William VanHorn, Patriot
Sunday January 26 2020
William VanHorn was born about 1740 in Bucks County, PA and was a member of the Van Horn family that settled New Jersey in the 1600's. The family moved to Bucks County after 1700. His wife was Elizabeth Sarah Rudderow of Woolwich, Burlington County, NJ. Her father, John, was an English lawyer and crown surveyor. They were married on 21 May 1757 in Burlington County.
William served in civil and public service during the Revolution. According to the "Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War (Stryker 1872) and the History of Burlington County NY, he was a forage master and a constable.
The Forage War was a partisan campaign consisting of numerous small skirmishes that took place in New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War between January and March 1777, following the battles of Trenton and Princeton. After both British and Continental Army troops entered their winter quarters in early January, Continental Army regulars and militia companies from New Jersey and Pennsylvania engaged in numerous scouting and harassing operations against the British and German troops quartered in New Jersey.
Early church records indicate the family, save for William’s father, accepted Sabbath doctrine through the influence of the Woodbridgetown Seventh Day Baptist Church of southwestern Pennsylvania. Following the war, William and his family moved to the Salem WV area to found a 7th Day Baptist Community. According to "Seventh day Baptists in WV - A History" (Randolph):
The West Fork River Church was located at or near the mouth of Lambert’s Run, a small stream which flows into the West Fork of the Monongahela River…Here there settled Thomas Maxson, a prosperous farmer from Shrewsbury, NJ. He rapidly improved his farm, built a brick dwelling house, with brick outbuildings, and gathered around him a call company consisting of his son Timothy, with his wife, Anna, William VanHorn and his wife and others.
The church was organized around Jun 1793 where Thomas Maxson served as the Deacon and Church Clerk. As can be seen by the lineage below, the Maxson family continued to be an important part of my line.
William first acquired land in Harrison County VA. on 15 Jan 1789 from William Rice. The sale is recorded in the Harrison County Court House, Deed Book 5, indicating that both parties were residents of Woolwich Twp. Glouchester
County, Western Division , New Jersey. William's will dated 25 August 25 1807, references his wife Sara (Rudderow) and the following children: John, William Jr., Elizabeth, Barnard, Abigail and Anne.
William died before Aug 1807 and Sarah sometime after this date. They are buried in the cemetery at the Stone Pot Road and West Milford. The photo shows the cemetery with the original family farm in the background.
My family line starting with my Father (Generation 2):
Gen 2: Gene Cayton Curtis
Gen 3: Gene Rillis Curtis & Myrtle Marie Cayton
Gen 4: William Henry Cayton & Talitha Ann DeBarr
Gen 5: Benjamin DeBarr & Anna Maxson
Gen 6: Thomas Maxson & Mary Ann Williams
Gen 7: Timothy Maxon & Anna Van Horn
Gen 8: William Van Horn & Sarah Chidester
Gen 9: William Van Horn & Elizabeth Sarah Rudderow
William served in civil and public service during the Revolution. According to the "Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War (Stryker 1872) and the History of Burlington County NY, he was a forage master and a constable.
The Forage War was a partisan campaign consisting of numerous small skirmishes that took place in New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War between January and March 1777, following the battles of Trenton and Princeton. After both British and Continental Army troops entered their winter quarters in early January, Continental Army regulars and militia companies from New Jersey and Pennsylvania engaged in numerous scouting and harassing operations against the British and German troops quartered in New Jersey.
Early church records indicate the family, save for William’s father, accepted Sabbath doctrine through the influence of the Woodbridgetown Seventh Day Baptist Church of southwestern Pennsylvania. Following the war, William and his family moved to the Salem WV area to found a 7th Day Baptist Community. According to "Seventh day Baptists in WV - A History" (Randolph):
The West Fork River Church was located at or near the mouth of Lambert’s Run, a small stream which flows into the West Fork of the Monongahela River…Here there settled Thomas Maxson, a prosperous farmer from Shrewsbury, NJ. He rapidly improved his farm, built a brick dwelling house, with brick outbuildings, and gathered around him a call company consisting of his son Timothy, with his wife, Anna, William VanHorn and his wife and others.
The church was organized around Jun 1793 where Thomas Maxson served as the Deacon and Church Clerk. As can be seen by the lineage below, the Maxson family continued to be an important part of my line.
William first acquired land in Harrison County VA. on 15 Jan 1789 from William Rice. The sale is recorded in the Harrison County Court House, Deed Book 5, indicating that both parties were residents of Woolwich Twp. Glouchester
County, Western Division , New Jersey. William's will dated 25 August 25 1807, references his wife Sara (Rudderow) and the following children: John, William Jr., Elizabeth, Barnard, Abigail and Anne.
William died before Aug 1807 and Sarah sometime after this date. They are buried in the cemetery at the Stone Pot Road and West Milford. The photo shows the cemetery with the original family farm in the background.
My family line starting with my Father (Generation 2):
Gen 2: Gene Cayton Curtis
Gen 3: Gene Rillis Curtis & Myrtle Marie Cayton
Gen 4: William Henry Cayton & Talitha Ann DeBarr
Gen 5: Benjamin DeBarr & Anna Maxson
Gen 6: Thomas Maxson & Mary Ann Williams
Gen 7: Timothy Maxon & Anna Van Horn
Gen 8: William Van Horn & Sarah Chidester
Gen 9: William Van Horn & Elizabeth Sarah Rudderow