We touch on a few items this month, yet at the exclusion of a somewhat newsworthy event. However, it will be covered in November’s column. So be sure to find out next month!
There continue to be local events in celebration of the Semiquincentennial. As I write this in mid-September, the Historical Society’s Colonial Faire, held at the Temple-Ryan Farm House this past weekend, was a lovely success! Many “colonial” activities were demonstrated, exhibits were enjoyed, reenactors brought the past to life, and the ever-improving Temple House was appreciated by all. Kudos to all those volunteers who made it happen.
The Ewing Historical Society is also hosting an event this month, when “Our Rights Too! Overlooked Women of Color in the Fight for Women’s Rights” is presented Saturday, Oct. 17, from 2 to 3 p.m. at Hollowbrook Community Center. Storyteller and historian Carol Simon Levin will portray individuals and share stories of the lesser-known women in the long battle for women’s rights, an extension of those “inalienable rights” promised in the Declaration of Independence. The Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission has provided support for this free program, which is open to the public.
Another free program, also open to the public, will be the second annual All Saints Day Cemetery Tour at Ewing Church Cemetery on Scotch Road. This columnist will lead visitors on a new walking tour through a portion of the cemetery, discovering some “saints” who labored in this area at a variety of jobs, positions or businesses.
The tour on Sunday, Nov. 1, All Saints Day, will begin at roughly 11 a.m., or once the 10 a.m. church service ends, near the sanctuary entrance and will last about an hour. Visitors are welcome to attend the 10 a.m. worship service preceding the tour or to simply gather at 11 a.m. Wear comfortable walking shoes and appropriate garb for the weather!
Speaking of the Ewing Church Cemetery, I’ve been recapping the stories of the four individuals portrayed in the 250th tours held there this summer. William Green and Benjamin Moore have been done, so Elizabeth Green and Israel Carle are here this month. Then, may they rest in peace!
Elizabeth Green (1758-1842) was the wife of ferryman, scout and militiaman William Green, the daughter of James and Mary Burroughs, and was raised on a farm here in Trenton Township, now Ewing. We don’t have much information about her life but can piece together some basic ideas.
Pension documents report that Will was often away from home during the war, and so that left Elizabeth on her own. Wives and women were left to assume many responsibilities for farms or businesses that ordinarily would have been “men’s work.” She may have also supported the Patriot effort in other ways, such as making clothing to avoid purchasing cloth from the British or providing assistance to the troops in their camps.
So it’s fairly certain that she, too, was occupied in the Patriot cause in important ways. She lived a long life here in Ewing.
Israel Carle (1757-1822) was the youngest child of Jacob and Elizabeth Carle, who owned nearly 450 acres bordered on one side by what is now Carlton Avenue, later named after the family.
In June 1775, the Provincial Congress in New Jersey amended a militia law requiring men ages 16 through 50 to sign up with the local militia infantry. At 18, having been raised with horses, Israel Carle wanted to join the “Troop of Light Horse,” a squad of deft, intelligent and resourceful individuals with their own horses and equipment who served as messengers and scouts and as a commander’s eyes and ears on the battlefield.
He briefly joined the Light Horse troop in Middlesex County but later offered his services for a newly authorized troop here in Hunterdon County. Mercer County did not yet exist. He was officially commissioned as its captain at age 20 in October 1777 and later rose to major.
Carle’s troop kept busy gathering critical and confidential information, maintaining communication, protecting officers, supply wagons and livestock, and participating in battles. In 1789, his troop escorted Washington from Trenton to Rocky Hill on his way to New York for his inauguration as president.
Helen Kull is an advisor with the Ewing Township Historic Preservation Society.
