Witness to History: The Cutter Farm in Fords, New Jersey

WITNESS TO HISTORY

The Cutter Farm in Fords, New Jersey

Donald Johnstone Peck

 Endorsements

"One only has to read the first few pages of Donald Johnstone Peck’s Witness to History: The Cutter Farm in Fords, New Jersey to realize how important Woodbridge Township was to the American Revolution. This book is filled with the chronological events that took place during the many local battles, the part Woodbridge Township played in those clashes, and the historic landmarks—some now gone, some still standing—that impacted these events. Described in detail, the book brings to life not only the battles fought, but the suffering that took place, the courage of the leaders and those who fought, and the significance Woodbridge Township played in the overall history of our country.
     Whether an historian, a member of the military, a resident of Woodbridge Township, a student, a teacher, or anyone else, this book will capture your interest and help you understand how critical it is to save those places that matter in our communities. To hear about those who settled in Woodbridge Township through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, how they worked to build a viable community rich with history, and to read about the leaders of our then small country who dedicated their lives to creating a free, democratic society, one cannot help but look with pride on the United States of America, the Thirteen Colonies, New Jersey and the Township of Woodbridge.
     Having had the privilege of taking a tour of the Cutter House and the Old Stone Cottage, this book brought to life all those who passed through these historic structures during the struggle for American independence and how welcoming these sites and the Cutter Farm must have been. Read on—you will thoroughly enjoy it!"

 —Dolores Capraro Gioffre, Ed.D., Chair, Woodbridge Township Historic Preservation Commission

 
"While many now recognize New Jersey as “The Crossroads of the American Revolution,” it is Donald Johnstone Peck who makes the Revolutionary War come alive with his unique perspective on New Jersey historic sites and Woodbridge Township families in Witness to History: The Cutter Farm in Fords, New Jersey.  As a descendant of an original settler of Woodbridge Township, Elisha Parker, and resident of the Old Stone Cottage at the historic Cutter Farm, the author easily conveys his knowledge and enthusiasm through intertwining the roles of the Bloomfield and Cutter families during the American Revolution and the continuing American experiment in freedom and liberty.
     Witness to History: The Cutter Farm in Fords, New Jersey is a must read especially as Woodbridge Township prepares to celebrate its 350th anniversary as the oldest continuing township in the State of New Jersey!"

—Brenda Velasco, Woodbridge Township Historian

"In a speech delivered at Georgetown University in the fall of 2012, Irish musician and activist Bono argued that America is not simply a country, but rather “America is an idea.” His remarks to his American audience on that day are striking: “Ireland is a great country, but it is not an idea. Great Britain is a great country, but it’s not an idea. That’s how we see you around the world—as one of the greatest ideas in human history.”
    In Witness to History: The Cutter Farm in Fords, New Jersey, Donald Johnstone Peck provides roots for the American idea—grounding it in the soil and stories of the historic Cutter Farm in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. Set against the backdrop of the American Revolution, Peck masterfully draws his readers into the mind and spirit of New Jersey residents as they risk “their lives and their livelihoods” for an idea. Yet the story told in these pages is not simply Campyon Cutter’s story. Nor is it simply Woodbridge Township’s story. The story told in these pages is America’s story—both past and present. By teasing out the emerging tensions surrounding religion, race, patriotism, and economic survival at the time of the American Revolution, Witness to History: The Cutter Farm in Fords, New Jersey opens the eyes of the reader to the ways in which present dialogues around these subjects are inescapably shaped by the past.
    Donald Johnstone Peck understands the importance of ideas. He writes as a historian but sees as his task something more than simply relaying dates and facts. He undertakes the responsibility of inspiring readers to think critically about their own ideas of America by giving attention to the conditions under which these ideas emerged, the tensions that developed around them and events that led to their enduing impact. I would heartily recommend Witness to History: The Cutter Farm in Fords, New Jersey to anyone interested in better understanding both our past and our present. This book makes a vital and important contribution to the idea of America.

—Todd Stockdale, Ph.D., Teaching Fellow and Signature One Curriculum Coordinator, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey

Specifications

Format: 6" x 9" paperback with laminated matte cover, printed on acid-free 50# paper
Pages: 156, including Acknowledgments, Foreword, Preface, Text, Bibliography, Illustration Credits, Index, and About the Author.
Illustrations: The book has 80 black and white illustrations - line drawings, maps, colonial documents and photographs.
ISBN 10: 978-1-939995-30-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-939995-30-8 
Price: $21.95 (Bulk order rates are available upon request)
Library of Congress Catologing in Publication Number: 2018041343

About the Author

DONALD JOHNSTONE PECK is an alumnus of Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana, Class of 1961, with majors in history and French, He also studied political science at the University of Paris, France in 1960.
     Professionally, he is the president and CEO of The Clausen Company, Inc., Fords, New Jersey, established in 1957, a leading manufacturer of automotive refinishing products for the automotive aftermarket, and past president of the National Association of Autobody Filler Manufacturers USA, 1983-86.
     Non-professionally, he is trustee for the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey; immediate past president of the Raritan-Millstone Heritage Alliance, Inc., Somerset, New Jersey, and board member and contributing writer and editor for their quarterly publication, The Link. A member of the Board of Directors of the Historical Association of Woodbridge Township, he is a past commissioner of the Woodbridge Township Preservation Commission, life member (since 1972) and president emeritus and past president for three non-consecutive terms of the Proprietary House Association, Perth Amboy and founding member and past vice president of the Colts Neck Historical Society, Colts Neck, New Jersey.
    A recipient of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark Commission On Aging Lifetime Achievement Award in both 1999 and 2016, in recognition of the many contributions to church and community, he is a long-term preservationist since 1997, actively involved in restoring the buildings, gardens, and grounds at Old Stone Cottage, at the site of the historic Cutter Farm, Fords, New Jersey.

Set against the backdrop of the colonial and Revolutionary War period in New Jersey, Witness to History is a broad-spectrum account of the history and times of several important historic sites in Woodbridge Township. While focusing on the Cutter Farm and Old Stone Cottage, author Donald J. Peck augments his work with stories of nearby sites—the Cross Keys Tavern, Dunham House, the Old White Church and historic Route 514 (Main Street). With the upcoming 350^th anniversary of the charter of this oldest New Jersey township in mind, local personalities, such as Joseph Bloomfield, Dr. Moses Bloomfield, Timothy Bloomfield, Campyon Cutter, Janet Pike Gage, Nathaniel Heard, James Parker, the Reverend Azel Roe and Nathaniel Fitz Randolph, are also expertly woven into the narrative.

 

Here a storyThis chronicle of colonial life and the struggle for independence in Woodbridge Township and New Jersey compels us to reflect on the American story itself. It spans beyond the usual interpretation by making a personal connection to the  connecting us to ttrying issues of political, racial, religious, social and environmental justice and the freedoms for which patriots fought—f – freedoms which could not be more important in today’s complex world.

 

In Witness to History Mr. Peck has given us a reason to contemplate the present while enjoying stories of the past. He has also endeavored to suggest a new rationale for saving historic buildings. Will we become good stewards of the past? What willdo we leave to those who come after us? And who will advocate for preserving our historic sites?

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This product was added to our catalog on Friday 26 October, 2018.