Morgan Moment – Charles Morgan III Purchases Plantation
Reference to the Will of Charles Morgan, III
Before my school friend Joe found the deed to the original Morgan Family property located on the north side of Cheesequake Creek and the west side of Raritan Bay which we know today as Morgan, NJ, I had help from another source regarding which Morgan probably bought the property. This person was Mr. Blair Case, the great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson of the purchaser, Charles Morgan III.
Also according to Mr. Case, Charles, Sr. (his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather) originally settled in Gravesend, New Amsterdam (present day Brooklyn, New York) sometime around 1641. Charles Morgan, Jr. and family settled in Middletown, NJ sometime around 1698.
In the meantime, here is something I encountered while surfing the internet. I believe it is a record of the will of the Charles Morgan III and references the original purchase of the land we know today as Morgan, NJ!
1749-50. Jan 6. Morgan, Charles of Middlesex Co., yeoman; will of.
Children – Thomas, Charles, William, Danniel, James, Mary, Abigail, Sarah.
Plantation purchased of George Lesley, where Yose Soey formerly lived, on Cheasquake Creek.
Executors – sons William and Danniel and brother-in-law Seth Ellison.
Witnesses – John Bowne, Samuel Ellison. John Night.
Proved April 10, 1750. Lib. E, p. 380.
This mentions someone named “Yose Soey”. According to other sources, “Yose” is an alias for “Joost”, “Jose”, “Joseph”, etc. It is hard to follow how he fits in with the Morgan Family but obviously he knew them! Guess this is also something we’ll figure out some day.
He is mentioned here (search for “Morgan”) and here (search for “Morgan”). With such an unusual name, I wonder if the last name “Soey” might have anything to do with the two hills in Morgan we used to call “Big Suey” and “Little Suey”?
Originally posted on February 12, 2011.
I was just wondering if an exact location of the Morgan family home was known in relationship of what is presently there today.
Thank you
Hi Dottie! I have never come to a complete conclusion. Some think there was a house where the Lockwood Boat Works store is now located. Others think there was a house at the intersection of Tyler Street and Robinson Place which is shown in the article about the “Chicken Farmer”. That one seems plausible to me but I don’t really have any concrete records to concur. There might have been multiple houses over time as the family had property there there for nearly 10 generations. Thanks! Verne