The Elm Tree Tavern
of Woodbridge, NJ, 1739-1823
©2010-2024 Doug Wilson

Colonial Woodbridge had a choice of taverns dotting the thoroughfares, ready to serve civic affairs and wayward travelers, alike. Woodbridge, strategically located near ferry docks across the rivers and bays from New York and on the most direct path to Philadelphia, saw it's share of travelers. The map (right) is an extracted from a 1781 Middlesex County map available at the Library of Congress American Memory collection.

Likely it was the thirsty needs and civic functions of the township inhabitants that welcomed the first ordinary, as they were known. "In 1686, Samuel Moore was by unanimous vote, made choice of, to keep an ordinary, that is, an inn, for the town. ... Between the buildings [in 1946] occupied by Greiner's barber shop and Janni's store on the corner of Green Street and Rahway Avenue, stood this historical tavern." (Breckenridge, p4) According to Dally's 1870 report of the town, the tavern "probably occupied the site upon which Dr. Samuel E. Freeman's drug store now stands, as that is the spot which both the record and tradition assign as the residence." (Dally, p101)

On the southwestern edge of the village was the Cross Keys "situated on the main post and stage road between Philadelphia and New York. It was first maintained as a hostelry by William Manning" and served the Revolutionary cause as described further here. After the war, "the first liberty pole, or flag, erected in Woodbridge, was placed in front of the tavern across the street" by Janet Gage. April 22, 1789, George Washington overnighted there as he travelled to New York for his inaugauration. He was accompanied by Governor William Livingston and welcomed "by the Woodbridge Calvary, Captain Ichabod Potter, commanding." General Lafayette was also entertained there in 1824. It served as "the place of the Town Meeting from 1824 to 1848" when it "ceased to operate as a tavern." (Breckenridge, p4; McElroy, p23)

Around the corner from the Cross Keys Inn was "the famous Pike House, so called because the turnpike roads to Rahway and Blazing Star (Carteret) passed its front door at the southwest corner of the road (now Green Street) to Uniontown." While this description places the tavern on the southwest corner of Rahway Avenue and Green Street, the 1781 map above clearly marks the Pike House across the street, southeast of the intersection. From 1848 the Town Meetings were held at the Pike House "where this annual meeting was to continue to 1874. The Pike House eventually became known as the Woodbridge Hotel until it was demolished in the 1920's. In 1955 the site was occupied by a gas station. (McElroy, p23) By 2011 that corner has become the location of a strip of retail stores.

North on Turnpike Road (Church St.), before you get to the old White Church, and set back from the street behind a great, old elm was "the tavern conducted by Thomas, James, and Charles Jackson on the road to Rahway and Blazing Star (Carteret). This tavern, the Elm Tree, was located on the west side of the road to Rahway, now known as Rahway Avenue, a part of which is still standing at No. 531, a few feet north of Grove Avenue." (McElroy, p23)

Hosted by three generations of Jacksons from about 1739 to 1820, this was the location of town meetings for decades and important Patriot activity during the Revolution and the War of 1812. After 80 years with a host of the same family, the inn must have been synonymous with the family. However, the records are sparce due to a county courthouse fire that engulfed the only copy of US Census and other civil records prior to 1830. I endeavor here to retrieve all relevant records to the tavern and its keepers so as to construct a historical record that may help reveal the family history of the Jacksons of Woodbridge, New Jersey, innkeepers.

Click on a section title below to learn more about the next events in this adventure or open all sections and browse.

James & Mary Jackson, Proprietors from about 1739 to 1759

In the earliest identifiable reference, the Elm Tree Tavern is under the proprietorship of James Jackson for "several years" in the 1740s. The following advertisement appeared in The New York Gasette Revived in the Weekly Post Boy, March 6, 1749. (NJA v12, p520-521) It describes a substantial facility at a prime location in Woodbridge that is likely the Colonial Woodbridge's Elm Tree Tavern.

To Be Sold. A Lot of Ground situate in the town of Woodbridge in East-New-Jersey, containing three Acres and a half, has on it a very good Dwelling House which has four Fire Places, with a good Cellar under it, a new malt-House, a small Barn, a very good Well, and a small Orchard, all in good repair, lying within a half a Mile of two Mills and two Landings, suitable for a Store, a Tradesman or Tavern keeper: a Tavern is kept there now, and has been several years. Likewise a Lot to be sold with or without it, lying about three Quarters of a mile from the above Premises, containing 33 Acres. Any Body inclining to Purchase the whole or part thereof, may apply to James Jackson, living on the Premises, and agree on reasonable Terms.

In 1873, Dally describes the Elm Tree Tavern. (Dally, pp199-200) Note that the description below does not match well with the image above from 1964. (Jost & Jost, p216) At a minimum, the siding has changed from shingle to clapboard. This could be a rebuilt or resided "Dwelling House" and the shingled part described below might have been a kitchen extension or remnants of the "malt-House" described above.

At the rear of Mr. T.H. Morris' residence in Woodbridge is a part of a building that is very old. It is shingled on the side with the round-bottomed shingles described by Prof. Kalm in 1748, and was probably constructed somewhere about that time. It is part of the old Elm Tree Tavern, which stood near the spot it now occupies; and it is not unlikely that Kalm's party stopped at this very place to rest their horses. The tavern received it's name from the fact that a very large elm stood in front of it for many years.

Search for Origins

It is yet unclear just when James acquired the property or turned the large residence on the stage coach line into a tavern. On November 11, 1730, a James Jackson had land in Woodbridge near Henry Freeman and John Ilsley, all surrounding William Bunn's property, according to Bunn's will. (NJA s1v23, p73) This land could be a town lot since Bunn also bequeths his "home farm on the South branch of the Raway River." And in 1731, Jackson is among other Woodbridge family names that "came up and took land" in the new community of Plainfield. (Clayton, p297) Was James Jackson Sr. of Long Island buying property in new settlements in New Jersey for his sons?

Another curious record can be found in 1739. The inventory of the estate of John Balm of Elizabeth Town and Rahway includes a bond of James Jackson. (NJA s1v35, p89) Is this James Jackson, Jr., of Long Island with property in Woodbridge prior to the 1740s? Is there another James Jackson in Woodbridge? Or is this some other James Jackson?

A survey of these early records finds no other references to a James Jackson in Woodbridge until the 1749 advertisement above. Dickinson's Early History of the Thorne Family of Long Island reports that James Jackson Jr. (James3 , John2 , Robert1) is born on 4 Jun 1704 in Hempstead, Long Island, NY. He marries Sarah Thorne (Joseph1) 10 January 1726 in Flushing, Queens Co., according to Flushing, Long Island, Friends meeting notes. There are no Friends records of them having children. It is assumed they lived there until Sarah died "no later than 1737." (NYGBS Record, v93p36) So James may have been living in Woodbridge as early as 1737, whenever he and Mary married and had their first child, Mary. There are, as yet, no documents to clearly date these events. This is taken by inference from related records in Friends meeting minutes, wills, and genealogies of the Thorn and FitzRandolph families.

From a marriage of ten years to William Thorne, Mary brings with her five children: Edward (b1729), Thomas (b1731), William (b1732), Katherian (b1734), and Joseph (b1735). (Vail/Record, v8 p174) This Rahway Friends record (right) places James and Mary in Woodbridge as early as 1738 for the birth of their first son, Charles (1738). Then come Sarah (1740), John (1742), Benjamin (174_), and Margaret (1745). (Vail/Record, v9p177) (Friends) Accounts of this family group vary considerably. See Jackson Family Tree Fractured Branch for more discussion.

That James Jr. and Mary (Fitz Randolph) Jackson were the earliest known keepers of the Elm Tree seems clear. I would expect that raising both of Mary's families required a sizable house. So did James move into the widow Mary's house full of children age 1 month to six years? And, in time, turn that into a tavern? Perhaps they decided to get a bigger house suitable for an inn and more children? Or had he already made a business investment there before his first wife, Sarah, died?

The name Thomas appears in the later history of the Elm Tree Tavern and is also the name of James Jr.'s eldest brother. That coincidence raises interest in a couple early references from the archives. The 1725 will of Thomas Byerly, Esq., of Woodbridge includes a codicil leaving £50 to Friend, Thomas Jackson. (NJA s1v30, p81) Byerly had property in Woodbridge, southern New Jersey (West Jersey), and associates in England. He was a West Jersey Proprietor, a member of the Governors' Councils of New Jersey and New York, and benefactor to the Church at Perth Amboy. The only other record at this time in all New Jersey for a Thomas Jackson is as a witness to the 1733 will of Matthew Moore, a carpenter in Woodbridge. (NJA s1v30, p343) Lacking another explanation, could these records be for James Jackson Jr.'s older brother, Thomas, who died on Long Island in 1759/60? (Jackson Family Genealogy) Or is there a resident of Woodbridge named Thomas Jackson, otherwise unrecorded?

The name William is recorded during the 1740s for another of that name, James Jr.'s younger brother. The Woodbridge Friends records place William and Prudence (Smith) Jackson there for the births of their children, James (1744) and Prudence (1747). (Friends) (Vail/Record v9p176) A William Jackson is listed among debtors to James' estate in 1750, as well as, making an inventory of John Afflack's estate in 1751. There is also a John Jackson on that 1750 list of debtors. (NJA s1v30, p178) Unfortunately, these records do not detail their relationship to the Elm Tree or it's proprietors.

James, Jr., is known to have family interests in northern New Jersey prior to his move to Woodbridge. The Thorne and FitzRandolph families were among the community of Friends in the area. And his brother moved there about the same time. Could James Jr. or his father have possessed land in Woodbridge in the 1730s while yet living in Long Island? Or was there another James Jackson with a house lot in the heart of town?

I have no evidence for another James Jackson in Woodbridge that early, nor land transaction documents for that time, nor a map of land ownership. So I can not yet ascertain if the property next to William Bunn's in 1730 Woodbridge is that same 3 1/2 acre plot of James Jackson with the majestic elm tree on Church Street in the 1740s. If so, 1730 is the earliest reference of the Jackson family involvement with the Elm Tree Tavern of Woodbridge, New Jersey, as a property.

The Reverend Dally had before him the town meeting records where there was a record about Moore's tavern in 1686 yet he does not mention the Elm Tree's official beginnings. Nor does he point out it's location as he mentally tours the town as it was in 1734 after reviewing the last detailed land division records laid before him. (Dally, p149) This could mean the Elm Tree Tavern did not yet exist in 1734. Nor does it preclude the idea that a Jackson of Hempstead Long Island or from another part of New Jersey held property in Woodbridge.

If anyone can clarify who this James Jackson was that owned property in 1730 Woodbridge, New Jersey, please let me know.

The timeline table below outlines the records of the events in the lives of the Elm Tree's first proprietors, James and Mary. See Jackson Family Tree Fractured Branch for more explanation of this family group and records of Jacksons living in the middle counties of Colonial New Jersey.

Early Events

So James likely moved to Woodbridge, married his former sister-in-law, Mary (FitzRandolph) Thorne, and had a daughter, Mary, about 1737, shortly after the death of his first wife, Sarah Thorne, on Long Island. He could then have begun operations of the tavern between 1737 and the 1740s. I'll speculate that it may have opened about 1739 under the proprietorship of James Jackson, Jr., previously of Long Island.

Unfortunately, there are no more references to the Elm Tree Tavern during the 11 year proprietorship of James and Mary Jackson until the 1749 advertisement above. It's unclear why the tavern was for sale. Was James planning to move on? Was he sick? Was it unprofitable? I find no records to answer these questions. There are not even records of taxes or food/liquor licensing for James, Mary, or the tavern.

In 1750, James, some of his family, and neighbors gained notoriety as the authorities become aware of the theft of silver from a Spanish treasure ship. Some of it is sent home to James from his stepson, Joseph, on a pirate adventure in Pieces-of-Eight. It is James' family, Mary junior and senior, that receive the treasure from its courier. That James did not receive the coins in person raises doubts regarding his health in October of 1750. This suggests that his motivation to sell was due to poor health.

He passes away within a few weeks, as evidenced in this November 1750 inventory of James' estate (at left). Many of the town's citizenry owed him debts of unspecified amounts. Among other inventories of the time, this is an extensive list of debtors. This long a list is found on occassion in the estate records of merchants. So what are the chances these "bonds, bills and book debts" represent bar/food tabs of the tavern's customers - his neighbors, friends and family? (NJA-s1v30p260)

After the death of James, there appear to be a couple references to Mary. On June 11th, 1757, Mary Jackson is one of many subscribers to a new stone bridge in Woodbridge. (Dally, p206) The 1759 will of Mary's father also refers to her as Mary Jackson, as though she had not remarried. (NJA s1v32, p116) At this time, Mary's children by William Thorne are grown up or passed away. As for Mary's children by James Jackson, Jr., in 1759:

1. Mary plays a part in the pirate story of 1750 and no further record;
2. Charles is 21 and will yet marry his much younger first cousin with the same name as his mother, become innkeeper, and serve a noteworthy role in the Revolution;
3. Sarah marries John Ross in 1759 who, later, supplies critical enemy intellignce to Gen. Washington at Valley Forge;
4. John is 17, may yet serve as a Commissary of Issues in the Continental Army;
5. Benjamin is 15, and may yet serve as a Sergeant in the Continental Army;
6. Margaret is just 14 then and will yet marry Moses Titchenal in 1763 and eventually move to Maryland.

It appears to me that Mary stayed on as innkeeper with the help of her children until sometime after 1759, when she was evidently a widow and not remarried. She could have lived there into the 1760s or 70s, gradually ceding tavern duties to her offspring. Because there seems to be no estate probate or will associated with her under any name, it seems likely that she eventually gave the Elm Tree Tavern to her eldest son, Charles, and lived there until her death, date unknown.

Some say that by 1764 Mary married once more. This time to her cousin, Jacob FitzRandolph. There is no direct evidence of this, however. That conclusion rests on Jacob's will citing (presumed 2nd) wife, Mary, and on a Monthly Meeting record that a Mary Fitzrandolph was disowned by the Friends in 1764 for marriage to a first cousin. (Shotwell, p187; Christian & Fitz Randolph, pp19-21) If this Mary was disowned, that could explain why Quaker records of the family disappear after the births of the children. They may have soured on the Friends' practices and turned away after their mother was expelled.

James and Mary are not listed as buried by the Plainfield Friends Meeting House. Nor are they found in the graveyard of the Old White Church in Woodbridge. Nor have I found a grave for Mary, wife of Jacob Fitz Randolph. Finding no record of the death or burial for James Jr. or Mary, one may speculate that they were buried among the Plainfield Friends with no markers and no record of location. Or they may have been simply buried in the yard of the tavern property or the acreage 3/4 mile away.

See Jackson Family Tree Fractured Branch to sort out the Jackson family of Woodbridge from all the other Jacksons of Jersey. Also check out the analysis of Janie Jackson Kimble.

 

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Charles & Mary Jackson, Proprietors from about 1764 to about 1790

Although I find no direct evidence of the parental relationship, James' son, Charles, I think it more than likely that the James and Charles named as keepers of the Elm Tree are the same as the Rahway Friends record of the births of James and Mary's three boys, Charles, John and Benjamin. (NYGBI Record, v9 p177) While The Record of 1871, just cited, reports that Charles was born in 1738, a more recent transcript of these Friends records reports a birthdate of 1748. (Friends) I think it more likely that Charles was 26 when he took over the inn, rather than a 16 year old schoolboy. Therefore, I accept that he was born in 1738 and the date transcribed in error. 

Charles' wife, Mary, is believed to be born in 1749, the daughter of Robert and Catherine (Taylor) FitzRandolph. (Christian & Fitz Randolph, p36) I believe it is also this Mary that was disowned by the Rahway Friends in 1764 for marrying her cousin - Charles. (Shotwell, p187) Coincidentally, 1764 is the year Charles is first recognized as innkeeper. But if Charles' wife, Mary, was born in 1749, then she was just 15 years old at the time she married the 26 year old innkeeper, her first cousin. One is left to wonder if Mary's aunt, Mary, was still living at the Elm Tree when Charles' took over and married her young niece?

There are few records of a John Jackson in Woodbridge and vicinity during this time. The 8 year old son of James Jr. could not have been the John Jackson in the 1750 list of debtors to James Jr's estate, however. So it seems likely that there was another John Jackson with interests in Woodbridge. The AGBI does record a John Jackson born about 1740 and serving as Commissary of Issues that could well be James Jr's second eldest son. If true, it could mean that John stayed involved with the tavern and/or a general store. It seems a natural fit that a Commissary of Issues (John) and a Quartermaster (Charles) would own a tavern and/or general store. Theirs is the task of procuring goods and supplying the army. They need places to store quantities of goods without raising the notice of the Loyalists or occupying British forces in the community. (NJDARM, SDEA1014)

In 1764, a Benjamin Jackson of Essex County signed a petition against another road to Philadelphia. (USCCRR) As James and Mary's son,  Benjamin, born in 174? according to Friends records, seems to be the only one of the name in 1780 New Jersey that was born around 1740, it is easy to conclude this is the Sergeant Benjamin on Stryker's report (Stryker, p466) A Benjamin Jackson of Rockaway, NJ, is also recorded in the AGBI as Banjamin with the birthdate of 1752. While this Benjamin has been considered to be the Sergeant in Stryker's report, the birthdates reported by the AGBI would tend to suggest that the son of James and Mary was the sergeant referenced by Stryker. I also note that the Jackson Ledger mentions millitary service for many but not for Benjamin, born 1752. There is no other record on Benjamin perhaps because he did not stay with the tavern and took up a another trade.

During the Revolution, the tavern keeper was host to town meetings. James' son, Charles, was known to be proprietor of the Elm Tree as early as 1764 (age 26). (Dally, p204) The James and Charles, father and son, named as keepers of the Elm Tree are the same as the Rahway Friends record of the births of James and Mary's three boys, Charles, John and Benjamin. Y-DNA results in 2014 proves this relationship. (NYGBI Record, v9 p177)

The tavern was a gathering place for debate and intelligence sharing. Its keeper was host and also served the revolutionary cause as member of the Middlesex Committee of Observance and Inspection and as a Quartermaster for the Continental Army. (Clayton, p452; Stryker, p373; Wall & Pickersgill, p87) Dally describes for us below the scene of an early meeting of the town's Committee of Correspondence, including Nathaniel Heard, the man who will yet arrest the colonial New Jersey Governor, William Franklin, on orders from the President of the Provincial Congress, Samuel Tucker. (Dally, p241)

On Wednesday, April 19th, 1775, the war fairly began, for the first patriot blood was shed upon the green at Lexington, Mass. The excitement occasioned by this wanton massacre was intense. Tories were treated as strangers by those who hitherto had lived near them as neighbors. People gathered about the public places to discuss the latest news from Boston. The village tavern was thronged every evening, and the men sat late over their rum or cider, eagerly listening to the nervous recitals of travelers who had stopped for the night under the whispering boughs of the brad elm tree. There was a sober cast in many faces, as though the threatening cloud over the political sky, thick with storm, had left its shadow there.

Suppose to-night we lean against this ancient tree a little while and glance in the tavern. The cheerful firelight from the blazing logs reveals the excited group. "Mine host," Charles Jackson, is prominent among his townsmen in the noisy discussion of British tyranny now going on. There, too, may be seen Ebenezeer Foster, the Justice of the Peace. Possibly he is discussing current events with Robert Fitz Randolph, Jr., the Town Clerk. Is that fine-looking man Dr. Bloomfield? He is talking with Samuel F. Parker, the printer's son, perchance; and talking wisely, too, for he is a man of great ability. There is the muscular Nathaniel Fitz Randolph, destined to become the terror of his enemies. Do you note the flash of his eye? He is not born to be a slave. They call him "Natty," in a familiar way. You shall hear of him again before we close this volume. Near him we fancy that we behold another distinguished face, that of Nathaniel Heard, afterwards well known as Gen. Heard. Far in the shadow of the room, deeply engrossed in the conversation of a belated traveler, stand, like a tableau, the figures of men whose names are so nearly forgotten that, when we hear them, they sound like faint echoes from some far-off shore. They are Robert Clarkson, John Shotwell, Benjamin Thornell, James Ayers, Samuel Jaquish, Isaac Freeman, Wm. Moore, Jr., James Bonny, James Mundy, William Smith, and others.

As common meeting places, taverns often serve as clandestine locations to pass intelligence about British activities without raising the suspicion of tories. This was the role of the Philadelphia's City Tavern, New York's Fraunces Tavern, and Boston's Green Dragon. And the tavern keeper is often the conduit as host and server. Woodbridge's Elm Tree Tavern is an ideal such place, located near ports of entry on the main throughfare between New York and Philadelphia. (Sulick, pp. 21,22, and 276)

Nearly four years later, on Tuesday, February 9, 1779, Nathaniel Fitz Randolph, now Militia Captain, is residing at the Elm Tree Tavern. This is likely one of several abodes available for his use as he is actively sought by British troops and loyalist spies. The innkeeper, Charles Jackson, is married to "Natty's" first cousin, Mary Fitz Randolph. On this evening, the busy Captain is just returning from leading a raid on British-held Staten Island. Of historical note, the ensuing events are a case in point of the animosity the Revolutionaries feel toward the British and the reputation they, their mercenaries and loyalists have gained for the deployable treatment of Americans in their possession.

The following is an account of the event from a Woodbridge-based news correspondent using the byline A Jersey Farmer. (NJA s2, v3, 65-66)

Last Tuesday about 3 o'clock in the morning, a party of New-Levies from Staten Island, came over into Woodbridge, and marched up into the town undiscovered, to the house of Charles Jackson, in which there happened to lay that night a scout of Continental troops from Bonem-Town, consisting of twelve men.

The centinel did not discover them till they had nigh surrounded the house, it being very dark, when he fired and ran off, making his escape; the rest being unfortunately asleep, were taken by surprize without making any resistance. Their principal object was Captain Nathaniel Fitz Randolph, who lived at this house.

He had just returned from Staten Island, having been over there with a small party chief of the night, and was but a few minutes in the house before he was alarmed by the firing of the centinel, when they instantly rushed into the house and seized him and Mr. Jackson, with the scout above. The party were gone before the inhabitants had time to collect, without doing any damage except plundering the house of a few trifling articles, taking the shoe-buckles out of the womens shoes, which was as little or more than could be expected, considering the usual practice of the British troops, as the men were restrained from plundering by their officer, said to be Captain Ryerson, of Buskirk's regiment, who seemed actuated by principles of honour and humanity; and upon this occasion, imitated the laudable example of Captain Randolph, who has not only distinguished himself by his activity and bravery, but by his politeness and generosity towards such as he hath taken prisoners, never allowing his men to plunder -- a practice most ignominous and base, by which Britons have, in the present contest with America, greatly disgraced themselves, and deserve to be forever despised, in which their principal officers have joined, and so sunk themselves to a level with the meanest pilfering soldier.

This next article appears in a loyalist New York paper the same day as the piece above. (NJA s2 v3, p76)

It is reported that a party a day or two ago, went over into Jersey, and succeeded in securing the persons of Capt. Nathaniel Fitz Randolph, and Charles Jackson, a Tavern Keeper of Woodbridge, who it is said are brought within the lines. Mr. Randolph is a very enterprising person, and had distinguished himself in various Coups de Main upon the Loyalists.

The Royal Gazette, No. 247, February 10, 1779.

The following Monday, this piece appears in a loyalist New York paper. (NJA s2 v3, p77)

NEW-YORK, February 15.

On Monday evening Capt. Ryerson, of Buskirk's Regiment went over into the Jersies, and at Woodbridge, in the House of Charles Jackson, surprised the famous Capt. Fitz-Randolph and his Party, two of whom they killed, and took the Captain and thirteen Prisoners, who arrived Wednesday Morning, and were safely delivered at the King's White-Hall Ferry-Stairs.

Capt. Ryerson, Lieut. Ryerson, and Ensign Monson, on this Occasion acted with great Humanity and Forebearance, the Prisoners begging for Mercy with the most abject Submission.

The next day, an American paper reports a different take on these subsequent events. (NJA s2 v3, p81)

Chatham, Feb. 16.

Last week were surprized and taken prisoners, at Woodbridge, by a party of the enemy from Staten Island, Captain Nathaniel Randolph, Mr. Charles Jackson, and a Sergeant and ten privates. The last mentioned eleven were exchanged on Sunday last.

Another report follows by the end of the week. (NJA s2 v3, p86)

Trenton, February 18, 1779.

The Continental Troops taken [with] Capt. Randolph and Mr. Jackson, as mentioned in our last, have since been exchanged and returned; but the above-mentioned Gentlemen are still detained by the enemy in New-York.

It takes until autumn of this year for negotiations of an exchange to begin in earnest. After the capture of Lt. Col. Simcoe of the Queen's Rangers by a NJ militia unit in late September, a passionate dialogue between the parties ensues. It is fueled by the passions that flared over the relative treatment of each parties captives. To wit, the colonel has a distinguished reputation of fair treatment of the colonials but many civilians wished revenge upon his person in response to atrocities committed by the British side. In particular, the case of militia Captain Fitz Randolph and a John Leshier, both held in chains within a cell in New York and provided only bread and water since their capture. It is in "retaliation" that Elias Boudinot, Commissioner of Prisoners at the Burlington, New Jersey, jail orders the same treatment toward Simcoe and Col. Billop of the Staten Island Loyalist militia. (Simcoe, p.271)

It may be that Billop was captured by Fitz Randolph's men specifically to obtain their captain's release in exchange. According to Stryker's Roster, Captain Fitz Randolph was "imprisoned and cruelly treated" by the British and Loyalists in New York until May 26, 1780, about sixteen months. Dally reports that he was exchanged at this time, most likely, for the British Capt. Jones recently taken by Natty's own men in order to gain his release. (Dally, p255) Here's the rest of Dally's entertaining account.

... This Jones was seized by some of Fitz Randolph's men, for this very purpose, at the old stone tavern at Port Richmond, Staten Island. The story of this capture was told to me by Robert Coddington. William Bowman, of Staten Island, a waterman, used to tell it also.

It seems that Peter Latourette, a Woodbridge man, familiarly known as "Pete Tourette," found out that Capt. Jones was sick at Port Richmond and resolved to secure him as an exchange for Randolph. Peter was fully equal to the task. His courage was unquestioned and his strength remarkable. He stood six feet and two inches in his stockings, and was stout in proportion. He and three or four kindred spirits, all Woodbridge men, crossed to Staten Island by daylight, in citizen's dress, and went to the tavern. The guard, a small one, supposed the new-comers were private citizens and paid very little attention to them until they began to wrestle with each other. This pastime amused the soldiers greatly, and they became very free in their bearing toward the Jerseymen. The latter heard the sick officer cough and calculated, from the direction whence the sound came, just the room in which he could be found. The guard, unsuspicious of danger, stacked their guns in the hall and proceeded to the supper-table, spread in an adjoining room. Latourette did not intend to execute his plan until after dark; but this chance was too good to be lost. He seized the guns and armed his men, and then quickly entered the British Captain's apartment and carried him out of the house, stuffing his hankerchief in the sick man's mouth to prevent his giving the alarm. The party hastened to the shore, sprang into a boat and rowed to Bergen Point with their prisoner, who was lodged in the Bergen jail until he was exchanged for Capt. Fitz Randolph.

No sooner was the gallant Nathaniel released than he entered the active service again; but alas, within two months the heroic soldier passed away ...

Innkeeper Charles Jackson was likely released about the same time as the Captain. Nothing more is recorded of his treatment or condition upon release. But in August 1784, he witnessed the surveying of the Woodbridge parsonage land in preparation for a new Presbyterian minister from Philadelphia, Mr. Dickinson. (Dally, p.173) The innkeeper also became town clerk in 1784 and continued in that capacity until his death a year later at age 42. Charles had hosted the town meetings at the Elm Tree for at least 20 years. His widow, Mary, then "performed the duties of landlady and entertained the annual Town Meeting for several years." (Dally, p.204)

Mary married three more husbands before passing away sometime after the death of her third in 1803. It is unclear when or in what manner she turned proprietorship over to another keeper. She no longer appears on the tax list and there is no property transaction record that I have found. Such a record could help us understand the relationship between this and the next generation of Jacksons to own the Elm Tree Tavern.

 

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Thomas, James & Charles, Proprietors from about 1790 to 1820

There is no direct evidence that Charles and Mary or his brothers, John and Benjamin, ever had children. However, it is reported that from 1800-1820 the tavern on "the road to Rahway and Blazing Star (Carteret) ... at the southwest corner of the road (now Green Street) to Uniontown" was "conducted by Thomas, James, and Charles Jackson." (McElroy, p23; Jost & Jost, p216) The records timeline below for Thomas and James indicate they are residents of Woodbridge in 1790 because they signed a petition in 1793. They are found together again on the 1792 roster of the Woodbridge Company of Light Infantry in the New Jersey militia. This suggests that Thomas and James were of age and living in Woodbridge. And I find no other Thomas, James or Charles old enough to be innkeepers around 1787 when records of Mary's proprietorship end. So they could have been keeping the Elm Tree as early as 1790. But who were they that these Jacksons became keepers of the Elm Tree? Sons or nephews of Charles and Mary? Cousins?

At the risk of being fanciful, what we see here is a Thomas, James and Charles Jackson that were born about the same time - as the Revolution was just beginning to stew. They appear together later as young adults in the militia, on petitions, and on tax rolls. Once all three appear in a tax roll - the last year the Elm Tree was in the hands of a Jackson proprietorship. Eighteen thirteen is the one year James, alone, is identified as patron of the Elm Tree. And lastly, there are just two more US Census records of Charles still living in Woodbridge.

A DNA test in December, 2012, of a male Jackson descendent of a Thomas Jackson (b.abt.1765 in Woodbridge, NJ) was a match for the Robert Jackson of Hempstead NY family from which James, Jr., the first tavernkeeper, descends. This feels like we have three brothers (or at least cousins) that took over the family business around 1786 when their mother, Mary, remarries. Did they then stay with it together in adjusting roles of responsibility? Could two of the brothers have passed away before 1830? Or did they move on at age 45 plus?

Only the Elm Tree Tavern and DNA testing demonstrates a familial link between these three and the prior innkeepers. The vital records provide no evidence of the origin of these three named innkeepers. There is only indirect evidence as records of persons named Jackson gradually increase after the Revolution as though Charles, John and/or Benjamin of that rebellious generation married and had children without a record surviving. Either that or at least one other family of Jacksons moved in from another part of New Jersey. See Jackson Family Tree Fractured Branch for more about the various records of Jacksons in New Jersey during this time.

Clearly, the tavern was once again owned and operated by a James Jackson during the war of 1812. A special town meeting was at the Elm Tree Tavern "to take measures." (McElroy/Woodbridge High School, pp17-18)

It was not until 1815 that the subject of the War of 1812 was taken up in Woodbridge. As a matter of fact, no mention was made of war in the annual town meeting held April 12, 1813. It was necessary to call a special town meeting on May 24, 1813, to take measures for the defense "of our national rights pursuant to an extraordinary meeting of the Township Committee on the 13th instant at which the Township Committee was ordered to call this meeting to take into consideration means of defense against the common enemy." This meeting was held at the Inn of James Jackson where it was voted that seven hundred dollars be raised by assessment "for the defense of this town against the enemy."

A 1964 collection of local colonial recipes with anecdotal infomation about the taverns in Woodbridge of the day cites: "A famous tavern, known as the Elm Tree Tavern, conducted by Thomas, James and Charles Jackson was located on the west side of the road to Rahway Avenue. A part of it still stands at 531 Rahway Avenue. This inn was the location for Town meetings from 1800 to 1820 under the Jacksons and from 1821 to 1823 under Henry Potter." (Jost & Jost, p216; McElroy, p23)

After Potter, the property was no longer used for a tavern. "A private high school known as Woodbridge Seminary, Elm Tree Institute, and later as Morris Academy opened in 1826 under the direction of James Stryker on the site of Henry Potter's Inn on Rahway Avenue." (Troeger, p84; McElroy/Woodbridge High School) In 1837, the old elm tree after which the tavern was named was torn down. (Dally, pp199-200)

When the tree was cut down in 1837, its destruction being rendered necessary by its decayed condition, the circumference of it was thirty-two feet. It was averred that fifteen men could stand upright together within its hollow trunk. It was evidently a tree which would have proudly vied with some in the far-famed Yosemite Valley. The memory of it still lingers around the locality; and the writer hereof looks back with pleasure to the hours he passed in the Elm Tree Institute, which was for him truly an alma mater.

While the Institute continued for some time, the loss of the stately old elm fully closed the chapter on the tavern whose identity it inspired. What became of the family Jackson that served the community for three generations as proprietors of the Elm Tree Tavern? That is not at all clear. Comprehensive census records for Middlesex County would shed considerable light on the growing list of Jacksons in the area and their relationship to each other. In New Jersey, the tax and petition records in the 1790s almost serve to replace a complete census for 1790. Unfortunately, the US Census records for the critical years 1800, 1810, and 1820 were destroyed in a county courthouse fire.

Just north of the Elm Tree adjacent to the road to Blazing Star there is a Thomas L. Jackson in a family group of markers in the cemetery of the First Presbyterian Church, or Old White Church, as it is commonly known. A Thomas Jackson is also listed as a subscriber to that church in 1803 and 1804. (Dally, p230) The name Jackson in these early days is found only in this graveyard. References to the names Thomas and Charles are listed on tombstone inscriptions and among church burial records as follows. (Gardner/Devlin; Old White Church) The name James is not found.

• "#755. Our Father, Thomas L. JACKSON, d. 3 Jan 1878, in 93rd yr"
• "#1063. William T. MOORE, 1806 - 1872 his wife Mary Jackson, 1808 - 1889 Their son Charles Jackson MOORE, 1846 - 1894 [g]"
• "#1542. Charles JACKSON, d. 16 Jan 1867, in 69th yr"
• "#1601. Charles Jackson, son of John & Martha CAMPBELL, d. 31 Jul 1808, ae 4 mos, 25 dys"
• "Agnes B Jackson (Wife) of Thomas [L.] d. Jan. 23, 1867 age 79 yrs."
• "Cornelius W, Elizabeth Augusta, Stelle Martin 2nd and Emma Frances Children of Charles Jackson and Sarah Ann Curier" [Cutter]

I have yet to find evidence to directly associate these graves with the innkeepers, Thomas, James and Charles Jackson. Yet they could be related. For instance, the Charles (#1542) that died in 1867 in his 69th year is the same as the Charles above that married Sarah Ann Cutter and had the four children. Born in 1798, he could have been a third generation Charles and the first generation not to run a tavern.

The Friends Meeting House cemetery has no record of these three either. However, they could be there among the many unmarked graves. Friends were known for simple funerals and unmarked graves. (Plainfield Friends)

So whatever happened to the family that ran the Elm Tree Tavern for 80 years remains a mystery. See Jackson Family Tree Fractured Branch for more about the various records of Jacksons in New Jersey during this time and a possible explanation.

If anyone has any information that could clarify the relationship beyween the three generations of Jacksons that owned the Elm Tree Tavern in Woodbridge, New Jersey, I'd like to see it. Please let me know.

 

 

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1664 - 1964 An Historical Sampler Woodbridge, Edna Oberlies Jost and Margaret Krewinkel Jost, 1964.
American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI), Godfrey Memorial Library.
Annals of our colonial ancestors and their descendants ..., Ambrose Milton Shotwell, 1895-97.
Contributions to the Early History of Perth Amboy ..., William A. Whitehead, 1856.
Disappearing Landmarks of Woodbridge, Amy E. Breckenridge, 1946.
Documents Relating to the Colonial, Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey v.16, New Jersey Archives v.1, 1880.
Documents Relating to the Colonial, Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey v.22, New Jersey Archives v.1, 1880.
Documents Relating to the Colonial, Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey v.23, New Jersey Archives v.1, 1901.
Documents Relating to the Colonial, Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey v.30, New Jersey Archives v.1, 1918.
Documents Relating to the Colonial, Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey v.32, New Jersey Archives v.1, 1924.
Early History of the Thorne Family of Long Island, Christian, NYGBS Record, 1962.
The Descendants of Edward Fitz Randolph and Elizabeth Blossom 1630-1950, Louise Aymar Christian and Howard Stelle Fitz Randolph, 1950.
History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume I, John P. Wall and Harold E. Pickersgill, Associate Editors, 1921.
History of Woodbridge Township, Leon McElroy / Woodbridge High School, 1955.
History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Prominent Men , W. Woodford Clayton, Editor, 1882.
Nathaniel Fitz Randolph of Woodbridge, N.J., Quaker, and his Descendants, Louise Aymar Christian, NEHGS Register July 1943.
New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites, Al Frazza, 2009-present.
Quartermaster and Commissary Generals' Records, United States Continental Army, 1776-1789 , NJDARM, 2009.
Records of Rahway and Plainfield [N.J.], Monthly Meeting of Friends (Formerly held at Amboy and Woodbridge), From 1687 to 1825, NJ Friends / Hugh D. Vaile, 1877.
Spying in America, Michael J. Sulick, 2012
The Record, NYG&BS, 1870-present.
The Record [Member's Area], NYG&BS, 1870-present.
Valley Forge Legacy, Valley Forge National Historical Park
Woodbridge and Vicintiy, Rev. Joseph Dally, 1873.

 

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