Oakland History Reconsidered
Recap of Oakland History Presentation
Installment #3
By Kevin Heffernan
The Names of the First Oakland Settlers and When They Really Came Here!!
In the previous installment here we are told of land patents and the requirement that the wilderness area of the patent had to be populated within 6 years of its granting. It was also noted that the use of slave ownership was a tool to encourage the settlement of the wilderness via free land for every slave owned and, by extension, slavery was the probable basis for the settlement of this valley, a portion of which was destined to become Oakland.
Within the above context, one of the basic cornerstones of the history of Oakland tells us that 10 intrepid Dutch families came herein 1695 as our first settlers. The odd aspect of this information is that while it is very specific in terms of number of families and the year of arrival, never have either the names of the settlers been determined nor had the date of their arrival been confirmed. We will attempt to accomplish both here.
First, we know that Arent Schuyler Patent of 1694 had no bearing upon the settlement of Oakland as his interests were in mining and real estate speculation. Hence, his patent did not prepare the way for settlement here in the following year. Again, land patents had to be populated and the very first documentation of this occurring in this valley is with the Johnston-Willcox Patent of 1699.
That’s 1699, not 1695!!!!
This patent is specific to this area and indeed documents that there was a total of 19 settler families who signed up to begin a new life in the wilderness that was to become Oakland. That patent even lists the names of the families.
That’s 19 families, not 10!!!!
The 19 families, indeed the very first settlers here were:
John Laurence Ackerman, Jacobus Laurence Ackerman, John Le Toere, John Romaine, Ruloff Romaine, Edo Merseles, Jacobus Kipp, Jacob Kipp, Martin Ryerson, David Hennion, Tennis Hennion, Jacob Outwater, John Berdan, Samuel Van Saun, Nicholas Slingerland, George Vreeland, Stephen Camp, John Bogert, Zekiel Harris.
However, there are additional sources that also lists the names of the first settlers of this area. The first is from a book, The History of Bergen County, written by James Van Valen in 1900….200+ years after the fact of our settlement. Nonetheless, he notes, “In 1700 there were some 10 families living in the Northwestern part of Bergen County in the neighborhood of the Ponds Church….”. He uses the word ‘some’ to give himself a bit of flexibility with regard to historical accuracy and goes on to list a total of 8 settlers here. Listed by Mr. Van Valen as living here in 1700 were:
Arent Schuyler, Anthony Brockholst, Garretson, Van Alen, Berdan, John Stek (Stagg), Van Romaine, Simon Van Winkle.
Schuyler and Brockholdst were the original patent holders of 1694, so they really don’t count as intrepid settlers. The Romaine and Berdan names are consistent between the two sources as living here before 1700. Additionally, Ackerman, Bogert and Romaine are also listed 100 years later on the 1779 Erskin map of this area, each of whom are documented to be a slave owner.
As a final point with regard to ‘settlement’ of Oakland, I think that we tend to believe that the founding families that initially came here settled in a cluster somewhere along Ramapo Valley Road. Not so. A quick look at the Erskin map of 1779, a full 80 years after the settlement of this area detailed by the Johnston-Wilcox Patent of 1699, reveals that this valley was very sparsely populated with only 8 families living in what is now Oakland. And of those 8 families there was only one family, the Bogert family, between the Van Allen House and the current Shop Rite, a distance of over a mile.
The Ackerman, Bogert and Romaine families are also listed on the Erskin map.
The development of several soft conclusions are permitted from the available research regarding the timing of the settlement of this valley and the names of the original settlers.
First, 1695, the purported year of the settlement of Oakland, is not supported by historical research. 1699, the date of the Johnston-Wilcox Patent is more likely the accurate date for our founding. Second, the notion of 10 families that originally settled here is not supported either. There were likely 19 families that settled here as detailed also in the Johnson-Wilcox Patent. Third, at least 5 of the 19 families listed in the Johnston-Wilcox Patent were slave owners. And fourth, historical evidence supports the contention that the Romaine, Ackerman, Bogert and Berdan families were in fact among the very first families that settled this valley.
Next week, we will discuss Oakland in the 18th Century including the founding of the Ponds Church, the Bergen County Courthouse in Oakland and strange goings on there and we’ll finally figure out if in fact George Washington slept at the Van Allen House on July 14, 17879. Stay Tuned!
Kevin Heffernan – kheffernan555@gmail.com
I am Harold Bush great grand chid of DCBush train master.We believed with some evidence that a Bush was in the first party west of the Hudson and participated in the building of the Ponds Church with records documenting lumber donated.There was also the Spear family that operated the quarry on Long Hill Rd.Do you have more information on these settlers?
Thank you
Harold,
Thank you very much for your post particularly since I have been in search of descendants of DC Bush.
My sources are limited to publicly available information particularly on the internet. It was there that I found the original Johnston-Wilcox Patent of 1699 which also contained the names of settlers. And note that a patent holder was required by law to ‘populate’ his patent within 6 years and, failure to do so, would result in the loss of the patent. By contrast, the Schulyer Patent contained no names in addition to the fact that Arent Schuyler effectively was a real estate speculator without interest in settlement. The list of names was also partially confirmed by a book, The History of Bergen County, written in 1900.
With regard specifically to D.C. Bush, the above book noted that the Bush family originally settled in Mahwah. D.C.’s father was said to have fought in the Revolutionary War and his grandfather was originally from the Netherlands. D.C. was noted to have married a Van Blarcom of Oakland in 1848 and he moved here in 1852.
Unfortunately, the Ponds Church records were mostly destroyed in a fire that occurred at the Demarest house in the mid 19th Century. Hence, very valuable records were lost. Other than the fact that the Ponds Church was first established in 1710 and built of logs, nothing else is known at least to this writer or even to other members of the current Ponds Church. I would be utterly delighted and forever in your debt if you have any additional information.
Regarding the Spear family, I’m in touch with Bob Spear who now lives in Florida. I knew him when he lived in Oakland. He is the Spear family historian with deep records of their presence in Oakland. In fact, his great grandfather once owned and farmed my property. If you have a specific question of inquiry, I’d be delighted to pass it along to him.
I’d love to correspond with you much further as I consider D.C. Bush as the true founder of Oakland and the arrival of the railroad under his leadership as the single most important event in Oakland’s history bar none. Please send me an email.
Editor’s note: Kevin Heffernan’s email is: kheffernan555@gmail.com