James Brintzinghoffer ← Theodore C. Brintzinghoffer ← Catherine Forman ← William Spencer Forman ← Robert Forman ← William Forman ← Lewis Forman ← Aaron Forman ← Samuel Forman
Samuel Forman is my 8th great-grandfather. He was born in Hempstead, Long Island in 1662 and moved with his brothers, Thomas and Alexander, to Freehold, Monmouth County, Province of East Jersey. He was a prominent settler and left a long trail of records before he died on 13 OCT 1740.
This is the text of the Remonstrance of the Inhabitants of East Jersey to the King, against the acts of the Proprietors, and asking for the appointment of a competent Governor. It was signed by Samuel and Thomas Forman and lays out a series of grievances against the Proprietors.
Who are the Proprietors? On June 24, 1664, 3 months after being given land in the New World, the Duke of York gave what became NJ to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret who intended to entice settlers by offering better terms than they could get in England – religious freedom, representative government, taxation by representation, clear title to land, a military for security – all laid out in a document called The Concession and Agreement of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of New Caesarea, or New Jersey, to and With All and Every the Adventurers and All Such as Shall Settle or Plant There – 1664.
The Proprietors were in effect early landowners who took on the role of land managers for the first 4 decades of British settlement – and they were exceptionally bad at it. They were asked to step down on a number of occasions and in 1702, they were removed from governance completely. They continued to own land however and The East Jersey Proprietors —reportedly New Jersey’s oldest corporation – did not dissolve until 1998.
Opening Address.
To the King’s most Excellent Majesty
The Remonstrance and Humble Petition of your Majesty’s Loyal Subjects Inhabiting in your Majesty’s Province of East New Jersey in America
We moved to the colonies and had permission from the Governor under the Duke of York to buy land directly from the Lenape – and we did.
Humbly shewith: That whereas your Majesty’s humble Petitioners did Remove and Settle themselves into the said Province of East New Jersey and by Vertue of a Licence from the Honorab1e Coll Richard Nicholls Governour of the said Province under his then Royal Highness the Duke of Yorke to purchase Lands of the Native Pagans did according to the said Licence Purchase Lands of the said Natives at their own Proper Coasts and Charges
But you sold your interest to the Proprietors. Now when people buy land from the Lenape, and believe they own it outright, the Proprietors come after them for rent. They are forced to spend a fortune defending themselves in court.
And Whereas since his said Royall Highness did sell and Transfer all his Right and Interest to the said Province of East New Jersey to certain Proprietors by whose Licence severall other your Majesty’s Loyall Subjects have also since purchased Lands at their own proper Costs and Charges of the Native Pagans of the same Place whereby they humbly Conceive they have Acquired and Gained a Right and Property to the said Lands so purchased Yet notwithstanding your Majesty’s Loyall Subjects are Molested Disturbed and Disposessed of their said Lands by the said Proprietors or their Agents who under pretence and Colour of having bought the Government with the Soile have distrained from and Ejected severall Persons for and under pretence of Quitt Rent and Lords Rent whereby your Majesty Liege Subjects have been sued and put to great Trouble and Charges and have been Compelled to Answer to vexatious Actions and after they have defended their own Rights and obtained Judgement in their favour could not have their Charges as according to Law they ought to have but have been forced to sitt down under the loss of severall Hundreds of Pounds sustained by their unjust Molestations
And worse, after they purchase the land, the Proprietors feel they can give that land away to someone else – any time they want – without due process of law.
And further notwitstanding your Majesty’s Liege Subjects have Purchased their Lands at their own Proper Costs and Charges by Vertue of the aforesaid Licences Yet the said Proprietors Gov or Agents without any pretended Process of Law have given and Granted Great part of the said Lands by Pattent to severall of the said Proprietors and others as to them seemed fitt
The Proprietors claim to be the government, but they haven’t provided us with arms or a military for defense, as we were promised in the Concession and Agreement.
And worse, they have provoked the Lenape by surveying and patenting their lands without permission and without buying it first.
And notwithstanding their Pretence to Government Yet they left us from the latter end of June 1689 till about the latter end of August 1692 without any Government and that too in time of Actual War so that had the Enemy made a Descent upon Us wee were without any Military officers to Command or Give Directions in Order to Our Defence or Magistrates to put the Laws in Execution and dureing the whole time the said Proprietors have Governed this your Majesty’s Province they have never taken Care to preserve or Defend us from the Native Pagans or other Enimys by sending or Providing any Arms Amunition or Stores but rather have provoked and Incensed the said Natives to make Warr upon Us by Surveying & Pattenting their Lands contrary to their Liking without purchaseing the same from them or making any Satisfaction in Consideration thereof
And even when the Lenape do decide to sell land, the Proprietors either force the new owner to pay them too, or give the land away to someone else, or force terms on the deal that the Lenape resent. At this point, you have to assume the Lenape are going to be looking for revenge.
And sometimes when the said Natives have sold & Disposed their Lands as to them seemed meet they the said Proprietors have disposed of the same to others or else forced them who had the Property in it to Purchase it of them upon their own terms which the said Natives have highly Resented and often complained of and may justly be feared waite only for an opportunity to Revenge it upon the Inhabitants of this your Majesty’s Province
And we really liked Col. Hamilton as our representative, but we understand that you just had a Jacobite Uprising and you don’t want Scotsmen in government, so we picked a good replacement.
And you approved our replacement, but the Proprietors decided to bypass him, and put Col. Hamilton back in charge – and that’s not legal.
And further to manifest the Illegall and Arbitrary proceedings of the said Proprietor in Contempt of yr Majesty’s Laws and against their own knowledge signified in a Letter by them to the Councill here in East New Jersey wherein they say as followeth We have been oblidged against our Inclinations to Dismiss Coll Hamilton from the Government because of a late Act of Parliament disabling all Scotch Men to serve in places of Publick Trust or Profitt And obliging all Proprietors of Collonies to present their respective Governours to the King for his Approbation So Wee have Appointed our ffriend Jeremiah Basse to Succeed Coll Hamilton in Government whom Wee have also presented to the King and he is by him owned and approved off.
Notwithstanding which Letter they have Superceeded the said Jeremiah Basse whom they wrote was approved by your Majesty and have Commissionated the said Coll Hamilton again without your Majesty’s Royal Approbation, although Removed before by them as a Person disabled by Law,Who now by Vertue of their the said Proprietors Commission only would Impose himself upon Us as Governour.
And Hamilton didn’t take the oath of office for a year, so he was operating the government illegally for a year.
And back to the Scottish thing – the Secretary, the Attorney General and the Clerk of the Supreme Court are all Scots – and that’s illegal.
And now that the Scots are in charge, who knows what’s going to happen? We’re not going to be able to report on any illegal Scottish behavior if the Scots are in charge.
And when in Government before Superceeded by the aforesaid Basse was by them continued about a Year after the twenty ffifth of March 1697 without taking the Oath Injoyned by Law And doth now presume to Exercise Government not having Legally taken the said Oath or having your Majesty’s Royal Approbation The said Proprietors of East New Jersey have also in Contempt of your Majesty’s known Laws Commissionated a Native of Scotland to be Secretary and Attorney General of this your Majesty’s Province being both Places of the greatest Trust next the Governour and one of the Same Nation to be Clerke of the Supream Court of this your Majesty’s Province. Which may be of Ill Consequence in Relation to the Act of Trade and Navigation and to the great Hindrance of Your Majesty’s Loyall Subjects the Power of Government being Cheifly in the Hands of Natives of Scotland from Informing against any Illegall or Fraudulent Trading by Scotchmen or others in this Province.
So would you please send us an impartial Governor to referee?
Wee your Majesty’s Loyall Subjects Labouring under these and many other Greivances and oppressions by the Proprietors of this your Majesty’s Province of East New Jersey Do in most humble manner Lay Ourselves before Your Majesty the Fountain of Justice Humbly Imploreing your Majesty will be Graciously Pleased according to your Princely Wisdome to take into Consideration Our Evill Circumstances Under the Present Proprietors if the Right of Government is Invested in them and that your May will be Graciously Pleased to give your Royall Orders to the said Proprietors That with your Majesty’s Royall approbation they Commissionate for Governour A fitt Person Quallified according to Law Who as an Indifferent Judge may decide the Controverseys Arising between the Proprietors and the Inhabitants of this your Majesty’s Province And settle all the Differences which at present they Labour under
And your Majesty’s Petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray &c
