February , 1682: A group of Quakers, including a number of Scots (although having the same king, Scotland was still considered a separate country from England), bought East New Jersey from Sir George Carteret’s widow, thus becoming the new proprietors. Many East New Jerseyans, who had disputed Carteret’s proprietorship, granted by the Duke of York, from the beginning, claimed the sale was illegal, since they had been granted their land by New York Deputy Governor Richard Nicolls and also paid the Lenape Indians for it. The dispute led to generations of political and judicial wrangling and occasional rioting.
February 1, 1865: New Jersey governor Joel Parker presented New Brunswick native Captain Charles Stewart Boggs with a presentation sword in recognition of Boggs’ heroic actions commanding the gunboat Varuna in the naval battles leading to the capture of New Orleans in April, 1862. Boggs sank six Confederate gunboats before his own began to sink. He then ran Varuna into shore, tied up to some trees and kept firing on the enemy.
