Kaighn family

Kaighn
Kaighn
Industrial family
	Coat of arms of Kaighn Family
Current region	New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Earlier spellings	McCaighen, McKaighin, Kaighin, Kaighen, Kaighan
Place of origin	Isle of Man
Connected families	Cooper family

Last updated November 29, 2024

The Kaighn family is one of the founding families of the settlements along the Delaware River that would formed into the city of Camden, NJ in 1828. They were known philanthropists who supported and sponsored many causes throughout the city. The family descends from John Kaighn Sr., who emigrated to the Americas in 1688, who was the first member of the family to settle in what would become known as Kaighn's Point.^[1] Descendents of the family continue to live in Camden and the surrounding area.

History and description

Emigration to America

John Kaighn Sr. emigrated to America prior to 1668 from the Isle of Man, originally settling near Perth Amboy. He was the son of Jane Kaighn of Kirk Andrew, a town in the north of the Isle of Man. He had several siblings who did not emigrate alongside him.^[1]

Kaighns in Early America

On July 2, 1668, he secured a patent for 145 acres of land at Spottswood, South Brook, NJ, which he then sold a few days later to Robert Ray of South Brook. Sometime after the sale of the property, he moved to Byberry, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In 1693, he was found acknowledging the signature of Archibald Mickie (a soon to be neighbor) for the sale of property on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. While in Bucks County, he married Ann Albertson Forrest, though the marriage would be short, as she died in July, 1694. The marriage produced one daughter, Ann, born June 24, 1694. Through Ann Albertson Kaighn's previous marriage, she inherited part of property that her husband had owned in Salem County, NJ, alongside his brothers. When she died in July, 1694, her daughter Ann, through her marriage to John Kaighn, inherited her property though her father took charge of the property. In 1720, Ann Kaighn died at the age of 26, unmarried, leaving the property that she inherited from her mother to her father. Through this inheritance to his daughter, he would own a 300-acre plantation at the Forrest Estate in Salem County, NJ that he would sell to Issac Pearson in 1702.^[1]

Moving to Newton Township (pre-Camden)

John Kaighn would remarry to Sarah Dole Griscom leading him to move to Newton County, where his wife had inherited land from her husband Andrew Griscom upon his death in 1694.^[1] Newton County was officially called Newton Township, was originally incorporated on June 1, 1695.^[2] It was incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature in 1798^[1] and Camden would be formed inside Newton Township in 1828.^[2] Newton Township then became one of the original townships that would form Camden County in 1844.^[2] On December 14, 1696, John purchased his first piece of property in Newton Township from Robert Turner, a Philadelphia merchant, and his wife, Susanna. The tract was 455 acres along the Delaware River in between the property of William Roydon, the "Meadow Creek" (Little Newton Creek), William Bates, Stephen Newbie, and Robert Zane. According to Charles Boyer, "Of this land, Turner had bought 290 acres from Samuel Morris on September 21, 1686; 100 acres from John Ashton and his wife Patience on May 15, 1689; 50 acres of Richard Wall and his wife Sarah, on April 21, 1686; 9 acres from Thomas Sharp on April 12, 1693 and 6 acres from John Burroughs on July 6, 1693.".^[1]

Life in Newton Township before Camden's founding

John Kaighn was a member of the Society of Friends, a religious Quaker group formed in pre-colonial America. In 1708, he would become a member of the trustees of the Newton Meeting alongside several other prominent community members. At this point in time, John Kaighn had amassed the family a good amount of wealth as he was able to sit on the General Assembly. To be able to sit on the assembly, "the requirements for which were the ownership of one thousand acres of land in his own right or a personal estate in money, goods and chattels to the value of five hundred pounds sterling.". He did not own one thousand acres so he must have had a sizeable estate to allow him to sit. At some point in the 1710s, he married again to Elizabeth Hill of Burlington, who he had one child named William. John Kaighn died in 1724. Probate for his will was on June 24, 1724. His wife Elizabeth had inherited the home and lot in Philadelphia along with life interest in several other properties, with the remainder of his estate going to his sons John and Joseph.^[1]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Boyer, Charles (September 1920). John Kaighn and his Descendants (PDF). Kaighn Family. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
1 2 3 Synder, John P. (1969). The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968 (PDF). Trenton, New Jersey: Bureau of Geology and Topography. p. 107. Retrieved 10 November 2024.

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[John_Kaighn_Book-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Boyer, Charles (September 1920). John Kaighn and his Descendants (PDF). Kaighn Family. Retrieved 10 November 2024.

[Boundary_Book-2] 1 2 3 Synder, John P. (1969). The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968 (PDF). Trenton, New Jersey: Bureau of Geology and Topography. p. 107. Retrieved 10 November 2024.

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