GEORGE DAVIS BROKAW

George Brokaw was born in Raritan, Somerset, New Jersey on the 29th of March in 1755. He was baptized on the 27th of April 1755 at the Dutch Church in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The first people to settle the Raritan Valley were the Naraticongs, a peace-loving branch of the Lenape who were part of the Iroquois Nation. Numbering about 1,200 the Naraticongs lived mostly along the north side of the river. They roamed the forest to hunt, fished in the river, and planted corn in the fertile valley.

In 1683, when the Dutch and English arrived, the Naraticongs met them with friendly advances and a ready sale of land. The Dutch shortened and altered the name of the Naraticongs and named the area Raritan, or “forked river” Other versions of history state that Raritan translates  to “where the stream overflows”.

The Dutch, English, and French Huguenots were drawn to the area for the same reasons the Lenape found appealing: the rich, fertile soil and the navigable river. The Dutch also realized they could establish their own church, the Dutch Reformed Church, and live in freedom. These opportunities played a major role in the establishment of the town of Raritan. Raritan became a trading center for neighboring farmers. Central Jersey, particularly around Somerset County, was known as an early Dutch settlement. George's ancestors were French Huguenots who intermarried with the Dutch in Holland, the Huguenots' place of refuge in the 1600s.

 At age 21, in November 1776, George served as a private in Captain Peter D. Vroom's Battalion in Somerset, New Jersey.  A few months later, on the 10th of June, 1777, he married Jane Custard in Walpack, Sussex, New Jersey where Jane resided. Their marriage ceremony was at the Walpack Dutch Reformed Church. George and Jane reared a family of a dozen children!! The first four children were born in Somerset, Somerset, New Jersey. Some time before 1786, the family moved to Beavertown, Fayette, Pennsylvania where the next two children were born.  The next five children were born in Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania.  Last, but not least, the twelfth child was born in Jefferson County, Ohio.

Next, we find George, age 47, and his family settling down in Harrison County, Ohio. On the 11th of October in 1814, George, age 59, is an elector on The Roll Book of the Election in Cadiz Twp., Harrison, Ohio. In Flushing, Belmont County, Ohio (not far from Cadiz), George is the head of a household in the 1830 census, age 75. Twelve years later, George's death is recorded as the 27th of June in 1842, in Flushing, Cadiz Twp., Harrison, Ohio and he was buried at the Crabapple Presbyterian Church Cemetery, near Cadiz.

GEORGE DAVIS BROKAW

BORN: 29 Mar 1755 Raritan, Somerset, NJ

MARRIED: 10 Jun 1777 Walpack, Sussex, NJ

DIED: 27 Jun 1842 Flushing, Cadiz Twp., Harrison, OH

BURIED: Crabapple Presbyterian Church Cemetery, near Cadiz, Harrison, OH

SOURCES: Researchers, Norma Custer and Susan Custer at www.genforum.genealogy.com re Census  and Military records; Roll Book of the Election, www.rootsweb.com; Book: "Our Brokaw/Bragaw Heritage" compiled by Mrs. Elsie E. Foster