Ocean County , NJ History

Trenton Times 18 Jul 1936

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 ...

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.