One of the more intriguing tombstones in the Springdale Cemetery is that of Michael Lawler. Erected by David F. Lawler of Green Valley, Ill., a greatgrandson, early in this century, the stone reads: "Michael Lawler. Born in Kings Co., Ireland Dec. 10, 1761; Died December 1829. Enlisted in the Third Reg. MD line of the Patriot Army at Morristown NJ Jan. 14, 1780. Fought in the battles of Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Court House and Eutaw Springs to secure American Independence and Freedom." Two other Lawler stones stand nearby: William M. (1827-1848) and Mary Alice (d. 1843), daughter of Michael and Phebe. Lawler, a resident of Warren Township in April 1818 when he applied for a pension based on his Revolutionary War service, declared on his oath "that on the 14th day of January 1780 he...enlisted in Morris Town...in the company commanded by Captain Revely [Reville] of the Third Regiment of Maryland Troops and continued to serve in the service of the United States till the close of the war, when he was discharged from service in Annapolis in the State of Maryland;...that he is in reduced circumstances and stands in need of the assistance of his Country for support, and that he has no other evidence now in his power of said service." Lawler received a pension of $8 per month commencing April 29, 1818. In June 1820 he submitted a statement of assets and liabilities to confirm his continued need for a pension, stating that he owned 6.5 acres "on the north side of the first mountain in the Township of Warren" worth about $60; and that his personal property consisted of two cows, four sheep, four lambs, three common chairs, one table, one small chest, one small looking glass, two iron pots, one griddle, one pair of andirons, one pair of tongs, two trammels, one frying pan, one wash tub, two barrels, one soap tub, four earthenware jars, two milch pans, five earthen dishes, three cups and saucers, one milch cup teapot, one tea kettle, three pewter spoons, one wool wheel, one flax wheel, one pick ax, one chopping ax, a shovel, hoe and pitchfork and three knives, total value $51.37. Set off against his assets of $111.37 were debts of $222.93 owed to Stephen and Isaac Vail, John Stein, Mary Traynor, David Bond, John Allen, Jonathan Nicholas, Caleb Halsted, John Burd and Elias Runyan. In an accompanying statement, Lawler said that "he is by occupation a farmer and that on account of the Rheumatism he is almost totally unable to follow his said occupation...; that he hath no family, except his wife who is 63 years of age and on account of her age and the Rheumatism she is incapable of earning a livelihood for herself....: Lawler died on Feb. 2, 1826. His will, dated 1819, appoints his wife, Remember, as his Executrix and bequeaths to "my beloved wife the use of all the remaining part of my Estate...so long as she shall remain my Widow and no longer." Mentioned in the will are his daughter, Polly, wife of William Winans, his wife's daughter, Phebe, the wife of Philip Winans, his son, James, and his wife, Rachel, a grandson, Michael, the son of James and Rachel, a brother-in-law, Jonathan Nichols, and a nephew, Rheu Nichols. It is unlikely that the 19-year-old Irish immigrant who enlisted in the 3rd Maryland when it camped at Morristown during the winter of 1779-80, had lived here before joining the Continental Army. His name does not appear in the Reconstructed 1790 Census of Somerset County but by about the turn of the century he was in Warren, farming in what is now the Springdale section of the township. In March 1811, he mortgaged 10 acres to Philip W. Winants [Winans] for $75, the land being bounded on the east by Ruben Moore, on the south by John Hutchings and Daniel Vail, on the west by Philip P. Winants and Philip W. Winants and north by William Winants. New Jersey's population remained virtually stagnant during the period 1790 - 1830, testimony to the tens of thousands of Jerseyans who migrated westward, often seriously depopulating whole townships. The Lawlers were among those who left the state. The l830 township census lists James Lollar, the l840 census includes Asa, James and James Lawler, and the l855 State census records Benjamin M. Lawler and his family of seven. However, no Lawler appears in the l860 Federal census. In Sepember 1854 Jonathan Schureman and Keziah, his wife, David Lawler and Elizabeth, his wife, Israel McCord and Mary, his wife, Ira Lawler, Jacob Smalley and Elizabeth, his wife, Michael Lawler and Phebe, his wife, John Lawler, and Benjamin Lawler and Harriet, his wife, "heirs at law of Michael Lawler, deceased", all of them living in Tazewell County, Illinois, sold land in Springdale to Asa Lawler for $350. Asa, probably a grandson of Michael, the soldier, was one of the few family members to remain in Warren Township, although not for long. In November 1854 Asa Lawler and his wife, Fanny Eliza, sold the same land [plus additional acreage, for a total of 55 acres] to Paul S. Forbes of Albany, NY, for $1700 and probably moved away the following year. |