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The following information on Hunterdon County, New Jersey is from the 1834 Gazetteer of New Jersey. See FHL microfiche no. 6046927.

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Clover	Spouse	Date	County	Source
James	Eliza Stout	23 Dec 1826	Hunterdon	Vol 2 p 311 Marriage Records of Hunterdon Co, NJ Vol 1, by Hiram Deats.

I have never known who this person is.  If you have any idea, please let me know.
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At the request of Haworth Clover, I read the Amwell Presbyterian Church records which have been microfilmed.  We thought that there might have been records of the Clover family there since Peter was buried in the churchyard.  I am not sure now that I had the right records..
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Rhonda Clover forwarded a message off the Genweb forum with the following information:
"Have an Ann Clover married George Rea on November 30, 1769, at the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church, Hunterdon County, NJ.
I am not related to the Clovers but I found this entry in a local history book so I thought I'd pass it along."

The person who posted this note stated: Union Township: Rural Recollections, by Andrew Herdan.  One of the exhibits is a photocopy of a portion of the first page of "the early church records of Bethlehem Presbyterian Church".  This is where he found the marriage of George Rea and Ann Clover, November 30, 1769.   I wrote to the church itself which still exists in Pittstown, New Jersey.  They sent me a copy of this marriage.  I asked about other Clovers, but did not get a response whether there are there or not.  If you happen to be in this area, it would be an excellent thing for a researcher to actually go to the church and ask to see the book.  If it has been transcribed, I have been unable to find it. As far as I know there is no index.  The corresponding secretary told me that they still have the old volume in the church.  I can't believe it has not been copied but apparently not.  The copy is on the Ann Clover Rea page.

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The Early Germans of New Jersey; Their History, Churches and Genealogies
Page 233-4 ALPOCKS OF HIGH BRIDGE.  
1. William G. Alpock, son of George Alpock, born 11 May 1799, died 26 April 1871;  married Sarah Shannon, nee Clover, dau. Sam'l; died 17 August 1890, aged 90 years, 8 months, 5 days; they had children.
[Note: High Bridge is in north central Hunterdon County. The entirety of this book is available on line through the FHL Digital Archives.  See catalog.]

Page 239: Family of Peter Apgar and his wife Catherine Clover daughter of John Peter Clover.  I will not repeat it here. It is on her page.

Page 487-8. There is a long article on Matthias Sharpenstine and probable children.  They include;
Paul Sharpenstine, (perhaps s. of Matthias), of Lebanon, m. Elsa, names in his will, dated 1755, Oct. 83, prob. Nov. 80, godchildren, Paul Clover, Paul Sharp, Paul Engel, Paul Erick, and executors, John Dilse, of Amwell, and Jacob Gerhert, of Lebanon. This Paul may be a generation older and a
brother, instead of a son of Matthias by a second wife.  [Note: I agree that he is of an older generation.] If you are researching the Sharpenstine group,  you should look at this page.  It is online. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/FH26&CISOPTR=18614

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From the Clover Family Chronicles, no. 5, Spring 2004, page 131.
The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, has published many of the early New Jersey Tax Lists. In Volume 48, (1973), page 175, there was an article on the Ratables, May 1778, and February 1780, of Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

Page 136: Philip Clover appeared only on the 1780 list. He was listed as a single man with a horse.

            Hunterdon County was not included in the tax lists indexed by Ronald Vern Jackson in his massive New Jersey Tax Lists, 1772 to 1822. This is a multi volume set which forms the basis for many of the indexes of early New Jersey records. I have no information about why he omitted Hunterdon County. Hunterdon County was later indexed in a book by TLC Genealogy. It covered the period of 1778 to 1797 although this is not complete because some townships were missing in some years. No other Clovers are found in this book. 

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                                             Hunterdon County Mortgages

Phyllis B. D’Autrechy, Mortgages of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, 1766-1793, published by the Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission. 
    This was a new book which I had not seen before.  To my surprise, it had two Clover entries. These were references to the year 1784, page 342, and the year 1768, page 69. I went to the mortgage books and found the following:

FHL microfilm 588276, Hunterdon County, New Jersey mortgages 1766-1791, page 69
    Mortgage Deed from Peter Young of the Township of Lebanon in the County of Hunterdon, and Province of New Jersey, yeoman, to Peter Clover, the reputed son and heir of Peter Clover, late of the aforesaid place, deceased, and Catherine Clover, widow and adm’x of the said deceased, both of the aforesaid place bearing date the 22 day of September 1767 for a certain tract of land situate in the township, county, and province aforesaid and bounded as follows (Viz) Beginning at a Beech tree standing by the south branch of Rarington River thence extending by the land late in tenure of John Stoll now the property of James Martin, 76 chains, and 10 links to a post being a corner of David Devore’s land now the property of Mark Marlat, thence north 39 chains and 10 links to another post, then west 52 chains and 70 links to a post by the said branch of Rarington River, thence down the several courses thereof to the first mentioned beech tree the place of beginning, containing 250 acres of land together with &C [legal shorthand for etcetera] to have and to hold &C Principal sum of money due and expected therein £1050 proclamation money to be paid in six payments with interest according to the conditions of six bonds or obligations the last payment to be on the 19th day of May 1781 Proviso when paid the deed to be void &C. In witness where of the parties to those presents have hereunto interchangeably set his hand and seal this day and year first above written, signed sealed, and Executed in the presence of John Forrestor, Will (x) Sharpestoon, his mark.     Signed, Peter Young, Proved Dec 30, 1767 by Wm Sharfesteen, witnessed before Martin Ryerson.
    [Memorandum that on 9 April 1784, the original mortgage of which the Appoints is an abstract was brought to the office canceled as witness my hand the day and year above said, S. W. Stockton.]
FHL 588276, Hunterdon County, New Jersey mortgages, 1766-1791, page 342.
    Mortgage Deed from Isaac Clover of Lebanon of Huntington County in New Jersey, blacksmith, to Catherine Clover of the same place dated 14 December 1784, for all that lot of land lying in the township aforesaid bounded as followeth, viz. Beginning at a chestnut tree for a corner, standing in the east side of a branch of a brook, called Spruce Run, thence north 20 degrees west two chains and fifty links to another chestnut tree for a corner standing in the division line between Wm Cox land and lands formerly Daniel Cox gentleman and now Robert Haftets thence by the same south twenty four degrees thirty minutes west fifteen chains to a heap of stones for a corner being also a former corner of the said Daniel and William Cox thence along another division line between the said Daniel and Wm Cox south twenty degrees east eight chains to a black oak tree for a corner standing in the said line thence north thirteen degrees and thirty minutes east nineteen chains and twenty links to the place of beginning containing five acres and three quarters together with the &C [legal shorthand for etcetera] To have and to hold &C the principal sum due and expected therein sixty pounds lawful money of the state of New Jersey payable on or before the 14 December 1790 with lawful interest from the date agreeably to the condition of a certain bond bearing even date herewith, proviso when paid the deed to be void &C. Sealed and delivered in the present of us, G. Groffman, Peter Apgar, Jr, Proved 28 June 1785, by George Grifman, one of the subscribing witnesses. Recorded 21 April 1787 

    These mortgages confused me a bit so I went to my legal expert, Marilyn Symonds, who tells me that the above mortgages meant that Peter and Catherine Clover had bought land and Peter Young was holding the mortgage. They owed the money to him. Isaac Clover was holding the mortgage for his mother, i.e., she owed him money for the land she had purchased from him.
    The first mortgage is of interest because it proves something that we had already assumed, i.e., that Peter Clover, junior, was the son of Peter Clover, Senior.  All we ever had to prove this was a county history article which is not perfect evidence.  Now we have his mother’s word for it.  Every item out of that county history article that we can prove strengthens the other items.
    The second mortgage is interesting because it shows that Isaac Clover was also a blacksmith as was his father and brothers. He signed the mortgage himself. The fact that he was part of this contract tends to show that he had reached the age of 21 although this is by no means clear in the English common law.  If so, he was born prior to 1764. This is the first time we have had any idea about his date of birth. He was simply listed as one of the infants in the guardianship records in 1768.  Isaac died shortly after this mortgage was given because his estate records appear in March 1785.  His mother was his adm’x.  Interestingly the inventory was valued at £42.3.0.  This seems a little low considering Catherine owed him £60 from the mortgage.  Perhaps Catherine was able to pay off a goodly portion of the debt shortly after signing the mortgage.  Does anyone have copies of Isaac’s estate records?  I think they might be interesting to see.  All I have seen is the published abstract.
    Catherine was still alive 22 March 1785 when she was administrix of Isaac’s estate which I think is the latest that I have proof she was alive.  No one knows where or when she died so any further evidence on this would be of great interest. And I wonder what happened to her purchase. 
    I was told that there was no sign that Clovers ever owned land in Hunterdon County.  I was clearly misinformed. I checked the catalog to see what exists and realized what may have happened.  The index starts in 1785 but the deeds start in 1705.  I am not sure what exactly exists from the dates that Clovers were there. Has anyone out there actually searched the deed records prior to 1785 in Hunterdon County?  Please let me know if you have done so.

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The Grandin Fulling Mill, 1774-1785, Hunterdon County, New Jersey
The Clover information from this article was published in the Clover Family Exchange 5: 2: 10.  I have also included here the other names which are associated with the Clover Family as printed in The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey.  The date is the date upon which an individual brought in wool cloth to be finished or dyed. The cloth was probably homespun. The cloth needed to be shrunk and condensed to make it warmer, heavier, and more impervious to moisture. During the process, the wool shrinks to about half of its length.
        If there were only two dates, both were given.  If there is a number in parenthesis, it means that the name was listed that many times between the two dates. Note that the records only go from 1774 to 1785 and there were a few pages missing.  This is important because it tells us when people were there.
        The mill was on the south branch of the Raritan River, just below what is now Hamden in Clinton Township.  The following names were found in The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey.  The article begins on page 1 of Volume 52, January 1977 and is continued into later issues.
Volume 52: 3
Samuel Anderson 1774 to 8 February 1785 (7)
Volume 52: 4
Peter Apgar (variations) 1774-Dec 1783 (10)
Volume 52: 7
Peter Bloom 13 Dec 1780
Volume 52: 9
Catherine/Catharine/Catrine Clover 1775 to 24 December 1777 (4)
Widdow Catherine Clover 17 September 1784
Volume 52: 10.
Paul Clover 9 May 1777
Peter Clover 17 Mar 1777 to 9 Oct 1782 (3)
Volume 52: 90
William Corbitt 23 Oct 1778-16 Nov 1781 (3)
Volume 53: 29
Henery Kase sent something which was brought by “a Clover”
John Kinney 1775, 29 Nov 1777 Also other Kinneys, i.e., Michael, Peter, Simon.
Volume 53: 34
There were no Mettlers, but there were several Medlers, i.e., John, Philip, and John listed as son of Philip.
Volume 53: 91
John Person 10 January 1783 There were no Pearsons or Piersons.
David Person 26 February 1779
Volume 53: 93
There was no George Rhea, but there was an Isaac Rhea, Samuel Rhey, and Rea.
Volume 54: Issue 1 has no Wray in the list.

    I am strongly of the opinion that we should look at our ancestors as a group, as a community of individuals.  I am publishing these other names for that reason.  I have always hoped that following some of these other children of John Peter Clover might give us a touch more information.  And New Jersey information on this family is very thin.  I was glad to see Paul in this because this is the only early record of Paul in New Jersey other than his original guardianship record. There may be more, but I have not seen them. Between this record and the tax lists, we have a good idea of who was living here around 1780. Nearly all of John Peter’s family shows up in one or the other.  Philip and George Wray are not in this list, but appear in a Hunterdon County tax list.  Mary (Clover) Conine is the exception. Her family moved a few miles away to a different county.                

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        I am including these articles because I had such a hard time getting my hands on copies of The Jerseyman. Neither has Clovers in it, but there are other names associated with Clovers in this area.  I originally published this article in the Clover Family Chronicles, Volume 1, Issue 5, page 131.  I have a copy of the subject index. There is no every name index that I know of.

        The Jerseyman was a quarterly magazine of local history and genealogy, principally of Hunterdon County, New Jersey.  It was published in Flemington from 1891 to 1905.  It is available on FHL Microfilm 1425613, but I got my copies from the New Jersey Archives.  The articles in the magazine were interesting, but only two were of genealogical significance. In the March 1893 issue, page 1-3, there is an article on the Colonial Naturalization List [of New Jersey.] The author believes that few of the emigrants were ever naturalized.  “Many of those from Germany, Holland and France located first in New Amsterdam [New York] or on Long Island, where they took the oath of fidelity to the British Government and afterwards removed to New Jersey....By the Act of Assembly of 4 April 1709, ownership of one hundred acres of land or a personal estate of fifty pounds was made requisite for the right to vote for public officers. This left but little motive for needy settlers to acquire a citizenship which, to them, would have been a mere pretentious nullity.” The article has a complete list of the names of all persons who were naturalized during the Colonial Period which was compiled from Allison’s Acts of the General Assembly. This includes the entire state, not just Hunterdon County.  The list is only about two pages long. I studied it carefully for entries of surnames which I know to be associated with all Clover families.  The list is short:

15 March 1738/9 John Bloom
8 December 1744 Mathias Sharpentin
8 October 1750 George Cooper, Philip Cooper

I have the entire article scnnned on a separate page if you want to look for other names. 
Naturalization Pages scanned.

        In the June 1897 volume on pages 37-53, there is an article which includes the Parish Register of the German Reformed Church of Alexandria, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.  It includes baptisms from 1763 to 1801. Many entries include the mother’s maiden name. I found no Clovers among the children, parents or witnesses. There are numerous Blums with varied spellings and a handful of Metlers.  I mention this only because I know a lot of you are interested in these surnames.  There are no entries which could refer to John Peter’s daughters or their progeny. I have put copies of this article on a separate page.

Church Records scanned.

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I originally published the following article in Spring 1999.
Bibliography: Guiseppi, M.S., ed. Naturalizations of Foreign Protestants in the American and West Indian Colonies, (London: Huguenot Society Publishing, 1921). This book is widely available in libraries.
    The Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantation established the act for naturalization in the American and West Indian colonies in 1740. Pursuant to that act, commissioners in the Americas sent records back to England detailing those foreign Protestants who were naturalized in the colonies. This collection of those naturalization records contains important information from 1740 until about 1782 when the commission was dissolved. Divided by location, names are given of naturalized persons. Although designed just to record Protestants, New York lists also include some Jews and Quakers. The records of some states are more complete than others, New York being thought most inclusive while Virginia is thought least comprehensive.
       
Pa. Y. 16. Supreme Court held at Philadelphia, 10 April 1766.

Naturalizations of Foreign Protestants in the American and West Indian Colonies. [The following certificates for this Colony have not been entered into the Entry Book.] C. O. 5. 1276.

Affirmers' Names.: PETER HAPPA. County.: Hunterdon. Province.: New Jersey.
Affirmers' Names.: PETER YOUNG. County.: Hunterdon.Province.: New Jersey.
Affirmers' Names.: YOST SHEFFER. County.: Hunterdon. Province.: New Jersey.
Affirmers' Names.: PETER CLOVER. County.: Hunterdon. Province.: New Jersey.
Affirmers' Names.: JOHN SMITH. County.: Hunterdon. Province.: New Jersey.

        Peter Clover is the only Clover found in this book. He is listed in the middle of a group of persons from Hunterdon Province, New Jersey so apparently a group of them went together. He had to have been in the colony for at least seven years so had to have emigrated before 1759.  He could have been here much longer. Since he was being naturalized in the English courts, he also clearly was not born in the British Isles. These people were supposed to take communion before they pledged allegiance to the throne.  It was basically set up for Protestants.  Philadelphia was just across the river from Hunterdon County and thus would have been much closer than any other court. The assumption here is that this is Peter Sr, not Peter Jr.  Normally the head of the household was naturalized because this also naturalized his wife and minor children. However, Peter Clover, Jr., may have been the one naturalized.  This is still in question.  [Note the John Smith next to Peter Clover.  I believe that this John Smith is the one in the New York City church record where Pieter Clover was a witness for the baptism of a child of John Smith. However, with a name like that, I can't be sure without a lot more research.]

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This article was originally published in the Clover Family Chronicles, Spring 2004, Volume 1, Issue 5, page 128.  Copyright 2004 June Clover Byrne

    One of the odder ideas floating around is that John Peter Clover was a Quaker.  Several people sent me this information over the years.  I don't know where it came from and I have not heard it recently. This rumor is probably based upon the fact that he affirmed rather than swore an oath in 1766 when he was naturalized in Philadelphia. [See Clover Family Exchange, volume 8, issue 2. This article is included on this webpage.  I was startled by this theory, but was not clear how to refute it.  I consulted a expert, Alvie Davidson, CGRS, who knows more about this subject. He pointed out that Baptists and members of the Dutch Reformed Church also condemned the taking of oaths. Since we know that John Peter Clover was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church in 1747, the affirmation is explained.  There is no need to postulate his membership in another church. We still have no proof as to whether it was John Peter Clover or Peter Clover, Jr, who was naturalized. However, I have come to believe that John Peter Clover was in the colonies much earlier than we had thought. If so, it is possible that Peter, Jr., was born in the colonies. On the other hand, Peter, Jr, might have become naturalized preparatory to marrying Sarah Emmons.  I am keeping an open mind on the subject.

        There are two volumes of these books, compiled by Phyllis B. D'Autrechy, published 2000, in Flemington, New Jersey by the Hunterdon County Historical Society.  Volume 1, has no Clovers.  

Volume II: 1817, April 27 Will of Pero Curtis, of Amwell Township. Wife: Amy Curtis, corner cupboard and big chest.  Son, George Curtis.  Granddaughter, Jane Curtis, a chest now at my son in law Plim's. Residue, real and personal, to be sold and divided equally between wife; son, David Curtis; son, Pero Curtis; son, George Curtis; daughter, Hanna Williams; Tabitha Clover; and granddaughter, Julian.  Executor: son in law, Pero Williams.  Witnesses: Moses Stout, David Stout Jr, and Daraty Johnson.  Proved 6 May 1818.  (Book 3: 189)
Volume II page 44: 1823, November 28 Estate of Joseph Bonnell Exquire. He had a very large estate which included a long list of bonds not secured by mortgages.  In the list of names is an entry for Abraham C. Schenck and Peter Clover.  This is one entry so presumably both names were on the bond together.  Abm C. Schenck and Peter C. Schenck were also listed as one entry.  [Abraham C. Schenck and Peter C. Schenck were the grandsons of Peter Clover who was deceased by this time so this is probably for Peter's estate.]

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Note from Robin Ventura.  My mother's records show a letter from Chandler Clare that states that he [John Peter Clover]  " ...bought 250 acres in Hunterdon County in 1747.
Does anyone know more ot this?  

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