The earliest permanent settlements in Cumberland County were along the Cohansey River. Between 1680 and 1700, settlers had begun to carve out of the South Jersey wilderness a home for themselves and their families.

Cumberland County is bounded SSW. by Delaware bay, NW. by Salem County., NE. by Gloucester and Atlantic Counties., and SE. by Cape May Counties. It is about 20 in. long, breadth and width, and its extreme breadth, north and south, is 28 miles. It was included in Fenwick’s tenth, and was part of his colony. It formed a portion of Salem County until 1747, when it was erected into a separate county, and named by Gov. Belcher in honor of the Duke of Cumberland.. The county was, at its formation, divided into six townships, viz., Greenwich, Hopewell, Stow Creek, Fairfield, Deerfield, and Maurice River,—to which Miliville and Downe have since been added. Along on its SW. boundary, on the Delaware bay, is a tract of marshy land, varying from one to six miles in breadth. This marsh extends up the principal streams, Maurice river and Cohansey creek, for several miles. The surface of the county is level—its soil of alluvial formation, and generally a sandy loam, with some clay. A large portion of the NE. part is covered with a pine forest. Cumberland County is divided into eight townships, viz:

• Deerfield
• Downe
• Fairfield
• Greenwich
• Hopewell
• Maurice River
• Millville
• Stow Creek

Fairfield (now known as Fairton)

In May of 1697, a group of potential settlers from Long Island and from Fairfield, Connecticut purchased a tract of land in Cohansey. The Provincial Assembly voted that the township be called Fairfield and empowered it with the privileges of other townships. It was one of the six original townships of Cumberland County. Originally, the area of Fairfield included what are now Fairfield, Lawrence, Downe, Commercial Townships, and a part Millville, west of the Maurice River. It is about 11 miles long, 6 broad, and bounded northerly by Deerfield, Greenwich, and Hopewell, from the two last of which it is separated by the Cohansey river, E. by Miliville, and S. by Downe and the Delaware bay. The surface is generally level. Many of the present inhabitants are descendants of the Harrises and Ogdens from Fairfield, Connecticut; and the Batemans and Diaments from Long Island. The original Presbyterian church, First Presbyterian Church of South Jersey, now known as the Old Stone Church, was constituted by emigrants from Fairfield, in Connecticut, in the year 1697. Early ministers in Fairfield included an Daniel Elmer and Jonathan Davis. The first school in Fairfield was Bennett Town School, sponsored by the Old Stone Church.

The first Baptists known to have settled in South Jersey came from Ireland and were members of a Baptist Church at Cleagh Keating in the County of Tipperary in the Province of Munster in the south of Ireland. They arrived here about 1683 and settled Back and Shrewsbury Necks, in Fairfield Township, including David Sheppard, Thomas Abbott, and William Button. From their names we see that their origin was likely in the large number of English Protestants who settled in Ireland after Cromwell. Another family was Holmes. Later, Welsh Baptists, part of the Rev. John Miles' church, from Swansea, Wales, who had settled at Swansea, Mass., came from there about 1687 and settled about on the north side of the Cohansey in Hopewell Township and became a regularly organized church with Rev. Timothy Brooks as pastor

Bennett Family

Ogden Family

John Ogden, son of Richard Ogden of Long Island and of Fairfield, Connecticut, was the first Ogden to arrive to Cumberland County, New Jersey. He was one of the signers of the 1697 Agreement in Fairfield. From him originated the many Ogdens in Cumberland County.

Elmer Family

In the year 1727 Daniel Elmer emigrated to Fairton from Connecticut He was a young man and a clergyman of considerable note in his native State. He was a pastor of Fairfield Presbyterian church up to the time of his death which occurred in 1755. From him originated the Elmers of Cumberland county many of whom have been distinguished men in professional and civil life up to the present day.

Other Families

The ancestors of the Potter, Ewing, Fithian, Westcott, and Bateman families also came from New England and settled at Cohansey in the latter part of the seventeenth or early in the eighteenth century They have held an influential position in Cumberland county for several generations (as of 1876 writing).

Old Stone Church (First Presbyterian Church of South Jersey)

The monument erected at the entrance of the old burying ground bears the following inscription:

"IN MEMORY of the true and good men and women who coming in the seventeenth century founded here on the Cohansey, THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN FAIRFIELD. It came under the care of the Presbytery of West Jersey, May 19, 1708. This monument is erected by their descendants and the Presbytery of West Jersey, June 15, 1909. REV. THOMAS BRIDGE WAS THEIR MINISTER."

"Signers of Agreement in Fairfield, June 10, 1697."

• Bateman, John
• Bellnap, Samuel
• Bennett, John
• Bennett, Thomas
• Chatfield, John
• Curtis, Joshua
• Dallglesh, Robert
• Foster, Samuel
• Griffin, John
• Grimes, Joseph
• Hauna, Michael
• Johnson, Nicholas
• Jones, Thomas
• Kernes, Thomas
• Lummis, Edward
• Mills, John
• Morehouse, Jonathan
• Ogden John, the the son of Richard Ogden of Long Island and of Fairfield, Connecticut
• Roberts, John
• Sayre, Joseph
• Seelye, Joseph
• Smith, Eleazar
• Smith, John
• Smith, Joseph
• Wheeler, Joseph
• Wescott, Daniel

Other Early Families

In addition to the names upon the monument, a partial hst of the heads of families who early settled within the limits of Fairfield township, or immediate vicinity, is here given. Not all were Presbyterians however; some were Friends, others Baptists, and worshipped elsewhere. A few among the number removed to other set- tlements after a few years residence.

• Abbot, Thomas, died 1718.
• Alderman, Thomas and Alderman, Mary. Thomas died in 1715.
• Alexander, Samuel
• Allen, Ebenezer and Allen, Mary. Ebenezer died in 1716.
• Ayars, Robert and Ayars, Hester. "Removed to Shiloh."
• Bagley, Charles
• Barns, Samuel and Barns, Patience Barns, his widow, who died in 1716.
• Bennett, Jeremiah
• Berriman, Leonard
• Bishop, Nathaniel and Bishop, Sarah. He died April 24, 1723.
• Bishop, John
• Brooks, Isaac
• Brooks, John Brooks
• Brooks, Josiah Brooks, died about 1732.
• Buck, Henry and Buck, Rachel. He died February 1725-6.
• Buck, Henry Jr. and Buck, Ruth, his wife. He died March 1725-6.
• Button, William
• Clarke, William and Clarke, Patience. He died about 1702.
• Dare, Captain William
• Dare, William Jr.
• Davis, Benjaman. "Removed, and settled in Deerfield."
• Dioment, Thomas
• Dixon, Anthony. Died about 1728.
• Douglas, Robert.
• Eastland, Joseph and Eastland, Ann. Joseph died in 1728.
• Eldridge, Capt. Ezekiel and wife Eldridge, Sarah. He died 1710
• Fairbanks, Thomas.
• Fithian, John, died about 1702
• Fithian, Jonathan
• Fithian, Samuel and Fithian, Priscilla. Samuel died in 1702,
• Fithin, Samuel Jr. "Removed to Greenwich."
• Fithian, Josiah. "Removed to Greenwich."
• Francis, James
• Fullerton, James, merchant. Died about 1729.
• Furbush, Thomas, died 1701 or 1702.
• Garret Garrison.
• Jacob Garrison, wife Christiana. He died 1708 or 1709.
• John Garrison.
• Edmund Gilman, wife Hannah. He died in 1715.
• John Gilman, Sen., died 1695.
• Rachel Gihnan, widow of John, died 1695 or 1696.
• John Green and his wife Ursula. He died in 1696.
• Stephen Halford.
• Richard Hancock. He died in 1689.
• Thomas Harris.
• Robert Hood.
• William Johnson and wife Frances. He died in 1694.
• Hezekiah Lare.
• Nathan Lorrance.
• Thomas Maskell. Removed to Greenwich, died in 1712.
• WilHam and Mary Mulford. William died in 1719.
• Joseph and Joyce Newcomb. He died 1732, or 1733.
• Jeremiah Nixon. He died about 1727.
• John Nixon.
• Jonathan Ogden.
• Richard and Elizabeth Ogden. Richard died in 1726.
• Samuel Ogden. Removed to Deerfield.
• Nicholas Osborn.
• James Padgett.
• Thomas Parvin.
• William Paulin.
• James Peirce. He died in 1694.
• William and Ruth Pope. He died in 1715.
• Howell and Elizabeth Powell. He died in 1716.
• Levi Preston.
• Mark Reeve, wife Ann. He died in 1694.
• Joseph Riley.
• David Sayre.
• Ebenezer Sayre. Died 1725 or 1726.
• Elisha Sayre. Died 1726, probably unmarried.
• Ephraim Sayre, wife Sarah. He died in 1715-6.
• Joseph Sayre, wife Priscilla. He died in 1710.
• Joseph Sayre, wife Margaret. He died 17 15 or 1716.
• Benjamin Seely.
• Ephraim Seelye, wife Mary. He died 1722-3.
• Edmund Shavy, Sen., wife Rachel. He kept the first inn in Fairfield, as early as 1698. He died in 1719.
• John Shaw.
• William Shattock. Removed to East Jersey.
• David Shepherd, wife Eve. He died 1695, she in 1710.
• Dickeson Shepherd.
• Enoch Shepherd, wife Elizabeth. He died in 1717.
• James Shepherd. He died in 1690.
• James and Eve Shepherd. He died in 1713.
• John Shepherd. Died in 1710.
• John Shephard. He died in 1715-6, unmarried.
• Joseph and Ann Shepherd. He died in 1728.
• Mary Shepherd. She died in 1713-14.
• Jonathan Smith.
• Solomon Smith. Removed to Burlington.
• Thomas and Ann Smith. He died in 1692. She married Thomas Yard, who left her a widow in 1695.
• Benjamin and Mary Stratton. He died in 1716.
• Philip and Hannah Vickary. He died in 1703.
• Joseph Wheeler.
• Richard and Elizabeth Whitacar. He died about 1709.
• Richard and Abigail Whitacar. He died in 1718-9
• William Worth. Removed to Shrewsbury.

Other names from early Fairfield documents are: Abigail, Rebecca and Peter Bateman; Marj' Bowen; Edward Burrows; Richard Butcher; Hugh Chard; John Clarke; William Couseus; David Foster; Joseph Hodge; James Hudson; Samuel Hunter; John Jones; Stephen Leek; Restore Lippencott; Richard Mathis; James Moir; John Peirpoint; Israel and William Petty; Joseph Rogers; James Robbenson; Roger Ryderwood; James Silver; Alexander Smith; Thomas Vaughn; William Waithman and Samuel Wescott.

The settlement of the New England people in Fairfield was early called "New England Town," and "New England Cross Roads," names now seldom heard.

Families: Abbott, Ayars, Bateman, Bennett, Berryman, Brooks, Burrows, Butcher, Button, Chard, Dare, Davis, Diament, Elmer, Fithian, Harris, Holmes, Johnson, Lippencott, Lummis, Maskell, Nixon, Ogden, Parvin, Reeve, Riley, Sayre, Seelye, Shaw, Sheppard, Stratton, Westcott, Wheeler, Whitacar.

Deerfield

Hopewell

Families: Brooks

Sources

• History and Genealogy of Fenwick's Colony, New Jersey by Thomas Shourds, published by G.F. Nixon, 1876.
• Notes on Cumberland County Place Names by Lots of People
• Cohansey Baptist Church: A History of the Cohansey Baptist Church in Old West Jersey, By Charles E. Sheppard, 1846 - 1939
• Inscriptions Extracted from Tombstone Inscriptions, Cumberland Co., NJ
• Inscriptions in the early gravestones on the old "New England Town" burying ground Fairton (1909) by Frank Andrews
• The Ogdens of South Jersey, the descendants of John Ogden of Fairfield, Connecticut by William Ogden Wheeler
• Origins of the Jersey Settlement of Rowan County, North Carolina: First Families of Jersey Settlement, By Ethel Stroupe 1996 about those who settled Hopewell, NJ and how some of them formed the New Jersey Settlement in Rowan Co, NC.