The DeCamp family, early entrepreneurs in the New Jersey iron mine industry, have been prominent Morris County residents since the mid-1700's. After the decline of the Morris County iron industry the DeCamps continued to make contributions to their community. These contributions can be clearly seen in Boonton Township, where many of the later generation DeCamps lived. The great majority of records in this collection revolve around three members of the DeCamp family, Chillion Ford DeCamp [1793-1876], Edward F. Decamp [1817-1873], and Clarence Austin DeCamp [1884-1977?].
After the death of Lucy in 1836, Chillion was to marry two more times. His second wife was Electa Hird and they had two children: Electa and Whitfield. His third wife was Lydia Brown [b. 1826] and they had four children Ella, Laura, Walter B. and Adelaide. When Chillion died in Newark on February 27, 1876, he was buried with Lucy Allan in the Rockaway churchyard. Chillion had inherited the iron interests from his mother, Jane Tuttle DeCamp. In turn, Chillion turned over the iron forge to his son, Edward, to operate.
Edward was never able to make a success of the mines; he actually came close to losing them. Chillion attempted to save the business by investing his entire savings, though he too was unsuccessful. Afterwards Edward made his living buying, selling, and assessing mines. He and his family lived in Boonton and Morristown where he was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Edward died on October 18, 1873 in Morristown.
After receiving his first command, Colonel DeCamp's introduction to the American soldier left him with an impression that these men were woefully ignorant of their American heritage and this ignorance was manifested in the soldiers' indifference to the obligations of citizenship in general and military service in particular. Thereafter, DeCamp was determined to educate the American public in the concept of man and his government. Colonel DeCamp later embraced these very principles during his several commands when on active service in World War II. Colonel Decamp was a life member of the Retired Officers Association of the San Francisco Chapter, and the American Military Engineers of the California Commonwealth Club.
In early 1950, Colonel DeCamp moved to Carmel, California where he became very active in Carmel affairs. In his later years, he was a much sought after speaker at patriotic events, and a frequent contributor to the one time public opinion journal,
Arranged by North Jersey History and Genealogy Center call number:
American Civilization Institute of Morristown.
The DeCamp family papers are separated into two parts. The first part covers the earliest DeCamps who lived in Morris County. Although the earliest dated item appeared in 1745 and the latest in 1867, the overall majority of items fall between the years 1800 and 1850. While some of the items are printed, the majority of papers are manuscript letters, receipts, deeds, maps, and surveys, inventories, and assorted legal, financial and personal correspondence. Many of the letters were principally written from Fredericktown, an Ohio hamlet of the early 1800's, mostly by Job Allen III and other children and relatives who emigrated to the Ohio country from Morris County beginning in 1815. The collection also includes the letters and papers of Jane Tuttle DeCamp, the business and personal letters of Chillion DeCamp and, some papers of Captain John Scott and Colonel William Scott. Please note that Edward DeCamp [1817-1873], father of Mary Anna DeCamp and grandfather of Colonel C. Austin DeCamp, married Augusta Scott [1824-1863], daughter of William Scott - all of which accounts for the large proportion of Scott papers in the collection.
The second set of family papers is from the later generation of DeCamps who lived in Boonton Township, Morris County. The bulk of this collection is twentieth century material. Colonel C. Austin DeCamp is the most prominent family member of this period. His papers consist mostly of correspondence between his sister, Joy DeCamp, and himself. These letters reveal many of the activities in which the DeCamps of this generation partook. In addition to the personal correspondence, the Colonel Austin DeCamp papers contain some of his military papers, as well as the letters and papers of some other DeCamp family members. These documents include a series of letters written to the heirs of Mary Anna DeCamp [1860-185?], aunt of Colonel C. Austin Decamp and Joy DeCamp. In addition to the financial information in these letters there is also a series of papers concerning the Boonton National Bank, of which Clarence Addinton DeCamp [1859-1948], uncle of Colonel C. Austin DeCamp and Joy DeCamp, was the founder of, the Boonton Township Board of Education, in which Joy DeCamp was very active, and news clippings.
The DeCamp Family Papers are arranged into two series. Series I, entitled, the
Series II,
This material is open for research without restriction under the conditions of the North Jersey History Center archives access policy. Records may be copied for use in individual scholarly or personal research, however, as with all materials in the History Center, researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material from the collection. Material in the De Camp Family Papers may be photocopied, but because this material is a permanent part of the History Center's collections, researchers are advised to photocopy with care, using only the edge copier for bound material.
The first set of DeCamp family papers, spanning the years 1800-1850, were donated to the Morris County Historical Society in 1951 by Colonel Clarence Austin DeCamp, of Carmel, California. Col. DeCamp was the legatee of Miss Mary A. DeCamp of Boonton who, before her death, had been a member of the Historical Society. The second set of papers, spanning the years 1900-1976, were donated sometime after the death of Colonel DeCamp by his sister Joy DeCamp of Boonton. As of 2007, the papers became a permanent part of the North Jersey History Center's collection.
The DeCamp Family Papers. North Jersey History Center, The Morristown and Morris Township Library.
Original arrangement and description by Regina A. Bohn in May of 1983.
Description revised and encoded by Mary McMahon Dawson, Archivist, 2008.