Cadmus was born about 1736, and was baptized at the Reformed Church of Second River in Newark Township (now Belleville), New Jersey, the sixth child of Geertie Bras (since 1699) and third child of her second husband, Abraham Cadmus (1708-1759), a lumber and stone merchant and storekeeper.
Pre-Revolutionary His business interests included farming, grist milling, real estate, and possibly quarrying. Cadmus built his residence in 1763, as indicated on the datestone. lieutenant replaced a logging cabin erected by Thomas’ grandfather Johannes Cadmus (1666-1759).
The house was built of locally quarried brownstone, with four rooms on the first floor.
A gable-ended loft; fireplaces on both ends. A cedar shingle roof.
And a small entry stoop. The extant foundation consists of a fieldstone basement, massive hand-hewn joists, and flooring planks, some of which exceed 16 inches in width.
A detached kitchen in the rear of the house contained a kitchen with a Dutch oven on one wall and slave quarters in the loft.
Cadmus served in the as a lieutenant colonel of Essex militia. He led a contingent of New Jersey troops in the fortification of New York City and commanded a battalion in the Battle of Long Island. Suffering from gout, he resigned his line unit command, but continued to serve in logistics, notably during the Continental Army’s encampment at Jockey Hollow in Morristown, New Jersey.
Cadmus reportedly hosted General George Washington at his home during the American The nature and extent of any military planning conducted at the Cadmus House are not known.
Cadmus also supported the Revolution financially, and his house was ransacked by British troops. In 1793, Cadmus was appointed as an Overseer of the Highways for Newark Township.
He served as an elder of the Reformed Dutch Church of Second River from 1794 to 1797, and donated fourteen acres of land as a parsonage. He presided over its foundation-laying ceremony in 1796, reportedly placing a silver dollar into the mortar.
He also led local farmers in the procession at the Society’s dedication ceremony the following year.
Thomas Cadmus died November 2, 1821.
