Joseph Sharp
Encyclopedia
Joseph Sharp was an early settler of New Jersey
Province of New Jersey
The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland, but came under English rule after the surrender of Fort Amsterdam in 1664, becoming a...

, landowner, supporter of education, an iron manufacturer, an industrialist; his mill provided flour to American Troops in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

.

Influence on education

Joseph Sharp authorized the first school in present day Sussex County
Sussex County, New Jersey
The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...

 to be built on his land as early as 1799. A subsequent school was built in the place of the first school, again, on Sharp's land. Later, in 1823, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 Governor Daniel Haines
Daniel Haines
Daniel Haines was an American jurist who served as the 14th Governor of New Jersey.Daniel Haines was born in New York City, the nephew of Governor Aaron Ogden. He graduated from The College of New Jersey in 1820, and went on to practice law in Newton and Hamburg...

 purchased land from the Sharp family to erect another school. Today, Joseph D. Sharp Elementary School, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a township in Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a population of 71,045, representing an increase of 1,080 from the 69,965 residents enumerated during the 2000 Census...

 is named for Joseph Sharp.

Sharpsboro Ironworks

In 1768, Joseph Sharp erected a forge and furnace called the "Sharpsboro Iron Works", on the Wallkill River
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly to Rondout Creek in New York, near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston....

. The village around the Sharp Iron Works became known as Sharpsborough, and then Hamburg
Hamburg, New Jersey
Hamburg is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 3,277.In 1753, when Sussex County was formed, Hamburg was part of New Town; on February 25, 1762, it became part of the newly established Hardyston Township...

. The village was originally named Wallings after an original settler, Joseph Wallings Sr. Due to the expensive nature of the venture and competing forges, Sharp abandoned the property in 1774. Stephen Ford used the Sharp Iron Works to secretly produce cannonballs for the British during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. After reclaiming the property, Joseph Sharp Jr. built the stone grist mill in 1808. Sharp's mill provided the flour for the American troops of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

. The mill continued to serve the needs of the agricultural community of Sussex County.

Present day Hamburg
Hamburg, New Jersey
Hamburg is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 3,277.In 1753, when Sussex County was formed, Hamburg was part of New Town; on February 25, 1762, it became part of the newly established Hardyston Township...

, in Sussex County
Sussex County, New Jersey
The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...

, was called Sharpsboro until 1795.

Landowner

Joseph Sharp was a landowner and, after a group of investors led by William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...

 and previously the Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...

, owned the land where the present day Wallkill Golf Club is located.

Historical Marker

In 2004, the Board of Chosen Freeholders
Board of Chosen Freeholders
In New Jersey, the Boards of Chosen Freeholders are the county legislatures in each of that state's 21 counties.- Origin :New Jersey's system of naming county legislators "freeholders" is unique in the United States...

 and Historic Marker Committee of Sussex County
Sussex County, New Jersey
The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...

 erected an historical marker for Joseph Sharp, located at 41° 8.789′ N, 74° 34.638′ W. Marker is in Hamburg, New Jersey
Hamburg, New Jersey
Hamburg is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 3,277.In 1753, when Sussex County was formed, Hamburg was part of New Town; on February 25, 1762, it became part of the newly established Hardyston Township...

, in Sussex County
Sussex County, New Jersey
The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...

, on Gingerbread Castle Road.

Religion

Joseph's father, Isaac Sharp
Isaac Sharp
Isaac Sharp 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 Quaker Anthony Sharp and Ann Crabb...

, was a Quaker and there is reference to his being a member of the Society of Friends. Joseph was also Quaker and there is reference to the schoolhouse built on his property having Quaker characteristics. Joseph's grandfather, Anthony Sharp
Anthony Sharp (Quaker)
Anthony Sharp was a Dublin Quaker and wool merchant.-Early life:Anthony Sharp, the son of Thomas Sharp, was born in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England in January 1643.-Religion and business:...

, was the noted Dublin Quaker.

Family

Joseph Sharp married Mary Coleman, and is the father of Margaret Sharp Brown and father-in-law of Abia Brown
Abia Brown
Abia Brown served as a Deputy to the Provincial Congress of New Jersey in the years 1775 and 1776 . As Deputy to the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, Abia Brown represented Sussex County, New Jersey...

. Joseph Sharp is the maternal grandfather of Mary Brown Austin
Mary Brown Austin
Mary Brown Austin had dramatic influence on early Texas history. Perhaps her most important contribution to history is writing a letter to her son, Stephen, two days before the death of her husband, Moses Austin, imploring Stephen F. Austin to carry out the dying wish of his father—that Stephen...

, who was the mother of Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...

 and Emily Austin Perry
Emily Austin Perry
Emily Austin Perry was an early settler of Texas and sole heir to Stephen F. Austin. She achieved significant political, economic and social status as a woman in Texas at a time when women often were not equal to men.-Early life:...

, and James Elijah Brown Austin, and also the wife of Moses Austin
Moses Austin
Moses Austin played a large part in the development of the American lead industry and is the father of Stephen F. Austin, a leading American settler of Texas. He was the first to be allowed to gather Anglo Americans for settlement in Spanish Texas...

. Joseph Sharp's great-grandchildren include Guy Morrison Bryan, Stephen Samuel Perry
Stephen Samuel Perry
Stephen Samuel Perry managed Peach Point Plantation, and is credited with amassing and preserving significant historical manuscripts related to Texas history....

, William Joel Bryan
William Joel Bryan
William Joel Bryan was a Texas soldier and land owner.Bryan was born at Hazel Run in Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri to James Bryan and Emily Austin Perry. He attended school at Potosi, Missouri until 1830. In 1831, William Joel Bryan's mother and stepfather James Franklin Perry followed...

, and Moses Austin Bryan
Moses Austin Bryan
Moses Austin Bryan was an early settler of Texas. Moses served as Secretary for his uncle, Stephen F. Austin.-Family:...

. Accordingly, early settlers of Texas are traced back to an early settler of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, and even further, to the landholder family "Sharp" of Saxony from as far back as the 13th century.

Joseph's father was Isaac Sharp
Isaac Sharp
Isaac Sharp 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 Quaker Anthony Sharp and Ann Crabb...

, and his grandfather was Anthony Sharp
Anthony Sharp (Quaker)
Anthony Sharp was a Dublin Quaker and wool merchant.-Early life:Anthony Sharp, the son of Thomas Sharp, was born in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England in January 1643.-Religion and business:...

  (prominent merchant of Ireland, a follower of George Fox
George Fox
George Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...

, and influential in the Quaker migration to the United States, and these Sharps were descendants of the Tetbury clan with wills demonstrating this chain going back to 1500 and the Sharp clan going back before wills to the 13th century in Saxony. Anthony Sharp died in 1707 and is buried in the ancient Friends Burial Ground, Dublin
Friends Burial Ground, Dublin
The Friends Burial Ground is a Quaker burial ground located at Temple Hill, Blackrock, Dublin. It opened in 1860 and is the only Quaker burial ground in Dublin.-History:...

.

Further reading

Snell's History of Sussex and Warren County, published in 1881.
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