Notes on
"A History of Early Morris Plain"by Julia BeersNote from page 31: Julia Beers finished her history in about 1929, but it was never published during her lifetime. She died in Morris Plains on August 16, 1955 and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery on Martin Luther King Avenue in Morristown. The following are some of my notes from the book A History of Early Morris Plains by Julia Beers, BKB. | Bryant, Gregory, Turner, Marvin, Canfield, Todd, Johnson, Fairchild, Wilson, Jennings, Benjamin, Beers, and Ayres | - Most or all of whom were early settlers.
| | Losey, Trowbridge & Raynor families | - settled on the north side of the Minisink Path on the east slope of the mountain known in that day as Trowbridge Mountain
| | Old families | - Mr. & Mrs. William Ayers
- Mr. & Mrs. Aldridge Leading (Mr. Leasing married Nancy Youngs of Mount Freedom)
- Mr. & Mrs. William Blanchard
- Mrs. Colby, widow of Thomas Colby
| | Families in or near Littleton | Tuttle, Tunis, Davis & Masker, Lookis, Shelley, Condict, Johnson & Walker | | Hospital brought citizens to Morris Plains | James Frazer, John Hensler, Richard Kinsella, Andrew Murphey, James Coulter and Thomas McCune. Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Logan also settled here. | | Civil War Vol. | William Drake
Ferdinand Campfield
William Beers
Theodore Rily
James Fairchild
others | | Other names | - Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Vansyckle
- Mr. & Mrs. Theodore Roff
- Mrs. Clarence Talmage, who is a descendent of Daniel Evans
- James McNeil, son of James McNeil, Sr. who died a number of years ago, aged eighty years
| | Irish immigrants to Morris Plains | McNeill, Drake, Coleman, O'Neil, Gorman, Cooney, Martin, Cummins, Elliot | | ALEXANDER, Joseph | - built a paper mill on the site of the Valley Road forge 80 years later
- paper mill pond owned 1844 to 1861 or thereabouts
- brother of James
- died in 1899, aged 95
- had son, James Brant, was still living on the Valley Road in 1930
| | AYERS, William | - Branchard house moved nearer to the hospital & at the time of this writing is occupierd by William Ayers, superintendent of the state farm
| | BALL, Abraham | - daughter, widow Mrs. Faitoute
| | BEERS, Henry | | | BEERS | - grandfather of the writer went there to school [Old Stone School House], and he was born in 1786
| | Betts | - Old Betts house was also moved to the same place [nearer the hospital]. Betts was an early settler, too.
| | BOYD, John | - descendant of the Boyd family of Ireland
| | BOYD, Mrs John | - was of the DeHart family of Mount Freedom
| | Branchet | - The name is now called Branchard
| | BRYANT | - A Bryant who settled in Mendham is said to have led the first colony into Morris County about 1744
| | BURNHAM, Gordon | - only daughter, Julia, married Byron Sherman and died at the homestead only a few years ago
| | BUSHNELL, Joseph | - daughter, Mrs. Elias A. Ames
| | CALDWELL, Margaret | - wife of Isaac Canfield
- started the first Morris Plains Sunday School in the Old Stone School House in 1816
| | CAMPFIELD, Alvin | - member of a southern family living on the Plains
| | CANFIELD, Herbert | - grandson of Margaret Caldwell Canfield
| | CANFIELD, Hobart | - son of Dayton I. Canfield
- married a Ford, the sister of the wife of his brother J. Lovell
| | CANFIELD, J. Lovell | - son of Dayton I. Canfield and Cornelia Charlotte Wetmore and grandson of Isaac and Margaret Caldwell Canfield, the daughter of Reverend James Caldwell of Springfield
- married a Ford, the sister of the wife of his brother Hobart
- daughter, Mrs. Louisa Canfield Ferris
| | CANFIELD, Mrs. Lovell | - great-granddaughter of Jacob Ford, Jr.
| | CANFIELD, Dayton K. | | | CLARK, Isaac | - owned a grocery store
- daughter, Abby, married Reverend William Fryling, pastor of the Presbyterian Church
| | COLMAN, John | - married Ruth O. Stiles, daughter of J. Hazen Stiles
| | CONDICT, Dr. Lewis | - two sons, Silas and Nathan, both practicing physicians in Morristown
| | COBB, George T. | - killed in a railroad accident with J. Boyd Headley
| | COOPER, James J. | - married Deacon Pruden's daughter (Hester Jane Pruden, daughter of Stephen A. Pruden)
| | CUTLER, Jesse | - son of James, became a lawyer
| | ELLIOT, James | - died very recently at his home here, aged 87
| | EVANS, Daniel | - father of Bishop Evans who bought the David Trowbridge place
| | FAIRCHILD, Josiah | - a daughter was the first missionary from Morris Plains. She married Calbe C. Baldwain and went to China with him.
| | FAIRCHILD, David | - one of several brothers (one brother named Franklin)
| | Freeman | - name of another of the earlier pioneers
- house on the raod leading from the state hospital to Dover
| | GRANT, Robert | - a Scotsman
- daughter married Nehemiah, son of Charles Johnson
| | GRAY, Richard | | | GREGORY, Seth | - conducted the other inn located on the Plains
- Captain in Washington's Army
- daughter, Mary, in 1852 kept a small private school in the house
- granddaughter - Mrs. Maria Gregory Reiley
| | GREGORY, Seth Odell | | | HEADLEY, J. Boyd | - killed in a railroad accident with George T. Cobb
| | ILLINGWORTH, John | - daugher, Miss Ann Illingworth
| | JOHNSON, Fletcher | | | JOHNSON, Charles | - settled on the Valley Road probably 1810 or thereabouts.
| | JOHNSON, Henry | - son of Charles Johnson
- operated a sawmill on the family estates back of the homestead
| | JOHNSON, Henry H. | - lived & died in his home on Valley Road
| | JOHNSON, Nehemiah | - brother of Henry H. Johnson
- taught school in the Old Stone School House, 1845 or 1850
| | LAMPSON, Eleazer | - relative of the old family of Lampsons of Millbrook near Dover
| | LOSEY, William | - bought the land from the Indians
| | LORD, J. Couper | - daughter, Mrs. Benjamin Nicoll
- nephew, Reverend John C. Lord
| | MARVIN, Dr. Jonathan D. | - Puff's Tavern, was later owned and occupied for may years by Dr. Marvin & family, who came here about the year 1830.
| | MARVIN, Dr. Cornelius | - only son of Dr. J.D. Marvin
- practiced in Brooklyn, where he died some years ago
| | MARVIN, Dr. J.D. | - one unmarried daughter remained on the old homestead until her father's death
- other daughter married and for years her home was in Newark
| | MOORE | - Tradition says that the site for the Old Stone School House was given by a Frenchman named Moore, probably the same one that was a partner with Stiles & Gregory in 1764
| | MOORE, Eunice | - daughters were Eunice and Harriet Todd
- son, Isaac Todd was a Presbyterian minister
- wife of Robert Todd
- she was the daughter of Stephen Moore and Eunice Ford
| | NUNN, John H., jr. | - Dr. Marvin's house is now the property of Mr. Nunn. The house is probably two hundred years old. There was a graveyard on this place as old as the house.
| | Old Hank | - A slave belonging to the Vail family.
- boarded for many years with Mr. & Mrs. John Nunn, Sr.
| | OWEN, Barly | - Civil War veteran, Gettysburg
| | PIERSON, Jesse | - Trowbridge owned the place that he purchased
- build his house opposite the present TB Hospital & turned the Trowbridge house into a wagon shed
| | PIERSON, Leonard | - now in India in the employ of the Standard Oil Comapny, is a grandson of the Jesse Pierson just mentioned
| | PIERSON, Thomas | - first English settler to come to Morris Plains
- 1685 established a saw mill on Thomson's Pond
| | RILEY, Maria Gregory | - niece of Miss Mary Gregory
| | ROBERTS, Jonathan W. | - died in 1912, his wife having died in 1894
- niece, Mrs. Willard W. Cutler
| | SMITH, Abrahm | - descendant of the early Smiths of Morris County
| | SMITH, Frederick | - son, Grenville, and 2 daughters, Grenella and Grenora
| | STILES, H. Jonathan | - came to the Plains in 1727
| | STILES, Isaac | - came to New England in 1634 in the ship Christian. Their English home was in Milbroke, Bedfordshire, England.
- Grandfather of H. Jonathan Stiles
| | STILES, Ebenezer | - son of H. Jonathan Stiles
- owned Shongum Lake, near Millbrook
- member of the firm of Gregory, Stiles & Moore
- firm owned & operated a forge in 1764 on Valley Road
| | STILES, Ebenezer | - grandson of Jonathan, gave his sons John, Ezra and Moses portions of his estate.
| | STILES, Lewis Burnet | - inherited the old homestead
| | STILES, Lewis Ogden | - son of Lewis Burnet Stiles
- editor of the Morristown weekly newspaper The Jerseyman from 1869 to 1895
| | STILES, Abraham Ogden | - became a physician and practiced for many years in Warren County
| | STILES, J. Hazen | - son of John Stiles
- his only daughter married John Coleman
| | STILES, J. Hazen | - prominent man on Morris Plains
- was a school trustee
| | STILES, Josephine | - granddaughter of Ezram, married Wilbur Johnson
| | STILES, Mrs. Ezra | - widow later married M.R. Bean of New York City
| | STILES, Ebenezer, Jr. | - died on the Stiles Homestead in 1839
- son, Lewis B., sold the homestead & removed to Morristown where he died in 1873
| | STILES, Moses | - brother of Ebenezer
- his widow was known as "Aunt Sallie"
- daughter, Jane, married Stephen Tunis
| | STRALY, Mrs. | - descendant of the Coe family of Mt. Freedom
| | TAYLOR, Augusta | - died in Washington, D.C. in 1927 aged over 93.
- only son, Isaac
| | TODD, Daivd | - married Hannah, sister of Deacon Edward Howell of Littleton
| | TROWBRIDGE, Lige (Elijah) | - son of Abraham Trowbridge
- brother-in-law was Harvey Wilson
| | TROWBRIDGE, Thompson | - taught school in the Old Stone School House
- son of David Trowbridge
| | TUNIS, Stephen | - married Moses' daughter Jane
| | TUNIS, Mrs. | - her mother was Sally Stiles
| | VAIL, David | - father of Theodore N. Vail
| | VAIL, George | - son of Judge Stephen Vail
| | VAIL, Judge Stephen | - had son, George
- great-granddaughters, the Misses Lidgerwood
| | WHITNEY, Stephen S. | | | WILSON, Sarah | | | WRIGHT, Dr. | - husband of Julia McNair Wright, authoress
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