M. 7 Sep 1788 in New Jersey
Husband: John Ross
D. 27 May 1853 in Somerset County, New Jersey
When Martha Van Tuyl's husband died, he left her with a modest farm, but when the earliest railroads were being constructed, the property was in the way.
Martha was born in New Jersey on June 20, 1767, and unfortunately her parents' identities are unknown. There was a Van Tuyl family who came from the Netherlands and mostly settled on Staten Island; a couple family members were pirates who traveled to places like Madagascar, but no direct evidence connects Martha to this family. (However the Dutch tradition of parents naming their first two sons for the child's grandfathers would suggest that her father's name was John.)
The first record where Martha's name appeared was her marriage to John Ross on September 7, 1788 in New Jersey. They settled first in Piscataway, then in the town of Boundbrook. Martha gave birth to a baby boy on March 3rd of the following year (suggesting that she may have been pregnant at the time of her marriage), and the child died as an infant. She had nine more children by 1806, with one more dying young.
On March 2, 1808, Martha's husband John died; it appeared to have been sudden. She was left with one third of his estate to live on with the rest divided up among the children when the youngest came of age. Running a farm must have been a challenge with four boys under the age of 10, and only one old enough to do much of the physical work.
Martha owned at least two slaves during the time she lived as a widow. Slavery in New Jersey was being phased out, but if a slave was born before 1804, it was still legal to keep them. Martha freed a man named Joseph in 1829, and a woman named Susan in 1843. She was one of the last slave owners in the state of New Jersey.
After all of the children had grown and moved away, Martha had to deal with a threat to her farm. The Elizabethtown and Somerville Railroad was chartered to build a line between the two towns, and needed part of her land for the project. She was able to negotiate a payment of $1,300 for the land, which apparently included a stable and barn.
Somerville, New Jersey in about 1840.
Work was to begin in 1841, but on May 1st of that year, Martha’s children, led by oldest son John, filed a suit against the railroad company, charging that by order of the will, their mother only had one third ownership, and they held title to the other two thirds. The court ruled in favor of the railroad, though, and the land was given up; the project was completed in 1842.
Martha died on May 27, 1853 at the age of 85. She was buried in Boundbrook Presbyterian Cemetery next to her husband.
Children:
1. John Van Tuyl Ross – B. 3 Mar 1789, New Jersey; D. 23 May 1790, New Jersey
2. Sarah Ross – B. 12 Dec 1790, Piscataway, New Jersey; D. 19 Jan 1872, Jerseyville, Illinois; M. Jeremiah Reading Parsell, 31 May 1815, Raritan, New Jersey
3. John Ross – B. 25 Dec 1792, Boundbrook, New Jersey; D. 16 Nov 1881, Somerset County, New Jersey; M. Joanna Sebring (1792-1874), 1 Apr 1816, Somerset County, New Jersey
4. Martha Anderson Ross – B. 7 Sep 1794, New Jersey; D. 6 Nov 1838, New Jersey; M. Isaac Staats (1791-1869)
5. Esther Ross – B. 26 Sep 1796, New Jersey; D. 29 May 1864; M. David R. Runyon (1795-?), 28 Jan 1818, Somerset County, New Jersey
6. Joseph Ross – B. 5 Dec 1798, Piscataway, New Jersey; D. 29 Jun 1875, Somerset County, New Jersey; M. Phebe Talmage (1805-1881), 30 Oct 1823, Somerset County, New Jersey
7. Peter B. Ross – B. 16 Jan 1801, Boundbrook, New Jersey; D. 14 Sep 1878, New Jersey; M. Sarah B. Smith (1802-1898), 13 Nov 1828, Somerset County, New Jersey
8. James S. Ross – B. 4 Mar 1803, Boundbrook, New Jersey; D. 14 Jul 1878, Jersey County, Illinois; M. Alletta Van Arsdalen (1803-1886), 29 Mar 1826, Boundbrook, New Jersey
9. William Ross – B. 5 Dec 1804, New Jersey; D. 15 Oct 1805, New Jersey
10. William Ross – B. 26 Jul 1806, New Jersey; D. 6 May 1882; M. Elizabeth Winsor (1810-?), 13 May 1835, Somerset County, New Jersey
Sources:
A Van Tuyl Chronicle, Rory L. Van Tuyl, 1996
Somerset County Historical Quarterly, 1912-1919
The Ross Family of New Jersey, Bob Ross, 1990
The will of John Ross, Middlebrook, New Jersey, 26 Feb 1808
Tombstone inscription of Martha Ross, Old Presbyterian Graveyard, Boundbrook, New Jersey
New Jersey deaths and burials, 1720-1988
New Jersey births and christenings, 1660-1980
New Jersey county marriages, 1682-1956
Death certificate of James S. Ross, 27 Jul 1878, Jerseyville, Illinois
Death certificate of Alletta Ross, 13 May 1886, South Branch, New Jersey
New Jersey Equity Reports, Volume 2, 1842
Central Railroad of New Jersey (Wikipedia article)
