The earliest accounts we have of the whites being in the vicinity of Monmouth county is contained in a letter of John de Verazzano to Francis 1st, King of France. Verazzano entered Sandy Hook in the spring of 1524 in the ship Dolphin. On his return to Europe, he wrote a letter dated July 8th, 1524, to the King, giving an account of his voyage from Carolina to New Foundland. From this letter is extracted the following:

"After proceeding a hundred leagues, we found a very pleasant situation among some steep hills, through which a very large river, deep at its mouth, forces its way to the sea, from the sea to the estuary of the river any ship heavily laden might pass with the help of the tide, which rises eight feet. But as we were riding at good berth we would not venture up in our vessel without a knowledge of its mouth; therefore we took a boat, and entering the river we found the country on its banks well peopled, the inhabitants not differing much from the others, being dressed out with feathers of birds of various colors."

Historians generally concede that the foregoing is the first notice we have of the whites entering Sandy Hook, visiting the harbor of New York or being in the vicinity of old Monmouth.

The first deed from the Indians was dated 25th of 1st month, 1664. This was for lands at Nevesink, from the Sachem Popomora, and agreed to by his brother, Mishacoing, to James Hubbard, John Bowne, John Tilton, Jr., Richard Stout, William Goulding and Samuel Spicer. The articles given to the Indians in exchange for the land were 118 fathoms seawamp, 68 fathoms of which were to be white and 50 black seawamp, 5 coats, 1 gun, 1 clout capp, 1 shirt, 12 lbs tobacco and 1 anker wine; all of which were acknowledged as having been received, and in addition 82 fathoms of seawamp was to be paid twelve months hence.

Popomora and his brother went over to New York and acknowledged the deed before Governor Nicholls, April 7, 1665. The official record of this deed is in the office of Secretary of State at Albany, N. Y., in Lib. 3, page 1. A copy of it is also recorded in Proprietor's office, Perth Amboy, as is also a map of the land embraced in the purchase, and also in the Secretary of State's office, Trenton.

Two other deeds followed and were similarly recorded, and on April 8th the Governor signed the noted Monmouth Patent. This instrument gives the names of "the rest of the company." referred to in the third deed; they were Walter Clarke, William Reape, Nathaniel Silvester, Obadiah Holmes and Nicholas Davis, twelve in all, to whom the patent was granted.

One of the conditions of the Monmouth Patent was "that the said Patentees and their associates, their heirs or assigns, shall within the space of three years, beginning from the day of the date hereof, manure and plant the aforesaid land and premises and settle there one hundred families at the least.

It seemed imposible for the Gravesend men alone to induce that number of families to settle within the prescribed time, but they had warm personal friends in Rhode Island, Sandwich, Yarmouth and other places in Massachusetts, in Dover. New Hampshire, and also in different Rhode Island towns, and the stipulation was complied with.

The founders of the settlements in Monmouth were not only honorable, conscientious men in their dealings, but also exceedingly careful and methodical in their business transactions. This is shown by the very complete account, still preserved in the County Clerk's office at Freehold, of the purchase of the lands of the Indians, the amount paid and to whom, and also the names of those who contributed money toward paying the Indians and for incidental expenses in making the different purchases.

Among the purchasers were a number who had been victims of persecution for their religious faith, some had felt the cruel lash, some had been imprisoned and others had been compelled to pay heavy fines, others had had near relatives suffer thus. Among those who had suffered were William Shattock, Edward Wharton, Samuel Spicer and Mrs. Micall Spicer, his mother, Eliakim Wardell and wife, Thomas Clifton and daughter Hope, Nicholas Davis, William Reape, John Bowne (the Quaker of Flushing,) Robert Story, John Jenkins, John and George Allen, and Obadiah Holmes. And a number of others named among purchasers, some of whom did not settle in the county, had many years before been disarmed and banished from Massachusetts on account of adherence to Antinomian views.

The principal reasons that caused the founding of the settlements of Monmouth may he summed up in the following extracts:

"THIS IS A VERY GOOD LAND TO FALL IN WITH AND A PLEASANT LAND TO SEE."- Sir Henry Hudson's Log-Book, 1609.

"FREE LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE WITHOUT ANY MOLESTATION OR DISTURBANCE WHATSOEVER IN THE WAY OF WORSHIP."- Monmouth. Patent, 1665.

Shrewsbury township in old Monmouth originally extended to the extreme southern limit of the present county of Ocean. In the year 1749, a portion of the lower part of Shrewsbury was set off and formed into the township of Stafford. The patent creating the township of Stafford is dated March 3d, 1749, and was issued in the reign of George the Second, and is signed by Governor Jonathan Belcher, who was governor of the province of New Jersey from 1757 to 1767. As this patent is the first public official document relating exclusively to the present county of Ocean, it is a matter of gratification to know that it is still in existence and in a good state of preservation. It is on parchment with the great seal of the province attached, the impression of which still shows to good advantage.

On the back of the patent it is endorsed by Register Read as having been recorded in the Secretary's office at Burlington.

It sounds oddly at the present day to read such high sounding titles as are found on the patent: "George 2d, King of Great Britain, France, Ireland, Defender of the Faith," &c., "grants of his especial grace, certain knowledge, and meer motion," &c. And what weighty titles has Governor Belcher! "Captain-General, and Governor-in-Chief, Chancellor, Vice Admiral," &c.

This patent will be deposited in the office of the County Clerk of Ocean County.

"Inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of the fathers."- Job viii-8.

If the people of any section of this great country have reason to be proud of their ancestry, the people of Monmouth most assuredly have. New Englanders never tire of boasting of the Pilgrim fathers, but a noted writer of history in an adjoining state, more than half a century ago, has said that "East Jersey was settled by the best blood of New England." (I. F. Watrous in Annals of Philadelphia). The Pilgrim Fathers, the New Englanders now take pleasure in telling us, were not all Puritans of the straight-laced, persecuting order, but that a large proportion had respect for persons who conscientiously differed from them in religious opinion. And of this class of the Pilgrim Fathers we find were the principal men who founded the settlement in Monmouth.

The first opinion left on record of the section of country now known as Monmouth is that which was recorded in the log-book of the ship Half Moon, Sir Henry Hudson, commander. On the night of the 2d of September, 1609, he anchored along the beach not far from Long Branch, with the Highlands of Nevisink in sight, and his mate recorded the following in the log-book:

"This is a very good land to fall in with and a pleasant land to see."

Every good citizen of the county, it is safe to say, will cordially endorse that opinion at the present day!