Does this Decker family information agree with what the rest of you have? Dorrie ----- Original Message ----- From: Nancy Pascal <pascalfl@gate.net> To: <NJSUSSEX-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2000 4:17 PM Subject: [NJSUSSEX-L] Decker Family > Just received a photocopy of this article from Janet Bornhoeft. It > appeared in the Port Jervis newspaper (name not known) on 25 July 1890. > It did not include a name of the writer. > > Port Jervis, NY, Friday, July 25, 1890 > Re: Deed, Sept. 22, 1720 > > AN OLD PARCHMENT DEED > Sketch of the Early Decker Family and Their Descendants > > Among the documents which have been presented to the Minisink > Valley Historical Society is an ancient parchment deed of lands in the > present village of Port Jervis. It is dated September 23(?), 1720, and > is a conveyance of "ones thousand acres of land to be surveyed, laid out > and taken up in any piece within ye Western Division of the province of > New Jersey afores'd where legally purchased of ye Indians." The > consideration was L100 current money of New York. The grantors were > Sarah Stevensen, widow of Thomas Stevensen and Joseph Kirkride, both of > the county of Burke, Province of Pennsylvania. The grantee was Heleke > Decker of "Minisink, within the count ot Hunterdon and Western Division > of the province of New Jersey, being ye widdow & relict of John Decker, > Deceased." > The deed is in an excellant state of preservation. It was > presented to the Histoical Society by Mr. Josiah Wickham, accompanied by > a sketch of the descendants of Heleke Decker, Mr. Wickham being one of > them. The paper was read before a meeting of the Historical Society and > is as follows: > The son of the widow, Heleke DECKER, described in the deed, was > Peter Decker who settled in Deckertown, NJ. He had five sons and two > daughters. They were Samuel, Josiah, Martinus, Jope and Rick. > The FIRST grandson, SAMUEL settled in Deckertown and had fours sons > and three daughters. Their names were, Peter, Samuel, Stephen and > Dick. Of this family, Peter, a great-grandson of the widow mentioned in > the deed was the father of our townsman, Mark Decker, and was the first > man to propose to have the Dutch Reformed Church changed to > Presbyterian, which he accomplished and it was the first churh built in > Dectertown. Afterwards he moved west; Samuel and Stephen settled at > Deckertown and died there, and Dick went west. > The SECOND grandson, JOSIAH, settled in the Clove on lands where > Jacob Swartout now lives and which he owns. He built the first > grist-mill and saw-mill near him four miles north of Deckertown; and at > this age there were a few Indians on that side of our mountain and near > Coleville, where he received a bullet wound which he carried to his > grave. This happened a few days before the Minisink battle. He had > four sons and three daughters: Bowdewine, Abraham, William and Simon > all farmers who settled in the Clove on their father's land, except > Simon, who settled at Beemerville. Bowdewine had three sons and two > daughters; Josiah, Frederick and John B., the latter whom the Port > Jervis people will remember, once owned the Delaware House. The > daughters were Mary and Sarah. Abraham had only one daughter. William > had four sons and five daughters: John D., Richard, Alanson and Oscar, > Maria, Sarah, Emeline, Ellen and Eliza. Simon had four sons and one > daughter: Henry, John, Simon and Sidney. Josiah's three daughters were > Famachy (sic), Margaret and Leuchey. Famachy married a Kilpatrick, a > grandmother of our late Gen. Kilpatrick. Margaret married Seth Wickham, > mother of Josiah D. Whikham, our townsman. Leuchey married Robert Evens > and settled in Deckertown. > The THIRD grandson, MARTINUS, settled on the flat lands of Port > Jervis and lived there where the old stone house stands at Germantown. > He had two sons,; John who was called Hans, and Dick who went west. > John or Hans was at this time 15 years old and lay on the mountain side > with his father when Brant and his Indians were going through this > valley. He saw them burn his father's barn and the grain that was > shucked in the fields. When the men came on from Goshen, Martinus > joined them and followed Brant to Lackawaxen where the battle occurred. > He, after this bloody fight, with a few others, swam the river with his > rifle and escaped without a wound. John who was called Hans, (Martinus > son) settled one mile east from the Clove on the road leading to the > Drowned Lands, now owned by Abraham J. Decker, his son, who is living on > it at this date. > The FOURTH grandson, YOPE, settled on the farm now known as the > Amos Munson farm, near Deckertown, NJ. > The FIFTH grandson, RICK, lived and died in Deckertown. > > ______________________________