Joseph Sharp (c. 1709–1776)The Pennsylvania magazine of history and biography, Volume 20 By Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 134 was an early settler of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, landowner, supporter of education, iron manufacturer and industrialist. His flour mill provided flour to American troops in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

Influence on education

Joseph Sharp authorized the first school in present-day Sussex County to be built on his land as early as 1799.https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:oUpdOzdXlzMJ:www.hamburgschool.com/docs/Hamburg_History/Hamburg%2520School.pdf+joseph+sharp+AND+new+jersey+hamburg&hl=en&gl=us&sig=AHIEtbQx1Bfh3ORawQ_OyT9CudLiGB-TYg A subsequent school was built in the place of the first school, again, on Sharp's land. Later, in 1823,

Governor

Daniel Haines Daniel Haines (January 6, 1801 – January 26, 1877) was an American politician, jurist and lawyer. He was the 14th governor of New Jersey. Early life Haines was born in New York City, the nephew of Governor Aaron Ogden. He graduated from The ...

purchased land from the Sharp family to erect another school.

Sharpsboro Ironworks

In 1768, Joseph Sharp erected a forge and furnace called the "Sharpsboro Iron Works",
on the

Wallkill River The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson River, Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk (New Jersey), Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset h ...

. The village around the Sharp Iron Works became known as Sharpsborough, and then

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

.Joseph Sharp's Iron Works
. Sussex County. Retrieved 21 October 2011. The village was originally named Wallings after an original settler, Joseph Wallings Sr. Due to the expensive nature of the venture and competing forges, Sharp abandoned the property in 1774. Stephen Ford used the Sharp Iron Works to secretly produce cannonballs for the British during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

. After reclaiming the property, Joseph Sharp Jr. built the stone grist mill in 1808.Joseph Sharp's Iron Works Marker
The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 21 October 2011. Sharp's mill provided the flour for the American troops of the

. The mill continued to serve the needs of the agricultural community of Sussex County. Present day

, in Sussex County, was called Sharpsboro until 1795.

Landowner

Sharp was a landowner and, after a group of investors led by

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy an ...

and previously the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs. ...

, owned the land where the present day Wallkill Golf Club is located.

Historical Marker

In 2004, the

Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the ...

and Historic Marker Committee of Sussex County erected an historical marker for Joseph Sharp, located at 41° 8.789' N, 74° 34.638' W. Marker is in

Hamburg, New Jersey Hamburg is a borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 3,266, a decline of 11 (-0.3%) from the 2010 census count of 3,277,Sussex County, on Gingerbread Castle Road.

Religion

Joseph's father, Isaac Sharp, was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

and there is reference to his being a member of the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

.Full text of "History and genealogy of Fenwick's colony, New Jersey"
Archive.org. Retrieved 21 October 2011. Joseph was also Quaker and there is reference to the schoolhouse built on his property having Quaker characteristics. Joseph's grandfather,

Anthony Sharp Dennis Anthony John Sharp (16 June 1915 – 23 July 1984) was an English actor, writer and director. Stage career Anthony Sharp was a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and made his stage debut in February 1938 ...

, was the noted

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Quaker.

Family

Joseph Sharp married Mary Coleman,TSHA Press
Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 21 October 2011. and is the father of Margaret Sharp Brown and father-in-law of Abia Brown. Joseph Sharp is the maternal grandfather of Mary Brown Austin, who was the mother of

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo-Americans, Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the success ...

and Emily Austin Perry, and

James Elijah Brown Austin James Elijah Brown Austin (October 3, 1803 – August 14, 1829) was an American settler and brother of empresario Stephen F. Austin, "The Father of Texas." Counted also as one of the Old Three Hundred, he is listed in Spanish and Mexican reco ...

, and also the wife of

Moses Austin Moses Austin (October 4, 1761 – June 10, 1821) was an American businessman and pioneer who played a large part in the development of the lead industry in the early United States. He was the father of Stephen F. Austin, one of the earliest ...

. Joseph Sharp's great-grandchildren include Guy Morrison Bryan, Stephen Samuel Perry,

William Joel Bryan William Joel Bryan (December 14, 1815 – March 3, 1903) was a Texas soldier and planter. Biography Early life William Joel Bryan was born on December 14, 1815 at Hazel Run in Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri. His father was James Bryan and his ...

, and Moses Austin Bryan. Accordingly, early settlers of Texas are traced back to an early settler of

, and even further, to the landholder family "Sharp" of Saxony from as far back as the 13th century. Joseph's father was Isaac Sharp, and his grandfather was

(prominent merchant of Ireland, a follower of

George Fox George Fox (July 1624 – 13 January 1691) was an English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends. The son of a Leicestershire weaver, he lived in times of social upheaval and ...

, and influential in the Quaker migration to the United States, and these Sharps were descendants of the Tetbury clan with wills demonstrating this chain going back to 1500 and the Sharp clan going back before wills to the 13th century in Saxony.The Sharp Family Line
. Members.core.com. Retrieved 21 October 2011. Anthony Sharp died in 1707 and is buried in the ancient

Friends Burial Ground, Dublin The Friends Burial Ground (), also called Temple Hill Burial Ground or the Friends Sleeping Place is a Quaker burial ground located at Temple Hill, Blackrock, Dublin. It opened in 1860 and is one of only two Quaker burial grounds in Dublin; the ...