Brigadier General Abraham Godwin

Abraham Godwin (July 16, 1763 – October 5, 1835) was a Fife Major in the American Revolution, Master Engraver, elected to the New Jersey General Assembly for the County of Essex from 1802-1806. He was born to Captain Abraham Godwin and Phebe Cool in Totowa, New Jersey. His father developed land building-houses in the area around Totowa, which became Paterson, New Jersey. He built and operated the Godwin Hotel creating the first stage coach line for tourists to travel to the Passaic Falls. He married Mary Maria Munson on July 3, 1783 in the First Presbyterian Church in Morristown, New Jersey. They had nine children, Phebe, Henry, Caleb, Susanna, Abraham, Maria, Catharine, Elizabeth, and Margaret. His son Henry committed suicide after going bankrupt producing cotton in 1816.

Abraham’s father joined the revolution in early 1776 and was made Captain of Marines stationed on board the USS Lady Washington in New York City Harbor. Abraham’s older brother Captain Henry Godwin, was Quartermaster in Fishkill, New York, and his younger brother David was a Drummer and Abraham was a Fife Master. Abraham and David were re-united with their father when they enlisted in New York City. Abraham’s father survived being shot during the Siege of New York. Knowing the topography of New Jersey, they led George Washington’s army to Totowa where he stayed at the Godwin Hotel. After that they split ways, Washington to the Delaware River, and the Godwins to Fishkill. The Godwins had much debt to the Tories, and lost half their land as a result. The British raided the Godwin homestead, stripping Phebe and the daughters of everything. This sickened Abraham’s father even more, to the point where he died early in 1777. In the spring, Abraham, Henry, and David were ordered to Fort Montgomery to lay a chain across the North River. On October 7, 1777 the Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery took place. David was ordered to send for help, Henry was captured by the British, and Abraham jumped into the Hudson and swam to shore. Abraham was present at the Siege of Yorktown, witnessed the surrender of Charles Cornwallis to George Washington and received an honorable discharge signed by George Washington,

Towards the end of the war Abraham became an engraving apprentice of Andrew Billings, a silversmith and an engraver of bookplates. Within a few years Abraham became better than his master. Abraham soon found himself with high-profile projects, like his engraving of the certificate for the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York or his certificate for the Fire Department of New York City, among others. He most likely painted a portrait of George Washington while he stayed at the Godwin Hotel.

Alexander Hamilton had envisioned the Passaic Falls as a powerhouse for manufacturing since his first visit in 1778. While he was Treasury Secretary he led the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures he decided on the newly named Paterson. They initialy met at the Godwin Hotel. Abraham led the group surveying the land surrounding the falls. Hamilton made the final call to place the factories right next to the falls rather than dig expensive canals placing them miles away.

While in the New Jersey General Assembly, he voted for the gradual abolition of slavery in 1804, the law overruled in 1807

During the War of 1812, Abraham quickly rose to the rank of Brigadier General due to his time in the New Jersey State Legislature. He patrolled the beaches between Atlantic City and Sandy Hook, bring volunteers from Paterson to help build the first fort in Sandy Hook.

He retired to a peaceful life running the Godwin Hotel, the hotel his father built in Paterson before the war. He wrote poems, songs, continued his engravings and made many paintings. The Godwin Hotel was a well known tourist attraction while he was alive. It was advertised in the papers that there was always a fiddler ready to play.

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@R-2146704336@ U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,60525::0

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