Isaac Sharp
{{Short description|Early New Jersey settler (1681-1735)}}
Isaac Sharp (1681–1735) was an early New Jersey settler, politician, judge and Colonel of the militia.
Early life and family
Born January 13, 1681, in Dublin, Ireland, Isaac Sharp was the eldest surviving son of Anthony Sharp, a Dublin merchant and Quaker, and his wife Ann Crabb.Greaves, Richard L. (1998). Dublin's Merchant-Quaker: Anthony Sharp and the Community of Friends, 1643-1707. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, p. 21 As part of the Quaker settlement of his father's extensive land holdings in New Jersey, Sharp left Ireland in November 1700,Greaves, Dublin's Merchant-Quaker: Anthony Sharp and the Community of Friends, 1643-1707, p. 25 and after an arduous journey of 18 weeks, arrived in Colonial America on April 6, 1701.Greaves, Dublin's Merchant-Quaker: Anthony Sharp and the Community of Friends, 1643-1707, p. 251
Sharp settled in Salem County, New Jersey and first named the area Blessingtown, after Blessington in County Wicklow near the border of Kildare, a place on the road travelled by the Sharps from Roundwood, Queen's County to and from Dublin.The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 20 (1896). Philadelphia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 134 The town was subsequently renamed Sharpstown after the settlers.Shourds, Thomas (1876). History and Genealogy of Fenwick’s Colony. Bridgeton, NJ: George F. Nixon, p. 245
Isaac Sharp married Margaret Braithwaite of Salem County in 1704, and had children: Anthony (who inherited the Queen's County, Ireland property), Isaac (also a Judge of Salem County Court, appointed by King George II in 1741), Joseph, Mary, Sarah and Rachel (mother of Colonel Sharp Delany).Myers, Albert Cook (1902). Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania, 1682-1750. Lancaster, PA: Press of the New Era Printing Co., p. 385 Isaac's son Joseph Sharp was the grandfather of Moses Austin and the great-grandfather of Stephen F. Austin and Emily Austin Perry.Garrison, George P. (1907). Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 10. Austin, TX: Texas State Historical Association, pp. 343-344Felch, William Farrand (1905). The Connecticut Magazine, Volume 9. Hartford, CT: The Connecticut Magazine Co., p. 514
Career
In addition to being a member of the Council of Proprietors, Isaac Sharp served as judge of the Salem County Court (1709–1717)Garrison, George P. (1907). Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 10, p. 344 and was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1709 to 1721.Tanner, Edwin Platt (1908). The Province of New Jersey 1664-1738. New York: Columbia University, pp. 312-314
Isaac Sharp was also a Colonel of the militia of West New Jersey for Salem and Cape May.Tanner, The Province of New Jersey 1664-1738, p. 572
Later life
Upon his father's death in 1707, Sharp inherited all of Anthony Sharp's land in West New Jersey, and half of his lands in East New Jersey, as well as his land in Queen's County, Ireland, including land in Killinure, which became the site of the Sharp Roundwood Estate.[http://www.failteromhat.com/quaker/page18.htm Quaker Records Dublin, Abstracts of Wills] Isaac returned to Ireland in about 1726 and resided on his Queen's County property until his death in 1735.The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 20, p. 134
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|last=Felch|first=William Farrand|title=The Connecticut Magazine, Volume 9|year=1908|publisher=The Connecticut Magazine Co|location=Hartford, CT}}
- {{cite book|last=Garrison|first=George P.|title=Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 10|year=1907|publisher= Texas State Historical Association|location=Austin, TX}}
- {{cite book|last=Greaves|first=Richard L.|title=Dublin's merchant-Quaker: Anthony Sharp and the Community of Friends, 1643-1707|year=1998|publisher=Stanford University Press|location=Stanford, CA|isbn=978-0-8047-3452-3}}
- {{cite book|last=Myers|first=Albert Cook|title=Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania, 1682-1750|year=1902|publisher= Press of the New Era Printing Co|location=Lancaster, PA}}
- {{cite journal|title= Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Volume XX |year=1896|publisher= The Historical Society of Pennsylvania}}
- {{cite book|last=Shourds|first=Thomas|title=History and Genealogy of Fenwick's Colony|url=https://archive.org/details/historyandgeneal00shou|year=1876|publisher=George F. Nixon|location=Bridgeton, NJ}}
- {{cite book|last=Tanner|first=Edwin Platt|title=The Province of New Jersey 1664-1738|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028827693|year=1908|publisher=Columbia University|location=New York}}
External links
- [http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/heritage-towns/towns-and-villages-of-lao/mountrath/roundwood-house/ Roundwood House]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100109084617/http://www.roundwoodhouse.com/briefhistory.htm Brief History of the Roundwood House]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Isaac}}