Memoirs of the life of David Rittenhouse, LLD. F.R.S., late president of the American Philosophical Society, &c. : $b interspersed with various notices of many distinguished men : with an appendix, containing sundry philosophical and other papers, most of which have not hitherto been publishedBarton, William
History
Memoirs of the life of David Rittenhouse, LLD. F.R.S., late president of the American Philosophical Society, &c. : $b interspersed with various notices of many distinguished men : with an appendix, containing sundry philosophical and other papers, most of which have not hitherto been published
According to the American historian, Marshall, Lord Berkeley assigned
his interest in the Jersies to Penn and his three associates, in the
year 1674; and they, soon perceiving the inconvenience of a joint
property, divided the province, in 1676, with Carteret, who still
retained his interest: to him they released East-Jersey; and received
from him, in return, a conveyance for the western part of the
province. The Duke of York resigned the government of East Jersey to
the proprietor, retaining that of West-Jersey _as an appendage to
New-York_, until August 1680; when, on a reference to Sir William
Jones, the title was decided against the Duke: after which, he
formally released all claim upon East-Jersey. Soon after this,
Carteret transferred his rights to Penn, and eleven other persons of
the same religious persuasion, who immediately conveyed one half of
their interest to James Drummond, Earl of Perth, and eleven others;
and these, in March 1683, obtained a conveyance from the Duke of York
directly to themselves.—During these transactions, continual efforts
were made to re-annex the Jerseys to the province of New-York. [See
Marshall’s _Introduction to the Life of Washington_, ch. vi.]
-----
The division-line, between East and West-Jersey, was to run from the
south-east point of Little Egg-Harbour, on Barnegate Creek—being about
midway between Cape-May and Sandy-Hook, to a creek, a little below
Ancocus-Creek, on the river Delaware; thence, about thirty-five miles in
a straight course, along the Delaware, up to 44° 40´ of north latitude.
The province of New-York passed a legislative act on this subject, in
the year 1762; and the New-Jersey Assembly enacted a corresponding law,
in 1764. Five commissioners—namely, John Stevens, James Parker, Henry
Cuyler, William Donaldson, and Walter Rutherford—were appointed on this
business, for the two provinces: their report was passed upon, by both;
and it was confirmed by the King in council, the 1st of September, 1773.
It is understood, that the division-line between East and West-Jersey
remained unsettled, so late as the year 1789. But it nevertheless
appears, that the territorial boundary between New-York and New-Jersey
was fixed by Mr. Rittenhouse, forty-four years ago.
A recurrence shall now be had to a date anterior to our Philosopher’s
employment in the transaction just mentioned.—Within the two years
preceding that period, two objects of much importance to astronomical
science, claimed a large share of the public attention, in this country:
One of them, especially, had already actually engaged the investigations
of the ablest astronomers of the other hemisphere, as well as our own;
preparatory to the then approaching event, to which those researches
were directed. The result of the expectations excited by both of those
objects proved, on their final completion, highly honourable to the fame
of Mr. Rittenhouse.
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