THE SUTTON FAMILY OF NEW JERSEY

• SAMUEL 3 (Thomas 2, William 1)
• THOMAS 3 (Thomas 2, William 1)
• MOSES 3 (John 2, William 1)
• JOHN 3 (John 2, William 1)
• DAVID 3 (John 2, William 1)
• EPHRAIM 3 (John 2, William 1)
• ZEBULON 3 (Daniel 2, William 1)

SAMUEL 3 (Thomas 2, William 1)

Of Piscataway. Married about 1725, Martha _______.

Children (List probably incomplete):

1. Sarah 4, b. March 12, 1726.
2. Amaziah 4, b. Jan. 4, 1728-9.
3. Hannah 4, b. Dec. 4, 1730.

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THOMAS 3 (Thomas 2, William 1)

Of Piscataway. Md. Jan. 6, 1734-5, Mary Lewis.

Children (List incomplete):

1. Nehemiah 4, b. Sept. 28, 1735

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MOSES 3 (John 2, William 1)

Married about 1717, Yanick ______. (The name is so written in the record; it probably stands for the Dutch "Jannetje.") He removed from Piscataway to Bedminster Township, Somerset County, about 1737, in which year he is recorded as living in Lamington and selling land at Piscataway. He seems also to have lived at Peapack, in Bedminster Township. His eldest son, John, was appointed administrator of his estate in 1740; so he doubtless died in that year, age forty-three.

Children: Born in Piscataway)

1. John 4, b. June 18, 1718.
2. Aaron 4, b. March 17, 1718-9.
3. Martha 4, b. Feb. 15, 1722.
4. Susanna 4, b. May 14, 1723.
5. Hugh 4, b. about 1725 *.
6. Levi 4, b. about 1725 *.

*These two Bedminster Township Suttons are assigned to Moses' family on grounds of probability.

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JOHN 3 (John 2, William 1)

Resided in Somerset County. Married Mary 4, Martin, and probably died in 1761, age sixty, as in that year his will was probated. This will is authority for the names of his children:

1. Elizabeth 4.
2. Anna 4.
3. Lois 4, m. Thomas, son of Richard Smith.
4. Mary 4, m. Elijah, son of Richard Smith. (She was not of age in 1758, the date of the will.)
5. Jermiah 4.
6. Abner 4, b. May 8, 1741. (He is the Rev. Abner 4 Sutton of p. -See the other Baptist ministers of p.-, sons of David 3, Sutton.)
7. Philip 4.

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In Handwriting:

John 3 Sutton and Mary 4 Martin

Mary 4 Martin was a cousin of Patience 3 Martin who married Daniel 2 Sutton, and great grand-daughter of John 1 Martin the Piscataway grantee. She was born 1707 to Jonathan Martin and Elizabeth Dunham, whose mother was Mary Bonham, and grandparents Nicholas Bonham and Hannah Fuller.

This -- through Hannah Fuller -- is a Mayflower descent.

Mary Bonham, the above, was sister of Elizabeth Bonham, whose grand-daughter, Mary Doty married Zebulon Sutton. "End of Handwriting."

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DAVID 3 (John 2, William 1)

Of Basking Ridge, Bernard Township, Somerset County. Died between December 1 and Dec. 19, 1775, the respective dates of the drawing and probating of his will. He was then age seventy-two years. The will mentions his wife (without giving her name) and names his children.

Children (Not known to be in order of Birth):

1. Isaac 4,(Noted as the eldest; m. Rachel Doty.)
2. David 4.
3. John 4, b. Feb. 12, 1733; m. Ruth Stout; d. about 1813, age eighty.
4. Abraham 4.
5. James 4.
6. Moses 4.
7. Sarah 4.
8. Elizabeth 4,(Her three youngest daughters were named Marah, Joanna, and Abigail.)
9. Mary 4,d. 1746. (Had a son David.)

The Four brothers -- Isaac 4, David 4, John 4, and James 4 --were all Baptist clergymen and Missionaries to Tenn. Isaac 4 is the ancestor of the Suttons of Fayette County, Pa. James 4 settled in Kentucky. John 4 also settled in Kentucky, at Harrodsburgh, and left a numerous posterity. As an early advocate of emancipation, and as a successful worker in a large and difficult field, he has earned for himself and honorable place in the history of his adopted State. He was educated at Hopewell, N. J., ordained at Scotch Plains in 1763, and began his work as a missionary to Nova Scotia. Previous to his final removal to Kentucky, he had charges at Newport, R. I., Salem and Cape May, N. J., and Welsh Tract, Del.; and at other times he labored in Penn., Va., and Tenn.

Note at end of page in handwritng put in there in 1936:

Morgan Edwards "History of the Baptists in New Jersey", pub. 1792. Speaks of five brothers, Clergymen--counting in the cousin Abner 5, Sutton. Rev. John 4 Sutton (Davis 3, John 2, William 1) He, and Rev. James Manning, as delegates of the New Jersey Baptists, in 1763, obtained from the governor of Rhode Island the charter for a college of their denomination in that Province, which afterwards became Brown University, at Providence, R. I.

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EPHRAIM 3 (John 2, William 1)

Of Passaic Valley. Lived on "Sutton's Hill." He doubtless died in 1790, age seventy-one, for in that year his will was probated. It mentions his wife Phoebe and four children.

1. James 4 Governor.
2. David 4
3. Jesse 4.
4. William 4, m. Lavina, "a Dutch girl." (After William's death the family removed to Ohio. The date of removal is perhaps indicated by the fact that Lavina and her children--then living in Bernardsville, Somerset County--sold land in 1801.)

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ZEBULON 3 (Daniel 2, William 1)

Of Bernard Township, Somerset County, on Feb. 28, 1746-7, leased of James Alexander (father of William Alexander, the Lord Stirling of Revolutionary fame) one hundred and thirty acres of land, bordering on the Passaic River and next to John Doty. John Doty leased 300 acres of the Alexander estate in 1739. The Alexander property consisting only of some 800 acres. John and Jonathan Doty and the four Sutton brothers must have occupied most of it. John Doty, 300 acres; Zeb. Sutton, 130 acres; Zach. Sutton, 100 acres; John Sutton, 85 acres. Total 615 acres.

The Dotys are an old New Jersey family, and have been associated with and have intermarried with the Suttons from the earliest times. They are descended of Samuel Doty (a son of Edward, the Mayflower Pilgrim), who removed from Eastham, on Cape Cod, and settled at Piscataway. So many Dotys went to the neighborhood of Basking Ridge, that (to use the words of the author of the "Doty Genealogy") "the town was like a Doty Settlement." All of Zebulon Sutton's brothers acquired land, either by lease or purchase, of the Alexander estate, a tract of some 800 acres, which was a portion of the original "Harrison's Purchase," and included the town of Basking Ridge. Zachariah Sutton leased, April 26, 1746, 100 acres. Daniel leased a tract, Apr. 7, 1749, and John , on Aug. 13, 1749, bought for F96 17s., Jersey money, 84 87/100 acres of land. The town of Basking Ridge dates from about 1720, and is situated as its name implied, upon a sharply rising ground. It lies in the finest agricultural region of the State, one of low rolling hills, which Stirling found a suitable environment for his famous manor, where were entertained so many of the notables of the Revolution. This disappeared a century or more ago; but the region has again, in these modern days, become noted for its beautiful country-seats. About and in the old town marched and encamped the French and Continental armies, and in its tavern the traitor Lee was captured by English troopers, and removed from further interference with the fortunes of the American cause. Zebulon Sutton, according to his Son Uriah, lived at the town of North Branch. He attended the old Presbyterian Church at Basking Ridge. He married, about 1731, Mary Doty, probably in Piscataway. She was born 23 May 1713, dau. of James 3 Doty, of Piscataway, and Phoebe Slater (b., 1693), his wife. James 3 Doty removed to Basking Ridge and leased a farm from the Alexander estate (close to the one soon after occupied by Zebulon Sutton) in 1739. He was a son of Samuel Doty and Jane Harman, and a grandson of Edward Doty (the Mayflower Pilgrim) and Faith Clarke.

Children of Zebulon

1. Patience 4, b. May 31, 1732.
2. Jonathan 4, b. March 23, 1735.
3. Jeremiah 4, b. Oct. 29, 1738.
4. Uriah 4, b. July 21, 1741.
5. Peter 4, b. about 1743.
6. Mary 4, b. Sept. 19, 1744.
7. Joseph 4, b. July 9, 1747.
8. Anna 4, b. Dec. 30, 1750.

Note: One of the three brothers of Zebulon Sutton had a son, Zebulon, who served in the Revolution, afterward removed to Knox County, Ohio, and died there at a good old age. His pension papers are on file at Washington.

Note: Family names, neighborhood, and association, and the intimacy shown by intermarriage (Patience 3 Sutton and Jonathan 4 Doty) make it seem probable that Zebulon Sutton's wife's name was Mary Doty. (The author writes in that Mary Doty really was the wife.)

Note: Samuel 2 Doty was born 1643, died 1715, married Nov. 15, 1678 Jane Harman of Piscataway. Edward 1 Doty came on the Mayflower, 1620, died Aug. 23, 1655, married, Jan 6, 1634-5, Faith (born 1619), daughter of Faith and Thurston Clarke. Thurston Clarke came to Plymouth in 1634, having sailed April 30th of that year from Ipswich in Suffolkshire on the ship Francis. James 3 Doty (Samuel 2, Edward 1) was born at Piscataway 17 Sept. 1686, md. there 1712, Phoebe Slater b. 1693, daughter of Edward Slater and Elizabeth Bonham. This descent is registered by the Mayflower Society.

Note: The Bible which contained the original of Zebulon 3 Sutton's family record has long been lost. A transcript of the latter was made by his grandson, Shadrach 5 Sutton (son of Joseph 4) some seventy or eighty years ago. This is now in possession of Shadrach's niece, Mrs. Nancy C. Sutton Axtell, of Minneapolis, Minn., and is the present writer's authority. It does not contain the name of Peter 4. Reasons for adding Peter's name will be discussed in connection with his family.

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