John Suffern (1741 - 1836)

Born 23 Nov 1741 in near Antrim, Ireland

Husband of Mary (Meyers) Suffern — married 1 Jan 1766 in Burlington, New Jersey

Husband of Elizabeth (Bertholf) Suffern — married 14 Jun 1814 in New York City, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 1836 at about age 94 in New York, USA

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Biography

"John Suffern was born on 23 November 1741 at near Antrim, Ireland. He was the son of William Suffern and Margaret Templeton. John Suffern married Mary Meyers on 1 January 1766 at Burlington County, NJ.

John had a large estate in Ramapo and was the first judge of the Court of Common Pleas. ^[1] He lived at New Antrim (Suffern), Rockland County, NY. He emigrated in 1763 from Belfast, County Amtrim, Ireland. He immigrated on 6 August 1763 to Philadelphia, PA. He was the superintendent in 1773 at Haverstraw, NY"^[2]

"His family had originated in France and resettled in Ireland, where they had become Presbyterians but found their freedom limited by laws that favored the Church of England.

John Suffern left Ireland with his brother for America in 1763 and arrived on 6 August 1763 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

NOTE: General Braddock died in 1755, so the following paragraph does not seem to apply to this John Suffern. 'They both enlisted in the army of General Edward Braddock (1694-1755) , which was to drive the French out of western Pennsylvania. However, John was taken ill with ship fever, and when he arrived in Philadelphia, he was forced to remain in a hospital there. Having missed the ill-fated Braddock expedition, John Suffern worked his way north from Philadelphia.' By 1765, John was in Burlington, New Jersey, and in January of the following year, he married Mary Myers of that small city.

Suffern's Tavern

John and Mary Suffern eventually made their way to Orange County, New York. For a time, John taught school in Tappan; he then moved his family to Haverstraw and in 1773 saw an opportunity to buy a small piece of land (one acre) near the entrance to the Ramapo Pass and on the King's Highway leading from the Hudson River to Morristown. He built a large house there that became a tavern and inn. The success of Suffern's Tavern enabled John to buy a large portion of the 5,000 acres in the area known as the Prevost Patent, which had been granted by King George III to James Marcus Prevost in 1775. (James Prevost and his wife, Theodosia, had sold much of the property to John De Lancy and Robert Morris, who in turn sold it to John Suffern.) Suffern called the area New Antrim. Today, it is Suffern, New York.

American Revolution

While these transactions were taking place, the North American colonies were moving toward the War of Independence against Great Britain. John Suffern became a protestor. He signed the pledge of the Committee of Safety of Orange County in 1774 and in 1775 enlisted in the Orange County Militia in 1775 and signed a pledge to carry out "whatever measures may be recommended by the Continental Congress." Through the war, he served as the local justice of the peace and as a member of the Committee for Orange County. His tavern was often the headquarters for the officers of the various forces passing through the area or stationed in the Ramapo Pass, including George Washington on several occasions, General George Clinton, and, in the fall of 1777, Colonel Aaron Burr while he commanded Malcolm's Regiment at the pass. In 1781-82, Suffern was elected to the New York State Legislature. According to the Rosencrantz family tradition, they were guests at the wedding of Aaron Burr and Theodosia Bartow Prevost at The Hermitage in July 1782.

Land Purchases and Investments

Through the 1780s, John Suffern expanded his property holdings by purchasing bounty rights to land from former soldiers and other sellers. He added large property near Elmira, New York, to his extensive holdings in Orange County. He also extended his economic activities by opening a store, running a farm, operating a gristmill and a sawmill, establishing a potash works and a wool factory, building an iron forge, and erecting a rolling mill and nail factory.

Community Leader

John helped to organize the Reformed Church in neighboring Mahwah. In the 1790s, Suffern was a leader in the establishment of Rockland County out of Orange County. He became the postmaster of the first Post Office in the newly formed county at New Antrim; he was also the county judge and a State senator in 1800-1803.

Enslaved People in Suffern Household

The United States census shows that John Suffern kept people as slaves.

• 1790 - 3 people enslaved ^[3]
• 1810 - 4 people enslaved^[4]
• 1820 - 3 people enslaved (1 female age 26-44, 1 female age 14-25, 1 male age 14-25) and 3 free people of color (2 females under 14 and 1 male under 14)^[5]
• 1830 - 4 free people of color (1 male under 10, 1 Male age 24-35, 1 female age 10-23, 1 female age 36-54) ^[6] NB: In 1817, a NY Law was enacted so that slaves born before 1799 would be freed in 1827.

• Kate is mentioned by name in John Suffern's will in 1836: "I also give her [his 2nd wife Elizabeth] my black girl Kate, she performing and fulfilling the requisitions of the Law in regard to her." This is probably Kate Osborne, who was buried in the colored section of the Ramapo Reformed Church graveyard in Mahwah. Her tombstone inscription reads: "Kate Osborne / servant / deceased, a. 52 yrs. d. August 23 1870." ^[7]

• Betsey Osborne is also buried in Mahwah, and her tombstone reads "Betsey Osborner / for 35 years a faithful servant in the family of John Suffern/d. May 10, 1857 a. 60 years. ^[8]

Betsey (1797-1857) may be the mother of Kate (1818-1870). Later Census records name more Osbornes.

• Betsey Ritter, her husband, and their two children are said to have been slaves of the Suffern family.

Wives and Children

John and his wife, Mary, had twelve children between 1767 and 1790. [NOTE: only eleven children are listed, perhaps one died young?] Some of the children would become prominent in the region:

• Andrew Suffern, for example, was a lawyer and a judge.
• Margaret Suffern married Peter Allison; their son later gained renown as General George Allison.
• John Suffern became a doctor and farmer and operated a rolling mill and nail factory in Garnerville, New York. He was also was elected to the New York State Assembly and sold land in Haverstraw to a socialist community in 1824.

Mary Suffern died in 1813. John married Elizabeth Bertholf, the widow of the Revolutionary War Major James Bogert.

Death

John died in 1836, at age 95.^[9]

He was buried in Ramapo Reformed Church Cemetery in Mahwah, NJ.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ Type: Source Cole, History of Rockland County.
2. ↑ http://njgsbc.org/files/familyfiles/p1077.htm#i37660
3. ↑ 1790 United States Federal Census Record, New York, Orange County, Haverstraw, page 43-44, Image 2 in filmstrip section
4. ↑ Year: 1810; Census Place: Haverstraw, Rockland, New York; Roll: 35; Page: 658; Image: 00161; Family History Library Film: 0181389
5. ↑ 1820 U S Census; Census Place: Hampstead, Rockland, New York; Page: 113A; NARA Roll: M33_78; Image: 328
6. ↑ Year: 1830; Census Place: Ramapo, Rockland, New York; Series: M19; Roll: 103; Page: 93; Family History Library Film: 0017163
7. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5734775/kate-osborne
8. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5734772/betsey-osborne
9. ↑ http://www.thehermitage.org/history/history_people_rosencrantz_buys_tell_me_suffernfamily.html
10. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5986254/john-suffern

• http://www.thehermitage.org/history/history_people_rosencrantz_buys_tell_me_suffernfamily.html