Despite controversy, residents vote to keep seal

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 Washing- ton’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 bringing 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