Morgan, New Jersey

All about Morgan, New Jersey

Archive for April, 2011

Posted by Verne James on April 24, 2011

Morgan Memos – Reconnaissance for General Washington

Note to General Washington
June 26, 1778 Note from Capt James Morgan to General George Washington. Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

I about fell out of my chair the other night while I was surfing!  Well, that statement wouldn’t have made any sense 20 years ago but it does now.  I was on the Library of Congress web site, though I don’t recall how I ended up there, and did the simple query, “James Morgan”.  The top four search responses left me astonished and speechless.

In June 1778 in the midst of America’s Revolutionary War against Britain, the British, under Lieutenant General Henry Clinton, were evacuating Philadelphia and marching toward Sandy Hook in order to get onto ships to sail across Raritan Bay to the British stronghold of New York City.  General George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the American forces, was determined that the British were not going to get away from the American forces without a fight and was looking for an opportunity to attack them.  On June 28, he did just that but only after he had to relieve Major General Charles Lee of command.  This battle, called The Battle of Monmouth, occurred in present day Freehold – just 14 miles from Morgan, NJ.

While there was no obvious victor in this battle, it is notable for a number of reasons: it was the last major battle of the war to occur in the northern states, it was the longest battle between the two main armies, it was the largest battle of the war in terms of the number of participants in a one day battle (over 21,000), and the legend of Molly Pitcher.

In the days immediately surrounding the Battle of Monmouth, Captain James Morgan of the 2nd Regiment Middlesex County militia and the land owner of present day Morgan NJ, sent a number of reconnaissance notes to “His Excelency Genriel Washanton” describing British activities on and around Raritan Bay.  His property was the perfect place to observe the whole of Raritan Bay as from it one could see all of it; from the mouth of the Raritan River at Perth/South Amboy, up the Kill Van Kull, across Staten Island, to Coney Island, Brooklyn, Sandy Hook and all down the Monmouth County coast line.  Its location as the bay’s central vantage point was essentially confirmed by the 1887 Raritan Bay Boundary Commission (see postings from March 21, March 25, and April 4, 2010) when the commissioners chose the point named “Morgan 2” as the vertex of an angle bisecting the bay.

The George Washington Papers Collection at the Library of Congress has four such notes from Capt. James Morgan to General George Washington available for viewing.

I have asked Ms. Carol Kadi, one of my dedicated Sayreville War Memorial High School history teachers and my mentor from the Sayreville Historical Society, for help with trying to transcribe these four messages from Capt. James Morgan to General Washington.  Capt. Morgan wrote utilizing the high technology of the day, a quill, and while his handwriting is occasionally legible, it isn’t always. There is no punctuation, the spelling is often questionable, and there are some grammatical issues. Regardless, it is absolutely thrilling to see these notes – especially knowing that at the time the British were on the move toward Sandy Hook in a coordinated effort to evacuate via water.  No doubt Capt. Morgan saw a lot of nautical activity relating to this evacuation.

Though we haven’t been able to fully and correctly transcribe all the notes yet, and I’m not 100% certain in all cases the words we selected below are the actual words Capt. James Morgan wrote, this is what we have transcribed to date. Words we are unsure of are followed by a question mark.  Words we can’t decipher at all are represented by double question marks.  Words in brackets are clarifications to what was literally interpreted/written.

South Amboy June 26th 1778

Sir this comes to in form you that the
ships in and smal bots is comin to ??
?? and the Enemy is advencin? tord? Middle?[advancing toward Middle-]
Town I am out of horses to send entligence? [intelligence?]
from your Humbel Sarvant

James Morgan Capt

To
His Exaclency Genriel Washenton

South Amboy June 26th 1778

Sir
According to you order I have cut? down?
all the bridges and this morning was on the
shouer?[shore]  and cnt see anny shiping or bots
mor [more] then yesorday But a Hors? man from
freehold informs me the Enemey is thare? [there]
and in ful? Body? so? no? move? But Remain
your Exelency most Humbel Servent
James Morgan Capt

South Amboy June 28th 1778 Sunday after noon

Sir
This comes to inform you that there is three or four
ships now at the Huck [Hook, i.e., Sandy Hook] I think  very ner [near] the shouer [shore]
with ¬?? of forty? sale [sail?]of ships? and ??
?? in the ?? Iam in formed that there is
agrat maney [a great many] flat bottom bots on the east side of Stat [Staten]
Island this morning  I had a man in middeltown
he informed me thar [there] was no enmey thar [enemy there] yet on
the south side of the Island thare [there] is but one
armed ?? and two? small bots The
?? from the Hook? ?? ?? and
Repars?? [repairs] in Very Much Sir iam [I am] your most
Humble? Servent   James Morgan Capt

To
His Excelency Genriel Washenton

South Amboy June 29th 1778

Sir this comes to inform you that a great quantity
of small brigs and gunnery and boats came from
towards New York and went into the JseryShore? [Jersey Shore?]
this morning about two o’clock I have came in from
about twenty eight ??
?? four large ships stowed for York and sum[some]
small ones in all eighteen at the same time five
ships coming from New York tords (towards) the huck (hook)
the germen? that is stationed? in Amboy Bay is there
yet and on the south side of the  Island there? is four
small bots and they cross near us but don’t come ashore
?? but abot (a boat) landed a few men? at Ceesaquak? [Cheesequake?]
But as near by could ?? at the distance ?? ches what ??
With the bots. I have nothing more but Remain your
Humbel Servent James Morgan Capt.

Four oclock
To
His Exceleney Generil
Washanton

The movie “The Patriot” is about an American family during Revolutionary War times where the son joins the militia and later the father, a soldier from an earlier war, gets reluctantly dragged into the conflict.  Upon joining the militia, the father gets appointed to a senior rank and requests for his son to be put in his militia unit.  As I watched it, I couldn’t help but think about Captain James Morgan and his two sons, James and Nicholas.  James Morgan, Jr., fought in his father’s 2nd Regiment Middlesex County battalion and would, some 30 years later, become a Major General as well as a member of the House of Representatives.  The Captain’s other son, Nicholas, also served in his father’s battalion but was killed during the conflict by the British while on patrol in the area.  Can you imagine? Nicholas was buried in the family cemetery in Morgan.  In later times both James, Sr. and James, Jr. would also be buried in the Morgan Cemetery next to each other and close to Nicholas.

Here again, I reflect on sitting at our dining room table in 3rd grade and thinking that the Revolutionary War happened so far away from Morgan, NJ when in fact, it happened in my back yard and the largest one day battle of the Revolutionary War occurred less than 15 miles away.

I had heard that James Morgan had personally known General Washington but you know how those stories usually go.  While these notes don’t provide evidence that Capt. James Morgan had ever personally met General Washington, their existence does prove that General Washington did at least know of Capt. James Morgan.

If any of you are able to help figure out the exact wording for any portion of these notes, I would be enormously grateful and will update this posting and give you credit.  Please provide your interpretation in the Comments section below.

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Posted by Verne James on April 12, 2011

Morgan Memories – The Boys of Spring

Margol Ford Little League Team Circa 1968. Image Courtesy of Eric Mutter. Front Row - L-R: 1 to 9 Don’t Know!, 4 Eric Mutter, 17 John Wilson, Coach ? Back Row: Coach Richard Prevoznak, 8 & 5 Don’t Know!, 10 Mickey Buckley, 16 Michael Prevoznak, 14 Verne James, 6 Francis Kriesmer, Don’t Know.

There is something about timing – it is said to be “everything”. I had not been able to find my Little League photo from, uh, circa 1968, and then my longest time friend Eric sends me a copy of his.  In my research to find what goes on in Morgan, NJ these days for Little League, I stumble into the fact that Opening Day of the 2011 season is this weekend, 12 noon on Saturday, April 16.  How about that!

The two primary organized youth sporting activities in Morgan in the late 1960s were baseball and football.  Perhaps there was something else but not to my knowledge.  Most likely, perhaps Kozy Lanes had a bowling league until it morphed into Club Bene.  At the time, Soccer was a little known and even lesser understood commodity.  In my case soccer was a totally unknown commodity. I’ll cover football in a later posting – this one is about baseball.  While the baseball teams were not organized through Jesse Selover Elementary School, the two baseball fields were right next to it.  Today there are three baseball fields next to Selover.

When the boys from Morgan Avenue and Dodd Place played baseball during the Spring and Summer, we used either sponge or whiffle balls and played on the street.  There was a specific street and a specific place on that street.  Probably we used chalk to mark the bases on Morgan Avenue just north of Willow Street.  Looking back as an adult (or so I’m told), I guess I can now understand why Sadie Dowdell didn’t like getting her window broken by a foul ball.  BTW, while I don’t think the Sadie Dowdell who lived on Morgan Avenue was the same Sadie Dowdell who was the long term South Amboy Librarian and name sake of the current South Amboy Library, what are the odds of there being two people with that same unique name living in the same area?  Sorry Ms. Dowdell.  The kids really did treat you terribly. Some of them have since told me how much they regret their childhood behavior toward you.

There were three levels of leagues then and, for all I can tell, perhaps there are still three levels of leagues.  All games were played in Morgan between the various different Morgan teams. There was no travel involved for “Away Games” since there weren’t any.

The first level was called something I can’t imagine it would still be called: Midget League.  I don’t know the exact age range for this league but we were the youngest kids.  The field we played on was the one right next to Selover’s driveway at the northwest intersection of Woodland Avenue and Jersey Street.  Memories of most of this time period have fully faded away for me but I recall playing catcher a lot.

The highest level was the Babe Ruth League. This was for the oldest boys, pre-High School I think, and was played on a field at the bottom of the hill behind Christ Church Cemetery.  I was never in this league so I can’t say anything about it.

The middle level, and the one I have some memories of, was Little League.  I don’t recall how many different teams there were at the time but each team was sponsored by a local business or community based organization. My team was Margol Ford.  Ironically to this day I have no idea where Margol Ford was physically located.

Each team had a unique accent color for their uniforms, specifically the color of the baseball cap and the color of the number on the shirt.  These are the team names and colors that I remember (or don’t remember):

  • Gabriel Tire – Royal Blue
  • Lions – Red (Orange?)
  • Margol Ford – Purple
  • Morgan Liquor Store – ?
  • Sun Valley Furniture – Green

Eric was on Margol Ford with me, Eric’s brother Mark was on Morgan Liquor Store, and our other childhood friend Rick was on Sun Valley Furniture.

Gabriel Brothers
Gabriel Brothers Little League Team on Parade Circa 1960 Something. Photo Courtesy of John Harris.

From memory, the season began with a Morgan Lions Club pancake breakfast in the cafeteria/auditorium of Jesse Selover Elementary School.  No doubt this was a fund raiser for the Lions (and their Little League team) but it also was a way for them to provide the community with one of their primary passions, the administration of vision examinations.  Lined up next to the stage was a series of eye exam machines staffed by one of the very dedicated members of the Lions Club International including our wonderful neighbor Andy.  No one could have had a better neighbor than Andy (except perhaps Andy).

According to Diane Norek Harrison, who writes the “Remembering the Past” feature for the on-line newspaper NJToday.net, the Morgan Lions Club was chartered in May 1954 with Sayreville Lions Club as their sponsors. They were charted as the Bayview Lions Club in 1958.

Following the pancake breakfast was the procession of Little League teams down Lincoln Street or Jersey Street, right onto South Pine Avenue, right on another street – probably Bayview Ave, then back to the Little League field for the first game.  According to Christina DiPoalo Olender, daughter of Morgan Lumber founder and Morgan Fire Chief John DiPoalo, the Morgan Lumber truck transported the judges along the route and served as the portable public address system.

While my athletic abilities were nothing to write home (or write blog) about, I have to say what stands out most for me was our coach, Mr. Prevoznak.  He was (and still is) the father of my Selover through high school class mate Michael and was one of the most decent, caring, patient and helpful people I have encountered in my 29+ years on this planet.  I recall him helping allay my fears of smacking into the back fence from my illustrious right field position when trying to catch a fly ball out to deep right.  He simply said to back all the way to the fence while feeling for it with your ungloved hand then to come in as necessary.  He also said to always use two hands to catch the ball.  The only way he could have been more accurate was to have told me to use two hands when I dropped the ball.

During this phase of life, those of us in Morgan would go into the candy section of Kaisers Bar on Route 35 (now Covellos Italian Seafood Restaurant) to spend a quarter for a five pack of Topps baseball cards complete with a stick of bubble gum.  Though I lost interest in baseball after the miracle NY Mets won the pennant in 1969, to this day I have my two metal band aid boxes containing my baseball card collection; one for the NY Mets and one for every other team.

For more information about any of the baseball leagues in Morgan, contact someone from the “Contact Info” page of the Sayreville Athletic Association web page.  You can also reminisce further by visiting the Morgan Athletic Association – Midget, Little and Babe Ruth Leagues page on Facebook.  Even better, if you can help name anyone in the photo at the top of this posting, please make an entry in the Comments section below.

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Posted by Verne James on April 2, 2011

Morgan Memories – September 1777 Payroll for the 2nd Battalion of Middlesex County

Signature of Captain James Morgan, Sr.

Signature of Captain James Morgan, Sr.

A copy of the two page September 8 to October 8, 1777 pay roll record for Captain James Morgan’s Company of the 2nd Regiment of Middlesex County, New Jersey was found in the New Jersey State Archives. The pay roll, entirely hand written and dated March 5, 1778, listed Captain James Morgan, Sr. as well as 52 other members of his battalion including Morgan’s son Lieutenant Nicholas Morgan and, while it isn’t clear what the relation is, Sargent Abraham Morgan.  Other early Morgan, NJ surnames are also contained in the pay roll such as Brown, Burlew, Disbrow, Letts, Vorhees, and Warner.

Pay Roll Header

Hand written at the top of this first pay roll page is the following:

A Pay Roll of Capt. James Morgan’s Co. of ye 2d Battalion of Middlesex Militia Station’d at Cheesequakes, by Order from his Excellency Wm. Livingston Esquire, Governor &c of ye State of New Jersey.

The names of the 53 individuals follow and are contained in a pre-Microsoft Excel table showing:

  • Persons Name
  • Commenc’d in Service
  • Time of Absence
  • Time in Service
  • When Discharg’d
  • Monthly Pay
  • Total Amount

You’ll notice that this time period predated dollars and still used the British monetary convention of Pounds, Shillings, and Pence.  There were twenty shillings per pound and twelve pence per shilling.  The rate of pay varied depending on rank.  Capt Morgan was highest paid at 15 pounds per month.  Lieutenants were next highest at 10 pounds, 2 shillings and 6 pence per month (shown as 10 . 2 . 6).  Sargents appear to have been paid 3 pounds per month.  Corporals 2 . 15 and Privates 2 . 10.

Pay Roll - Signature PageThe bottom part of the second page, after the table containing the men’s names, contains verbiage which might have been called the testimonial section.  This section was signed by one of the members of the “Council of Safety” as well as by Captain Morgan.  Seems that the militia was paid by the Council of Safety.  Below is my best guess at what the testimonial section says.  Some of the words are hard to make out.  It’s hard enough to read my own handwriting, guess I am not used to reading quill scratching.  When I wasn’t sure of a word, I followed it by a question mark in parentheses.  If you are able to determine what the actual words really are, please make note of it in the Comments section at the end of this posting and I’ll update the posting to incorporate the corrections.

Pay Roll September 8 1777

On the 5th day of March 1778 before me
Silas Condict, one of the Members of the
Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey
and a Justice of the Peace within the same,
personally appeared Captain James Morgan
who being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelists
of Almighty God did depose(?) today(?) that the
above written Pay Roll contains a just
& true(?) Account of Time of Service of the
Men whose Names are therein mentioned
and that the said Men have faithfully
Served as Militia in actual Service
during this Time in the said Pay Roll
mentioned.

Sworn before Me
Silas Condict

While it is fantastic to be able to see the pay roll, what is more exciting is being able to view a copy of an original signature of Captain James Morgan!

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