made many steps in advance, and every yeoman looked to the wet lands along the streams for his supply of winter feed for his stock, which made this kind of property then and for many years after very desirable real estate.

But William Biddle did not hold his possession of this island in peace, for William Penn, when he projected his great manor-house at Pennsbury, on the shore opposite, saw the benefit this property would be as part of his domain. He admitted that the channel of the river was to the west of the island, but in a letter to James Logan upon this subject said, "Tho' the channel goes between that (the island) and Pennsbury, yet it always belonged to the Indians of our tribe that lived at Sepassin, now Pennsbury," and in conclusion he further says, "move in it as most prudent and advisable."

The controversy went far enough to attract the attention. of the meetings to which the claimants belonged, and a committee was directed to examine into the question and report accordingly. This was done, and the claim as set up by the owner and governor of Pennsylvania was declared void, which put an end to a much-talked-of dispute between two eminent and conspicuous individuals.

Twenty-three days after the location of the island (January 10, 1681), William Biddle surveyed five hundred acres of land "against" Sepassinck Island, fronting on the river for sixty-five chains and extending into the woods seventyseven chains. On this tract he erected himself a house and other buildings, to which he moved and remained until his death. This homestead property he called Mount Hope. Benjamin Scott and William Biddle made a survey of six hundred and thirty-five acres fronting the river, but above the homestead, in 1681, and William Biddle also selected a town-lot of one hundred acres at a place called Spring Hill in the same year. This was probably afterwards called Bordentown.

Subsequently he became the owner of several lots in the town-bounds of Burlington, and made numerous other surveys in the county, and before Hunterdon was set off, within

which some of his land was situated. This shows him to have been a man of large means and good judgment in the choice of territory.

The house at Mount Hope was built about the year 1684, and many reminiscences deserving of notice surround the old dwelling. Here William Biddle dispensed a liberal hospitality, and made all welcome who visited him there. It was a spacious mansion, and, although in the simplicity of Friends, was well-appointed and gave evidence of substantial wealth and good taste. Here the members of the society in which he was prominent assembled twice each week for religious worship, and where the Quarterly Meetings for business were regularly held from 1686 to 1712. Intercourse with the Penn family, which resided on the opposite side of the river, was no doubt frequent, as the pleasantest of relations existed between them. William Biddle had built a wharf on the river, still known as Biddle's wharf, near Kincora, where boats could land, and which showed the track over the water from Pennsbury to his mansion.

According to the good order of Friends, marriages were solemnized there, and many a gay company gathered about the place to welcome the guests and assist in their departure. Carriages were not in use and each one rode on horseback, the bride and groom always being in advance, except in the return to the house of entertainment. Two or three days were consumed in celebrating the nuptials by way of assembling at the houses of the near relatives, where everything eatable and drinkable was in profusion. A committee of elderly Friends, male and female, was always present to see that everything was orderly, but this committee generally closed their eyes to what was going on around them, and found it convenient to depart soon after supper had been served, leaving the young folks to their own purposes.

The marriage certificates of two hundred years ago show, by the signatures attached to them, how liberally the invitations were distributed and who were entertained on such occasions. At that house the meetings of ministers were

held, where questions endangering the doctrines or discipline of the Church were discussed and made ready for disposal at the regular Quarterly Meetings, and from thence to the Yearly Meetings.

In those days many controversial pamphlets were published, some of which were well written and convincing, while others were of questionable propriety and did not receive the sanction of the society. That slavery existed in the colony, from the first settlement, is beyond question. These unfortunate creatures were frequently brought direct from the African coast and sold from shipboard to the highest bidder, and the large profits realized made the trade active in this kind of property. An examination of the wills and inventories made of the personal estates of the emigrant fathers shows that this kind of chattel often increased the pounds, shillings, and pence of the deceased person's belongings. A plantation was not properly equipped without numerous slaves, nor was a gentleman's establishment complete except a number of servants attended the table, the kitchen, and the stables. They were in every family, and were bought, sold, and exchanged like any other commodity. When owned by considerate people they were treated kindly, but too often their condition was deplorable through abuse and neglect.

Gradually it dawned upon some of the colonists that the institution was an evil and that to hold a human being in bondage was questionable, but it was left for John Woolman to raise his voice in its condemnation. His testimony was always against it, and with him may rest the honor of bringing about its gradual abolishment in New Jersey. The three William Biddles in succession no doubt held slaves, and there is some secluded spot, long since forgotten, upon the Mount Hope estate where their remains were buried. Near by was the old family graveyard, where the emigrant, his wife, and others of his descendants were interred. A fence may have been about it to save it from intrusion, and within were rough stones, cut with rude and uncouth letters, showing where each mound of earth had been and where lay some

one of the ancestors of the family. As time progressed the mounds sank away and the stones lost their places. Perhaps the group of stately oaks now standing in one of the fields on the old farm may surround these graves. It may be that this spot was always pointed out to new owners, with the request that the soil be not broken nor the trees removed, which request has always been observed.

If this be so, then the descendants of these sturdy pioneers should occasionally visit the spot and show their respect for those who helped to lay the foundation of a free government, who were identified with many good works which have left their impress upon the institutions of our land, who enlarged civil liberty and restrained the abuse of power, and who left this inheritance to be enjoyed by coming generations.

"Nameless, noteless, clay with clay
Mingles slowly, day by day."

It is proper to turn back and examine the political preferments that came to William Biddle in the colony, from his first coming to the time of his decease. The interval between the arrival of the commissioners (1677) and the sitting of the first legislature (1682), when there was so much trouble in regard to the government of the colony, need not be discussed here. On the 2d day of May, 1682, the first legislature sat at Burlington, when William Biddle appeared as one of the members, elected from Burlington County, and was selected by the governor as one of his council. This showed the confidence of the executive in the man and proved his qualifications as a law-maker. By this he became one of the advisers of "His Excellency" and one of his confidential friends.

At the same session he was appointed one of the judges of the several courts of the county, and the minutes of those tribunals show his constant attendance in the discharge of his duties. This place he filled for several years and perhaps until old age admonished him to give up his public positions.

There is, perhaps, none of the ancient records preserved in the offices at Trenton, N.J., of more interest to the antiquarian than the minute-books of the minor courts of Burlington County. The entries commence in 1680, and are made up of lists of grand jurors and petit jurors, the names of parties litigant, style of action, and verdicts rendered. Considerable space is taken up with the "ear-marks" of owners, by which every man was expected to identify his hogs, calves, cattle, horses, and sheep running wild in the forests. There was an abundance of pasture in the woods, and when the berries, nuts, and acorns were ripe, the swine became fat and attractive. The temptation for hunters to kill them was too great for some, and occasionally a lawsuit grew out of such proceedings. The marks were easily destroyed by cutting off the entire ear, hence the difficulty of identification was much increased. Occasionally a man was caught with a pig on his back, and having in his haste forgotten to cut off" the marks," was readily convicted and punished. Many suits commenced were, by the advice of friends, settled and others abandoned when passion had cooled and a better judgment prevailed.

The minute-books of the supreme court, commencing March 25, 1681, show a different class of cases, and much more extensive as to territory, including Gloucester, Salem, and Cape May Counties. As the Council of Proprietors was not established until 1687, the proceedings of the commissioners in the locating of land are entered in these books, and contain much valuable information. The sentences passed by the court in criminal cases were in many instances severe; whipping on the naked back at the cart's tail and sitting in the stocks were frequently imposed. Imprisonment in the county jail was also part of the punishment for small offences.

With all this William Biddle had much to do, and lived to see many changes in the colony,-its rapid increase in population, its development in agriculture, and its commerce with the mother country. When the Council of Proprietors was organized (March, 1687) he was among the members