The Founding of Newark New Jersey
When the government of Charles II forced the merger of the Connecticut and New Haven Colonies in 1662, many in New Haven were furious. The New Haven citizens were fanatically rigid, even by the standards of Puritanism, and could not tolerate being dominated by the slightly more relaxed men of the Connnecticut Colony. In 1666 a group, led by Abraham Pierson, minister of Branford (see here for some of his background), and composed mostly of Branford and Milford men, agreed to move to New Jersey and found a new Colony, called New-Ark. The Newark covenant allowed that none but members of the Congregational Church could vote or hold public office.
Land was purchased from the local Indians, along the Passaic River. The early layout is as shown, with the lots of SavannahFamily members.
