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Narratives of Newark in New Jersey, 1666-1916 These narratives were revised from a series of articles originally appearing in the Newark Evening News. They were written by David Lawrence Pierson, Historian General, Sons of the American Revolution, in the winter of 1915-1916 in anticipation of the 250th Anniversary Celebration of Newark, New Jersey. ______________________ Michael Tompkins, Signer of the Fundamental Agreement, vacated his Milford home, one of the most pretentious in the New Haven Colony, to follow the westward trend of Puritanism. The house was twenty feet square, two stories in height and about thirty rods distant from the Meeting House. Under cover of darkness, the Refugees Goffe and Whalley, fleeing from the English wrath for passing judgment upon Charles I, found an asylum in the Tompkins home. They were given accommodations in a room on the first floor, where they remained two years. Directly overhead was the living room, where the young women of the household spent many hours of the day. Unconscious of the guests being on the floor beneath, the young ladies, having learned a satirical ballad floated across the ocean from England, frequently sang it set to a popular air. In substance the satirization was upon the two hidden refugees, who found it difficult to remain quiet, so convulsed with laughter were they over the young ladies' lack of knowledge of their presence. |
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