Daniel Bayles House, Kingston, NJ
Daniel Bayles (1683-1752) was the son of John Bayles, Jr., and Ruth Rusco of Jamaica, Long Island. He was born in Jamaica and appears in the Jamaica Town Records between 1706 and 1708. Daniel had arrived in NJ by 1712 when he served on a jury in Burlington Co. In 1715 he served on a jury at Hopewell, Hunterdon Co., NJ. In December of 1717 Daniel was involved in a law suit against John Hart in Hunterdon Co., his last recorded appearance in that county. In 1718 Daniel was sued in Middlesex Co. by John Parker. No further record of Daniel Bayles is known of until 1727.
On Jan. 1, 1727, Daniel Bayles bought a tract of approximately 300 acres in Middlesex Co. from Benjamin Harrison of Amboy. This may be the tract upon which the Daniel Bayles House (also known as "Fair Acres") now stands. The tract was located between the present locations of Kingston and Monmouth Junction. The home on this tract remained in Daniel's family for many years and was occupied by Daniel's son John after Daniel's death.
Daniel was married twice, first to a lady named Sarah by whom he had at least three children: Daniel (m. Johannah Lake), Samuel (m. Mary Story) and John (m. Susannah Burtis). Late in life Daniel married widow Elizabeth (Whitehead?)Waters. Little is known about Daniel's first wife but there is a newspaper account of his second marriage (NY Gazette, Nov. 25, 1751) and another account of the dissolution of that marriage shortly afterward (NY Gazette, March 16, 1752). Daniel Bayles was included in the New Brunswick tax rolls for the years 1748 and 1750 but was not on the rolls of December 1752 indicating that he was probably dead by that time.
Daniel's son John Bayles advertised his farm for sale on March 1, 1762. This is believed to have been the same tract that was purchased by his father in 1727. Apparently the farm was not sold as John's son William later lived on the same tract. It also appears from the advertisement that the tract had increased in size since Daniel first settled on it. Howard Green Bayles includes this description of the sale in his book of 1944 :
"420 acres on the Public Road near King's Town, within about 4 miles from Prince Town College, in the Corporation of New Brunswick of East New Jersey, 250 acres of which is cleared and fit for the plow, it being extremely good for both wheat and pasture, 20 acres of choice good meadow and more may be made. Well timbered and watered. Has on it 2 good dwelling Houses and 2 Barns and other necessary buildings - For further particulars enquire of the owner living on the premises, who will give an indisputable title for the same."
It is from this statement in Howard Green Bayles' book that we once again find mention of the house: "James was our grandfather, and from conversations during our childhood we feel that this family was brought up in the old homestead bought by Daniel in 1727, near Kingston, NJ, and that it was not sold until after the death of William." James (1811-1896) and William (1820-1878) were sons of John Bayles (1727-1784) and were grandsons of Daniel.
Today the house is located on Route 27 in Kingston. John Dalley's map of 1745 (see detail below) shows the house of "Daniel Bailes". Also seen on this map is Rockingham, the house of John Berrian (top left, above Kingston). Rockingham was rented by Gen. George Washington during the Revolution and the house is sometimes known as the "Washington HQ". Frederick Cruser purchased Rockingham about 1808 and it was at Rockingham that Robert Bayles (grt-grt-grandson of Daniel) was born in 1828. Rockingham has since been moved to another location in the area.
My grateful appreciation goes to Ceil Leedom for telling me about the house. My special thanks and appreciation goes to local resident and photographer Peter C. Hugger who took the photos of the house and is allowing me to use them on these pages.
Sources:
- Howard Green Bayles, The Bayles Families of Long Island and New Jersey and Their Descendants, Houston, TX, 1944
- Eliza Bayles St. John, The Ancestors of the Bayles Family in the United States 1617-1900, Rockford, IL, 1900
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