Ocean County , NJ History

New Jersey Courier 14 Jun 1882

This town was in Florence Township, Burlington County. By 1882, it had no more than six homes in it. At one time, according to E.M. Woodward, it was the scene of considerable activity. It was still operating its own post office, and had a Presbyterian Church, but was apparently a shadow of its former self. He does not elaborate on what exactly led to its decline.

the following bit of history is taken from an article written by Edwin Salter for the New Jersey Courier on June 28, 1882. "The old Bergen Iron Works was originally built about 1814 by Jesse Richards, and it is said Wm. Irvin was a partner. It was then called the Washington Furnace. It was subsequently rebuilt by Joseph W. Brick, and named Bergen Iron Works. The ore found in the vicinity made a very brittle iron and gave Washington a poor reputation. hence the change in the name, Bergen county being celebrated for its good iron. "

the following bit of history is taken from an article written by Edwin Salter for the New Jersey Courier on June 28, 1882. The old Bergen Iron Works was originally built about 1814 by Jesse Richards, and it is said Wm. Irvin was a partner. It was then called the Washington Furnace. It was subsequently rebuilt by Joseph W. Brick, and named Bergen Iron Works. The ore found in the vicinity made a very brittle iron and gave Washington a poor reputation. hence the change in the name, Bergen county being celebrated for its good iron.

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 ...