Ocean County , NJ History

 Trenton Times 6 Jul 1939     

 New Jersey Mirror 16 Mar 1939 Robert Chalmers and his daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Pollard, 25, both of Vineland, were instantly killed on Route 39, near Columbus, on Saturday afternoon, when their car collided with a truck operated by James Thompson,  colored , of Atlantic City, who was returning to the seashore resort with a load of potatoes.  Thompson stated that the car driven by Chalmers appeared to be out of control and was skidding on the snow-covered highway. It careened directly in front of his truck, he said, and was hurled off the road. Chalmers was thrown from the car and Mrs. Pollard's body was wedged between the dashboard and the steering wheel. The two persons were pronounced dead when taken to Burlington County Hospital. Coroner Hiram H. Earnest, of Mount Holly, issued certificates of death from internal injuries. Thompson was released on a technical charge of homicide by automobile, after being taken in custody by troopers from Columbus barracks.

 New Jersey Mirror 30 Mar 1939 Two persons were killed in automobile accidents in Burlington county during the past few days.  Elliean Rhodes, 42, an unmarried  colored  woman, was fatally injured when she was struck by a car while crossing the road at Eighth and Broad streets, near her home in Burlington, on Saturday night.  Louis Smith, 44, of Creek Front, Camden, died from a fractured skull, received when his car skidded on Coopertown road, near Delanco, late on Tuesday, and crashed into a tree.  The driver of the car which killed Miss Rhodes is Amos Hope, of Burlington, who was held under $1,000 bail on a charge of involuntary homicide by automobile. Coroner Hiram H. Earnest, of Mount Holly, found that the victim suffered fractures of both legs, a broken neck and fractured skull. He issued a burial certificate.  Smith, who was pronounced dead when taken to Zurbrugg Hospital, Riverside, was returning from Roebling, where he and his companion had gon...

from the New Jersey Mirror 1 Jun 1939  Albert Stevens, well known  colored  man, a life-long resident of Mount Holly, died of bronchial pneumonia at his home on West Washington street, on Thursday. Over a space of years he had been employed as driver by a number of residents of the town, including several physicians. He is survived by his widow, and two daughters, of Mount Holly, a son, the latter living in Detroit.

from the New Jersey Mirror 8 Jun 1939:  The body of Albert Jones,  colored , of Tansboro, was buried yesterday following identification of his body by state troopers through the New Jersey Bureau of Identification. Jones was struck and killed Thursday night, on Route 25, near Roebling, by an automobile driven by Dr. Leroy P. Chappelle,  colored , of Plainsfield. According to reports of the accident, Jones crossed the road in the path of the automobile during a rain and it was impossible for Dr. Chappelle to see him. He died instantly and no identification was found in his clothing. The case was referred to Coroner H. H. Earnest and finger prints of the body were taken. It was revealed through state records that Jones had been arrested on suspicion two years ago and that he had lived at Tansboro at that time. No relatives of the dead man could be found.

Trenton Times 6 Jul 1939

from the New Jersey Courier 24 Apr 1939 Notice has been received from Porterville, Calif. of the death of J. Andrew Soper, who was 66 years of age. Mr. Soper was a former resident of Barnegat.

From the New Jersey Courier 20 Oct 1939 Captain Arthur H.T. Rider, 73, retired lighthouse keeper, died at his home on South Green street, Tuckerton, on Tuesday morning. His health had failed steadily during the past year. "Captain Arth", as he was called by everyone, was a native of this town, a son of the late Eber and Maryann Rider, but he passed t he greater part of his life in Seahaven or Short Beach where in 1887 he became assistant keeper of the lighthouse, his father being keeper. After the latter's death in 1906, he was soon made a permanent keeper and he held the position until retirement in 1927, after 43 years of government service. He then returned to make Tuckerton his home, the beach having been washed away and the lighthouse toppled into the sea. He married Miss Florence Morss of Jersey City, in 1935. She was his third wife. His first wife was Malinda Andrews and the second was Nellie Falkinburgh. He was a member of the Methodist Church. He was the last ...

New Jersey Mirror 9 Mar 1939 John Dudley, colored, 18, of 140 Edgecomb avenue, New York, was arrested at the home of his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Meyers, in Palmyra, early on Saturday, charged with murder of Raphael Solomon, an investigator for the New York Department of Welfare, who was shot on February 15 and died in a Harlem Hospital on February 21. Dudley, who was arrested by Palmyra police and state troopers at about one o'clock on Saturday morning, was returned to New York, after a hearing before Mayor John F. Ward, of Palmyra. Two other colored youths, Robert Robinson and James Parker, under arrest in New York, implicated Dudley in the crime. Solomon was shot in the neck after he was held up and his wallet, containing $65, was stolen. He is under indictment there for a series of robberies of rent collectors, police said, and Solomon was mistaken for a collector. Dudley admitted taking part in Solomon's holdup at his hearing in Palmyra, but denied committing the actual mu...

New Jersey Mirror 25 Jan 1939 Gladys M., 17-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Sager, a senior in Pemberton High School, committed suicide on Saturday afternoon by shooting herself in the heart with a .38 calibre revolver at her home on Burr's road, about a mile and a half from Pemberton. Discovery of the act was made by her parents upon their return from a shopping trip to Mount Holly. They found her slumped across a sofa in the living room of their farm home. No reason is attributed for the suicide. Her parents stated that she was in good spirits when they left home and was looking forward to social events that were listed among the high school activities. The girl had been suffering from occasional fainting spells, which is the only cause that could be assigned for her ending her life. Upon discovery of her body lying on the sofa, Dr. Reuben Frank, of Pemberton, was summoned and pronounced her dead. The "kick" in the old-fashioned revolver, which had been around...

New Jersey Mirror 25 Jan 1939 Edwin Baynes, 51, of 154 Millerick avenue, Trenton, was fatally injured on Friday when his automobile skidded on the Wrightstown-Bordentown highway and crashed into a tree. Suffering complete paralysis of his right side, a possible skull fracture, chest injuries and severe lacerations of the scalp, the victim was taken to Camp Dix Hospital, where he died later. Baynes, riding alone, was returning to his home from Camp Dix, where he is employed on a WPA project as a bricklayer. Work on the project had been cancelled for the day because of cold weather

New Jersey Courier 15 Dec 1939 Commander Charles E. Rosendahl, former commandant of the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, has been promoted to the rank of captain. He is among 81 commanders who have been elevated. Commander Rosendahl, survivor of the crash of the dirigible Shenandoah in 1925, is regarded as the best informed man in America on the operation of lighter th an air craft. He is as present on sea duty as executive officer of the cruiser Milwaukee. He was given his present assignment July 9, 1938 according to Navy regulations that land and sea duty must be alternated to remain eligible for promotion.

New Jersey Courier 8 Dec 1939 The old Tuckerton Railroad, famed in Ocean County history and known all over the United States as the smallest railroad company in the country, officially ended its existence Wednesday when the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington, D.C. granted its application to abandon the 12 mile line between Tuckerton and Barnegat and the spur from Manahawkin to Hilliard. While it was known as the Tuckerton Railroad in Ocean County, the company was officially the Southern New Jersey, following its reorganization in 1939 by the H.E. Salzburg company of New York. The company stopped running trains two years ago, but Tuckerton and Manahawkin residents hoped that having the railroad in existence would give th em hopes of revival of rail connection with the outside world. Mayor George W. PARKER, and residents of Tuckerton, were angered by the commission's ruling, and said they had not been officially notified of the hearing of the petition until Monday night....

New Jersey Courier 22 Sep 1939: A heart rending tragedy touched Ocean County homes Tuesday when Albert J. King, aged 36, and father of 3 small children, and Marie Pirozzi, aged 26, of Bergen avenue, Lakewood, were found dead in the rear seat of King's car in the woods near Lacey Road, about five miles West of Forked River. The man and woman were evidently victims of a suicide pact, as the police and Coroner J. Anderson have found no evidence of violence. The terrible discovery was made by William Cranmer of Forked River, who noticed the car in the woods as he drove along Lacey Road Tuesday afternoon. When he returned about 6:30 he again saw the machine and investigated. He found King's body sitting on the side of the rear seat of the car, and Mrs. Pirozzi's body was lying across the seat with her head nestled in his lap. A hose had been taped to the exhaust pipe of the car and pushed through a crack in the floor so as to supply the lethal carbon dioxide gas which broug...

New Jersey Courier 25 Aug 1939 The Navy's only all-metal blimp, the ZMC-2, made a short flight in the rain on Saturday morning to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The flight might also have celebrated its ten year safety record. The "tin ship", as the metal blimp is locally called, was piloted by Comdr. G.H. MILLS and Lieut. GERALD ZURMUEHLERI on its Saturday morning jaunt. The ZMC-2 is 149 feet long. The metal rings which were welded together to form the gas compartment are of an aluminum ally which is but 95,10,00ths of an inch thick. The helium capacity is 160,000 cubic feet. The ship was built in Detroit and made her first flight here on August 19th, 1929. The ship returned to the Lakehurst hangar at noon to avoid the heavier part of the southeast storm which lashed the seaboard.

New Jersey Courier 25 Aug 1939 The Navy's only all-metal blimp, the ZMC-2, made a short flight in the rain on Saturday morning to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The flight might also have celebrated its ten year safety record. The "tin ship", as the metal blimp is locally called, was piloted by Comdr. G.H. MILLS and Lieut. GERALD ZURMUEHLERI on its Saturday morning jaunt. The ZMC-2 is 149 feet long. The metal rings which were welded together to form the gas compartment are of an aluminum ally which is but 95,10,00ths of an inch thick. The helium capacity is 160,000 cubic feet. The ship was built in Detroit and made her first flight here on August 19th, 1929. The ship returned to the Lakehurst hangar at noon to avoid the heavier part of the southeast storm which lashed the seaboard.

New Jersey Mirror 1 Jul 1939 Officials who made an investigation of the suicide of William S. C. Roray, Palmyra lawyer, said the cause was that he believed he had a cancer of the stomach. Before killing himself, he shot his wife to death. Discovery of the double tragedy was made by the Rorays maid, Mrs. Dorothy McLean, who went to the house at 430 Leconey avenue, Palmyra, at about 11 A. M. on Thursday mornign and found the doors locked, the lights still burning and the milk bottle on the porch. She gained entrance through a second story window by means of a ladder, and found the dead bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Roray. Coroner George A. Whomsley and County Detective G. Clinton Zeller both described the tragedy as "a plain case of murder and suicide." Roray was senior member of the law firm of Roray and Turnbull, in the Broadway-Stevens Building, Camden. Mrs. Roray was a member of the Breyer family who head(sic) a large ice cream concern. Roray spent almost two weeks in West Jer...

Suspect Unknown Woman 'Tarred' That was the front page headline on 14 June 1939 in the New Jersey Courier...the initial story appears below...but make sure to read the whole story! This wasn't quite what it seemed at first... "Lakewood police and county detectives are endeavoring to unravel a suspected 'tarring and feathering' crime. It was believed from bits of clothing found on trees and bushes that the unknown victim was a woman, who had been covered with paint, walked through the woods, and wallowed in the muck of a sewage tank. The suspected crime was first discovered on Sunday by Charles Galati of Whitesville, an employee of the sewage plant. Officers found the spot where a car had parked about a quarter of a mile southeast of the plant. and found also a man's shirt and a pair of slacks. The dresses were daubed with red, orange or aluminum paint and black asphalt. Two small empty cans which had contained red and aluminum paint were found in the ...

New Jersey Mirror 11 May 1939 Haines-Johnson -- Mr. and Mrs. Thomas T. Johnson, of Elizabeth street, Pemberton, have announced the engagement of their daughter, Miss Gladys Johnson, to Elmer A. Haines, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Haines, of Whitesbog. No date has been set for the wedding.

New Jersey Courier 15 Dec 1939 Commander Charles E. Rosendahl, former commandant of the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, has been promoted to the rank of captain. He is among 81 commanders who have been elevated. Commander Rosendahl, survivor of the crash of the dirigible Shenandoah in 1925, is regarded as the best informed man in America on the operation of lighter th an air craft. He is as present on sea duty as executive officer of the cruiser Milwaukee. He was given his present assignment July 9, 1938 according to Navy regulations that land and sea duty must be alternated to remain eligible for promotion.