Ocean County , NJ History

Asbury Park Press 2 Oct 1977

Asbury Park Press 2 Oct 1977

New Egypt Press 2 Dec 1920

Brookville Residents, 1930 This is, or was, a small community in Ocean Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, near Waretown I don't know much about the place or its history, but below I have transcribed the 1930 Census along with notes on the families who lived there at that time. In 1930, there were only fifteen occupied residences in Brookville. About 44 people made up the entire village. (Compare this with 1920: there were 14 homes, and 45 people). According to the 1930 census, only two of the families (Joseph Spiska and Charles Gynakovic) did not own a radio set at the time. Federal Census For Brookville, 1930 "Main Road" - the streets apparently were not named in Brookville in 1930. BACHMAN FAMILY I can't make out the first name of the head of house for this home, but the last name definitely looks like "Bachman". It's hard to be sure though, as the writing is very sloppy on this entry. At any rate, this house had five residents in ...

from the New Jersey Courier 21 Dec 1917 Last Saturday evening the children of the Brookville school held a ten and twenty cent sale of fancy articles at the home of Hiram Parker. Although the night was stormy, most of the goods were disposed of. The proceeds are to pay for Victrola records.

from the New Jersey Courier 10 May 1918 O.R. Cranmer and son Herman and Theo. Holloway spent the week end with friends at Beach Haven. Mr. and Mrs. E.W. Mick and daughter of Barnegat were Sunday visitors here. Clarence Corlis of Warren Grove was in town Tuesday. Mrs. Alvin Couch is very ill with an attack of measles. Otis Penn of Whitings spent Saturday with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. S.H. Penn Miss Dora Couch and Miss Lucy Cranmer spent Sunday with friends at Barnegat

Here are a few mentions of residents of Brookville, according to the newspapers, who I have not been able to locate on the Federal census : The 9 Aug 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier mentions that I. Cranmer of Brookville has been doing some work for John Mansfield this week. Neither of those men appear on the 1930 census, however. The 9 Aug 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier mentions that Fred Nissen of Brookville was a recent caller in Barnegat. Tilden Estlow The 9 Aug 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier makes numerous references to Tilden Estlow of Brookville, though he does not appear on the 1930 census there.

HIRAM PARKER FAMILY Hiram Parker was living in Brookville at least as early as 1900, with his wife, Jennie. Hiram was born in July of 1874, and Jennie in August of 1879. At that time, he was employed as a day laborer. By 1910, they had a son, Hiram E., and were still living in Brookville next to Jesse and Debroah Estlow (see above). However, in 1910, Jennie was no longer there: Hiram had been married for seven years to another woman, Florence (she is listed as his second wife; he was her first husband). Hiram E. must be the offspring of the second marriage, as he was only five in 1910. They also had another son, Francis H. Parker, age 3 in 1910. By 1920, the family was still in Brookville. It seems that Hiram E. was now going by the name "Earl". Hiram, sr. was still a laborer, and no new children had arrived. They lived next door to Alvin Couch in 1920. By 1930, Florence was dead. Hiram was now a cranberry grower and his two sons were laborers at a cranberry bog. It may be t...

DOMINIC GANGEMI Dominic was a 41 year old Italian immigrant living at Brookville in1930. He gave Italian as his primary language, and he worked at 'odd jobs'. Living with him was a woman named Martha Alick, age 36. She is listed as "married", and has been since she was 25, but her husband does not appear in this house. She was born in New York, as were her parents, and gave her occupation as "housekeeper". I'm not positive if this is the same man yet or not, but in 1920, there is a Dominic Gangemi living on Center Street in Brooklyn, NY. He was 29 at the time, also an Italian immigrant. He worked as a painter in a shipyard, and had immigrated in 1906. (He was not a citizen). At that time he lived with his wife, Martha, age 26. It seems likely that Martha Alick and Martha Gangemi are the same person, though why she gave her maiden name in 1930 is not at all clear. Nor is it clear why someone would move from Brooklyn to the Pine Barrens, although there we...

OSCAR COUCH FAMILY Oscar was the son of J. Nelson Couch. Jesse Nelson Couch and his wife, Phoebe, were both born in New Jersey (he about 1858, she about 1872; their 1900 Census entries say he was born Nov 1860 and she in Nov 1871), so this is an "old New Jersey" family, and probably one of the first families in Brookville. As of 1900, J. Nelson was employed as a 'laborer'. J. Nelson and Phoebe Couch were the parents of : Alvin Couch, b. Apr 1892. He was living at home as of 1910 in Brookville. He was gone by 1920. In 1920, he still lived in Brookville, but in his own house with his wife, Irene (b. abt 1898), daughter Elva (age 3), and his grandmother, Mary A. Reeves (age 71). Willis Couch, b. Sep 1895. He was living at home in Brookville as of 1910 and 1920. In 1920, he was employed as a laborer. In Aug of 1929, the New Jersey Courier mentions that Mr. and Mrs. Willis Couch and son Harry of Barnegat spent Sunday with his parents. Edna Couch, b. May 1897. She lived...

THOMAS SWEENEY FAMILY It's not clear where this family lived prior to Brookville (where they appear on the census in 1930); they did not live here in 1920. It's possible that Thomas lived in Jersey City; there's a Thomas J. Sweeney at the right age living there at that time, without a family. According to the 1930 Census, Thomas and his wife had only been married for six years, so it makes sense to not find them together prior to this. In 1930, Thomas was 52 and his wife, Sadie, was 44. Both were born in New Jersey, as were all of their parents. They had no children. Thomas was employed as a foreman at a cranberry bog. An August 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier mentions Thomas Sweeney in the news items from Brookville: he was visited by Mr. and Mrs. James Estlow of Whitings. He was also visited by Zeb Collins, though it's not clear if he's related to the Zebulon Collins who lived out in Bamber.

DEBORAH A. ESTLOW Deborah lived by herself, a 72 year old widow, in 1930. She definitely does not appear on the Brookville census in 1920, although there was another Estlow family (that of Francis T., who also appears here in 1930). However, she does show up in 1910: she was married at that time to Jesse S. Estlow, age 69 (i.e., fifteen years her senior). They lived next door to, or perhaps across from, Hiram Parker (see his entry below). The 9 Aug 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier contains news items from Brookville, and it mentions that Deborah had been 'on the sick list.' It also mentions that she was visited by Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Gaskill and son Wallace, and Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Nippens of Riverside. The Gaskills spent the weekend with her.

JOSEPH SPISKA FAMILY I have had no luck tracking this family down on any census prior to the time they showed up in Brookville, in 1930. According to the census entry, Joseph Spiska came to this country from his native Hungary in 1905, and his wife Elizabeth in 1907, but they do not show up anywhere (so far) that I have looked in 1910 or 1920. At any rate, JOseph was 63 in 1930, and his wife, Elizabeth 59. They had a 17 year old daughter, Mary, who had been born in New Jersey. Joseph and Elizabeth were ages 25 and 21 when they married, indicating they had been married for about 38 years, so presumably they were married in Hungary before moving here. Their marriage would have been about 1892. As of 1930, neither of them were citizens and listed 'Magyar' as their primary language. Joseph was employed doing 'odd jobs' at the time

In 1930, John H. Cranmer was 73 years old. He lived with his wife, Amanda A. Cranmer, who was almost ten years younger than he (64). [The 1900 Census lists his birth as Jan 1857, hers as Apr 1865.] According to the 1930 Census, they married when he was 35 and she was 26, so that would be about 38 years ago, or 1892. Both were born in New Jersey, as were their parents. I found this family in Brookville on the 1920 Census as well. At that time, John gave his occupation as 'laborer.' In 1910, the family was also living in Brookville; Amanda's name was given as "Manda"at that time for some reason, and they had a son, Woodward W. Cranmer, living with them. He was 24 at the time, which would make him born about 1886 [The 1900 Census says Apr 1885]. That would mean, according to the 1930 Census, that he was born before his parent's marriage, but the 1910 Census says his parents had been married for 26 years. That would place their marriage around 1884.[This agrees wi...

In 1930, the Bachman family appears on the federal census at Brookville. The house had five residents in it: the head-of-household whose name is illegible, his wife, Myra, and children: Virginia (16), Robert (14), and Lawrence (9). The Bachmans were born in New York; in 1930 he was 40 and she 41. They had been married about 18 years, or two years before the birth of their eldest daughter, Virginia. Both had been born in New York, as had each of their parents. They had apparently come to New Jersey sometime after 1906, as all but the youngest child, Lawrence, were also born in New York. Mr. Bachman gave his occupation as a "buyer" but it is difficult to make out for what industry or company is listed on the census. The 9 Aug 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier mentions that Mr. and Mrs. Vere Bachman and son have returned from a week in New York State.