According to most of the documents I have researched, John Blaw, 1677-1757, married Margaret or Marytje Grietje, baptised in Kings Co, NY, and died in Somerset Co, NJ. His will is on record in NJ.
John Blaw (aforementioned) had a son John Blew, 1691-1770. Born in Somerset Co, NJ, died in Hampshire Co, VA, and was married to Cattron Van Meter.
John "Blaw" is my 8th great-grandfather.
This is according to the National Blue Family Association.
Thank you, Jim Grisham, March, 2015
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
14 Jan 2021 - Suggested Edit: John Blaw Sr and his son John Jr aren't buried in the Blaw-Nevius Burial Grounds. For interesting discussions of the search for Blaw's grave and of family burial grounds in Montgomery Township, see the following:
#4.
For years I intended to pursue a visit to this final resting place of one of my 18th century Blaw relatives, prompted by the very detailed description in Walter C. Baker's 'Family Burying Grounds, Montgomery Township, Somerset County, New Jersey [Revised 1993]', which reads, in part: "The grave site of John Blaw is located on his former farm that later became the property of two generations of Skillman's and one generation of Garrisons. It is presently in the ownership of the New Jersey Beagle Club. The marker reads:
HERE LYS
BODY OF JOH
N BLAW HOW (WHO)
DEPARDED
THIS LIF APRIL
THE 08, 1777
AGED 84 YER"
Early on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I drove from my home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, through Hopewell, NJ, east to the edge of Blawenburg, turning left and follow Tom Skillman's father Frederick described this area: "As one emerges from the woods that cover Mt. Lucas, just north of Princeton and looks to the northward, his eyes fall upon a scene of rare beauty. He looks out over a wide basin flanked on every side by a ridge of mountains over which there always hovers a blue haze, part of the 'Blue' mountains. He feels that the village of Blawenburg is rightly named when he considers its setting. The village is located on a rise in the center of this basin. But, tradition tells us the name originated, not from the blue hills, but from one of the early eighteenth century settlers in this fertile valley. His name was John Blaw. Little is known of him except that he died in April, 1777, and is buried in a lonesome little valley in the foothills of the Sourland mountains, off of the pass to the mountain top known as the 'Hollow' . . .".
John Blaw's final resting place sits in a peaceful grove of trees, near the edge of a tributary of Rock Brook. I examined the stones carefully and took many close-up photos. I sprayed the stones with plain water to highlight the markings. I did not rub the stones or move the loose stones from their original positions on the ground. Here are my conclusions:
John Blaw's stone: a small section of the front upper left corner seems in danger of falling off, otherwise the stone is in remarkably good shape after 243 years; based on my closer inspection of the carving, I would add 'THE' after 'LYS' in Walter Baker's version of the inscription, so it reads "HERE LYS THE BODY OF JOHN BLAW HOW DEPARDED THIS LIF APRIL THE 08, 1777 AGED 84 YER""; the 'HOW' in the inscription is clearly a transposition of 'WHO' - please remember the author and carver of these words was almost certainly a native Dutch writer; there are three tiny, clearly-visible, evenly-spaced holes between each word in the first two lines and part of the third, presumably used as an aid to the carver in aligning the text; the top edge of the stone has a very thin crack across the middle of the longer dimension; a smooth stone is embedded in the ground at the front of the base of the marker, presumably to stabilize it.
I stood before John Blaw's grave and processed the many questions that raced through my brain: Which John Blaw is buried here? How many people are buried here? Are the 'two sisters' buried here? Who carved this marker? It is almost certain that this John Blaw is related to Michael and Frederick Blaw who are buried a short distance away in the Blaw-Nevius-Vorhees burial grounds. Is he their older brother, the first son and namesake of the John Blaw Sr. [baptised 1677-1757] who came from Brooklyn, Kings County, New York prior to 1742 and purchased almost 500 acres of land in this area? If so, why don't the dates on his grave stone [died 1777] match the dates in the family history [1691?-1770]? Is John Blaw Sr. himself buried here, next to his son?
https://www.bluefamily.org/post/here-lys-the-body-of-john-blaw
by Ted Blew, 15 Jun 2020
Thanks to: Contributor: Jill Piggott (50667147):
John Blaw (aforementioned) had a son John Blew, 1691-1770. Born in Somerset Co, NJ, died in Hampshire Co, VA, and was married to Cattron Van Meter.
John "Blaw" is my 8th great-grandfather.
This is according to the National Blue Family Association.
Thank you, Jim Grisham, March, 2015
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
14 Jan 2021 - Suggested Edit: John Blaw Sr and his son John Jr aren't buried in the Blaw-Nevius Burial Grounds. For interesting discussions of the search for Blaw's grave and of family burial grounds in Montgomery Township, see the following:
#4.
For years I intended to pursue a visit to this final resting place of one of my 18th century Blaw relatives, prompted by the very detailed description in Walter C. Baker's 'Family Burying Grounds, Montgomery Township, Somerset County, New Jersey [Revised 1993]', which reads, in part: "The grave site of John Blaw is located on his former farm that later became the property of two generations of Skillman's and one generation of Garrisons. It is presently in the ownership of the New Jersey Beagle Club. The marker reads:
HERE LYS
BODY OF JOH
N BLAW HOW (WHO)
DEPARDED
THIS LIF APRIL
THE 08, 1777
AGED 84 YER"
Early on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I drove from my home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, through Hopewell, NJ, east to the edge of Blawenburg, turning left and follow Tom Skillman's father Frederick described this area: "As one emerges from the woods that cover Mt. Lucas, just north of Princeton and looks to the northward, his eyes fall upon a scene of rare beauty. He looks out over a wide basin flanked on every side by a ridge of mountains over which there always hovers a blue haze, part of the 'Blue' mountains. He feels that the village of Blawenburg is rightly named when he considers its setting. The village is located on a rise in the center of this basin. But, tradition tells us the name originated, not from the blue hills, but from one of the early eighteenth century settlers in this fertile valley. His name was John Blaw. Little is known of him except that he died in April, 1777, and is buried in a lonesome little valley in the foothills of the Sourland mountains, off of the pass to the mountain top known as the 'Hollow' . . .".
John Blaw's final resting place sits in a peaceful grove of trees, near the edge of a tributary of Rock Brook. I examined the stones carefully and took many close-up photos. I sprayed the stones with plain water to highlight the markings. I did not rub the stones or move the loose stones from their original positions on the ground. Here are my conclusions:
John Blaw's stone: a small section of the front upper left corner seems in danger of falling off, otherwise the stone is in remarkably good shape after 243 years; based on my closer inspection of the carving, I would add 'THE' after 'LYS' in Walter Baker's version of the inscription, so it reads "HERE LYS THE BODY OF JOHN BLAW HOW DEPARDED THIS LIF APRIL THE 08, 1777 AGED 84 YER""; the 'HOW' in the inscription is clearly a transposition of 'WHO' - please remember the author and carver of these words was almost certainly a native Dutch writer; there are three tiny, clearly-visible, evenly-spaced holes between each word in the first two lines and part of the third, presumably used as an aid to the carver in aligning the text; the top edge of the stone has a very thin crack across the middle of the longer dimension; a smooth stone is embedded in the ground at the front of the base of the marker, presumably to stabilize it.
I stood before John Blaw's grave and processed the many questions that raced through my brain: Which John Blaw is buried here? How many people are buried here? Are the 'two sisters' buried here? Who carved this marker? It is almost certain that this John Blaw is related to Michael and Frederick Blaw who are buried a short distance away in the Blaw-Nevius-Vorhees burial grounds. Is he their older brother, the first son and namesake of the John Blaw Sr. [baptised 1677-1757] who came from Brooklyn, Kings County, New York prior to 1742 and purchased almost 500 acres of land in this area? If so, why don't the dates on his grave stone [died 1777] match the dates in the family history [1691?-1770]? Is John Blaw Sr. himself buried here, next to his son?
https://www.bluefamily.org/post/here-lys-the-body-of-john-blaw
by Ted Blew, 15 Jun 2020
Thanks to: Contributor: Jill Piggott (50667147):
According to most of the documents I have researched, John Blaw, 1677-1757, married Margaret or Marytje Grietje, baptised in Kings Co, NY, and died in Somerset Co, NJ. His will is on record in NJ.
John Blaw (aforementioned) had a son John Blew, 1691-1770. Born in Somerset Co, NJ, died in Hampshire Co, VA, and was married to Cattron Van Meter.
John "Blaw" is my 8th great-grandfather.
This is according to the National Blue Family Association.
Thank you, Jim Grisham, March, 2015
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
14 Jan 2021 - Suggested Edit: John Blaw Sr and his son John Jr aren't buried in the Blaw-Nevius Burial Grounds. For interesting discussions of the search for Blaw's grave and of family burial grounds in Montgomery Township, see the following:
#4.
For years I intended to pursue a visit to this final resting place of one of my 18th century Blaw relatives, prompted by the very detailed description in Walter C. Baker's 'Family Burying Grounds, Montgomery Township, Somerset County, New Jersey [Revised 1993]', which reads, in part: "The grave site of John Blaw is located on his former farm that later became the property of two generations of Skillman's and one generation of Garrisons. It is presently in the ownership of the New Jersey Beagle Club. The marker reads:
HERE LYS
BODY OF JOH
N BLAW HOW (WHO)
DEPARDED
THIS LIF APRIL
THE 08, 1777
AGED 84 YER"
Early on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I drove from my home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, through Hopewell, NJ, east to the edge of Blawenburg, turning left and follow Tom Skillman's father Frederick described this area: "As one emerges from the woods that cover Mt. Lucas, just north of Princeton and looks to the northward, his eyes fall upon a scene of rare beauty. He looks out over a wide basin flanked on every side by a ridge of mountains over which there always hovers a blue haze, part of the 'Blue' mountains. He feels that the village of Blawenburg is rightly named when he considers its setting. The village is located on a rise in the center of this basin. But, tradition tells us the name originated, not from the blue hills, but from one of the early eighteenth century settlers in this fertile valley. His name was John Blaw. Little is known of him except that he died in April, 1777, and is buried in a lonesome little valley in the foothills of the Sourland mountains, off of the pass to the mountain top known as the 'Hollow' . . .".
John Blaw's final resting place sits in a peaceful grove of trees, near the edge of a tributary of Rock Brook. I examined the stones carefully and took many close-up photos. I sprayed the stones with plain water to highlight the markings. I did not rub the stones or move the loose stones from their original positions on the ground. Here are my conclusions:
John Blaw's stone: a small section of the front upper left corner seems in danger of falling off, otherwise the stone is in remarkably good shape after 243 years; based on my closer inspection of the carving, I would add 'THE' after 'LYS' in Walter Baker's version of the inscription, so it reads "HERE LYS THE BODY OF JOHN BLAW HOW DEPARDED THIS LIF APRIL THE 08, 1777 AGED 84 YER""; the 'HOW' in the inscription is clearly a transposition of 'WHO' - please remember the author and carver of these words was almost certainly a native Dutch writer; there are three tiny, clearly-visible, evenly-spaced holes between each word in the first two lines and part of the third, presumably used as an aid to the carver in aligning the text; the top edge of the stone has a very thin crack across the middle of the longer dimension; a smooth stone is embedded in the ground at the front of the base of the marker, presumably to stabilize it.
I stood before John Blaw's grave and processed the many questions that raced through my brain: Which John Blaw is buried here? How many people are buried here? Are the 'two sisters' buried here? Who carved this marker? It is almost certain that this John Blaw is related to Michael and Frederick Blaw who are buried a short distance away in the Blaw-Nevius-Vorhees burial grounds. Is he their older brother, the first son and namesake of the John Blaw Sr. [baptised 1677-1757] who came from Brooklyn, Kings County, New York prior to 1742 and purchased almost 500 acres of land in this area? If so, why don't the dates on his grave stone [died 1777] match the dates in the family history [1691?-1770]? Is John Blaw Sr. himself buried here, next to his son?
https://www.bluefamily.org/post/here-lys-the-body-of-john-blaw
by Ted Blew, 15 Jun 2020
Thanks to: Contributor: Jill Piggott (50667147):
John Blaw (aforementioned) had a son John Blew, 1691-1770. Born in Somerset Co, NJ, died in Hampshire Co, VA, and was married to Cattron Van Meter.
John "Blaw" is my 8th great-grandfather.
This is according to the National Blue Family Association.
Thank you, Jim Grisham, March, 2015
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
14 Jan 2021 - Suggested Edit: John Blaw Sr and his son John Jr aren't buried in the Blaw-Nevius Burial Grounds. For interesting discussions of the search for Blaw's grave and of family burial grounds in Montgomery Township, see the following:
#4.
For years I intended to pursue a visit to this final resting place of one of my 18th century Blaw relatives, prompted by the very detailed description in Walter C. Baker's 'Family Burying Grounds, Montgomery Township, Somerset County, New Jersey [Revised 1993]', which reads, in part: "The grave site of John Blaw is located on his former farm that later became the property of two generations of Skillman's and one generation of Garrisons. It is presently in the ownership of the New Jersey Beagle Club. The marker reads:
HERE LYS
BODY OF JOH
N BLAW HOW (WHO)
DEPARDED
THIS LIF APRIL
THE 08, 1777
AGED 84 YER"
Early on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I drove from my home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, through Hopewell, NJ, east to the edge of Blawenburg, turning left and follow Tom Skillman's father Frederick described this area: "As one emerges from the woods that cover Mt. Lucas, just north of Princeton and looks to the northward, his eyes fall upon a scene of rare beauty. He looks out over a wide basin flanked on every side by a ridge of mountains over which there always hovers a blue haze, part of the 'Blue' mountains. He feels that the village of Blawenburg is rightly named when he considers its setting. The village is located on a rise in the center of this basin. But, tradition tells us the name originated, not from the blue hills, but from one of the early eighteenth century settlers in this fertile valley. His name was John Blaw. Little is known of him except that he died in April, 1777, and is buried in a lonesome little valley in the foothills of the Sourland mountains, off of the pass to the mountain top known as the 'Hollow' . . .".
John Blaw's final resting place sits in a peaceful grove of trees, near the edge of a tributary of Rock Brook. I examined the stones carefully and took many close-up photos. I sprayed the stones with plain water to highlight the markings. I did not rub the stones or move the loose stones from their original positions on the ground. Here are my conclusions:
John Blaw's stone: a small section of the front upper left corner seems in danger of falling off, otherwise the stone is in remarkably good shape after 243 years; based on my closer inspection of the carving, I would add 'THE' after 'LYS' in Walter Baker's version of the inscription, so it reads "HERE LYS THE BODY OF JOHN BLAW HOW DEPARDED THIS LIF APRIL THE 08, 1777 AGED 84 YER""; the 'HOW' in the inscription is clearly a transposition of 'WHO' - please remember the author and carver of these words was almost certainly a native Dutch writer; there are three tiny, clearly-visible, evenly-spaced holes between each word in the first two lines and part of the third, presumably used as an aid to the carver in aligning the text; the top edge of the stone has a very thin crack across the middle of the longer dimension; a smooth stone is embedded in the ground at the front of the base of the marker, presumably to stabilize it.
I stood before John Blaw's grave and processed the many questions that raced through my brain: Which John Blaw is buried here? How many people are buried here? Are the 'two sisters' buried here? Who carved this marker? It is almost certain that this John Blaw is related to Michael and Frederick Blaw who are buried a short distance away in the Blaw-Nevius-Vorhees burial grounds. Is he their older brother, the first son and namesake of the John Blaw Sr. [baptised 1677-1757] who came from Brooklyn, Kings County, New York prior to 1742 and purchased almost 500 acres of land in this area? If so, why don't the dates on his grave stone [died 1777] match the dates in the family history [1691?-1770]? Is John Blaw Sr. himself buried here, next to his son?
https://www.bluefamily.org/post/here-lys-the-body-of-john-blaw
by Ted Blew, 15 Jun 2020
Thanks to: Contributor: Jill Piggott (50667147):
Gravesite Details
HERE LYS
BODY OF JOH
N BLAW HOW (WHO)
DEPARDED
THIS LIF APRIL
THE 08, 1777
AGED 84 YER"
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