Feb. 20,1781 - Feb. 25,1870

 Asa Eastwood was born in the Eastwood home in Allentown, Monmouth County, New Jersey, on February 20, 1781, the third son of Lewis and Virginia Mary Eastwood. Virginia Mary, had previously blessed Lewis with the births of their eldest son, Lewis Jr., and John, who was born two years prior to Asa. Asa's closest younger brother, Enos, was also born at home in Allentown, about a year after Asa's birth. The Eastwood family moved north to Goshen, New York after Enos' birth, in the summer of 1785. The births of brother Benjamin and sister Catherine followed in New York during the next two to three years.

Click on map of Monmouth County - Click to magnify the enlarged map - Red Circle = Allentown - (Adjacent Shrewsbury)

Map of Historic Allentown, New Jersey

Asa's father, Lewis was a currier (one who dresses tanned hides) and tanner ( refer to Eastwood history page - The Tanning Business - History ). While in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Lewis began to firmly establish his career as a tanner. Allentown was where he expanded his livelihood and would eventually build, or more likely, acquire his own Tannery. The tanning business was quite popular in the American colonies at the time for several reasons. First, and foremost, was the ample supply of hides and pelts provided by the hunters and trappers who themselves were astounded by the seemingly endless amount of fur bearing animals throughout the colonies. Although the natives throughout "The New World" customarily wore animal furs as well as crudely tanned leathers, the English colonists found the custom uncivilized, thus, leather was quite in demand. One must remember that these English immigrants were not able to bring many clothes, shoes, coats, etc. with them when they boarded the ships for the voyage to America. For the same economic reasons, these commodities were not commonly exported to the colonies. Therefore, the demand for leather was high among the new settlers. Beyond the immediate supply for local residents, tanners recognized the potential of exporting leather to England and beyond, especially with the abundance of ships returning to England with a minimum load of natural resources. Tobacco, being the most popular colonial export, usually was shipped from the southern harbors.

Lewis Eastwood recognized the limitations of his Allentown location and decided that a proximity to the commercial activity of the port of New York City, was a necessity for the expansion of his tanning business. For starters, the local market would now include the growing waterfronts of the city's five boroughs, as well as nearby cities in New Jersey and others all along the Hudson River. The harbor was the most important port in America, and, in addition to exporting leather to Europe, it furnished one of the principal means by which passengers and goods were transported to and from New York City throughout the rest of the colonies. 

[- New Jersey Deed Records show that on April 4, 1785, Lewis and Mary Eastwood of Allentown, Monmouth County, sold their tanyard {tannery} for the sum of 440 pounds].

*According to the “History of Orange Co. NY” by Ruttenber & Clark- "Lewis Eastwood lived in the town of Warwick in September, 1785 when his land was assessed at the value of 5 s. 3 p.  Of the seventy families living in District 9 (evidently comprised of the southern portion of the present town of Goshen, the Florida (?) neighborhood of Warwick, and southward to the vicinity of Mount Eve) his land was among the least valuable".

As noted in the diary of Asa Eastwood:
“My father moved from Allentown, New Jersey when I was a child, to Goshen, State of New York, from there to Schenectady, from thence to Balstown, from thence to Lolenburgh, from thence to Kinder Hook, from thence to Harperfield, from there to Catskill, from thence to Red Hook. Living in some place from several years and in other for several months only, in the former place he carried on his trade in an extensive manner which was that of Tanner and Currier in Balston.” *{New York}.

In addition to Lewis’ itinerancy, he professed to have little faith in "public education" and believed that 'experience was the best teacher'; subsequently, his children were all "home schooled". This is a fact that Asa bemoans in several entries in his diary. However, what Asa might have missed in a formal education, was more than made up for by his busy, young life (validating his father's beliefs). His writings (diary, letters, political and legal papers) display an education far superior to the majority of the people raised and schooled during the times.

*Author's Note: In deference to the "home schooling" from Lewis and Mary, the author must point out that Asa's aforementioned diary is now housed at Syracuse University's Historical Library and has been the historical reference for numerous newspaper articles, historical papers, et al. Additionally, during Asa's long and esteemed career, he was both appointed and elected to countless public offices at the municipal, county, state, and national levels. While serving as Constable and Justice of the Peace under appointment of New York Governor Clinton, he was elected as a delegate to the State Convention to revise the new US Constitution. He was next elected to the New York State Legislature. where, upon arrival, he was granted "Freedom of the City" by New York Mayor, Stephen Allen. His last elected office was to the NY State Assembly in November, 1832. During his political career, he also was elected "Sachem" (leader) of New York's famed Tammany Society    (Tammany Hall) and was a founder and early leader of the New York Freemasons (Masonic Order). It was the age difference between Asa and the "American Founding Fathers" that prevented their personal and professional intimacy, not his lack of formal schooling. Nonetheless, he enjoyed the tutelage of both former US Vice Presidents, Aaron Burr and George Clinton (New York's first and longest serving Governor). The author has been unable to undercover any links to George Washington (Virginia), Paul Revere (Boston), or Benjamin Franklin (Philadelphia), however they were all US Freemason founders and leaders, but all matters pertaining to the ancient order are shrouded in secrecy.

The Village of Goshen is about 50 miles northwest of New York City. The village still exists and is located within the current Town of Goshen, which was formally established in 1789 (four years after the arrival of the Eastwoods). The new proximity to the busiest seaport in the colonies provided Lewis with a variety of business opportunities which required him to visit the harbor on a regular basis. When he visited, he was usually accompanied by his four sons. The boys were now growing up around the ships in the harbor and were instilled with a love and respect for the sea which they retained throughout their lifetimes. Sadly, it would also prove to be the cause of the demise of the eldest son, young Lewis Jr. at the tender age of nine.
The records of the John Street Methodist Church in New York City states that “Lewis Eastwood, ... died of a fall from the mast onto the Quarter Deck on Dec. 2, 1786”. The death was a tragedy for Lewis and his young family but it failed to dissuade his next three sons, John, Asa, and Enos, from their adolescent dreams of a life on the sea. Less than three years later, tragedy again visited the Eastwood family when Virginia Mary took ill and died.
*My assumption that Virginia Mary’s Date of Death is around 1790 is based on the entry in Asa Eastwood’s diary which states:
“My mother died when I was about nine years of age, and my father married in about a year thereafter”.

My research seems to indicate that Lewis was the first of the Eastwoods in America to remarry. He married his first wife, Virginia Mary, in 1776. The widower married his second wife, Lucy, in New York City, 1791/92.