EARLY HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY. 185 



Dentiisville was settled upon the south side of the creek, in or 

 about 1726, by Anthony Ludlam, and some few years afterwards 

 the north side by his brother Joseph, both being sons of Joseph 

 Ludlam, of Ludlam's Run, sea-side. David Johnson was here in 

 1765, and owned at the time of his death, in 1805, a large scope 

 of land on the north side of Dennis Creek. James Stephenson 

 purchased of Jacob Spicer, in the year 1748, the property now 

 owned and occupied by his grandson Enoch, now aged over eighty- 

 five years. East and West Creek were settled by Joseph Savage 

 and John Goff, the last of whom was here as early as 1710. He 

 had a son John, and his numerous descendants now occupy that 

 portion of the county. 



In the Middle Township, we may name on the seaboard, in the 

 order in which they resided, Thomas Learning, John Reeves, Henry 

 Stites, Shamgar Hand, Samuel Matthews, and John Parsons. Wil- 

 liam and Benjamin Johnson, Yelverson Crowell, and Aaron Leam- 

 ing, first, were first at Goshen, the latter with the ostensible object 

 of raising stock. 



Cape May Court House has been the county seat since 1745. 

 Daniel Hand presented the county with an acre of land, as a site 

 for the county buildings erected at that time. But little improve- 

 ment was made until within the present century, the last twenty- 

 five years having concentrated a sufficiency of inhabitants to build 

 up a village of its present extent and proportions, embellished by 

 the county, with a new and commodious Court House, and by the 

 people, with two beautiful new churches, one for the Baptist and an- 

 other for the Methodist persuasion. 



In the Lower Township, the greater proportion of those who lo- 

 cated land (see list) were congregated, some at New England, some 

 at Town Bank, and others at Cold Spring, and on the sea-shore 

 above and below. 



Cape Island was owned previous to 1700 by Thomas Hand, (who 

 bought of William Jacocks,) Randal Hewit, and Humphrey Hughes. 



