Happy Birthday to our county’s namesake, Dr. Joseph Warren! The physician and patriot was born in Roxbury, Province of Massachusetts Bay, on June 11, 1741. He took a leading role in patriot organizations in Boston in the early days of the American Revolution, and it was Warren who sent Paul Revere and William Dawes on the famous ride from Boston on April 18, 1775, to spread the alarm that British troops were on the march to seize weapons and arrest rebel leaders. He participated in the Battles of Lexington and Concord the next day. Commissioned as a major general in the colony’s militia shortly before the June 17, 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill, Warren chose to serve on the front lines and was killed in combat when British troops stormed the Colonials redoubt on Breed’s Hill, just six days after he turned 34. As a martyr to the Revolution, his death helped to galvanize the rebel forces. When Warren County came into existence 50 years later, separating from Sussex, residents chose to honor Dr. Warren by naming their new county after him. There are 14 states that have a Warren County, while 30 Warren Townships are also named in his honor. Learn more about our namesake at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Warren, www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/joseph-warren, and www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Warren.
#TodayinHistory Salem Witch Trials & Bridget Bishop
On this date in 1692, Bridget Bishop was the first accused person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials less than a week after being accused. She was the first victim of the trials. She was not a typical woman during the time and did not subscribe to the stereotypical role of submissive wife and was seen as threatening to the Puritan way of life.
There are several reasons why Bridget Bishop was accused of witchcraft. First, gossip suggested she was responsible for the deaths of her first two husbands. In 1680, Bishop was accused of witchcraft when John Ingersoll’s slave, Juan, claimed her specter (spirit) pinched him, stolen some eggs and frightened the horses.
Ten neighbors testified against her, and stories of her forcing afflicted girls to “sign the Devil’s book” spread throughout Salem and neighboring communities. Men who worked on her house in 1685 spoke about her poppets stuck with pins that they found in her cellar wall (“counter-magic”) and her specter visited the men at night. Other neighbors and residents of the town accused her of having possessed pigs and chickens, black imps in her yard, and one even claimed to see her flying over her orchards.
During her trial on June 2nd, a witch’s mark was found on her body. Cotton Mather, a Massachusetts minister and witch trials instigator, reported that while Bishop was on her way to her trial, she glanced at the Salem Meetinghouse, causing a board to pull away from the wall inside and land a distance away.
Sheriff George Corwin escorted Ms. Bishop from her Salem jail, along Prison Lane to Main Street where she was taken to “a spot of common pasture at the edge of town.” A crowd gathered to see Ms. Bishop hanged by the neck until dead on Proctor’s Ledge at Gallows Hill. She was the first of 19 people to be executed and was also the last of the victims to be exonerated, by a 2001 Massachusetts legislation. Her actual burial site is unknown, most likely relatives came to retrieve her body during the night and buried her privately. She is memorialized with other victims at the memorial site next to the Burying Point Cemetery on Charter Street in Salem. Those executed as witches were not permitted burial in a cemetery as it was “hallowed ground”.
Bear in mind, research is starting to show that perhaps the accusers and their families has personal issues with many of the accused. Moreover, the Puritan community was strict (and sometimes extremely strict), particularly regarding women, their roles and behavior. In addition, mass hysteria, or conversion disorder, also affected Salem, Danvers and other surrounding communities.
Another cause would be ergot poisoning, which was mentioned in the Science journal in 1976 where Linda R. Caporeal proposed that the “afflicted girls” and other accusers ingested rye and cereal grains affected by a fungus (Claviceps purpurea), which has affected similar to LSD.
#BridgetBishop #SalemWitchTrials #MassachusettsColony #ShippenManor
SOURCES
Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “Gallows Hill in Salem, Mass.” History of Massachusetts Blog. 20 Oct 2021. historyofmassachusetts.org/where-is-the-real-gallows-hill/.
Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “What Caused the Salem Witch Trials?” History of Massachusetts Blog. 30 June 2018. historyofmassachusetts.org/salem-witch-trials-causes/.
“Important Persons in the Salem Court Records.” Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project. University of Virginia. salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/.
“The Stones: Lest Terror Be Forgotten.” The City Guide. Salem, Massachusetts. www.salemweb.com/memorial/.
Linder, Douglas O. “Bridget Bishop.” Famous Trials. famous-trials.com/salem/2043-bridget-bishop.
Woodside, Christine. “The Site of the Salem Witch Trial Hangings Finally Has a Memorial.” Smithsonian Magazine. 13 July 2017. www.smithsonianmag.com/history/site-salem-witch-trial-hangings-finally-has-memorial-180964049/.
#ONTHISDAY June 7th Richard Henry Lee & the Declaration of Independence
On this day in American history, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental congress a resolution calling for a Declaration of Independence.
INTRODUCTION
Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794) was a planter, merchant, politician and a member of the prominent Lee family of Virginia. At the Second Continental Congress, Lee made a motion to declare independency from Britain.
He began his career as a Justice of the Peace for Westmoreland County (1757) and later served as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses (1758-1775), Virginia House of Delegates (1777, 1780, 1785), and was a member of the United States Senate (1789-1792). He served as a representative for Virginia at the two Continental Congresses (1774-79 and 1784-1787) and even served as the President of the Congress in 1784.
HIS FAMILY
Richard was the fourth son of Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell Lee. He grew up at Stratford Hall, the great house of the Lees, completed in 1740, and is now recognized as the birthplace of Confederate General, Robert E. Lee.
The Lees were a significant VA and MD political family. According to John Adams in 1779, “The family of Lee has more men of merit in it than any other family.”
The first Lee to arrive to the Jamestown (VA) colony was Richard Lee I (ca. 1613-1664) and was a successful planter (tobacco).
During Bacon’s Rebellion (1676), Richard I supported Gov. Berkeley in his suppression of the laboring forces revolt led by Nathaniel Bacon.
THE SHIPPEN CONNECTION
Richard’s younger sister, Alice Lee, sold her inheritance and moved to England where she married Dr. William Shippen, Jr. in 1762. During the early years of the American Revolution, she hosted her brothers and other patriots in their Philadelphia home. In addition, while the British occupied Philadelphia, Mrs. Shippen lived in Gen. Washington’s encampment where her husband was the chief physician.
Dr. William Shippen, Jr., studied medicine at the College of New Jersey (Princeton University) and graduated in 1754. Initially, he studied medicine under his father and then ventured to England and Scotland for study. He earned his medical degree at the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1761.
During the American Revolution, Dr. Shippen, Jr. served as Chief Physician & Director General of the Hospital of the Continental Army in NJ (1776) and Director General of the Hospitals West of the Hudson (Oct 1776). By April of 1777 until January 1781, Dr. Shippen served as the Director of Hospitals for the Continental Army (which is the precursor to the Surgeon General of the US Army). He was also one of the founders of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and served as its president from 1805 to 1808.
Alice and William’s daughter, Anne Hume “Nancy” Shippen Livingston (1763-1841) was the estranged wife of Colonel Henry Beekman Livingston (married in 1781, separated in 1783). Col. Livingston commanded the 4th NY Reg’t at Saratoga and Monmouth and was at Valley Forge during the winter of 1781. He was the son of Robert Livingston (1718-1775). Nancy gave birth to one child, Margaret Beekman “Peggy” Livingston (1781-1864). When the marriage failed, Nancy returned to the Shippen House (located in Philadelphia, PA) for a while before living with her estranged husband’s mother. She died in Philadelphia in 1841 while living with her daughter Peggy Livingston (who never married).
Following the death of Dr. Shippen, Sr. in 1801, William (Jr.) and his sister, Susan Shippen Blair (1743-1821), became owners of Oxford Furnace property, including Shippen Manor. Their brother, Joseph William Shippen (1737-1795) lived at the Manor and was the iron master for about a decade before passing away. The property then passed into the hands of Susan Blair Roberdeau (ca. 1802-1884), daughter of Susan Blair and her husband Isaac Roberdeau (1763-1829), an engineer, who helped Pierre L’Enfant design Washington, D.C.
This is just one of the many interesting connections within the Shippen Family tree.
#ShippenManor #OxfordFurnace #RichardHenryLee #StratfordHall #Virginia #AliceLeeShippen #NancyShippen #AmericanRevolution #DrWilliamShippenJr #LivingstonsofNY #IsaacRoberdeau #SusanShippenBlair #SusanBlairRoberdeau #Saratoga #Monmouth #ValleyForge #NJ #WarrenCoNJ #OxfordNJ
SOURCES
Bedini, Silvio A. “The History Corner: Isaac Roberdeau (1763-1829) Civil Engineer.” Professional Surveyor Magazine. Volume 22, Issue 12. December 2002. archives.profsurv.com/magazine/article.aspx?i=1006.
“Lee, Richard Henry (1732-1794).” Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities. Library of Virginia. encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/lee-richard-henry-1732-1794/.
“The Lees of Virginia: An American Legacy.” The Lee Family Digital Archive. Stratford Hall, VA. leefamilyarchive.org/about-us/the-lees.
“The Lee Men.” Stratford Hall, Virginia. www.stratfordhall.org/.
“The Lee Women.” Stratford Hall, VA. www.stratfordhall.org/the-lee-women-2/.
“William Shippen, Jr. 1736-1808.” University Archives & Records Center. University of Pennsylvania. archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/william-shippen-jr.
In remembrance of the more than 10,000 Allied military men who died or were wounded invading the beaches of Normandy, France to reclaim Nazi-occupied France on 6 June 1944.
#beachesofnormandy #WW2 #6june1944 #alliedforces
Comment on Facebook 816966805340316_1380440012326323
Please bring back the Sunday Concerts!!!
My dad was there. Omaha beach. Thanks dad 🇺🇸 and thanks to all the troops who fought that day.
#ThenandNow Shippen Manor
Shippen Manor has experienced a lot of changes during its history. It was built in 1754 as the iron master's residence for Oxford Furnace by the Shippens (Joseph, Jr. and Dr. William, Sr.). There have been a lot of families associated with the Manor and here are a few of the big names:
1. Shippens (Joseph II, Dr. William Shippen, Sr., Joseph W. Shippen, Dr. William Shippen, Sr. and Susan Shippen Blair)
2. Isaac Roberdeau (husband of Susan Blair Roberdeau, granddaughter of Dr. Shippen, Sr.; daughter of Susan Shippen Blair and Samuel Blair)
3. Blairs (Samuel Shippen, husband of Susan Shippen Blair, worked or held some percentage of the operations; John I. Blair's brother and father worked at the Furnace and he became involved in railroad and steel with the Scranton Brothers).
4. Robesons (Jonathan Robeson built the furnace, but had some sort of falling out w/ the Shippen brothers over the building of the Manor (supposedly); his son and grandson became iron masters here).
5. Axfords (at least Martha-- she was the common-law-wife of Joseph William Shippen, son of Dr. William Shippen, Sr.)
6. William Henry III and sons; relatives
7. Scrantons (Selden T., Charles B. & William Scranton, two of whom married William Henry's daughters, worked and then owned all or part of the operations and house)
8. Alan Wood & family (purchased the mines and real estate, including the Manor)
9. Keppler Family (acquired the Manor after the Wood family)
#ShippenManor #OxfordNJ #WarrenCoNJ #IronMasterResidence
Comment on Facebook 816966805340316_1377160019320989
Hope the concerts begin soon.
Dickerson s -from morris county 1834
In remembrance of the men and women who died defending our country. We honor and remember your sacrifice.
#MemorialDay2021
#remembrance #thankyou
#Grant2021 Reminders
If you are a part of a non-profit group in Warren County, you can apply for Round 2 of the CHPP grant for 2021.
If you are interested, please email Gina at grosseland@co.warren.nj.us for an application.
Deadline for application requests: Jun 1, 2021
Grant Workshop for all applicants (mandatory): June 2, 2021 (1-3pm), virtual
Deadline for applications (on or before): July 6, 2021
Those interested must have a history-based project as this is a history grant.
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Office: 908-453-4381, x. 223
#chpp2021 #round2 #warrenconj #historygrant