In a message dated 7/26/99 00:10:45 Mountain Daylight Time, SBoevinglo@aol.com writes: > Hi, > I'm confused. I thought Amwell NJ was in Hunterdon County. However, on the > > 1790 NJ census it is in Essex County and nowhere else. The two counties are > > no where close to each other. What happened? > > Surname: KIPLE > Sharlene Sharlene: Essex was one of the original (1675) four counties, and covered most of the northern part of the state. Hunterdon was formed in 1714, and adjoined Essex at that time. Over the years, new counties were formed that separated the two. Today, Amwell Lake is in Hunterdon, but the "locale" called Amwell is on the border between Hunterdon and Somerset Counties. My map shows it in Somerset, but the GNIS shows it in Hunterdon. Both 1833 and 1853 Gazeteers show Amwell as being in Hunterdon. As far as I can determine, that location was NOT in Essex County in 1790, nor do I find any alternative Amwells that might have been. All I can suggest is that the census data reflects something other than the formal county boundaries (e.g., where the census taker(s) were located). Gary Vincent A RootsWeb Sponsor