Gamaliel Bartlett (November 27, 1796 – November 10, 1859) was the first postmaster of

Stanhope, New Jersey Stanhope is a borough located in the southernmost portion of Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,526, a decrease of 84 (−2.3%) from the 2010 census count of 3,6 ...

. He was appointed to the position in 1823 by President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

. In 1829 Bartlett petitioned the Sussex County Court for a license to "keep an Inn or Tavern in the house in which he now lives, in the Township of Byram". It was signed by the 16

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

members (referred to as Freeholders). Probably the location of the proposed licensed premises was what is locally referred to as ''The Stanhope House''.

Morris Canal

Bartlett was involving with bringing about the

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a toll road, common carrier Anthracite, anthracite coal canal across North Jersey, northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals in Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its weste ...

section and

Morris Canal and Banking Company The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a common carrier anthracite coal canal across northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals in Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its western terminus at Phillipsburg, New Jer ...

. The ''Palladium of Liberty'', a

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, newspaper of the day, reported on August 29, 1822:

Membership of a committee which studied the practicality of a canal from Pennsylvania to
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
, consisted of two prominent citizens from each county (NJ) concerned: Hunterdon County, Nathaniel Saxton, Henry Dusenberry; Sussex County, Morris Robinson, Gamaliel Bartlett; Morris County, Lewis Condict, Mahlon Dickerson; Essex County, Gerald Rutgers, Charles Kinsey; Bergen County, John Rutherford, William Colefax.

During November 1829, William C. Lewis announced his intention of joining Gamaliel Bartlett's blacksmithing business in Stanhope. In 1833, Bartlett would find himself embroiled in a lawsuit entitled ''President and Directors of the Morris Canal and Banking Co. vs. Gamaliel Bartlett''.The records of this matter are in call number MG 20 - box number 13, at the

New Jersey Historical Society The New Jersey Historical Society is a historical society and museum located in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The Historical Society is housed in the former headquarters of the Essex Club. It has two floors of exhibition spac ...

, Newark,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The case took four days to try before Justice Ford. On May 30, 1833, Gamaliel Bartlett prevailed and was awarded $1,500.00 plus all costs for "...damages for forge, grist mill, and saw mill, through lying still or lack of water during the making of (the) canal." In the parlance of 2009, the award would be approximately $50,000.00.

Family

His parentage unproven, Gamaliel Bartlett is believed to have been born in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and married (October 20, 1818, at New Lebanon,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

) at the age of 21 to Mary A. Parmelee who was born about 1790 in

. Three of their five children died young, viz., Samuel (April 24, 1824 - May 6, 1825), Emma (April 7, 1826 – May 9, 1826), and Laura Mariah (August 16, 1834 – December 23, 1834). These three children were born and died at Sussex County in Stanhope. The first of their two children who lived to maturity was Jane Mariah who was born at

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

(formerly known as Monroe Works) in the county of

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

, on December 4, 1819. The second surviving child was Henry Clay who was born at Stanhope, Sussex, New Jersey, on April 13, 1830.

Death

Gamaliel Bartlett died November 10, 1859, at the home of Mrs. David Johnson (his wife's first cousin) at Brooklyn, New York City. The

Brooklyn Daily Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

, on that same day, carried an obituary on page 3. He was buried at

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

in Brooklyn, New York City, in Section #108 and Lot # 723.

References

External links

Images of tombstones for Laura M. Jackson Griffith and her husband, William H. Griffith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartlett, Gamaliel 1796 births 1859 deaths Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery New Jersey postmasters People from Stanhope, New Jersey