The Monmouth Tract, also known as the Monmouth Patent, Navesink Tract or Navesink Patent was a large triangular tract of land granted as a

land patent A land patent is a form of letters patent assigning official ownership of a particular tract of land that has gone through various legally-prescribed processes like surveying and documentation, followed by the letter's signing, sealing, and publi ...

to settlers of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

during the early American colonial period.

History

Colonel

Richard Nicolls Richard Nicolls (sometimes written as Nichols, 1624 – 28 May 1672) was the first English colonial governor of New York province. Early life Nicolls was born in 1624 in Ampthill in Bedfordshire, England. He was the son of Francis Nicolls (1 ...

, an English military officer, had conquered the territory that is now the states of New Jersey and New York when he forced the Dutch surrender of the

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...

colony at the onset of the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas and trade routes, whe ...

in 1664. Nicolls had instructions to govern the colony, and after establishing English rule, he instituted a legal system centered on

English common law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...

, and issued conditions upon which plantations and land grants would be created. After granting patent for Elizabeth-Town (''Achter Koll'' on Newark Bay) in 1664, Nicolls granted patents for a triangular tract of land called the Monmouth Tract also called the Navesink Tract on April 8, 1665. Twelve men, most of whom were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

from Long Island, purchased a tract that extended from

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern ...

to the mouth of the

Raritan River Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. History Geologists assert that the lower Raritan provided t ...

, upstream approximately , and then southeast to

Barnegat Bay Barnegat Bay is a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately long, along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is separated from the Atlantic by the long Island Beach State Park (colloquially called a "ba ...

. It was first known as ''Navesink'', likely after a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

of the Lenape who inhabited the area, and it was established into the settlements of

Freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England * Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

, Middletown and Shrewsbury, and later as into Monmouth County. The 13 patentees of Monmouth were Richard Lippincott, William Golden (Goulding) (Golder), Samuel Spicer, Richard Gibbons, Richard Stout, James Grover,

John Bowne John Bowne (1627–1695), the progenitor of the Bowne family in America, was a Quaker and an English immigrant residing in the Dutch colony of New Netherland. He is historically significant for his struggle for religious liberty. Background Born i ...

, John Tilton, Nathaniel Sylvester, William Reape, Walter Clark, Nichols Davis and

Obadiah Holmes Obadiah Holmes (1610 – 15 October 1682) was an early Rhode Island settler, and a Baptist minister who was whipped in the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious beliefs and activism. He became the pastor of the Baptist Church in Newport, ...

. In 1675, Monmouth was established as one of the first four counties in the proprietary

East Jersey The Province of East Jersey, along with the Province of West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed, were two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey, which became the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

colony, along with

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. It is thought that the Monmouth Tract and later Monmouth County received its name from the Rhode Island Monmouth SocietyThe Origin of New Jersey Place Names: M
GetNJ.com. Accessed December 15, 2007. or from a suggestion from

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Lewis Morris that the county should be named after Monmouthshire in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. Other suggestions include that it was named for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth (1649–1685), who had many allies among the East Jersey leadership.How Monmouth County Got Its Name
, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Accessed August 14, 2008.

References

{{coord, 40.4018, -74.0366, type:adm3rd_globe:earth_region:US-NJ, display=title 1665 establishments in New Jersey Raritan Bayshore Geography of Monmouth County, New Jersey Pre-statehood history of New Jersey