John Ashbrook arrived on the Delaware River from Belfast, Ireland, aboard the brig ANTELOPE on October 9, 1682, as an indentured servant to James Atkinson. Many emigrants to the new world bound themselves into servitude to pay their passage. After a prescribed number of years they were released, usually receiving land, clothing, and/or tools according to the agreement they signed. On this subject Barber and Howe wrote: "Many that came [as] servants succeeded better than some that bought estates: the first, inured to industry, and the ways of the country became wealthy." So, we shall see, seems to have been the case with John Ashbrook.

In England members of the Society of Friends, a religious sect known as Quakers, had purchased West New Jersey in 1674 (primarily southern New Jersey today) and opened the land for colonization. Salem became their first town in 1675. Two years later the City of Burlington was settled and Gloucestertown (now Gloucester City) was laid out. At this time the name Big Timber Creek was temporarily changed to the Gloucester River.

It was along the Gloucester River at the abandoned site of Armewamex that John Ashbrook selected land for his plantation, becoming Runnemede and Glendora's first settler. The year was 1688.

Once he had his plantation established in the wilderness of the new world he became involved in the affairs of the colony. He was "attested" costable of old Gloucester County in 1694. (Today's Camden County was part of old Gloucester County until 1844.) By 1697, he was a member of the general assembly of the Province of West New Jersey. This same year Assemblyman Ashbrook was found guilty of "killing hogs in the woods contrary to law", at court in Gloucestertown. Two years later, he was having Indian trouble right here in what is now Runnemede and Glendora. An Indian named Joseph Peake, had threatened to burn his house, destroy his cattle, or do other damage to his property. The solution to the problem was much more civilized than the methods used on the western frontier a century or more later; he went to a justice of the peace who ordered Peake to post a bond and keep the peace until the next court session.

John Ashbrook suffered the loss of his first wife, whose name has yet to be discovered. She was the mother of his eldest son, Aaron. John remarried to Mary Howell, daughter of Philip, a tailor of Philadelphia. By Mary he had two more sons, John, Jr. and James. He also had a daughter, Elizabeth, but it is not known by which wife.

John, Sr. seems to have a full successful life. He increased his holdings to 443 1/2 acres. From 1705 to 1708 he served as "Ye High Sherife" of old Gloucester County, and as a county freeholder from 1718-1727. He died in 1730.

In his will, John Ashbrook reserved "...one whole Acre where the Burying place now is for the use of the Neighborhood." Ashbrook's "Burying place", now a neglected spot overgrown with trees and vines and crisscrossed with well worn paths made by children at play, is on a hill in Glendora at the corner of Melvin and Station avenues overlooking the old "Gloucester River" and Clement's Bridge.

John's choice of words "...where the Burying place now is", implies there were burials before he wrote his will in 1727, therefore his first wife must have been interred there, making this the oldest public burial ground of record in Camden County.

George Prowell in 1886 says of the place "...it was one of the largest in this section of the country," and that "...many of the neighboring families [are] buried there and many stones with names and dates stood there." He goes on to say, "No interments have been made there for many years...many of the graves are leveled with the ground and the stones defaced or removed." The only stone he describes is the "plain marble slab" marking Isaiah Marple's grave.

A sad note is that the name of John Ashbrook had been forgotten by the time of Prowell's writing, for he attributed the "Burying place" to Isaiah Marple, who in 1782 became the seventh owner of the Ashbrook plantation. Frank Stewart, writing thirty years after Prowell, says of Isaiah Marple's grave, "...the tall stone which marks his grave is still standing in good condition," and continues:

"There are but two other stones to be found- Mary S. Zane, born May 25, 1780, died October 12, 1847, and Samuel Zane, died January 3, 1833, aged 55 years, 10 months and 17 days. The stone of Mary S. Zane has been shattered, and the inscription is read with difficulty."

The names on the headstones mentioned by Prowell and Stewart have caused Ashbrook's "Burying place" to be known as the Marple-Zane Burial Ground. The grave markers recorded by Stewart are now gone, but the one-acre "Burying place" still exists- exempt from taxes and reserved for any "in the neighborhood" who wish to make use of it.

Since most of the burials there are unrecorded, the following is a list of people who are known to have been residing on the adjoining plantations of John Ashbrook and his son-in-law Daniel Hillman, at the time of their deaths to the time Prowell indicates there were no further burials, and who are most likely interred there: John Ashbrook's first wife, John Ashbrook; Mary (Howell) Ashbrook, John's second wife; John Ashbrook, Jr.'s first wife; John Ashbrook, Jr.; Richard Arrell; James Hillman; George Marple, Sr.; James Hillman, Jr.; Isaiah Marple; Paul Troth; Mary (Hillman) Troth; Elizabeth (Hillman) Zane; William Zane, Sr.; Jacob Troth; Samuel Zane; Mary S. (Marple) Zane.

It is also recorded that about forty or fifty Hessian soldiers were buried there during the Hessian retreat from the Battle of Fort Mercer, in October of 1777, making Ashbrook's Burial Ground, one of the largest in this section of the country."

At the Monthly Meeting, 5 Month 3, 1683, "Agreed that Thomas Holme, Thomas Wynne and Griffith Jones do satisfy by a few lines, the friends of the Meeting at Canbrazill concerning James Atkinson, as touching his departure out of England and Ireland into Pennsylvania." In 1684, he married Hannah, widow of Mark Newbie, of Newton Meeting, New Jersey. James Atkinson of Philadelphia, shopkeeper, being aged, made his will 2 month 16, 1711 (probated Sept. 6, 1711) and mentions son Thomas.

The Haddonfield Monthly Meeting came into existence12th month, 1721, at which time it was changed from Newton to Haddonfield. It was the same congregation, but a new meeting house in a different location two or three miles away.

Transcribed from original by Frank H. Stewart

Hannah Newby, of Newton, at her home in Newton, to James Atkinson of Philadelphia, 16, 9 month 1684.

Thomas Shakle, of Compton House, and Alice Walles, of Newton, at Public Meeting at house of James Atkinson, 23, 12th month 1686.

Samuel Tomes (Thomas) and Rachel Wood, at James Atkinson's house at Newton, 6, 2nd month, 1687.

Joshua Frame, of Pennsylvania, and Abigail Bate, of New Jersey, at Newton, house of James Atkinson,
9th, 4th month, 1687.

Thomas Thackara and Hepzibah Eastlack, at James Atkinson's house, 21st, 7th month 1689

John Butcher, of Springfield, Burlington County, and Mary Walker of Gloucester, at house of James Atkinson at Newton, 7th, 4th month, 1691.

"At a General Meeting held at Salem in the Province of West Jersey, the 11th of Second Month, 1682, it was ordered that Friends at Arwamus and those at Shackamaxon do meet together once a month; the first meeting to be at William Cooper's at Pine Point, at Arwamus," to which were joined the Friends settled on Woodbury and Cooper's Creeks.

The Friends of Salem and Newton Monthly Meetings constituted a Quarterly Meeting in 1686, as is shown by the following minute:
"At a Yearly Meeting held in Burlington the 8th of Seventh Month, 1686, Friends of this meeting ordered that the Monthly Meeting of Salem, and the Monthly Meeting of Newton make up one Quarterly Meeting, called Gloucester and Salem Quarterly Meeting, to be held at Gloucester and Salem alternatively."

The Monthly Meeting of Gloucester or Newton was held alternately at Newton and at the house of Thomas Shackle (near Haddonfield) from 1695 to 1721. In that year Elizabeth (Haddon) Eastaugh, procured from her father John Haddon (in England) a deed for one acre of ground for the use of Friends on which the meeting-house was built in the early part of that year. It was of logs, and stood near the King's Road.

In 1732, John and Elizabeth Eastaugh conveyed l 1/2 acres of land adjoining the meeting-house lot to Friends.

In 1760, a brick meeting-house was erected upon the same site, and the old log house removed across the "Ferry road", and used as a stable.

After nearly a century of service, that house was taken down, and the bricks used to enclose the burial ground. In 1801 Friends removed from the old meeting-house on Newton Creek to the present location; the brick house was built upon land given by Joseph Kaighm. The old Newton Meeting-house was burned in 1817.

The present commodious meeting-house at Haddonfield was erected upon an adjoining lot in 1851.

100 acres to be surveyed in West Jersey as part of 1-25 of a share.

200 acres in said County on North side Gloucester River, East John Ashbrook.

Witness: Anthony Sharp.

100 acres on said river and on Allomannessing alias Steel's Branch, adjoining John and Samuel Dennis, part of 355 acres bought of Thomas Gardiner, as administrator of Thomas Matthews Dec. 31, 1693.

Members of ye House of Representatives (included) John Ashbrook May 10, 1697

1697
John Ashbrook, John Hugg Jr., Amos Whiteall, Samuel Taylor, Robert Parker, Charles Crossthwait were indicted for killing hogs in the woods contrary to law.

Imprimis, I do devise and bequeath unto my son Aaron Ashbrook all that my land and meadow in the Township of Deptford County abovesaid to him his heirs and assigns forever, he yielding and paying after my decease to my widdow 20 shillings yearly during her natural life.

Item. I devise and bequeath unto my son John all my farm and plantation I now dwell upon being 100 acres and 56 acres more which I purchased of John Hugg. And also my right and proportion of that tract of land I purchased of Phillip Howell to him his heirs and assigns forever only reserving thereof one whole acre where the Burying Place now is for the use of this neighborhood.

Item. I order and devise that my 75 acres of land and meadow ground to my son-in-law Daniell Hillman he paying unto my Executrix hereafter to be named the full sum of 12 pounds lawful money of America in 12 months after this date, to him his heirs and assigns forever.

Item. I devise and bequeath all the reversion of my real estate to my Executrix in trust for my son James and to his heirs and assigns forever.

Item. My will is that forasmuch as part of the land above devoted to my son John is mortgaged in the Loan Office I order my said son John to clear the said Loan Office and also that he shall pay unto my Mother, my widdow, the yearly sum of four pounds each year during her natural life. Also that she my widdow shall have the best room in the house together with one half of the orchard and one acre of ground near the dwelling house for a garden.

Item. As touching my personal Estate that I give and wholely bequeath unto my widdow towards her support and to enable her to pay my other debts and I do hereby nominate my present wife to be my Lawful Executrix of this my last Will and Testament

Item. I hereby do annul and make void all other and former will or wills whatever by me made and this only to be my last Will in manner above said.

As witness my hand and Seal this 9th day of October in the first year of the Reign of King George the 2d Annque Domi 1727.
/s/ John Ashbrook Seal
Signed, Sealed and Published in the presence of us;
Samuel Collins, Charity Chew, Amos Ashead

Affirmed 12 day of Octobe 1730 before me Samuel Bustill D Regl.
Trenton Wills. Liber 3, folio 116.