Here’s an
1897 Letter Signed by Prominent
Monmouth County Politician, Jurist and Historian
SAMUEL CRAIG COWART
(1854-1943)
· DISTINGUISHED NEW JERSEY LAWYER, POLITICIAN, HISTORIAN
& POET,
· SPECIAL MASTER IN CHANCERY COURT FOR MONMOUTH COUNTY,
NEW JERSEY,
· CHAIRMAN OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR MONMOUTH BATTLE
MONUMENT COMMISSION FOR BOTH THE 125th and 150th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS IN
1903 and 1928,
· HISTORIAN and AUTHORITY OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR DAYS IN
MONMOUTH COUNTY, AUTHORING ADDRESSES and POEMS ABOUT THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH,
· CHARTER MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE SONS OF
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION,
· DEAN OF THE NEW JERSEY BAR ASSOCIATION,
· TRUSTEE OF THE NEW JERSEY MILITARY ACADEMY 1900s, and
· MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF COLONIAL WARS, THE SONS OF
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, THE NJ HISTORICAL SOCIETY, and THE MONMOUTH COUNTY
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
In 1914, Maryland Governor James Fielder appointed Samuel Cowart to represent the State at the centennial celebration of Baltimore. On this occasion the lawyer read his own poem, 'The Starry Banner of the Free,' at the unveiling of the Sir Francis Scott Key monument."
The Letter is executed by Cowart on his Law firm
letterhead, 1p., dated at Freehold, NJ, Oct. 28, 1897, and also bears an
Autograph Note Signed by the recipient
GARRET SMOCK JONES
(1851 –
1932)
·
BANKER,
FINANCIER and 1880’s OBSOLETE CURRENCY BANKNOTE SIGNER,
· FIRST CASHIER OF THE “KEYPORT BANKING COMPANY,”
KEYPORT, NJ. 1884-1888, and
· CO-FOUNDER and FIRST CASHIER OF THE “RAHWAY NATIONAL
BANK,” RAHWAY, NJ. 1901-1919.
BIOGRAPHY
OF SAMUEL CRAIG COWART
Samuel Craig Cowart (1854 Dec. 16 - 1943 April 23),
distinguished lawyer, poet, and politician, was the son of Enoch Lloyd Cowart
and Anna Maria Bowne. He was born in Freehold, New Jersey on December 16, 1854,
and attended the Freehold Institute from 1867 to 1873. He attended Princeton
University (1873-1876), and then took up the study of law with Judge William H.
Vredenburgh (ca. 1876-1879), and was admitted to the NJ Bar in 1879.
As an attorney practicing in Freehold, Cowart was a
counselor and also a special master in Chancery. He married Florence Salome
Shepard (b. 1869) in 1881. They apparently had no children. Cowart inherited
the Craig House (‘West farm’) located on the Monmouth battleground.
Samuel C. Cowart was considered a local historian of note
and was well versed in Monmouth County history, and his poetry reflected this
knowledge. He was active in the Monmouth Battle Monument Commission, serving as
Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements for both the 125th and 150th
anniversary celebrations of the Revolutionary War Battle of Monmouth in 1903
and 1928. He was also a charter member
of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
In 1916, Cowart was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress
on the Republican ticket. He served as Dean of the NJ Bar, and was a member of
the Monmouth Bar Association.
The Freehold Institute, established in 1844, became the NJ
Military Academy in 1900, and Cowart served on its Board of Trustees. He was
also a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, the Sons of the American
Revolution, the NJ Historical Society, and the Monmouth County Historical
Association.
An Elder in the Freehold First Presbyterian Church, he also
served in that capacity when he returned to membership in the historic Old
Tennent Church. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Monmouth Presbytery.
Samuel C. Cowart died on April 23, 1943, and is buried in
the Old Tennent Church graveyard (Plot 113)
Cowart’s obituary in the New York Times (April 24, 1943)
indicates that Cowart was a lifelong resident of Freehold, New Jersey and was
"an authority on Revolutionary War days in Monmouth County . . . . "
"Governor James Fielder appointed Mr. Cowart in 1914 to represent the
State at the centennial celebration of Baltimore. On this occasion the lawyer
read his own poem, 'The Starry Banner of the Free,' at the unveiling of the Sir
Francis Scott Key monument."
COWART’S
HISTORIC HOME IN FREEHOLD, NJ
The historic John Craig House and farm in Freehold was
located on part of the Revolutionary War Monmouth Battlefield. For a period of time it was owned by Samuel
Craig Cowart.
Samuel delighted in taking friends on tours to the farm in
order to relate his tales of the battle.
Samuel Craig Cowart resided at a new home he built at 47
Court Street in Freehold, near the Monmouth Battle Monument, and rented the old
Craig Farm out to tenant farmers. He died in 1943, and the next year his widow
sold the property to Ernest Tark. Tark set up what he called the “Battleground
Farm” and used the Craig House to house migrant workers. During this period the
house fell into disrepair, and for a time its occupants burned its panels and
trim for fuel. Even so, the house still
maintained its essential colonial character when it was acquired by the State
of New Jersey in 1965.
An article in the “The Freehold Transcript,” December 25,
1958, had this to say about Cowart:
Mr. Cowart was that anomaly – a dignified elderly attorney
with a sense of humor, albeit a quiet sense usually confined to a sly remark or
a twinkle of the eye. His interest in things old came to him naturally, as he
owned land upon which was fought the Battle of Monmouth some 75 years before he
was born! He also owned an old house which presumably stood during that
conflict and around which the fight was said to have raged. The writer does not
know if the old house still stands, but a few years ago it was a shambles,
although basically it was sound, or could have been made so. “
The Craig House was restored by 1993 to its Revolutionary
War appearance. Much of the building’s original construction can still be seen,
including brick filled walls and adze marks on the ceiling beams. In addition,
some of the paneling in the parlor is original, as are the door to the milk
room and most of the upstairs floor planks. The fireplaces have been rebuilt,
and the round-butted exterior shingles have been replaced in their original
style. The present barn was erected in ca. 1840-1850.
(Note: The Craig House is located near Freehold, New
Jersey, just west of the intersection of Route 9 and Schibanoff Road, about 1 ½
miles north of the intersection of Routes 9 and 33 (2 miles north of the
Freehold Mall).
WORKS OF POETRY BY COWART
Samuel Craig Cowart, Address, The Battle of Monmouth: and
poems, Patriot Sires of Monmouth: Old Tennent Church, June 24th, 1914,
welcoming Washington pilgrimage (Freehold, N.J. : Monmouth Democrat Print,
1914)
(Address: The Battle of Monmouth. And Poems: Patriot Sires
of Monmouth, and Starry Banner of the Free ([Freehold, New Jersey]: Transcript
Prtg. House, 1928)) (Address, Battle of Monmouth, and poem, Patriot sires of
Monmouth, Old Tennent Church, June 24th, 1914 (Hightstown, New Jersey:
Longstreet House, 1998);
The Starry Banner of the Free ([Freehold, New Jersey:
1914);
The Battle of Princeton, fought Jan. 3, 1777 (Freehold, New
Jersey: 1922)
Sources:
* Cowart Family Papers,
Monmouth County Historical Association, Freehold, New Jersey
* New York Times, April
24, 1943
* Lawlit.net
* Craig House Monmouth
Battlefield State Park; Interpreted by the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield
* Find a Grave –
Memorial ID 43561895
<>
COWART/CRAIG FAMILY HISTORY
John Craig, my Pioneer Scotch dissenter, came over in this vessel and built the large Colonial farm house, with brick filled walls, and heavy axed beams enclosed with hand made heart-pine Jersey shingles, with heavy wrought iron nails made by Van Cleaf, blacksmith at Tennent, who also made the locks, door hinges, and bolts at Tennent Church. The farm contained 300 acres. He bought 1000 acres at Tennent, helped build Old Scots Meeting House, on Free Hill, and is buried there.
John Craig Sr. (ca. 1650-1724), first
founder of the family line in New Jersey, was a Scottish Presbyterian
“Dissenter” who arrived in the colony in 1685 along with his family. He resided
most of his years in Perth Amboy, but in 1695 acquired a large farm at
“Topinemes” in Monmouth County, which he later expanded.
The present Craig Farm was purchased in
1720 by John Sr.’s son Archibald (1678-1751). Archibald gave the farm to his
son Samuel (1708-1746) in 1744. Samuel then set about building a one and
one-half story Dutch-framed house in 1746. Samuel was not able to enjoy his new
house for long, since he died on November 17, 1746. His inventory listed
lumber, hardware, glass and paint “for finishing the New House,” as well as
enough furniture to furnish three or four rooms.
At Samuel’s death the farm apparently
reverted to his father Archibald; Archibald then bequeathed it to Samuel’s son
John Jr. (1737-1824) when he died five years later in 1751. The farm was then
rented out to tenants until John Jr. turned 21 in 1758, when he was finally
able to take up his inheritance.
Around 1770, after John Jr. had married and
started his own family, he greatly enlarged the house by adding a two story
Georgian style addition on the west side of the older house. The addition was
about thirty feet square and featured a central hall adjacent to the main room
of the older house, which became the kitchen of the new house. The hall was
used for conducting business and to allow a degree of privacy for the rest of
the house. On the west side of the central hall was a large parlor with built
in storage cupboards and a big fireplace, which was used for heat, not cooking.
Next to the parlor was a bed chamber and another small room. Upstairs were
three or four bedchambers.
John Jr. and his wife
Ann (ca. 1739-1824) were living in this house with their family on the fateful
day of June 28, 1778, when the battle of Monmouth raged nearby. There was no
actual fighting in the area of the house, but the 9th Pennsylvania Regiment and
two battalions of Continental “picked men” did retreat across the farm during
the day, pursued by the 3rd British Brigade.
John Craig was in the American Army on the
day of the battle, and left his wife and his one child Amelia and two slaves at
the old farmhouse. As soon as Mrs. Craig heard the British were likely to join
battle with the American forces near the old farm, she packed her household
goods in two wagons and with her child and two slaves rode toward Upper
Freehold in the direction from which the British had come, thus expecting to
avoid molestation. Before leaving the farmhouse she took her silver, and
placing it in a kettle, sunk it in the open well. She then took the buckets and
chain which hung on the old fashioned sweep, and hid them in the hay mow in the
barn. The British shortly afterwards reached the farm house and occupied it as
a hospital. They took bed cording from the beds and hung an iron kettle on the
sweep, and after exhausting the water in the well found the silver at the
bottom. The iron kettle is now in the possession of Mr. Samuel C. Cowart, of
Freehold; who is a great grandson of John Craig. This farm has been in the
continuous possession of Mr. Cowart and his maternal ancestors for two hundred
years. The house is located about one mile west of Freehold, near Hartshorne’s
mill. A number of British soldiers were buried back of the house. Lord Sterling’s
artillery was placed on the high ground on the westerly side of the farm, and
there is a tradition that two cannon of the British were sunk in the meadow in
the retreat from the Battle.
Frank Symmes, History of
the Old
Tennent Church
(Cranbury, 1904).
There is no confirmed
source that the
Craig House was used as
a hospital
after the Battle of Monmouth.
John Craig farmed here
for almost fifty years after the battle. When he died in 1824, the farm
consisted of 200 acres cultivated in buckwheat, rye, oats, flax, hay and corn.
The outbuildings included a barn, barrack, corn crib and smoke house.
Partial Inventory of the
Goods and
Chattels of John Craig,
August 13, 1825
large round dining table 3.00
looking glass in front room 3.50
12 Windsor chairs 5.50
large family bible 1.50
lot of books 1.00
½ dozen silver teaspoons 4.50
an eight day clock 30.00
2 beds and
bedding 22.50
12 old rush bottom chairs 1.50
carpet in entry 2.00
3 casks in milk room 4.00
78 gallons of cider spirits 32.00
3 wagons 65.00
9 milk cows 116.00
33 sheep 60.00
5 horses 230.00
21 cattle 129.00
hogs and16 pigs 51.00
coloured man named Jim 75.00
When John Craig Jr. died
in 1824, his farm passed to his children, one-half share to his son Jonathan
and one-quarter share each to his daughters Amelia and Mary; another son Samuel
received property in New York. When Mary died in 1839, the two brothers deeded
their claim in the Freehold farm to Amelia (1778-1855), who had married Peter
Bowne in 1816. This couple had only one child, Anna Maria Bowne (1816-1898),
who married Enoch L. Cowart. Anna Maria inherited the house and farm from her
mother when Amelia died in 1855. On Anna Maria’s death in 1898, ownership of
the farm passed to her husband Enoch, who in turn passed it on to their son
Samuel Craig Cowart in 1908.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES:
GARRETT S. JONES
Birth: 26 May 1851, Holmdel, Monmouth County, New Jersey, USA
Death: 14 Jan 1932 (aged 80), Elizabeth, Union County, NJ
Burial: Holmdel Cemetery and
Mausoleum,
Holmdel, Monmouth County, New Jersey
…
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Bank Officer Name: |
Garrett
S. Jones |
|
Bank Note Signer?: |
Yes |
|
Home Bank: |
First
National Bank Key
Port, NJ Monmouth
County |
|
Banker ID: |
41548 |
|
|
Banker served in these
Banks
1. First National Bank, Key Port, NJ
(Cashier 1884-1888) NB
3164
2. Rahway National Bank, Rahway, NJ
(Cashier 1900-1918) NB 5260
Officer Name Variations:
G. S. Jones
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