John Pike(settler) |
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John Pike (1613-1688/1689) was a founder of Woodbridge, New Jersey and a judge and politician of the early colony of New Jersey.
Pike was born in Wiltshire, England. He came to America with his parents, John Pike (1572-1654) and Dorothy Day, first settling in Newbury, Massachusetts.
In 1665, acting on the invitation of Governor Philip Carteret, a number of Newbury residents formed a corporation to settle in Woodbridge, named after Rev. John Woodbridge, a Newbury clergyman. Pike, one of the original nine "associates" (and thereby granted some 300 acres, much more than other freeholders), was "the prominent man of the town" in its early years. He was President of Woodbridge, and in 1671 was appointed to the Governor's Council. After 1675, he was Captain of the militia, and afterward known as Capt. Pike. He was chosen to represent the township in the colonial General Assembly three times: 1692-3, 1696, and 1697-8.