Major Nathaniel Crane

Major Nathaniel second child and eldest son of Deacon Azariah and Mary Treat Crane was born about 1680 probably in Newark and died in 1760 leaving a will in which he names his children.

The name of Major Nathaniel Crane's wife is unknown but by her he had six children

1. William see sketch elsewhere
2. Noah referred to below
3. Nathaniel died unmarried
4. Elizabeth married a Young
5. Jane married a Smith
6. Mehitable married Thomas Richards who died leaving a will dated 1758 and three children one of whom Nathaniel was a loyalist during the revolution and his estate valued at four hundred and eighty two pounds two shillings was confiscated

Major Nathaniel settled near a spring at West Bloomfield now Montclair on the place which as late as 1851 was occupied by Cyrus Pierson the spring itself being located near the railroad depot in Montclair Both he and his brother Azariah were large land owners their lands being bounded on the south by the Swinefield road on the east by the Cranetown road now Park street on the west by Wigwam brook which was the division line between the Crane lands and those of the Harrisons and Williams and on the north by Antony's brook at Montclair which is the northern tributary of the Second river. They also held land on the south side of the North field road to the summit of the mountain This last afterwards came into the possession of Simeon Harrison being conveyed to him by the executors of Caleb son of Noah and grandson of Major Nathaniel Crane There is a tradition that when the lords proprietors claimed the payments of the quitrents for the lands taken by Azariah and Nathaniel Crane these brothers brought in a bill of equal amount for their services as surveyors in the employ of the proprietors as an offset The bill however was not accepted and the controversy was finally settled by the supreme court in the favor of the surveyors It is also a matter of record that Nathaniel Crane paid Samuel Harrison for his services in defending his right to the lands on which he had settled against the claims of the proprietors the sum of one pound ten shillings This entry which is taken from an old account book of Mr Harrison was made in 1744 Nathaniel Crane was also a strong supporter of the Mountain Society which afterwards became the Second Church of Newark and is now known as the First Presbyterian Church of Orange In 1749 he was one of the subscribers to the fund for the building of the parsonage for the minister giving fourteen shillings and in 1753 he gave an additional subscription of eleven pounds towards the building fund of the second meeting house three of his sons also subscribing Nathaniel Jr three shillings six pence William eleven pounds and Noah eight pounds Other subscribing Cranes were Caleb Job Gamaliel Stephen Jedediah Lewis Elihu and Ezekiel and the sum total of their subscriptions amounted to fifty six pounds sixteen shillings six pence In 1744 Major Nathaniel Crane was chosen recorder of strays

Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey by Francis Bazley Lee