Col. John Reading was the first white landowner in Hunterdon County, New Jersey

Hunterdon County, New Jersey

Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 128,349. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Flemington....

. His son, Governor John Reading

John Reading (New Jersey)

John Reading was the first native-born governor of New Jersey, United States, serving in 1747, and again from September 1757 to June 1758. His father, Colonel John Reading, was the first major landowner in Hunterdon County....

 was the first native-born Governor of New Jersey

Governor of New Jersey

The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...

, serving in 1747, and again in from September 1757 to June 1758.

Born in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Colonel Reading emigrated to Gloucester, in what was then the Province of New Jersey

Province of New Jersey

The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland, but came under English rule after the surrender of Fort Amsterdam in 1664, becoming a...

  in approximately 1684. He was a member of the assembly and was Clerk of Gloucester county

Gloucester County, New Jersey

Gloucester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 288,288. Its county seat is Woodbury....

 from 1688-1702. Along with two others, he was commissioned by the Provincial Council of West Jersey

West Jersey

West Jersey and East Jersey were two distinct parts of the Province of New Jersey. The political division existed for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702...

 to purchase land from the Native Americans

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 which encompassed 150000 acres (607 km²) between the Raritan

Raritan River

The Raritan River is a major river of central New Jersey in the United States. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean.-Description:...

 and Delaware

Delaware River

The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...

rivers. He served as a judge of the Supreme Court of the Province starting in 1712. He died in Amwell, New Jersey in 1717.

External links

• Reading Family Biography