West Jersey
Encyclopedia
East Jersey
The Province of East Jersey and the Province of West Jersey were two distinct, separately governed parts of the Province of New Jersey that existed as separate provinces for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702. East Jersey's capital was located at Perth Amboy...
were two distinct parts of the Province of New Jersey
Province of New Jersey
The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland, but came under English rule after the surrender of Fort Amsterdam in 1664, becoming a...
. The political division existed for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702. Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey
Border between West Jersey and East Jersey
The Province of New Jersey was formally separated into two provinces, West Jersey and East Jersey, for the 28 years between 1674 and 1702.Determination of an exact location for a West Jersey/East Jersey borderline was often a matter of dispute...
was often a matter of dispute.
Background
The Delaware Valley had been inhabited by the LenapeLenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
(or Delaware) Indians prior to exploration and settlement starting around 1609 by the Dutch, Swedish and English. The Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
had established one or two Delaware River settlements but by the late 1620s had moved most of their inhabitants to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
which became the center of New Netherlands.
The development of the colony of New Sweden
New Sweden
New Sweden was a Swedish colony along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America from 1638 to 1655. Fort Christina, now in Wilmington, Delaware, was the first settlement. New Sweden included parts of the present-day American states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania....
in the lower Delaware began in 1638. Most of the Swedish population was on the west side of the Delaware, but after the New Netherlands' Fort Nassau
Fort Nassau
The name Fort Nassau was used by the Dutch in the 17th century for several fortifications, mostly trading stations, named for the House of Orange-Nassau...
was re-established to challenge the Swedes, Fort Nya Elfsborg
Fort Nya Elfsborg
Fort Nya Elfsborg was a fortification and settlement established as a part of New Sweden. Built in 1643 and named after the Älvsborg Fortress off Gothenburg, Fort Nya Elfsborg was located on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River, between present day Salem and Alloway Creek.-History:Fort Nya...
was established in present day Salem County. Fort Nya Elfsborg was located between present day Salem
Salem, New Jersey
Salem is a city in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 5,146. It is the county seat of Salem County, the most rural county in the state of New Jersey. The name Salem is related to the Hebrew word shalom, meaning "peace".The town and...
and Alloway Creek
Alloway Creek
Alloway Creek is a tributary of the Delaware River in Salem County, southwestern New Jersey in the U.S.The headwaters of the creek are to the southeast of Daretown, in Upper Pittsgrove Township. It flows roughly parallel and to the south of Commissioners Pike, meeting Cool Run before turning west...
near Bridgeport
Bridgeport, New Jersey
Bridgeport is an unincorporated area within Logan Township, located in Gloucester County, New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 08014....
. The New Sweden colony established two primary settlements in New Jersey: Sveaborg, now Swedesboro and Nya Stockholm, now Bridgeport
Bridgeport, New Jersey
Bridgeport is an unincorporated area within Logan Township, located in Gloucester County, New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 08014....
. Trinity Church
Trinity Church Cemetery, Swedesboro
Trinity Church Cemetery is located behind Trinity Church on the corner of Church Street and Kings Highway, in the town of Swedesboro, in Gloucester County, New Jersey.-Background:In 1641, Peter Hollander Ridder, the second governor of New Sweden purchased from local Indians the entire eastern...
, located in Swedesboro, was the site of the Church of Sweden
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden is the largest Christian church in Sweden. The church professes the Lutheran faith and is a member of the Porvoo Communion. With 6,589,769 baptized members, it is the largest Lutheran church in the world, although combined, there are more Lutherans in the member churches of...
for the area.
The Dutch defeated New Sweden in 1655. Settlement of the West Jersey area by Europeans was thin until the English conquest in 1664. Beginning in the late 1670s Quakers settled in great numbers first in present day Salem County and then in Burlington
Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 9,920....
which became the capital of West Jersey.
See also
- Border between West Jersey and East JerseyBorder between West Jersey and East JerseyThe Province of New Jersey was formally separated into two provinces, West Jersey and East Jersey, for the 28 years between 1674 and 1702.Determination of an exact location for a West Jersey/East Jersey borderline was often a matter of dispute...
- Colonial history of New JerseyColonial history of New JerseyEuropean colonialization of New Jersey started soon after the 1609 exploration of its coast and bays by Sir Henry Hudson. Part of the state was settled by Dutch and Swedish as New Netherland and New Sweden. In 1664 the entire area was surrendered to the British, and given its name...
- Concession and AgreementConcession and AgreementConcession and Agreement was a document that provided religious freedom in the colony of New Jersey. It was issued as a proclamation for the structure of the government for the colony written in 1665 by the two proprietors, Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret.The document promised religious...
- Lords ProprietorLords ProprietorLords Proprietor was the name for the chief or highest owners or proprietors of certain English proprietary colonies in America, such as Carolina, New Jersey and Barbados....
(1665–1703) - List of colonial governors of New Jersey#Governors under the Proprietors (1665–1674)
- Province of New YorkProvince of New YorkThe Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
- Dominion of New EnglandDominion of New EnglandThe Dominion of New England in America was an administrative union of English colonies in the New England region of North America. The dominion was ultimately a failure because the area it encompassed was too large for a single governor to manage...
- West Jersey and Seashore RailroadWest Jersey and Seashore RailroadThe West Jersey and Seashore Railroad was a Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary that became part of Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in 1933.-History:...
Other sources
- Weslager, C. A. Dutch Explorers, Traders, and Settlers in the Delaware Valley, 1609-1644. (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1961).
- Johnson, AmandusAmandus JohnsonAmandus Johnson was an American historian, author and founding curator of the American Swedish Historical Museum...
The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware Volume I: Their History and Relation to the Indians, Dutch and English, 1638-1664 (Philadelphia: Swedish Colonial Society. 1911)
External links
- West Jersey History Project
- Quaker West New Jersey: Democracy in 1677
- 1677 Charter
- 1681 Regulations
- Where was the West Jersey/East Jersey line?
- Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents (at "New Jersey"). The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Lillian Goldman Law Library (Yale Law School). Retrieved 2010-03-14. This website has links to the following documents:
- 1664 - The Duke of York's Release to John Ford Berkeley, and Sir George Carteret, 24 June
- 1664 - The Concession and Agreement of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of New Caesarea, or New Jersey, to and With All and Every the Adventurers and All Such as Shall Settle or Plant There
- 1672 - A Declaration of the True Intent and Meaning of us the Lords Proprietors, and Explanation of There Concessions Made to the Adventurers and Planters of New Caesarea or New Jersey
- 1674 - His Royal Highness's Grant to the Lords Proprietors, Sir George Carteret, 29 July
- 1676 - The Charter or Fundamental Laws, of West New Jersey, Agreed Upon
- 1676 - Quintipartite Deed of Revision, Between E. and W Jersey: July 1
- 1680 - Duke of York's Second Grant to William Penn, Gawn Lawry, Nicholas Lucas, John Eldridge, Edmund Warner, and Edward Byllynge, for the Soil and Government of West New Jersey-August 6
- 1681 - Province of West New-Jersey, in America, The 25th of the Ninth Month Called November
- 1682 - Duke of York's Confirmation to the 24 Proprietors: 14 March
- 1683 - The Fundamental Constitutions for the Province of East New Jersey in America
- 1683 - The King's Letter Recognizing the Proprietors' Right to the Soil and Government
- 1702 - Surrender from the Proprietors of East and West New Jersey, of Their Pretended Right of Government to Her Majesty
- 1709 - The Queen's Acceptance of the Surrender of Government; April 17
- 1712 - Charles II's Grant of New England to the Duke of York, 1676 - Exemplified by Queen Anne
- 1776 - Constitution of New Jersey