Despite controversy, residents vote to keep seal

(Continued from Page 6) late that Caldwell was assassinated because her husband, the Rev. James Caldwell, was preaching revolution, although she feels that isn’t what happened. Some speculate it was friendly fire, but to her, that’s the least believable. Most likely, a British soldier, maybe not much older than 18, saw movement in the window and shot at it before he knew who it was.

To understand Caldwell’s death, one has to take into consideration its place in history, she explained.

“That day, June 7, 1780, the battle that was fought was called the Battle of Connecticut Farms, what Union was known as before it became Union,” La Mort said. “They were skirmishing over by Milburn and Vauxhall and Springfield. They were trying to get to Washington in Morristown. The Battle of Connecticut Farms and the Battle of Springfield were the last two major battles fought in the north.”

Caldwell’s death inspired people to join the New Jersey militia and the Continental Army, she said. Her husband rode around, telling people they killed his wife, the mother of his nine children.

“Her husband was an ordained minister and was a quartermaster in Washington’s army,” La Mort said. “He was a chaplain in the New Jersey Militia. There are legends about how, when he preached, he kept two loaded pistols in the pulpit with him. There was a price on his head, there was a price on Washington’s head and there was a price on Gov. William Livington’s head. Livingston was the first man elected governor in New Jersey.”

“Caldwell was killed 18 months later in Elizabethport in 1781 A sentry, James Morgan, shot him. There's speculation he was going to collect the reward for bring- ing Caldwell to the British. So the Caldwell’s nine children were left orphans, but the family was so beloved, all the children were taken in. The 4-year-old boy, Elias Boudinot Cadwell, who was with his mother when she was shot and died, was adopted by the man he was named after, Elias Boudinot, and later became a clerk of the U.S. Supreme Court.”

As for the house itself, even after the British Redcoats burned it to the ground, its place in history was not complete.

“The members of the Connecticut Fams Presbyterian Church rebuilt it in 1789,” she said. “We think they started rebuilding it in 1782. Their church was burned, too, in the battle.”

“The Union Township Historical Society was founded to maintain the house in 1957,” La Mort continued. “They bought it from the estate at the time for $18,000. They even had a campaign in the schools called Pennies for the Parsonage. Otherwise, a lot of other people donated a lot of money.”

“We’re a nonprofit organization that exists to maintain that house,” she added. “The board is all volunteers.”

The house is now known as the Caldwell Parsonage, 909 Caldwell Ave., Union.

According to La Mort, the current seal was being used in 1932 by the county. It became official in 1933.

“We have a copy of the resolution stating why they chose this artwork,” she said.

Despite its historical value, the Union County seal recently became a point of contention when the image it portrayed was considered offensive by Mothers Against Domestic Violence. This led to the Union County Board of County Commissioners deciding to replace it by offering possible new seals for residents of Union County to choose between. Option 1 was the quadrant and option 2 was the courthouse. Keeping the original seal was not an option.

“We had over 6,600 residents vote for the seal. It’s at stand still until they go over all of the messages,” said Kelly Martins, director of communication and public information, in an interview with LocalSource on Monday, May 1. “We finished the vote last Monday, April 24, at the end of business. I don’t think there is a timeline. They just want to review all the messages before they make a decision. Everyone seems to have different opinions. The commissioners just want to do their due diligence. No decision has been made.”

The poll was open to Union County residents, she said. When the poll ended, anyone who resided out of the county and voted was not counted and separated from the tally. Only the tally of Union County residents were accept- ed. Each IP address and email was permitted to vote only one time.

Schools who participated in the poll were from Clark, Cranford, Elizabeth, Garwood, Hillside, Linden, New Providence, Plainfield, Rahway, Roselle, Roselle Park, Scotch Plains, Springfield, Summit, Union, Westfield, and Winfield.

“We are aware of a petition that was going around by residents against the changing of the seal which has 1,951 signatures,” said Martins in an online message to LocalSource. “However, those who signed the petition are not just from Union County – they are from all of New Jersey, out of state and sometimes country. Our poll just included Union County residents.”

“I agree with the commissioners that the seal is not accurate and I don’t know if it was ever meant to be accurate,”