Conger, Joseph

Joseph Conger

PARENTS: The parents of Joseph Conger were, John Belconger and Sarah Cawood.

COMMENT-BIRTH: 17 May 1692 may have been the date of baptism, rather than the birth date. See Ancestral File.

MARRIAGE: According to CFA I, p. 334, "... apparently was md to MARY MARSH. Probable issue:"

MILITARY: In 1715, Job Conger and his brother, Joseph, were Privates in Col. Thomas Farmer's New Jersey Militia Regiment, apparently at the time in the service of the Colony of New York.
(Source: The Conger Family of America, Vol. I, 275 - Maxine Crowell Leonard)

BIOGRAPHY:
Joseph Conger lived at Woodbridge, NJ for many years, and it is likely that he died there.

He is mentioned in his father's will, dated 11 jan 1710, in which he was given his father's freehold rights, in the town of Woodbridge, and was also allowed to occupy the eastern portion of the farm for ten years after the decease of his father, and to have the use of all tools, carts, plows, etc., he being to equal in their repair as long as he lived on the place.

That portion of the land that he was allowed to live upon, had been devised to his younger brother, Benjamin, who at the time of the dating of the will, was about ten years of age, being born about 1700.

The permission given to Joseph to live on the land might indicate that he was married, in which event his wife must have been born as early as he was -- 1792 [sic, 1692]. However, Joseph Conger was mentioned in the will of John Marsh of Rahway, as being the husband of the testator's grand-daughter, Mary, which might indicate that she was rather old to have been named as grand-daughter of a man living as late as 1739, the date of the will, unless she was the second wife of Joseph Conger.

Charles L. Conger said there were four unattached Congers of the period, namely, Joseph of Sherman, Conn., John of Hanover, Morris county, NJ, Elizabeth, who married John Baldwin, and James, who he listed as being children of Joseph Conger (1692). They were all born between 1714 and 1720, except that James was born about 1734, and may be the issue of the second marriage of Joseph Conger.

His reasons for assuming that they were the children of Joseph Conger is by elimination. To begin with, there is no New Jersey record of any sort showing the birth of a son or daughter to Joseph Conger, but as a result of the elimination of all known parental contenders of that time, it is assumed the four above-mentioned Congers were the children of Joseph Conger.

On 2 Nov 1712, Joseph Conger, together with a number of other freeholders of the town of Woodbridge, gave power of attorney to three of their number, viz. John Bishop, Thomas Pike and Adam Hude, to sell as much of their land as will bring forty pounds, which was to be applied to the cost of a lawsuit being carried on in the name of John Pike, in defense against paying Quit-rents (new Jersey Deeds, C-2-86).

The Middlesex county court records show that in 1714 there was a case on trial, John Brock vs. Joseph Conger. No particulars were given.

On 23 Aug 1716 there was laid out to James Clarkson, Jr., 5 acres of land in Rahway, "it being half a third division lot in Woodbridge, which the said James Clarkson purchased of Joseph Conger." (W.T.R.A.-25)

On 13 Mar 1735, Joseph Conger witnessed the will of John Moore of Woodbridge.

On 14 Mar 1737, it was voted "that the committee appointed to manage the school land shall pay to Joseph Conger the sum of four pounds and ten shillings out of the rent of the said school land, it being the sum agreed upon by Henry Freeman and Joseph Bloomfield, appointed for the purpose." (W.T.R.-B-8) (Source: The Conger Family of America, Vol. I, p. 335 - Maxine Crowell Leonard) .