| Holcombes in Lequear's "Traditions" From pages 3 and 4 By Revell's Book of Surveys, now in the Secretary of State's office at Trenton, it appears that in May, 1699, 20,000 acres, lying along the Delaware, north of 10,000 acres surveyed for Dr. Cox, north of the 'Falls of the Delaware,' at Trenton, were surveyed for the Society of Friends. One of the first portions of the land in Amwell that was taken up by settlers, was that near Mt. Airy, known as Dismal tract, embracing upwards of 1000 acres. Solomon Holcombe of Mt. Airy now owns part of this tract. He is over eighty years of age, but has remarkable vigor of mind and body. He says that the store and dwelling now occupied by him was an old tavern at the time of the Revolution. Alequasakin mill, at Mt. Airy, is of the same antiquity. Solomon Holcombe's father, Solomon Holcombe, was a scout during the Revolution. Two of his relatives, Elijah, and Maj. George Holcombe, went 'all through the war.' Maj. George Holcombe was one of the most daring men in the army. He was once cut off from his detachment by a party of British soldiers, and escaped by swimming a stream. The Story of Robert Sharp In the writing out of these traditions I give them as they were received, without reference to the order of dates. One of the most remarkable men connected with Samuel Holcombe, was Robert Sharp. His history is given by his son, Col. John Sharp, now living in West Amwell, near Sandy Ridge Church. Robert Sharp came from Deal, Kent County, England, when quite a young man. He had served seven years as an apprentice to the shoemaking business. He first went to Philadelphia, and then to Princeton. Here he met with Elijah Holcombe, who persuaded him to come to Amwell. They went round among the farmers to make shoes, which was called 'whipping the cat.'---Robert made his home at Samuel Holcombe's. As Samuel had a family, when he would be required to serve with the militia, Robert would go in his stead. He was in the army about ten years. He was in the battle of Germantown and did good service there. In the retreat he would hear the bullets strike against the rails of the fences which they had to climb, and would jerk his hands away quickly, forgetting that the balls had already struck. A ball from a field piece took off a man's thigh, and Sharp stopped in the midst of the flying bullets to carry him into a house. After the war was over a violent dispute arose between the Democrats and Federalists, and efforts were made to prevent those who had not been naturalized from voting. Sharp was a strong supporter of Washington's Administration, and when his turn came he was objected to. On hearing of this, Capt. Cornelius Hoppcock stepped up and said, 'You shan't stop Robert Sharp from voting. One night my company lay on the other side of the river, and we suddenly received marching orders. The enemy were at Pennington, but not one of my men knew where they were going or whom they had to meet. It was a very dark night, and we started in a body across the river. When we got to Mt. Airy, I ordered a halt, and found that I had only three men left, and Robert Sharp was one of them! By G--, you shan't stop him from voting!' And they didn't. Robert Sharp lived to vote for upwards of forty years after that, and his son Col. John Sharp, assured us, with a peculiar twinkle of pride in his eye, that he has voted but one way since he was old enough to vote at all. He is remarkably intelligent, and as firm an adherent to the administration of Grant as his patriot sire was to that of Washington. From pages 7 to 9 The Holcombes Come to Amwell Who was the first settler in Amwell we will not at present undertake to state, for in tracing up the events which form the subject of these traditions, we find that some published accounts are very much at fault. The place is called �Amwell� in the surveys of 1702. John Holcombe, the first of that name who ever settled in West Jersey, and the progenitor of all the Holcombes living in that section of the country, bought a large tract of land, on the Delaware, commencing somewhere in the northern part of what is Lambertville and running up the river. A portion of this land, at least, he purchased in 1705, as we have learned from notes of survey now in possession of J. Johnson Fisher, an old surveyor, who knows every foot of land in the original Amwell township. Mr. Fisher is now more than eighty-five years of age, yet he has a vigorous intellect, and his memory of events is truly wonderful. He is now studying the German language, having commenced it only a year or two ago. John Holcombe built a stone house on his land�on what he called the Ways tract. This house is now standing, and occupied by Pierson P. Niece, a tenant of one of John Holcombe�s descendants. It is situated on a beautiful eminence, about half a mile North-east of the Delaware Bridge. According to some accounts John Holcombe and Emanuel Coryell came together up the Indian path along the Delaware, and selected land. John�s descendants say that he originally came from England and lived for some time in Montgomery county, Pa. He died in the summer of 1743, his will having been made during his last illness, as appears by the date of said will, which was proved in �the Eighth month of 1743.� Emanuel Coryell and Benjamin Canby were witnesses to the document. In it he bequeaths to his son Richard, with other property, �a farm in Amwell Township,� the property he �bought of John Ways.� Richard Holcombe lived and died in the stone house built by his father. These old walls should be held as sacred as Chew�s House or the mansion at Valley Forge; for here, during some of the darkest hours of the Revolution, Washington and his staff found shelter, and Richard Holcombe was their host. Richard died in the �12th month, 1783.� He left 5 Pounds to the Buckingham Meeting, of which he was a member. His widow rode in the funeral procession to Buckingham on horseback. An incident occurred that illustrated the temerity of the women of those times. Richard, like the Holcombes of the present day, was fond of blooded stock.�He kept several fine horses, and among the rest, a very handsome mare which his wife used to ride. At the time of the funeral this mare had an unweaned colt, which was left in the stable. The day was very stormy, and on her return from the burial, Mrs. Holcombe rode rapidly. On reaching the ferry, she rode upon the boat, there had to wait a short time for it to start. The mare grew impatient, and Mrs. Holcombe, losing the rein for a moment, the animal leaped over the side of the boat into the river and struck boldly out for the opposite shore, with her brave mistress clinging to her back. Both reached home in safety, and suffered no injury from their December bath. On pages 104 and 110, brief mention is made of John Holcombe. P. 104. � John Holcombe carried a good deal of Quaker influence into West Amwell, while Kingwood was specially a Quaker settlement.� P. 110. �We have already stated that one tradition is that John Holcombe and Emanuel <Coryell> came up the river to view the land as early as 1707. Finally, Emanuel and two of his brothers came to the ferry. Emanuel took property along the river next to John Holcombe�s land; Cornelius that east of him, running back towards Goat Hill, and Esq. John�s ancestor, another brother, settled near them.� From Lequear's "Traditions of Hunterdon" (originally published 1869-70). |