way is great, for it penetrates a rich 
 and populous country. 
 
 A little west of this a street starts beside the 
 residence of Dr. Newlin Stokes and runs northward 
 across th: railroad to Oak avenue in the northern 
 part of tiie town. This is Chestnut street, and it is 
 a broad and well located avenue. It was opened 
 about 1870, at the urgent instance of some of the 
 dwellers north of the railroad, who desired a con- 
 nection with Main street in that vicinity. They 
 carried their point, and now the street is about to 
 be carried still further north to join Maple avenue^ 
 a new thoroughfare to be opened in the northern 
 part of the town. For some distance after leaving 
 Main street Chestnut street is bordered on the West 
 by the grounds belonging to the residence of Dr. 
 Stokes, and on the East by a portion of an old 
 farm. The northern part of the street is occupied 
 by a goodly number of residences. 
 
 A little farther west Schooley street, a short and 
 narrow way, leaves Main street for the North, run- 
 ning down beside the residence of the late Asa 
 Schooley, and extending past the canning factory 
 
no LIOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 to the railroad. It makes but slight pretense to 
 "beauty, but boasts a historic landmark as its starting 
 point, the old Schooley house at its southeast cor- 
 ner dating back beyond the Revolution,and having 
 associated with it memories of that perturbed time. 
 One of the most important of the cross-streets is 
 Chester avenue, upon which the East Moorestown 
 station is located. At a considerable distance west 
 -of the Mount Laurel road this broad avenue leaves 
 the Main street at right angles, and stretches away 
 northward. At the head of the avenue, and facing 
 it on the south side of Main street, are situated the 
 two Meeting Houses of the Friends, the Academy 
 and Library and the spacious and beautiful grounds 
 •surrounding them. On the north side of Main 
 street and extending along the western side of 
 Chester avenue, from Main street to Second street, 
 lies the Greenlawn Cemetery, more generally known 
 as the Friends' Burying Ground. Its entrance is 
 'On Chester avenue about midway between the two 
 streets. At the northwestern corner of Chester 
 avenue and Second street stands the handsome 
 building of the Friends' High School, already 
 ^referred to. The grounds belonging to this extend 
 for some distance along S-cond street, and origi- 
 nally stretched along Chester Avenue to the rail- 
 'Toad. Recently lots facing on Third street have 
 been sold off the lower portion of the school 
 •-.grounds, and their northern limit now falls that far 
 
SIRtEI-b AND ROADS. Ill 
 
 south of the railroad. The Chronicle luiilJing, at 
 the corner of Third street and Chester avenue, 
 stands on one of these lots. 
 
 The arrangement of these grounds results in the 
 noticeable peculiarity that for two squares along 
 the western side of this important street there are 
 only two buildings, and neither of those is a resi- 
 dence. The eastern side of the street, however, 
 is fully built up, from George F. Doughten's store 
 •on the Main street corner, to the East Moorestown 
 station on the railroad ; and in this unbroken hne 
 of dwelling houses there are some residences of 
 noticeable beauty, while there is not one that does 
 not suggest a home of pleasant comfort. The only 
 interruption of the line is caused by a pleasant 
 httle street known as Cherry street, which leaves 
 the avenue at the side of Dr. Jayne's residence and 
 runs a httle way eastward, stopping when it gets to 
 Schooley street. 
 
 Like Main street Chester avenue is part of an old 
 road. So long as it stays in town it is a street, 
 with its claims in that character fully recognized; 
 as soon as it gets out of town it is a country road, 
 leaving its town characteristics behind it like a 
 man who has forsaken the cares of business for a 
 holiday jaunt among the farms and all the pleasant 
 distractions of rural experience. In both its char- 
 acters it is a thoroughly agreeable and desirable 
 acquaintance. It was laid out as a road in 1720, and 
 
I I 2 MOOllESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 when it is not Chester avenue is known as the 
 Riverton Road, a finger board at the M lin street 
 corner giving to the wayfarer n^ces^ary informa- 
 tion as to the points reached by it aaJ the dis- 
 tances thereto. 
 
 The next cross-street west of Chester avenue — 
 and a goodly distance from it — is Mill street. It 
 leaves Main street by the residence of Mr. WiUiam 
 Buzby, runs north and has been extended some 
 distance beyond the raih'oad. It takes its name 
 from Hopkins' (formerly Buzby's) steam grist mill, 
 which sicUiJs on the western side of it between 
 Main and Second streets. With the exception of the 
 mill and a small shop the buildings on this street 
 are all dwelling houses. 
 
 Between Chester avenue and Mill street twO' 
 alleys extend from Main street to Second. One is. 
 Hames' alley, which leaves Main street by Brown's, 
 .store ; and the other an alley running down by the 
 Skating Rink. A short street passes from Second 
 to Third by the residence of Mr. William Thomas, 
 and is known as French's avenue. These threj 
 narrow ways are the only means of passage north 
 and south between the widely separated Chestei- 
 avenue and Mill street. Efforts have been made iu- 
 the past to have an adequate thoroughfare openjd, 
 but they have come to naught. 
 
 Another section of road forms the next cross- 
 street west of J\K11 strjct. This is " Clui.-eh Uo.id," 
 
STREET;: AND IIOADJ.. ^ j -- 
 
 a highway running from Marlton on the soiitli Ic 
 Palmyra on the north. It takes its name as a street 
 from the fact that the Episcopal Church stands on 
 the northwestern corner of the intersection with 
 Main street. Along the western side of the street 
 the Episcopal church-yard extends from the churcli 
 to Second street. At the northeastern corner of 
 Second street the Public School building is located. 
 its grounds extending some distance toward the 
 railroad. On the southeastern corner stands a 
 store, and the remainder of the street is occupied 
 by dwellings, except at the railroad, where the West 
 Moorestown station is placed west of the street, its- 
 grounds, side track, freight building and platforms 
 occupying space on both sides of the street. Lum- 
 ber and coal yards and a warehouse also occupy 
 grounds on this street near the station. Shortlv 
 after crossing the railroad on the north, and shortlv 
 after beginning the descent into the valley at the 
 south, the street becomes a country road, and is 
 known as the Marlton road and the Palmyra road, 
 according to the direction spoken of In either 
 direction it affords a pleasant drive — pleasant in it- 
 self, and pleasant for what it leads to. 
 
 The remaining cross streets below Church Road 
 are Union street and Locust street. These both 
 start at Main street and end not far below Third. 
 Union street leaves Main with a decided north- 
 eastern inclination, and at Third street there is only 
 
114 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. ' 
 
 a short interval — the length of the station plat- 
 form — between it and Church Road. Both Union 
 and Locust are exclusively res i dene: streets, and 
 both are decidedly pleasant streets to live upon, or 
 to pass through. 
 
 North, south, east and west, almost without ex- 
 ception the roads leading c)ut of Moorestown lead 
 into pleasant country regions which afford delightful 
 driving opportunities. The road between here and 
 Camden furnishes a drive v/hich is heartily appre- 
 ciated by very many who are not residents of 
 Moorestown. The same is true of the Haddonfield 
 Road which leaves the Camden turnpike at the 
 Forks of the Road, just west of the village. Going 
 toward Mount Holly the greater part of the way is 
 through a pleasant country, with village interrup- 
 tions to vary the experience ; and in travelling either 
 north or south one is sure, whatever road he 
 chooses, of coming back the richer by an added 
 
Cjiapter XL 
 
 Nor til of the Railroad. 
 
 Y^EW elements promote new growth. If the 
 ) added materials are of a good sort and 
 the soil is favorable the new grrowth 
 will be strong and vigorous and will 
 shape out tlie old tree to a better form 
 •of comeliness than before. When the stock is 
 strong and thrifty and well rooted in a generous 
 soil, and the new scions engrafted upon it are of 
 good variety, then all the conditions of the best 
 growth prevail and the fruit of that tree will be 
 something very desirable. After the railroad had 
 taken its way through here the old Moorestown 
 tree was budded with many new grafts, and the 
 most conservative social horticulturist, viewing the 
 ■growth they have made, would readily pronounce 
 that they were all good. 
 
 The greater proportion of the dwellers here 
 owned their homes in the pre-railroad times. 
 Superfluous houses were few and the demand for 
 them as temporary abodes not great. When a man 
 •did want a house, as a general thing he built it; 
 tanlcss he had the good fortune to inherit it, which 
 ("5) 
 
I l6 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 mode of acquiring property has been considerably 
 in vogue here from very early times. Renters were 
 not numerous, and the 25th of March was not 
 nearly so much of a "movable" feast — or fast — as 
 it has since become. Therefore the tenant class 
 ca.ne in but slowly at first, not for \\'ant of desire, 
 but for want of 'opportunity. Later, as property 
 owners — always conservative — saw their way more 
 clearly, more houses became available for those 
 v/ho wished to rent, and the demand always at least 
 equalled the supply. 
 
 But here and there one of the old houses was 
 off^^red for sale from time to time, and an outside 
 purchaser learned of the chance and availed him- 
 self of it. Again a would-be purchaser coveted a 
 liome that was not offered for sale, made his bid 
 and either got the place or bided his time until he 
 could get it. Others who had made up their minds 
 that they wanted to live her:: bought lots and built 
 houses for themselves. So the new-comers in- 
 creased in number and tjie old town increased its 
 dimensions. It grew to the East and it grew to the 
 West, and it filled up more compactly in the middle. 
 Still there were more people who desired to come 
 than the older portion of the place had accommoda- 
 tions for. There must be more space or fewer peo- 
 ple. Main street seemed to be the fixed boundary 
 on the South, and the popiilation has not at any 
 time broken over that bound and floAVjJ duwn into 
 
NORTH OF THE RAILROAD. 
 
 117 
 
 the valley to any extent. The North must be the 
 direction of the new expansion, and so it came about 
 that the region north of the railroad became a very 
 important, populous and beautiful part of Moores- 
 town. 
 
 Beyond Third street and the railroad was the 
 •country. Farms spread their acres close along the 
 edge of the track, and were neighbored by other 
 farms at the north. On both sides of Chester 
 avenue they lay, and some of them were among the 
 best to be found in this section. Some of the farm 
 houses were venerable structures, possessing all the 
 solid comfort and stability of old time architecture, 
 •and with plenty of historic associations clinging 
 about them, while the land belonging to them gave 
 generous return for the labor expended in its culti- 
 vation. 
 
 The willingness of outside people to come to 
 Moorestown was manifest, and it occurred to some 
 -of the practical business men here that it would be 
 a good thing to meet that willingness lialf way ; to 
 provide good accommodations and then cordially 
 invite people to come and dwell here. Some of the 
 farming land north of the railroad could be made 
 •available for charming village homes, and a careful 
 consideration of the matter convinced some of these 
 men that a good man}- of the acres over there 
 would yield a better return as building lots tlian 
 •they did in the production of market vegetables. 
 
Il3 I.IOJKF-Sl'uWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 If the opportunity were offered purchasers would" 
 undoubtedly come forward promptly, and be ready 
 to pay such prices as would afford a good return 
 for the money invested. This course of reasoning 
 commended itself not only to some of the moneyed. 
 men here, but also to some in Pliiladelphia who 
 knew a good thing when they saw it. As a conse- 
 quence the desired opportunity was offered to 
 home-seekers; and the extent to which it was ac- 
 cepted may be seen north of the railroad to-day. 
 
 In 1864 a company was formed with a view to 
 purchasing farm land north of the railroad opposite 
 East Moorestown, and disposing of the same under- 
 proper restrictions in lots of suitable size for build- 
 ing upon. The company consisted of ten men. 
 Half of them were Moorestown men, one was from- 
 Rancocas, and the others were Philadelphians. The 
 company they constituted was simply a partnership 
 which expired with the completion of the particular 
 enterprise for which it was formed. This enterprise- 
 was distinctly understood and defined from the be- 
 ginning. The parties knew just what they wanted. 
 to do, and proceeded at once to do it. 
 
 One of the very choice farms in the vicinity v/as 
 the one at that time owned by Charles Collins. It 
 was a property associated with the early history of 
 the neighborhood and had always been rated as a 
 most desirable possession. At the time now spoken 
 of it was devoted to the culture of bei'ries and market 
 
NORTH OF THE RAlLRO.vU. I IQ' 
 
 produce. It lay cast of Chester avenue and ex- 
 tended from the southern boundary of Dr. John H. 
 Stokes' farm — where Oak avenue now is — to the 
 raih-oad, comprising within its boundaries forty-eiglit 
 and a half acres. It was this farm that the newly 
 formed company contemplated purchasing and lay- 
 ing out into building lots. 
 
 Immediately upon its organization the company 
 appointed Dr. John H. Stokes, one of the ten partners, 
 trustee with authority to buy and sell in accordance 
 with the agreement entered into. The trustee at 
 once purchased for the company, from Charles 
 Collins, the farm just mentioned, paying for it the 
 sum of ;$20,ooo. The purchase effected, the worl: 
 of apportionment was at once begun. The ground 
 was laid out in lots and two streets — Central and 
 Oak avenues — were opened east and v/est through 
 the property. Then each member of the company 
 selected and purchased a lot, under an agreement 
 to build cr cause to be built within a reasonable 
 time upon the grounds he had purchased, a dwelling 
 house to cost not less than ^5,000. This part of 
 the agreement was not rigidly enforced, as some of 
 the houses erected cost rather less than the specified 
 sum. The purchaser of the old homestead — at 
 present the residence of Mr. O. B. Morris — was 
 exempted from this provision, of course. There 
 were other restrictions and conditions by which 
 each purchaser \v.is bound. Nothing objectionable 
 
120 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEV/. 
 
 was to be placed or permitted on the ground pur- 
 chased ; and the term " objectionable" was so con- 
 strued as to cover slaughter houses, liquor saloons, 
 stores, shops, etc. A specially emphatic injunction 
 was placed upon pig styes. 
 
 After these selections and purchases had been 
 made the remainder of the ground was divided 
 among the members of the company, each member 
 becoming an individual proprietor, holding in his 
 own name the title to his share of building lots to 
 be disposed of according to his own desire or 
 opportunity. With this final division the company 
 completed the purpose for which it was formed and 
 the partnership was dissolved. Sales of lots by the 
 individual owners were effected more or less rapidly, 
 the same conditions attaching to the sales as in the 
 first instances ; except perhaps as to the cost of the 
 house to be erected. 
 
 Such was the genesis of the ''Company Grounds" 
 — the wholly undescriptive name by which this por- 
 tion of Moorestown is known to this day. The enter- 
 prise has been dealt with somewhat in detail because 
 it was the first premeditated and comprehensive in- 
 vitation to outsiders to make Moorestown their abid- 
 ing place. The manner in which the invitation was 
 responded to has led to others being extended in later 
 years. Some time since a portion of the farm of the 
 late Dr. John II. Stokes, also east of Chester avenue, 
 and adjoiniiv^ the original ''Company Ground" on 
 
:;oRr;i oy tiik railroad. j-,t 
 
 the north was placed in the market. Oak avenue 
 borders the new extension on the south, and a new 
 street called Maple avenue, running eastward from 
 Chester avenue, has also been laid out throu^-h the 
 property, north of Oak. The Stiles farm, on the 
 west of Chester avenue, has also been purchased 
 laid off in lots and offered for sale. This is the old 
 Middleton farm, whereon Nathan Middleton buried 
 his valuables when he saw the British troops comino- 
 in Revolutionary days. The property passed from 
 the Middleton family to Amos Stiles and from the 
 Stiles family to its present owners. 
 
 On both of these properties lots are being dis- 
 posed of quite rapidly, and new homes are being- 
 created. The greater portion of the original "Com- 
 pany Ground" was long since disposed of, and the 
 vacancies that still exist there are now fast disap- 
 pearing. At the tirrie this is Avritten a building epi- 
 demic is prevalent in force north of the railroad. 
 New houses are going up, and others are in con- 
 templation ; the indications all point to the increase 
 of this constructive disposition rather than its 
 abatement. Truly the invitations extended have 
 been heartily accepted ; and there is manifestly no 
 danger that any future proffers of hospitality will be 
 rejected. 
 
 What has been accomplished in the past has 
 made North Moorestown a very important and 
 notable factor in the present experience and future 
 
122 MOORESTOWN, VIA) AXU NEW. 
 
 progress of the village. A wholly modem addition' 
 to tiic old town has been developed there. The 
 only old houses in the section are the old fiirm 
 homesteads that still remain as mementoes of the 
 historic past; and even in the case of tliese the re- 
 sults of modern taste have been combined with the 
 picturesque effects of the olden time so that old and 
 new are blended in a thoroughly pleasing manner. 
 Moreover the district is devoted exclusively tO' 
 dwellings and their appurtances. No stores, shops 
 or business places of any kind exist in North 
 Moorestown. Inconvenient? The people there 
 do not find it so; for the store-keepers send their 
 order-and delivery-wagons everywhere; the butch- 
 er and the baker call at every house, and so would 
 the candle-stick maker if there were any desire for 
 his services. Furthermore many of the residents 
 there have their own horses and carriages and find 
 a drive into the old part of the town no inconveni- 
 ence; and at the worst a walk to the Main street is 
 by no means a formidable undertaking. 
 
 A large quarter devoted exclusively to modern 
 residences is something of an innovation for a rural 
 town with a couple of centuries behind it. That it 
 is an innovation that gives an added charm to an 
 already charming place only a walk through North 
 Moorestown is needed to demonstrate. There are 
 two streets running north and south through this 
 section. One is Chester avenue, which crosses the 
 
NORTH or THE RMLROAD. I 23; 
 
 railroad by the East Moorestown station and re- 
 mains Chester avenue for a goodly distance before 
 it becomes the rural Riverton Road. Some distance 
 east of this is Chestnut street, which leaves Main 
 street by the residence of Dr. N. N. Stokes and ex- 
 tends through the original "Company Ground," and 
 the newly opened tract north of it. Intersecting 
 these Central avenue takes its v/ay east and west 
 some distance north of the railroad. Still further 
 north Oak avenue runs parallel with Central, and 
 marks the boundary of the original purchase. 
 Beyond this Maple avenue is laid out through the 
 Stokes' tract, and runs to an intersection with 
 Chestnut street. 
 
 On these various thoroughfares arc ranged beau- 
 tiful homes in the utmost variety of modern design 
 and construction. Many of them are elaborate and 
 costly structures, in the building of which the- 
 resources of recent architecture have been freely 
 drawn upon. Within they are supplied with all the 
 conveniences and luxuries available for rural homes, 
 and without they are fittingly surrounded by lawns 
 and shrubbery. Others are small and simple 
 homes, and between these two types are very many 
 of differing grades of architectural importance ; but 
 all share one characteristic in common— they are 
 set back in their own grounds, large or small, and 
 are surrounded by greensward and various sorts of 
 ornamental in-y\vth. And nearly everywhere there- 
 
.12.^ 
 
 i.IOORF.STOWX, OLD AND NKV/ 
 
 :wc trees. Th ^y border tli: streets and beautify tiie 
 private LjrouaJs. About some of the newer homes 
 tiie trees are small as }-eL, but they are there and 
 give good promise of future shade. Even in the 
 case of these same newer homes in many instances 
 tliere are fine old trees that antedate by long years 
 the survey of the lots on which the homes are built ; 
 and in the older places there Is a plentiful supply of 
 the shade and the beaut}' that only large trees can 
 give. Take it all in all, it is a very important and a 
 rapidly Increasing part of I^IooresLown that lies 
 north of the railroad. 
 
CnAPrr.K XII. 
 Rcii<sioh's Bodies. 
 
 'c> 
 
 T is accepted as an axiom that the community 
 which freely supports churches gives but scant 
 custom to jails and penitentiaries. Gauged by 
 ^^ this standard Moorestown takes an enviable 
 rank ; for not many places of its size have within 
 their borders a greater number of buildings dedi- 
 cated to religious worsliip. There are five reli- 
 gious denominations represented here — the Friends, 
 Episcopalians, Baptists, Alethodists and Roman 
 Catholics. Of the Friends both branches arc 
 largely represented ; and of the T^Iethodists there 
 are three bodies — the ^Methodist Episcopal, the 
 Methodist Protestant and the African Metliodist. 
 Each of these eight religious bodies has its own 
 house of worship, and each of them numbers a 
 goodly membership. 
 
 The Friends. — Philadelphia, in the beginning of 
 its history, was not more pre-eminendy a P>iends' 
 settlement than was Moorestown. The first title- 
 holders were Friends, and it is probable that even 
 before the title-holders made their first purchases 
 those who came less formally to possess the land 
 were largely of that denomination. Very early in 
 ^ (1-25) 
 
'126 RIOORFoTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 the history of the place property was taken up and 
 apphcd to the use and benefit of the Friends as a 
 body for rehgious purposes. 
 
 But before that was done the Friends of the 
 vicinity had their stated worship, making the best 
 of circumstances as they existed. The Meeting at 
 Burlln^-ton authorized those Friends Hvino- in the 
 Penisauken neicrhborhood to hold meetinsjs in the 
 houses of members until such time as a regular 
 place of meeting could be secured. Therefore the 
 members of the body met and worshipped at each 
 other's houses according to appointment. So also 
 of the Friends in the Rancocas settlement — the 
 various dwelling houses were meeting houses in 
 turn. Of course it was desirable that this condi- 
 tion of affairs should be changed as soon as it 
 could be accomplished, and a settled place of wor- 
 ship substituted for the various and incommodious 
 meeting places then in use. Moorestown possessed 
 tthe most advantages for such a permanent location 
 .as was desired. It was convenient for the worship- 
 pers in both the settlements, and was a growing 
 settlement itself In Moorestown, accordingly, (it 
 was not Moorestown then, however.) the Meeting 
 House was established. 
 
 In the Secretary's office at Burlington is recorded 
 iR deed of conveyance by James and Hester Adams 
 to John Hollinshead, Thomas Hutton and ten other 
 *Friend^, of whom Sarah, widow of John Roberts, 
 
r RELIGIOUS BODIES. 127 
 
 was one — the only instance of a woman actino- as 
 trustee for real estate in the Friends' Society — 
 "for one acre of ground on which the Quakers' 
 Meeting House was then standing, for the sum of 
 fourteen shillings current lawful money of the Prov- 
 ince of West New Jersey ; dated 9 day of 2 month, 
 ■coirn<:>nly called April, 1700." Land was cheap in 
 those days, and one can hardly help thinking re- 
 gretfully of the tim: when one acre of gr-ound in 
 what is now the h:art of Mjorestown was sold for 
 fourteen shillings. 
 
 In the Secretary's offi:e at Trenton is recorded 
 .another deed of conveyance by Joseph Heritage 
 '(grandson of Jo3ep:i Heritage v/ho survived all the 
 •other grantees named in the deed of i/oo) to John 
 Warrington, Joshua Hunt, Hugh Cowperthwaite, 
 Robert French, Edmund HoUinshead and William 
 Roberts, Trustees appointed by Chester Preparative 
 Meeting as successors of the original grantees, " in 
 order to continue the good uses for and to which the 
 said acre of ground was and is appropriated, as well 
 ..as for and in consideration of five shilling hard money 
 to him in hand paid. Dated 15 day of 5 month, 
 1782." 
 
 This acre of ground lies at the corner of Main 
 .street and Chester avenue, adjoining the William 
 Penn Hotel, and forms a part of the Greenlawn 
 Cemetery, or Friends' burying ground. The meet- 
 ing house that v/as "then standing" on it was a log 
 
I 28 MOOUKSiOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 SLniclurc, small, but large enough for the rcquire- 
 rnciits of the time. An old citizen who lives near 
 Aloorerestown, in looking over some ancient deeds 
 and records some time since discovered a roughly 
 executed draft of this ground as it vvas then ar- 
 ranged. This draft showed the meeting house 
 suinding in the southeastern corner of the lot, next 
 Chester a\-enue and facing Main street. Extending 
 westward from the meeting house, tovvard the hotel, 
 was a wagon shed under which the vehicles of the 
 worshippei's were ranged on meeting days ; and at 
 the end of this, still nearer the hotel, a smaller shed 
 for the saddle horses on which some of the young- 
 men — and young women too — rode to meeting. 
 
 In this old meeting house worship was conducted 
 for a number of years, the Friends of the Penisauken 
 and Rancocas regions m'inghng there with the 
 Friends resident in Moorestown. For those who 
 had to ride long distances the fervor of devotion 
 was tried sharply sometimes, for the journey then 
 meant far different things to what it would mean 
 now. But the test showed strength, not weakness. 
 The hearts of the settlers were in their worship, and 
 they felt they paid but lightly for their privileges 
 of conscience. 
 
 In the year 1720 the old log meeting house was 
 burned down in some unexplained manner, and the 
 calamity was sorely felt by the society. For a time 
 they were again without a suitable meeting place, 
 
REr.lGK, JS BODIES. X2Cf 
 
 nnd had to hold meetiiicrs once more in dwelliofT 
 houses. However this was only for a htile interval. 
 They had their ground now to build upon, and 
 plenty of energy to repair the loss they had sus- 
 tained. They at once began the work of rebuilding, 
 and the new meeting house, when completed, was 
 a good deal more substantial and commodious than 
 the old. A portion of it was of stone, and the 
 building altogether was held to be a credit to the 
 society and to the place. It ansv/ered the purpose 
 of the worshippers for over eighty years. Popula- 
 tion in the meantime increased, and the building 
 which had afforded accommodation in 1720 had 
 been outgrown by the end of the century. 
 
 On the 27th day of 12th month 1781, Ephraim 
 and Hannah Haines, for the sum of ninety-six 
 pounds, five shillings and seven pence, gold and 
 silver, conveyed to Joshua Roberts, Jacob Hollins- 
 head, Jonas Cattle and John Collins, Elders and 
 Overseers of the Society or Congregation of Friends 
 b'c'ionging to Chester Meeting in the township of 
 Chester, two acres, three roods and tu-enty-three 
 perches of land, lying southeast of a line beginning 
 at a stone near Isaac Lippincott's — formerly Gilbert 
 Page's and running north, 79° 45' east, 5 chains 
 and 26 links to a stone corner of Joseph Lippincott's 
 lot; "to be applied to such use or uses as the body 
 of Friends belonging to the abi , ^ aani-r^d meeting 
 shall think proper." 
 
X^Q MO(3RE5TOWN, OLD AN«D NEW. 
 
 This piircliase was on the south side of Tvlain 
 street, opposite the head of Chester avenue, and 
 hither in the course of time the Friends removed, 
 there to remain until the present time. In looking 
 over the ground selected one cannot but admire the 
 taste and judgment that guided the men v.dio 
 decided on the location, for no lovelier spot can be 
 iound in the entire region than that whereon the 
 Friends' Meeting Houses are situated. A broad 
 'lawn, beautifully shaded by noble trees, slopes 
 southward into the valley, and from almost any 
 ■point commands a view of surpassing loveliness. 
 True the first choice was theirs, but it required 
 discrimination to make such a choice as they 
 mide. 
 
 In i8d2 the large brick meeting house which nov/ 
 stands in the eastern portion of this enclosure was 
 completed and the Friends occupied it as a place of 
 worship, forsaking the little building across the way 
 which had served them so long. The new building 
 was of v/as of proportions beyond the needs of the 
 society as it existed then ; but the future was wisely 
 kept in view, and time vindicated the good judg- 
 ment exercised. In after years it proved none too 
 large. The old building, they had heretofore ocni- 
 pied was torn down and the stone from it used in 
 the construction of a school house in the meeting 
 house enclosure across the street. After its removal 
 .the lot in which it had stood was devoted c-cclu- 
 
'RELIGIOUS BODIES. I3I 
 
 ■sively to the purpose of a burying ground, which 
 'use it still senses. 
 
 The ground purchased from Ephraim and Han- 
 nah Haines affords space for two Friends' meeting 
 houses. The frame building on the western side 
 of the lot w^as erected in 1829, soon after the 
 division in the society. It was built by the mem- 
 bers of the original society as their meeting place, 
 and is still occupied by them. The separatists took 
 the brick building as their meeting house, and it is 
 still their place of worship. It is larger than the 
 newer building, and the other branch of the society 
 freely use it for their meetings on all extra occasios. 
 A good state of feeling exists between the members 
 of the two branches, and they are very harmonious 
 neighbors. 
 
 In addition to the ground devoted to the burial 
 of their own dead it is recorded that, on the 
 1 0th day of 2d month, in the year 1770, Ephraim 
 Haines sold and conveyed to Joshua Roberts and 
 Edmund Hollinshead, for the Chester Meeting, one 
 rood or one quarter of an acre of land, and in 1784 
 Joshua Roberts, who survived Edmund Hollins- 
 head, did, "in consideration of the sum of five 
 shillings hard money to him in hand paid, and in 
 order to continue the good uses for and to which 
 the said rood of ground is appropriated — viz. for 
 the purpose of a burying place for strangers and 
 other Christian people who do not belong to the 
 
132 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 Society of Friends (otherwise called Quakers), and 
 for no other use whatever" — convey the same to 
 John Warrington and other Friends, agreeable to a 
 declaration of trust to be executed by them. This lot 
 was located where the southeastern corner of Ches- 
 ter and Oak avenues now is. It served the Chris- 
 tian purpose for which the society purchased it for 
 many years; and at length, in 182 1, the trustees of 
 Chester Meeting conveyed the lot to the inhabitants 
 of Chester. The township in turn con\'eyed it to 
 Dr. John H. Stokes in 1870, 
 
 Episcopalians. — As has been said, the Friends- 
 were the principal and controlling religious ele- 
 ment, here as in all other parts of West New Jersey, 
 when settlements began to be made, far outnum- 
 bering the members of all other religious denomi- 
 nations. But they did not constitute the whole of 
 the new population. The first Friends who arrived 
 were accompanied by other adventurous souls who 
 did not belong to the society of Friends. Some of 
 these came as servants in company with their em- 
 ployers, and others came independently, for the 
 betterment of their own fortunes, for the love of 
 change and adventure, or from regard to the ties 
 of friendship and affection which differences of 
 religious faith had not weakened. Here as well as 
 elsewhere in the new land the greater proportion of 
 these were members of the Church of England. So, 
 in the new home as in the old, tlie two forms of faith 
 
RELIGIOUS r,()DIE3. I ^^ -i 
 
 were established side by side, only here their rela- 
 tive positions were reversed. 
 
 From the very first the population of Moorestown 
 numbered Episcopalians among its elements. They 
 were not numerous enough, however, to organize a 
 parish of their own, and for a time they, like the 
 Friends and the members of other denominations, 
 were without a stated place of authorized worship. 
 With them as with the Friends, this was a serious 
 deprivation, and as early as might be the condition 
 of affairs was remedied. This was not effected so 
 -early as with the Friends ; and when it was effected 
 the result was not so satisfactory as in their case. 
 The members of the Episcopal Church were widely 
 scattered in the little settlement and the surround- 
 ing country, and the concentration of the sparse 
 ^membership at any one point was a difficult matter. 
 
 At a very early date, however, the difficulty v/as 
 •overcome in a measure. St. Mary's Episcopal 
 •Church was established at Colestown. Just when 
 this was effected cannot now be ascertained, but it 
 is known that St. Mary's is a very venerable church. 
 In fact there are only two churches in New Jersey 
 that are older, and I believe only one church build- 
 ing that is older than that now standing in Coles- 
 town. Services can be traced back with certainty 
 in this old church to 1753, and although the record 
 stops there, it is certain that services had been held 
 in the church for some time previous to that date. 
 
1 34 MOW :< Ks t( ) w x , ( ) 1 , 1 J AM) X i-:\v. 
 
 It was important enougli to win favor with Q^ueen^ 
 Anne, and she presented to the parish a commun- 
 ion service which is still in use. 
 
 Of this old church Episcopalians in Moorestown 
 and the vicinity became members, and there they 
 used to gather from all directions for worship. It 
 was a long ride for many of them, but weather and 
 distance and bad roads did not daunt them any 
 more than their Quaker neighbors. Through fair 
 weather and foul, through mud and through dust,. 
 the Episcopalians of Moorestown drove to Coles- 
 town to church every Sunday, year after year. The 
 \\;hole family went, including the grand parent and 
 the little child, and not forgetting the servant or the 
 apprentice. Those who had no conveyance of their- 
 own were carried to church in the vehicles of their 
 more fortunate neighbors; or if the more fortunate 
 neighbor did not come along in time, walking was 
 a resource ahvays at command. Whatever the 
 method of transit they got there ; and many are 
 those who new recall their participation in one or 
 the other of the two regular processions — onegoing- 
 from Moorestown to Church in Colestown, and the 
 other coming from the intermediate region to 
 Meeting in Moorestown. 
 
 As time passed on St. Mary's became more and 
 more of a Moorestown parish. The membership 
 here attained greater and greater proportions as 
 compared with the membership within the limits of 
 
RELIGIOUS UjDiEo. 
 
 135^ 
 
 the parish Itself, until at length the pfoeession' 
 which drove along- the Haddonfieicl road comprised 
 the greater share of the worshippers in fh'e" old 
 church. This state of affairs became more' ih\C 
 more unsatisfactory. The distance between Moorcv- 
 town and Colestown had not increased, but the 
 aggregate of the inconvenience of having to travel 
 that distance every^ Sunday was greater, because 
 there were more people who suffered it, and to each 
 one it seemed worse than when there were fevv-. 
 The journey always had been a trouble, endured 
 because there had been no help for it. Now, people 
 began to feel that there was help for it, and be- 
 stirred themselves to bring matters to a more satis- 
 factory adjustment. The obvious thing to do was 
 to establish a separate parish here. 
 
 This, in the course of time, was accomplished, 
 and Trinity Parish was formed in Moorestown. A 
 lot of ground, situated on the north side of Main 
 street and the west side of Church road, and ex- 
 tendinfj north to Second street, was sriven to the 
 parish by Mr. Ehvood Harris, on which to erect a 
 church building and parsonage. Mr. Harris also 
 contributed ;$500 towards building the church. 
 The corner stone of the new church was laid on 
 October 2d, 1837, and the Rev. Samuel Starr, in an 
 address made at that time, said : " For several of 
 the last years past, as you will all testify from your 
 cxoerieuce of inconvenience, the congregation has 
 
1^6 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEVv', 
 
 not only been in scattered locations, but all whose 
 interest and influence can at all be depended upon 
 are at a very inconvenient distance from the church. 
 So remote, too, are the children of the congregation 
 that they cannot be gathered with any success for 
 their profit in Sunday school, or even for the recita- 
 of their catechism. Besides, the Church of Christ 
 is aggressive in its character, and if the members 
 are faithful will everywhere be aggressive in its 
 results." His address concluded as follows : "When 
 your course on earth is about to terminate, and 
 your day of worship here below is fading into the 
 light of eternity, you will rejoice in the reflection, 
 as you take a final farewell of the walls here to be 
 reared and consecrated to the service ot the Lord, 
 that you have provided on this spot one of the 
 choicest legacies that you can leave to your 
 posterity." 
 
 Th 2 building erected was of stone, and is a very 
 satisfictory specimen of church arcliitccture. It 
 fronts toward the Main street, with a side porch on 
 Church Road. As it stands to-day with its walls 
 hung thick with ivy it forms one of the beautiful 
 •features of the village picture. The church was 
 rapidly completed, and was consecrated by Bishop 
 Doane on March 2d, 1S38. The building of the 
 church as it first stood cost ;$4,020.26. From the 
 minutes, which have been very exactly kept from 
 the first, it would seem that the churcii p.iid ofrtlie 
 
RELIGIOUS r,>)I)!KS. 
 
 ^2,7 
 
 debt of the buildincr, and then <jot into debt aeain 
 
 't>' 
 
 for a parsonage; afterwards again for Improving 
 and enlarging the church. Never, until the first of 
 April, 1878 was the church without its task of 
 raising something of the interest and principal of 
 the debt thus incurred. Now there is no burden 
 of debt upon it, and the church property has a value 
 of over ;$ 1 5,000. The parsonage is a good sized 
 frame residence just west of the church and like it 
 fronting on Main street. Back of the church the 
 church yard — always kept in the most scrupulous 
 order — stretches to Second street. 
 
 The first Rector of the new church was Rev. 
 Francis Lee, whose term of Rectorship included 
 the years 1837 and 1838. His successor was Rev. 
 Henry Burroughs, who remained through 1839 and 
 1 840. From 1 840 to the close of 1 845 Rev. Andrew 
 Bell Patterson was Rector, and during his term here 
 the rectory was built. During the years 1846 and 
 1847 Rev. Thomas L. Franklin was Rector, and 
 for the two years succeeding there seems to have 
 been no Rector. From 1850 to the end of 1853 
 Rev, Samuel Randall held the office, and during a 
 part of 1854 there v/as a vacancy again. In July 
 1854 Rev. H. Hastings Weld took charge and con- 
 tinued here until Jan ist, 1870. During his Rector- 
 ship the church was thoroughly renovated, new 
 pews and new^ windows put in, robing and organ 
 room built and the orofan removed from the .--.rallcr'.' 
 
138 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 to the side of the chancel, and thirteen fjct added 
 to the church, all at a cost of $600. R:v. Samuel 
 Ralph Asbuiy took charge in the latter part of 
 1871, and continued until the summer of 1S73. 
 On December ist, 1873, Rev. De Witt C. Loup 
 took charge and remained until the 1st of April, 
 1878, when the present Rector, Rev. J. H. Lamb, 
 took charge of the parish. 
 
 During the eight years that the present incum- 
 bent has been here about ;$23,ooo liave been raised 
 for various church purposes, and in i SS5 the church 
 was enlarged and materially improved, sixty-four 
 new sittings were added, and the accommodations 
 are now adequate. The cost of the last improve- 
 ment was about ;^2,ooo. 
 
 For two years and six months after the formation 
 of this parish it was connected with St. Paul's, 
 Camden; but in March, 1840, it was agreed to dis- 
 solve this connection and let each church stand 
 alone. The parish still retains a connection with 
 the Colestown parish, and the Rector holds a ser- 
 vice there once every month. The first Wardens 
 of Trinity parish were Dr. J. J. Spencer and Samuel 
 Rudderow; and among the first V^estrymen were 
 George F. Doughten, the late John C. Haines and 
 the late Samuel Jones. 
 
 Baptists. — Members of the Baptist denomination 
 were not among the earliest settlers here, or if they 
 were they were very few in number. That church 
 
 I 
 
RELIGIOUS L0DIE3. joq,, 
 
 seems not to have had many adherents in the com- 
 munity until after the present century was well 
 advanced, and for a time the growth were slow and 
 the results of labor bestowed were far from encour- 
 aging. That labor was earnest and persistent, 
 however, and eventually the seed that had been so 
 hopefully planted and so patiently and diligently 
 nurtured grew, flourished and bore fruit. 
 
 It appears that the earliest l^aptist preaching in 
 Moorestown was in the year 1810. In that year 
 and the two years subsequent to it there was 
 preaching here at intervals by a number of young 
 ministers who were under the instruction of Rev^ 
 William Slaughter, D. D., then pastor of the Sansoin 
 street Baptist Church of Philadelpliia. During 
 those years these young men went out from time 
 to time into the villages in the vicinity of Phila- 
 delphia to preach, and several of them preached 
 here on different occasions. Among those early 
 preachers were some who afterwards attained dis- 
 tinction. Of the names recalled are those of Rev 
 Daniel Sharp, D. D., for many years pastor of the 
 Charles street Baptist Church, Boston ; and Rev.. 
 G. Summers, pastor of the South Baptist Church 
 in New York city for a long term of years. 
 
 There was no place of public worship here con- 
 trolled by the Baptists at that time, and when the 
 ministers of that denomination visited the })lace 
 they preached at the house of Mr. Edward Harris — 
 
I 40 MOOKKSlUWN, OLD AND NKW. 
 
 tlie old Smith mansion of Revolutionary times. 
 Mr. Harris, an Englishman by birth, was a member 
 of the Church of England, but his liberal hospitality 
 led him to open wide his doors to the members of 
 all religious denominations, and he perhaps ex- 
 tended a more cordial welcome to members of the 
 Baptist Church than to any other outside of his 
 own denomination, for his wife was a Baptist and a 
 member of a prominent Ba; ^tist family. Mrs. Harris 
 was a daughter of the Rev. Thomas Ustick, A. M., 
 for many years pastor of the first Ba])tist Church 
 in Philadelphia. She was an invalid for a number 
 •of years and died in 1810; and it is not probable 
 that any public services were held in her husband's 
 liouse until after that time. 
 
 The connection of Mr. Harris with this distin- 
 guished Baptist family, together with the pleasant 
 welcome always to be found at his house, rendered 
 the visits of Baptist ministers to Moorestown more 
 frequent than they otherwise would have been. 
 The young men under Dr. Slaughter's instruction 
 w^ere not by any means the only ministers who 
 pre^vched in the Harris mansion. Among those 
 who held services there were Rev. Mr. Barton, of 
 the Welsh Tract Church, Delaware ; Rev. Mr. Cox, 
 of Ohio; Rev. James McLaughlin, of Burlington; 
 Rev. Luther Rice, one of the first missionaries from 
 America to the heathen ; Jonathan D. Price, M. D., 
 also :i missionar\^; and Rev. Mr. Lawson and wife, 
 
RELIGIOUS nODIES. I4Y 
 
 T'jio-lish missionaries, on their was to the East 
 Indies. In 1813. '14 and '15, during the second 
 war with Great Britain, Rev. John Sisty, then re- 
 siding in Mount Holly, visited Moorestown at 
 intervals and preached at largely attended meetings. 
 ■ After the death of Mr. Harris, which took place 
 in 1822, the visits of Baptist ministers here were 
 less frequent than before, and there was preaching 
 only at long intervals. In the meantime a church 
 building itad been erected by the Methodists on 
 grounds given to the society by Mr. Harris. The 
 donation had been accompanied by the conditioi^ 
 that the house should be free for the use of all 
 evangelical ministers, and in this church such 
 Baptist ministers as occasionally visited the place 
 preached their sermons. At this time there were 
 probably not more than one or tv/o persons in the 
 place who belonged to the Baptist denomination, 
 and these were members of the Haddonfield church. 
 In November, 1835, upon invitation of Miss 
 Miriam Shinn, one of the Baptists resident here,, 
 Rev. Peter Powell, of Burlington, visited Moores- 
 lown and preached in the town hall. Afterwards 
 he continued to visit the place at intervals for a 
 time; but in February, 1836, he lost a valuable 
 horse in the snow and his visits ceased. In the 
 year 1835, during the Christmas holidays, Daniel 
 Kelsey and John L. dinger, two young ministers 
 stud3-ing at Burlington, came here on a missionary 
 
'143 
 
 MOOXESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 visiL They preached two sermons in the town 
 hall, and as a result of their labors four persons 
 were converted who afterward became constituent 
 members of the church here. These were Thomas 
 Venable, William Smith, Samuel Wisham and his 
 wife; After this preaching- became more frequent 
 and several conversions took place. The towm hall 
 ■could not be had for night meetings after a few 
 times, and services were held at private houses. 
 
 The ordinance of baptism was first administered 
 in this vicinity on the 8th of May, 1836, the candi- 
 date being Amanda Mayland. After this baptisms 
 became quite numerous ; preaching services were 
 held with more or less regularity; prayer meetings 
 were held at various houses, and conference meetings 
 took place. Those who were baptized became 
 ^members of the Haddonheld church; but in 1837 
 ■^the membership here had so largely increased that 
 it was determined to establish an independent Bap- 
 tist Church in Moorestown. The separation from 
 the Haddonfield church took place and on the 7th 
 of May, 1837, a council met at the town hall here 
 for the purpose of recognizing the newly formed 
 body as an independent church. A large congreo-a- 
 tion assembled on the occasion, the sermon bein^^- 
 preached by Rev. Samuel Aaron. 
 
 The constituent members of the new church vv-ere 
 .Benjamin Jones, M:-irtha Jones, Moses Hammel, 
 
RELIGI0U3 BODIES. 
 
 H3 
 
 Jcriislia Hammel, S. Wisham, Elizabeth Wisham, 
 William Smith, Hannah Smith. Thomas Venable, 
 Sarah Venable, Isaac Shinn, /.my Shinn, Charles 
 Kain, ]r., John F. English, Charles Clements, Jolm 
 Mickileton, Charles T. Peacock, Samuel Foster, 
 Margaret D. Vanderveer, Hannah Walker, Ann 
 Creely, Ann Gill, Elizabeth Wright, Ruth Davis, 
 Hope Pippett, Mary A. Parnett, Maria Cannon, 
 Rebecca Ann Gifford, Amand Maylan, Lydia Ann 
 Wooley and Margaret Wells, from the Haddonfield 
 church ; and Miriam Shinn and Ann Perkins from 
 the Evesham church. Arrangements had been 
 made ^vith J. M. Courtney, a student at Burlington, 
 by which preaching was had regularly every Sun- 
 day from January ist, 1837, the salary at first, after 
 the constitution of the church, being ^^300. This 
 was subseauently increased to ^350, by the addition 
 of ^50 appropriated by the State Convention, 
 
 The new church was received into the New Jer- 
 sey Baptist Association September 26th, 1837. 
 The same year-it was decided to erect a house of 
 worship in Moorestown, and soon after the decision 
 v/as made the contracts for the vv'ork were entered 
 into. The material selected was stone, and the size 
 of the building was to be 40 feet by 45 feet. A 
 building lot had been purchased of William Dough- 
 ten for ;$500. It is on the Main street below Mill 
 street, nearly opposite the old Harris mansion in 
 which the first Baptist services in Moorestown had 
 
144 r.IOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 been held, and extends back to Second street. The- 
 building fronts directly upon Main street, with na 
 intervening yard, and the ground back of it consti- 
 tutes the grave yard belonging to the church. 
 
 In the spring, after the beginning of the work a. 
 fire destroyed the carpenter shop in which the 
 lumber for the church was being prepared, and the- 
 church thereby suffered a loss of some ^250. The 
 v/ork was soon resumed, however, and the building 
 v/as completed in due time at a total cost, for ground 
 and building, of about ^^4,000. Those who directed. 
 the building, being inexperienced in such matters, 
 felt that althoucrh a basement could not be afforded,, 
 a cellar must be constructed. So on moonlight 
 nights the brethren assembled and dug the cellar 
 themselves. A few years later a portion of the 
 cellar was finished as a basement, which has been 
 in use ever since for Sunday school and prayer 
 meeting purposes. 
 
 The house was dedicated on Friday, August loth, 
 1838, the sermon being preached by Rev. Samuel 
 Cornelius. On Thursday, November 15th, 1838, 
 Rev. John M. Courtney was ordained pastor of the 
 Church to receive a salary of .^300. In 1840 he 
 became joint pastor of the Moorestown and Marlton 
 churches, receiving from each church a salary of 
 ^225. The succession of pastors in the church since 
 its beginning has been as follows : Rev. J. M. Court- 
 ney, 1837 — 1841; Rev. J. W. W'igg, 1842;, Rev- 
 
riELIGIOUS BODIES. 
 
 14^ 
 
 £. Sexton, 1843— 1844; Rev. J. M. Challls, 1845— 
 1851; Rev. E.D.Feadall, 1852— 1864; Rev. Miller 
 Jones, 1864—1867; Rev. J. E. Bradley, 1869 — 
 1872; Rev. J. H. Brittain, 1873— 1882; Rev. E. 
 McMinn, from January ist, 1883 to the present 
 time. 
 
 During Mr. Fendall's pastorate a baptistery VvMs 
 built in the rear of the meeting house, and some 
 other improvements were made. The church debt 
 was entirely extinguished also, but in after years a 
 new indebtedness was incurred, and a deb" of about 
 ;^2,ooo now rests upon the church. A very memor- 
 able historical sermon was preached by Mr. Kendall 
 during his stay here, and from it most of the facts 
 here given relating to the early history of the 
 church have been obtained. Under the ministra- 
 tions of the present pastor the membership of the 
 church has been increased, a new organ has been pro- 
 cured, various improvements added to the building 
 and about $500 of the debt paid off. 
 
 The present membership of the church is about 
 two hundred and fifty. There are, besides the 
 home school, three mission schools, one at Fellow- 
 ship, one at Mount Laurel and another at Hartford. 
 The average attendance at all the schools is about 
 two hundred and fifty. Evan B. Brown is superin- 
 tendent of the Sunday school, and William Mort- 
 land is clerk of the society. E. B. Brown, William 
 Mortland and Georg^e W. Heaton are the deacons. 
 
1^5 iMOORKSlOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 of the church. The value of tlie church property 
 is about ;^ 15,000. This does not include a parson- 
 age as there is none belonging to the church. Tlic 
 present pastor owns the house he lives in, as di i 
 his immediate predecessor. 
 
 M. E. Church.— The Methodists, like the Bap- 
 tists, did not have many, if any representatives 
 'imong the original white population, and tlie 
 denomination does not appear to have obtained a 
 foothold in the place until about the beginning of 
 the present century. At that time the Itinerants 
 v/ere diligently at work' in this section of the country, 
 and some of their work was done here with appre- 
 ciable results. An interest was awakened in the 
 minds of some, and eventually the interest became 
 more and more wide-spread. There are no records 
 and therefore the Ivinowledge of the beginnings and 
 the progress of the denominational work here is 
 very meagre. Who were the early workers here ; 
 who were among the first to feel the effects of their 
 preaching ; what progress was made in the work ; 
 what discouragements were encoL.ntered — all tliose 
 points in the process of the development of Method-* 
 ism here are things that are not known and cannot 
 be known. 
 
 According to the most authentic traditions tlu^ 
 first class in Moorestown was formed some little 
 time previous to 18 18.- Probibly it was a few years 
 before that date, but how Ions: is not known. We 
 
RELIGIOUS BODIES. jAy 
 
 •only know that in 1818 D-acon Brock was class 
 leader here, and th- supposition is that the class 
 Miad been established some time before. It is 
 known, also, that Micajah Dobbins was an exhorter 
 in the Methodist Church here in 1 820, and that in 
 1825 J^'^nies Moore was one of the leaders. Among 
 the early members of the church were James Moore, 
 Esther Moore, Rhoda Conover, Micajah Dobbins, 
 Caleb Fennimore, Lydia Fenaimore, William D. 
 Brock, Mrs. Brock, Hannah Garwood and William 
 ■Crispin. 
 
 When the original Methodist meeting house was 
 -erected here is not definitely known. It was some- 
 time before 1820, and was after the formation of the 
 class. As nearly as can be ascertained it was about 
 1 81 5. This appears to have been the first house of 
 worship built in the place after the Friends' Meet- 
 ing house was erected, and the interval between 
 ithem was a long one. The Methodist house stood 
 on the south side of I\Iain street by the large white 
 oak tree still growing in the sidewalk on the line 
 between the grounds of Dr. Thornton's residence 
 and that of the Misses 3.1atlack. The sfround for 
 the church was given to the society by Mr. Edward 
 Harris on the condition that the church be free for 
 the use of all evangelical ministers, of whatever 
 denomination. The condition was accepted, and 
 'On the ground was erected a plain brick building of 
 ■moderate sizj, without bell-tower or spire. It is 
 
148 '^^ MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 recollected that while the church was buildincf a- 
 great storm visited this region and the gable end of 
 the unfinished structure was blown down. The 
 work was at once resumed, however, and the struc- 
 ture completed. Under the condition mentioned 
 ministers of diffjrent denominations preached in 
 the church from time to time, but it was distinctl)^ 
 the Methodist Church. 
 
 Eventually the question of building a new church 
 was agitated, and was the occasion of a good deal 
 of discussion and pronounced difference of opinion, 
 some of the members maintaining that the old 
 building was ample for the needs of the congrega- 
 tion, and others as strongly urging that a more 
 commodious house of worship was needed. These 
 latter carried the day, and the wqw church was 
 built. In the meantime Mr. Harris had sold to 
 Mr. William Buzby the property in front of which 
 the old church stood. The old meeting house was- 
 torn down about 1867, and the lot on which it had 
 stood was also sold to Mr. Buzby. He subse- 
 quently sold a portion of his purchase, including 
 the church lot to the Matlack heirs, and a house, 
 now occupied by the Misses Matlack, was built 
 upon the place. 
 
 The building now occupied :is a house of worship 
 was erected by the Methodist society in i85[. It 
 is a brick structure, standing on the north side o\ 
 Main street, about midway between Chester avemu 
 
RELIGIOUS IJUDIE- 
 
 149 
 
 •and Mill street. A parsonage was also built back 
 -of the church. It is a frame building, fronting on 
 Second street, and is a very pleasantly located 
 residence. At present it is not occupied as a par- 
 sonage, but is rented ; and the pastor, Rev. Andrew 
 Gather, has rooms in another house, his family 
 remaining at their own home in Virginia. 
 
 A full list of the preachers who have served here 
 during all the years since the establishment of the 
 •church it would be impossible to obtain. Among 
 the names recalled are those of the Revs. .Street, 
 White, Maddock, Sunderlin, Bartram, Chattain, 
 Whitecar, DuQ:an and Lavelle. It was in the earlv 
 part of the present decade that the differences which 
 had for some time existed in the conq^reo^ation re- 
 suited in a permanent division of the society. The 
 trouble culminated in 1883, but it had its origin at 
 an earlier period than that. For a considerable 
 time there had been a want of harmony among the 
 members. The first causes of the difference are 
 ■obscure, and seem to have been unimportant in 
 themselves. As is the wont in such cases, however, 
 the little matter became a considerable fire, and 
 ■slight differences grew into a serious disagreement 
 In 1882 the breach between the two church parties 
 widened materially. The pastor recognized one 
 :party as being more nearly right in his estimation 
 .than the other, and thereby alienated the sym- 
 pathies of the opposing party from himself. 
 
1^0 mooresto'nvn, old and new. 
 
 Thus he was fully identified with one side of the 
 quarrel, and was looked upon by those on the other 
 side as the representative of their opponents. At 
 the end of his term two opposing influences were 
 brought to bear from the Moorestown church upon 
 the Conference — one urgin^^ the return of the same 
 pastor for another term and the other urging just 
 as strongly that another pastor be sent. The first 
 influence prevailed and and the pastor was returned. 
 The party he represented in the church v/as ardent 
 in his support and the opposition was equally 
 strenuous. The opposing party claimed to consti- 
 tute the society proper, and asserted the right to 
 control the property of the church, including the 
 church building. The doors of the church were 
 locked against the pastor and his adherents, and an 
 appeal was made to the courts, with the result that 
 the doors v/ere ordered to be opened. This was 
 clone; but the outcome of the unhappy difference 
 was a permanent disruption of the congregation, 
 the disaffected members withdrawing in a body in. 
 the spring of 1883. 
 
 The present value of the M. E. Church property 
 here is about $I2,00D. The membership at present 
 is about 45. Wilson chapel, at Wilson Station is 
 a preaching station for the pastor connected with 
 this church. The Sunday School here numbers 
 about 75 scholars at present, a considerable in- 
 
P^MGIOUS BODIES. iq| 
 
 crease witiv- the past year. The Wilson Statlox-i 
 school, connected with this, is also well attended. 
 M. P. Church. — The Methodist Protestant 
 Church here came into existence as the result o- 
 the trouble in the Methodist Episcopal body. After 
 the action of the Conference in March, 1883,- be- 
 came known the protesting members of the 0I& 
 body, about fifty in number, gave formal notice of 
 withdrawal. Their intention was fully carried out 
 a little later, and they declared themselves outside 
 of the eld clrurch. Some time was spent in deciding 
 what subsequent course to pursue. Some were in 
 favor of distributing themselves among the other 
 churches in the place, according to individual pref"- 
 erence. This idea did not meet with much favor, 
 however, the general feeling being that they should 
 form a distinct body of worshippers, and not sacri- 
 fice their identity. Frequent meetings were held 
 for consultation, and at lenc^th the su^^crestion wa> 
 made to attach themselves to the Methodist Protes- 
 trnt Church. The suggestion was favorably con- 
 sidered and a committee of inquiry was appointed. 
 The committee proceeded without delay to maice 
 the necessary investigations. The President of the 
 M. P. Conference was consulted with, and the ex- 
 planations inclined the inquirers still more strongly 
 tovv^ard the proposed connection. The President 
 urged a fuller and more prolonged consideration of 
 
1^2 r.IOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 the matter, however, and himself visited Moores- 
 town several times and participated in the the 
 meetings held to consider the question. 
 
 Finally it was fully decided that the seceding- 
 members of the M. E. Church here should unite 
 v/ith 1..C Methodist Protestant organization, and on 
 May 24, 1883, the M. P. Church of Moorestown 
 was formed, twenty-three constituent members sign- 
 ing the register. The newly formed church a^'rs 
 recognized by the Conference, and Rev. J. H. Algor, 
 from the Mount Pleasant Circuit, Atlantic county, 
 N. J., was assigned to the charge. A unanimous 
 request from the Mt. Pleasant church that Mr. 
 Algor be sent back there was over-ruled by t]ic 
 Conference, and the new pastor took up his resi- 
 dence and assumed his duties here on the 24th of 
 October, 1883. Here he has remained ever since, 
 at the unanimous request of his congregation. 
 
 No time was lost in making necessary arrange- 
 ments for a house of worship, and in the mean time. 
 the town hall was made to serve as a temporary 
 meeting house. Regular services were held there 
 twice every Sunday, and the children of the con- 
 gregation as regularly gathered into the Sunday 
 school there. The lot selected for tlie church 
 building Vv'as situated on the north side of Main 
 street, a little east of Union street. It belonged 
 to the estate of David Ileaton, and was occupiec 
 by an old blacksmith and wheelwright shop. Thif 
 
RELIGIOUS BODIES. 
 
 153 
 
 was purchased for ;^2,ooo, and the erection of the 
 building was begun October 29th, 1883. A neat 
 brick building 37x58 feet in size was constructed, 
 with audience room, lecture room and capacious 
 storage cellar. The lecture room was finished and 
 opened for service March 12th, 1884, and in it 
 since that date, the services of the churcli have 
 been held. The audience room proper is not yet 
 quite completed. The spire of the new church 
 building bears the only " town clock" in the place. 
 At the time of its formation, in the spring of 
 1883, the church, as has been stated, numbered 
 twenty-three members. Each year has shown a 
 marked increase in the membership, and now there 
 .are seventy-four names on the roll. The present 
 Board of Trustees consists of B. J. Sutton, Michael 
 Dubel, George Knell, Jr., A. M. Risdon, George 
 Maines, W. E. Jones, F. M. Johnson. The Sunday 
 school was organized June 22d, 1883, with a mem- 
 bership of twenty-three, including both teachers and 
 scholars. At present the scholars alone number 
 one hundred and sixty-five, and with the officers 
 and teachers the nuiriber belongmg to the school 
 amounts to one hundred and eighty-three. The 
 pastor is the Supei-in'cnclent, with J. Edwin Baker 
 as Assistant Superintendent. The library of the 
 school is well selected, and numbei-s three hundred 
 and l]iirt\'-seven x'olumes. to wWc.i a considerable 
 
 T'.): '"-resent value 
 
154 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 of the church property is estimated at $S,000 on 
 which there is still some debt resting. 
 
 A. M. E. Church. — The colored Methodists o\ 
 Moorcstown and vicinity have not long been in; 
 possession of a house of worship. Formerly they 
 were mcnibers of the Mount Laurel Church, and 
 attended service there. The walk to Mount Laurel 
 and back eveiy Sunday was a tax on the strength 
 and fervor of the worshippers that thcy (elt severely ;; 
 and at length they decided that the inconvenience 
 of going so far from home to attend service was too 
 great. The result of this decision Vv'as the forma- 
 tion of the A. M. E. Church of ?,Iooresto\vn. The- 
 organization of the church was effected several 
 years ago, and measures were taken soon afterward 
 to secure a church building. Such progress was 
 made in the raising of funds that they were enabled 
 to buy the necessary ground, and a lot was pur- 
 chased on the west side of Church Road, a short 
 distance north of the railroad. 
 
 Li process of time such additional funds were 
 raised as seemed to warrant the beginning of build- 
 ing operations, and accordingly a plan for the 
 church building was decided upon, and the founda- 
 tion of the structure was completed. But there the 
 Vv'ork stopped, and it seemed as though it had stop- 
 ped permanently. For a long time the foundation 
 was the only part of the projected building that had 
 come into existence, and efforts to accomplish more 
 
RZfJGTOUS B0DIE3. I^^; 
 
 seemed all in vain. In. the meantime the members 
 held services in each other's houses and hoped 
 against hope for the time when they would have a 
 special building devoted to that purpose. 
 
 After a considerable time of fruitless endeavor it 
 became manifest that to succeed some new method 
 mnist be adopted, and it v/as urged that some white 
 men be added to the Board of Trustees. This sug- 
 gestion was acted upon, and Mr. Gilbert Aitken 
 and Dr. Joseph Stokes v.-ere invited to become 
 members of the I)oard. They both accepted the 
 invitation and entered cordially upon the work be- 
 fore them. Under the united eftbrts of the new 
 and the old members of the Board matters speedily- 
 took an encouraging turn, and in a short time such 
 progress had been made that building operations 
 could be resumed. 
 
 The first meeting of the Board as a joint com- 
 mittee on the building of the church, after the addi- 
 tion of the white members, was held at the house 
 of Daniel Fountain, on July 7, 1883. At that time 
 Rev. Geo. M. Witten was pastor, and remained in 
 charge until the church was built. The enterprise 
 v/as pushed forvv-ard Vv'ith vigor; contributions came 
 in more and more liberally, and a good degree of 
 enthusiasm was awakened v/here a short time before 
 there had been only discouragement. 
 
 The corner stone was laid May ist, 1S84, and 
 the church was completed and opened for v.'orship 
 
il^6 rniRRsrowN, old and new. 
 
 "the same year. The building is a small but very 
 neat frame structure, surmounted by a cupola. 
 The seating capacity of the church is about two 
 liundred. The value of the church property at 
 present is about ^i,ooo. The present pastor is 
 Rev. Isaac Accoe, who also has charge of thj 
 churches at Mount Holly and IMount Laurel. 
 The Board of Trustees as at present organized con- 
 sists of Gilbert Aitken and Dr. Joseph Stolces 
 (white) and George Ambrose, James H. Bowers 
 • and Daniel Fountain (colored). The present mem- 
 ibership is about fifty, although the attendance at 
 Sunday services is much greater than that. Tiie 
 ■Sunday School is quite largely attended, and much 
 interest is taken in its progress and welfare. 
 
 Roman Catholic Church. — The Catholics of 
 Moorestown, as of New Jersey generally, originally 
 belonged in the Diocese of Philadelphia. Event- 
 ually New Jersey was created a Diocese by itself, 
 known as the Diocese of Newark, of wliich l^ishop 
 Daley, afterw^ards Archbishop of Baltimore, VvMS the 
 first Bishop. At that time the Catholic Church at 
 Fellowship was the nearest church to Moorestovv^n, 
 and the Catholics of this town and vicinity went 
 there to worship. It was a formidable journe_\-, and 
 the inconvenience of it was seriously felt by the 
 worshippers here. The Fellowship church wa-^ a 
 niissioncr, attached to a cliurch in Camden, and 
 niinistered to by a priest from that city. 
 
RELIGIOUS BODIES. ; I > 
 
 ?/ 
 
 In tiic spring of 1867 the church at Fellowship 
 Wcis destroyed by an accidental fire, and the neces- 
 sity for supp]}MnL^ another house of worship led to 
 the consideration of a more convenient location for 
 it. By this time Moorestown and its neighborhood 
 supplied the majority of the members; moreover 
 I^kloorestown was a much larger place than Fellow- 
 ship, was directly on the railroad and was altogether 
 a more suitable place for the church than the old 
 location. It was determined, therefore, that the 
 new building: be erected in Moorestown, and that 
 it should be a church fully suited to the needs of 
 the worshippers. 
 
 At the time the Fellowship church was destroyed 
 it v.-as under the charge of Rev. Father Burns, of 
 the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Camden, 
 and it is to his zeal and energy that the Catholics 
 of ]\Ioorestown owe the beautiful building in which 
 they now worship. A lot on the south side of 
 Main street, a short distance above Church Road, 
 was purchased from William H. Haines, and on it 
 in the summer of 1867, the present building was 
 erected. It is a handsome building of brick, set 
 well back from the road, and surrounded by well 
 shaded grounds. It has a seating capacity of 
 about 350. 
 
 The Moorestown church continued as a mission 
 ittached to a Ca-mden parish for several years, 
 .^bout the year 1874 it was detached from Camden> 
 
is; 
 
 T,IO0KRSlHr,V:J, (II, I) AND NE\V. 
 
 ?.nd became attached to Mount Holly. Rev. 
 Father Hugh McManus, of Mount Holly, took 
 charcre and held services here twice a month. In 
 
 o 
 
 March, 1880, this was made a separate parish, and 
 the present pastor, Rev. Father James McKernan 
 took charge of it. The present membership of the 
 church is between 500 and 600. The parish is of 
 considerable extent, and the members are scattered 
 over quite a v/ide region. Owing to this fact the 
 attendance at Sunday School is a matter of difficulty 
 to many, and of impossibility to some, and therefore 
 the school is not so large as it would otherwise be. 
 The attendance of children at the school is about 
 sixty. 
 
 Since Father McKernan's residence here he has 
 added considerably to the property of the parish. 
 He has purchased the present parochial residence 
 adjoining the church, and added another lot to the 
 property. The present value of the property is 
 about ;^ 14,000, on which there is some debt still 
 remaining. The debt is being rapidly reduced, 
 however. 
 
ClIArTER XIII. 
 
 TJic Schools. 
 
 ?^!%5R0M its earliest days I\Ioores'cOv;ii has 
 been a good place for schools. Whether 
 a school master was among the first squat- 
 ters on the ridge I do not know ; but if 
 not he made his appearance here very 
 soon afterwards, and has staid here ever since. 
 About the first thing those old pioneers wanted, 
 after they had secured a shelter for their families 
 and a place to hold religious services, was a school 
 house for their children. They seem always to 
 have had a teacher at hand to occupy the school 
 house as soon as it v;as ready; and the teacher, 
 from that day to this, has never lacked for full em- 
 ployment, for the earnest attention bestowed ow 
 cuu rational interests in the beginning has never 
 been relaxed. 
 
 Tlie fu-st schools, like the first places of worship, 
 were provided by the Friends. Among the mem- 
 bers of that society who were the first comers here 
 were people of higher education and larger attain- 
 ments than ordinary, and they were sufficient in 
 number and influence to give a flavor of culture to 
 (159) 
 
l60 MOOR KSl OWN, OLD AND NtW. 
 
 even the rude elements of a pioneer settlement. 
 Their successors liave always had among them a 
 sufficient representation of their class to retain in 
 the community that flavor in its full strength, and 
 a large element of the population here has, from the 
 first, been characterized by a goodly degree of lit- 
 erary cultivation and taste, and of scholarly attain- 
 ments. So, although quiet and undemonstrative 
 about it, Moorestown has taken a just pride in the 
 educational position it has always occupied. That 
 kind of pride is a very good thing, and the state of 
 affairs that inspires it is a still better thing. 
 
 A community dominated by such an influence 
 must have schools, and they must be good ones, 
 and good schools Moorestown has always had, 
 and has to-day. But in the matter of the early 
 schools, as in other of their early enterprises, our 
 old time predecessors did not take much pains to 
 let us know what they did, which of them did it, 
 or when, where and how it was done. They were 
 as far as possible from sharing the sentiments of 
 the traditional statesman who protested : " I don't 
 believe in doing so much for posterity. What has 
 posterity ever done for us ?" They did much for 
 posterity, and did it bravely and lovingly ; but they 
 didn't tell posterity anything about it. Conse- 
 quently we know almost notlii ng as to where the 
 first schools were established, or the names of those 
 identified with them. 
 
THE SCHOOLS. l6l 
 
 The schools were the result of private effort, 
 undoubtedly, and were little neighborhood enter- 
 prises, established in the houses of those who 
 taught them. The first of which we have any 
 account — but that does not imply that it was the 
 earliest school — was kept in a log house near the 
 forks of the Penisauken Creek. Emanuel Beagary 
 lived in the house and taiight the school for several 
 years, and afterwards became Assessor of the town- 
 ship. If the children of Moorestown had to attend 
 Friend Beagary's school they undoubtedly found 
 the hill of learning a toilsome and oftentimes a 
 muddy one to climb. But they had schools nearer 
 home very soon, if not at first ; for there are a num- 
 ber of old houses now standing here in which 
 schools are reported to have been kept in very 
 early days. One of the old schools was kept in the 
 house now occupied by the Roberts sisters on the 
 south side of Main street, nearly opposite the site 
 of the old tan-yard where Moore's hotel is su^:)posed 
 to have been located. A store had Lj„ii Iccpt in, 
 the building, and when it was moved to other 
 quarters the house was occupied for school pur- 
 poses. Ezra Roberts and Darling Lippincott kept 
 a boarding and day school there for a number oi 
 years, A building not now '^mi '. -^ i'li only 
 recently removed is said to have been used for 
 school purposes, possibly at a still earlier period 
 than the Roberts-Lippincott school just mentioned 
 
l62 MOORKSTOWi;, OLD AND NE\7. 
 
 This was the olJ frame house forinerly owned by 
 James Sankey and used by him as a cabinet shop 
 until it was torn down to make room for the 
 present Bank b-uilding. 
 
 Besides these and other schools kept in dwelling 
 houses in early times there were others, here and 
 hereabouts, kept in buildings specially devoted to 
 that purpose. A frame s-chool house stood on the 
 old Ferry road, near its junction with the Salem 
 road, in which a neighborhood school was kept 
 until 1784. There was also a frame school house 
 at Fairview, at the junction of the present Haddon- 
 iield road with the old Salem road, in which a 
 school was kept until 1781. It is known that a 
 brick school house had long been standing on the 
 ground purchased by the Friends from Job and 
 Anna Cowperthwaite in 1784, near the residence of 
 George Matlack. Coming down to later times, a 
 frame school house was erected in 1829 on the lot 
 north of Second street and west of Chester avenue, 
 which v/as in use until i88o, when it was taken 
 down. About 1835 a ^rame school house was built 
 on the north side of Second street and the east side 
 of Church Road. It was used as a neighborhood 
 school uiiitil 1873, when it was removed. 
 
 The educational methods that prevailed of old 
 difTered m more than one material respect from 
 those now in force. The course of study pursued 
 -was less coaiprehensive, "the three R's" consti- 
 
THE SCHOOLS. 1-63 
 
 tilting-, in many cases, the bulk of the currlculuni. 
 As a consequence while the hours of school were 
 about the same as now, the hours of study were 
 Tnaterially less — whether to the advantage or dis- 
 -advantage of the pupil is a question which still 
 causes some discussion occasionally. Under the 
 old method, too, the pupil came into closer contact 
 with the personality of the teacher, and did not feel 
 the system drawn so closely about him. If the 
 teacher were of the right kind the system was pretty 
 sure to be of the right kind, too ; and if otherwise, 
 otherwise. If the teacher was changed the system 
 was very certain to be changed also ; and so 
 the pupils, by the time they stopped "going to 
 •school," had generally tested a variety of educational 
 methods. 
 
 But in one particular every system of teaching 
 •closely resembled every other one. Different 
 teachers might hold radically conflicting views as 
 to the proper manner of holding the pen, of working- 
 out a " sum" or of the correct attitude in class ; but 
 they all had very much the same way of whipping 
 a scholar who did not properly '*toe the mark." 
 There are plenty of people now among us who, 
 when they recall some of the experiences incident 
 to their close personal contact with the teachers of 
 their childhood, and contrast them with the exper- 
 iences of their grandchildren in schools from which 
 the rod is banished, feel a shuddering conviction 
 
164 MO0RE3T0WN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 that they were born too soon and missed their full 
 share of good luck. Some of them on the other 
 hand, insist that a judicious admixture of good 
 thick switches with the present educational diet 
 would be a good thing for all concerned. It would 
 emphasize and enforce the teacher's authority, they 
 argue, and so would enable him more effectually 
 to keep young feet from straying into vicious ways, 
 and thereby benefit the community at large. 
 
 Whether right or wrong this used to be the gen- 
 erally accepted idea, and the old school discipline 
 included the whip as naturally as the spelling book.^ 
 Some of the incidents related of those old times 
 would make the school boy of to-day think twice 
 very carefully before deciding upon his course of 
 conduct if he thought his teacher was likely to copy 
 very closely after the old masters. It is related, for 
 example, that a boy at one of the schools who had 
 a bad habit of bullying the smaller boys was 
 brought to book one day for bullying one little fel- 
 low in quite too serious a fashion. He threw a 
 piece of wood at the small boy in play spell (they 
 did not have any " recess" at that time), and the 
 missile struclv the child on the forehead, inflicting a 
 wound from which -the blood flowed in a stream. 
 The master was informed of what had taken place 
 and ordered the offender to stay after school for a 
 little conv.Ms ilion. vSchool was dismissed at the 
 usual tinij and al.njst the first one outside of the 
 
THE SCHOOLS 
 
 i6s 
 
 room was the boy who had been told to stay inside. 
 At the instant of dismissal he had jumped for the 
 •door and got safely out. But the master, whip in 
 hand, jumped almost as quickly. He overtook the 
 fugitive at the gate of the yard seized him by the 
 •collar and then and there administered such effective 
 chastisement that the boy's shoes had blood in 
 them when he finally started for home. Nor was it 
 the boys alone who smarted under the hot infliction. 
 No strained notions of chivalry were allowed to 
 interfere with the welfare of the girls, and they 
 received their whippings on occasion, as impartially 
 ■as the boys. 
 
 The Friends, as has been said, were the leaders 
 in educational enterprise here; and the schools 
 were not left to depend on individual effort. The 
 Society took organized action at an early day to 
 secure good schools and place them on a permanent 
 basis. It is recorded that on the 27th day of 12th 
 month, 1781, Ephraim and Hannah Haines, for the 
 sum of 96 pounds, 5 shillings and 7 pence, gold 
 and silver, conveyed to Joshua Roberts, Jacob Hol- 
 linshead, Jonas Cattle and John Collins, elders and 
 overseers of Chester Preparative Meeting, 2 acres, 
 3 roods and 23 perches of land, lying southeast of 
 a line beginning at a stone near Isaac Lippincott's 
 - — formerly Gilbert Page's residence — and running 
 north and east to a stone corner of Joseph Lippin- 
 •cott's lot; "to be aoiolied to such use or uses as the 
 
, 1 65 MOORE* TOWN, OLD AXD NEW. 
 
 body of Friends belonging- to the above named' 
 meeting shall think proper." One of these uses 
 v/as the establishment of a school which is still 
 prospering there. 
 
 In 1784, 8th month, 3ISL. Friends of Chester 
 Meeting bought of Job and Anna Cowp^rthwaite, 
 "for one shilling hard money," one acre and one rood 
 of ground near the residence of George Matlack. It 
 is probable that the first school established here- 
 abouts by the Friends as a Society was established 
 on this ground. A brick school house had been 
 placed on the premises, and in this a school was 
 opened on the 6th day of 12th month, 1785. In 
 the same year or the year following a stone school 
 house was erected on the lot bought of Ephraim 
 and Hannah Haines; and in 1786 the Friends of 
 Chester Meeting appointed their first committee to 
 have the oversight of the education of their children. 
 
 A committee was appointed by the Chester Meet- 
 ing In I2th month, 1788 to visit and have the over- 
 sight of a school kept by Abraham Warrington in 
 or near Westfield (as is supposed), and Joseph War- 
 rington, Thomas Lippincott, Samuel Lippincottand 
 Samuel Shute were requested to continue the care 
 over this school for the next year. Thus far the 
 work done had been determined by the occasion as 
 it arose; but in 12th month 1790 the Monthly 
 Meeting of the Friends of Evesham (of which Ches- 
 ter Preparative Meeting was a constituent) took into, 
 
THE SCHOOLS, 1 6/ 
 
 coiisitl:ra!:io:i the promoting and raism;^- of^ fands 
 for schools; also a uniform plan for the settlement 
 of schools in proper places, and the appointment of 
 Trustees to have supz^rvision of the same. 
 
 The Friends of Chester Preparative Meeting in' 
 7th month 1 79 1 2^urchased of Samuel Shule, for 
 6 pounds, hard money, one acre and on: perch of 
 land where Weslfield brick school house nov: 
 stands. An ancient log house, brought from the 
 neighborhood of Peter Stimms' and Henry War- 
 rington's residences on Penisauken Creek, was 
 standing on the place, and was located for a time a 
 short distance southeast of the entrances to the 
 premises of Nathaniel N. Stokes and William Parry. 
 Shortly after the purchase this old log structure 
 was removed, and for several years afterwards v/a? 
 used as a sheep cote by the father of William and 
 Israel Lippincott. The log building was replaced 
 on the recently purchased ground by a permanent: 
 stone school house, which for several }'ears Vv'cnt 
 under the name of Chester Lovv'er School House. 
 For some time, by permission, meeting ^ for D;vine 
 v/orship were held in it, but from the first it was a 
 school house and notliing else. 
 
 Six years later, in 3d month, 1797, the Friends 
 of Chester Meeting bought of Thomas and Abigail 
 Lippincott, for 122 pounds and 12 shillings, hard 
 money, 15 acres of land lying west of the Burling- 
 ton Road, not far from the school house lot just 
 
l58 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 mentioned, ''for the sole use of Friends in the com- 
 pass of Chester Lower School ; which is to be under 
 the management of Friends, members of Chester 
 Preparative Meeting, aforesaid." Coming back 
 now to j^.Ioorestown proper the Friends of Chester 
 Meeting, on the 17th of 2d month 1795 purchased 
 of Nathan Meriiage and wife, for 179 pounds, 6 
 shillings and 3 pence, "hard money," 5 acres, 3 
 roods and 39 perches of land; one acre and one 
 rood of it to be "for the sole use of the society of 
 people called Quakers for a grave yard to bury 
 their dead; and for such other religious purposes 
 as the said people in their said Preparative Meeting 
 shall direct and appoint the same to. The balance 
 of said lot, or other described lot therein contained, 
 for the sole use of Friend's School at Mo presto wn, 
 under the direction of the Trustees of said school, 
 appointed by the Preparative Meeting at Chester 
 aforesaid, for the purp^^2 of building a dwelling 
 house thereon for the residence of the teacher, or 
 such other use or uses as the said people in their 
 said Preparative Meeting House by their Trustees 
 shall direct and appropriate the same to." It will 
 be observed that real estate had advanced in price 
 since the purchase from James and Hester Adams 
 — which this last adjoined — was made for fourteen 
 shillings in 1703. It would seem that the " dwelling 
 liouse for the residence of the teach ::r" Vv^as not 
 erected on this lot; but a school house was, and it 
 
THE SCllOOJ.^, iO; 
 
 staid llicrc until replaced by a bcLler one in rece.nt 
 years. 
 
 The organized work of the Friends' society in the 
 cause of education, the early progress of which has 
 iust been briefly traced, has never been relaxed. 
 On the contrary more active efforts have been put 
 forth as the needs of the time seemed to demand 
 them, and their educational work to-day touches 
 the high water mark of progress in that direction. 
 Their schools have been kept fully abreast of the 
 advancing time, and are a source of just pride. 
 While they have been making this progress as a 
 society, and while the community at large has been 
 watchfully working in behalf of public instruction, 
 there have been private efforts put forth in behalf 
 of a higher and broader education than was attain- 
 able in the smaller private and neighborhood schools 
 mentioned earlier in this chapter. 
 
 For many years a boarding school for young- 
 ladies, was maintained by Mrs. Mary Lippincott, 
 and was an institution of such recognized high char- 
 acter that it added not a little to the reputation and 
 educational importance of the place. The school 
 v/as established in 1843 in the Lippincott mansion, a 
 very old building which stood at the eastern 
 extremity of the town, where the Fair Ground 
 Avenue improvement is now in progress. Mrs. 
 Lippincott was a woman of high culture and great 
 <^.'nterprise. She had had much experience in teach- 
 
170 
 
 M0!JREST0V/N, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 ing young ladies, and when she decided to open a 
 school in her own house she brought to the work 
 a ripe ability and an established reputation. These, 
 and her great executive talent insured for her enter- 
 prise a large degree of success. She had pupils 
 from near and far, including man}^ from Philadel- 
 phia ; and a goodly p."oportion of the extra travel on 
 tJie old stige coach Hncs Saturday nights and Mon- 
 day mornings consisted of " Mrs. Lippincott's girls'' 
 p-oincT liomc and returninGT to scliool. 
 
 The |)roprictress and principal v/as assisted in her 
 work by an able corps of teachers, and the course 
 of study included all the branches essential to the 
 liigher standard of feivialc education. Psloreover 
 the school was delightfully located, and the pupils, 
 aside from their first-cla^s educational advantages, 
 enjoyed those of a remarkably pleasant and health- 
 ful country home. The regoin all about them was 
 exceptionally beautiful ; and in addition to that was 
 historically interesting. One of the favorite walks 
 of the pupils was to a spot knoAvn as the Indian 
 Spring, some distance south of the school. This 
 was a very abundant spring of clear water, which 
 was said to have very pronounced mineral qualities, 
 and was very interesting from the tradition that it 
 had been a favorite Indian camping, place. The 
 spring itself had been very carefully attended to by 
 its dusky proprietors, and was still in those days in 
 the >i:<nic condition as they had kept it. Then too» 
 
THE SCHOG|[.3. j^j 
 
 there Was always the exciting chance of finding 
 some specially choice Indian relic in the neighbor- 
 hood ; and many were the stone arrow heads the 
 young ladies took back home with them as trophies 
 of their visits to Indian Spi-ing. 
 
 For a number of years after her husband's death 
 Mrs. Lippincott continued her boarding school with 
 eminent success ; and when she finally relinquished 
 it she was not quite ready yet to give up teaching 
 altogether, and for some years longer she kept 
 a day school for boys and girls in her house. In 
 1883, three years ago, after forty years of constant 
 labor, she abandoned teaching entirely, and since 
 that time to the present summer, the old homestead 
 that was formerly so full of young life has stood 
 unoccupied. Mrs. Lippincott herself is now living 
 at a very advanced age in Camden. 
 
 Rev. H. Hastings Weld, v/ho was Rector of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church here from 1854 to 
 1870, taught a school in the rectory daring a part 
 of that time. Both male and female pupils were 
 received in this school, and Vv-ere well instructed in 
 higher and more numeious brandies than were 
 taught in the district scliool. Mr. Weld was a very 
 successful teacher, and those now among us who 
 were his pupils bear loving testimony to the happy 
 manner in which he made school days pleasant as 
 well as profitable. During a part of the time his 
 daughter also had a private school for smaller 
 
172 
 
 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 scliolars, conducted on the same principles and 
 with the same aims as her father's. 
 
 We come now to the consideration of the Moores- 
 town schools as they are to-day. These are three 
 in number — the Public School and the two high 
 .grade schools under the control of the two branches 
 of the Friends' Society, known as the Friends' 
 Academy and the Friends' High School. All three 
 'Of these institutions occupy ground that is more or 
 less historic, and all are the outgrowth of very old 
 schools. In each instance the advanced modern 
 development had its beginnings in the early educa- 
 tional efforts of the community. 
 
 The Public School. — The public school house 
 stands on the north-eastern corner of Second street 
 and Church Road, the lot it occupies extending 
 a considerable distance along both streets, and 
 ■affording ample room for the children's play ground. 
 The ground had been previously occupied for sev- 
 eral years by a school house ; and the school house 
 which occupied it had, for many other years, occu- 
 pied another lot in the immediate vicinity. This 
 old school house was a frame structure, and in the 
 beginning of its career stood on the opposite side 
 of Second street, very near the spot now occupied 
 by Gilbert Aitken's store and cabinet shop. There, 
 with the woods all about it, it for many years served 
 its purpose as a neighborhood school. Then it 
 •was moved across the street to the lot now occu- 
 
THE SCHOOLS. 173 
 
 pied by the public school house, and staid there 
 until it was removed to make way for its more 
 modern successor. 
 
 The old frame school house was occupied, in 
 the course of its history, by a goodly number of 
 teachers whose names are well remembered by 
 many of the citizens whose young ideas they taught 
 how to shoot. A full list of these names cannot 
 be given, but among the teachers were Edward 
 Allen, Thomas Blackwood, Moses Hamill, and 
 his daughter Miss Eliza Hamill, John Stiles, John 
 Curry, Charles Vanscivcr, Jeremiah Haines, two 
 sisters of Charles Vansc.vcr, Miss Sallie Borton 
 and Miss Flora Roberts. 
 
 Moses Hamill taught in the winter term, as did 
 mo^t of the other male teachers, and his daughter 
 taught the summer school. Years ago in most 
 country and village districts a winter school was 
 held to be beyond the governing powers of a 
 woman, on account of the number of " big boys" 
 who came to school winters and had to work sum- 
 mers, and who, according to the theory of the time, 
 could only be kept in order by a strong arm 
 wieldino- an effective rod. The idea survived until 
 
 o 
 
 quite recent years ; so the summer schools were 
 reserved, for the most part for female teachers. 
 
 Thomas Blackwood, one of the teachers men- 
 tioned, showed, in his career, the adaptability to 
 ciicumslanccs and the command of resources which 
 
] -r/ MO! )K i;- 1 nWX, OI.IJ ANi^ ...,\\ 
 
 arc recognized as American characteristics. He 
 was a cabinet maker, employed by the late Samuel 
 Jones. In the course of his shop-work he met with 
 an accident which disabled one of his hands to 
 such an extent as to interfere seriously with manual 
 work. Therefore he turned to the employment 
 which, half a generation ago, was the resource of a 
 great proportion of men who wanted to bridge a 
 chasm — school teacliing. He took charge of the 
 west Second street .school ; but not as a finality. 
 In the intervals of leisure permitted by his new 
 occupation he studied medicine, with the result 
 that when he gave up teaching he entered upon 
 practise as a physician. He is still in the practise 
 of his profession in Camden. 
 
 The old school was in a manner the " district 
 school" of the place. It was not a free school but 
 was partly supported by taxation, with small sums 
 paid by the parents for the tuition of their children. 
 The school depended on the efforts of a single 
 teacher, but on the other hand the course of study 
 was less comprehensive and complicated than in 
 the graded schools of to-day, so that one person 
 -was eaual to all the demands upon his time and 
 resources, and was quite equal to meet the require- 
 ments of the "ABC class" and the class in the 
 *' double rule of three" in the same half day, and 
 through an indefinite number of half days. 
 
 In 1873, the lot on which the old school house 
 
THE SCHOOLS. 
 
 175 
 
 ■stood having been purchased for a public school, 
 the old frame structure took leave of its boys and 
 girls, and the place which had known it knew it 
 no more. It was not destroyed, but was re-estab- 
 lished on old familiar ground. Mr. Andrew Aitken 
 purchased it and moved it across Second street to 
 very nearly the same site it had occupied in the 
 first place, and to-day, disguised in paint and em- 
 bellished with modern additions, it does duty as a 
 part of the building in which Mr. Gilbert Aitken 
 has his furniture store. The old teachers' desk 
 before which, through a long, long term of years, 
 trembling urchins stood to give an account of 
 youthful misdeeds, is also on duty in Mr. Aitken's 
 shop at the present time. The last teacher in the 
 old frame building was Miss Hannah Garwood, 
 who is still a teacher in this vicinity. 
 
 The idea of a graded public school did not, at 
 first, meet with unqualified approval in Moorestown. 
 Some of the older and more conservative residents 
 here thought that the educational facilities afforded 
 by the three schools then in existence here were 
 ample for all the needs of the community, and that 
 the proposition to replace one of them with such a 
 school as was contemplated would only be to im- 
 pose a burden of taxation without any sufficiently 
 compensating advantages. The younger and newer 
 elements carried the day, however, and the public 
 school was finally decided upon. There are those 
 
1^5 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 who still secretly wish that things had been left as 
 they were, and that the old frame school-housj with 
 its sino-le teacher were still one of the institutions of 
 the [)lace as of old. 
 
 In 1873, the public school having b^cn decided 
 u^)on and the ground for it having been purchased, 
 the present building was erected and occupied. It 
 is a two story brick structure, fronting on Second 
 street, and v/as constructed according to advanced 
 ide.v.s of jAiblic school architecture. It has five 
 school rooms, arranged to meet the requirements of 
 its f)\'c departments. 
 
 The staff of instructors consists of a Principal 
 and four assistant teachers ; and the course of study 
 is a thorough one according to the present stan- 
 dard of public school education. The finishing 
 term takes the pupil through all the studies of the 
 Philadelphia High School except three, the ex- 
 ceptions, I believe, being Chemistry, Logic and 
 Synonyms. 
 
 The seating capacity of the school is 250, w^ith a 
 total enroHment of 285, and an average attendance 
 of 203 scholars. This district also includes the 
 school at Wilson's Station, wdiich has a seating 
 capacity of 50, a total enrollment of 35, and an 
 average attendance of 30. The number of children 
 in the entire district between the ages of five and 
 eighteen years is 564. The present value of the 
 school property here is about ^^ 10,000. The school 
 
■HE SCHOOLS. 17-7 
 
 is supplied with a large and well selected library,, 
 and also with well chosen illustrative apparatus. 
 
 The first Principal of the public school was Miss 
 Rebecca T. Garrigues who filled the position from 
 the opening of the school in 1873 to the autumn of 
 1877, when she resigned the place. She was suc- 
 ceeded in September 1877, by Miss Anna Weld, 
 who resigned the position in January, 1878 on 
 account of her failing health. Miss Ella M. M 
 Carr assumed the duties of Principal on the 21st of 
 January 1878, and continued to exercise them until 
 December, 1885, when she resigned. Mr. Henry 
 C. Herr was her successor. He assumed the posi- 
 tion January i, 1886, and still holds it. He is. 
 assisted by Miss Marion Brown, Miss Mattie Cook,. 
 Miss Jamieson and Miss Irene Benyaurd. 
 
 The present Trustees of the district are Elwood 
 Hollinshead, Samuei Dager and Gilbert Aitken. 
 
 At the Centennial Exposition, in the Educational 
 Department of New Jersey, there was exhibited a: 
 large photograph, giving views, side by side, of the 
 Moorestown Public School Building and of the old 
 frame school house which it supplanted, the pur- 
 pose being to emphasize the contrast between the 
 old and the new styles of school house us they 
 existed m New Jersey. The old frame school was 
 labeled "One Hundred Years Old.' 
 
 The Academy.— The school from which the 
 present Friends' Academy has developed was the 
 
1^8 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 first of the schools established in Moorcstowii by- 
 the Friends as a society. In 178 1, as has Ah-eady 
 been stated, the Elders and Overseers of the Meet- 
 ing purchased of Ephraim and Hannah Haines the 
 ground on Main street at the head of Chester 
 avenue, Vvhere the two meeting houses now stand. 
 This was to be applied to such uses as the meeting 
 should think proper, and the two uses that seemed 
 eminently proper to the members were religious wor- 
 ship and education. Accordingly besides erecting 
 a meeting house on the eastern part of the lot, they 
 built a school-house a little west of the middle of 
 the enclosure. 
 
 This school-house v/as a small, square structure, 
 solidly built of stune. It was erected about the 
 year 1785. and cost the society 253 pounds and 
 12 shillings. It is related that the greater portion 
 of the stone used in the construction was quarried 
 from the ground on which the building was placed. 
 Not all of it, however ; for it is also related that 
 the stone which had formed the foundation of the 
 old meeting house on the north side of Main streat 
 was taken across the street when the meeting house 
 was torn down, and built into the walls of the new 
 school house. It would have been difficult to find 
 anywhere a pleasanter location for a school than 
 the one selected for this. The building stood well 
 back from the street — or the "King's Highway" as 
 it then was — on the southward slo'octhat overlooks 
 
THT' SCHOOLS. 
 
 179 
 
 'the bcaiitlfiil valley, and was well shaded, as it is 
 now, by noble trees. The quiet and seclusion cer- 
 tainl}- favored uninterrupted study; but whether 
 "uninterrupted study prevailed I .shall not undertake 
 to say. Probably not, for I have heard that some 
 of the teachers occasionally punctuated the quiet 
 day with very unquiet v/hippings. 
 
 In this stone school house the Friends maintained 
 'a school for their children and the children of the 
 neighborhood until very recent years. They em- 
 ployed good teachers, exercised a strict supervision 
 through the representatives of their meeting, and in 
 all ways kept the school up to a high standard. 
 The result was that until very recently the school 
 was held to meet very fully the needs of the com- 
 munity. A good, thorough common school educa- 
 tion was obtainable here, and the school at West- 
 town, also under the control of Chester Meeting, 
 furnished, as it does nov/, the opportunity for a well 
 advanced education. The tvv-o together answered 
 the purpose for which they v/ere established very 
 comipletely through a long term of years. 
 
 In the course of time, however, it became desir- 
 able to add to the resources of the Moorestown 
 school. The advancing development of the com- 
 munity seemed to call for greater and higher facili- 
 ties in the way of education than the old stone 
 school house with its one teacher afforded. The 
 '-thing to do was not to be decided upon lightly, 
 
l80 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 and much careful thought was expended upon it, 
 and much comparison of views took place before 
 the final decision was reached. This was to the 
 effect that the school should be changed from a 
 simple neighborhood scJiool to a high-grade institu- 
 tion ; that its character should be modified and its 
 scope largely increased, and the building should be 
 so altered and added to as to meet the new require- 
 ments. In short a graded Academy was to be 
 established in a suitable academy building. 
 
 So, after nearly a hundred years of usefulness 
 to a number of rising generations, the little stone 
 school house was deposed. It was not destroyed, 
 but its identity was merged into that of a new- 
 comer. It became, instead of an independent whole, 
 merely a part of a much more elaborate building. 
 In 1878 the present Academy building was com- 
 pleted, the venerable stone house forming the rear 
 portion of the structure. The building, as it stands, 
 is a plain one-story house, the front, or newer por- 
 tion being of brick, and the back part of stone. 
 At the left of the entrance hall is the room con- 
 taining the library, and there are, in addition, three 
 school-rooms, all well furnished with modern school 
 appliances. The building has a seating capacity of 
 about one hundred, and the attendance is very 
 nearly up to that standard. 
 
 The change, of course, involved new aims and 
 new methods, and the course of study, as now 
 
IIIE SCI100L3. 18 I 
 
 ■arranged, graduates the pupils after a thorough 
 instruction in the higher branches of a soh'dly 
 founded education. Tlicre are three departments 
 an the school — the Priniary, Intermediate and 
 Academic. Pupils are admitted to the Primary 
 department at the age of six to eight years, and the 
 time occupied in this department is two or three 
 years, according to the age and standing of the 
 pupils at the time of entering. In the Intermediate 
 department one year is consumed, and the Acade- 
 mict course takes four years; so that the entire 
 course of study, from entering to graduation, occu- 
 pies seven or eight years. The staff of teachers 
 consists of tlie Principal and two regular assistant 
 teachers, Avith an occasional extra assistant. 
 
 The course of study in the Primary department 
 includes Arithmetic, Geography, Spelling, Reading, 
 Writing, Object Lessons, Natural History and 
 Dravving. The Intermediate department comprises 
 two classes, C and B. In class C the studies are 
 Arithmetic, Geography, Physiology, Popular Sci- 
 ence, Language Lessons, Elementary Philosophy 
 and Child's American History. The studies for 
 ■class B are Arithmetic, Zoology, Physiology, Geog- 
 raphy, Parley's History of the World, Study of 
 Plants and Latin. The Academic department com- 
 prises four classes ; they are class A, Second class. 
 First class, and Senior class. In class A the studies 
 >are Arithmetic, Physiology, Latin, United States 
 
1 82 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEY7. 
 
 History, Algebra, English Grammar, Natural His- 
 tory, and the Geography of the Old World. The- 
 studies in the Second class are Algebra, Physics, 
 Latin, English History, German, Physical Geogra- 
 phy, English Grammar and Higher Arithmetic. 
 The studies in the first class are Geometry, As- 
 tronomy, Rhetoric, Constitution of the United' 
 States, Latin, German, American Literature, Botany 
 and Studies in English Literature. The Senior 
 class has Trigonometry, Geology, Latin, Chemis- 
 try, English Literature, German, Ancient History,. 
 Higher Alijebra and Botany. 
 
 The pupils liave tlie advant^.ge of the free use of 
 the excellent library in the building, and in addi- 
 tion there is a good collection of maps. There are 
 also good physical and chemical apparatus, and' 
 students in physiology are assisted by the study of 
 an articulated skeleton, and a good clastic model 
 of the human syste:"n. The study of natural history 
 is greatly aided by a cabinet containing mounted 
 specimens of one hundred and fifty of our native 
 birds. 
 
 The Academy was opened i]i the autumn of 1S78, 
 with Richard Cadbeiry as the first Principal. He 
 .served in that capacity for one year, vvdien he was 
 succeeded by Edward Forsythc. After two years 
 of service he relinquished the position, and Wilmer 
 P. Leeds became Principal. His term of service 
 was also two years, and at the end of that time he- 
 
THE SCHOOLS. jg^ 
 
 was succeeded by Miss Ruth Anna Forsythe, whc 
 has held the position ever since. Miss Forsythe 
 has for lier assistant teachers, Walter Moovq and 
 Miss Emma P. Forsythe. The school is under the 
 control of the Orthodox branch of the Friends, and 
 a committee is appointed by the ^Meeting to have- 
 oversight of its conduct and affairs. The present 
 committee is constituted as follows: William' 
 Evans, George Abbott, jr.,. Samuel L. Allen, David 
 Roberts, Elisha Roberts, Henry R.oberts, Alexan- 
 der C. Wood, Mary Ann Haines, Sarah R. Allen, 
 Rebecca Evans, Sarah Carter, Man.- R. Mallack.. 
 Mary Anna Matlack, Sarah Ann Kaighn. 
 
 Friends' High School.— The Friends' High 
 School at the eastern end of Second street is also 
 the outgrowth of a school which was established b\- 
 the Friends as a Society, and which dated back to 
 a time long past. In 1795, as has already been 
 said, the Friends here purchased of Nathan Herit- 
 age and his wife, the tract of land lying on the 
 western side of Chester avenue, and extending, 
 originally, from Main street to where the railroad 
 nov/ is. In 1829 a frame school house was erected 
 on this lot. about midway between the northern 
 and southern boundaries, and fronting Chester 
 avenue. Second street had no existence when the 
 school house was built, and later, w;i.jn the survey 
 was made for that thoroughfare, it was found that 
 ^itlicr Llic strejto. the school liou^<=: vj?ull have tr 
 
184 MOORESTUWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 turn out. The building was the one to yield. It 
 was moved some distance toward the North, and 
 thenceforth stood on the northwestern corner of 
 Second street and Chester avenue. 
 
 It was a little, low, white frame building, with its 
 entrance door toward Second street ; and was a 
 pleasant and picturesque feature of the locality, 
 standing as it did in the shade of some large old 
 trees. Like the stone school house, this was under 
 the control of the Friends, but of the other branch ; 
 and v/hile it gave their children the opportunity for 
 being well taught, it was also open to the children 
 of the neighborhood who were not identified with 
 that society. For many years it served its purpose, 
 and among the long list of teachers who gave 
 Instruction there, our townsman Judge Clayton 
 Lippincott was one. As in the other schools, a 
 solid common school education according to the 
 old standards was the kind of education obtainable 
 here. A good start up the hill of learning was 
 given, but the climb to the upper part of the hill 
 was not attempted. In the later years of its exist- 
 ence the school was chiefly devoted to small schol- 
 ars; and more than one of the pupils now in 
 attendance at the High School has happy recollec- 
 tions of the summer days spent in t!ie "little whits 
 school house," under the loving min'strations of the 
 kind young teacher who presided tiure. 
 
THE SCHOOLS. I 85 
 
 It was this little school that expanded into the 
 present High School. When the proposition was 
 made to establish a high-grade school, offering- 
 ample facilities for acquiring an advanced educa- 
 tion in accordance with the standard now accepted, 
 and by the use of methods now in use, the sugges- 
 tion was not favorably considered by the older and 
 more conservative of those in authority. They 
 were not hostile to the standard or the methods, 
 but they doubted the success of their application 
 here and now. The younger and more progressive 
 ones, however, were sanguine and persistent, and 
 their enthusiasm carried the day. The High 
 School was decided upon ; and v/hen that decision 
 had once been reached the determination was fully 
 shared by all to make the new departure an unqual- 
 ified success. 
 
 The little old frame school house which had been 
 a landmark for so many years was torn down, and 
 its successor, the present High school building, 
 was completed in 1880. This is a handsome two 
 story brick structure, standing on the west side of 
 Chester avenue, and the north side of Second street. 
 The front is toward Chester avenue, but there is an 
 entrance, also, on the western side of the building, 
 for the male pupils, the eastern door being for the 
 girls. The building contains five good siz:'' scliool- 
 rooms, thoroughly lighted by ample windows. 
 
lS6 .w M0£«<E3T0W>r, OLD ANB NEW. 
 
 The internal arrangements are convenient, and the 
 ground surrounding the school house affords abun- 
 dant room for the sport and exercise the young 
 folks need. The seating capacity of the building is 
 a hundred and fifty and this can be somewhat 
 increased if necessary by altering the present seat- 
 ing arrangements. 
 
 The school has three departments — the Primary, 
 Intermediate and Advanced. A Kindergarten is 
 also conducted in one of the rooms of the buildincf 
 at present; but although it is under the control of 
 the school committee, it is not properly a depart- 
 ment of the High School, being a distinct institu- 
 tion. It will be removed from the building the 
 present year and established in separate quarters 
 elsewhere. It is probable that in the course of a 
 year or so a building especially designed for the 
 Kindergarten will be erected in the present school 
 fjrounds. In the meantime the room now occupied 
 by it in the school building will henceforth be 
 added to the school accommodations. 
 
 The corps of instructors in the school comprises 
 a Principal and, at present, three assistant teachers. 
 Hereafter there will be four assistant teachers in- 
 stead of three. Besides these there is a special 
 teacher of drawing and painting who gives instruc- 
 tion at stated times ; and there is also a special 
 lecturer who visits the school from time to time 
 ::.Md lectures to the pupils on subjects connected 
 
'1 IIL, feCllo'-j^S. 
 
 187 
 
 with their regular studies. Tlic efforts of these in- 
 structors are made more effective by a well furnished 
 library of reference-books, by maps and globes^ 
 philosophical and chemical apparatus, a cabinet of 
 minerals, a skeleton, &c. 
 
 The pupils in the three departments of the school 
 are arranged in eight classes, ranging from " G'^ 
 class in the Primary department to the Senior class 
 in which pupils leave the Advanced department 
 and the school. The full course of study occupies 
 eight years, and is arranged for the various classes 
 as follows : G class ; Number, Reading, Spelling, 
 Object Lessons, Oral Geography, Writing, Drawing 
 and Molding. F class ; Arithmetic, Reading, Oral 
 Geography, Spelling, Language Lessons, Writings 
 Drawing and Molding. E class ; Arithmetic Read- 
 ing, Geography, Language Lessons, Spelling, Writ- 
 ing, Drawing and Molding. D class; Arithmetic,. 
 Reading, Geography, Elements of Natural Philoso- 
 phy, American History, Language Lessons, Spelling 
 Writincr Drawlnp- and Moldincr. C class ; Arithme- 
 tic, Reading, Intermediate Geography, Physiology,, 
 American History, Spelling, Etymology, Grammar, 
 Composition, Drawing and Writing. B class ; Al- 
 gebra, Arithmetic, American History, Physical 
 Geography, Grammar, Reading, Etymology, Com- 
 position, Drawing and Writing. A class ; Geome- 
 try, Algebra, Arithmetic, History of the World, 
 Ph3'sics, Grammar, Latin or German, Elocution, 
 
I 83 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 Coniposition, Literature, Drawing and Writing. 
 Senior class ; Geometry, Intellectual Philosophy, 
 Higher Arithmetic, University Algebra, Literature, 
 Geology, Astronomy, Latin or German, Painting 
 'or Perspective Drawing, and Elocution and Com- 
 position. 
 
 One of the purposes of the school, as set forth by 
 its managers, is to prepare students intending to 
 take a course in college; and arrangements have 
 been made with the managers of Svvarthmore Col- 
 lege whereby pupils may enter the Freshman class 
 without examination by presenting a certificate 
 from the Principal of this school. Another pur- 
 pose is to offer the best possible opportunities to 
 those pupils who do not purpose pursuing the 
 entire course of study. In fulfilment of this pur- 
 pose a Special Department has been instituted, in 
 which pupils are privileged to select studies in any 
 of the classes, and pursue such separate branches 
 as may seem desirable. 
 
 The school v/as opened October Sth, 1880, with. 
 Miss Annie Caley, now Mrs. Doran, as the first 
 Principal. She served as Principal for two years, 
 when she resigned the position and was succeeded 
 by Mr. George E. Megarge, who has since been, 
 and still is the Principal. The assistant teachers at 
 the present time are Miss Mary Willets, A. B., Miss 
 Emma S. Pyle and Miss Ida Bonner. Miss Rachel 
 L. R'-^-^-^-s is the Kindercrartncr. v/ith ]\'Iiss S..ru!i II. 
 
THE SCHOOLS. 
 
 189 
 
 Wilson as assistant. Miss Virginia Kalcr is the 
 teacher of drawing and painting. The present 
 attendance at the school, includin*^ the Kindercrar- 
 is one hundred and twenty-five. 
 
 The Academy is under the charge of the Ortho- 
 dox Friends ; the High School is under the direc- 
 tion of the other branch of the society. A com- 
 mittee appointed by the Ciester Preparative Meet- 
 ing has direct supervision of it. The committee is 
 at present composed as follows : John M. Lippin- 
 cott, William Dunn Rogers, John S. Collins, Sam- 
 uel C. DeCou, Joshua R. Evans, Levi L. Lippincott, 
 Thomas D. Holmes. M irtha DeCou, Sarah L. 
 Holmes, Lydia L. Rogers, Emily H. Atkinson, 
 Rachel A. Collins, Sarah R. Sullivan, Hannah B. 
 Lippincott. 
 
 The High School and the Academy are both 
 largely patronized by those who are not members 
 of either Friends' Meeeting, but who are glad to 
 have for their children the very liberal educational 
 advantages offered b}- those institutions. 
 
Chaptf.t^ XIV. 
 
 Societies and Iiistitiitioiis. 
 
 SSOCIATION is the key-note of modern 
 life. It had a eood deal to do with 
 
 2'^a'^ ancient life too, for that matter, but it is 
 ^S^^^ pre-eminently characteristic of our affairs 
 to-day. Whether or not it is the American idea of 
 union carried out to its extreme result, there cer- 
 tainly seems to be a general acceptance of the 
 doctrine enunciated by a certa.in statesman v/hen 
 the Declaration of Independence was under discus- 
 sion : " We must all hang together — or else we will 
 all hang separately." Pretty much everything is 
 done in partnership. Organized labor confronts 
 organized capital; organized tourists are "person- 
 ally conducted" through Europe by the agents of 
 organized excursion makers ; and things have got 
 to such a pass now that in some places the school 
 boys have organized syndicates to resist the en- 
 croachments of organized learning. 
 
 Moorestown Is not greatly under the Influence of 
 this particular spirit of the age. There is no all- 
 controlling syndicate here ; the Knights of Labor 
 are not a power, and I have never heard of a strike 
 (190) 
 
 \ 
 
SOCIETIES AND IN5TITUTION3. jgi 
 
 or lockout in the place. Organization here is not 
 aggressive, and it is not defensive. It is harmonious 
 •and has only peaceful intentions ; but there is a 
 good deal of it. The principle of association is 
 fully recognized, and there are a goodly number of 
 societies and institutions here in which the idea 
 finds a variety of practical expressions. There are 
 literary, financial, beneficial, class and reformatory 
 organizations. Some of them take the form of 
 secret societies, and some take the public fully into 
 their confidence ; all have a distinct purpose to 
 accomplish and are in earnest about achieving it. 
 A very notable example of what could be done in 
 this direction in times past was afforded by 
 
 The Mooresto'.vn Literary Association. — 
 This organization no longer exists ; but a quarter 
 of a century ago it was a power and a resource. 
 In looking back at what it was and what it achieved 
 Ave cannot but lament that it has gone and left no 
 fitting successor. The regret is tempered by the 
 hope that its successor will yet appear; and the 
 success of the old society, continued through a 
 term of years, is an assurance that the nevv^ one will 
 not lack for encouragement. What was true then 
 is undoubtedly true now: The community is ready 
 to welcome and support the best that can be 
 offered it. 
 
 About the year 1S54 a number of the prominent 
 and public spirited men of the place set about 
 
jg2 LIOOIU:STUWN, OLD \:<\) NKW. 
 
 devising ways and means to supply a manifest and 
 widely felt deficiency in the social and intellectual 
 life of the community. This deficiency existed in 
 the fact that there was here no adequate means of 
 suitable recreation for the people of the villai^j and 
 vicinity. There was no railroad, and a visit to 
 Philadelphia for an evening's entertainment or 
 profit was out of the question. The people must 
 have their pleasure brought to them or they must 
 o-Q without it. Realizing this necessity the group 
 of men alluded to undertook to meet it in the best 
 v^^ay, and wiih this purpose organized the Moores- 
 town Literary Association, which had for its object 
 the furnishing of winter courses of good lectures to 
 the people of Moorestown. 
 
 The association was made up of good material. 
 Such men as Dr. J. J. Spencer, Rev. H. H. Weld, 
 rector of the Episcopal Church. Rev. Dr. Fendall, 
 pastor of the Baptist Church, Mr. Edward Harris, 
 Mr. Israel lieulings, Mr. John \V. r>uzby and Dr. 
 N. N. Stokes, composed the membership. Mr. 
 Heulings was President of the society ; and Dr. 
 Stokes, then quite a young man and but recently 
 established in practice here, was the Secretary. 
 The list of members comprised other names wliich 
 I have not now at hand, but these fairly indicate 
 the quality of the material which composed it. 
 Rev. Dr. P\Midall, Rev. Mr. Weld, Drs. Spencer and 
 Stokes and Mv. Harris were chosen as tlu Lecture 
 
SOCIETIES AND INS'l IIUTIONS ig^ 
 
 Committee, and carried their work through with 
 energy and enthusiasm. 
 
 Before inviting the pubHc to attend a course ol' 
 lectures it was necessary to provide a place in which 
 lecturer and people might meet. There was nc 
 public hall constructed with reference to lectures^, 
 concerts and other popular entertainments. There- 
 was only the little township building, and that was 
 neither large enough, nor adapted otherwise to the 
 to the purpose in contemplation. In the emergency 
 the hall in the third story of Burr's store building- 
 was rented and fitted up as a lecture-room. To 
 this room the community was invited to listen to 
 good lectures ; and the invitation was accepted with 
 an enthusiasm that fully vindicated the wisdom 
 of those who had assumed that a demand always 
 exists for Avhat is good. Every week during the 
 season a lecture was delivered in the extem- 
 porized hall, and every week during the season a 
 crowded audience gathered there to listen to it. 
 An audience of four hundred people would be con- 
 sidered a pretty fair-sized one for a place of Moore- 
 town's present size, but that number of people 
 frequently assembled in the lecture room here a 
 quarter of a century ago. 
 
 So hearty was the appreciation of the opportunity 
 offered for hearing good things that the people 
 used to drive into the village every lecture night 
 from homes that were several n^.iles out in the 
 
1^4 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 country, and then drive back again when the lec- 
 ture was over. Under the starlight or under the 
 clouds the people came to the lectures. And they 
 listened to many a good man who had something 
 to say that was worth the saying. Bishop Stevens 
 was one of the lecturers, and Judge Kelley was 
 another. They came season after season ; and so 
 did Rev. A. A. Willetts, who was a favorite here as 
 every where else. Dr. Isaac Hayes, of Arctic fame 
 warmed the Moorestown winter by detailing ex- 
 periences that were so much colder. Isaac Hazel- 
 hurst, Esq., J. Wheaton Smith and President Allen 
 of Girard College were some among the many 
 good lecturers to whom the people listened on 
 these memorable evenings. 
 
 The tribulations of the lecture committee were 
 by no means ended when their hall had been 
 secured and tiieir lecture engagements made. The 
 winter is the lecture season, and committees with a 
 full command of railroad facilities know that there 
 is apt to be a slip 'twixt a winter engagement and 
 the fulfilment of it. A snow-blockade makes even 
 an express train on a trunk hne uncertain in its 
 connections. What then must have been the cares, 
 labors and anxieties of our committee, under the 
 necessity of getting their lecturers here over coun- 
 try roads, by stage, or by private conveyance. 
 Sometimes, in spite of the utmost efforts, there was 
 disappointment. This was not often the case, 
 
SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 IQ- 
 
 liowever, and altogether the enterprise flourished 
 r^reatly. 
 
 For three vvqntcrs the lectures were dehvered in 
 :the room over the store, but the necessity for a 
 -more commodious and more accessible place was 
 ^strongly felt by the association The township 
 building on the Main street was in a capital loca- 
 tion, but it was too small, and moreover was under 
 the, control of the Township Committee for exclu- 
 sively township puposes. Negotiations were opened 
 between the association and the township authori- 
 ties with the result that the association became 
 ;oint proprietors with the township of the little 
 brick building. Then the association issued stock 
 and effected an improvement that was notable in its 
 •day. An addition was made at the rear of the 
 building by which the size of the Town Hall (as it 
 ■lad now become) was exactly doubled. A platform 
 ■.vas constructed, seats were put in, and Moorestown 
 Town Hall in its new elegance was considered a 
 ^decided credit to the place. Pipes were laid from 
 ^the residence of Mr. Harris, and for a time at least, 
 ■■-he new building was lighted with gas from his 
 private gas machine. 
 
 The arragement with the township authorities 
 'left them the use of the hall for all township pur- 
 poses, and the new partners had it for lectures and 
 :)ther purposes as they might desire. The joint 
 ^proprietorship still exists, and the stockholders 
 
Iq6 moorejTown, old and new. 
 
 meet semi-occasionally to look after the state of 
 their investment and declare or pass a dividend, as 
 the case may be. It was in 1856 or 1857 that the 
 new hall was opened for lectures, and the success 
 that had attended the efforts of the association in 
 their third story room followed them to their new 
 quarters, and continued unabated until the final 
 extinguishment of the enterprise in other and more 
 intensely absorbing interests. The last course of 
 lectures was in the winter of i860 — '61. Before 
 another came the war had begun its strenuous dis- 
 course, and people were too intent on that to listen 
 to literary lectures. 
 
 The Moorestown Literary Association is dead,, 
 and from its ashes no successor has yet sprung up. 
 It is to be hoped the succession will not be long 
 delayed. The opportunity is as ripe now as then, 
 waiting only for the right men to pluck it. When 
 they appear they will surely find as great a success 
 following their endeavors as their predecessors had. 
 Good lectures, concerts and scientific entertainments 
 would certainly be as heartily welcomed now as 
 before the war. 
 
 The Friends' Library. — An institution based 
 on the same idea as that which formed the founda- 
 tion of the Literary Association, is the Friends' 
 Public Library. Happily, unlike the other, it is 
 still in existence, and is advancing year by year to 
 a higher sta.uKird of prosperity. Perhaps one 
 
 
SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTIONS. igy 
 
 reason for the difference is that the Library is 
 exclusively in the hands of women, and it requires 
 something more upsetting than a war to overturn a 
 woman's purpose. At all events the Library sur-. 
 vived the war, and has continued to go on from 
 good to better, until, from a feeble beginning it has 
 attained a sturdy maturity. 
 
 It was in 1853 that the Library was instituted. 
 The necessity for a collection of good books accessi- 
 ble to the public was as strongly felt as the necessity 
 for public lectures. This was a reading community 
 and good books were always in demand. But so 
 many books worth the reading were put forth every 
 year that no private collection could compass them 
 all, or even the best of them. Moreover there were 
 here, as in every community, a very large propor- 
 tion of appreciative readers who ardently desired 
 the best but were able to buy but very little of it. 
 If the people could have the opportunity, by the 
 payment of a small sum each year, of reading some 
 of the best Hterature and then putting the volumes 
 back on the shelves for somebody else to read, they 
 would gladly avail themselves of it. That was the 
 reasoning in the minds of those who suggested and 
 planned the Library; and the wisdom of their 
 reasoning has been shown by the result. 
 
 They were convinced that the experiment was 
 worth trying, at all events, and on the 15th of 
 March, 1853, they began to put their convictions 
 
igS MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 into practise. On that day the first meeting to 
 consider the founding of the library was held in the- 
 old stone school house which now forms a portion 
 of the Academy building. An adjourned meeting 
 was held on the 27th of the same month, and at 
 this meeting the enterprise was fully decided upon, 
 A constitution which had been drawn up in the 
 meantime, was presented, and after due considera- 
 tion was finally adopted. The association formed 
 was named the " Moorestown Library Association of 
 Friends," and the experiment was fairly under way. 
 
 Joseph W. Lippincott was the first Secretary ;- 
 and if he had very much to do it was not because- 
 the library under his charge was a big one. When 
 first opened to the public the library had on its. 
 shelves about one hundred and twenty volumes. 
 Donations of books had been received from Dn 
 Joseph Warrington, James S. Lippincott and some- 
 others in Moorestown; and thirty-seven volumes 
 of Friends works had been received from one of 
 the Friends' Meetings in Philadelphia. These last 
 have always been loaned free of charge to any who' 
 might apply for them. The use of all the other 
 books, of course, had to be paid for by those 
 enjoying the privileges ; but the charge has been,, 
 and remains, so very moderate that it is not felt as 
 a burden. 
 
 The Association was formed and it had the bo'oks- 
 to start with ; but like the Literary AssociatiorL^ 
 
SOCiETiES AND IN» 1 1 i U 1 l^NS. 
 
 199 
 
 with its lectures. *l must have a place to put them. 
 It had no library building-, and tlv erection of one 
 was an idea it could not entertain lor a moment at 
 that stage of its progress. A i cady made place 
 must be found, and arrangements were made for 
 placing the volumes in an up-stairs room in the 
 store building of Haines and Buzby, which stood 
 on the ground now occupied by the Brown Bros.' 
 store. There was the first abiding place of the 
 Friends' Library; and Mr. John \V. Buzby, one of 
 proprietors of the store, who a little later became 
 one of the active members of the Literary Associa- 
 tion, was the first Librarian. 
 
 In the years that have passed since then the 
 Library has been to some extent a migratory itstitu- 
 tion, but its migrations have always been to better 
 and more accessible quarters. After a considerable 
 time spent in its old home it was removed to 
 Howard Leed's jewelry shop, the proprietor acting 
 as Librarian. Here it tarried for a time, and then 
 was removed the millinery shop of Angela Adams, 
 that lady in her turn acting as Librarian. After an 
 interval it was again removed, this time to the 
 millinery shop of Sarah Davis, who became Libra- 
 rian. In these four places the Library spent twenty- 
 six years. Finally, in 1879, it made its last change 
 of place up to the present time. The Academy 
 Building had been constructed in the Meeting" 
 House enclosure, and in the front room on the left 
 
•200 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 of the entrance hall of this building, the Library 
 was placed at the time mentioned, and there it still 
 remains. 
 
 Great advantages were secured by this last re- 
 moval. A room more suitable in its location and 
 arrangement than any heretofore occupied was 
 obtained ; the expense of paying rent was obviated, 
 and the further expense of paying for a Librarian's 
 services was avoided. Under the present arrange- 
 ment, each of the six lady managers of the institu- 
 tion acts as Librarian during two months of tlie 
 )"ear; and as their services are given gratuitously, 
 every cent of revenue can be, and is, applied to the 
 purchase of new books. Favorable as the present 
 location is, however, the promoters of the enterprise 
 are not yet fully satisfied. Their ambition now is 
 to have the Library placed in a building placed in 
 a building of its own ; a building especially con- 
 structed and arranged for its accommodation. This 
 will no doubt be accomplished in the course of 
 time. Meanwhile things are very well as they are 
 now, even if the ambition mentioned should never 
 accomplish its purpose. 
 
 During the years that have passed since the first 
 books were placed on its shelves there has been a 
 gradual and steady increase in the number of 
 volumes, until now the Library contains about 
 eight hundred and fifty books. Each year of late 
 between fifty and sixty works have been added to 
 
Goci tries AND institution:.. 201 
 
 the catalogue. Last year (1885) nine hundred and 
 and nineteen volumes were taken out by subscribers 
 and casual readers. A clause in the constitution 
 adopted in 1853 provides that "no novels, romances, 
 or any works of an immoral tendency, or which 
 derogate from the principles of the Christian religion 
 shall be placed in the Library." This condition 
 lias always been strictly observed, and no work of 
 fiction — with the single exception, I believe, of 
 "Uncle Tom's Cabin" — is to be obtained here. 
 But then, as one of the managers explains, " fiction 
 can be obtained anywhere; and it seems best to 
 5pend the little money we have on something else." 
 Happily there is a vast amount of good reading 
 that is not fiction, and a great variety of this may 
 be found on the shelves of the Library. Standard 
 works of poetry, travels, science, biography and 
 history (the constitutional clause not having been 
 construed to forbid the kind of fiction that is often 
 pressed between the covers of an historical volume) 
 urc here, and year by year some of the best new 
 books are added. 
 
 The Library is open two afternoons in the week, 
 with one of the managers in attendance. Annual 
 subscribers, by the payment of a very moderate fee 
 each year, are entitled to the free use of the books, 
 and those who are not subscribers can have the 
 reading of any book for two weeks for the sum of 
 iive cents per volume. The present managers of 
 
202 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 this excellent institution are Esther Robers, Martha 
 E. Stokes, Sally Ann Kaighn, Mary W. Stokes,, 
 Rebecca Matlack, Mary C. Roberts and Sarah S. 
 Carter. The Secretary is Esther Roberts, and the 
 Treasurer Mary W. Stokes. 
 
 MooRESTOWN, National Bank. — One of the most 
 recent additions to the institutions of Moorestown 
 is, in its way, one of the most important. It does 
 not deal in literature, except to a very limited ex- 
 tent ; but without the matter that it does deal in, 
 libraries would be but places of emptiness, and lec- 
 ture committees would strive in vain to entice the 
 public. It deals in money, and is a bank. 
 
 One highly gratified old citizen exclaimed, when 
 the bank was opened : " It took Moorestown two 
 hundred years to build a bank, and I hope it will 
 take longer than that to tumble it down." Moores- 
 town was not trying, through all of her two hundred 
 years, to establish such an institution; but the effort 
 had certainly been repeatedly made, and made in 
 vain, a good many years before the endeavor that 
 -gucceeded. Ic v/as Rev. Jarnes H. Lamb, the 
 Episcopal clerg3/man, who actively began and 
 pushed forward this last movement, and he was 
 met by the discouraging assurance, from one after 
 another of the prominent citizens whom he ap- 
 proached : " It can't be done. We found that out 
 thirty years ago." Gradually, however, he brought 
 them to realize that this effort was bein:: made now 
 
SOCIETIES AND IXSTI I'UTIONS. 
 
 203 
 
 thirty years after the one that had discouraged 
 them. Then they began to think that it might 
 succeed, and soon they were convinced that success 
 was possible. This conviction made success cer- 
 tain ; for all that was needed was to overcome the 
 inertia. This done, rapidly accelerated motion was 
 soon attained. The rate of progress' was a sore- 
 surprise to some of the old conservatives. When 
 asked to take stock they laughed and said they 
 would subscribe the next year. To the next invita- 
 tion they responded that they would " see about it 
 Christmas." Before Christmas they had concluded 
 that it would be as well not to wait any longer, and 
 were astonished to have their applications for shares 
 met with the assurance that every dollar had been 
 sold. They bought shares, but had to pay a 
 premium. 
 
 The agitation of the bank enterprise v/as begun 
 early in the summer of 1885, and at first, as I have 
 said, the general response to the idea was not enthu- 
 siastic. Everybody recognized the desirability of 
 such an institution as was proposed, but "the place 
 would not support it," was the fear expressed. 
 Persistent argument bore down this kind of opposi- 
 tion (the only kind that was encountered) and suffi- 
 cient co-operation was secured to put the project 
 in proper form to present to the public. A call 
 was issued for a public meeting, and at the meeting 
 a still further advance was made toward success. 
 
-04 
 
 MOORESTOWN. OLD AND NEW. 
 
 Ill a very little while the establishment of the bank 
 became a certainty, and there was no trouble in 
 raising all the money that was needed. In fact, 
 before the final allotment of stock was made it was 
 was necessary to refuse the applications of many 
 who wished to purchase shares, and as has already 
 been said, some who decided, in their half-skepti- 
 cism "to wait until Christmas," bousfht shares at a 
 premium before the summer was ended. The Bank 
 Charter was obtained July •23d, 1885. 
 
 On the 30th of July a meeting of the stockholders 
 was called. By that time the tide had set strongly 
 in the direction of success. There was enthusiasm 
 in the public mind, and the people already spoke 
 of "our bank" as an accomplished fact that every- 
 body had a right to be proud of it. Those who 
 were not stockholders wished they were ; and those 
 were stockholders congratulated themselves on their 
 good fortune. At the stockholders' meeting a per- 
 manent organization was effected by the election of 
 the following directors : Clayton Lippincott, Wil- 
 liam M. Paul, William Parry, Henry W. Doughten, 
 N. Newlin Stokes, M. D., Alfred H. Burr, John C. 
 Hopkins, David D. Griscom and Josiah Lippincott. 
 
 At a subsequent meeting of the directors Judge 
 Clayton Lippincott was elected President of the 
 Bank, William M. Paul, Vice President, and William 
 W. Stokes, Cashier. It was also resolved to erect 
 a suitable buildincf for the bank as soon as it could 
 
bOCIETlES AiNiD lNbHTUTlUx>JS. 20^ 
 
 be effected. To find a suitable location for the 
 building was the next thing in order, and a num- 
 ber of available properties were inspected an(i 
 their merits and demerits considered. Finally it 
 was decided to purchase the ground on which the 
 work-shop of Mr. James Sankey stood, between his 
 residence and that of the Misses Slim on Main 
 street. The purchase was made, the old building — 
 one of the ancient landmarks of the place — removed 
 and work on the bank building was commenced 
 September 2 1st, 1885. 
 
 In the meantime a room was secured in the resi- 
 dence of Mrs. E. A. Jones, near the site of the 
 Bank. This was appropriately fitted up with Bank 
 appliances, and here the Moorestown National 
 Bank established itself temporarily, until such time 
 as it could take possession of its own proper 
 quarters, having been authorized by the Comp- 
 troller of Currency to commence business Aug. 31. 
 It opened for business September 14th 1885. From 
 the first day the business it transacted showed that 
 those who had insisted that Moorestown wanted a 
 bank had reckoned wisely. It showed, too, that 
 Moorestown, conservative though it may be, is 
 quite ready to welcome an innovation of the right 
 sort, if the innovators have the pluck and persis- 
 tency to carry their point and take the chances. 
 The first day's deposits amounted to ^3,266.47. 
 The second day's business was still larger. The first 
 
20u MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 statement was called for by the Comptroller October 
 1st, two weeks after opening, and showed loans 
 and discounts amounting- to ^30,172, and deposits 
 amounting to ^33,073.87. Statements since then 
 have shown deposits of over ;^ 100,000. 
 
 The Bank building was to have been completed 
 by January ist, 1886; but there were various de- 
 lays which prevented this, and it was not ready for 
 occupation until March. On Saturday, March 6th, 
 the new building was formally taken possession of 
 The place was open for the inspection of the public 
 on that day, and the public freely availed itself of 
 its privilege. All day visitors thronged the build- 
 ing and the officers and directors were kept busy 
 pointing out and explaining the various features. 
 The location is a very favorable one ; on the South 
 side of Main street, and in the heart of the business 
 portion of the town, it is convenient of access to all 
 ihaving business to transact there. On the follow- 
 ing Monday Mrs. Jones' room was vacated, and 
 Ibusiness began in the new place. 
 
 The building itself has a frontage of 27 feet, and 
 'is 49 feet 6 inches deep. It is built of red brick, with 
 -stone basement walls. It is a plain, solid looking 
 structure, without architectural pretensions. The 
 front part is occupied by the banking room, which 
 occupies the full height of the building. The room 
 is well lighted and admirably arranged. Back of 
 this is the depositors' room, and back of liiis again. 
 
SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTIONS. ^07 
 
 the Directors' room. This is a room so cosy in its 
 ■comfortable appointments, and so charmino- in its 
 outlook over the Southern valley that to have a 
 Board meeting every day would be a very natural 
 desire on the part of the Directors. The remain- 
 der of the first floor is occupied by the safe-deposit 
 vault. 
 
 This is a construction that fully justifies its name, 
 and combines the most -recent and effective appli- 
 ances for repelling the effects of fire and the attacks 
 of burglars. The foundation of the vault is of solid 
 brick work, and contains 20,000 bricks. It is com- 
 menced a foot below the cellar floor, and is seven 
 feet high, thirteen feet eight inches long, and ten 
 feet six inches deep. The top of this brick founda- 
 tion is entirely covered with large six-inch flag- 
 stones. It will readily be seen that the attempt to 
 tunnel through all this masonry would be somewhat 
 discouraging. On this is set the vault, weighing 
 twenty-two tons. At the sides and back of this 
 there are three feet of solid masonry, and on top 
 there are flag-stones again, like those below. It 
 would be a tolerably safe place of deposit even if 
 there were no iron or steel about it. 
 
 But there are iron and steel. The vault, or safe 
 proper, is made of the best chrome steel and iron, 
 metal so densely hard that the ordinary tools for 
 working iron have almost no effect upon it, and the 
 most finely tempered tools can be made to drill 
 
208 MUOKL.STUWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 through only about half an inch of it in eiglit hours. 
 The outside door of the safe weighs 4,300 pounds. 
 Beyond this are the vestibule doors, and all are 
 fitted with such an array of time and combination 
 locks, and obstinate bolts that even honest men 
 cannot get into the safe except at the right time ; 
 if a burglar, skilled in his profession and armed 
 Vv'ith the best tools of his craft — and unhappily the 
 burglars have about the most scientific and effec- 
 tive that are going — were to begin work there on 
 Saturday night, by the time Monday morning came 
 he would have come to the conclusion that honesty 
 was the best policy, would have given up the job 
 and gone somewhere to rest. 
 
 Within all these safe-guards are the safe for the 
 bank's funds, and the safe-deposit boxes. These 
 last are one hundred and seventy-two in number, 
 and furnish an excellent resource for those who 
 have papers and other valuables which they want 
 kept absolutely out of harm's way. Each box 
 requires two keys to unlock it — the renter's key, 
 and the master key of the cashier. Moreover no 
 key will unlock any lock but its own. This de- 
 partment of the bank has also been thoroughly 
 appreciated by the community, and the deposit 
 boxes were readily rented from the first. 
 
 The officers of the bank are three in number : 
 William W. Stokes, cashier ; Joseph Lippincott, 
 teller; and Charles W. Stokes, son of the cashier, 
 
SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTIOXS. ^Og. 
 
 assistant teller. Mr. Stokes came here from Med- 
 ford to accept the position of cashier, and has had 
 experience which fits him thoroughly for the place.. 
 Mr. Lippincott represents a v/ell known Moores*- 
 town family. 
 
 Women's Christian Temperance Union.— Every 
 reformatory movement is in its nature distinctly 
 aggressive. The Women's Christian Temperance 
 Union is exclusively reformatory in its character. 
 It has an active and powerful existence in Moores- 
 town ; and therefore necessitates a modification of 
 the statement that the organizations existing here 
 were neither aggressive nor defensive. For a time 
 past few interests have challenged a larger share of 
 public attention here than the quietly aggressive 
 work of this association. The cabalistic letters 
 " W. C T. U." meet the eye in the columns of the 
 newspaper, on the posted hand-bill, on the sign of 
 a reading room, and even on the sides of fire-buckets 
 hung up ready for use. The name strikes the ear 
 as frequently as the eye, and the purposes and 
 achieX^ements of the Union are the topic of no small 
 amount of conversation. Weekly meetings are held 
 lectures are delivered, pledges and petitions are 
 circulated and personal visitations are made, and so 
 the interest in the work in hand is kept constantly 
 awake. 
 
 The W. C. T. U. did not begin the temperance 
 agitation here. That ante-dates the organization 
 
210 
 
 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 of the Union by many years ; but it may be doubted 
 if the cause of temperance reform was ever before 
 so actively and generally labored for in Moores- 
 town, or with such strongly marked effect as during 
 the past year.. Ladies of all Christian denomina- 
 tions have taken a zealous and enthusiastic part in 
 the work, and they have had the hearty co-opera- 
 tion of a large portion of the men. They have not 
 by any means contented themselves with exhorta- 
 tion and the distribution of tracts. They have 
 gone systematically to work to curtail the liquor 
 traffic under the law, and also to lessen its allure- 
 ments by providing a recreative resort where liquor 
 is not an accompaniament ; and also by providing 
 accommodations for the traveling public where 
 liquor is not to be found. 
 
 In the latter part of January, 1886, the young 
 men forming a class in the Friends' First-Day school 
 invited Major Scott to visit Moorestown and de- 
 liver four temperance lectures here. He came, 
 accompanied by his wife, and delivered the four 
 lectures to large and interested audiences. In the 
 meantime Mrs. Scott was moving to organize here 
 a branch of the Women's Christian Temperance 
 Union. A meeting for the purpose was held in the 
 Baptist Church, but without finishing the work 
 adjourned to meet in the lecture room of the Epis- 
 copal Church on the following Monday evening, 
 F.ebruary ist. This meeting was largely attended, 
 
SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTIONS. 211 
 
 'and the branch Union was organized, with an ener- 
 ;getic and enthusiastic membership, composed of 
 women who were fully in earnest for the work they 
 had undertaken, and prepared to prosecute it to 
 -the utmost. 
 
 The first meeting of the newly organized Union 
 Avas held in the parlor of Mrs. Edward Sutton, on 
 Second street, on the afternoon of Friday, February 
 :5th. After that meetings were held every Tuesday 
 afternoon in the Friends' High School building on 
 Second street. The society rented the room the 
 Bank had occupied in Mrs. Jones' residence on 
 Main street, and began their occupation of it March 
 a^d. For a time after this they continued to hold 
 meetings in the High School building once a 
 month, but now all their meetings are held in their 
 -own room. They meet there every Tuesday after- 
 .noon and transact such business as they have on 
 ■hand. 
 
 The membership of the Union has steadily in- 
 ^creased since its organization, and now numbers 
 ■ about one hundred. Mrs. Edward Sutton is the 
 President, Miss Mary Wilson, Recording Secretary, 
 Mrs. H. Hartranft, Corresponding Secretary, and 
 •Miss Katie Aitken Treasurer. There is a Vice- 
 President from each religious body in the place- 
 Indeed the organization justifies its name by being 
 •thoroughly a union of Christian women of all 
 •denominations. 
 
212 MOORESTUWN, OLD AND NE\V^, 
 
 The work and the enthusiasm for it are not by 
 any means confined to the women. To them be- 
 longs the credit of organizing and systematizing the 
 labor in which both men and women have a zeal- 
 ous interest ; and in their efforts they have won, as^ 
 is the wont of women everywhere and always, the 
 hearty co-operation of earnest and capable men of 
 all denominations and various walks of life. The 
 children, also, have entered into the spirit of the 
 thing. A Band of Hope has been organized which 
 numbers now one hundred and forty-four members, 
 and the roll of membership is lengthening. 
 
 A logical and legitimate part of the work under- 
 taken by the members of the Union and their co- 
 workers was to formally protest against the grant- 
 ing of licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquors in 
 the place. They meant that their protest should 
 be not only formal but effective if they could make 
 it so. A remonstrance against the granting of 
 licenses, addressed to the Common Pleas Court, 
 was prepared and circulated among the voters of 
 the town by the ladies of the Union. When the 
 remonstrance was presented in court it bore over 
 four hundred signatures. 
 
 Remonstrating was^not all that was to be done, 
 however. If taverns with bars were to be success- 
 fully protested against, an equivalent without a bar 
 must be provided ; for the court fully recognizes the 
 nccessit}' for a place of public entertainment in the 
 
SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTION- 
 
 213 
 
 town, and if there is no such place without a bar the 
 court will accept the assurance that the place ivith a 
 bar is necessary. Therefore a temperance house 
 must be provided. Overtures were made for the 
 purchase of each of the established hotels, with a 
 view to making a temperance house of it, but in 
 each case the negotiations were ineffectual. Efforts 
 were then made in a new direction, and in a short 
 time arrangements had been made by which not 
 one, but three temperance houses for the accommo- 
 dation of travellers or permanent boarders were 
 assured. The applications, duly signed, for the 
 license of these three houses were presented in 
 court before the remonstrance against the liquor 
 license, and the licenses were granted. The two 
 old hotels were also licensed again, in spite of the 
 remonstrance. 
 
 The temperance house question had been solved 
 in a manner to meet the present emergency, but 
 the solution was not yet satisfactory as a permanent 
 settlement of the matter. Accordingly it was ener- 
 getically pushed still further. It was decided that 
 Moorestown should have a fully equipped Temper- 
 ance Hotel — one that should compete on at least 
 •equal terms as to convenience of location and com- 
 pleteness of accommodations for guests, with the 
 houses that kept bars. Accordingly the subscrip- 
 tion that had ah'eady been started was continued. 
 It was liberally responded t(\ and in a short time a 
 
214 MOORT^BdOWN, OLD AS » NEW. 
 
 sufficient sum had been subscribed to lead to the- 
 anticipation of a regular temperance hotel here- 
 before the time comes to send in the next applica- 
 tion for license. 
 
 So much for one branch of the work done by 
 the Women's Christian Temperance Union, with' 
 the aid of the equally earnest men who have co- 
 operated. In addition the Union has established a 
 Free Reading Room. This is the room temporarily- 
 occupied by the Bank in the house of Mrs. Edith- 
 Jones, on Main street. The apartment is comfort- 
 ably fitted up so as to constitute a cosy and' inviting- 
 resort. On the book shelves are a number of 
 good, readable books, and the number is increasing^ 
 through private donations. Magazines and illus- 
 trated papers are on the shelves and' on the tables. 
 The Philadelphia daily papers, both morning and" 
 evening, are placed on file as soon as received each- 
 day. Writing utensils are conveniently placed. 
 Those who relish a game of chess, checkers or 
 backgammon can gratify their desire by using the 
 handsome boards placed at their- disposal ; and' 
 those who merely wish to sit and rest or talk, can 
 have the fullest opportunity of doing so. The- 
 room is open all day and every evening, and a cor- 
 dial invitation is extended to all to come and make 
 use of its resources and opportunities. It is a good 
 place for a quiet hour of reading or writing and it: 
 is a good place for a social chat. 
 
SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTI0N3. 
 
 The Pursuing and Detective CoMrANV. — An 
 other organization that is both aggressive and defen ■ 
 sive in its character, but always in behalf of th ': 
 public welfare, is the Moorestown Pursuing and 
 Detective Company. It has for its object, as stated 
 in its charter, "the detection, arrest and prosecution 
 of burglars, horse-thieves and other depredators ; 
 and the recovery of stolen property." It is a kind 
 of modified vigilance committee, perfectly law-abid- 
 ing, and acting as one of the instruments of the law. 
 It is also, to some extent, an insurance company, 
 paying within certain limits of value for the property 
 stolen from members and not recovered. It is not 
 difficult to realize how important a field of useful- 
 ness is open to an organization of this kind in a 
 rural community; and this one has done a vast 
 amount of good by its energetic and well-directed 
 efforts. The very knowledge of its existence and 
 efficiency is in itself a protection to a greater or 
 less extent. 
 
 The company was organized February 6th, 1875, 
 and was incorporated by the Legislature, by an act 
 approved March 25th, 1875. The incorporators 
 were Levi Ballinger, Levi L. Walton, Joshua Hol- 
 linshead, Nathan S. Roberts, Eli Sharpiess, William 
 Dunn Rogers, Charles Collins, Samuel C. DeCou,, 
 Samuel Brown, Josiah Lippincott, William Dyer, J. 
 Willits Worthington and Josiah D. Pancoast. The 
 first officers were Charles Collins, President ; Frank 
 
2l6 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEV/. 
 
 Garrigues, Secretary and Treasurer; J. Willits 
 Worthington, Corresponding Secretary; and the 
 above named incorporators as a Board of Directors. 
 
 The constitution of the company provides that its 
 officers shall consist of a President, Secretary, 
 Treasurer, thirteen Directors and a Correspondent, 
 to be annually chosen by ballot at a general meet- 
 ing of the company, said officers ta continue in 
 office for one year, or until their successors are 
 elected. The offices of Secretary and Treasurer 
 may be held by the same person, as they are nov/ 
 and have been ever since the company was organ- 
 ized. The Board of Directors are authorized to 
 appoint or elect any number, not exceeding twenty, 
 of detectives, or pursuers, and give to each a badge 
 of office. The full number — twenty — are appointed 
 each year. They are selected from Ihe members of 
 the company, the selection being governed by the 
 fitness of the person named for the work imposed 
 upon him ; care being taken also to apportion the 
 membership of the pursuing force as evenly as 
 may be over the territory under the company's 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 Each pursuer has the power and authority of a 
 constable, so far as it may be necessary to carry out 
 the objects of the company, and may execute war- 
 rants for that purpose, issued by justices of the 
 peace and aldermen. While having the authority, 
 they are also held liable to the responsibilities of 
 
SOCIEIIK> AND INSTITUTIONS. 21/ 
 
 constables in the exercise of their power, except 
 that they are not liable to perlbrni constables' 
 services save as directed by the by-laws of the com- 
 pany. They are not entitled to any fees or com- 
 pensation except out of the company's funds. 
 Under the by-laws each pursuer is entitled to four 
 cents per mile, going and coming, as his mileage 
 when in pursuit, and is to have other necessary ex- 
 pense paid, as a majority of the Directors may deem 
 reasonable. 
 
 The funds of the company are provided by a sys- 
 tem of membership fees, fines, etc. Each member, 
 at the time of admission, pays into the treasury one 
 dollar; and at each annual meeting thereafter he is 
 required to pay a like amount, unless it shall be 
 decided at the annual meeting that the annual dues 
 shall be increased or diminished. Members who 
 do not attend the meetings in time to pay their 
 dues are liable to a fine of twenty-five cents unless 
 excused. Each director and pursuer neglecting or 
 refusing to perform the services required of him 
 under the by-laws is required to pay a fine of five 
 dollars into the treasury. The constitution also 
 empowers the company to increase the fund, if 
 necessary, by assessment levied on the members; 
 and the fees, fines and assessments may be recov- 
 ered by suit, brought in the name of the company, 
 the same as any other debts of like amount. The 
 annual meetings are held on the first Saturday in 
 
2ig MOORESTDWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 January each year. One o'clock in the afternoon^ 
 is the hour of meeting. Special meetings may be 
 called by the company or the Board of Directors^ 
 whenever they may be deemed necessary ; and the 
 President has power to convene the Board of Di- 
 rectors at any time in the interest of the company^ 
 
 The company does not undertake to look after 
 any property except that stolen from members, and 
 its interests lie within a radius of six miles from 
 Moorestown, as any person living beyond that dis- 
 tance is not eligible for membership, and any mem- 
 ber removing beyond that limit forfeits his place- 
 in the company. A member is required to keep a> 
 written description of all the horses and mules he- 
 may own, specifying all marks and characteristics . 
 by which they may be recognized. Wilful neglect 
 to do this precludes any assistance being given by 
 the company in recovering such animals in case: 
 they are stolen. Any member who has had prop- 
 erty to the amount of five dollars stolen is required 
 to notify a Director of the fact, and also to give any 
 information in his power respecting the theft and 
 the supposed guilty parties. If such notification is 
 not made within ten days of the discovery of the. 
 theft the member forfeits all rights to the protection. 
 and property of the company, and his name is. 
 dropped from the rolls. 
 
 As soon as he is notified by a member of loss 
 sustained, a Director is required to take immediate. 
 
SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 2IC/ 
 
 I 
 
 action, such as he may deem best. Ordinarily the 
 action taken is to call out the pursuer or pursuer:'; 
 nearest to the despoiled member; but he can call 
 all the Directors together for consultation if h<t 
 thinks such a course necessary. Three of the Di- 
 rectors are a sufficient number to offer any reward, 
 payable out of the treasury of the company, for the 
 arrest of a depredator or the return of stolen prop- 
 erty. A pursuer, on being called upon, must at 
 once set to work in his capacity of detective and 
 arresting officer, and use his best endeavors to 
 recover the stolen property and arrest the guilty 
 parties. It is not always convenient, of course, and 
 it is never very pleasant, but he cannot yield to 
 such considerations ; he must at once leave his own 
 interests and go whenever and wherever he is 
 ordered to go by one of the Directors. Any mem- 
 ber who has been selected as a pursuer must take 
 the necessary affirmation and secure his badge 
 within ten days of his appointment unless excused 
 for good reasons. If he fails to do so, through 
 neglect, or repugnance to the work involved, his 
 name is dropped from the company's rolls. 
 
 After all reasonable efforts have been made to 
 recover the property stolen from a member it be- 
 comes the duty of the Directors to pay the losing 
 member a certain proportion of his loss. This pay- 
 ment, however, is conditioned on several observ- 
 ances. The owner of the stolen property must be 
 
220 iMOOKESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 clear on the Treasurer's books at the time of tlie 
 theft ; the stolen property must not be covered by 
 any insurance company that protects property from 
 theft ; the member whose property has been taken 
 must have informed one of the Directors of the theft 
 within twenty-four hours of the discovery of his 
 loss, and an application containing an itemized list 
 of the stolen property shall have been presented to 
 the Board of Directors on oath or affirmation on or 
 before the 31st day of December of the year in 
 which the loss occurred. These conditions being 
 fulfilled the Directors assess the valuation of the 
 stolen property and pay the loser a sum equivalent 
 to two thirds of such valuation, provided that the 
 amount to be paid shall not exceed two hundred 
 dollars for a horse, or four hundred dollars for 
 "any and all property that may be stolen from a 
 member at any one time." 
 
 The company is a potent agency in the cause of 
 good order and good morals. In the pursuit of 
 evil-doers its constabulary force are empowered to 
 prosecute their work in adjoining counties, and so 
 its power for achieving good results is not restricted. 
 The good v/ork it has done has brought it more 
 and more into favor with law-abiding citizens, and 
 its membership has correspondingly increased. At 
 the present time there are about two hundred mem- 
 bers. The list of officers is as follows : President, 
 William Dunn Rogers; Secretary and Treasurer, 
 
SOCIETIES AND I!:STITUT10\S. 
 
 '21 
 
 Frank Garrigues ; Correspondent, Benjamin H. Gil- 
 jingham ; Directors, William Dunn Rogers, Benja- 
 min H. Gillingham, Charles Andrews, John B. War- 
 rick, Joseph H. Cole, Charles Collins, Samuel L. 
 Burrough, Samuel S. Huston, William Dyer, John 
 R. Mason, William T. Lippincott, William R. Lip- 
 pincott, of Cinnaminson, Frank Garrigues. 
 
 MooRESTOWN Agricultural and Industrial 
 Association. — In an agricultural community there 
 is almost no institution that exerts a stronger influ- 
 ence for material good than the agricultural society 
 in one or another of its modifications. It arouses 
 new interest in the business of life. Its annual 
 exhibitions give a chance for comparing different 
 methods, and for rubbing ideas together. The 
 competition gives a new zest to the work that may 
 result in triumph ; and the effort to find the best 
 way is sure to result in the discovery of some good 
 way, even if it is not the best. Moreover, the yearly 
 fair affords entertainment and recreation as effec- 
 tively, in its way, as the opera, the theater, and the 
 lecture in theirs. The general outcome is that the 
 community is benefitted and does better work in a 
 better way by reason of such organization. 
 
 The Moorestown Agricultural and Industrial 
 Society was organized under the State laws, and 
 incorporated in March, 1880. The purpose of its 
 originators and promotors was to establish a society 
 which should be purely local in its character and 
 
^22 RiOORKSTOW:;, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 direct results, stimulating tlie agriculturists of this 
 part of the county to the improvement of stock and 
 farm products. This purpose has been successfully 
 carried out. The farmers hereabouts, some of them 
 at least, are progressive men, keenly alert to dis- 
 cover and try the best micthods and accomplish 
 the best results. Friendly rivalry and competition 
 among such men is sure to effect something worth 
 effecting. In giving the opportunity for such com- 
 petition, and encouraging it, the association is 
 undertaking and is fulfilling a most worthy mission. 
 The first Board of Directors of the association 
 was composed of Levi Ballinger, William R. Lip- 
 pincott, William Dunn Rogers, J. E. Watkins, S. C. 
 Deacon, Josiah Lippincott, Howard Taylor, Thomas 
 J. Beans, Joshua L. Haines, Clayton Conrow and 
 Joseph H. Haines. The first officers chosen were: 
 William Dunn Rogers, President ; Howard G. Tay- 
 Vice-President ; J. E. Watkins, Recording Secre- 
 tary; Thomas J. Beans, Corresponding Secretary; 
 Josiah Lippincott, Treasurer; T.J. Beans, W. D. 
 Rosrers, Levi Ballinq-er, Salmuel C. DeCou and 
 H. G. Taylor, Executive Committee. The stock of 
 the society was divided into four hundred shares, 
 of ^10 each. The annual meetings are held on the 
 first Saturday in February in each year. The 
 standard set up by the originators of the enterprise 
 is indicated by an article in the constitution, which 
 
but^lKTlES AND INSTlTUiiwNS. 22 3 
 
 'declares that "at the exhibitions of this societv 
 horse-racing, side shows, and all gambling institu- 
 tions that tend to demoralize rather than elevate 
 society will not be allowed or tolerated." 
 
 Of course an important feature of such an organ- 
 ization is the annual exhibition. The Moorestown 
 Fair is held each spring and autumn, and is an event 
 of interest to all classes of the population. In seek- 
 ing for suitable grounds whereon to place their 
 buildings and hold their exhibitions the members 
 ■of the association were so fortunate as to secure a 
 location that combined a large proportion of desir- 
 able qualifications. The convenience of the situa- 
 tion for both exhibitors and visitors especially 
 commends it. The ground formed a part of the 
 farm owned by Mrs. Mary LIppIncott, whose 
 "boarding school v/as formerty so prominent an in- 
 ^titutlan here. The enclosure is about seven acres 
 in extent and Is situated some distance East of the 
 East Moorestown station. It is directly on the 
 railroad, on the North side cf the track. A station 
 has lately been built almost at the gates of the 
 •grounds, and besides being so accessible by rail- 
 road it is equally so by driving roads. The fair 
 grounds are surrounded by a substantial fence, and 
 are well supplied with the necessary buildings. 
 These are of a kind suitable for agricultural, horti- 
 cultural, mechanical and stock exhibitions. The 
 
2 24 LIOORESTUWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 Main Building was a donation from the Cam Jen 
 and Amboy Railroad Company, and was fu.merly 
 the company's repair shop at Bordentown. 
 
 At the time this is written a railroad switch is 
 about being- constructed close to the grounds, so 
 that all exhibits addressed to Fair Grounds Station 
 can be taken on the cars directly to their place of 
 deslination. A steam engine, with shafting attached, 
 furnislies motive power for machinery that depends 
 upon that kind of power; and teams are provided 
 by tlie society to run the horse-machinery at the 
 trials held at the exhibitions. These trials of 
 various kinds of agricultural machinery have al- 
 ready become events of recognized importance, and 
 the i\Ioorestown Exhibition has taken rank as an 
 important machinery fair. Manufacturers, agents 
 and purchasers acknowledge the fact and govern 
 themselves accordingly. 
 
 Growers of small fruits are encouraged to make 
 manifest here the best that can be done in their line, 
 and the exhibitions uniformly attest the high ex- 
 cellence achieved by our local cultivators. The 
 same is true of frui'.s in general. Garden vegeta- 
 bles are also given due importance in the offering 
 of premiums at the fair, and this part of the exhibi- 
 tion is always of interest. The exhibition of plants 
 and flowers is freely encouraged by the offer of 
 premiums for professional and amateur displays. 
 Dairy products hold an important phce, of course; 
 
SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTIONS. 22 C 
 
 and all results of farm industry, as well as the 
 appliances for promoting it and obtaining- the best 
 returns, are exhibited in friendly and interesting 
 rivalry. 
 
 The ladies are given an equal opportunity and en- 
 couragement by the institution of the Home Depart- 
 ment. Premiums are offered for the most appetiz- 
 ing array of good things to eat ; and the young; 
 girls are stimulated to do their best in the way of 
 bread-baking. Then, to give a chance to those not 
 included in any of the regularly scheduled classes, 
 special premiums are offered for special kinds of 
 work. Sometimes it is home-made dresses ; some^ 
 times a local map ; sometimes one thing and some- 
 times another. By reason of the comprehensive 
 range taken by the society it has established a hold 
 on all classes in the community, and everybody 
 takes a more or less personal interest in its progress 
 and achievements. 
 
 The present officers of the society are as follows : 
 President, Levi Ballinger; Vice-President, George 
 L. GilHngham ; Directors, Levi Ballinger, Josiali 
 Lippincott, Chalkley B. Zelley, David Roberts, 
 Samuel S. Huston, George T. Haines, Maurice B. 
 Comfort, Benjamin H. GilHngham, Levi Rogers, 
 Frank Garrigues, John M. Lippincott. Sqmuel L. 
 Burrough, George L. Gillingham ; Recording Sec- 
 retary, Frank Garrigues ; Corresponding Secretary, 
 George T. Haines; Treasurer, John M. Lippincott; 
 
226 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND xNE\v. 
 
 Executive Committee, Benjamin H. Gillinghan.-, 
 Chalkley B. Zelley and John M. Lippincott. 
 
 The Chester Club. — A private club, composed 
 of private gentlemen, and organized for exclusively 
 social purposes is not a legitimate subject for de- 
 tailed public comment. The Chester club must be 
 mentioned, however, as occupying a position unique 
 am.ong the institutions of Moorestown. It was 
 organized January ist, 1881, with the sole purpose 
 of social intercourse and recreation. The rules 
 governing the club are very strict. Liquor is 
 rigidly banished from its quarters, and nothing 
 in the semblance of gambling is tolerated. The 
 means of recreation are abundant ; and the idea of 
 a high-class social club is put into practise. 
 
 The club room is located in the upper part of 
 George Heaton's store, at the corner of Main street 
 and Church Road. It is handsomely furnished, 
 and is amply provided with the appliances of 
 a pleasant reading room and place of recreative 
 resort. The club numbers between twenty and 
 thirty members. 
 
 Secret Societies. — Of secret societies, beneficial 
 and otherwise, there is a goodly representation 
 liere. The Odd Fellows — who came by their very 
 peculiar name no man knows how, and who are no 
 more odd than their fellow men — have two organiza- 
 tions here, an encampment and a lodge. Powhatan 
 Encampment No. 30 has a present membership of 
 
I 
 
 SOCIETIES AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 22/ 
 
 •over a hundred. The regular conclaves are held 
 •on the first and third Monday evening of each 
 month in the hall in the upper part of E. B. Brov/n 
 •& Brother's store building. Pocahontas Lodge No. 
 107 holds its regular meetings in the same place on 
 Thursday evening of each week. It has a large mem- 
 bership. A very considerable amount has been paid 
 ■out in benefits to members and their families 
 since the institution of the Lodge, and there is a 
 goodly surplus now in the treasury. 
 
 The Order of United American Mechanics — the 
 name for which the mystic letters " O. U. A. M." 
 stand is represented here by two councils. They are 
 the Chester Council and the Moorestown Council. 
 Each has a large membership and both hold regular 
 weekly meetings in the hall over Brown's store. 
 
 The Ancient Order of United Workmen also has 
 an organization here, with a large membership ; and 
 the Improved Order of Red Men has a Tribe — 
 Mineola Tribe No. 57 — which now numbers some- 
 thinof over a hundred members. The tribe was 
 instituted in Masonville, and removed to Moores- 
 town in 1883 or 1884. 
 
 There is a Grange here, strong in numbers and 
 actively prosperous. Heretofore it has had its 
 -headquarters in a frame building on the South side 
 of Main street a little way East of the Friends' 
 Meeting Houses. Recently it purchased the prop- 
 .erty where the old blacksmith shop stood, on the 
 
228 MOOUESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 North side of Main street, East of George K. 
 Doughten's store. On this property the Grangers 
 are erecting a large brick building, the lower por- 
 tion of which is to be occupied as a Grange store,. 
 and the upper part fitted up for a Grangers'' Hall. 
 
 The Grand Army of the Republic has its repre- 
 sentation in the E. D. Baker Post, which has its 
 meeting hall over A. L. Brock's store on Main street 
 West of Church Road. The Masons have not, as 
 yet, any lodge here, but the establishment of one 
 is now in contemnlation.. 
 
i I 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 Chapter XV. 
 
 The Nezvs of the Day. 
 
 N his very charming "Back Log Studies" 
 Charles Dudley Warner relates how, one day 
 
 in the dead of winter, when he was snow- 
 
 "'^^ bound and scant of resources, he discovered 
 a daily newspaper and began the reading of it with 
 keen pleasure. He read the news, foreign and 
 'domestic, and felt himself once more in contact 
 with the active affairs of the world. The whole 
 experience was eminently satisfactory until he 
 •chanced upon a paragraph announcing the death 
 •of a man in the streets of Boston the day before 
 from sun-stroke. That seemed queer winter news, 
 •and the reader looked at the date of the paper. It 
 had been published the previous summer ! Imme- 
 diately his satisfaction was changed to disgust, and 
 he read no more of the stale news. What he had 
 read had all been new to him, and was very inter- 
 esting so long as he supposed the events described 
 had just happened; but with the knowledge that 
 they had happened last summer all interest in them 
 
 ■vanished. 
 
 (229) 
 
230 
 
 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 He was like all the rest of us ; and the little 
 incident he so pleasantly describes illustrates, for- 
 one thing, how retentively we read our newspapers. 
 Last summer's news is quite fresh again by next 
 winter, and the Associated Press would be tolerably 
 safe in using year-old dispatches over again. But 
 chiefly the incident emphasizes the universal passion 
 for news. We all want to know what has happened, 
 and are best pleased when there are a multitude of 
 happenings to read or hear about. But that is not 
 all. The events described may be of the utmost 
 importance and interest, and revealed to us now 
 for the first time ; but unless they happened to-day, 
 or yesterday at farthest, we have been swindled and 
 are resentful. The news we have must be the: 
 news of the day. 
 
 The facilities a community enjoys for obtaining 
 and distributing intelligence — for holding commu- 
 nication with the rest of the world — have come to 
 be accepted as a pretty accurate gauge of its char- 
 acter and importance. The greater the number of 
 mails that arrive and depart every day, the higher 
 the rank of the town ; if it has a telegraph office it 
 advances an additional claim to respect ; i( it pos- 
 sesses a telephone exchange it is well abreast of 
 the times ; if it has all these and a newspaper be- 
 sides, it is a place well worth living in. Moores- 
 town fulfills all these conditions and is to be rated 
 accordingly. The mails come and go with con- 
 
THE MEWS OF THE DAY. 2^1 
 
 venient frequency; telegraphic messages can be 
 sent and received ; telephonic conversations can be 
 held, and the town has its own newspaper as well 
 as such of the city dailies as the people desire. 
 
 The Postoffice.— The Postoffice is a compara- 
 tively modern institution in Moorestown. The old 
 town had to wait a hundred years and more for it. 
 So late as 1791 there were only six postoffices in 
 the entire state of New Jersey, and none of them 
 were in Burlington county. IMoorestown had to 
 v/ait until eleven years later than that date for the 
 enjoyment of postal privileges. In the meantime it 
 depended for its share of news on such means as are 
 always in operation. Travelers brought frequent 
 reports from the outside world ; the memory of 
 man goeth not back to the time when quilting 
 parties or their equivalent did not exist ; and there 
 probably never was a community yet that did not 
 have within its limits some of those mysteriously- 
 endowed people who always know everything that 
 happens, and have special facilities for telling it. 
 
 Still the systematic and regularly organized ma- 
 chinery for the reception and distribution of outside 
 intelligence was very desirable, and we n:ay well 
 believe that when the postoffice was established 
 here, in the year 1802, it was cordially v;j!comed 
 and made much of The first postmaster was Isaac 
 Wilkins,and he held his commission under Thomas 
 Jefferson's administration. But where he established. 
 
232 MOORESTOWfT. OT,r» AND NEW. 
 
 his office seciii.s to bo .'i tiling past finding out. It 
 is quite within the range of possibilities that ho 
 carried it about with him ; for in those days pockets 
 were large and the mails presumably small ; and 
 even now, according to report, there are postoffices 
 established in very simply arranged cigar boxes 
 and hat-crowns. It is supposed, however, that the 
 first Moorestown postoffice was kept in a tavern on 
 Main streel below Church Road, but of this there is 
 no certainty. 
 
 How long Isaac Wilkins served his neighbors 
 as postmaster is not known. Neither is it known 
 who was his successor, or how long he held 
 the position. After a time (how long a time is 
 uncertain) Gilbert Page assumed the duties and 
 responsibilities of the postmastership. He lived on 
 Main street, in the house now owned and occupied 
 by Ebenezer Roberts, nearly opposite the William 
 Penn Hotel. He had a store in one part of his 
 residence, and here he kept the postofifice. We 
 may safely conclude that the postal arrangements 
 did not occupy much room, and that the affairs of 
 the store were not seriously interfered with. When 
 Mr. Page's term of office began, or under hov/ 
 many administrations he served are things un- 
 known ; but he was postmaster here for many 
 years — so long, indeed, that going to Page's store 
 for the mail became so much a matter of habit that, 
 after the office was established elsewhere, people 
 
THE NEWS OF THE DAY. 233 
 
 frequently walked past the new office up to Page's, 
 from sheer force of custom, and then had to walk 
 back again, from force of changed cirsumstances. 
 
 The postoffice passed out of Gilbert Page's hands 
 into those of William Doughten, father of our 
 townsman, George F. Doughten. Mr. Doughten 
 was proprietor of the Washington Hotel, and to 
 that place the office was removed, and there it 
 remained for a term of years, for Mr. Page's suc- 
 cessor held the position for a long time, as seems 
 to have been quite the customary thing in those 
 days. Changes of administration did not always 
 bring about a change in the postoffice, but they did 
 sometimes, and when Martin Van Buren succeeded 
 Andrew Jackson in the Presidency there was a 
 more or less general "rotation in office." 
 
 Among the events of the time was a change in 
 the Moorestown postoffice. William Doughten 
 was replaced in the position by William Collins. 
 Mr. Collins was commissioned in 1839, by Post- 
 master General Amos Kendall. He removed the 
 office to the building that stood where Brown's 
 store now stands. A one-story brick building then 
 occupied the site. It had formerly been a black- 
 smith shop, but had been remodelled into a store. 
 Here Mr. Collins arranged his postof^ce boxes. 
 They were by no means so elaborate as they are 
 now. There were no lock-boxes, no boxes for 
 individual hold:rs to rent— no glazed and num- 
 
234 
 
 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 bered pigeon-holes at all. A large drawer was 
 divided into compartments, these compartments 
 were lettered in alphabetical order, and when the 
 mail brought a letter for Mr. Smith it was put in 
 the "S" box; if a letter came for Mr. Jones it was 
 put in the "J" box, and so on. 
 
 The tenure of office had manifested!/ become 
 less fixed than it had hitherto been; for after Gen.. 
 Harrison took the Presidency in 1841 Mr. CoIHns 
 relinquished the postmastership. His successor 
 was George F. Doughten, son of jNIr. Collins' imme- 
 diate predecessor. Mr. Doughten removed the 
 office to his store, and the people had to accustom 
 themselves to seek their mail in East Moorestown. 
 instead of the western and middle sections. But 
 John Tyler succeeded Harrison in a month's time.. 
 The postoffice did not change hands so speedily as 
 that, of course, but under Tyler there vvas a general 
 readjustment, and after serving a year in the posi- 
 tion Mr. Doughten was rotated out of office and 
 Mr. Collins, whom he had replaced, was rotated in 
 again and replaced him in turn ; so that this gentle- 
 man had the rather unusual experience of being; 
 the successor in office of father and son consecu- 
 tively. Mr. Collins received his second commission; 
 from President Tyler's Postmaster General in 1842, 
 and continued in office until 1S46, when President 
 Polk's administration resulted in another change. 
 He re-established the office in the quarters it had. 
 
THE NEWS OF THE DAY. 
 
 235 
 
 occupied during his first term, and retained it there 
 intil his second term was ended. 
 
 In 1846 Mr. Collins was succeeded in the post- 
 -nastership by James Davis. Under the new admin- 
 istration the postofficc was again moved to other 
 quarters, but to quarters that were not unfamiliar 
 to it or the public. It went back once more to the 
 building it had occupied when Gilbert Page was 
 postmaster. Gilbert Page no longer kept the store 
 there, however, but had been succeeded by Mr. 
 Alfred Burr, who had previously been clerk in 
 Page's store. Mr. Davis did not himself attend 
 the office, but employed William W. Leeds as his 
 deputy. 
 
 At the end of his official term Mr. Davis was 
 succeeded by this same William Leeds, who had 
 attended the office for him, and who retained the 
 office through several terms, still retaining it in 
 Burr's store. Mr. Leeds continued to hold the 
 position until the beginning of President Lincoln's 
 administration brought about a change in post- 
 masterships, as in most other things. By this time 
 Mr. Burr had erected his present store building on 
 the North side of Main street. Elwood Stratton had 
 kept a drug store in a small frame building that 
 had previously occupied the site, and in the new 
 'ouilding erected by Mr. Burr he still had accommo- 
 dation. The building was arranged as it is now, 
 with a drug-store beside the store kept by Mr, 
 
236 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 Burr, and Mr. Stratton continued his business in 
 that part of the building where Walter Reeve now 
 has his drug-store. 
 
 Under President Lincoln Mr. Stratton was made 
 postmaster, to succeed Mr. Leeds, and he estab- 
 lished the postoffice in his drug-store ; so it was 
 still in Burr's building, and altogether Mr. Burr 
 furnished postal accommodations for the town for 
 a good many years. Mr. Stratton continued in 
 office through the administration of Presidents Lin- 
 coln and Johnson, and tlirough President Grant's 
 first term. Then he wis succeded by his son, 
 Henry Stratton, who retained the office in the same 
 place. He only held the office one year, or a little 
 over. 
 
 On the 9th of December, 1874, J. Willetts Wor- 
 thingioii was appointed postmaster. His commis- 
 sion was issued by Marshall Jewell, Postmaster 
 General during President Grant's second term. 
 Moving day had come again for the postoffice, and 
 it was established in the new postmaster's drug- 
 store, where it has ever since remained. Mr. Wor- 
 thington at the beginning of his term arranged the 
 box window and lock boxes as they are at present, 
 and made adequate provisions for transacting the 
 increased business of the office. He served during 
 the remainder of Grant's administration, through 
 the term of President Hayes, and through the 
 tragically ended administration of President Garfield. 
 
THE NEWS OF THE DAY. 
 
 237 
 
 In July, 1882, the office was raised to the rank of a 
 Presidential appointment, and Mr. Worthington was 
 reappointed to the postmastership by President 
 Arthur. His second commission bears date July 
 6th, 1882, and is signed with the autographs of 
 Chester A. Arthur, President, and T. O. Howe, Post- 
 master General. 
 
 In the autumn of 1883 Mr. Worthington resigned 
 the postmastership, his private business making it 
 inconvenient for him to attend to official duties. 
 His resignation took effect September 30th, 1883. 
 Thomas M. Pancoast was appointed his successor, 
 and on the 1st of October, 1883, assumed the 
 duties of the position. President Cleveland on 
 coming into office did not disturb the Moorestown 
 postoffice, and Mr. Pancoast still remains in charge 
 of it, to the satisfaction and advantage of the 
 community. 
 
 This was made a money order office July ist, 
 1869; and on July ist, 1883, the first postal note 
 was issued by the office. Three mails are received 
 and three are sent out each day. Things have 
 changed mightily since the time of Postmaster 
 Wilkins; and if that public functionary could step 
 into the postoffice to-day to see how things were 
 going he would be sorely tumbled up and down in 
 his mind at the revolution that has been effected. 
 The box window would bewilder him ; the number 
 of letters to be handled would appal him ; he would 
 
2^8 MO ORK.srOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 be helpless in the presence of a money order, and 
 what on earth to do with a postage stamp would 
 be a thing past finding out. 
 
 The Telegraph. — Wherever the railroad goes, 
 tliere the telegraph is very sure to go also ; and it 
 is never very long in following, even if the wires 
 and the rails do not come along at the same time. 
 The lines of the Western Union Telegraph Com- 
 pany accompanied the railroad on its way through 
 here,; but the telegraph did not "stop off" here at 
 first. When the West Moorestown station was 
 established, however, in the early part of 187 r, a 
 telegraph office was one of the features of the new 
 arrangement. Mr. Robert Stimus, the station 
 agent, was the telegraph operator also, and he has 
 continued to combine the duties of the two offices 
 ever since. 
 
 The primary function of the telegraph station 
 here is to do the necessary work of the railroad 
 company; but in addition to that a large number 
 of private messages are all the time received and 
 sent:; and messages received are very promptly 
 delivered at their places of address. So the tele- 
 graph is an institution of great convenience to the 
 public, notwithstanding the rather out-of-the-way 
 location of the office. Efforts have been made 
 from time to time to establish an office in a more 
 central and convenient position, for the sole use of 
 the public. The efforts have thus far been unsuc- 
 
I 
 
 THE NEWS OF THE DAY. 239 
 
 ^cc^sful ; but the desired improvement is only a 
 question of time, and probably not a very long 
 time. In the meantime the telegraph facilities as 
 they now exist are a source of eminent satisfaction 
 •to the community. 
 
 The Newspaper. — This is a reading community, 
 and always has been. The literature of the day is 
 kept well in hand, and the magazines as well as 
 the newspapers find a large circle of readers here. 
 The newspapers in particular are liberally subscribed 
 ifor, and the carrier of the news depot has a long 
 'list of subscribers to serve each day with the various 
 Philadelphia dailies, while the postoffice distributes 
 a fair share of the New York dailies and weeklies 
 to the box holders. Not only does this apply to 
 the village population, but the country all around 
 is inhabited by reading people to whom the news- 
 paper is as much a need as sugar for their coffee. 
 
 To such a community a newspaper of its own 
 was a thing to be wished for, and to be cordially 
 welcomed when it came. Come it did at last, 
 although not until the opportunity for it had long 
 been ripe. On the lOth day of December, 1879 ^^^ 
 first number of the Chronicle was issued, with the 
 announcement that it was to be a weekly paper of 
 ■independent politics. The principal proprietor of 
 the new enterprise was Mr. J. E. Watkins who had 
 for some time been a resident of Moorestown. Mr. 
 W. J. Lovell, a thorough practical printer, came 
 
240 
 
 MOORESTOWN. OLD AND NEV/. 
 
 here from Philadelphia to conduct the enterprise. 
 At first the style of the firm was Watkins & Co. 
 That title was retained for a little over a year and 
 on January ist, 1 88 1, was changed to Watkins & 
 Lov^ell, Mr. Lovell having taken an interest in the 
 business. On the i8th of June, 1883 Mr. W;^tkins 
 retired from the firm, Mr. Lovell becoming sole 
 proprietor, as he has ever since remained. 
 
 For a time the paper led a wandering life, and 
 circulated in^two ways — among its subscribers, and 
 from one publication office to another. It was first 
 issued from a room in the lower part of Mr. James 
 Sankey's old furniture shop — the building that 
 stood on the site now occupied by the Bank build- 
 ing. Before the paper had been in existence three 
 months a fire, caused by spontaneous combustion, 
 broke out in the upper part of the old building, 
 destroying the rear portion of it. Moorestown's 
 volunteer department, with its hand engine, saved 
 the rest of the building, but in the process pretty 
 effectively deluged the newspaper office. The com- 
 bined effects of fire and water rendered necessary a 
 removal, and the ClLronicle found temporary quar- 
 ters in the building owned by Mr. George F. 
 Doughten, now occupied by Worrel's plumbing 
 shop, above Chester avenue. It remained here a 
 few weeks, and then removed to the upper part of 
 what was then A. W. Deacon's store, and is now 
 Charles Evans' flour and feed store. An outside 
 
THE NEWS OF THE DAY. 2"Ai 
 
 stairway was constructed to give access to the office. 
 This location was not so favorable as could be 
 desired, and after a few months spent there the office 
 kvas again removed, this time to the upper part o: 
 :he Post Office building. The business of the news- 
 paper, and the job office connected therewith, speed- 
 ily grew to such proportions that steam power and 
 manifold other improvements became necessary, to 
 supersede the simpler mechanism with which the 
 work had been begun. Steam power and heavy 
 machinery could not be used in the second story oi. 
 the postoffice, so at the end of six months that loca- 
 tion was abandoned, and quarters taken up in a 
 portion of H. W. Doughten's warehouse building 
 on Chester avenue, just North of the railroad. In 
 the new location steam power was added to the 
 resources of the establishment and adequate ma- 
 chinery put to work. The paper was enlarged and 
 the general facilities for newpaper and job work 
 were increased. 
 
 The removal to H. W. Doui^hten's buildincf was 
 made in January, i88i, and the Chro?iicle remained 
 thereuntil the summer of 1885. That season the 
 CJironicU Building on the West side of Chester 
 avenue, just South of the railroad, was constructed. 
 It is a two-story brick building, of ample size, and 
 well supplied with steam machinery for executing 
 the constantly increasing work of the office. The 
 new building was taken possession of the ist oi 
 
242 MOORESTOVVN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 August, 1885. The Chro7iicle \?, entirely indepen- 
 dent in politics, but by no means neutral. It has a 
 g-Qod circulation, which is increasins^ • and it is 
 likely to become a more and more important factor 
 in the hfe of the place. 
 
 The Telephone. — Long-distance conversation 
 is within the resources of the Moorestown residents, 
 as well as the older methods of communication; 
 and any one desiring to do so can stand in the 
 front part of the postoffice building and shout 
 " Hello, hello!" so as to be heard in Philadelphia, 
 or farther away. The telephone took its place 
 among our local institutions in 1885. J. WiUits 
 Worthlngton is manager, and the exchange is 
 located in his drug-store. Connections are made 
 East and West, and through the Philadelphia office 
 Moorestown is within talking range of any place 
 in the circuit of telephone comnmunication. Mr. 
 Worthlngton was the first subscriber for an instru- 
 ment, and Mr. H. W. Doughten was the second. 
 
I 
 
 Chapter XVI. 
 
 llie New Station. 
 
 ^^^ SUBURBAN town must have a railroad 
 ,,h^f| station, of course. Otherwise the town 
 4^£\^\ is not suburban but rustic. A railroad 
 
 >^f^ station makes it next door neighbor to 
 • the rest of the world. Two stations place 
 it on a footing of intimacy with mankind at large. 
 Moorestown has three, and a three-station town 
 that does not take on more or less of metropolitan 
 airs may be considered pretty well balanced. Per- 
 liaps it is because she Is steadied by the sobering 
 influences of two centuries that our old town does 
 :not show any signs of skittishness, even now when 
 -she offers three halting places for the trains. 
 
 The new station, the third on the list,was erected 
 -early in the spring of 1886. It Is small, but as 
 -pretty a building as one need desire to see. It Is a 
 Queen Ann structure of brick, with a tiled roof and 
 and stained glass windows. Its location is about 
 two-thirds of a mile East of the East Moorestown 
 station, near the entrance to the Fair Grounds. 
 -A street, called "Fair Grounds Avenue"— which^ 
 
 (243) 
 
244 
 
 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 by the way, is the name given to the station — has 
 been opened from Main street to the raih-oacl, at 
 the end of the station platform, and a plank side- 
 walk constructed the entire distance. 
 
 Thus a new convenience has been given to 
 comers and goers, and a new means of communica- 
 tion established with a very delightful portion of 
 Moorestown. There are many people living at the 
 Eastern extremity of the town who will appreciate 
 the closer proximity to railroad privileges. A half 
 mile walk as the preface or appendix to a day's 
 business or shopping in the city is not always 
 desirable, and not everybody keeps a carriage. 
 Under the new order of things East Moorestown 
 station is not the Hobson's choice of those living 
 towards Mrs. Lippincott's old boarding school 
 v/hen they want to take a train. 
 
 With this addition to its facilities Moorestown 
 may freely extend Itself to the East as well as to the 
 North. From old times a good many homes have 
 been located well to the Eastward along Main 
 street, and of late more have been established there 
 — some of them elegant and attractive In the ex- 
 treme. Distance from the center of the town does 
 not involve so much inconvenience now as formerly, 
 for all the dealers in the place send out order and 
 delivery wagons for the convenience of customers. 
 That part of the town is a very choice one for resi- 
 dences, and many v/ho have looked Vv'istfully in 
 
THE NEW STATION. 245 
 
 that direction have been deterred from establishing 
 their homes there only by the inconvenience caused 
 by the distance from the railroad station. The 
 distance from the town center need not interfere 
 with going and coming if one has time. But to 
 catch a train from tliere required such a careful and 
 troublesome economizing of time that it amounted 
 to a serious obstacle. That obstacle is now re- 
 moved, for already trains stop at the new station on 
 signal, and it will eventually have its due place on 
 the time-table. 
 
 When the Telford pavement has been completed, 
 this section of the town will be still more attractive 
 and desirable ; for then the walk or drive " into 
 town" will be even more of a pleasure than it is 
 now. The drive will also be an attractive pleasure 
 for others than those who live in East End, and 
 the road v/ill much of the time be gay and lively 
 with tlie turn-outs of pleasurers. This will afford 
 an added satisfaction to the dwellers in the beauti- 
 ful region along the road, furnishing an animated 
 spectacle which it v/ill be very pleasant to look 
 upon. So, with the railroad and the new pavement 
 as resources, there certainly would be no isolation 
 for the dwellers in the Eastern extremity of the 
 town, and the inconvenience of residence there will 
 be reduced to its minimum. 
 
 As was to have been expected private enterprise 
 lias seen all these advantages, and is ready to avail 
 
246 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 itself of them. The only wonder Is that the steps: 
 now taken were not taken earlier. They have beea 
 taken at all events, and as private enterprise is 
 always an important element o^ public enterprise, 
 this movement must take Its place as a matter of 
 history. So much of the farm of Mrs. Mary Llppln- 
 cott as remained unsold, comprising about thirty- 
 one acres, and Includlncr the old residence which 
 was for so many years the boarding- school building, 
 has been purchased and .laid off in building lots. 
 Fair Grounds avenue has been opened along the 
 Western side of the property, from Main street to 
 the railroad. Other streets, parallel to this, are to 
 be opened, and an avenue constructed through the 
 tract, parallel with Main street. On these street 
 lines the lots are laid out. The condlt'ons of sale 
 prohibit the erection of buildings for purposes pre- 
 judicial to health or comfort, and building lines, 
 along the different avenues as established. The 
 suggestion is made to set apart a portion of the 
 tract for the erection of a chapel and school-house. 
 Whether this will be done or not is uncertain. If 
 it should be, a still further convenience will be. 
 afforded the dwellers in that region. 
 
 All things considered — the advantages offered 
 by the new improvement company, and the advan- 
 tages existing aside from that organization — it 
 jieems probable that the new station will become 
 •^'he nucleus of an important and most desirable.- 
 
THE NEW STATiaN. 
 
 24r 
 
 extension of Moorestown ; an extension that will 
 in time assume as important relations to the older 
 portions of the place as those now held by the ex- 
 tension North of the railroad. 
 
f> 
 
 Chapter XVU 
 In Later War Times. 
 S^'OilTH, South, East or West, there Is not a 
 
 Sk 
 
 ) hamlet so remote that it has not some 
 
 ^J:X>?^ hnk of association connectinsf it with 
 sSM^ "war times." Every community has in 
 it at least one or two men — they are 
 gray-headed and grizzly-bearded now, probably, and 
 are apt to be a little stooped as to the shoulders — 
 who make an occasional remark beginning : " When 
 I was in the army." This one has a bullet hole 
 somewhere about him ; that one *' came out without 
 a scratch," but finds himself a good deal older now 
 than he would have been if he had spent those 
 three or four years in houses instead of tents and 
 bivouacs ; and another one is short in his account 
 of legs or arms. There is pretty certain to be one 
 or more of these men to remind the generation that 
 is going down and the generation that is coming 
 up of the terrible episode that grew into one of the 
 world's mightiest tragedies. Other reminders make 
 mute signals from every country grave>yard, nc 
 less eloquent than those from stately cemeteries anc 
 national burial places. The green mound bchiiiJ 
 (24S) 
 
IN lATZR WAR TIMES. 
 
 249 
 
 a country cliurch shows as distinctly as the most 
 elaborate monum -it where a sleeping soldier has 
 his place in th^ "bivouac of the dead." Other 
 reminders, again, stir and cry out in the hearts that 
 have not, after all these years, forgotton to ache for 
 the soldier who never came bick, even to the quiet 
 rest of the church-vard cfrave. 
 
 That later war sent the eddies of its fierce tide 
 into quiet Moorestown, as into every other place, 
 quiet or unquiet, great or small, near or remote. 
 Little fluttering flags in every grave-yard in the 
 place, mark to-day where "the silent tents are 
 spread" of some of the great army of soldiers 
 Avhose warfare is all accomplished. Even in the 
 Friends' Cemetery the fluttering signal is seen, and 
 the sleep that follows the health of peace has fellovv'- 
 ship with the sleep that ends the fever of war. 
 There is nothing strange in such fellowship to those 
 of us who remember those wonderful years. The 
 furnace heats in which the nation v/as moulded 
 anew^ softened the elements of every community 
 and welded them into a closer brotherhood. 
 
 .The Friends are a war-condemning people, but 
 to country and to principle they are loyal through 
 and through. So wlien the Civil War burst upon 
 us in 1 86 1 the Friends, here as well as elsewhere, 
 were placed in a very trying position. They could 
 not sanction the doing of evil that good might come, 
 h\\\ the good that wis sought throug^h the evil of war 
 
2^0 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 was as dear to them, and was as earnestly and" 
 zealously hoped and striven for by thein, as by any 
 man who drew a sword or shouldered a musket. 
 They must deprecate the means which were em- 
 ployed, and which they were powerless to change or 
 modify, but they could not but hope and pray for 
 the result that was striven for. The cause of the 
 Union had no more loyal adherents than they ; the 
 zvar for the Union was, in their estimation, bad, as 
 all war is bad. If any war could have seemed 
 rieht to them this war would have see-ii^d so; and 
 since war was the means appointed to accomplish 
 the purpose in view, and the saving of the Union 
 depended on the successful issue of the war, they 
 must hope for that issue. 
 
 The position of the Friends was appreciated and 
 fully respected by both President Lincoln and 
 Secretary Stanton. Their principles as non-com- 
 batants did not, in the minds of these men, conflict 
 with their standing as thoroughly loyal citizens, 
 and were entitled to the utmost consideration. 
 This consideration they received. In some in- 
 r>tances Friends who were drafted for the army 
 ivere held exempt, and in others they were assigned 
 to non-combatant duty. The volunteer service 
 f;hey rendered in hospitals and in the promotion of 
 uanitary enterprises, needs not the telling. Its 
 record is preserved in the grateful recollection ol 
 man:.' a sick and wounded soldier. 
 
IN LATER VVAk h*JES. 
 
 2S1> 
 
 111 those later war times Tvloorestov/n and the- 
 region around it were not so exclusively populated 
 by the Friends as in the Revolutionary days. The>^ 
 still constituted a large and a strong elem.ent ; but 
 there were other elements here that were also strong 
 and active. A large proportion of the community 
 gave to the war the sympathy and sanction which 
 the Friends reserved for the object of the war; and 
 among these the war fever burned hotly and with- 
 out intermission. A goodly number put on the 
 blue, took sword or musket and marched away to 
 the front ; and straightway that part of the front 
 where " our boys" were became the center of 
 interest for those who staid at home. With but 
 few exceptions — just enough to emphasize the. 
 rule — the community was a unit in its steadfast 
 and enthusiastic endorsement of the National cause; 
 and this remained true all through the war. Vic- 
 tories were greatly rejoiced in; reverses were 
 grievously deplored ; the news of the doings at 
 *'the front" was eagerly snatched at and earnestl)^ 
 discussed ; excited and enthusiastic meetings were 
 held as special points of interest commanded 
 attention; a battle in which "our boys" suffered — 
 and such battles were many — was mourned over 
 as if the soldiers who were stricken had shared 
 kindred with the entire population instead of with 
 single families in it; and the while the quiet work 
 of aiding and cheering the soldiers in material ways. 
 
2^2 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 went on, and some in the community, more par- 
 ticularly the women, actively co-operated with the 
 larger work that was doing in Philadelphia. In 
 short, as it was in almost every city, town and 
 hamlet throughout the North, so it was here. The 
 war and the issue for which it was fought con- 
 stituted the one great interest of life ; and the daily 
 hopes and fears of every individual were shaped and 
 colored by its ebb and flow, as the sand is influenced 
 by the coming and going of the ocean's tide. 
 
 But the hoarse echo from Sumter swelled quickly 
 into a loud rallying cry for soldiers. Its note pene- 
 trated to the remotest recess, and everywhere it 
 was heeded and answered — can any of us every 
 forget with what tumultous eagerness ? Here, as 
 elsewhere, the answer was prompt and emphatic. 
 The interest in the war was not of a kind to expend 
 itself wholly in good wishes and anxious hopes. 
 It must have its active part in the great chapter of 
 history the country was writing. Moorestown was 
 a much smaller place then than it is now ; but it 
 was large enough, with its immediate neighborhood, 
 to furnish its share of " boys in blue." A com- 
 pany, made up almost wholly of men from this 
 town and the close vicinity, was organized here, 
 amid great enthusiasm. The company, when fully 
 made up, comprised ninety-seven officers and en- 
 listed men. It was when the war was new, in that 
 never-to-be-forgotten summer of 1861, that this 
 
IN LATER WAR TIME.:. 
 
 25 s 
 
 band of soldiers was recruited. For several weeks 
 before their departure for the scene of active service 
 they were quartered in the Town Hall, and were in 
 the heartiest and most cordial fashion the guests of 
 the community. Everywhere the soldiers were tht 
 aristocracy then ; and the Town Hall was not so 
 much the barracks as the reception room of the 
 soldiers. And how bountifully they were supplied 1. 
 The best from every household was generously^ 
 contributed to the soldiers. Housewives baked 
 noble batches of fresh bread daily for the " boys in 
 the hall"; and every substantial and delicacy that 
 stomach could crave was freely sent in from far and 
 near. The soldiers uniformed themselves before 
 leaving here, and money contributions to help them 
 do this were freely tendered. Indeed there were 
 almost none in the entire community, of whatever 
 denomination or belief, who did not in some v/ajr 
 give practical expression to the cordial sentiment 
 that prevailed. 
 
 Toward the middle of August the company left 
 here for Trenton ; and there on the 15th of August, 
 1 86 1, it was mustered into the United States ser- 
 vice for three years. It was attached to the Fourth 
 Regiment , New Jersey Volunteers, and was Com- 
 pany " E" of that regiment. The commissioned 
 officers chosen before the company left here were : 
 Charles Hall, Captain; William II. Eldridge, First 
 L'cutcnant and Sanuiel Ellis S-CD;id Eieutenant, 
 
254 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 ^Gcorg-e Brooks was Orderly Sergeatif on leaving- 
 liere ; but not long after he was promoted and 
 Thomas Makin became Orderly and held the posi- 
 tion until the term of service expired. On the 2ist 
 of August the regiment arrived in Washington and 
 went into camp at Fairfax Seminary, Va., with the 
 First Second and Third New Jersey Regiments. 
 They formed the First Brigade, First Division of 
 the First Corps of the Army of the Potomac. The 
 Brigade was commanded by ''Gallant Phil Kearney" 
 ■of the Regular Army. Gen. McDowell was the 
 Corps Commander until the Peninsula Campaign 
 when the Division was made the First Division 
 of the Sixth Corps, commanded by Gen. Franklin. 
 Durmg its term of service (which lasted until the 
 end of the war, for it re-enlisted) the regiment took 
 part in the following engagements, exclusive of 
 numerous skirmishes of which no mention is made : 
 West Point, Va., May 7, 1862; Gaines' Farm, Va., 
 June 27, 1862; Second Battle of Bull Run, Va., 
 August 27, 1862; Chantilly, Va., September r, 
 E862; Crampton's Pass, Md., September 14, 1862; 
 Antietam, September 17, 1862; Fredericksburg, 
 Va., December 13, 1862; Gettysburg, Pa., Jul\' 2 
 and 3, 1863; Williamsport, Md., July 6, 1863; 
 Rappahannock Station, Va., November 7, 1863; 
 Mine Run, Va., November 29 and 30, 1863: 
 Wilderness, Va., May 5 to 7, 1864; Spottsyl- 
 vania, Va,, May 8 to 11, 1864; Spottsylvania 
 
IN LATER WAR TIMES. ■ 255 
 
 Court IIousc, Va., May 12 to 16, 1S64; North and 
 South Anna River, Va., May 24, 1S64; Hanover 
 Court House, Va., May 29, 1864; Cold Harbor, 
 Va., June i to 11, 1864; Weldon Raih-oad, Va., 
 June 30, 1864; Snicker's Gap, Va., July 18, 1864; 
 Strasburg, Va., August 15, 1864; Winchester, ''a., 
 August 17, 1864; Charlestowr, Va., August 21, 
 1864; Opequan, Va., September 19, 1864; Fisher's 
 Hill, Va., September 21 and 22, 1864; New Market, 
 Va., September 24, 1864; Mt. Jackson, Va., Sep- 
 tember 25, 1864; Cedar Creek, Va., October 19, 
 I064; Hatcher's Run, Va., February 5, 1865 ; Fort 
 Steadman, Va., March 25, 1865 ; Capture of Peters- 
 burg, Va., April 2, 1865 ; Sailor's Creek, Va., April 
 6, 1865 ; Farmville, Vs., April 7, 1865 ; Lee's Sur- 
 render, Appomattox, Va., April 9, 1865. 
 
 At the battle of Gaines' Farm on the 27th of 
 June,- 1862, the entire regiment, together with the 
 Eleventh Pennsylvania Reserves, were captured 
 and taken to Richmond. There they were kept as 
 prisoners of war till about the middle of August, 
 when they were exchanged and returned to their 
 brigade, which was at this time lying at Harrison's 
 Landing on the James River. The regiment re- 
 joined the brigade on August 15, 1862, just one 
 year from the day the boys were mustered in at 
 Trenton; and also just in time to participate in the 
 second battle of Bull Run, on the 27th of August. 
 
 Who has forcrotten — who can ever forcfet — that 
 
256 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 '.vondciTul month of April, 1865 ? The capture of 
 Petersburg, the fall of Richmond, the surrender of 
 1.2c, set the nation wild with the gladness of victory 
 and the assurance of peace. Then all the gladness 
 was suddenly quenched in the horror of Lincoln's 
 assassination. The lamentations over this tragedy 
 v/cre still sounding when they were drowned in a 
 i)cal of laughter that rang from ocean to ocean at 
 che absurd capture of Jefferson IDavis. Moores- 
 :o\vn, like all the rest of the country, has never 
 been so shaken to and fro as she was that 
 month ; and like the rest of the country she had 
 added to the other excitements of the time the 
 anticipation of welcoming home the soldiers who 
 had helped to achieve the grand consummation. 
 They came at last. Did they ? Alas ! So few of 
 them. It was but a remnant that received the wel- 
 come of those who had given the parting God- 
 speed to all. Thirty- two battles, with the sore ex- 
 periences of camp and hospital had thinned the 
 ranks to a pitiful extent. Some had come home in 
 advance and been laid to rest in quiet church-yard 
 nooks ; more had been left behind, resting as quietly 
 in less quiet places. Others had brought life home 
 with them, but life so bruised and shaken that 
 suffering must be one of its conditions through all 
 the years to come. But the war was over, and the 
 ending was such as all those living and all those 
 dead had striven for. 
 
Chapter XVIIL 
 
 Old Houses and Laiidi)iarks^ 
 
 F course anything in the way of antiquities 
 that Moorestown has to show — or any 
 part of America, for that matter — must 
 necessarily be new and raw compared 
 with the hoary landmarks of the Old 
 World. To be sure some of our newer possessions 
 are ancient indeed beside some of the old relics 
 sold to tourists in Egypt and India; for oftentimes 
 these are sticky with the recent varnish of the 
 English workshop ; but in the way of genuine old 
 age, almost any little place in England or Germany 
 or Italy, to say nothing of Egypt and China and 
 Japan, can boast structures that were historic long 
 before our oldest landmarks were thought of; un- 
 less, indeed, we choose to fall back upon the works 
 of the Mound Builders or the Aztecs, and they can 
 hardly be said to be ours. But after all, old age is 
 only a relative result, and must be estimated by 
 different standards in different places and circum- 
 (257) 
 
258 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 Stances. If a house or a tree is as old as its oppor- 
 tunities permit it to be, that is all that can be 
 asked or expected of it. Judged by that standard 
 Ave have some very creditable antiquities in Moores- 
 town.. 
 
 The oldest relics hereabouts take us back to the 
 Indians, as might be supposed; but how far back 
 into Indian history and experience is not known. 
 The Indian Spring, on the ridge at the South- 
 eastern border of the town, in the neighborhood of 
 Mrs. Lippincott's scliool, has ah-eady been men- 
 tioned. It is not now so strongly suggestive of its 
 Indian importance as it was a few years ago, but is 
 still interesting. For very many years it was care- 
 fully kept as nearly as possible in the same condi- 
 tion as its aboriginal proprietors had maintained for 
 it when they used to assemble about it from far and 
 near and build their council fires beside it. They 
 had evidently esteemed it very highly, and had 
 given it a degree of care and attention worthy of 
 its importance. Its basin was kept carefully cleaned 
 out and walled up with rude stone work, and its 
 outlet had a well-kept channel prepared for it. Its 
 abundant chalybeate waters evidently stood high 
 in the estimation of our predecessors ; and probably 
 for many generations of red men the spring was 
 the object of solemn pilgrimage and popular resort. 
 
 Scattered freely about the spring were relics of a 
 a more portable sort. These the school-girls took 
 
\ 
 
 OLD IIOUSK> AND LANDMARKS. 
 
 259 
 
 ^delight in searching for and bearing away; and 
 many widely scattered liomes have among their 
 bric-a-brac to-day stone arrow-heads and spear- 
 'heads that must be classed among the antiquities 
 •of Moorestown. An uninformed white man is very 
 naturally led to inquire why the Indians were so 
 •careless as to leave these manufactured flints so 
 profusely scattered over the surface of the ground. 
 One would suppose that articles which evidently 
 required so much time and labor to make, and 
 Avhich were so useful to their owners, would be 
 •kept carefully in possession instead of being reck- 
 lessly strewn about for white men to plough up 
 and white girls to gather into their treasuries of 
 curiosities. 
 
 It lis not only in the neighborhood of Indian 
 Spring that the flinty traces of the original dwellers 
 here have been found. At various places in and 
 about the town they have been turned up more or 
 less abundantly. Mr. Edward Harris has collected 
 quite a little museum of such articles that have 
 'been from time to time discovered on his farm, 
 llis collection includes not only such specimens as 
 •arrow-heads and spear-heads, but more important 
 and curious articles. One of these is the stone 
 head of a war club. It is of murderous weight and 
 proportions, and has encircling it a carefully made 
 groove by which it was to be bound, with tough 
 .fibred withes to its wooden handle. Another soeci- 
 
CGO I.I'JJi<l<..-5i'0»VW, OLD ANU i>lb:\V. 
 
 men is in two pieces and of formidable wciglif 
 The two parts are a large, hollowed stone — a kind 
 of petrified chopping bowl in appearance — and a- 
 long, heavy piece of stone, larger at one end than> 
 the other, with the large end carefully rounded and 
 the small end shaped into a handle. These together 
 formed the mill for grinding the family supply oi 
 Indian meal. The bowl was to hold the corn which 
 the rudely formed pestle pounded and ground into- 
 meal. The mill would hardly be equal to turning 
 out patent process fiour, but is a very curious and 
 interesting affair, notwithstanding. 
 
 But all these are relics of a time that passed,, 
 probably, long before Moorcstown was thought of,, 
 and can hardly be said to belong to it at all. That 
 is not the case with the old sycamore tree which 
 stands on the north side of Main street a short dis- 
 tance East of the William Penn Hotel. This old 
 survivor of the past is one of the best known 
 and one of the most conspicuous landmarks of 
 the place. It will be remembered that the origi- 
 nal Meeting House of the Friends stood in the 
 enclosure that now constitutes the Friends' Green- 
 lawn Cemeter}^, with horse and wagon sheds ex- 
 tending towards where the hotel now is. Thomas 
 Warrington, son of Henry Warrington — who was 
 the first of the family to settle in West Jersey — felt 
 the need of a hitching-post in front of the sheds for 
 his own conveiiience and that of his ncicrhbors 
 
OLD HOUSES AND LAXDMARKG. 261 
 
 'So in the year 1740 he suppHed this want by setting 
 •out a strong young sycamore tree there, which 
 might serve the present purpose of a hitching-post, 
 and also, in time, afford shade to the horses tied to 
 its trunk. The hitching post so thoughtfully pro- 
 vided in 1740 is the noble old sycamore which 
 Moorestown takes pride in to-day. It must have 
 been some years old when it was placed in its 
 present position; otherwise it would uot hav^e 
 served the purpose for which it was selected. So it 
 is to-day at least a hundred and fifty years old. 
 
 Some years ago a large hole appeared on the 
 South side of the tree near its foot, and the old 
 landmark was threatened with a fatal decay which 
 would speedily bring about its overthrow. Mr. C. 
 C. Coles, the proprietor of the hotel, happily re- 
 membered that the decay of an old tree in the 
 Friends' burying ground at Mullica Hill had been 
 successfully checked by closing the opening with 
 masonry; so he resolved to try the same treatment 
 with the sycamore. A quantity of bricks and fresh 
 •cement were left from some recent work about the 
 hotel premises. Mr. Coles had the bricks placed 
 in the hollow of the tree, causing them to be packed 
 and driven in as firmly and closely as possible. 
 The entire opening was filled in this manner, and 
 then the surface of the brickwork was thickly coated 
 with cement so as to entirely exclude the air from 
 ^he inside of the tree. The remarkable surgical 
 
262 ' MOORESTOWN, OLD A^ND NEW. 
 
 operation was eminently successful. The decaj^ 
 was checked, on the same principle, probably, that 
 the filling of a decayed tooth preserves it. The old 
 tree regained its health ; the opening was gradually 
 hidden by new growth of wood and bark, and now 
 only a scar remains to remind people of the heroic 
 treatment that was resorted to. 
 
 An interesting fact connected with the affair is that 
 the tree at Mullica Hill, whose rescue suggested 
 that of the sycamore, was operated on by Lindzey 
 Nicholson, one of whose daughters is the wife of 
 Dr. Joseph Warrington, one of Moorestown's old 
 citizens, and a descendent of the Warrington who 
 planted the "hitching-post" in 1740. Mr. Nichol- 
 son experimented successfully on a tree near his 
 residence on Wahiut street, Philadelphia, and then 
 extended his treatment to the Mullica Hill tree, in 
 which he took great interest from old association. 
 
 Another of the old landmarks of the place is alsO' 
 a tree. This one is a grand white oak, which is. 
 now growing where it originally took root in the 
 woods. The woods have disappeared and left the 
 old tree standing out in the sidewalk on the South, 
 side of Main street at the end of the line that sepa- 
 rates the property of Dr. S. C. Thornton from that 
 of William Matlack's daughters. It is supposed to- 
 be about a hundred years old, and is a magnificient 
 specimen of tree-growth. It was utilized by some: 
 of the old-time surveyors in their work, being. 
 
OLD liuU.SliS AND LANL'.MAKkS. 26J 
 
 referred to in one of the old conveyances as " a 
 small white oak tree," which marked a corner of 
 the land conveyed. Under the shadow of this old 
 tree the original Methodist church stood— the first 
 house of public worship erected in Moorestown. 
 after the Friends' meeting house. To all appear- 
 ance the tree is now in the prime of life, and it is 
 pleasant to think that it is likely to be spared many- 
 years yet as a landmark for Moorestown to be 
 
 proud of 
 
 One of the old buildings identified with the early 
 times of Moorestown has been removed this spring 
 (iS86'. This was the old blacksmith shop that 
 stood on Main street a short distance East of Mr. 
 Geo. F. Uoughten's store. It old age can make 
 anythhig venerable, it was evident to all beholders 
 that this old structure was venerable. It was of 
 composite architecture, being partly of frame and 
 partly of stone, and a part of the frame portion 
 standing at an obtuse angle from the rest of it. A 
 queer little after-thought addition, in the shape of a 
 low, SGuare box: with a window in it, stood out 
 from the Southeastern corner and formed the East- 
 ern end of the shed that fronted the smithy. To 
 all appearance this was the oldest portion of the 
 building, but it probably was not. The blacksmith 
 shop was sold in 1780 by John Cox to his son, 
 William Cox. It is supposed that either John or 
 William built the stone portion of the structure, and 
 
264 MOORESTOWN. OLD AND NEW. 
 
 that the business had been carried on in a still 
 older portion of the building for an indefinite time 
 prior to the transfer of 1780. But when that older 
 portion was erected is not known. The old shop 
 and the ground on Avhich it stood were purchased 
 by the Moorestown Grange in the early part of 
 1886, and the building torn down. A new building 
 is being erected on the site of the old landmark, to 
 be used by the Grange as a general store, with a 
 Granger's Hall in the upper story. The substitu- 
 tion will undoubtedly be a great improvement to 
 that part of Moorestown, even though it does oblit- 
 erate one of the relics of old times. 
 
 Another old building which is associated in his- 
 tory to some extent with the blacksmith shop, is 
 the frame dwelling house on Main street, just East 
 of G. F. Doughten's residence. In 1745 John Cox^ 
 who sold the blacksmith shop to his son in 1780, 
 bought the land lying between Levi Lippincott's 
 property and Chester avenue. It would appear 
 that the frame building in question was standing on 
 the ground at the time ; for Mr. Cox became tav- 
 ern-keeper there soon after his purchase. "Cox's 
 Tavern" became one of the notable places of 
 Moorestown and so continued for many years. 
 Mr. Cox died about 1800, and after his death the 
 property passed through a number of ownership's 
 until about the year 1842, when David McCoy, who 
 had purchased the consolidated stage lines from 
 
OLD HOUSES AND LANDMARKS. 26s 
 
 George F. Doughteii and John Courtland Haines, 
 bought the old tavern. He had leased the property 
 some time previous to this, and established stage 
 headquarters there ; but after purchasing he put on 
 improvements which bore testimony to a good deal 
 of enterprise on his part. He erected a large barn 
 at the rear of the premises, which still remains there, 
 and constructed a very ample wagon shed which 
 occupied the ground where Mr. Doughten's resi- 
 dence nov/ stands. For a time the business of the 
 tavern flourished ; but when the stage line passed 
 out of McCoy's possession and was established else- 
 where, the hotel business ebbed away from the old 
 place; then it ceased to be a tavern at all, and for 
 many years now the old building has been rented 
 as a dwelling. 
 
 On this same property, purchased by John Cox 
 in 1745, stood one of the very early stores of the 
 town. It was a frame building which occupied the 
 ground where now stands the Store of G. F. Dough- 
 ten, at the corner of Main street and Chester 
 avenue. Who built it, or when it was built are 
 things unknown ; but it was an ancient structure^ 
 John Cox sold the portion of the property on which 
 the store was standing, to John Wilkinson Fenni- 
 more in 1801. Fennimore sold it to William 
 Uoughten, father of the present owner. George F. 
 Doughten returned here, a young man, in 1832, 
 and entered into a business partnership with John 
 
265 MOO R ES rO^VN^ OLD' A'NSD ■ N K \V . 
 
 CourLlancl Haines. They bought the old store and 
 began business theire. In 1838 Mr. Doughten. 
 bought out his partner's interest in the business,, 
 and continued the enterprise independently. In 
 1849 ^^^ removed the old frame building and replaced 
 it with the building he now occupies. The lot ad- 
 joining was also a part of the old Cox property.. 
 This lot David McCoy tried to purchase before he 
 bought the Cox Tavern ; but Mr. Doughten had' 
 forestalled him, purchasing the lot himself in 1839- 
 On this he erected his present residence, and while 
 he was rebuilding his store he kept his goods in 
 his dwelling. 
 
 The William Penn, Hotel, on the North side of" 
 Main street, just West of the Friend's' grave-yard^ 
 is another of the old buildings of the place. Its- 
 appearance at this time does not denote its antiquity,, 
 for it has seen changes as time went on, notably 
 under the administratton of its present proprietors, 
 Messrs. C. C. Coles & Brother. Fresh paint and 
 other added improvements have made it, to all 
 appearance, an essentially modern building. It is 
 not that, however ; and it has a history full of inter- 
 esting points, if there were only somebody who 
 could remember them. Pretty much the only out- 
 v/ard indication of old times now visible about the 
 building is a couple of small holes in the Western 
 end. Into these holes were inserted the ends of the 
 iron rods which formed the support of the old. 
 
OLD HOUSES AND LANDMARKS. 26/ 
 
 swmgi 
 
 _ng sign, on which was displayed a portrait of 
 William Penn. Under the proprietorship of John 
 West the old house was headquarters for one of the 
 rival stage-coach lines and had its full share of the 
 liveliness that belonged to those lively times. 
 
 About 1820 Thomas Porter was the proprietor: 
 He was a well known character hereabouts, and 
 combined the vocations of hotel-keeper, tailor and 
 auctioneer. He is said to have been equally effici- 
 ent in all, and to have been a jolly soul withal, as 
 a man so prosperous and full of resources may well 
 have been. His wife, Polly, was as important a 
 personage as himself, and her skill as a cook and 
 caterer gave her a wide reputation. It is stated 
 that no wedding or important festival of any kind 
 was deemed a success unless Polly Porter had the 
 management of it and provided the good things. 
 
 Thomas Porter was succeeded by John West as 
 proprietor. Then came Daniel Bennett, Benjamin- 
 Martin, Nathan Stokes and John West— another 
 John West— in succession. In the winter of 1859 
 C. C. Coles & Brother, the present proprietors, pur- 
 chased the place. About forty years ago impor- 
 tant alterations and improvements were made in the 
 building, which changed it from an old-time tavern, 
 and gave it a more modern appearance. Other, but 
 less radical changes have been made more recently; 
 The Washington Hotel, on the North side of 
 Main street, West of Mill street, is said to be a still 
 
263 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW, 
 
 older house than the WilHam Penn, and it certainly 
 has retained more of its ancient appearance. It was 
 also headquarters for one of the opposition stage 
 lines in the exciting days of stage-coaching; and 
 has always been a prominent feature of Moores- 
 town. William Doughten, father of George F. 
 Doughten, was proprietor for a long time. He was 
 succeeded b}^ Henry Louden, and after him came 
 Abel Small, Jr., Michael O'Neil, Nathan H. Stokes, 
 George Dull, Lewis Wood, Frank Lightcap, and 
 the present proprietor, Lee Stroud. During Dull's 
 proprietorship the hotel barn was destroyed by 
 fire. Alterations have been made from time to 
 time, but they have not changed the appearance of 
 the old place to such an extent as in the case of 
 William Penn. 
 
 There is not much in the appearance of the store 
 block West of the William Penn Hotel, on the same 
 side of the street, to indicate antiquity. But Burr's 
 store and Brown's store both occupy sites that were 
 held — and not so many years ago — by very old 
 structures. When A. L. Burr kept his store in the 
 house now occupied by Ebenezer Roberts, a small 
 frame building stood on the ground where his brick 
 store now is. It was a very old structure, but how 
 old is not knov/n. In it Elwood Stratton, who be- 
 came postmaster under President Lincoln's admin- 
 istration, kept a drug store. He was the last to 
 occupy the old building. Th': little frame struc- 
 
uLD HOUSES ANU LANDMARKS. 269* 
 
 ture was r.ot destro)'ed when the new building was 
 to be erected, but was purchased and moved off. 
 It is now ocvuipied as a dwelling on French's alley, 
 below Second street. 
 
 Where the brick store of E. B. Brown & Brother 
 now stands a blacksmith shop formerly stood. Na 
 man knows when or by whom it was erected. 
 Very many years ago it was diverted from its 
 original purpose and became a store. It was occu- 
 pied successively by a number of proprietors, and 
 for a good many years prior to i860 John Court- 
 Haines and John Buzby carried en' business there 
 under the style of Haines & Buzby. In i860 Mr. 
 Haines retired in favor B. L. Davis, who had been 
 a clerk in the store, and E. B. Brown bought Mr- 
 Buzby's interest. In 1864 Mr. Brown bought out 
 Davis and took his brother Charles into partner- 
 ship. In the summer of 1876 the old building was 
 torn down and the present brick store erected in 
 its place. The new building was occupied Sep- 
 tember 9, 1876. 
 
 A very old frame dwelling house was removed 
 to make room for present residence of Mr. A. L. Burr 
 on the North side of Main street. How long it 
 had stood there cannot be told, but It was very 
 venerable. It had belonged to Joseph Matlack, 
 and was said to be considerably over a century old. 
 One of the last to occupy the old house in its old 
 position was Charles Burden, still a resident here, 
 
2^0 MOORESTUWN, OLD AND NEv». 
 
 AVlien the time came to remove the venerable 
 building it was purchased by John Manion, and 
 removed to his lot on Second street in West 
 Moorestown, where he still occupies it as a dwelling. 
 There is a well in the southwest corner of Mr. 
 Burr's grounds, which was probably dug when the 
 old house was built. There is a pump in it now, 
 and the supply of water has never been known to 
 fail in the severest drought. The well is lined with 
 great blocks of iron-stone, and formerly a part of 
 the grounds about the old house was paved with 
 similar blocks. A number of years ago it was 
 decided to clear out the old well, which is used by 
 by the present owner only to supply water for the 
 lawn and shrubbery. In the cleaning operations a 
 jar of butter was brought up from the depths. It 
 had been hung down there unknown years before 
 to keep it hard and sweet, and in some unaccount- 
 able manner had been forgotten, with the result of 
 being pretty well fossillized. 
 
 Where the Bank Building now stands there was 
 formerly an old building which had occupied the 
 ground from a time when the memory of the oldest 
 inhabitant runneth not to the contrary. It was 
 torn down to make room for the Bank, and its de- 
 struction removed one of the most universally 
 accommodating old buildings, perhaps, that Moores- 
 town ever possessed. It had been a cabinet maker's 
 shop on different occasions ; a school house from 
 
OLD HOUSES AND LANDMARKS. 27 I 
 
 t3 
 
 fi^iveii 
 
 'fimc lo t-ime ; a store when it came handy ; a dru 
 •store when the emergency demanded ; had 
 quarters to a newspaper, and had encouraged other 
 industries in the most versatile and impartial man- 
 ner possible. 
 
 When or by whom it was built are points on 
 which there seems to be no exact information. It 
 was an old building a great many years ago. The 
 investigator who tries to get back of that goes into 
 a fog and is lost. Very early in the present century 
 Richard Haines occupied the old shop and followed 
 liis trade of cabinet-making there. After his time 
 William Jones, also a cabinet-maker, worked there. 
 lie was the father of the late Samuel Jones, the well 
 1.-nown citizen who was for so long a term of years 
 Moorestown's only undertaker. Samuel worked 
 -with his father in the old shop, and the family lived 
 in a little frame house that stood on the lot adjoin- 
 ing, where the residence of the Misses Slim now is. 
 This little dwelling house is reputed to have been 
 •still older than the shop. It could hardly have 
 been called spacious, for it is said to have consisted 
 of only two rooms — one down stairs and another 
 above, which was reached by means of a trap-door 
 and open stairway. A little store was kept in the 
 lower room, and was a favorite shopping place for 
 the, lovers of taffy and cream cheese. Samuel Jones 
 succeeded his father as cabinet maker in the old 
 shop, and carried on business there for several 
 
2-J2 
 
 MOJRi-:STO\VN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 years. In those times cabinet makers mad 2 coffins 
 when the occasion demanded, and undertaking^ vw s 
 not a distinct business, as now. Gradually Mr. 
 Jones was compelled to give more and more of his 
 time and attention to making coffins and attending 
 funerals, and eventually dropped the other branches 
 of his old trade and became a regular undertaker. 
 After a time Joshua Borton built the house now 
 occupied by Ebenezer Roberts, and also the one 
 standing West of it. This one Samuel Jones bought 
 and occupied. He built a shop back of it, and then 
 the old building in which he had so long carried on 
 his business was vacated by him. 
 
 It would seem that the old shop was not occu- 
 pied continuously by the cabinet makers through 
 all these years ; for thei e are recollections of schools 
 that must have been sandwiched in between the 
 wood-working periods. Rev. Daniel Higbee kept 
 a school here sometime about 1820, and had among 
 his pupils some boys and girls who are now living 
 among us as grandfathers and grandmothers. Dur- 
 ing his experience as teacher Mr. Higbee lived in 
 l,he little house next door. At a later period Isaac 
 'Bunting had a school in the old shop. He had 
 previously taught in an old school house some dis- 
 tance west of Moorestown. This school house had 
 been destroyed by fire, and the old shop was the 
 pedagogue's place of refuge. There Is one old lady 
 still living here v/ho has a distinct recollection of 
 
OLD HOUSES AND LANDMARKS. 
 
 275 
 
 school-days passed in the old school house that. 
 was burned, while Isaac Bunting taught there ; and 
 there are others, many years younger, who were his. 
 pupils in the cabinet maker's shop. 
 
 In later years Mr. James Sankey purchased the 
 old building and used it for a cabinet shop many 
 years. It was fulfilling that part of its vocation 
 when the ground on which it stood was purchased 
 for a bank site and the old landmark was demol- 
 ished. In the meantime, however, it did not forfeit 
 its reputation of being the most accommodating- 
 building in the place. When Mr. A. L. Burr was 
 about to erect his present store and it was necessary 
 to remove the old frame building that stood on the 
 ground, Mr. Elwood Stratton, who had his drug 
 store in the doomed building, removed his stock to 
 Mr. Sankey's shop and carried on business there 
 until his quarters in Burr's new building were ready 
 for him. So too, when the Brown Brothers put up 
 their present building they removed their goods to 
 Mr. Sankey's shop and kept store there until they 
 could occupy their own building. When the 
 Clironicle was started here it had its first quarters in 
 Mr. Sankey's shop, and staid there until a nre whicli 
 threatened the entire destruction of the building, 
 drove it out. Indeed there seems to have been very 
 few spheres of usefulness which the old structure 
 could not fill. 
 
 Another very old building is that m which Mrs. 
 
274 r.IOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEV/. 
 
 Esther Stiles has her dwelling and her trimming' 
 store, on the South side of Main street, some little 
 distance below the Bank. Its appearance does not 
 indicate old age, for it has been kept in good repair, 
 and has been somewhat modernized by slight alter- 
 ations ; but it dates back to Revolutionary times, 
 and was a spacious and commodious dwelling for 
 the time of its construction. 
 
 Tiie Town Hall is not a very antique structure, 
 but it bears a tolerable weight of years, neverthe- 
 less. It was built by the township authorities in 
 1812, and at the time of its construction was held 
 to be an architectural credit to the place. It was 
 then just hall the size it is now. When the Moores- 
 town Literary Association was in its heyday of 
 prosperity it became joint proprietor of the little 
 brick building with the township, and built an addi- 
 tion which just doubled the size of the hall. It 
 added other improvements which made the struc- 
 ture notable for its completeness at the time. Since 
 that time the township has been only part owner 
 of the hail. It has always retained the full right 
 to use the building for all township business, so 
 that the hall still serves the purpose for which it 
 was originally intended. Previous to its erection 
 the town meetings were held in the hotels ; and as 
 John Cox was the Town Clerk for many years it is 
 supposed that his hotel was used for town meeting 
 purposes during thoseyears until the hall was built. 
 
 1 
 
^- ilUUSES AND LANDMARKS. 
 
 27! 
 
 A notable f^pecimen of the old time mansions 1*3 
 that now owned and occupied by Dr. S. C. Thorn- 
 iton, on the South side of iMain street a short dis- 
 tance East of Mill street. Standing far back from 
 the street, fronted by a large lawn, and its white 
 waHs gleaming through the abundant green of 
 trees and ornamental shrubbery, it answers fully the 
 idea of a stately country residence of olden times. 
 
 The house was built nearly a hundred years ago, 
 'by Thomas Ewing, of Philadelphia, for the summer 
 ^residence of his family. Its beginning is associated 
 with the youth of the grand old white oak which 
 'Stands in the sidewalk in front of the premises ; for 
 the deed conveying the property referred to this 
 tree as a " white oak sapling" marking one of the 
 ^corners. As originally constructed the building 
 liad a decidedly different appearance to what it has 
 now. A broad veranda ran Across both ends and 
 the back of it. The front door was sheltered by a 
 -narrow little porch or " stoop." The roof of the 
 house was flat, and for many years it was known 
 ;far and wide as the " Old Flat-Roofed House." 
 
 The original veranda is still retained at the West- 
 •ern end of the house, and very quaint and pleasant 
 it is, with its .wooden "settle" fastened to the wall 
 the entire length of it. The remainder of the 
 veranda was removed years ago to make room for 
 additions and improvements ; and the httle front 
 .^toop has been replaced by a roomy piazza, so 
 
2^6 MOORESTUWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 designed as to harmonize with the rest of the build- 
 ing. The front of the house gives the impressioiii 
 of spacious roominess inside, but originally the 
 building had but two rooms on each floor — one- 
 room on each side of a broad hall running from 
 front to rear. A large back building has been^ 
 added, so that the promise of the imposing front is 
 more fully kept now. A feature which is singular 
 among old houses is the staircase, which instead of 
 running up from the hall, is enclosed, and ascends 
 from the back at one side of the hall. The clap- 
 boards are of cedar, tongucd and grooved, and all 
 the timbers are of solid oak, strong enough to with- 
 stand a cyclone. 
 
 For many years the title to the property was in 
 dispute; and during that time the old house stood 
 empty, and the grounds were the resort of all the 
 idle youth in the neighborhood. Many of them cut 
 their names in the house-walls, and there they 
 remain in spite of much paint. In 1838 l^r. Sam- 
 uel Thornton, father of the present owner, saw an 
 opening through the legal entanglemicnt, and 
 bought the property. He added to and improved 
 the house and brought it up to the condition in 
 which his son has since maintained it. A noble 
 orchard formerly stood back of the house set with 
 apple trees that came from England. All but one 
 of the old original trees have died out. So also 
 have all the clicrrv trees v/hicli came froiii Ivir:'-1an(L 
 
 A 
 
OLD HOUSES AND LANDMARKS. 
 
 277 
 
 and the rows of Lombardy poplars which once 
 ■stood sentry all about. 
 
 Dr. Thornton erected the present back building, 
 ^remodelled the roof,' replaced the little front stoop 
 with the present piazza and expended a vast amount 
 of paint upon the battered ontside of the house he 
 had purchased. But the changes he made were 
 such as harmonized with the original character of 
 the house, and its individuality as a type of the 
 fine old mansion house has never been impaired. 
 
 A short distance West of the head of Mill street 
 stands one of the most interesting of all the houses 
 that remain as mementos of the remote past. It is 
 the old Smith or Harris mansion, of which mention 
 has been repeatedly made. It stands some little 
 distance south of Main street and looks off toward 
 the northeast, with one shoulder partly turned 
 toward the street. When it was built it fronted 
 squarely on the King's Highway; but years ago 
 that thoroughfare was straightened, and although 
 the general course of IMain street is the same as 
 that of the old road, still there are places where the 
 little change that was made produced a very notice- 
 able effect, as when this old mansion v/as put back 
 'in comparative seclusion. Until a few years since 
 it stood alone, with quite a grove between it and 
 the street; but now most of the great taees have 
 ■been cut down, and the handsome residence of Mr. 
 J. C. Hopkins occupies the foreground of the imme- 
 
2^8 MOORESTO A^^^ OLD AND N'BW. : 
 
 diate neighborhood of the old farm house, as it has^ 
 been known of late years. 
 
 The ground on which the house stands formed 
 part of one of the extensive purchases made here 
 at the beginning of Moorestown's existence. On 
 the 13th of May, 1682, Robert Clinton sold the 
 property to Thomas Martin; on the 25th of Sep- 
 tember, 1686, James Martin, brother of Thomas,, 
 under a letter of attorney given by the latter, sold 
 it to Thomas Rodman ; Thomas Rodman died at 
 his home in Rhode Island, and in his will left the 
 New Jersey property to his son Clark Rodman;: 
 on the 13th of October, 1730, Clark Rodman sold 
 the property to Francis liogsett; he, on the ist of 
 April 1734 sold a part of his possessions here to 
 Nehemiah Haines; in March, 1738, Nehemiah 
 Haines sold to Joshua Humphries, and on August 
 2, 1766, Joshua Humphries and Increase, his wife, 
 sold the land and whatever buildings were on it to. 
 Samuel Smith, 
 
 Samuel Smith kept the place until his death;- 
 and by his will, which bore date December 23, 
 1775, left it to his son Richard Smith. Richard 
 Smith, by his will, dated April 30th, 1796, directed 
 that the property, with such other lands as he pos- 
 sessed, should be sold after his death, and appointed' 
 Hannah and Joseph Smith to execute the pro- 
 visions of the will. Accordingly on the i8th o- 
 May, 1798, Hannah and Joseph Smith sold th<^ 
 
OLD HOUSES AND LANDMA-RKS. 2/0* 
 
 Moorestovvn property to Edward Harris, of Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 The property remained in the Harris family for 
 many years. On the death of Edward Harris, the 
 purchaser, in 1822, his son Edward inherited the 
 estate, and lived upon it until his marriage, when 
 he made a protracted visit to Europe. On his 
 return he purchased the homestead now occupied 
 by his widow and his son Edward, on Main street 
 some distance above the old mansion. He still 
 retained possession of the original estate, but after 
 some years sold it to Dr. Haines. The old property 
 was subsequently in the possession of Samuel Far- 
 vour, and after his death came into the possession 
 of Deacon William Mead. He retained it until a 
 (c\v years since when it passed into the hands of 
 its present proprietor, Bartholomew Sutton. 
 
 The historic old house is said to have been built 
 by Joshua Humphries shortly after his purchase of 
 173S. If so the building was altered and added to 
 by Samuel S mith and his son Richard. In their time 
 the mansion was one of the most considerable in 
 this region. Richard Smith was the owner and 
 occupant during the Revolution; and it Vv^as here 
 that his niece, Elizabeth Murrel, had her memorable 
 experience when his house was the headquarters 
 of the retreating British commander. 
 
 The liberal hospitality of Edward Harris rendered 
 the house still more notable after it came into his 
 
2gO MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 hands. Here ministers of every evangelical denomi- 
 nation were made welcome, and here in the absence 
 of regular church buildings, they were invited to 
 hold services. In the parlor and on the veranda of 
 this mansion preachers of various creeds have from 
 time to time delivered sermons in the hearing 
 of interested congregations. When the original 
 Methodist church was built the dwelling house was 
 no longer needed as a place of public worsl^ip, but 
 the memory of its old time usefulness in that direc- 
 tion still clings to it. 
 
 Old age does not seem to have told upon the 
 venerable structure with any damaging effect ; and 
 it is still a comfortable and commodious dwelling, 
 as pleasant to ^ live in as it is picturesque to look 
 upon and interesting to think about. 
 
 A short distance below Union street, on the South 
 side of Main street, stands a house with a history 
 extending pretty far back into the past. It is the 
 house now occupied by Ebenezer Roberts' daugh- 
 ters. It was built before the King's Highway had 
 become Main street, and before the old road was 
 straightened. When the straightening process had 
 been completed the old house found itself standing 
 on the opposite side of the road form that on which 
 it had originally stood. It was built on the North 
 side, and fronted South. It was left standing on the 
 South side, and had to make an exchange of front 
 and back doors to accommodate its new situation. 
 
OLD Houses and landmarks. 281 
 
 A still older building formerly stood in the same 
 yard with this house. It was in this building that 
 one of the first stores in Moorestown was kept. 
 Numerous store-keepers served customers here 
 through a long term of years, the last proprietor 
 being Joseph Wood. He left the old place to set 
 up business in the ancient building which formerly 
 i3tood on the site now occupied by E. B. Brown & 
 Brother's brick store. After his removal the orig- 
 inal store was occupied as a school house ; for some 
 years a boarding and day school was kept there by 
 Darling Lippincott and Ezra Roberts. 
 
 Until a few years ago an exceedingly interesting 
 group of old houses stood nearly opposite the Rob- 
 erts house just alluded to. It was here that one of 
 the first tan-yards of Moorestown was located. It 
 extended some distance West from Union street, 
 and from the King's Highway North, to where 
 Second street now is. It was within these bound- 
 aries that Thomas Moore, the man who gave his 
 name to Moorestown, had his abiding place and 
 kept his hotel. 
 
 The entire premises may originally have been 
 devoted to the tannery, but in the later years of the 
 business the tan yard proper, with its vats and 
 bark mill occupied the Northern part of the ground, 
 and dwelling houses stood fronting the highway. 
 Just West of Union street and facing Main street, 
 .stood one oi' these old houses. It was last occupied 
 
38^ MOGRESIVWN, OLD AND NET/. 
 
 by William Gottbier. West of this stood what had" 
 formerly been the curry shop of the tan-yard. It 
 had been changed into a dwelling many, many 
 years ago, and during the last seven years of its 
 existence on the old ground, was occupied by Wil- 
 liam Rexon and his family. It was a story and a 
 half high, and stood with its side to the street. It 
 had two rooms below and two above. ^ There was 
 a window in each end of the house for the up-stairs 
 rooms, and there were two v/indows on each side 
 down-stairs. The windows had only a single sash 
 which disappeared from view in the walls when the- 
 windows were raised. The fastenings of the doors 
 were the old-time wooden latches, and the "latch- 
 string hung out" through a gimlet hole In the door.. 
 The Gottbier house was somewhat larger than 
 this one, and had a good sized barn back of it,. 
 apparently as old as the house. Notwithstanding 
 their great age and the primitive manner in which 
 they were fitted up, these old houses were comfort- 
 able and convenient homes, and their former tenants 
 have pleasant recollections concerning them. The 
 solid manner in which they were built was shown 
 at the time of the terrible hail and wind storm 
 about the year 1874. The hurricane had such force 
 that Main street was fairly blockaded with great 
 branches of trees that had been twisted off; and the 
 rin-roofers were kept busy repairing the damage 
 done to modern roofs by the wind and the hail.. 
 
I 
 
 OLD HOUSES AND LANDMARKS. 
 
 285 
 
 But beyond the breaking of windows by the hail- 
 stones, these venerable houses suffered no damage 
 whatever. 
 
 No wells could be dug on the premises because 
 of the old tan vats ; and water had to be brought 
 from a distance, which is the one inconvenience 
 remembered against the old homes. But there was 
 full compensation for this in the exceeding richness 
 of the garden soil. The fertilizing effects of the 
 leather scrapings were still felt by the ground, and 
 everything that was planted grew with wonderful 
 vigor. 
 
 The property belonged to the widow of Joseph 
 Stokes, and that portion of it on which these two 
 old houses stood was sold to Mr. Albert C. Heul- 
 ings. In 1880 the old buildings were removed to 
 make room for modern residences. The Gottbier 
 house was torn down ; but the old curry shop was 
 bought by Samuel Cranmer, the pump manufac- 
 turer, and removed to his premises on the corner 
 of Third street and Church Road, where it now 
 serves him for a shop. The residence of Mr. Am- 
 brose Risdon now occupies the lot where stood the 
 curry shop; and on the corner lot adjoining stands 
 the residence of Mr. Cameron. 
 
 Just West of the curry shop stood a building 
 Avhich, at the time of its destruction, was said to be 
 the oldest house in Moorestown. It was this old 
 house which the best authority that can be obtained 
 
J284 ■' ■ 1'<->^VN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 declares Thomas Moore built and occupied as a 
 hotel. If this be so the travelling public must have 
 spent most of its time at home in Mr. Moore's days ; 
 for his "hotel" consisted of just four rooms, all told. 
 Two v/ere on the ground floor, and two were up- 
 stairs under the roof These huter were so unam- 
 bitious that a man could stand in the middle of 
 either of them and touch the peak of the roof with 
 his finger tips ; from which it may be inferred that 
 no very massive furniture was at the disposal o^ 
 Mr. Moore's guests. The manner of getting up 
 stairs, too, was somewhat different from going up 
 in a modern elevator. The stairway was open at 
 the back, like ordinary cellar stairs, and led up tea 
 trap door in the floor of one of the upper rooms. 
 At the foot the stairway was unattached, but at the 
 top it was fastened to the beam by a pair of hinges. 
 In the day-time, when people were not supposed to 
 have any use for their bedrooms, the stairs were 
 swung up against the ceiling and fastened there by 
 an iron hook, so that they were quite out of the 
 way. As bed-time approached, the hook was dis- 
 placed and the stairs made available. 
 
 As in the other old houses, the doors were fur- 
 nished with wooden latches and leather latch-strings ; 
 but the front door was made secure by an extra and 
 unusual attachment. This was a bolt, elaborately 
 whittled out of tough hickory wood. It was held 
 against the door by two heavy wooden clamps, and 
 
OLD HOUSES AND LANDMARKS. 285" 
 
 slid into a wooden socket fastened to the door- 
 casing. 
 
 The building stood with its side to the street, and 
 had but a narrow strip of ground between it and 
 the siuowalk. This was very different from its first 
 estate however. When it was built the highway- 
 ran some distance to the South of its present course^ 
 and then there was a broad stretch of ground in 
 front of the hotel. When the road was straightened 
 the door yard was annihilated. 
 
 How many years the old house offered accommo- 
 dations as a hotel is not known ; any more than it is 
 known what name was borne upon its sign, or what 
 became of Thomas Moore when he retired from the 
 hotel business. In the course of events the old 
 house and the ground it stood upon came into the 
 possession of Mrs. Susan Simpson, v/ho lived there 
 until her death. Her daughter, Mrs. Rakestraw, 
 lived with her, and after Mrs. Simpson's death con- 
 tinued to occupy the old house until death ended 
 her occupancy also. Mrs. Rakestraw's daughter,. 
 Mrs. Blackwood, succeeded her as the occupant of 
 the old homestead ; and Mrs. Blackwood's daughter, 
 who is now Mrs. George Bracebridge, and lives in 
 the immediate neighborhood, resided with her 
 mother in the Moore house until her marriage. 
 So the ancient roof sheltered four succeeding gen- 
 erations — great-grandmother, grandmother, mother 
 and dauirhter. 
 
2S6 * MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 Mrs. Bracebridge claimed to inherit the property 
 under the will of her great-grandmother, Susan 
 Simpson, but her claim was disputed and a pro- 
 longed litigation resulted. The end was adverse 
 to the claim of Mrs. Bracebridge, and the homestead 
 passed into other hands. The last owner of the old 
 house before its final sale and destruction was the 
 widow of Joseph Stokes. Joseph Lippincott, Jus- 
 tice of the Peace, purchased the property in 1878, 
 and the old house was torn down to make room 
 for Mr. Lippincott's present residence. 
 
 After the property passed out of the hands of the 
 original owner, an addition was built on the Western 
 part of the house. This addition extended back, 
 so that the original structure formed a kind of 
 front wing to the completed building. The well 
 now in the side yard of Mr. Lippincott's premises 
 belonged to the oldest portion of the house, and 
 was directly back of it, in the angle formed by the 
 older and newer parts. 
 
 When the old house was torn down Mrs. Brace- 
 bridge collected and preserved a number of relics 
 belonging to it, including all the wooden latches of 
 the doors. But the keep-sake she treasures with 
 special pride is the hickory bolt of the front door. 
 There is but one heirloom she prizes more highly 
 than this piece of wood, and that .is a silver teaspoon 
 which she traces back flirougpli seven generations 
 
OLD HOUSES AND LANDMARKS. 28/ 
 
 '-of fore-mothers. And these successive owners, as 
 she declares " were all Susans but one." 
 
 An old house that saw the Revolutionary War 
 begin and end, stands on the South side of Main 
 .street some distance below the old tan yard. It is 
 at present the residence of Mr. Elisha Barckelow, 
 and stands well back from the street, in a lar^e 
 yard beautifully shaded by old trees. Years ago 
 it was occupied by William Roberts, and he built a 
 brick addition at the Eastern end of the building. 
 The older portion is a frame structure, and is quite 
 an ideal "old house" in the way of quaint nooks, 
 unexpected angles, high mantels and odd little 
 -cupboards. It is in the immediate neighborhood 
 of this old house that the cabins of the first white 
 settlers here are supposed to have been built. At 
 the bottom of the ridge on the South of Mr. Barcke- 
 low's dwelling is the spring which is said to have 
 been the inducement for home-seekers to settle 
 there. Its abundant and unfailing supply of good 
 water had long attracted the Indians to its neigh- 
 borhood, and the white men's cabins sprung up 
 among their wigwams. Formerly traces of the 
 Indian occupation of the ground were found in the 
 the shape of arrow-heads and other relics. 
 
 Opposite Mr. Barckelow's house is a little white- 
 washed building that looks as if it might have been 
 .built by one of the first squatters in the place. It 
 
2^^ LIOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 probably was not, but it is certainly very old. Its 
 small windows are protected by solid wooden 
 shutters which are single instead of double, like 
 modern shutters; and the clap-boards of the house 
 look as if they had been the product of the first 
 saw mill. George French, the great-uncle of Mrs. 
 Barckelow, formerly owned the building. It is 
 now in the possession of non-resident owners. 
 
 Mr. French also owned the double house West 
 of this, in one portion of which Rev. Mr. Algor 
 now lives. This, too, is a very old building, but it 
 has grown old very gracefully. It has been kept 
 in excellent repair, and is as cosy and pleasantly 
 situated a home as any one need desire. Its an- 
 tiquity only gives it the added charm of quaintness. 
 
 To. go back, now, to the extreme Eastern part of 
 the town, the old building in which Mrs. Mary 
 Lippincott's boarding school was kept claims atten- 
 tion. This was originally a stone house — when or 
 by whom built is not known. The records show 
 that Jacob Hollinshead owned the property some 
 time previous to 1817, and by his will, dated in 
 that year, left it to his son, Thomas Hollinshead. 
 It passed successively into the hands of Thomas 
 Stiles and Alfred Small, and finally, in 1842, into 
 the possession of Isaac Lippincott, husband of 
 Mrs. Mary Lippincott, whose name is so closely 
 identified with it. In 1858 Mr. Lippincott died, 
 leaving the property, heavily encumbered, to his 
 
OLD HOUSES AND LANDMARKS. 
 
 :89 
 
 wife. By her energy and enterprise she not only 
 cleared off ail' the debts, but added to the original 
 property. When Mr. Lippincott bought the place 
 he enlarged the house by putting a large frame 
 addition to the original stone structure. It is re- 
 membered that when this was completed a keg of 
 beer w^as tapped upon the roof of the new building,, 
 and the contractor christened the place " North 
 Bend." The name is still sometimes heard, but 
 Mrs. Lippincott repudiated both it and the cere- 
 mony by which it wd.s conferred. In the latter 
 part of 18S5 the property w^as purchased by the 
 Moorestown Land Company, and the frame build- 
 ing was remodelled into the present Rosamond Inn. 
 The original stone house was torn down, and in 
 the process of removal a stone was taken out of the 
 foundation, on which was the date 1757, and the 
 initials "I. M. H." in letters about three inches long. 
 The letters were scattered, and may have belonged 
 in a different order. ]\Irs. Lippincott is under the 
 impression that a family of Moores lived in the old 
 liouse before Jacob Hollinshead owned it, but 
 there are no authentic accounts previous to the 
 Hollinshead ow^nership. 
 
 Trinity Church is not a building old enough to 
 be classed as venerable ; but it has among its be- 
 longings two wdiich perhaps antedate any of the 
 old landmarks that have been mentioned. They 
 are the Communion service, and the bell. The 
 
290 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 Communion service is that which was given by 
 Queen Anne to St. Mary's Church, in Colestown. 
 When Trinity Parish, the child of St. Mary's, was 
 established here, the consecrated vessels came, by 
 right of Inheritance, Into the possession of the new 
 church ; and apart from their sacred character they 
 are treasured for their association with the remote 
 pas'. The serv-Ice consists of two pieces — a paten 
 and a chalice. Both are of solid silver, and the 
 paten, or plate, in particular is very heavy. The 
 chalice is gold-lined, and has engraved on its foot : 
 *' St. Mary's, Colestown." The same inscription Is 
 on the bottom of the paten ; but instead of having 
 been engraved it would appear to have been 
 scratched — very carefully — by some pointed instru- 
 ment in the hands of a prudent officer of the old 
 church. Other pieces have been added to the ser- 
 vice, but they are new in comparison with these 
 two which Queen Anne sent to her loyal subjects 
 in West New Jersey. 
 
 The bell which calls the worshippers to service 
 Is old and has a curious history. Unlike most old 
 things in Moorestown It has been a wanderer. It 
 has crossed the ocean at least three times, and has 
 spoken Its summons to worshippers in the Church 
 of Rome no less loudly than to those in the Protes- 
 tant Church. It is a Spanish bell, and there is a 
 tradition that it once did duty in the belfry of a 
 Spanish convent. Be that as it may, it eventually 
 
 I 
 
OLD HOUSES AND LANDMARKS. 
 
 291 
 
 %und its way to Canada and there served for many 
 :years to call the inmates of a French convent to 
 ttheir various exercises. One statement is that be- 
 fore it went to Canada it had hung for a time in the 
 belfry of an English church, but that is doubtful. 
 .About fifty years ago the bell, through some unex- 
 plained circumstances, was taken from Canada to 
 England. There it came to tlie notice of ivlr. 
 Edward Harris and Dr. Spencer, who were abroad 
 'together. Both these gentlemen were greatly in- 
 terested in the new church in Moorestown. They 
 knew it was in want of a bell, and there was some- 
 thing pleasant in the thought of its having a bell 
 "with so interesting a history. Therefore the old 
 'Spanish bell was purchased and sent from England 
 -.as a gift to the Moorestown church and in its bdiiy 
 ".it still remains. 
 
CiArriv.: XIX. 
 A Dish of Old Gossip. 
 
 ]T is well known that nothing but the flavor of 
 antiquity makes gossip at all endurable. No 
 A man or woman could be expected to patiently 
 if- re-ard a chapter of rrav^; gossip. Buthavmg 
 accumutated material for a little chit-chat concern- 
 ing people and events of a previous fme I feci em- 
 boldened to retail some of it here. 
 
 Perhaps nothing-not even the Revolutionary 
 V-.r-seems more remote and shadowy to us ot 
 to-"day than slavery. I do not mean the slavery 
 that existed South of Mason and Dixon s Ime- 
 althou.h it is pretty difficult to believe m that now 
 _but The slavery that existed here in New Jersey, 
 in Burlington county, in Moorestown. There are 
 n,any who will fmd it difficult to realize that negro 
 chvery ever was known here, where we live , but it 
 ;vas and not so great a number of years ago as 
 nr Iht be supposed. There are persons sti 1 living 
 ";^on^ us who remember the last of the old slaves. 
 The° Manumission Act, abolishing slavery inNew 
 Jersey, was passed February 24th, 1820. By its 
 -' (292) 
 
 I 
 
A DISH OF OLD GOSSIP. 293 
 
 provisions the children born of slave parents after 
 July 4th, 1804, were to be free, the males on reach- 
 ing the age of 25 years ; females at the age of 21. 
 Slaves vvdio had reached a certain age before the 
 law went into effect were to be provided for and 
 taken care of by their former owners until their 
 death, as it was held that old age incapacitated them 
 for providing for themselves, and justice and 
 humanity required that those whom they had served 
 through their years of vigor should take care of 
 them at the last. So late as 1844 there were still 
 -colored people In New Jersey who under the terms 
 of this law were yet technically slaves. In 1840 
 there were 674 slaves in the State. 
 
 Long before the Manumission Act was passed, 
 or thought of, the Society of Friends had borne 
 testimony to the wickedness of slavery, and had in 
 their discipline prohibited members of the Society 
 from holding slaves. Previous to that action, how- 
 ever, slaves had been held in Friends' families here 
 as well as elsewhere. Traditions still linger of old 
 colored m^en and women who had once been the 
 slaves of Friends here, and vv'ho were still cared for 
 by their former masters and mistresses. In some 
 instances they still lived on as paid servants In the 
 families where they had once been slaves, knowing 
 no difference except that now they got wages and 
 could go away If they wanted to — which they 
 apparently did not. 
 
294 MOORESTOWN, OLB AND NEW. ^ 
 
 Sarah Elkton was the great-grandmother of Miss- 
 Hannah Warrington, a very aged Friend, now liv- 
 ing in West Moorestown, and probably the oldest' 
 person in the place. When Sarah married John 
 Roberts and went to live near Haddonfield, her 
 father gave her, as his wedding present, two slaves. 
 One of the children of these slaves was named 
 Candas, and she married another slave named" 
 Jethro Gungas. When the daughter of John and 
 Sarah Roberts married, her father gave her Candas 
 as a wedding present. When " freedom time" came 
 Candas and Jethro were too old to be freed, and 
 were cared for by their owner. Miss Warrington's- 
 grandmother. They were still alive in Miss War- 
 rington's youth, and her brothers gave them a sum 
 of money sufficient to support them until their 
 death. They had one son named Noble, who,, 
 although practically free, was technically a slave. 
 He had a wife and children, and had accumulated 
 some property. As a matter of precaution he re- 
 quested that his freedom be formally given him, so 
 that no unforseen change of fortune might interfere 
 with the interests of his family. His request was 
 granted and he and his were made secure. 
 
 Among- the recollections of an acred inhabitant 
 here, is that of an old slave who was left by the 
 Manumission Act in the hands of her owner, being 
 too old for freedom. When at last the poor old 
 "j'eature broke down utterly under the weight of" 
 
A DISH OF OLD GOSSIP. 295 
 
 years, she was put into the smoke house and kept 
 until she died. Then she was buried in the corner 
 of a "worm" fence, so that her grave might not 
 spoil any serviceable ground. 
 
 An old couple who had been slaves, and whom" 
 aged people here still recollect, were Frank Van- 
 derbeck and Lydia his wife. After they became 
 free they lived in the family of Commodore Trux- 
 ton, East of Moorestown. They had a son who 
 was noted throughout the region as a fiddler. Tab 
 Still and Daphne, his wife, were another pair of ex- 
 slaves who are well remembered by some of the 
 older inhabitants here. " Billy" Bassett, an old 
 negro v/ho had once been a slave, died in the neigh- 
 borhood of Moorestown many years ago, but his 
 nicmory is still alive among some of the old people 
 here. He was over eighty years old when he died, 
 and was known among his people as an eloquent 
 preacher. 
 
 There arc some living who still remember " Old 
 Romy." lie was a well known character in his 
 day, and was a relic of slavery days. He was an 
 imported specimen, however, and represented for- 
 eign slavery. A great many years ago a family 
 named Haines, living on the Fellowship Road, be- 
 came in ?ome unexplained manner the guardians of 
 a group of liberated slaves sent here from Barbadoes. 
 They were sent by friends or relatives of the Haines 
 fannly living in Barbadoes, and the request was 
 
2C)J MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 made that the Himily here would look after the 
 interests of the humble strangers, and help them 
 to help themselves. The new-comers included 
 **Romy" and his Avife and children; an old woman 
 named Dinah, and a man named Tony. Dinah wa^ 
 given a home in a neighboring family, and the 
 others vv^ere given some ground, were helped to 
 build cabins, an:! Vv'ere given a good start toward 
 supporting themselves. 
 
 One of th2 oddest things about " Old Romy" was 
 his name. His former owner had evidently been 
 an admiring, if not very discriminating, reader of 
 Shakespeare, and had named his dusky man-ser- 
 vant Romeo-JuIicL ! Of course the name had to be 
 shortened in practice, and the first name instead of 
 the last was the one retained. The closest estimate 
 I have been able to obtain of the age of Mr. Juliet 
 13 given in the assurance tliat "he must have been 
 about as old as the everlasting hills." He was a 
 wool-comber by trade, and travelled from house to 
 house througlio'jt the region, combing the wool 
 the house-wives had provided for their spinning 
 and weaving. With the proceeds of his trade and 
 of his little patch of ground the Shakspearian 
 refugee was able to make a very comfortable living. 
 
 The old man took an annual holiday, and went 
 on a little excursion all by himself. There lived at 
 Mt. Holly a gen':'eman, occupying an official posi- 
 tion, v.-ho had re vDved thither with his wife from 
 
 I 
 
A DISH OF OLD GOSSIP. 
 
 297 
 
 Virginia. There had been some kind of association 
 between this gentleman's family and the friends 
 v/ho had sent Romeo-Juliet from Barbadoes, and 
 after his arrival here the old negro cultivated the 
 acquaintance, keeping it up until the year of his 
 death. Each year, when sweet potatoes were in 
 their prime, "Old Romy" selected a number of the 
 finest from his home garden. Then he killed and 
 dressed a chicken v/hich had been carefully fattened 
 for this special occasion. These preliminaries 
 attended to, the old man dressed himself in his 
 best, completing his toilet by putting on an old, 
 long-skirted overcoat vrhieh somebody had given 
 him. Into one of the immense side-pockets of this 
 garment he put as many sweet potatoes as it would 
 hold, and in the other the chicken was deposited. 
 
 Thus freighted Romco-Juliet started on his yearh^ 
 excursion. All the way to Mt. Holly the faithful 
 old fellow trudged, on a pilgrimage of affection. 
 To the house of his Virginia friends he would go, 
 and present the good things he had brought in his 
 pockets to the lady. She always accepted the 
 offerings in the most appreciative spirit, and made 
 her visitor welcome in a pleasant and hearty 
 fashion. She always knew when to expect him, 
 and was never unprepared for his visit. When he 
 started for his homeward jaunt he invariably re- 
 ceived a bundle of old clothes, which the lady had 
 -selected for him, and the gift was often accompanied 
 
2ft8 HfOO^-ESTOWN, 01.D AND NEW, 
 
 by a little hard cash. A curious feature of the 
 transaction was that the old fellow was always sur- 
 prised at receiving his bundle. He never expected 
 any such thing. 
 
 Tony, the other man of the Barbadoes party, was 
 given a piece of ground a considerable distance 
 from the home of his fellow-refugees, and some of 
 the white people helped him to build a cabin. He 
 lived quite a hermit's life there for a time, for he 
 was the first and only settler. Gradually white 
 people established their homes in his immediate 
 neighborhood, and he found himself the founder of 
 a community. In honor of the sable pioneer the 
 new settlement was called " Tonytown." At length 
 the name seemed hardly genteel enough to suit 
 the more fastidious residents, and the place was 
 formally christened Fellowship. But to this day 
 Tonytown is the name that comes most readily to 
 the lips of some of the old people hereabouts when 
 Fellowship is the place spoken of 
 
 Another extinct institution which is remembered 
 by more people than have any recollection of 
 slavery, is the public whipping-post. Its day ended 
 somewhere about sixty years ago, but it had been 
 a pretty long day. A certain specified class of 
 crimes and misdemeanors were made punishable- 
 by a greater or less number of lashes publicly 
 scored on the bare back of the offender by the con- 
 ;::tnl)lc, Tlie mode of punishment yielded to the 
 
A DISH OF (dLD GOSSIP. 
 
 399 
 
 sentiment of the age, and was abolished ; but in 
 recent years a reaction against the softer sentiment 
 has begun to manifest itself. The whipping-post 
 has been re-established in some places, and it may 
 be that Moorestown will yet see its revival. In 
 the old time the whipping-post here was the great 
 sycamore tree just East of the William Penn HoteL 
 Culprits w^ere fastened to the trunk that had origi- 
 nally been intended to secure the horses of wor- 
 shippers in the old Meeting House, and the 
 sentence of the law was marked with the lash 
 upon their backs. One of the last whippings ad- 
 ministered there had a most tragic sequel. 
 
 Between sixty and seventy years ago the old 
 Cox Tavern, East of William Doughten's store, 
 was l^pt by Joseph 1 Bright. He was not only hotel 
 proprietor, but constable also; and a part of his 
 official duty was to administar punishment to 
 offenders at the whipping-post. One day he 
 whipped a couple of men at the old sycamore,, 
 and it was the last whipping he ever inflicted. A 
 day or two afterward he drove out of town in his 
 sulky on a business errand. He had not returned 
 at dark, but in the night his horse was heard to 
 enter the hotel premises. When some of the 
 household went out, there stood the horse, still 
 attached to the sulky, and there, with his foot fast 
 in the wheel, and his battered head upon the ground, 
 hung poor Joseph Bright, stone dead. His horse 
 
300 MOORESTUWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 had run, and he had been dragged an unknov,-n 
 distance by the foot. He was dreadfully mangled, 
 and the first theory was that he had been thrown 
 from his seat by the runaway, and had been caught 
 by the foot and dragged to his death. But a further 
 investigation led many to believe that his death was 
 not the result of accident, but of murder. It was 
 declared his foot could never have got into the 
 wheel by accident in the peculiar manner in which 
 it was fastened there, but must have been placed 
 there by design. Physicians also asserted that 
 there were injuries on the dead man's body which 
 could not have resulted from being dragged by the 
 foot, and these in themselves would have produced 
 death. At length the belief became general that 
 ■Joseph Bright had been waylaid and murdered, and 
 his dead body fastened by the foot to his sulky, 
 after which his horse had been lashed into a run. 
 If so the murderer v/as never caught and punished. 
 The Cox Tavern under Joseph Bright's adminis- 
 tration, as under the administration of those before 
 and after him, was the headquarters of the v;ar-like 
 citizens who participated in General Training. 
 There is nothing in«our time that takes the place 
 of " Training I^ay." The circus does not come 
 within a long way of it; and the encampments of 
 our State IMilitia bear no more resemblance to it 
 than the service of the Paid Fire Department bears 
 to a " run with the machine" under tlie escort of 
 
A DISH 07 OLD GOSSI?. ^01 
 
 an old Volunteer Company. What elderly man - 
 will ever forget the training days of his youth, with 
 their "fuss and feathers," their gingerbread and 
 beer, their dreadful din of fife and drum, and their 
 motley gathering of all the elements from near and 
 far? If he should forget all the rest he never can 
 forget the bloody fights which the day inevitably 
 brought. The occasion seemed to breed the fer- 
 ment of war in the blood of some of the most 
 peaceful soldiers; and when the whisky liberall>^ 
 furnished in the bar-room of the Cox Tavern had 
 had time to take full effect there was very sure to 
 be blood in the eyes of at least half a score of men ; 
 and such fights have never been seen since in 
 Moorestown as were always seen on Training Day. 
 Altogether it was one of the institutions that will 
 do very well in memory and tradition, but nobody 
 need wish to see revived. 
 
 Mention has been made of the tribulations of the 
 people hereabouts in Revolutionary times because 
 of the predisposition of the British soldiers to 
 assume the ownership of whatever property came 
 within their reach. The owners of live stock had a 
 particularly hard time of it, because of the difficulty 
 of hiding horses and cattle. The grandfather of 
 Miss Hannah Warrington, being fully aware of the 
 risk his good horses ran of becoming some other 
 iiian's horses, took timely precautions in his own 
 \v3y. Every day he and his men would go into the 
 
302 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 field and chase the animals about, throwing their 
 hats at them and making the most unearthly hulla- 
 baloo that could be devised. The result was that 
 the horses soon became as wild as the wildest spec- 
 imen then ranging the prairies of the West. The 
 owner of them had his reward. The British came, 
 and all the neighbors saw their horses driven off; 
 but in the field of this prudent man there was much 
 racing and chasing and swearing, all with but 
 -Slight effect. There was one young horse which 
 the soldiers were specially ambitious to catch. 
 They chased him until they v/ere tired and discour- 
 aged. They went away, but some of them came 
 back after marching a considerable distance, and 
 renewed the attempt. Their second effort was no 
 more successful than their first, and they finally 
 withdrev/, leaving the horse to prance undisturbed. 
 How long .it was before this enterprising Friend 
 was able to catch any of his own horses is not 
 related. 
 
 A woman living in the same neighborhood had 
 a very serviceable inspiration when the British came 
 and her family silver was in danger. There was 
 not time to bury it, even If she had been so minded. 
 There was barely time to tie it up in a bundle. 
 This was done, and then came the inspiration. The 
 precious bundle was plumped into a tub of soft 
 soap. Accustomed as they were to searching in all 
 sorts of unlikely places for valii:iblcs, none of tht 
 
A DISH OF OLD GOSSIP. 
 
 303 
 
 soldiers thought of exploring the bottom of a soap 
 tub, and the lucky owner had an opportunity of 
 scouring her own silver bright again. 
 
 Captain Murrel, of Burlington, the grandfather 
 of the late Reuben Stiles, has been mentioned as a 
 daring and successful scout in the Revolutionary 
 army. When the Americans had regained posses- 
 sion of Burlington a council of officers was held 
 one night to decide on the fate of a prominent and 
 active tory of the place. He had fled from home 
 when the Americans got possession of Burlington, 
 and had since been with the British. At this time, 
 however, it had become known that he was secretly 
 visiting his family in Burlington. At tlie council 
 it was decided, after much consideration, that he 
 should be caught and hung. The man was a 
 neighbor and had been a friend of Captain Murrel, 
 and that officer could not bear to think of his dying 
 an ignominious death if an effort of liis could save 
 him. So he slipped unperceived from the council 
 room, ran to the tory's house, saw his wife, and 
 told her that, if her husband v/as at home and 
 valued his life he had better be gone in five minutes' 
 time. Then he ran back to his companions before 
 his absence had been noted. His thoughtful 
 bravery — for if his action had been discovered he 
 himself would have fared but ill — saved the lifb of 
 his tory neighbor. When the searching party 
 reached his lioii.sj h: v.m^. gone. He was heard 
 
^-)/1 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 from next in Philadelphia, and in a way that might 
 well have made Captain Murrel repent his kindness. 
 The tory refugee sent a letter to the man who had 
 saved his life, not to thank him for his service, but 
 to assure him that the writer had a halter for his 
 rebel neck, and would put it there when the oppor- 
 tunity offered ! 
 
 Some seventy years ago a tragedy occurred which 
 made a profound and lasting impression, not only 
 in Moorestown but in a wide circle outside of it. In 
 the latter part of the winter a party of four well known 
 persons, co:iiprising Henry Warrington, Esther 
 Collins, Ann Edwards and Nancy Stokes, left 
 Moorestown in a carrage to visit friends across the 
 river in Pennsylvania. They drove Northwax^d to 
 the river, intending to cross on the ice. The winter 
 had been a very severe one ; the ice had formed to 
 a considerable thickness, and there had been a great 
 deal of travel upon it. Too many heavy vehicles 
 had traversed it for the safety of those who now 
 wished to cross the river. Deep ruts had been cut 
 in the ice, and recent warm weather had weakened 
 the whole mass. 
 
 Unconscious of any danger Plenry Warrington 
 drove his horses upon the frozen bridge. They 
 had gone a considerable distance from the shore, 
 and Mr. Warrington was making a jesting remark 
 to his companions, when, without any warning, 
 the ice broke under them and horses and carriage 
 
A DISH OF OLD GOsSIP. 3O5. 
 
 ivere In the water. Henry Warrington and Mrs. 
 Stokes were oil the front seat of the carriage, and 
 dieir escape was easy. He assisted Mrs. Stokes to 
 step upon the unbroken ice, and followed her with- 
 out any dif[lcult)^ This seemed the only way to 
 assist the others, who were on the back seat of the 
 carriaae, where the closed curtains prevented their 
 getting out. As soon as the front seat was vacated 
 Mrs. Collins stepped over it and endeavored, with 
 Mr. Warrington's and Mrs. Stoke's help, to reach 
 the ice. But she was a large and heavy woman ; 
 the edge of the ice broke under her weight; she 
 fell back into the water and was swept under the 
 ice before her friends could make any further effort 
 to save her. Mrs. Edwards was apparently stunned 
 by the suddenness of the accident, and made no 
 effort to leave her seat. The others urged her to 
 come within their reach; but in a moment the swift 
 current had drawn the carriage under the ice with 
 the unfortunate woman still in her seat. 
 
 The body of Mrs. Collins was recovered shortly 
 after the accident, not far from where she had been 
 drowned, and her funeral took place at the house 
 of David Roberts on the Fellowship road. She 
 had been a well and widely knoAvn woman, highly 
 esteemed as a preacher in the Society of Friends, 
 and greatly respected far and near as a person of 
 superior character. Her death under any circum- 
 stances would have been generally lamented; and 
 
05 MOOllESTttWx^, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 the terrible manner in which it came made it doubly 
 impressive. Her funeral was the largest that any 
 of the old inhabitants remember in this vicinity. 
 People came from Burlington, Philadelphia and from 
 many other places to be present at the services. 
 
 An old citizen now resident here, was then a 
 boy living with David Roberts, and with a boy's 
 curiosity he counted the vehicles assembled at the 
 place on this occasion. There were one hundred 
 and sixty-seven carriages, and thirty-five gigs and 
 chairs. The carriages — or wagons as they were 
 called — were of the old fashioned style, capable of 
 holding six or seven persons, and all had come 
 filled with occupants. When the train started for 
 Moorestown the boy climbed out upon the roof of 
 the house to watch the procession. When the 
 head of the line had reached Moorestown the rear 
 of it had not yet turned out of the Fellowship Road. 
 
 The body of Mrs. Edwards was not found until 
 the following summer. Some fishermen found the 
 carriacre lodg^ed in a cove near Camden. The 
 body of the drowned woman was still in it, and 
 rilmost in the spot where she had been sitting be- 
 fore the accident. Her funeral took place in 
 ^Moorestown on the Sunday following, and is said 
 \o have been even more largely attended than that 
 of Mrs. Collins. 
 
 The " Log Cabin and Hard Cider Campaign" of 
 1840 brought more political excitement to Moores- 
 
A DISH OF OLD GOSSIP. 
 
 307 
 
 ^town than the old town had ever known before. 
 Whether any time since has exceeded it is very 
 doubtful. The flame that over-ran the whole 
 country was as fierce here as elsewhere, and people 
 indulged in excesses of enthusiasm which it is 
 difficult to comprehend in an "off year." The 
 largest meeting of the campaign, and at that time 
 the largest political meeting ever held in Burlington 
 ■ county, was held at Gilbert Page's place, opposite 
 the William Penn Hotel. Wagons loaded with 
 men and boys came pouring in from all the sur- 
 rounding country. Log cabins, trees with coons 
 among the branches, typical cider barrels, flags, 
 torches, transparencies, brass bands, men hoarse 
 with shouting, boys wild with excitement, all com- 
 bined to make that particular night one that is still 
 vividly remembered by some of those who then 
 lived here. 
 
 The principal feature of the display was an im- 
 mense log cabin, mounted on wheels. It had been 
 dragged by four horses from Medford, and was 
 inhabited by a crowd of enthusiastic men and 
 boys. This particular cabin was afterwards taken 
 to Baltimore to help out a big meeting there. 
 The fervor of those who participated in the meeting 
 at Gilbert Page's was kept up through a great 
 part of the night, being re-info reed in numerous 
 instances by fluids that Avere even more potent 
 than hard cider. The next morning there was 
 
3oS MOORE.STOWN, OLD A\D NEW. 
 
 less enthusiasm, but a good deal more serious- 
 reflection, 
 
 Gilbert Page seems to have been a man of many- 
 parts in his time. He was postmaster, store- 
 keeper, politician and prominent citizen generally. 
 He not only kept a store and kept the postoffice, 
 but he also kept geese. Between the Friends'' 
 IMeeting House enclosure and the House which 
 served Gilbert Page as residence, store and post- 
 office, there was a shady lane, as there is now. 
 Down that lane Mr. Page used to drive his 
 geese, that they might forage along its pleasant 
 length. 
 
 His flock of geese nuniberc;! about thirty, and 
 the owner took much pride in his web-footed 
 tenantry. But one night some miscreant stole 
 every goose of the flock, lea\^ing an old gander as 
 the sole representative of what had been. The 
 theft was bad enough, but the circumstances at- 
 tending it made it especially exasperating. In a 
 little bag the thieves had put a penny for every 
 goose stolen, and placed the parcel in a conspicuous 
 position in the immediate neighborhood of the 
 gander's resting place. To the outside of the bag 
 they had pinned a piece of paper on which had 
 been written the following lines, to serve a'^ a speci- 
 men of the talents possessed by tliese literarv 
 brigands : 
 
A DISH OF OLD GOSSIP. 3O9 
 
 « Dear Mr. Page, 
 
 Don't be in a rage ; 
 But if you do it's no wonder, 
 
 For I bought all your gees 
 
 For a penny a piece, 
 And left the money with the gaud 
 
 se 
 
 er, 
 
 As the old-school novelists used to say, Mr. 
 Page's feelings may be more easily imagined than 
 .described when he perused these lines and compre- 
 hended their full import. From all accounts he 
 was not a man who was much given to disguising 
 his emotions. On the contrary he always gave 
 them the most emphatic expression he could master. 
 On this occasion he is reported to have exhausted 
 a tolerably extensive vocabulary of vehemence. 
 Accordingly no long time had elapsed before every- 
 body knew just what had happened, and just how 
 Mr. Page felt about it. 
 
 Unhappily the perpetrators of this double crime 
 ivere never discovered. It would be a pleasant 
 thing to know that they had been suitably punished 
 for "Stealing the geese, and twice punished for 
 dropping into such poetry as that quoted. 
 
 Another thieving enterprise that is still told of by 
 some of the old people, had a different endmg. 
 Sixty years or more ago a store was kept m the 
 -building which is now a dwelling at the South- 
 <€ast corner of Main street and Church Road, oppo- 
 •site Georp-e Heaton's present store. The ground 
 
310 
 
 MOORESTOWN. OLD AND NEW. 
 
 where the Episcopal Church stands was at that 
 time covered with a growth of bushes and small 
 trees capable of affording a good hiding place for 
 skulkers. 
 
 One afternoon a couple of suspicious-looking 
 fellows were seen lurking about the vicinity of the 
 store ; and their actions and appearance set the 
 proprietor to thinking that mischief was intended. 
 He determined to set a watch for that night ; for 
 there were no special policemen then, and he must 
 needs depend upon his own resources. A shoe- 
 maker, noted for his fleetness of foot, lived on the 
 opposite side of Church Road, and he agreed to 
 watch with the store keeper. In the night the two 
 watchers heard noises in the store, and took prompt 
 and decisive action. They acted in the wrong way,, 
 however. Instead of going out at the back door 
 and entrapping the intruders at the front door, they 
 came into the store from the rear room where they 
 had been posted, and the thieves made an easy exit 
 at the front door by which they had entered. 
 
 The volunteer police were armed with guns, so 
 that things were not quite so bad as they might 
 have been, after all. Both of them fired just as the 
 fugitives took refuge in the bushes on the opposite 
 corner. They hit one of the fellows and captured 
 him ; but the other one got av/ay. However, they 
 felt that it was better to catch one burglar than 
 none at all. 
 
A D1>H or OLD GOSSIP. 3 1 1^- 
 
 For so old a place there is a surprising small 
 amount of legendary treasure buried beneath the 
 surface of Moorestown. No ** Treasure Tree," or 
 " Miser's Cave," or " Robbers' Rock" is known to 
 exist anywhere about here. People seem to have 
 acquired property and disposed of it in regular, 
 humdrum fashion, except in the Revolution ; and 
 the treasure that was buried then seems to have 
 been all dug up again by its rightful owners. 
 
 But the matter-of-fact old place is not quite bereft 
 of money mystery. There is here what, in some 
 places, would be considered an excellent chance to 
 dig for treasure; but only a few know about it, 
 and nobody at all knows where to dig. A good 
 many years ago an old lady — long since dead and 
 buried— dreamed a dream. It was a very vivid 
 dream, and its clearness of detail convinced the 
 dreamer that "there must be something in it." 
 One of her ancesters, or else a neighbor of one of 
 her ancestors, had done what a great many other 
 people did in the time of the Revolution— buried 
 money and valuables to keep them out of the hands 
 of the British soldiers. In the dream this individual 
 v/as seen to dig a hole at the foot of a fence-post 
 at the rear of the old tan-yard below Union street 
 and bury something; she was not seen to dig it up 
 again ; therefore she never did dig it up, and it is 
 lliere yet. The exact location of the post was noted 
 by the dreamer, even to counting the number of 
 
312 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 posts between it and the corner, so that the par- 
 ticular. post could be readily identified. 
 
 No attempt was made to follow the leadings of 
 this dream, for a very good reason : The dream was 
 delayed until after Second street was laid out and 
 opened, and consequently the entire fence seen in 
 the dream had disappeared, and the buried treasure 
 was astray somewhere in the middle of Second 
 street. 
 
 Some forty or fifty years ago an old house, long, 
 hisfh and narrow, stood on the South side of Main 
 street, just West of George Haverstick's present 
 residence. Whatever it had been originally, it had 
 at this time become a tenement occupied by a num- 
 ber of colored families. The inhabitants of the old 
 barracks are described as having been decidedly 
 undesirable members of the community. There 
 was good deal of brawling and disorder about their 
 premises, and a good many petty depredations that 
 were committed were charged to their account. 
 It was decided that they must move, and a sort of 
 Vigilance Committee was organized to carry the 
 decision into effect. The committee was composed 
 of young men, but who they were of course nobody 
 knows. The tenants of the old house were notified 
 that another and a distant place of residence was 
 v/hat they m'ust hunt for and find within a given 
 time. They heeded the warning and got out. 
 Then, in order that no other like tenants should 
 
 \ 
 
A DI3H OF OLD GOSSI?. 
 
 313 
 
 •occupy the house, it was decided that the building 
 itself must go. Accordingly, one night chains 
 and ropes were hitched to the timbers; numerous 
 strong hands tugged at the chains and ropes in 
 silence, and the old structure came to the ground. 
 It is related that a magistrate of that day, who 
 lived in the neighborhood, got wind of what was 
 going on, and sympathized heartily with the move- 
 ment. It would not do for him to openly counte- 
 nance so unlawful a proceeding, but he sought out 
 one of the young fellows whom he judged to be 
 interested and said to him : '' If thee wants any 
 ropes or anything at any time, there are some in 
 my barn. The barn is not locked, so thee can 
 lielp thyself and say nothing to me about it." 
 His ropes helped pull down the old building, but 
 they were in their place in the barn the next 
 mornin^. 
 
Chapter X> 
 
 Some Old Reading Matter, 
 
 GOOD deal of important literary work was 
 done by some of the earlier citizens here, 
 which but few people have ever had the 
 opportunity of reading. Perhaps but few 
 people would care for the opportunity of reading 
 some of it ; for, while it had a great deal of meaning 
 it had a still greater amount of words, and a good 
 deal of patient effort is required to shake the ideas 
 out of the wordy entanglement in which they have 
 been caught. Still some of the old documents 
 which, like the names of newspaper correspondents, 
 had to be given, "not necessarily for publication, 
 but as evidence of good faith," — the conveyances of 
 real estate, and the like — have an interest of their 
 own, at least for some readers ; and therefore it 
 may not be amiss to offer a sample or two here for 
 perusal. 
 
 The first is a deed for certain property on Penis- 
 auken Creek, conveyed in the year 1695, by Charles 
 Rcadc to Robert Stiles, one of the ancestors of the 
 (314) 
 
 I 
 
SOME OLD READING MATTER. 
 
 315 
 
 ate Reuben Stiles, for so many years Assessor of 
 Moorestovvn. The document is written out with 
 ^reat care on sheepskin, the upper edge of which 
 is left untrimmed. Elaborately illuminated letter- 
 ing at the head introduces the text of the instru- 
 ment, and a quaint little square seal of red wax in 
 the center of the bottom edge testifies to the regu- 
 larity and authority of the transfer described. The 
 handwriting is clear and beautiful, with many 
 flourishes, and the lines of writing are as straight 
 and even as if ruled. There is an untrammelled 
 freedom in the use of capitals that is charming, and 
 some of the abbreviations, as well as some of the 
 spelling are calculated to startle the reader of to-day. 
 Following is the full text of the document: 
 
 Tins Identure made the Twenty seventh day of 
 the fifth month called July in the year of our Lord 
 one thousand six hundred ninety and five Be- 
 tween Charles Read of the Town of Philadelphia 
 in the Province of Pennsilvania Taylor af the one 
 part And Robert Stiles of the same place Sawyer 
 of the other part Witnesseth that the said Charles 
 Reade for and in consideration of the full sum of 
 Sixty pounds current money of the said Province 
 to him in hand pd or secured to be paid by the sd 
 Robert Stiles at or before ensealing and delivery of 
 these presents the receipt wlicroof and every part 
 and parcel thereof he the said Charles Reade dotb 
 
■■Jl(j MOOK.^oio.VN, OLD AND NEW, .' 
 
 acknowledge and thereof and of every part thereof 
 doth acquit Release exonerate and discharge the sd 
 Robert Stiles his Heirs Executors & Administra- 
 tors And every of them forever by these presents 
 Hath Given granted bargained and Sold Allyon'd 
 Enfeoffed and confirmed and by these p'sents 
 doth fully clearly & absolutely give grant bargain 
 & sell Allyen Enfeoff & confirm unto the sd Robert 
 Stiles his Heirs & Assigns forever four hundred ^c 
 twenty five acres of land situate lying and being 
 between the two brr::ichcs of Pensauken Creek 
 in the Province of West New Jersey bounded on 
 the East wnth William Clark's land and on the west 
 with the land of John Rudderough excepting two 
 small parcels of meadovv^ and swamp land wch lyes 
 before the land of the sd Rudderough fronting the 
 creek the one parcell lying below the sd Rudder- 
 ough's house beginning at an oak for a corner by 
 the creek side runs east south east seven chains to 
 a marked corner thence north five chains to the 
 creek again and so down the severall courses of the 
 same to the first mentioned oak Surveyed and laid 
 out for six acres the other parcell lying above tlie 
 sd Rudderough's house begins at th^ lower end o[ 
 the meadov/ by the creek side adjoyntng to the 
 upland and runs by the same seven chains to a 
 corner thence east to the creek and so down the 
 same to the first station layd out for four acres (as 
 the Surveyor's draught thereof more fully may ap- 
 
SOME OLD READING MA'lli-.i;. 217 
 
 pear) Which said land and meadow was purchased" 
 by the sd Clnrles Rcade the one three hundred 
 acres thereof from Joseph Adams and Mary his 
 wife by Indenture bearing date the thirteenth day 
 of August Anno Domini 1694 and one hundred and 
 twenty fiv^e acres of it (wch makes up the Compleat 
 Quantity of 423 acres above granted) from George 
 Hutcheson by Indenture bearing date the Twenty 
 sixth day of September Anno Domini 1694 (as by 
 their said Indentures Relation thereunto being had 
 more largely may appear) Together wth all the Edi- 
 fices and improvemts thereupon and all and every 
 the mines mineralls woods meadows pastures feed- 
 ings hawkings huntings ffishings fowlings & all 
 other the Royalties and privilidgcs Prohtts Com- 
 modities and appurtenances whatsoever to the same 
 belonging or in anywise appertayning And all the 
 Estate Right Tytle Interest Possession claime & 
 demand whatsoever of him the said Charles Rcade 
 in Law and Equity or either of them in or unto the 
 sd granted promisses or any part thereof And the 
 Provisions & Remainders thereof & of every part 
 and pareell thereof To Have & To Hold the sd 
 four hundred & twenty five acres of land & meadow 
 wth the appurtenances and every part thereof unto 
 the sd Robert Stiles his Heirs & Assigns forever 
 To the only proper use and behoof of him the sd 
 Robert Stiles his Heirs & Assignes forevermorc 
 And the said Charles Reade doth for himselfe his 
 
^l8 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. l 
 
 Heirs Executors & Administrators covenant pi .nn- 
 ise & grant to & with the sd Robert Stiles his Heirs 
 & Assignes by these p'sents that at the time of the 
 enseahng and dehvery of these p'sents he stood 
 Rightfully seized of the land and premises above 
 granted and that he had good Rightful! power and 
 LawfuU authority to sell and confirm the same unto 
 the said Robert Stiles his Heirs & Assignes in 
 maner & form afforesd And that he hath not wit- 
 tingly or willingly committed suffered or done any 
 act matter or thing whatsoever whereby or by rea- 
 son whereof the sd granted premises or any part or 
 parcell thereof is or shall or may be chtirged bur- 
 thened or encumbered in any Style Charge Estate 
 or otherwise howsoever (other than the Quit Rents 
 thereout Issuing to the Chief Lord of the Soil wth 
 the arrears thereof if any be) but the same against 
 him the sd Charles Reade & his Heirs ag'st tlic 
 Heirs of Joseph Adams & Mary his wife aga'st the 
 Heirs of Hutcheson and against all their Heirs and 
 against all person & persons whatsoever claiming 
 or to claim from by or under him them or any of 
 them their means privity consent or procurem't 
 sliall and will warrant 8z forever defend by these 
 p'sents And further that the sd Charles Read his 
 Heirs or Assignes shall and will at all times here- 
 after during the space of seven years next ensuing 
 execute such further & other Lawful! Acts for the 
 .further confirmation of e above granted premises 
 
SOME OLD READING MATTER. 
 
 3^£ 
 
 Avth the appurtenances unto the sd Robert Stiles 
 his Heirs & Assignes as by him or them shall be 
 reasonably Required so as such further assurances 
 containe no other Warranty than is above Express- 
 ed In Witness whereof the party first above 
 named to this p'sent Indentures hath set his hand 
 and Seal the day and year first above written 1695. 
 
 Charles^JJ^JReade 
 
 The outside of this elaborate instrument is en- 
 dorsed, with much involved flourishing, as follows : 
 
 " Sealed and delivered in p'sence of 
 
 William Alberson, 
 William Hearn, 
 William Alberson, Juner. 
 
 A further endorsement reads : 
 
 " Be it remembered that on this twentyeth day 
 of April Anno Dom : one thousand seven hundred 
 and twenty-six p'sonally came and appeared before 
 me Daniel Cox Esquire one of the judges of the 
 County Court for holding pleas for the County of 
 Hunterdon in the Pro. of New Jersey William 
 Hearn one of the witnesses above signed being one 
 the people called Quakers who on his solemn 
 affirmation according to law doth declare that he 
 was present and saw Charles Reade the grantor 
 
320 RIOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 v/'thin named sign seal and deliver the within written 
 Instrument of bargain and sale to the uses therein 
 mentioned and that at the doing thereof the two 
 other subscribing witnesses were p'sent. 
 
 William Hearn. 
 Affirmed before me 
 Daniel Coxe." 
 
 The matter is finished up with the following final 
 endorsement: 
 
 *' Burlington April 20th 1726 
 
 Recorded the within written deed ing' 
 Publick Records of the Province of West Jersey in 
 Lib. D. Vol. 94, 95. 
 
 Sam'l Bushkill, 
 D Sec'y." 
 
 Tlie next of these old writings is about seventy 
 years younger than the preceeding but has more 
 immediate reference to Moorestown affiirs, as it is 
 a deed transferring the property on which stands 
 the house that has been referred to in these pages 
 as the old " Smith Mansion," and the " Harris Man- 
 sion" — the historic house in w^hich some stirring 
 Revolutionary scenes were enacted, and in which 
 the first public religious services in Moorestown, 
 outside of the Friends' Meeting Houses, were held. 
 The document is a parchment sheet of formidable 
 
SOME OLD READING MATTER <nj 
 
 dimensions. It is executed with but little of 
 the elaborate ornamentation that characterized the 
 older one already given ; but although the ink has 
 paled with time, the writing is clear, and follows 
 carefully ruled lines across the ample width of the 
 page. There is a reckless liberality in the use of 
 capitals that is compensated for by the extreme 
 parsimony shown respecting punctuation marks. 
 The deed bears date August 2, 1766, and is as 
 follows : 
 
 This Indenture Made the Second day of August 
 in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Se\-en; 
 Hundred and Sixty Six Between Joshua Hum- 
 phries of the Township of Chester in the County of 
 Burlington and Western ]:)ivision of the Province 
 of New Jersey Yeomen and Increase his Wife of 
 the One part, and Samuel Smith of the City of Bur- 
 lington and Province aforesaid Esquire of the Other 
 part Whereas Robert Clinton by Sundry good 
 Conveyances in the Law heretofore had and Duly 
 Executed became Seized in fee of and in One full 
 Equal and undivided Sixth part o{ a Propriety to 
 Lands in West Jersey and being the.. A Seized Did 
 by Deeds of Lease and Release Dated the Twclvcth- 
 and Thirteeth Days of May Anno Domini 16S2 
 Grant and Convey the said Sixth part of a Pro- 
 priety Unto Thomas Martin in fee as !)y said Deeds 
 recorded in the Secretarys office in lUirlington in 
 
322 
 
 MOOR ES TOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 Lib B fol 109, will appear. And Whereas the said 
 Thomas Martin being so Seized by Letter of At- 
 torney Dated the Twenty Ninth of August Anno 
 1684 im power his Brother James Martin to Sell 
 and Convey all his Estate in West Jersey as by the 
 said Letter of Attorney recorded in the said Office 
 in Book B aforesaid fol ^S will appear. And 
 Wliereas the said James Martin being Impowered 
 as aforesaid Did by Deed Dated the Twenty fifth 
 day of September Anno Domini 1686 Grant and 
 Convey the said Sixth part of a Propriety unto 
 Thomas Rodman of Rhode Island in fee as by said 
 Deed of record in said office in Book B aforesaid 
 fol 109 will appear And Whereas the said Thomas 
 Rodman being So thereof seized Caused part of the 
 said Share to be Surveyed in the Townships of 
 Cliester and Evesham as by a Survey thereof re- 
 maining and on Record in the Surveyor Generals 
 office in Burlington in Lib A fol i will appear, and 
 being thereof Seized as aforesaid Died having first 
 made his last Will and Testament and therein Did 
 Give and Devise the Said Land with other Lands 
 unto his son Clark Rodman in fee Who being 
 Seized thereof Did by Deed of Lease and release 
 Dated the Twelveth and Thirteenth Days of Octo- 
 ber Anno Domini 1730 Grant and Convey three 
 Hundred acres part of the Said Lands to Francis 
 ITogsett in fee as by Said Deeds Recorded in the 
 Secretarys office in Lib E fol 207 will appear. 
 
 I 
 
SOME OLD READING MATTER. 323 
 
 And Whereas the said Francis Hogsett being sc 
 Seized 13id by Deed of Bargain and Sale Dated the 
 first Day of April Anno Domini 1734 Grant and 
 Convey One Hundred and Eighty acres and three 
 rood part of the said three Hundred acres unto 
 Nehemiah Haines in fee as by said Deed recorded 
 in the said Office in Lib E aforesaid fol 166 will 
 appear. And the said Nehemiah Haines being So 
 thereof seized Did Together with Ann his wife 
 Grant and Convey One Hundred and Seventy nine 
 acres and three rood of the Same unto Joshua 
 Humphries the partie hereto his heirs and assigns 
 as by said Deed Dated the Twenty eight Day of 
 March in the year of Our Lord One Thousand 
 Seven Hundred and Thirty Eight refference being 
 thereto had will appear. And Whereas the said 
 Joshua Humphries being seized of rights unlocated 
 Land Caused to be Surveyed the Quantity of 
 Seventeen acres two rood Situate on a branch of 
 of the Mullica River called Mechescatuxing in the 
 County of Gloucester as by the Survey thereof re- 
 maining in the Surveyor Generals Office it will 
 appear. Now This Indeture Witnesseth That 
 the said Joshua Humphries and Increase his Wife 
 for and in Consideration of the Sum of Nine Hun- 
 dred and Sixty three pounds Current money of 
 Said Province to the Said Joshua Humphries in 
 hand paid by the said Samuel Smith at or before 
 the Ensealing and Delivery of these presents the 
 
3^4 
 
 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 receipt Whereof he the said Joshua Humphries- 
 doth hereby Acknowledge and thereof and Every 
 part and parcel thereof Doth Clearly Acquit and 
 Discharge the said Samuel Smith his Executors 
 and Administrators and Every of them by these 
 presents Have Granted Bargained and Sold Aliened 
 Enfeofed Conveyed and Confirmed And by these 
 presents Do Grant Bargain and Sell Alien Enfeof 
 Convey and Confirm unto the said Samuel Smith 
 and to his heirs and assigns two pieces of Land the 
 one being All that his Farm Plantation and Tract 
 of Land Situate Lying and being in the Township 
 of Chester aforesaid and is part of the Land above 
 recited being Bounded as followeth Beginning at a 
 Stake Standing on the North side of the Road 
 Leadincr throuf^h Moores Town which Stake is 
 Corner to a Lot of Land belonging to Joshua 
 Humphries Jun'r and stands One Hundred and 
 thirty foot from a stone Corner to Joshua Bisphams 
 Land then by the said Humphries Lot South thirty 
 five degrees fifteen minutes East fifty two Chain to 
 a Stake Standing in William Hootens Line then by 
 the same South fifty nine degrees West thirty two 
 Chain and forty links to Stake near a Water Oak 
 Bush marks Corner to John Middletons Land then 
 by the same North thirty two degrees West forty 
 five chain and twenty three links to the Corner of 
 a Lot Sold by the said Humphries to Thomas 
 Lippincott then by the same North Sixty Seven 
 
SOME OLD READING MATTER. -.2? 
 
 Degrees East two Chain and Six Links to a Stone 
 Corner to the Same then still by Said Lot North 
 Twenty One Degrees thirty minutes West Ten 
 Chain and twenty five Links to a Stake in the Line 
 of Charles Frenchs Land on the North Side of the 
 said Road, then along the Said Frenchs Line North 
 Sixty Six Degrees thirty minutes East Twenty Six 
 Chains and thirty eight Links to the place of Be- 
 ginning Containing One Hundred and Sixty acres 
 and two rood of Land The Other being the One 
 Equal half part of all that piece of Cedar Swamp 
 above recited to be at the said Samuel Smiths 
 choice Together with all and Singular the Houses 
 Edifices Buildings Orchards Pastures Commons 
 Woods Woodlands Water Water Courses Mines 
 Minerals profits Commodities Hereditaments and 
 Appurtenances Whatsoever to the said two parcels 
 of Land belonging or in any Wise appertaining or 
 therewithal used Occupied or Enjoyed or Accepted 
 reputed taken and known as part parcel and mem- 
 ber thereof And all the Estate right Title Literest 
 use Trust property Possession Claim and Demand 
 Whatsoever of them the Said Joshua Humphries 
 and Licrease his Wife of in and to the Premises and 
 Every or any part or parcel thereof And the Rever- 
 sion and Reversion Remainder and Remainders 
 Yearly and other rents and profits of the premises 
 and of Every part and parcel thereof Together with 
 all and Singular Deeds Evidences and Wrighting 
 
226 MO.«);;K .i\>,\;N, oi.u .vND new. 
 
 Touching and Concerning the Said Premises only 
 To Have And Hold the Said Farm riantation and; 
 Tract of Land as above Bounded and Described as 
 also the one half part of the Said Cedar Swamp 
 and all Singular Other the premises hereinbefore- 
 mentioned meant or intended to be hereby Granted 
 Alienated Released or Confirmed and every part 
 and parcel thereof With their and Every of their 
 appurtenances unto the Said Samuel Smith his 
 heirs and assigns To the only proper use benefit and 
 behoof of him the said Samuel Smith his heirs and 
 assigns forever. And the Said Joshua Humphries 
 for himself his heirs Executors and Administrators, 
 and for Increase his Wife Doth Covenant Promise- 
 Grant and agree to and With the Said Samuel 
 Smith his heirs and assigns and Every of them by 
 these presents in Manner and Form following That 
 is to Say, That the Said Joshua Humphries at the 
 time of the Ensealing and Delivery of these presents 
 is Seized of and in the Said Farm and Tract of 
 Land and also the Said Cedar Swamp and all and 
 singular Other the premises in and by these pre- 
 sents Granted Bargained and Sold With all Every 
 their Rights members and appurtenances Of a 
 good sure perfect and absolute Estate of Liheritance 
 in fee simple Without any Condition Reversion 
 Remainder or Limitation of any use or uses Estate 
 or Estates in or to any Person or Persons whatso- 
 ever to Alter Change Defeate Determine or make 
 
 K 
 
SOME OLD READING MATTER 
 
 O TV 
 
 0^/ 
 
 Void this present Grant. And that the said Joshua 
 Humphries at the Time of Ensealsng and DeHvery 
 of these presents Hath full power Good right and 
 Lawful authority to Grant Bargain Sell and Convey 
 all and Singular the before herewith Granted or 
 Mentioned to be Granted premises with their and 
 Every of their appurtenances unto the said Samuel 
 Smith his heirs and assigns in IMannerand Form 
 aforesaid And Further the said Joshua Humphries 
 Covenants and agrees to and vv'ith the said Samuel 
 Smith and his heirs and assigns as followeth that is 
 to Say that it shall and may be LawfuU for the 
 said Samuel Smith his heirs and and assigns at any 
 Time hereafter to Cause a Division of the said 
 Swamp to be made and to take his their choice of 
 the part they see fit. And Lastly the said Farm 
 Plantation and Tract of Land With the One half of 
 the said Cedar Swamp in the Quiet and Peaceful 
 Possessions of him the said Samuel Smith his heirs 
 and assigns against the LawfuU Claims of All Per- 
 sons Whatsoever he the said Joshua Humphries 
 and his heirs shall and Will for Ever Warrant and 
 Defend. In Witness Whereof he the said Joshua 
 Plumphries and Increase his Wife have to this In- 
 denture Set their hands and Seals the Day and 
 year above Written 1776. 
 
 Jos'a Humphries ^sbalj 
 
 Lnxrease Humphries (^^i^ 
 
^28 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. ) 
 
 Sealed and Delivered In presence of 
 
 Jos Imlaye 
 Danl Ellis 
 
 Rec'd August the Second 1766 of Samuel Smith 
 Esq'r the Sum of Nine Hundred and Sixty three 
 pounds In full of the Consideration money above 
 mentioned I say Rec'd by me 
 
 Jos'a Humphries 
 V Witnesses 
 
 Jos Imlaye Dan'l Ellis 
 
 I think the reader will agree v/ith me, that if it 
 was as hard work to write these specimens of old 
 time literature as it is to read them, the composers 
 of them earned a goodly share of all the property 
 they conveyed. 
 
Chapter XXL 
 
 An Old Neighbor. 
 
 OORESTOWN enjoys the friendly acquain- 
 tance of a good many old neighbors who 
 settled in the wilderness and began to 
 '?i^ grow up with the country about the same 
 time that she did. Some of them are near 
 and some remote, bCit they are all on familiar speak- 
 ing terms, and have a bond of fellowship in the 
 common memory of the old times whose hardships 
 and whose rugged enjoyments they shared. 
 Among them all perhaps there is none with which 
 Moorestown has so intimate a relationship as with 
 Colestown. If it were possible for one old town to 
 drop in on another for an afternoon chat, we can 
 well imagine that these two old cr9nies would grow 
 garrulous together in recalling the events both have 
 known and the experiences they have shared. 
 Many of their dead slumber together; and many of 
 their living worshipped together for years. The 
 ties of association are numerous and strong. 
 
 Colestown is the older of the two. Indeed it is 
 older by a century than the Declaration of Indepen- 
 (329) 
 
2^ MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 dence; for Colestown was founded in 1676. The 
 place was named for Samu'rl Coles who located a 
 large tract of land near there in the early days of 
 the place, and who became a person of much prom- 
 inence and consideration. His descendents for very 
 many years were prominent and influential in the 
 affairs of the neighborhood, the family being speci- 
 ally distinguished for patriotism in the Rev^olution- 
 ary times. For a long time Colestown was a lead- 
 ing community hereabouts, and held its own bravely 
 in the way of active prosperity. With the construc- 
 tion of new lines of communication, however, its 
 importance vanished. It was left on one side of 
 the grand highways. The tide of travel flo\yed past 
 it at a distance, and it ceased to be an active busi- 
 ness center. Gradually it fell further and further 
 back in the race until now in its old age it sits 
 quietly in its place and thinks of what has been; 
 It has shriveled up with age, and the outlines that" 
 were well rounded and plumply filled out in youth 
 are now but vaguely defined and show but very 
 meagre substance. 
 
 Colestown lies between three and four miles from 
 Moorestown, on the road to Haddonfield. The 
 road is not long ; but in the bright summer weather, 
 with the dust laid by recent rains, which yet have 
 not been sufficient to accomplish mud, it is a way 
 of delight. Indeed it would be difficult to select a 
 more exquisitely beautiful drive. Tlierc is no dead 
 
AN OLD NEIGHBOR. 
 
 331 
 
 level, but on the other hand there is no rusfsred 
 abruptness. The landscape stretches away in pleas- 
 antly satisfying variety. The surface undulates in 
 smoothly rounded swells, so that there is variety 
 everywhere. Fields of grass and of waving grain, 
 with their limitless variations of color lie spread out 
 on every hand. Trees of many growths are grouped 
 in pleasant fashion here and there. Farm houses, 
 some of them a century old, stand along the road ; 
 and between them are spaces of country solitude so 
 quiet and undisturbed that wild rabbits and squir- 
 rels are encouraged to indulge in their antics there. 
 Now and then a rustic lane or a country cross road 
 takes its way among the fields, and invites the 
 traveller to come away into even quieter seclusion 
 than he finds on the road to Colestown, 
 
 No, it is not a long road but it suffices to take 
 one quite away from even the echoes of city and 
 town life. The railroad might be the breadth of a 
 county away for all you see or hear of it. If you 
 have taken your drive in the right time of the day 
 you will encounter the stage on its way from Cam- 
 den to Fellowship, for you have got into a region 
 where the railroad is a convenience for other people, 
 and where hurry and racket seem to have no place 
 in the economy of life. 
 
 If this is your first excursion in this direc- 
 tion you will be at a loss to know when you 
 get to Colestown ; and in any case the demark- 
 
^^2 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 ation between the town and its suburbs Is but vagu? 
 and dimly defined. Indeed there is no village, i:i 
 the sense of a close cluster of houses, with stores, 
 hotel and shops. There used to be such in the old, 
 old times ; but Colestown, in the village sense, is 
 but a memory; and now the name is floated indef* 
 initely over a rural neighborhood. But what a 
 lovely neighborhood it is! It is difficult to believe 
 that the old place could have been half as pretty as 
 it is now, when it was a thriving, ambitious town 
 with a future before it, as well as a past behind it 
 
 Seeing the beauty of it, and the lovliness of the 
 country around it, it is easy to understand how it 
 came to be a favorite place of resort for invalids and 
 pleasure-seekers in the days gone by. The instinct 
 to seek health and recreation away from home was 
 as stroncf then as now, and the difficulties in o^oincf 
 very far for such purposes were infinitely greater. 
 So it was a capital thing to have a thorough-going 
 watering place right here within easy reach. 
 
 Here was a copious mineral spring, with an un- 
 failing supply of water that smelled and tasted bad 
 enough to commend it to the most exacting invalid. 
 Science had given a diploma to- the enterprising pro- 
 prietor of the spring in the shape of an analysis of 
 its waters ; and the enterprising proprietor aforesaid 
 had the record of the analysis cut in artistic letters 
 on a marble tablet and the tablet set up b:side the 
 spring for all to read and be convinced. He more- 
 
 ) 
 
AN OLD NEIGHBOR. o o ^■ 
 
 over built a hotel, or sanitarium on the ground, and 
 reaped the harvest from the good seed he had so 
 wisely sown. 
 
 Sick people came in numbers to drink the waters ; 
 and whether it was because the waters were potent^ 
 or because the place was so lively and pleasant, or 
 because the marble tablet was so convincing, or 
 because of all these things, many who came got 
 better, and therefore many more came. It is a cur- 
 ious fact that almost any place v/hich attracts 
 invalids also attracts well people and speedily be- 
 comes a place of popular resort and fashionable 
 gayety. So Colestov/n became, in a small way, a 
 center of pleasant social dissipation. The Fountain 
 Hotel, as the sanitarium was called, w^as a frame 
 structure of moderate proportions, but for that time 
 was considered rather large than otherwise ; and in 
 ''the season" it was filled to overflowing with guests. 
 Its rooms were all taken by people who came for a 
 regular campaign of greater or less duration. But 
 aside from these, there were frequent incursions of 
 transient parties who rode or drove from some of 
 the neighboring regions for a day's pleasuring. To 
 go to Colestown in those days meant very much 
 what going to the sea-shore means in these. 
 
 It is a pity that such good times should come to 
 an end, but they did. The Fountain Hotel ceased 
 to be a place of resort, and not only that but it dis- 
 appeared utterly from the face of the earth, and now 
 
534 
 
 MOORESTOWN. OLD AND NEW. 
 
 there are not many who remember that there eve? 
 was such a place. The marble tablet, too, has long 
 since gone, and nobody can now tell what potent 
 elements that water contained. One old lady who 
 visited the hotel and drank from the spring before 
 the popular tide had been diverted from it, says the 
 v/ater " v/as bad enough to be good," and people 
 who once drank of it were not likely to forget it. 
 With this generalization we have to be content. It 
 is said that one or two antiquarians know just where 
 the old spring was located, but if so they keep the 
 knowledge to themselves, and nobody else seems 
 able to tell. About a quarter of a century ago a 
 Philadelphia visitor had the place pointed out to 
 him by an old resident ; but a recent attempt of his 
 to rediscover the spring was entirely without suc- 
 cess. The old guide of the former occasion had 
 passed away, and nobody could be found who knev/ 
 where to look for what used to be a spot of great 
 and lively importance. An almost forgotten tradi- 
 tion is all that remains of what was once a happy 
 fact for very many of the young and old in Moores- 
 town, and in the region round about. 
 
 Co^estown still retains one monument of the past 
 which associates it very intimately with Moorestown 
 — St. Mary's Protestant Episcopal Church. Refer- 
 ence has been made in a previous chapter to the 
 age of this venerable building, and to the parental 
 r^^lation in which it stands to Trinty Church ia 
 
. AN OLD NEIGHBOR. 335 
 
 Moorcstown. It is not only one of the oldest 
 churches in New Jersey, but for many years it was 
 the only Episcopal Church in this region, and was 
 the place of worship for all the Episcopalians in 
 IMoorestown, and in the surrounding country as 
 well. Trinity parish, the child and successor of St. 
 Mary's, was established — how and when have been 
 fully described elsewhere— but the old church still 
 remains ; and there is not, within many miles, a 
 more interesting place to visit than is St. Mary's 
 Church at Colestown. 
 
 It is not an imposing edifice. Those who imagine 
 that an episcopal church must have stone walls 
 pierced with pointed windows and thickly overgrown 
 with clinging ivy, and that a hoary tower of ancient 
 masonry must point Heavenward from at least one 
 of its corners, will find their imaginings rudely 
 upset at sight of this one. No Friends' meeting 
 house could be more severely plain and simple than 
 this old church. It is of wood, and not the slight- 
 est attempt has been made at ornament in any direc- 
 tion. Even paint has been withheld, and the 
 weather beaten boards show only the soft gray color 
 that the winds and the rains bestov/ upon whatever 
 wood is left for them to decorate. 
 
 The building is of moderate size and rather low. 
 It stands with its gable end to the street, and the 
 door is in the side toward the South. Above the 
 door projects a little roof, like a square shelf, with 
 
336 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 no support save what it gets from the timbers in 
 the wall behind it. There it has hung for genera- 
 tions, without post or brace to hold it up; and it is 
 as straight and level to-day as ever, a good example 
 of the "sincere" work that was done in the good 
 old times. 
 
 There are six windows, two on each side and one at 
 either end ; and not one of them is arched or pointed 
 or anything else than uncompromisingly right- 
 angled. These are protected on the outside by solid 
 wooden shutters, fastened by strong and quaint old 
 fashioned latch-bolts ; while the door is secured by 
 a lock so solid and massive that it might almost 
 protect a bank vault. A little chimney of red brick 
 sprouts up from the middle of the roof-peak, and 
 that chimney is the nearest approach to a tower 
 that is visible about the church. 
 
 But it is not until the visitor has entered the 
 building that he gets the full flavor of its quaint old 
 age. There are no carpeted aisles stretching for- 
 ward between ranks of closely ranged pews ; no 
 arrangements anywhere for cushioned comfort ; few 
 attempts at anything like beauty or elegance, and 
 no signs of any purpose to use space to the best 
 advantage. Not only does the place and every- 
 thing in it look old, but in fashion and arrangement 
 it all speaks of the simple tastes and habits of a 
 primitive people. 
 
AN OLD NEIGHBOR. 337 
 
 Tlfe first and strongest impression on cntering 
 is of old unpainted wood. It is pretty nearly every- 
 v/liere. The rounded ceiling, close under the roof, 
 is plastered and whitened, and there is a narrow- 
 strip of plastered wall running around the building 
 under the gallery, and a space of white plaster 
 shows at the side of the room opposite the entrance 
 door; but all the rest is wood, and for the most 
 part unpainted. The floor is bare and the walls are 
 wainscotted to within a short distance of the galler}^ 
 At the gallery floor the wainscotting begins again 
 and is continued to the ceiling. 
 
 At the left of the door, as you enter, is the rob- 
 ing room. A wooden partition with a door in it, 
 juts out into the church space for a distance, then 
 turns a right angle and goes off toward the left. 
 There is no ceiling to the little room, so the occu- 
 pant has air to breathe. He also has light, for, the 
 partition encloses the window at the left of the 
 entrance; but he has not much space in which to 
 stand up, for the gallery stairs slope across the top 
 of the enclosure, converting it into a stairway closet. 
 
 Two of these staircases lead up to the gallery 
 from the opposite ends of the Southern front, and 
 each is guarded, not by bannisters and rail, but by 
 a solid board screen which extends from the floor 
 to the gallery, and which is high enough to conceal 
 all but the shoulders and head of the person who 
 
^^8 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 g"oes up or comes down. A peculiarity oft the 
 arrangement is that the stairs instead of starting 
 near the door, begin the ascent as far from the door 
 as possible, so that the worshipper who seeks a 
 gallery seat has to travel half the length of the 
 building before he reaches the foot of the stairs. 
 The gallery itself extends along the front and across 
 both ends of the building, and is boxed in by a 
 high, solid board screen that extends along its 
 entire front. 
 
 Over the front door, between the heads of the 
 two staircases, is the choir, which is separated from 
 the rest of the gallery by a board partition at each 
 end. Here as well as in the rest of the gallery, 
 rows of wooden benches, rising gradually toward 
 the wall, furnish seats for the gallery occupants. 
 Down stairs, also, wooden benches, furnished with 
 comfortable backs and arms, but with never a 
 thought of cushions, are arranged in rows across 
 the floor, with a broad aisle through the middle of 
 the church. The whole arrangement of seats 
 shows utter carelessness as to economy of space. 
 
 Of course all these details do not present them- 
 selves at first; but the impression of old wood 
 emphasizes itself so strongly that the observer has to 
 analyze it first of all, and so he takes note of all 
 the solid, unpainted masses — the partitions of the 
 robing room, the high-screened stair-cases, the 
 bottom and front of the gallery, the uncovered floor 
 
AN OLD NEIGHBOR. 
 
 339 
 
 '.and the rows of benches. But he does all this with 
 the consciousness that the effect which he is analyz- 
 ing is heightened by a vivid contrast, and as soon as 
 ilie can he gives his attention to the first object that 
 presented itself to him in clear individuality as he 
 -entered. This is the pulpit. 
 
 It is placed on the North side of the church 
 directly opposite the door and looms up, high and 
 white, in front of the visitor as he enters. It is a 
 round box, painted a clear white, and is so high 
 that it must be entered by ascending quite a flight 
 of stairs. The occupants of this pulpit whether 
 they were learned or otherwise, must always have 
 "^' preached far above the heads of their congrega- 
 tion." Above the pulpit hangs a quaint, round 
 sounding board, also painted white. The reading- 
 desk below is another white object. The chancel 
 ixail, projecting far into the body of the church, is 
 -of mahogany surmounting white banisters. The 
 space inside the rail is carpeted, and this is the 
 only portion of the firor redeemed from bareness, 
 as the pulpit and its accessories show the only 
 ■paint to be seen in the building. 
 
 High above the pulpit and on either side of it, 
 are two little square windows to afford light to the 
 clergyman, and they must be rather trying to the 
 •eyes of the congregation on a bright day. The six 
 large windows of the church are not so very large, 
 .but each of them contains twenty-four panes of 
 
340 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW, 
 
 glass, twelve in either sash. The panes are very 
 small and the sashes are very large, giving the 
 impression of a great deal of wood to not very 
 much glass. 
 
 These eight windows afforded sufficient light for 
 the day service, but what provision was made for 
 evening service ? On one of the smooth, round, un- 
 painted columns which support the gallery is nailed 
 a little shelf. On this shelf was set a candle-stick 
 and the solitary candle that burned therein is said 
 to have given the light enjoyed by the congregation 
 on night occasions. A couple of candles placed 
 on the pulpit and the reading desk gave the clergy- 
 man what light he needed ; and these scant appli- 
 ances for illumination v/ere the substitute for chan- 
 deliers and candelabra. 
 
 Warmth seems to have been better provided for 
 than light. In the very center of the church stands 
 a stove which, while it is a good deal younger than 
 tlie building, is itself in the enjoyment of a hale old 
 age. It is of a pattern long since obsolete, and 
 was made when wood was the accepted fuel and 
 anthracite had not assumed the place it now holds. 
 Straight up from the top of the stove ascends a 
 slender, black column of stove-pipe, its summit 
 disappearing in the bottom of the little chimney. 
 The stove-pipe is held in position by a heavy 
 iron rod, either end of which is made 
 ■^'allery. 
 
AN OLD NEIGHIJOR. 
 
 341 
 
 It was certainly not because the old church was 
 falling into decay that it was given up. There is 
 110 trace of decay about it, and there seems no 
 reason why it should not last in good condition for 
 another century or two. Certainly it is as sound 
 and robust now as many buildings that have not 
 -seen a quarter of its years. And it is not correct 
 to say that it has been given up for it has not. On 
 the second Sunday of every month the building is 
 opened and service held. No evening service is 
 ever held now, and so the candle-sticks have no 
 modern successors. 
 
 To visit Colestown and not walk through the 
 old church-yard that lies back of St. Mary's is to 
 miss one of the most impressive experiences our 
 old neighbor has to offer. The original church- 
 yard is comprised now within the wider limits of 
 the present cemetery, but it keeps its individuality 
 intact:; and the rows of closely ranged graves show 
 -that those who sleep after the conflict far outnumber 
 those who still wake and carry on the struggle of 
 ilife. Generations of Colestown's dead lie here, 
 some of them in graves so old that all means of 
 identifying the sleepers have disappeared. 
 
 Many of the tombstones that remain are quaint 
 enough with their unpretending, old-fashioned 
 :sculpture, and their equally old-fashioned epitaphs 
 One of them bears the date of 1764. Another wa.' 
 ^erected to the memory of "Hannah, Wife of Benja- 
 
342 
 
 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 min Van Leery," who died In 1766, Another, still" 
 older, is a broad, low marble slab, inscribed : " In 
 Memory of Humphrey Day, Who Died January 
 16, 1760, Aged 75 years." 
 
 A number of the graves have head-stones of the 
 simplest and most primitive type. These are not 
 of marble, chiselled or unchiselled ; but are simply 
 large flat stones in all their original roughness. No 
 attempt has been made to smooth the surface or 
 even to make the edges less sharp and rough. The 
 gray stone, just as it came from the quarr}^, is set 
 up to indicate that here some one lies, asleep. 
 Some of these have, rudely scratched upon their 
 surface, the initials of the sleepers. That is all ; 
 no name, no date, no record of age or time of death. 
 All of them originally had some letters scratched 
 upon them it is said, but some are so old that time 
 has effaced even the little they formerly had to tell. 
 
 Probably the strangest and most unique monu- 
 ment in tiie old churchyard Is one of the smallest- 
 It is a trifi: over a foot in height, is five and a half 
 inches broad, and of about the same thickness ; it is 
 rounded into an arch at the top; Its edges are 
 straight and Its angles tolerably true, and it Is made 
 of — brick', red brick ! The clay w^as evidently- 
 moulded, by no unskilled hand, into the shape 
 required, the letters of the Inscription were scratched 
 into the soft surface, and then the monument was- 
 
AN OLD NEIGHEOPv. 
 
 343 
 
 baked, like any other briclc. The inscrir,|.ion borne 
 by this singular head-stone is as follows : 
 
 IN • MEMORy 
 OF • JOHN • FLE 
 AGO • WHO • DEPAR 
 TED • THIS • LIFE • DE 
 CEMBR • THE • 20 
 1791 
 
 With the reading of this quaint memorial it is as 
 ivell to conclude the church-yard walk, and with it 
 in our minds, we bid farewell to our Old Neighbor, 
 
Chapter XXII. 
 
 Moorestozvn To-day. 
 
 ?ND what is the net result of all the elements 
 and processes that have been touched 
 upon in the preceding chapters? What 
 is the product of their combination ? In 
 orderly and natural sequence of devel- 
 opment Moorestown, as it is to-day, appears, the 
 fruit — still growing and ripening — from the seed 
 whose planting was in the far-away '* old times " 
 we have peered into ; and whose growth was shaped 
 by the influences we have considered. It is a fruit 
 that is goodly to look upon, and still more goodly 
 to contemplate in its future completeness. The 
 stock that bears it has made a healthy progress, 
 and the fruit itself is sound from core to rind. 
 
 In describing Moorestown as it is to-day, the 
 first and most obvious thing to say of it is that it is 
 a placj of homes, and a place for homes. Its other 
 characteristics range themselves about that one, as 
 about their natural centre. The first impression 
 the stranger receives on entering the place is of 
 (344) 
 
MOORESTOWN TO-DAY 
 
 345 
 
 •cosy and pleasant homes set in the midst of beauti- 
 ful surroundings. On every street, in whatever 
 direction a walk or drive is taken, the leading 
 impression is still of the many charming homes. 
 They are in many styles, from the fine old mansion 
 of a hundred years ago, fronted by its wide lawn 
 and shaded by its grand old trees, to the ornate 
 modern house with its trim enclosure and its bewil- 
 dering combination of unexpected lines and angles ; 
 from the modest little cottage with its honeysuckles 
 and rose bushes, to the many-roomed structure with 
 all the modern improvements. But they are all 
 homes and not merely " residences." One some- 
 how feels sure of that at the first glance. 
 
 And this most desirable characteristic will grow 
 ■with the growth of the town ; in fact its develop- 
 ment will be the growth of the town. It is as a place 
 for homes that Moorestown will widen its borders 
 and add to its figures in the census tables; and 
 nowhere is the opportunity for such growth more 
 pleasantly suggested. The place has room to grow 
 on every side ; and on every side — and even within 
 the present limits — tlic locations for more charming 
 "homes present themselves. More and more people 
 are all the time availing themselves of the oppoitu- 
 nities so presented, with the result that the old town 
 -is widening its borders year by year, and more and 
 'more people are I^o-onring interested in its charac- 
 .torislics and re.su. i.cjj. 
 
246 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 The easy facilities for communication with Phila- 
 delphia commend the place strongly to those seek- 
 ing homes, no less than to those whose homes are- 
 already established here. The distance by rail 
 ranges from something over ten miles, to about: 
 twelve, depending upon which of the three stations 
 is the point of arrival and departure. More than a 
 dozen trains going to the city, and as many more 
 coming from it, are at the disposal of the traveller 
 every week-day the year round ; and on Sundays; 
 there are church-trains for such as desire to use 
 them. Going from Moorestown to the heart of 
 Philadelphia is a matter of less time and trouble 
 than going to the same point from many portions 
 of the city itself The time required to get to the 
 foot of Market street is from thirty to forty minutes.. 
 
 But the railroad is not the only means of com- 
 munication with Philadelphia. The turnpike offers 
 a capital drive, during a good share of the year, to 
 such as prefer that method of travelling and have 
 the means at command to gratify their preference. 
 It is much in favor for pleasure driving, and it 
 would be difficult to make a better selection for 
 that purpose. The road is well kept; it runs 
 through a pleasant country ; the surface is varied 
 enough to avoid monotony, and is not broken into 
 troublesome hills ; the distance is not so great as to 
 be wearisome, and there is not mucli of it that is. 
 not interesting \\\ one way or auotnc:'. 
 
MOOKESTOVVN TO-DAY. 
 
 34/ 
 
 This readiness of passrig;e to and from Philadel- 
 phia constitutes one of the great recommendations 
 of Moorestown as a place to set up a home. The 
 man whose business is in the city, be he proprietor 
 or clerk may have his home here and go back and 
 forth daily to his business with scarcely more incon- 
 venience than if he dwelt in some of the city's wards. 
 The man who has retired from business may still, 
 in his retirement, keep up the contact with the 
 activity of city life. The ladies of the household 
 can readily go on shopping expeditions, or other 
 errands of pleasure, and as readily return to home 
 surroundings. The younger members of a house- 
 hold for whom special city instruction is required, 
 can avail themselves of the school-tickets issued by 
 the railroad company, and so have home-life and 
 city instruction. In short Moorestown is practic- 
 ally a rural suberb of Philadelphia. 
 
 So much for its relative position. Another and 
 still more important matter for thought and inquiry 
 relates to the physical welfare of people after they 
 get here. It is pleasant to give the assurance that 
 the old town is as healthy as it is beautiful, and that 
 is saying a great deal. The ground on which it 
 stands is high, forming a ridge; the air is pure and 
 has free circulation; there are no streams in the 
 immediate neighborhood, to overflow and leave 
 pools of water to stagnate and grow green ; the soil 
 is a sandy loam through which the rain readily per- 
 
.340 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 •colates, leaving the surface dry in a remarkably- 
 short space of time. As a result of this combina- 
 tion of characteristics malaria is not one of the 
 accompaniaments of life here ; and there are no 
 diseases characteristic of the place. Indeed so far 
 as health is concerned Moorestown is as greatly 
 favored as any region in the Middle Atlantic States. 
 To find much improvement on it one must go West 
 ^or South into a totally different climate. 
 
 The convenience with which the details of living 
 are managed here is another thing that commends 
 the place to housewives, particularly. The lively 
 writer who was "twelve miles from a lemon" was 
 more than twelve miles from Moorestown. Easy 
 as it is to get to Philadelphia, it is by no means 
 'necessary for residents here to go there in order to 
 secure the necessaries, conveniences and many of 
 the luxuries of daily life. 
 
 There-are half a dozen general stores here; four 
 -or five meat markets ; two or three bakeries ; trim- 
 ming and furnishing stores ; shoe stores and tailor 
 shops ; livery stables, carriage and blacksmith shops ; 
 furniture stores and cabinet shops ; plumbers, tin- 
 ners and stove-dealers ; carpenters in plenty. Milk 
 wagons, bread wagons and meat wagons furnish 
 daily supplies at the doors of the citizens. The 
 stores send wagons to the houses of customers to 
 receive orders and deliver goods, so that distance 
 from the store causes but slight inconvenience ; and 
 
MOORESTOWN TO-DAY. 
 
 349- 
 
 local express wagons make daily trips to the city^ 
 carrying and bringing parcels at slight cost. So 
 far as material conveniences are concerned Moores- 
 town is pretty well provided. 
 
 The higher requirements of the dwellers here are 
 also met to a great extent. Each branch of the 
 Friends' Society has a meeting house, and of 
 churches there are six — the Protestant Episcopal, 
 the- Baptist, the Methodist Episcopal, the Metho- 
 dist Protestant, the African Methodist and the 
 Roman Catholic. Regular services are held in 
 each, and each has a well conducted Sunday School 
 connected with it. 
 
 The importance of education is fully realized and 
 and adequate provision is made for it. Besides the 
 well conducted and thoroughly equipped public 
 school, there are the Academy and the High 
 School, under the control of the two branches of 
 the Friends' Society. In either of them a thor- 
 ough mastery of the higher branches may be ob- 
 tained. Competent private teachers impart musical 
 instruction to those desiring it. A well provided 
 library offers excellent opportunities to intelligent 
 readers and current literature, in the shape of daily 
 newspapers, the magazines and the last new books, 
 is obtainable at any time. The postoffice distributes 
 three or four mails each day excepting Sundays, 
 and by means of it and the telegraph and telephone, 
 contact with the outside world is fully maintained^ 
 
350 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 The mcJical prof^^ssion lias always maintained a 
 liigh rank in Moorestown. Eminent names appcar 
 in its anna' • -names that carried weight and 
 authority far beyond the sphere of their immediate 
 activity. The profession still maintains its high 
 standard here. Skilful practitioners in both the 
 leading schools of medicine and in surgery and 
 dentistry are in active practise, and render sickness 
 and pain as little formidable as doctors may. There 
 are lawyers also well ' skilled in the intricacies of 
 legal requirements, and with their learnmg at the 
 command of any who may need, it. 
 
 Moorestown, like most other places, is not an 
 ideal abiding place. It lacks some things which 
 it might wtU have, and has some things which it 
 ■well might lack. To say that its good qualities far 
 outnumber the other kind is to say very little, and 
 is to state a fact already abundantly proved by the 
 rapidity with which strangers have established 
 liomes here in recent years, and by the number of 
 -other strangers who are all the time following their 
 example. A fair way to state the case is to say 
 that the virtues of Moorestown are positive, and' its 
 faults negative. Its sins are mostly sins of omission. 
 Enough has been told in the preceding chapters of 
 this book to show that the old town has a 
 reserve of wholesome and well directed energy 
 sufficient to supply all important omissions. She 
 lias done a e^ood deal in that direction, and is all 
 
 i 
 
MOORESTOWN TO-DAY. 35 I 
 
 Che time doing more. The process is not a rapid 
 one, but perhaps that is as well. What progress 
 there is is in the right direction, and a carefully 
 considered step, once taken, does not have to be 
 retraced. After a journey of two centuries any 
 town may well fall into a leisurely pace. So that 
 the step is vigorous and firm it may be all the 
 better for not being rapid. Stumbles are avoided, 
 .and stumbles arc awkward tilings. 
 
' Chapter XXIII. . 
 
 Moorestown in igoc 
 
 'AY we all live to see what Moorestown is- 
 iSImII ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ y^^^ 1900! It is not a verv 
 i^y^^<^ extravagant aspiration although it sounds- 
 ^^Si^^j a little as if it were. Closing accounts 
 ^ with one century, and opening a new set 
 
 of books for business with another century seems 
 like a very momentous transaction which must 
 necessarily be a long way off in the future. But, 
 when we consider the matter, the Nineteenth Cen- 
 tury cannot possibly hold out more than fourteen 
 years longer. 
 
 But a great many things can happen in the space 
 of fourteen years; and it is interesting to speculate 
 on the character of the happenings in I^vloorestown 
 in the interval. Judging from the past and the 
 present the old town v/ill occupy the time in going 
 forward from good to better, and at an accelerated 
 pace. Things that are desirable will be more readily 
 brought to pass, and things that are undesirable 
 will be more promptly done away with. The com- 
 munity will more and more fully realize the capa- 
 
AluuKi'-b i wvv i\ lis 
 
 3S3 
 
 •bilitics of the place, and will be more and more 
 ready to develop them in the right way. 
 
 In the year 1900 there will be a good deal larger 
 town on the Moorestown ridge than now occupies 
 it. Its Western limit will have been pushed a 
 .goodly distance below the Forks of the Road, and 
 its Eastern bound will be considerably above Fair 
 Ground Avenue. Between the two extremes the 
 space on Main' street, Second street, Third street 
 and the cross streets will have been filled up. The 
 Eastern end of the tov/n in particular, will have 
 developed in a manner to surprise the resident who 
 goes away now and comes back then. Not only 
 will Main street be lined with homes, but other 
 streets will have been opened and built upon, and 
 the fields of to-day will be the lawns and door-yards 
 -of 1900. 
 
 North of the railr.^' I an equally noticeable change 
 will have been crr.cted. Not only will the filling- 
 up process keep on East of Chester avenue, but it 
 will spread to the Westward ; and a goodly share 
 of the space between Chester avenue and Church 
 Road will be laid off in streets and the streets for 
 a considerable distance to the North will be well 
 built up. Not all the space will be occupied, but a 
 good deal of it will be. 
 
 In the year 1900 Main street will no longer form 
 the Southern limit of the town. By that time peo- 
 
■354 MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 pie will have invaded the slope of the valley to a 
 far greater extent than now. It will have been dis- 
 covered that even steep places can be terraced, and 
 that the smooth and level places in the world arc 
 not always and necessarily the best. 
 
 A community of such proportions and such ex- 
 pansive force will strongly desire to manage its 
 ovv'n affairs, and the desire will have crystalized into 
 an act of incorporation. Moorestown will have its 
 own local government in the year 1900, and will no 
 longer be merely a v/ell built up part of Chester 
 township. This result will not be attained at once, 
 or v/ithout much balancing of opposing considera- 
 tions. In the end, however, the considerations for 
 will outv/eigh those against, and the thing will be 
 accomplished. 
 
 The Telford pavement is already on its way, and 
 when Main street has demonstrated to the rest of 
 the town what a thoroughly desirable thing a well 
 paved streeet is, the other streets of the place will 
 emulate its excellence and have good pavements of 
 their own, of one sort or another. The sidewalks, 
 also, will declare their independence of mud, and 
 '* falling weather" will leave but a slight and trans- 
 ient record under foot Some portion of this 
 improvement — not all of it — will wait for local self- 
 government to carry it into effect; but the year 
 1003 will see it accomplisliod. 
 
MOORESTOWN IN 1900. 
 
 Streets and sidewalks are for use in tiic evening 
 as well as in the day time. Here and there a public 
 spirited citizen recognizes that great truth, and 
 honors his conviction by hanging a reflecting lamp 
 on the front of his house, or setting up a lamp-po:,t 
 at his front gate. Every wayfarer whose feet these 
 beacons save from stumbling blesses in his heart 
 the man who lighted that lamp. And there are 
 many such wayfarers, every night in the year; for 
 the times have changed since those leisurely years 
 when all legitimate business that was not concluded 
 by sunset could wait until the next day, and when 
 all respectable people were expected to be in bed 
 by nine o'clock. By the year 1900 the community 
 •as a whole will have recognized this fact, and Vv-ill 
 have proclaimed its recognition of it by having all 
 the streets lighted by some ad -<|uate public system 
 of illumination. The system -..dopted may involve 
 the use of the electric light; it may require only 
 oil lamps, or it may make use of some agent not 
 dreamed of now — so rapid is the advance of prac- 
 tical ideas. But whatever the means employed, the 
 public streets will, without doubt, be publicly 
 lighted. 
 
 Another public want will have demanded and 
 obtained public recognition. It may not have been 
 fully met and satisfied by the end of this century, 
 but progress will have been made in that direction. 
 
J ^6 MOORESTUWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 A community of such proportions as JMoorestown 
 is to attain cannot always depehd on wells and 
 rain-filled tanks for its water supply. A system of 
 general distribution from some source will be 
 devised and carried into effect. 
 
 One potent influence that will work toward this 
 end will be the necessity for an adequate and reli- 
 able source of supply in case of fire. For by the 
 year 1900 we shall have got beyond depending 
 wholly on Providence and a hand-engine for pro- 
 tection against the flames. Some organized method 
 -of defense will have been adopted, and adequate 
 appliances will be at command. 
 
 It would be a blessed worid if every man could 
 afford to own the home in which he desires to 
 shelter his family. Unhappily every man cannot, 
 so very many must pay rent. Unhappily, again, a 
 large proportion of these cannot afford to live in 
 large houses and pay large rent for them. And the 
 class so unfortunately circumscribed as to money 
 resources includes a goodly number of intelligent, 
 educated and refined men and women ; people 
 whom any community is the better for having 
 among its elements, and whose coming any com- 
 munity would do well to invite and encourage. 
 This state of things will be more thoroughly realized 
 here in the year 1900 than it now is, and more 
 complete provision will have been made for the 
 
MOORESTOWN IN 1900. 
 
 357 
 
 accommodation of the class of people referred to. 
 The owners of property, and the men having money 
 to invest will see that a safe and profitable thing to 
 do is to erect moderate sized houses — prettily de- 
 signed, conveni@*itly«ift«?yi^edan*d pleasantly located 
 — and to offer them at a moderate rental to the 
 men who draw small salaries but who nevertheless 
 object to living in it!-contrived and badly placed 
 homes. 
 
 With the increase of population there will be an 
 ever increasing pressure of the strong necessity, 
 common to human nature everywhere, for relaxa- 
 tion and entertainment. Individuals and communi- 
 ties must have varied opportunities for pleasure, and 
 will find or make s\$€h oi^^i'tunities. In times past 
 the Moorestown Literary Association demonstrated 
 how ready this community was to welcome and 
 pay for good intellectual recreation a quarter of a 
 century ago. It would welcome the opportunity 
 still more eagerly to-day, if the opportunity were 
 offered it. For the most part people are not dis- 
 p.osed to ride t© l^i^^ff^ S^r ^ e-v^i-rfng's ^nterta*^- 
 ment, pay car fare in addition to the admission fee, 
 hurry out to catch the train before the end of the 
 lecture or performance, and get back to their homes 
 after midnight. So they go without their evening's 
 entertainment. But they want it all the same. 
 
 Before the year 1900 they will have Ihe opportu- 
 
35 S MOORESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 
 
 nity for it afforded them here at home. Neither 
 opera nor theatricals will be among the resources 
 presented ; but there will be good lectures, good 
 concei-ts, good readings and good scientific demon- 
 strations. These are all available for Moorestown, 
 and these Moorestown will surely have, to its great 
 enjoyment and advantage. 
 
 Of course an adequate and fitting place for such 
 entertainments will have been provided. Business 
 enterprise and public spirit will have combined to 
 produce a public hall in which the entertainers can 
 appear with every advantage, and in which the 
 audiencd can sit through an evening in comfort and 
 enjoyment. It will be commodious enough to 
 accommodate the largest audience the population 
 will contribute. It will be elegant in an unpreten- 
 tious way, and will be as comfortable as thorough 
 Ventilation, good heating arrangements and the 
 best seating contrivances can make it. The audi- 
 ence will be safe from fire, and from the worse 
 danger of panic, because of exits ample for the most 
 pressing emergency; and there'will be a thorough 
 protection against the disorderly element. It will 
 be a place to which the most refined can go with 
 pleasure; and through the agency of an association 
 or a public committee, the public will be regularly 
 and frequently invited to an evening's enjoyment 
 there. 
 
MOORESTOWN IN 1900. -scg 
 
 Moorestovvn as it is to-day, with its opportunities 
 for healthful comfort and quiet happiness, is a dwel- 
 ling place good to see and most good to live in ; 
 but with these added advantages supplementing 
 and rounding out its present excellence, what rural 
 or suburban town can surpass Moorestown in.1900 ? 
 
I. W. HEULINGS' SONS, 
 
 DEALERS IN 
 
 H 
 
 -^ ^} 
 
 1. 
 
 LIME, FERTILIZERS, 
 
 Doors, Sasli, Biis, Mers. loiiR U, 
 
 Established 1841. 
 YARDS AT 
 
 MOORESTOV/N, 
 
 RIVERTON, and 
 
 FORK LANDING, 
 
 ISTeT^ Terse3r- 
 
GEO. W. HEATON, 
 
 N. E. corner Main and Church Streets, MOORESTOWN, N, J., 
 Dealer in 
 
 First -Class Groceries, Dry Goods, 
 
 NOTIONS, HARDWARE, 
 
 BOOTS, SHOES, CROCKERY, ETC., ETC. 
 
 Ready Mixed Paints, Oils, Etc, at the Lowest Market Price. 
 
 V^ALTON'S 
 MOORESTOWN EXPRESS 
 
 Established 1876. 
 
 All Errands to the City and other Business 
 Transacted Promptly and on 
 Reasonable Terms. 
 H^P. WALTON. 
 
 The Old Reliable Bakery, 
 
 Established in 1851. 
 
 JOHN H. EISELE, successor to GEO. P. EISELE, Sr. 
 
 BOSTON HOME-MADE BREAD a Specialty. 
 
 t3;"9,=. Plain Cakes and Pies always on hand. All Fancy Cake Made to Order. 
 
 Main St,, 31ooreMoiV7i, seco^id door above Totvu Hall, 
 
 All Orders Filled at shortest notice. Prices as low as the lowest. Our Goods speak 
 for themselves. 
 
 ioersstown Fernitare ianefaeterf 
 
 — AND — ' 
 
 HOUSE-FURNISHING STORE. 
 Upholstering and House-Furnishing a Specialty. 
 
 GILBERT AITKEN, MOORESTOWN, N. J. \ 
 
MOORESTOWN PHARMACY, 
 
 IN BURR'S BUILDING, MAIN STREET, 
 
 At all times can be found 
 
 Pure Drnp ai Clieniicals, Toilet aM Fauci Articles. 
 
 Pure Wines and Liquors, for Medicinal Use Only. The preparing of Physicians* 
 Prescriptions a Specialty. Always have on hand a full line of fure Spices, whole 
 and ground. An extensive assortment of Patent Medicines always on hand at Manu- 
 FACTUKEKs' Retail Pkices. Orders received and answered with care and dispatch. 
 
 T7;7'.i^I-iTE:i^ S. X^EETTE, I=li.a,mcia,cist. 
 
 BOOTS AND SHOES 
 
 The Best and 
 
 Most Popular Styles for Ladies and 
 
 Gentlemen Always in Stock. 
 
 CUSTOM WORK A SPECIALTY. 
 
 Rubber Goods, 
 
 Of the Best Quality and in Every Variety. 
 
 TRUiNKS, VALISES, SATCHELS, ETC. 
 
 Main St., Moorestown, next Methodist Church. 
 
 JOHN C. BELTON, 
 
 {Formerly vnth the late Sam' I Jones,) I 
 
 ~| 
 
 UNDERtAKER,?^^ 
 
 New Jersey. 
 
MOORESTOWN 
 
 SMALL FMT AND PLAIT FARl 
 
 STRAWBERRIES, APPLES, 
 
 RASPBERRIES, PEACHES, 
 
 BLACKBERRIES, PEARS, &c 
 
 Stock Miverefl Free in tlie Vicinity of Moorestown. 
 
 CATALOOUES FSSE TO THOSE WHO AFFL7. 
 
 S. C. DeCOU, 
 
 Moorestown, Burlington Co., New Jersey 
 
 Ladies Furnishing Goods, 
 TRIMMIMS, PATTERNS, FINE DRY gOODS 
 
 NOTIONS, EMBB0IDEI17 MATERIALS, &c 
 
 Full ahd complete lines, at reasonable prices, at the Ladies' Furnishiii 
 Store of 
 
 ESTHER STILES, 
 
 South Side Main Street, Moorestown, N. J„ between the Bank and t 
 Town Hall. 
 

 
 
 <" 
 
 
 IK. 
 

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