| Vol.1 No.2 |
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February 1997 |
The Indians called the area of Egg Harbor Township "Absegami." The Lenni-Lenape Indians, which held the domain over the part of New Jersey south of the Mullica River, were known by the name of Unalachtigo. Long before the "white man" came to the shores of this new
world, the Indians had a society of tribes and sub-tribes that developed
their own transportation routes, food gathering sources, community organizations
and cultural legacy. Many of our local names come from the Indian language;
Patcong Creek, Nacote Creek, (Niskeute) dirty; Neshochcaque, (Niskewack)
a muddy place Many of "our" road beds were the Indian trails of long ago.
One of these trails started at Somers Point and followed along the east
side of the Great Egg Harbor River which led the Indians north to Babcock's
Creek. The course of the river was followed taking them to Long-a-coming
(Berlin) then continuing to Cooper's Point (Camden). If you look at our
present day maps, this route is now one of our major roadways! The Unalachtigo told time by the sun, the phases of the moon and how many sleeps had passed. In their moccasins, they followed the soft, pine- needle paths through the woods to hunt game, gather berries and firewood and to share councils with other tribes. But the peaceful, noble "red men" were doomed with the coming of the "white Man." They didn't understand the concept of buying and selling the land. After all the land was for all to use and not to abuse. They were blessed with the oysters, fish, clams of the ocean, bays and rivers. They hunted all the woods, without boundaries, for game. They were naive to the concepts of these new people and as a result lost their way of life to those with whom they became friendly. In exchange for objects of intrigued, they signed papers giving away their lands. For liquor, combs, shoes, hatchets, beads, mirrors, pipes, bells they thought they were allowing the new people the same natural rights of using the land as they had enjoyed. But, only too quickly did they discover that they were no longer allowed the use of the lands or to trespass on them. In a short time these original people found themselves not only without
the freedom of wandering and gathering but many became enslaved by these
new people. In 1721 a Philadelphia newspaper advertised that Thomas Hill,
of Salem, was searching for a runaway Indian marked by smallpox. Also,
Jeremiah Bass, who left money for preaching two sermons a year, to the
Rector of St. Mary's Church in Burlington, had an Indian woman servant
or slave valued at 30L in 1725. It is not possible to know if these were
local Indians or Indians who had been kidnaped at other places and brought
to West Jersey. However, an act was passed at Burlington in 1713 making
imported Negro, Indian and Mulatto slaves dutiable. In other words, they
were taxable. An Indian was put under a bond in Gloucester County in 1699 to keep
the peace. In the bond he was spoken of as a "free Indian" which
seems to indicate that there were Indian slaves in early West Jersey. The
Indians, like the Negroes, assumed the names of the family of the white
settlers which has obscured research into the origins of these Indians.
However, occasionally a church or a court record reveals the Indian heritage. During the age of exploration, many European countries made investigative
expeditions to the newly discovered land across the sea. These expeditions
were intended to check out the new land's resources and some for potential
settlements. Among the early explorers was a Dutchman, Cornelius Mey, who
in 1614, upon sailing up the coast on the ship, "Fortuyn", came
upon a shoreline and river whose sky was so filled with the flight of shorebirds
(geese, ducks, seagulls, plovers, etc.) and the beaches and meadows were
so laden with nests of their eggs that he called the area, "Eyren
Haven", - "the harbor of eggs". Subsequently the name was
modified to Eyer Haven and when the English inhabitants arrived it was
anglicized to Egg Harbor. One of the earliest maps, made by a cartographer named Johannes de Laet,
to define the coastline of America, was issued in 1630. It was titled,
"New England, New Netherlands and Virginia," and it identified
"C. May," "Eyerhaven" (EggHarbor), and the "Zuyd
River." The name Egg Harbor then has its origins in the earliest history of the formation of this country of America. While it had not been formally designated, we know there were Indians here and that it was being investigated for future possibilities as a colony. We are aware that even at these early dates that colonies had been attempted by the Swedes and the Dutch along the Delaware River. The English were to come later and their successful settlements were the beginnings of the expansion of the vast forest land and wilderness of the new land.
In the near future, those residents who are interested in forming a historical commission or society to begin the work of preserving the history of Egg Harbor Township will be notified through this newsletter of a meeting (place and date to be announced). At that time discussions will begin concerning reforming the "Greate Egg Harbour Historical Society" and/also selecting a committee to investigate the probability of writing a history of Egg Harbor Township. Any questions or contributions can be addressed to:
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