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From: "Dane Coefer" <>
Subject: [NJHUNTER] Van Horn in Lequear's Traditions of Hunterdon
Date: Tue, 8 May 2001 11:58:13 -0700

Karla and the list,


>From pages 83-84 of Lequear:

The Van Horns of White House

The Van Horn Family, now very numerous in our State, were originally from Holland, as the name indicates.
Abraham Van Horn came from Monmouth to White House, in this county, about 1749. Tradition says that he
was from Holland, and that the name was Tyson, being changed to Van Horn for some political reason. The
family is numerous in Bucks County, Pa., and they give evidence of their Dutch origin.

It was nothing new in those days for people to load up a wagon, and with their oxen journey several miles
through the wilderness. In this way the pioneers of our State journeyed, the family and household goods
occupying the wagons, and the men going in advance to cut their way. We can imagine a stout, good-looking
man, rather red-faced, with a pointed hat, long shad-bellied coat with big pockets, breeches and long stockings,
with an axe in one hand and an ox-goad in the other, a brace of pistols and a hunting knife in his belt; a rifle
slung over his back, two span of oxen—one harnessed to the “dissel boom”—probably a sapling cut from the
woods, and the others on the lead—by means of yoke and “trek tow”—a cable of thongs of raw-hide twisted
together; a flaxen haired woman, rather stout, with rosy cheeks and blue eyes, and perhaps two or three little
children with same colored cheeks, hair and eyes, seated in a wagon covered with homespun tow-cloth, made
by the good vrouw’s own hand. If we draw upon our fancies for a picture something like this, we can form some
idea how old Abraham Van Horn and his family first made their appearance in Hunterdon and halted by the side
of the Rockaway, where one of the descendants of that honored branch still lives. If we suppose no houses built,
they must have camped in the wagon the first night. It is probable that a temporary hut was constructed till the
“new house,” the admiration of the settlement, was erected. The spinning wheel and the cat, the two indispensable
articles that went to make up the wealth of the new household, accompanied them.

Abraham took up 400 acres of land, prudently selecting that which had the stream running through it, upon which
he afterwards built a mill. But before his was built he was compelled to go to Middlebrook to mill. The road to
Flemington was then an Indian path. It was afterwards laid out as a public road, and was, for many years, the only
road to the settlement. After the mill, a tavern and store were built.


WHITE HOUSE NAMED FOR TAVERN

Casper Burger, a mason by trade, who sold himself to pay his passage to this country, worked out his freedom in
building the tavern. It was plastered on the outside, and when dry the mortar became white—and so it was called
the “white house,” a name retained by the village to this day. The glaring eyes of wolves, at night round the doorway,
elicited not so much surprise as did the light from the bull’s eye of the locomotive when it thundered up the track for
the first time.

The “White House” stood close by the bridge on the turnpike. Abraham Van Horn’s land extended south of the railroad
and on both sides of the creek, along what is now the Eaton & New Brunswick turnpike. He had three sons, Cornelius,
Abraham and Matthew, and several daughters. One of these married Baltis Pickel, one Tunis Melick, and one married
a Schenck, and afterwards Tobias Ten Eycke. The Wycoffs settled north of the turnpike.

Cornelius Wycoff had several sons who became prominent men. These were Cornelius, George, Simon and Dennis
Wycoff, Esq.. Abraham Van Horn, a son of the first Abraham, married a Wycoff. He lived where Simon Wycoff Van Horn
now lives.

ABRAHAM VAN HORN AIDED WASHINGTON’S ARMY

The kitchen at the east end of the Van Horn house at Whitehouse was standing long before the Revolution. When
Washington’s army lay at Morristown, Abraham was appointed forage master. He bought grain, &c., and hauled
to the army. As the Wycoffs had good teams (a liking for which seems to have fallen to their descendants) they
were employed to haul grain to Morristown. This continued till the proximity of the British made it dangerous,
when they were about to retire to their homes. All got safely away but Simon, before the quartermaster had
any suspicion of their leaving. Simon was told that he must remain. He privately made up his mind, however,
that the British should not have his fine team, so he put whip to his horses, and out-ran the cavalry who started
in pursuit, escaping with the loss of his tailboard.

When the Hessian prisoners were marched from Trenton into Pennsylvania a portion of them were brought this
way and lodged in Abraham Van Horn’s barn. They were taken to the kitchen, where a large washtub full of provisions
was brought out, and the contents distributed among them. The barn was used as a depot for forage during the
war. It was afterwards used for a meeting house, Mr. Demarest preaching there.

Lequear’s articles were originally published 1869-70.

Hope this is helpful,

Dane Coefer
Ashland, Oregon
http://www.geocities.com/dane97520/LequearIndex.html

.<br clear=all><hr>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at <a href="http://explorer.msn.com">http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></p>;

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