In the mid-1700s, life in South Orange remained rural and remote. According to historian David L. Pierson, who wrote “History of the Oranges,” “The customs of the people had changed very little during the century and more of settlement.” Despite the rough climate and hard physical labor the new land demanded, the locals dressed in the style of London gentlemen, including the rapier carried at the hip, and long, powdered, scented hair worn in a braid. Women wore silk and cambric. Indeed, it was only in 1752 that England and its colonies—including our own—adopted the Gregorian calendar. (Previously, England had refused to switch from the Julian calendar for religious reasons. Pope Gregory XII introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582.) Beefsteak pie was a staple food, though “apple pies were just at the dawning of culinary delight.” The beverage of choice was tea, and “the steaming tea kettle of iron or copper, hung over the fire from an iron crane, was a daily necessity.” In other words, South Orange was then English in language, customs, and even culinary tradition. No wonder; the colonists, even in revolt, described themselves as “subjects” of the king.

News traveled slowly in those days. Helen B. Bates, author of “Maplewood Past and Present” explains, “most news was obtained on Sundays at the church door before meeting began, or, again, from the minister who would communicate it privately, unless, when of great importance, he stated it from the pulpit.” The Boston Tea Party took place on Nov. 28, 1773, when locals resisted royal authority to impose duty on goods. In response, the crown closed the Boston Harbor in June 1774. When the news reached South Orange, two county freeholders, John DeHart and Isaac Ogden—whose names are familiar to us from local maps—put out a “call” to the county. 

DeHart and Ogden wrote:

"All the inhabitants of Essex in New Jersey, friends to the Constitution, the liberties and properties of American, are hereby notified and desired to meet at the court house in Newark … to consult and deliberate and firmly resolve upon the most prudent and salutary measure to secure and maintain the constitutional rights of his majesty’s subjects in America."

A group of men gathered, and agreed—eventually—that “imposing taxes for the purposes of raising a revenue in American is unconstitutional” on the part of the king. The group determined to raise money to send to “the many suffering inhabitants of Boston” now that trade via harbor was cut off, and chose representatives to the Continental Congress held that September in Philadelphia. South Orange folks of the time relied heavily on Newark Harbor; perhaps they feared that the closing of one busy harbor would lead to another.

The Congress met and determined that all the colonies should act as one in dealings with the British and to “abstain from commercial intercourse with Great Britain.” But a ship was already en route to New Jersey. In early November 1774, a cargo of tea was traveling north. The owner stowed it in a cellar in Greenwich, NJ. “Sons of Liberty,” early revolutionaries dressed as Indians, kindled a bonfire that burned the entire cargo of tea.  

By mid-1775, a local preacher, Mr. Chapman, read aloud a pastoral letter that declared “the whole Continent are declared their rights by force of arms … We exhort the young people to be prepared for death, assuring them, especially the young and vigorous among them, that there is no solider so undaunted as the pious man…” A plan to organize a local militia was passed by the Provincial Congress in Trenton on June 3, 1775. Two regiments were raised in Essex County, and were known as “minute-men.”

Our local militia was first called into service in February 1776, and New Jersey’s Constitution was adopted in July of that year. Local regiments engaged in battle, and wounded soldiers were sent to local homes in our area for care and nursing. Apple whisky was a common remedy, and surgery often followed. “History of the Oranges” relates that, “Horrors of war were now brought to the doors of Essex County residents,” as the British and Hessians pillaged homes and farms. Battles raged throughout our area, and families were divided by loyalty and dislocation.

When the war ended—official tidings were “promulgated” to the country on April 19, 1783—many Essex County locals, who had supported the British, exiled themselves to Nova Scotia. Those fighting men who survived returned to plow and plant fields that had been neglected during the war.

The list of those who died in the local battles that we call the Revolutionary War is lengthy. Reading it is like reading a local map, as many have been immortalized in street names throughout our town. The Clark family lost four men, and the Tichenors served, as well. Pierson, Ward, Taylor and Ogden are names I know well from daily travels around our community.

So the Fourth of July is both solemn and celebratory for the Oranges. Charles D. Platt wrote “Ballads of New Jersey in the Revolution.” On this anniversary of our nation’s liberty, here are a few lines:

            Under the Orange Mountain one day

            A horseman was riding upon his way,

            Taking it leisurely, having no fears—

            But what is that trampling of feet he hears?

            ‘Tis the ominous tramp of a British troop

            Who are gaining on him with oath and with whoop.

            He gives rein to his horse, nor will he heed

            The command to stop—fast flies his steed.

            Then wheeling about and facing that troop,

            He waves his hat and salutes the group—

            “Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!” shouts he:

            “Three cheers! Three cheers for liberty!”

Happy Independence Day!