James and McCarroll were two prominent Morristown families. The patriarch, Thomas F. McCarroll, was born in 1830 in Chester County, PA, the son of Thomas McCarroll a Methodist minister. The younger Thomas moved to Morristown from Newark in 1854 when he married Laura P. James, daughter of James H. James and Lucy Vail. Mr. McCarroll was a business professional associated with Edmond F. Heath and Co. of Newark. Thomas and Laura had one son, Henry Bruce McCarroll.
Circa 1880 William Prentice of Leicester, England and Newark, N.J. died leaving Thomas McCarroll as executor of his will and guardian of his young son, William Arthur Ellington, a responsibility he shared with Prentice's nephew, John Heath Williams.
This collection records the real estate interests of the James and McCarroll families in the Morris County areas of New Vernon, Harding Township, Morristown, Morris Township and Jockey Hollow and in the Essex County city, Newark. The collection also documents the will of William Prentice of Leicester, England and Newark, N.J. and the guardianship of his son by Thomas F. McCarroll, including the minor's schooling and maintenance in England. The material in the collection dates from 1801-1910.
The James-McCarroll Family Papers are arranged in two series.
The first series is primarily estate records including financial and legal documents pertaining to the estates of James James (d. 1838), James H. James (d. 1864), and Thomas F. McCarroll (1830-1909), the son-in-law of James H. James. These records document property owned by the James and McCarroll families in New Vernon, Harding Township, Morristown, Jockey Hollow, and Morris Township, all in Morris County, N.J., and in Newark, Essex County. Types of material include deeds, mortgages, quitclaims, land surveys, receipts, memoranda, bonds and wills. The records are arranged chronologically by date.
The second series of papers pertain to the estate of William Prentice (d. ca. 1880) of Leicester, England and Newark, N.J., and date from 1877 to 1891. They document the guardianship of Prentice's son, William Arthur Ellington. These records include bills, receipts, accounts and letters documenting William Arthur Ellington's schooling and maintenance in England, and also include the will of William Prentice. The records are arranged chronologically by date.
This material is open for research without restriction under the conditions of the North Jersey History and Genealogy Center archives access policy. Records may be hand copied for use in individual scholarly or personal research, however, as with all materials in the History Center, researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material from the collection. Due to its fragile nature, material in the James-McCarroll Family Papers may NOT be photocopied. It is also recommended that gloves are worn while handling the collection.
James-McCarroll Family Papers. North Jersey History and Genealogy Center, The Morristown and Morris Township Library.
Processed by L. Densky, June 1986, Revised by Anne Trepcos, October 2006.