By Christine Barcia
FREEHOLD — David Fisher, the eighth generation grandson of Freehold Borough native and American Revolutionary War hero Nathaniel Scudder, visited Borough Hall last month.
During his Dec. 30 stop in town, Fisher, who lives in Wiesbaden, Germany, saw firsthand how borough officials have honored his ancestor, Nathaniel Scudder.
Scudder (1733-81) was a member of the Continental Congress, a military officer and a physician.
“I was always surprised at how little known Nathaniel Scudder was here in his hometown. Here he was, the only member of the Continental Congress to die in combat in the Revolution, a signer of the Articles of Confederation, a prominent physician and patriot who lived where the bus station is now, and we had all but forgotten him,” said Kevin Coyne, who is the borough’s historian.
Mayor Nolan Higgins welcomed Fisher to Freehold Borough. He was joined by Coyne, Councilwoman Sharon Shutzer, Barbara Wagner, the president of the borough’s Historic Preservation Commission, and Muriel Smith, a former member of the borough’s Historic Preservation Commission and now a member of the Monmouth County Historical Commission.
“It was very exciting to meet a descendent of Dr. Scudder. We have been recognizing Dr. Scudder for the past couple of years and I am very happy to meet not only a family member, but a person who has studied the Scudder family and the history of our local families in colonial America,” Higgins said.
Fisher, who with his wife was visiting family in New Jersey, was presented with a copy of the resolution the mayor and council adopted last year designating the government meeting room at Borough Hall as Nathaniel Scudder Hall to honor the American Revolutionary War hero.
In 2015, Higgins asked the Historic Preservation Commission to design a fitting memorial for Nathaniel Scudder Hall. Commission member Nelson Kuperberg, a professional architect and designer, designed a wall of glass commemorating Scudder’s role in the Battle of Monmouth and the first Continental Congress.
“We hope to continue to enhance Scudder hall with the help of Mr. Fisher and his family,” Wagner said.
Fisher, who was raised in New York, is the head of business development for Personal TEC in the Wiesbaden office. He is also the director of the Princeton German Summer Work Program and chair of the Princeton Alumni Association of Germany.
Fisher and Nathaniel Scudder, as well as many other members of the Scudder family throughout the eight generations since the 18th century, have attended Princeton University.
Fisher noted his paternal grandmother’s maiden name was Scudder and she was “an enthusiastic member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.”
Fisher related how the Scudders came to the new world during the Puritan migration to New England in the 1630s, when settlers from England and Barbados came in family groups in search of religious freedom. From there, generations migrated to other parts of the colonies, he said.
Fisher said he initially learned of his famous Revolutionary era relative when he read about him in a Princeton alumni book concerning the fourth graduating class in 1748, when the college was still in Newark.
Since then, he has conducted research on his ancestor and has visited historic sites, museums and libraries in search of all the information he can gather. Fisher is in the process of writing a historical novel about Nathaniel Scudder and his wife, Isabella, and hopes to have it in print by 2017.
“David Fisher and his family are delightful and quite passionate about their ancestor, Nathaniel Scudder. They have been meticulous and thorough with their research and, as a result, they really brought him and his wife alive for us,” Shutzer said.
Fisher promised future visits to his ancestor’s former hometown and is sharing information about Nathaniel Scudder for the borough’s archives.
“Mr. Fisher’s visit has started what promises to be a long-time friendship and a sharing of news and information about one of the most important figures of the Revolutionary era in Monmouth County and in the United States,” Smith said.
Scudder was born in 1733 in Monmouth Courthouse (now Freehold Borough) and attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and became a physician. He practiced medicine in Monmouth County until 1778 when he left medicine for the military, taking up the patriots’ cause.
Scudder died in battle near Shrewsbury in 1781. He was killed four days before the end of the American Revolutionary War. Scudder was the only member of the Continental Congress who died during the war. He is buried at the Old Tennent Church cemetery in Manalapan.