Ocean County , NJ History

These are some excerpts from the recors of John B. Ashmead, Mt. Holly undertaker; he started his business in Philadelphia (1844) and then moved to Mt. Holly in 1849. This list is the names of individuals who payed funeral expenses, and in some cases for whom they payed them. 12 Sept 1845 - Mr Samuel HARBIT of Salem, NJ , for sister Elizabeth. 19 April 1847 - John FORD - hearse to 1 1/2 miles below Woodbury, NJ. 29 June 1847 - Mr. TAYLOR (at Probasco) buried at Camden, NJ (New Town). 1849- 11 June - Mr. CASSADY - for his father 25 Aug - Mrs Martha MARTIN 12 Sept - Friends of the Rev. Wm. R. RODGERS 15 Sept - Estate of Joseph ALCHENS - deceased. 22 Sept - Charles STOY - for child 1850 - 24 Feb - William BROWNE - for child 26 March - William N. SHINN for Mrs. HORTON 3 April - Estate Mrs FENNIMORE, Geo. HAYWOOD, Executor April - James RODGERS - for Mrs WILLIAMS - taken to Crosswicks 25 May - Wm. M. RISDON - for daughter 3 June - Levy ATKINSON - for his child 15 July -...

from the Asbury Park Press 25 Nov 1991 FRANTISEK CINA, 60 of HOWELL TOWNSHIP, died yesterday at home. Mr. Cina, known as 'Frank', was a maintenance worker for Brockway Glass, Freehold, for 20 years. He was a communicant of St. Veronica's Roman Catholic Church, Howell. Mr. Cina was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States in 1969, settling in Howell. Surviving are his wife, Margit; his father, Frank Fabian, Chicago; three brothers, Joseph Fabian and Evzen Fabian, both of Toronto, Canada, and Rudy Fabian, Chicago; and two sisters, Clara Kalis, Toronot and Anna Cina.

From the Asbury Park Press 25 Nov 1991 MARY B. BOLTE, 66, of KEYPORT, died on Saturday at Bayshore Community Hospital, Holmdel. She was a communicant of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Keyport. Mrs. Bolte was born in New York, living in the Bronx before moving to Keyport over 40 years ago. Surviving are her husband, George P.; three sons, Christopher, John and Michael, all of Keyport; two brothers, John P. McGuinness, New City, N.Y., and George F. McGuinness, Bronxville, N.Y.; five grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. David J. Hodder and Son Funeral Home, Yonkers, in charge of arrangements.

"NOTICE OF SALE OF LAND IN THE TOWNSHIP OF LACEY, N.J. FOR UNPAID TAXES FOR THE YEAR 1920". BAKER, Frederick A. 5 lots, Cedar Crest Cedar Crest Orchard and Produce Co., 6807 acres, dwellings, barns and mills at Cedar Crest. (Cedar Crest Co. seems to have been the biggest employer in this town, and with what appears to be their failure, a lot of residents probably moved on, explaining the discrepancy in population from 1920 to 1930.) COHEN, Joseph H., 20 acres, Cedar Crest DALE, John, 2 acres and bungalow, Cedar Crest LEHTONEN, Lydia, 3 acres, Cedar Crest ( A Lydia LEHTONEN lived on W. 79th Street, Manhattan, in 1920, working as a private nurse in the home of Carl Mead. She was a Finnish immigrant, having come from that country in 1911. It seems unlikely she would have owned speculative land in Ocean County, but I suppose not impossible. In 1910, a 35 year old Lydia LEHTONEN shows up on W 48th St in Manhattan, also a Finnish immigrant. She worked as a servant in the ho...

The following article appeared in the New Jersey Courier on 14 Nov 1930: SIMMONS, KLAN FOUNDER, AND BELL, KLAN OFFICIAL, SAID TO BE NEW ORGANIZERS There is a story about the counties of Monmouth and Ocean, based on an account printed recently in the Asbury Park Press, that an effort is being made to create a new organization with the same aims and purposes of the Ku Klux Klan, but with different methods. The Press recently told of a meeting in that county addresed by William Joseph Simmons, founder of the Klan, and afterward deposed as its head, and by Arthur H. Bell, the Grand Dragon of New Jersey in the days when the Klan was in prosperity in the state. It was said that both these men talked on the new organization, the White Band. Residents of Lakewood Road, between Toms River and Lakewood, near where the cross road turns off to the Klan hall on Whitesville road, say that numerous cars traversed that road on Sunday afternoon, and from that it is assumed that Simmons and Be...

The 16 August 1882 issue of the New Jersey Courier has an article, which even it admits is only hearsay and may not be true, about the death on July 25th of that year of one Sarah Condon Pease of Piney Grove. I have not been able to locate where that place is, or was, although the article implies that it was somewhere in Ocean County. At any rate, it mentions that she was known all over the area as the 'most powerful witch' in South Jersey. She is not known to have had a husband, although she had two sons, John (who deserted the Union army during the war), and Henry. She was arrested in 1845 on a charge of witch craft brought by one James Cosgrove, although the case was dismissed for lack of evidence. A few months later, there was apparently another arrest. She died in July of 1882, and according to the article, a large number of people turned out for the funeral and subsequently looted her home. So far I have found no other evidence that anyone by this name lived anywhere ...

from the New Jersey Courier 21 Nov 1930 November 19--Addison Abramowitz entertained a few of his friends in honor of his fifteenth birthday on Tuesday evening, November 19. Those present were: Ernest Cramer, Martin Tolbert, William Gaskill, Kenneth Erwin, Lloyd Chadwick, Veldren Lewis, Howard Conover, Arthur Birdsall, Robert Griffin, William Aghjan, Marvin Cramer. An enjoyable evening was spent by all followed by refreshments.

New Jersey Courier 21 Nov 1930: Mr. and Mrs. JWm. Holloway and daughters were callers in Manahawkin Sunday. Roy Cox of Barnegat was in town Tuesday. Mr. and Mrs. John Harbolt of Jobstown spent Sunday afternoon with Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Holloway. Arch Parker and friend of Parkertown were in town Wednesday. S.C. Haverley of Plainfield has been spending a few days with George Cranmer. Wm. Berry of Beach Haven was in town Friday evening. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Ridgeway of Barnegat were recent callers in town. Mrs. Sallie Penn, Marion and Dorothy Penn, of Waretown, were Friday afternoon callers on Mrs. Chas. Holloway. Wm. and Jack Wescott of Camden were in town Tuesday. Howard Wainwright of Waretown was in town Tuesday. Hill Corlis was in Sim Place Saturday. Mrs. Rogers of Bayville was a visitor in town Wednesday. H. King of Beach Haven was in town Friday. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Genone and children of Chatsworth, were in town Sunday. Ellsworth Harris, Tracey Hitchner and Everett Hitc...

New Jersey Courier 21 Nov 1878 Samuel ROBBINS, a young son of Theodore ROBBINS, met with a severe accident last Thursday, by which one of his arms was broken. We learn that a horse which he was driving became unmanageable and ran away. Two other boys who were in the wagon with him were thrown out and were more or less bruised. This, we understand, is the seventh time the father has been called upon to have broken bones adjusted. A little daughter of Samuel GRAVATT, 18 mos. old, was severely scalded one day last week by upsetting a measure of boiling water upon itself which had been carelessly placed too near to the edge of the table by it's mother. The child was horribly burned about the face and body, but little hopes are entertained for its recovery

From the New Jersey Courier 21 Nov 1930: County detective Ellis Parker is making efforts to identify the remains of a man found in the woods in a swamp near New Gretna on Thursday. The discovery was made by two gunners, Raymond Jeffries and William Gill, of Pleasantville. The man had been dead a long time, ad only a skeleton remained. Death probably occurred before the forest fires last spring. The bones were charred by the forest fire and nearly all the clothing destroyed. Clues that might lead to an identification are meager: a pair of rubber boots, gold rimmed spectacles, tooth brush, safety razor, had and leather belt.

I've only once come across any reference to this place. It was apparently in Washington Township (Burlington County); years ago (ca.1996), I was looking at a poll book in the research library at Batsto, and came across a page for Piping Hill. In 1892, the following residents of the township listed their residence as Piping Hill: Arthur Miller Johnathan Ford George W. Ford Watson Ford In 1894, only George Ford listed Piping Hill as his residence. I still have no idea where in the township this actually was (or is).

" Are you thinking of Ong? Every night I think of Ong and of how he came to the pine woods long ago, hung his hat on a tree, and vanished from the face of the earth. I wonder... Was he devoured by bears or other wild beasts? Was he swept away by a flood or sucked up by a tornado? Was he murdered and dragged off? Did he, wanting to "disappear," leave his hat behind as a false clue pointing to foul play? Was he kidnapped by beings not of this earth? (I wonder, for example, about those "strange boot prints" reported at the finding of his hat.) Or did he stumble upon some hole in time and space, that led nowhere in this world but everywhere in another? Does he now live somewhere close by, where we can't see him? Which is the answer? From time to time, as I worry over this mystery of Ong's disappearance, I go into the pine woods and walk up and down, kicking over the sandy soil and calling out. It is always quiet there and very hot. Alone, I think of Ong and...

from New Jersey Courier 15 Nov 1918 Roscoe Conkling was in town Tuesday. J. Fields of New York was a Monday visitor. Mrs. Kate Falkinburgh and son Alton are visiting her daughter, Mrs. W. Bailey, at Barnegat City. Mrs. Tillie Steer of Philadelphia spent the week end with Mrs. Sallie Exel. Miss Martha Throckmorton has been spending a few days with Mrs. Harry Van Note. Mrs. Forrest Carter has been entertaining her mother. Mrs. A.J. Bugbee spent a few days with her mother in Camden this week. The First National Bank has erected a new flag pole alongside the bank, with all of the colors flying. Barnegat had a great celebration on Tuesday over the great victory. They had a parade by school children. Red Cross and all the prominent citizens of the town turned out in the grand march. After marching all through the town they stopped in front of the bank where a few addressess were made by Prof. W. Brown of the high school, Mrs. Sarah Hernburgh, J. Horace Sprague and Henry A. Tolbert,...

from the New Jersey Courier 15 Nov 1918 Collector and Mrs. Ernet L. Worth announce the marriage of t heir daughter, Gertrude Edith, to Charles P. Lippincott of Philadelphia. The bride is one of the popular young ladies of Bayville and Camden, a graduate of Toms River high school and Trenton normal, and has been teaching the past three years in the Cramer school, Camden. Mr. Lippincott is assistant cashier in the Fourth Street National bank of Philadelphia, and comes from a well known Camden family. The Ladies Aid Society will meet at the home of Miss Carrie Bonnell on Wednesday evening, Nov 20, at 8 o'clock. Coastguard James Brower is spending a few days at his home here. Mrs. A.B. VanWickle, Mrs. Annie Hess, Miss Mae Kelly and Fred Tappen of Asbury Park visited Devine Butler and wife on Sunday. Miss Ida Ward of Toms River spent Sunday with her brother, Geo. Ward and wife.

from the New Jersey Courier, 15 Nov 1918: Miss Jennie May of Jersey City returned home Sunday evening after spending a few days with Mrs. Ivins Clayton and family. Miss Lida Brower of Bayville spent the week end with Miss Rita Clayton. Rev. J.W. Stokes, wife and and Mrs. Wm. Bryant and wife of Cedar Grove spent Wednesday evening with Mr. and Mrs. Ivins Clayton and family

New Jersey Courier, 14 Nov 1930: Buy your own bathroom and plumbing fixtures on easy terms, I will install them for you at a surprisingly low figure for the winter months. Why not let me figure with you. Just drop a card to H.I. Wright, Box 61, Holly Park, Bayville, NJ

New Jersey Courier 14 Nov 1930 A diver who spent Thursday and Friday of last week trying to find the body of Dennis McElhinney, in the bay between Dutch's Inn and the Bay Draw, gave it up on Friday night and did not return on Saturday, having found no trace of McElhenney. The missing man, believed to have drowned, was last seen at Dutch's Inn, on Saturday, Oct 25, with a strong northwest gale blowing. It is understood, from the story told by his companion, that he had been drinking and was taken by George W. Alsheimer that day and cared for, till he insisted on leaving with his chum, about dusk, when the latter came back from a gunning point to see how McElhinney was getting on. What happened after that is a confused story. McElhinney is supposed to have fallen in the bay and to have drowned. The diver, Ray Hensen, on Thursday had a tear in the sleeve of his diving suit and so was in the water only about three hours. He waded about near Dutch's Inn dock. Next day he put ...

New Jersey Mirror 13 Nov 1851: It will be recollected by many of our readers, that about four years ago, a wealthy farmer named Ezra Roberts, living a short distance below Moorestown, was murdered and robbed near Camden. No clue could, at that time, be obtained of the perpetrator of the deed, but circumstances have recently transpired leading to the suspicion of a person confined in the State Prison. The person suspected of the murder of Mr. Roberts, is Job Cowperthwaite, Jr., who was tried and convicted at the last term of our Court, for shooting a Mrs. Vansciver at Moorestown. The report, it is said, originated from a declaration of the wife of Cowperthwaite, previous to her death, which occurred a short time since, and who had hitherto concealed it because Cowperthwaite threatened her life, if she disclosed the horrid deed. We know not what reliance is to be placed in this statement, but we understood at the time of Cowperthwaite's trial, that circumstances had come to light r...

from the New Jersey Mirror 20 NOV 1912 J. Frank Hickey, a well-known chemist, was arrested near Whitings, Ocean county, by Sheriff Chilton, yesterday, at the request of the Buffalo, N.Y., authorities on a charge of murder. It is alleged that he was the slayer of little Joseph Josephs, whose dismembered body was found in a cesspool at Lackawanna, near Buffalo, Saturday. The Sheriff went to Keswick, just outside of Whitings, and placed Hickey under arrest, taking him to Toms River, where he will be held until the authorities arrive from Buffalo. According to the Sheriff, Hickey denied positively any knowledge of the murder of the boy. He denounced his arrest as an outrage and said that he would be able to prove his innocence very easily. The arrest was made on the telegraphed order of Chief of Police Regan, of Buffalo, who said that Hickey was employed at the Lackawanna Steel Company's plant at the time the Josephs boy was missed and that his handwriting corresponds with that of the...

New Jersey Courier 9 Nov 1870 On the first instant we paid our esteemed friend, A. Jameson, Esq., of Bricksburg, a visit. We found him full of business, and received from him the same honest cordial greeting , as of olden time. Our friend at the present time is the president and general manager of a new enterprise which he has inaugurated at Bricksburg, a few miles to the north of us. When we knew A. Jameson long years ago, we always found him the same truthful, temperate, upright and industrious man as now. Scrupulously prompt in his business he, as a matter of course, succeeded. With an energy that brooked no denial, he has worked his way up, until he has become a self made man, and the architect of his own fortune. We rejoice at his prosperity. After a cordial interchange of friendly greeting, we placed ourselves under his guidance, and we proceeded to visit his water power, formerly known as Bergen Iron Works. A large massive well built raceway has been constructed undergroun...

from New Jersey Courier 7 Nov 1878 A dispatch to the New York Herald says that two men in a light wagon drove up to the Halfway House, a hotel situated about eight miles southwest of Asbury Park on Monday last, and inquired the way to the Shark River Southern Railroad. They were told the route and drove on. In a little while, the horse came running back, dragging the wagon which was upset. Several men started in search of the strangers, fearing they were injured. About a half mile from the hotel they found one of them lying in the edge of the woods in an unconscious condition and with a dangerous stab wound in the right side of his neck, near the shoulder. It was later ascertained that his name was Cook and that he belonged in Long Branch. There being no physicians in the neighborhood, he was conveyed to Long Branch while still insensible. His companion had disappeared and foul play is suspected. It was noticed that a gun which had been seen in the possession of the missing man was a...