The Sharp Family Papers, 1751-1934, contain the personal and business records of the Sharp family of German Valley (now known as Long Valley), Washington Township, Morris County, New Jersey. The records primarily concern John Peter Sharpstine 1st (d. 1760), John Peter Sharp 2nd (1746-1826), John Peter Sharp 3rd (1778-1848), and Jesse Miller Sharp (1818-1895). Captain John Hager (1759-1799), John Coleman, Stephan A. Lawrence (1782-1833), Stephen B. Munn, and the Stewart family are also documented. Document types include letters, financial and legal records including estate records, and printed material. This collection documents Jesse M. Sharp's Forest House, a 19th Century resort hotel at Budd Lake in Mt. Olive Township, New Jersey, as well as his father's and grandfather's business interests in the area. The Sharp Family Papers provide excellent documentation of the 19th Century resort industry in Morris County.
Types of material to be found in this collection include letters, accounts, bills, receipts, bonds, promissory notes, orders to pay, cancelled checks, a stock certificate, deeds, indentures, land surveys, wills, inventories of estates, mortgages, leases, articles of agreement, judgements, conveyances, summons, releases, discharges for legacies, paid, demands, estate administration letters, powers of attorney, innkeepers licenses, guardianship appointments, and miscellaneous printed material. The papers date from 1751 to 1934. There are numerous papers not dated. The majority of records date from 1800 to 1892.
The Sharp Family Papers are first arranged by individual name, then by type of record and/or chronologically by date.
Arranged chronologically, followed by the estate records of Jon Peter Sharpenstine 1st (d. 1760) and Captain John Hager (1759-1799) for whom John Sharp served as an administrator.
Series includes the business and personal financial and legal records of John Sharp 2nd and the estate records of his father, John Peter Sharpenstine 1st, and of Captain John Hager. John Sharp 2nd's papers include articles of agreement, receipts, accounts, orders to pay, a letter, promissory notes, land surveys, leases, deeds for land in Roxbury and Washington Townships, Morris County, a bond, a judgement, and a petition. Of note are an ALS, 24 June 1786 from Jacob Arnold to John [Fanger?], a promissory note dated 31 March 1788 countersigned by Jacob Arnold, an account dated November 1787 to November 1788 Jacob Arnold bought of John Sharp, a license for a still dated 18 September 1801, and a bill of sale for a black girl named Jane dated 13 January 1808. The estate records of John Peter Sharpentine 1st include bonds, receipts for legacies paid, and an article of agreement, The estate records of Captain John Hager include accounts, bonds, receipts for legacies paid, and a copy of his will.
Arranged by document type, then chronologically by date.
Series includes business and personal letters received by John Sharp 3rd and others including some outgoing copies, financial and legal records, and the estate records of John Sharp 2nd and of Stephen A. Lawrence (1782-1833) for whom John Sharp 3rd served as administrator. The files of letters received are primarily business correspondence between Sharp, John Coleman, a neighbor, and Stephen B. Munn, a businessman from New York City for whom Sharp acted as an agent. The letters reflect transactions for "military lands" in Illinois sold to John Coleman by Muss through Sharp, Some letters dated between 1839 and 1850 refer to the estate of Elizabeth Miller. The financial records document business transactions and include receipts, promissory notes, receipted bills, and accounts, The legal records include deeds for land in Roxbury and Washington Townships, Morris County and Independence Township, Sussex County, indentures, mortgages, leases, articles of agreement, judgements, bonds, conveyances, summonses, and a release. The estate records of John Sharp 2nd include receipts, an inventory of the estate, receipted bills, refunding bonds for legacies paid, and discharges from legacies. The estate records of Stephen A. Lawrence include accounts, receipts, inventories of the estate, a copy of the will of William Lawrence (1743-1816) who was Stephen's father, discharges, refunding bonds, and letters to John Coleman. Stephen A. Lawrence was John Coleman's agent and a number of these estate records deal with Lawrence in that capacity.
Arranged by document type, then chronologically by date.
Series includes business and personal letters received, financial and legal records and printed material, The majority of letter primarily document requests for reservations at Forest House, the hotel Jesse M. Sharp owned and operated from 1856 at Budd's Lake, Mt. Olive Township. Some letters deal with the estates of John Sharp 3rd and of John Coleman for whom Jesse M. Sharp was administrator. There are also printed advertising circulars and letters documenting other business. Of note is an ALS dated May 1861 from A. Trask to Jesse M. Sharp using Forest House printed stationary. The financial records document hotel business and include bills, receipts, cancelled checks, bonds, and a stock certificate. Some financial records pertain to the estate of John Sharp 3rd. Of note is the stock certificate dated 10 April 1869 for 40 shares in the Raritan Clay and Manufacturing of which Jesse M. Sharp was president. The legal documents include demands, deeds for land in Washington Township, Budd's Lake, Morristown, and Jersey City, letters of administration and other documents for the estate of John Coleman, estate records for John Sharp 3rd, a power of attorney, innkeepers licenses, land surveys, a lease, and guardianship appointments. Of note are the two innkeepers licenses dated 6 May 1862 and 4 May 1869 issued to Jesse M. Sharp. The printed material includes a copy of N. J. Assembly Bill No. 196 (re: taxes), Forest House advertising circulars, miscellaneous issues of N.J. and N.Y. newspapers (photocopies-originals removed to Miscellaneous Newspaper File), and two copies of the offprint "N.J. Prerogative Court. Wagner vs. Sharp" regarding the estate of Frederick Sharp (1797-1877).
Arranged chronologically by date.
Series includes legal and financial documents including bonds, deeds, guardianship appointments, accounts, an agreement, and an inventory of the estate of Joseph R. Stewart. These documents pertain to the Stewart family of Mansfield, Warren County, particularly that of Charles R. Stewart (d. 1863). The Stewarts were related to the Sharps by marriage.
Arranged chronologically by date.
Series includes miscellaneous letters, financial and legal documents, land surveys, an unidentified photo, and empty envelopes.
This material is open for research without restriction under the conditions of the North Jersey History and Genealogy Center archives access policy. Records may be hand 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 Sharp 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.
Sharp Family Papers. North Jersey History and Genealogy Center, The Morristown and Morris Township Library.
Processed by L. Densky, April 1986, Revised by Anne Trepcos, October 2006.