1670-1742?
This Gershom is not proven to be the father of these children except forCaleb.
That George made his will in this same area of deed below and the nameGershom has connected them for me but I know it is not proof.
Received from the NJ Archives filed there as F2 page 378 and 379 a landdeed for Gershom Wiggins (spelled Wiggans throughout) to Caleb Wiggins,deed made 12th February 1741 and recorded 10 April 1745.
To all Christian people to whom this present writing may come, I gershomWiggins of Millstone River in the County of Somerset in the Province ofNew Jersey, Yeoman, send greeting. Know ye that I gershom Wiggins as wellfor and in consideration of the natural love and affection which I bearunto my beloved son Caleb Wiggins as for divers other causes andconsideration herewith moving, have given granted and by these presentsdo fully, give and confirm for ever a certain tract of land lying uponthe Millstone River in Somerset County containing 250 acres more or less,beginning at a small hickory sapling marked on all four sides beingHarrison's corner and from thence N NW along the line of trees ofChristopher Bookmans till it comes to Fox Brook thence running along thesaid brook to a large hickory tree upon John Van Dikes line thence Southalong Van Dikes line to corner between J. Van Dike and gershom Wigginsand John Harrison, thence along Harrisons line being 2-3 Hickory trees,they being marked to the place where we first begun it.
It being a tract of land which gershom Wiggins bought of John Harrison,Sr. being bounded on north by gershom Wiggins and now in possession ofRulef Covonovon west by John Van Dike south by John Harrison and east byChristopher Bookman.
It goes along for several paragraphs saying that everything on thisproperty is to be given to Caleb, his heirs and assigns forever.
In witness whereof I the said gershom Wiggins have hereunto set my handand seal this 12th day of Feb. in the fourteenth year of the reign of oursovereign Lord, George II, King of Great Britain AD one thousand sevenhundred and forty/forty one.
Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of John Van Dike and RollofVan Dike. his
gershom Wiggins
mark
New Brunswick, April 9th 1745 Rollof Van Dike one of the subscribingwitnesses of the deed personally comes and appears before me James Hudo,one of His Majesty S council for Province of NJ being sworn on the HolyEvangelist of Almighty God, on his oath did declare that he was presentand saw gershom Wiggins sign and as his voluntary act deliver the withininstrument for the uses therein.
This deed is not given word for word as it repeats itself
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The will of John Harrison of Perth Amboy, NJ dated February 8 1709/10mentions 4 daughters, un named and has 500 pounds due from gershomWiggins in Somerset County, by bond.(this was an abstract of CharlesGarner file at Rutgers U))
I received a copy of the will and inventory of John Harrison of PerthAmboy (Middlesex Co.) he had 4 daughters and they were named: Elizabeth,Sarah, Mary and can't read the other name. Several sons, some of whichwere not of age, sons including John, Edward, Harry? and 1-2 more.Harrison was quite wealthy by what I can make out of his inventory. Thecopy of this will was very dark and only parts could be read.
There were some Harrison's in Dobbs Co. NC also.
Buried at Vienna, Independence Township Warren County, on a stone stillstanding in a place used as a graveyard appears, G. Wiggins died 1742
This was Sussex Co. in 1740, there was a Walter Wiggins living theresometime around this period and had sons/grandsons there later. Somethink this graveyard may be on that property but not much is known forsure.
*These two above items were in the notes of Charles Gardner file atRutgers University at New Brunswick, NJ.
The reason for including the will of John Harrison is that this is a clueto Gershom's wife's maiden name. Gershom and Thomas Wiggins registeredtheir earmarks (brand) May 10, 1709 in Piscataway, Middlesex Co. NJ andEdward Harrison also registered. The fact that gershom bought the landfrom Harrison and Harrison's son lives next to him indicate there may besome family relationship here. It was said that if a young man did nothave land, that the father of the girl whom he wanted to marry would loanhim money to buy so his daughter would be well taken care of. Thisprobably happened in the case of Robert S. Lyon and his father in law,James Lewis. Lewis had it in his will that he had given them money sowhat was owed taken out of their part. And another son in law wasmentioned the same way.
Gershom Wiggins is mentioned in the will of John Van Dyke made 12 April1757 as Van Dyke had purchased 230 acres in Somerset Co. from Gershom,where Van Dyke's son was already living.
Many of the Quaker men called themselves yeoman, but some others didalso, meaning a simple, honest man. The western part of NJ was settled byQuakers I am told, and this includes Somerset. It appears from presentmap that Princeton is now located in Mercer County, not Somerset. Atleast John and some of his descendants had slaves which is not the markof a Quaker.
Some Quaker records were researched for Dobbs County, North Carolina andthere was a Quaker Monthly meeting on Falling Creek by 1758 but theirrecords have been lost. They were active here only a few years before theQuakers moved over into Wayne County. There are some records there ofWiggins in 1891.
The Millstone River seems to begin about Piscataway and flows south andto the east of Princeton and on down to run into another, larger River.
The above deed was signed by gershom Wiggins with a small g as I haveindicated as did his grandson Gershom in the court documents in suit overEllenor and Charlotte selling the land before they were of age in1792-1803.
born about 1708 and died maybe as late as 1780?
brother of George and John, Executor of George's will 1750 in NJ
Ref.# 2142
Colonial Deeds of North Carolina Book 15 #4903 page 123, 17 March 1756,300 acres in Johnston County on north side of Neuse River including SloopLanding joining the River Bank, John Gills, a swamp and the mouth andmeanders of Stirupp Creek.
4 April 1745 John Giles 250 acres in Craven on N. side of Neuse joiningE. side of Stirupp Creek, John Wiggins and Neuse.
This grant must have either been given to or bought by John Sr.
Entries and Warrants from Dobbs County, 1741-1757 transcribed by Wm. L.Murphy of Raleigh, NC. dated 10 June 1746 Gershom Wiggins 300 acresCraven, on N. Side of Nuse at a place commonly known by the name SloopLanding on the upper side of Falling Creek Begg (Bogg?) at a white Oakand ending at a maple on the upper end of the Land. (Is this thebeginning of the process which the above completes?)
He is also listed in the Johnston Co. NC Militia as Gersham Sr. with hisnephew, son of John, as Gersham, Jr. in 1755.
He is the Executor of George's estate in NJ. Is he the same one laterlisted in Morris Co. NJ in 1776?
1714-bef... 1790 Ref# 541
Caleb is listed on the Craven Co. tax list of 1769 and 1779. He is alsolisted on muster roll of Capt. Lewis Bryan's Company in Craven County 25October 1754.
Craven Co. Deed Book 1 page 527 Caleb bought 320 acres from Abiah Bangs,widow of Jonathan Bangs in 1750 and in 1780 he sold 80 acres to WilliamStansell, Book 24, page 283. (Abiah Bangs has will in Craven Will Book 8page 226 dated 3 June 1755 with cousin Elizabeth Hobbs, daughter BettyBangs, sisters Elizabeth and Mary Carruthers and Bro John Carruthers)
22 April 1763, Samuel Branton received a 50 acre grant in Craven Co. onN. side of Neuse River joining Caleb Wiggins.
Is this the same Caleb whose father Gershom gave him 240 acres inSomerset County, NJ on Millstone River and 1 side bounded by Fox Creek?in 1741? and did he have a son John who could be the witness on deed ofJohn Wiggins to Thomas Wiggins in 1741?
More work needs to be done in Craven to try to locate Caleb and family.He died too early to be shown on any of the Federal census. I think allthe Wiggins in Craven are accounted for, in another family so if Calebleft descendants, they are probably in NJ.
