In 1666 Martin Tichenor fit the Cavalier generation description, he was certainly defiant of the moral authority of the church. His family and thirty other families joined the rebellious leader, Robert Treat, and left the church in protest of the new changes. They sailed down the coast to New Jersey. The pious band landed on the west bank of the Passaic River. They had been promised the land by the governor of New Jersey, but the Indians that met them claimed it as theirs. The new arrivals were ready to return to Connecticut when the governor arrived just in time and they purchased the land for "fifty-double-hands of powder, 100 bars of lead, twenty axes, twenty coats, ten guns, fifty knifes, twenty howes [hoes], ten kettles, ten swoards, four blanks, four barrels of beere, ten pair of breeches, eight hundred and fifty fathom of wampum, two ankors of liqueur and three troopers coats."
Robert Treat's son, John, married Martin's daughter, Abigail [b. August 9, 1656] and stayed in New Jersey to become one the most prominent leaders of early Newark. Robert Treat returned to Connecticut to became governor of the colony in 1674. He became famous in 1686, when the Governor of New York, Sir Edmond Andros, attempted to seize the Charter of Connecticut during a session of the Assembly. Governor Treat would not give up his office, and instead put out the light and handed the charter to Captain Wadsworth who deposited in a hollow tree, now known as the Charter Oak of Hartford.
A constitution was written by the new inhabitants of New Town, [later New Ark], New Jersey. It was very strict and provided that "none except Congregational Church members shall be admitted as freemen or Burgesses [citizen of an English borough]. Only church members shall have a right to vote or hold any offices"; though it provided "that others could be admitted as "planters" and have the right to their proper inheritance, and shall enjoy all other civil rights and privileges, according to all Laws, Orders and Grants which are; or hereafter be made for this town."
An amendment added later read, "In case any shall come into or rise up among us that shall willingly disturb us in our peace and settlements, and especially that would subvert us from the true religion and worship of God, and can not or will not keep their opinions to themselves or be reclaimed after due time and means of conviction and reclaiming hath been used; shall depart the town considerations being made for their property". Martin and his son, Daniel Tichenor were among the forty-one "present inhabitants" who signed the constitution.
They drew lots for the assignment of land, six acres each. Taxes were paid with wheat, corn, pork, wood and pelts, among other things. The way of rating and collecting taxes provided the basis of some lively town meetings. Martin's estate was valued at £169 [£50 for himself, £10 for each of his five children and £69 for his property].
The first houses in Newark averaged thirty feet in length and sixteen feet in width and one and a half stories high. Every house was equipped with cavernous or double chimneys, first made of wood and clay, later stone and mortar. The hearthstone was in the living room, also used as a kitchen. The door opened on a level with the yard. Wood was the only fuel. Water for laundry was stored in rain barrels that caught the rain water from the roof. All other water was carried from a spring or brook and, if possible, a well on the property.
The first industry was a corn mill built in 1671. Wheat and rye were also ground, but corn was the largest crop. The miller got a twelfth part of the corn and a sixteenth of all other grain. Cooperage (barrel making) was a profitable industry, requiring skilled labor. Thousands of handmade barrels were produced in Newark each year. White oak was uses for liquids, red oak for dry commodities. The staves were bound by hickory hoops. The soil was especially suited for apple trees, which became one of the principle trade commodities, readily shipped to other colonies. Large consignments were sent the West Indies. Late in the 17th century, more than 1000 barrels of cider were exported each year.
Shoemaking, later Newark's chief industry, was first done by traveling shoe- makers who, as a rule made the rounds of the settlements in early autumn. They were welcome for their skill and the gossip they brought with them. Of course such things as blacksmithing, candle making, spinning, dyeing and weaving of cloth were part of the daily activities.
Very early on the town had three weavers. Encouragement was officially given artisans of neighboring and even distant settlements, by offering them homestead grants. (John Tichenor's first son, Martin, Jr. was a weaver). The emphasis on weavers and artisans seems to give further credibility to the thought that some of these settlers [and maybe the Tichenors] were a part of the 1634 emigration of Dutch weavers and craftsmen from East Anglia.
There was a gradual lessening of Puritan restraint and practice. In 1684 the second pastor, son of the first, wanted a general revision of Puritan practices. The people rebelled and withheld his salary of "eighty pounds" to which every planter was required to contribute.
By 1687, compromise was reached and pay was resumed. Among the more than fifty who signed an agreement to pay were John and Samuel Tichenor. The Church remained nominally Puritan until October 22, 1719, when a Presbyterian form of church and government was instituted.
Even in those days, attendance was often poor at town meetings and fines were levied on those remiss. There were Indian scares from time to time, particularly in the summers of 1673, 1675 and 1679. Every man between the age of sixteen and sixty was required to have a "half a pound of pouder and 12 bullets fit for his gun, or two pounds of pistol bullets".
The records show similar rules must have been in effect in Connecticut, also. In 1650, Martin was fined 18s for having a defective fence. In 1648 a complaint was written against Martin, he was late with armes one Lords Day, also for want of bullits for his pec... [pistol or rifle] on viewing day.
The Landing at Newark, 1666