Paws Farm Nature Center - History

Darnell Farmstead History

In 1676, William Penn was given control of West Jersey, which included this area. He needed people to settle here, so they invited the Society of Friends, better known as Quakers, to come here from England. For the next 100 years most of the colonists who came to New Jersey were Quakers.

John Darnell was one of the "Friends" who came over from England. He arrived in the early 1700's and started to build the first Darnell Family Homestead and continued to add to the farm throughout his life.

The center section of the farmhouse was build in 1790 and abutted the original house built in 1736. The East Wing, where the animals are, was added in 1799. The West Wing was added in 1844 over some of the foundation of the original house and then the barn was rebuilt in 1948 to replace the original barn which burned to the ground.

There was a long covered shed extending out from the kitchen. It included the swill barrel and ashpit, the woodshed and the pig house. Garbage for the pigs was collected in the swill barrel and ashes from the ashpit were used for a variety of cleaning needs. Rainwater was stored in the cellar cisterns for use in dry weather.

Wagons unloaded blocks of ice cut from nearby ponds at the rear of the icehouse. The ice was cut by a saw, moved by a horse drawn carriage and stacked inside the icehouse. Food stored below was kept cold by the layers of ice. The floor curved so that melted ice trickled down the sides and corners for easy removal from the room below.

The farm was owned by a direct descendant of John Darnell for 205 years. Twenty-seven members of the family were buried in the cemetery over a period of 100 years, from 1759 to 1859. There is now a 1,000 year lease granting access to family members to maintain and visit the graves.

Taken From: "An Architectural and Historical Survey of the Darnell Homestead"

by Dennis DeGregory

The history of the Darnell Family of Mount Laurel begins in the early eighteenth century when John Darnell of England landed near the mouth of the Delaware River. Sometime after his arrival, John Darnell migrated north to Evesham Township (now Mount Laurel Township) in Burlington County and where on July 24, 1723, married Hannah Borton. In 1736, John Borton conveyed to his son-in-law, John Darnell, a 439 acre tract of land. On January 14,1730, John and Hannal Darnell were blessed with the birth of their first child. The children and John and Hannah Darnell are as follows:

Edward - Born 1730, married Jane Driver
Lewis - Born 1736, married Grace Thomas in 1759
William - Born 1739 - died young
Hannah - Born 1742 - died young
Jemima - Born 1744, married Rehaboram Braddock in 1766

It is assumed by the author of this report that John and Hannah Borton, who married in 1723, lived with the Bortons until 1736 when their second child was born and then John Borton conveyed to them the 439 acre Darnell Homestead property. John Darnell built his home in 1736-37 and lived there with his family un 1759 when he died. His wife Hannah Borton Darnell resided on the homestead from until her death in 1772.

The first born of John and Hannah Darnell was Edward (1730-1789) who married Jane Driver (1730-1820) who bore the following:

John (1755-1760)
Samuel (1759 - 1846)
Edward (1764 - 1767)
Edmund (1768 - 1851)

Both Samuel and Edmund were farmers who cultivated the Darnell Homestead tract, where Edward succeeded his father at the homestead farm. Edward Darnell (1730 - 1789) was one of the founders of the Evesham Meeting in 1760, at Mount Laurel and an active member and supporter of the Friends Society during his life.

Edmund Darnell (1768 - 1851) was born August 21, 1768, and died nearly at eighty-three years of age. Woodward and Hagement (1883) make the following account of Edmund Darnell (1768 - 1851)

He was an enterprising, thoroughgoing business man, a large real-estate owner, actively interested in the local affairs of township and county, and served for several years as Justice of the Peace and Judge of the County of Common Pleas for Burlington Count. He was a member of the Old Whig Party, and an influential citizen. He married in 1790, Rachel, daughter of Joshua and Rachel Dudley, of Evesham, who was born August 18. 1770 and reached fourscore and two years (82 years of age).

The children of Edmund Darnell (1768 - 1851) and Rachel Dudley Darnell (1770 - 1852) are as follows:

Hannah (1791 - 1859)
Joshua (1792 - 1825)
Rachel (1793 - 1890)
Ann (1795 - 1850)
Edward (1797 - 1815)
Isaac (1799 - 1857)
Enoch (1800 - 1813)
Job (1802 - 1885) Married Agnes Mullen in 1824
Jane (1804 - 1814)
Sarah (1805 - 1812)
David (1805 - 1898)
Charles (1810 - 1823)

The 1883 History of Burlington County gives the following account of Job Darnell (1802-1885) the eighth child of Edmund Darnell (1768 - 1851) and Rachel Dudley Darnell (1720 - 1852):

Job Darnell spent his boyhood on the home farm, and received only the usual opportunity for any education from books. After his marriage in 1824, he settled on a farm, a part of his father's estate, in Mount Laurel, then Evesham Township, but after eight years, in 1832, he settled where he now resides (Union Mills), and carried on farming and milling until 1860, and retired from the more active duties of life. This farm and mill property was owned by a Mr. Engle, who sold it to Stacy Haines, who in turn sold it to Edmund Darnell. Job purchased it off his father in 1835, and soon after settling there erected a substantial residence and barns. He sold the mill property in 1860 to George Middleton, who on May 12, 1869, sold the same to its present owner, Henry Darnell, son of Job. Mr. Darnell has led a quiet and unostentatious life, and although he has never sought public place, he has been chosen to fill the offices of committeeman and Justice of the Peace in this township. Like his ancestors he is a member and contributor to the support of the Society of Friends, attending their meetings at Evesham Meeting House (now Mount Laurel).

The youngest surviving son of Edmund Darnell (1768 - 1851) and Rachel Dudley Darnell (1770 - 1852) was David Darnell (1805- 1898) who succeeded to a large part of the Darnell Homestead farm known as the "Borton Tract." This tract consisted of 320 acres and was located about a mile and a half from Mount Laurel on the Mount Holly Road. David continued farming on that tract until 1867 when he resettled next to Friends Meeting House in Mount Laurel. David Darnell (1805-1898) was a stockholder in the Rancocas Steamboat Company, Mount Laurel, Mount Holly, Centerton, and Camden Turnpike Companies. He was one of the founders of the Mount Laurel Farmers Club, and gave them the ground to erect their hall in 1866. Mr. Darnell also sat on the Board of Directors of the Farmers' Bank in Mount Holly for approximately twenty years. On February 11, 1836, David Darnell married Mary C. Evans (1808-1871) who bore him the following children:

Rebeca C. (1837 - 1893)
Jane (1838 - 1922)
Howard (1840 - 1897)
John E. (1843 - 1931)
Marianna (1845 - 1914)
David E. (1847 - 1926)
Ezra E. (1849 - 1934