Excerpt from Centennial History of Somerset County

The shores of New Jersey were first trod by the feet of civilized men in September, 1609. The visitors were from the ship of Hendrick Hudson. Who on the Third day of that month had brought his vessel within the waters of the Raritan Bay, and allowed his men to hold intercourse with the Indians on the Monmouth shore. On the sixth, a boat's crew passed the Narrows, and rounding the east. Shore of Staten Island. Entered the Kills, and discovered Newark Bay. Returning in the evening this boat encoun tered two canoes full of Raritan Indians, and one of the crew, John Colman was slain by being shot with an arrow in the neck.

Another ship was sent from Holland in 1610 with goods to commence a traffic with the Indians. On the 11th of October, 1614, the West India Company was formed, the country named New Netherland and a regular intercourse and trade commenced. As early as 1620 settlers had built houses and occupied lands on the shores of New Jersey, adjacent to New Amsterdam, for which titles were granted, and on which improvements were made. But on the 20th of March, 1664, Charles II. King of England, granted to his brother James, Duke of York, all that tract of land adjacent to New England, bounded on the East by the main Sea and part ot'hudson River, and hath upon the West, Delaware Bay or River, and extendeth Southward to the main Ocean as far as Cape May at the mouth of the Delaware River, ignoring the discovery, occupancy and improvements made for the space of Forty Three years by the Hollanders, and resting title solely on the voyages of Cabot in 1497 - 8, along the coast of Labrador to the parallel of Gibralter and Verazzano in 1506.

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