Bergen Township, New Jersey (1661–1862)
Bergen Township was a
New Netherland
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The name Bergen was originally given to the peninsula between the Hudson River and Hackensack River by the European settlers to New Netherland. There are various opinions as to the origin. Some believe it comes from the Dutch word bergen, which in the Germanic languages of northern Europe means hills,[1] and could describe the most distinct geological feature of the region, The Palisades.[2] A more farfetched interpretation is that it comes from the Dutch word bergen, meaning to save or to recover, inspired by the settlers return after they had fled attacks by the native population during the Peach War in 1655. Others say it is so called for the town of Bergen, North Holland in the Netherlands or (less likely) Bergen op Zoom, also in the Netherlands or the city of Bergen in Norway.[3] Another theory is that the Dutch residents named their city after an early Scandinavian settler of New Amsterdam, Hans Hansen Bergen, who arrived in Manhattan in 1633 as a ship's carpenter. Bergen initially settled on Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan and later owned extensive plantations elsewhere on the island, none of which were in Bergen Township.[4] From Bergen, Norway, he was one of the few Scandinavian settlers of New Amsterdam.[5]
Previous European settlements in present-day Hudson County included a small town called
Colonial America
In 1664, a negotiated surrender gave control of New Netherland to the English and on September 22, 1668, the original town charter was confirmed by
In 1710, when Bergen County, by
Bergen Township was created by the New Jersey Legislature's Township Act of 1798 on February 21, 1798, as one of the first group of 104 townships formed in New Jersey.[10] Bergen County was thus split into two parts: Bergen Township to the south, and Hackensack Township to the north. As originally constituted, Bergen Township included the area between the Hudson River on the east, the Hackensack River to the west, south to Constable Hook and north to the present-day southern border of Bergen County.
Secession and dissolution
During its 200-year history the township was diminished in size through various secessions until it finally dissolved.
On January 28, 1820, Jersey City was formed within Bergen Township, and in 1838, was reincorporated as a city independent of Bergen Township.[10]
On February 22, 1840, the New Jersey Legislature created Hudson County from southern portions of Bergen County.[10] The new county included the entirety of the original Bergen Township (including Jersey City) and the portions of Lodi Township south of today's Paterson Plank Road, an area known as New Barbadoes Neck.
Portions of the township were taken to form Van Vorst Township (April 12, 1841, annexed by Jersey City on March 18, 1851), North Bergen Township (April 10, 1843), Bergen town (March 24, 1855, ultimately annexed by Jersey City on May 2, 1870) and Bayonne Township (April 1, 1861).[10]
The remaining portions of the township were absorbed by Bergen town, in a sort of reverse takeover, and the township was dissolved on March 11, 1862.[10]
North Bergen was incorporated as a township on April 10, 1843, by an act of the New Jersey Legislature, from Bergen Township. Portions of the township have been taken to form Hoboken Township (April 9, 1849, now the city of Hoboken), Hudson Town (April 12, 1852, later part of Hudson City), Hudson City (April 11, 1855, later annexed by Jersey City), Guttenberg (formed within the township on March 9, 1859, and set off as an independent municipality on April 1, 1878), Weehawken (March 15, 1859), Union Township and West Hoboken Township (both created on February 28, 1861), Union Hill (March 29, 1864) and Secaucus (March 12, 1900).[10]
See also
References
- ^ "Walking Tour of the Bergen Square". Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Indigenous Population". Archived from the original on 2019-01-20. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njhudson/genhistory_hudson_bergen_2.html. Archived 2011-05-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bergen, Teunis G. (October 12, 1876). "The Bergen Family; Or: The Descendants of Hans Hansen Bergen, One of the Early Settlers of New York and Brooklyn, L. I." J. Munsell – via Google Books.
- ^ Lee, Francis Bazley (October 12, 1907). "Genealogical and Personal Memorial of Mercer County, New Jersey". Lewis Publishing Company – via Google Books.
- ^ History of New Netherland, E.B. Callaghan (c)1855
- ^ History of the County of Hudson, New Jersey, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, p. 62, accessed March 29, 2007
- ^ Jersey City: America's Golden Door, accessed March 19, 2007. "Jersey City, the second largest city in New Jersey, is the site of the first permanent European community in the state."
- ^ JERSEY CITY HISTORY OF FORMS OF GOVERNMENT FROM EARLY DUTCH DAYS TO THE PRESENT TIME, accessed March 19, 2007."Until 1709, Bergen Village (around Bergen Square, Jersey City) was the county seat and the sessions of the court were held there, but after this date, the village of Hackensack was designated as being more centrally located and more easily reached by the majority of the inhabitants, and hence was chosen as the county seat of Bergen County (which it remains) and the courts were moved there."
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 145.
- ^ "Hudson Co. NJ — History — Formation of Bergen and Hudson Counties". Rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
Sources
- "History of Bergen County, New Jersey, 1630–1923;" by "Westervelt, Frances A. (Frances Augusta), 1858–1942."
- "Municipal Incorporations of the State of New Jersey (according to Counties)" prepared by the Division of Local Government, Department of the Treasury (New Jersey); December 1, 1958.
Further reading
- Daniel Van Winkle (1902), Old Bergen: history and reminiscences, Jersey City: J.W. Harrison, OL 17940839M
- Bergen, Jersey City, Jersey City: Free Public Library of Jersey City, 1910, OL 13995921M
- History of Hudson County and of the old village of Bergen, Jersey City, N.J: Trust Company of New Jersey, 1921, OL 6641182M