Acher / Aker family of Dover Forge and Bamber

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Moses Acre appears frequently in the ledger book of the Dover Forge during 1826-1828.  For example, he was paid for work at the forge on 18 Nov 1826.  On 23 Jun 1827, his name is spelled ‘Acher’, when he was paid for ‘carting’ by the Forge.

            There was also a Stephen Acher who was paid on 30 Jun 1827 for carting bar iron from the forge to Toms River, but it’s not clear if he actually lived in Toms River or at the Forge.

            In 1850, just a few entries prior to known Bamber resident Reuben Rockwell was the family of John Acher.  He was 27 in 1850 and working in the charcoal industry.  He lived with a man named Crammer Acher, aged 18, and another named Harmon Giberson, aged 40.  Both Crammer and Harmon worked as laborers.  A potential issue, however, is that Rockwell apparently owned a home in Toms River as well as Bamber, so we can’t know which residence was recorded in the census. Acher working as a coaler, however, would seem to indicate he was more proximate to the forge than the village of Toms River.

            Daniel Acher also appears among likely Bamber residents in 1850.  He was 38 in 1850, and married to Elizabeth, age 35. They were the parents of Harriet Arher, age 3, and Rebecca Acher, age 10.

A woman named Fannie Luker's death was recorded in Dover Township on 5/22/1866, at the age of 56.  She was listed as the daughter of a Moses ACHER, though at this point there's no way to know if this is the same man as the one who worked at Dover Forge.

A Moses Acher is also listed in the vital records as having died in Toms River on 12/30/1857 at the age of 75.  Moses and his wife, Jane, were buried in the Old Methodist burying ground at the corner of Hooper and Washington Streets, according to a transcription done of that cemetery in the “Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey” and published in July of 1931.  According to the listing there, Moses died on 12-28-1857, aged 77 years, 4 months, 8 days.  His wife, Jane, died 4/23/1860, aged 70 years, 10 months, 14 days.  And a user-submitted genealogy for this man at familysearch.org says this man was born about 1782 in New Brunswick, NJ, and died 30 Dec 1857.  He was supposedly the son of Daniel Aker (b.1750) and Martha Freeman (b.1760), and grandson of Daniel Aker (1720-1772).  If this genealogy is to be believed, it’s quite likely that the John Acher mentioned above is the son of Moses….Moses and Jane were the parents of John Aker (1817-1896)

A Moses Acre is listed as marrying Jane Johnston in Monmouth County on 23 Nov 1811.[i] Since modern Ocean County was part of Ocean County at that time, this could be the same person.  It’s in alignment with the user submitted genealogy at familysearch.org, and aligns with the other information we have regarding this family so far.


[i] "New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VWRZ-S9P : 25 September 2017), Moses Acre and Jane Johnston, 23 Nov 1811; citing Monmouth, New Jersey, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton; FHL microfilm 595,130.

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