Manuscript Group 159, Randolph Township, New Jersey Township Committee Minute book, 1806-1835
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Manuscript Group 159, Randolph Township, New Jersey Township Committee
Minute book, 1806-1835, 0.02 linear feet / 1 volume
Call Number: MG 159
Proceedings of a committee established “agreeable to an act of Assembly for setting off and making the Township of Randolph passed at Trenton on the 13th day of November 1805.” Randolph Township was formed from Mendham Township on January 1, 1806. Minutes of town meetings, including accounts of overseers of the poor.
In 1713, John Reading surveyed and sold portions of the land that would become Randolph Township. Most of the early settlers in this area were Quakers. The township itself was formed in 1805 from land formally in Mendham Township. The new township was named after Hartshorn Fitz Randolph and was located in the middle of Morris County, New Jersey. While the hilly country was not good for agriculture, it was rich in iron ore deposits and led to the development of a successful mining industry in the 19th century. The Dickerson and Succasunna mines were located in Randolph Township.
Source:
A History of Morris County, New Jersey (New York, NY: Lewis Historical Publishing, 1914).
The source of this collection is unknown.
This collection contains one volume of the Proceedings of the Township Committee established when Randolph Township was formed out of Mendham Township on January 1, 1806. The Committee began with joint meetings of the townships of Mendham and Randolph. The minutes contain chronological entries that discuss the collection of taxes, paupers who were “farmed out” and for whom money was disbursed. For example the Overseers of the Poor, a township committee, gave assistance to the widow Sarah Osborne (a pauper), who simultaneously collected $100 from Elizabethtown (1806). It also built a house for Daniel Aber, who later became a tenant (1807-1817) and supplied Phebe Little with a “pension” (1821). Overseers of the Poor and the Roads included Ebenezer Coe (1755-1839), Stephen Conger (fl. 1806-1835), John Dalyrymple (fl. 1806-1835), Joshua Mott (fl. 1806-1835), and others. The minutes also contain notes on the election of chairmen, special appointments, “salary” payments, and township budgets.
The records consist primarily of minutes but also contain accounts such as the collection and dispersal of township revenue including poor, road, dog, and “peddlar’s” taxes, and fines accrued from the selling of stray animals. Other monetary transactions include the settling of financial disputes, payrolls for road workers, notes on “bad” money, and charges for “dog damage.”
Related Collections:
For more information on New Jersey Overseers of the Poor see:
Manuscript Group 85, Chester Township, NJ Overseers of the Poor Records
Manuscript Group 1024, Livingston Overseers of the Poor Records
Manuscript Group 1034, East Windsor Township, New Jersey Overseers of the Poor Account Book
Processed by James Lewis, July 2001 as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission.
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