Aaron Hankinson was born in Matawan, Monmouth County, NJ on Feb. 7, 1735. At an early age, he moved with his family to Rowland Mills, Readington Twp., Hunterdon County, NJ. He lived there with his family at the "Hankinson Homestead" located near the Hankinson Family Burying Ground (also known as the Vorhees Cemetery). On February 9, 1764, he married Mary Snyder of Kingwood Twp., Hunterdon County. In 1764, Thomas Hankinson, his father, purchased farms of 363 acres each in Stillwater, Sussex County, NJ. The land was given to he and his brother William Hankinson. It is on that land where he settled with his family. He and his wife raised twelve children. Aaron Hankinson served as a surveyor and as a tax assessor in Hardyston Twp., Sussex County in 1774. Shortly after the outbreak of the American Revolution, on July 26, 1775, Aaron Hankinson was commissioned as a captain in the Sussex County Militia for Upper Hardwick under the command of Colonel Ephraim Martin. In 1776 he was commissioned as a Colonel and was detached to Sandy Hook, NJ by way of Perth Amboy, NJ. On February 28, 1777, he served as a Colonel in the 3rd. Company, 2nd. Regiment of the Sussex County Militia under the leadership of General David Forman. They were present at the battles of Brandywine Creek and Germantown. His company of 600 militiamen did not participate in the Battle of Germantown, PA. They were late to the battle but were on their way on the Old York Road. During the Revolutionary War, he and his fellow militiamen were entrusted with the duty of preventing the Minisink Indians and Tories from penetrating into New Jersey by way of the upper frontier near the Delaware Water Gap. They were very successful in that capacity. After the war ended, he was commissioned as a Brigadier General in the Sussex County Militia. He served as a general well into his later years. In addition to his other responsibilities, General Aaron Hankinson served as a Member of the New Jersey Assembly from 1782-1786 and from 1788-1792. General Hankinson also served as an elder in the Yellow Frame Presbyterian Church in Upper Hardwick Twp., Sussex County, NJ. General Aaron Hankinson died on October 9, 1806. He is buried with his wife and several of his children and their descendants in the southeasterly section of the Yellow Frame Presbyterian Church Cemetery.

Terry W.
July 21, 2010