Ocean County , NJ History

New Jersey Courier 12 Jan 1921 Supreme Court Justice Katzenbach has set February 14 as the day for sentence of Frank James, convicted of the murder of David S. Paul, bank messenger, and refused an application of counsel for Raymond W. Schuck for a special panel of talesmen for his trial, set for February 7. The justice granted the application of Lawyers John and William Harris for a writ of error in the James case. The writ will be argued before the Court of Errors on March 1 and will act as a stay in carrying out the sentence of electrocution of James, whose counsel will not press the application for a new trial made on the day of his conviction.

New Jersey Mirror 22 Dec 1920 It took the jury only twenty minutes to find Frank J. James guilty of the murder of David S. Paul, at he conclusion of the sensational trial in Camden on Monday night. The verdict carried with it the infliction of the death penalty upon the self- confessed slayer of the bank messenger, the jury refusing the appeal of the prisoner's counsel to exercise clemency and recommend life imprisonment instead of capital punishment. The verdict came at the end of the five-day trial, during which the defendant's oral and written confessions were admitted in evidence in the face of counsel's strenuous objection. Dapper and apparently self-possessed, James entered upon his ordeal last Wednesday but as the trial wore on and damning evidence piled up against him his confidence petered out and several times he collapsed, once having to be taken from the court room in order to allow him to regain his composure. The Camden court house was besieged by a grea

NEW JERSEY COURIER 21 NOV 1930 A jury in Judge Gallagher's court on Tuesday gave a verdict of $650 to Mrs. Lucy A. Dorsett, wife of A.W. Dorsett in a suit growing out of an auto collission near Beach Haven. Mrs. Dorsett sued the Gehrig Motor Company of Philadelphia and John H. Cressman of that city. A non-suit as to the company was ordered by the court. Another auto accident suit resulted in a verdict of no cause for action. This was the case of Martin Pederson of Orange, against Jas. Cheneworth, of Toms River.

From the New Jersey Mirror 20 Nov 1907 Judge Horner held a session of court this morning and sentenced Caleb Rogers, convicted of manslaughter, to the Rahway Reformatory, and Theodore Wells, convicted of atrocious assault, to three months in the county jail and to pay a fine of $200. After a series of postponements, the trial of Caleb Rogers, Theodore Wells and Walter Simons, of Tabernacle, under an indictment charging them with manslaughter in connection with the death of David Beebe, at Chairville, on April 27, was begun on Thursday and ended on Friday afternoon, with the result that after about twenty hours of deliberation, terminating at one o'clock on Saturday afternoon, a verdict was rendered convicting Rogers of manslaughter, Wells of atrocious assault and battery, and acquitting Simons. The jury was confronted with a difficult task, as the case was more or less complicated in view of some of the testimony that was surprisingly contradictory. The crime that resulted in

NEW JERSEY COURIER 20 SEP 1918: One of the results of the Toms River fight against booze in the local option election last May showed itself on Monday of this week when George W. Hallock, owner and editor of the New Jersey Tribune of Toms River, appeared in court before Judge Frank Davis of Gloucester county to answer to an indictment for criminal libel against Judge Wm. Howard Jefrey of the Ocean County Courts. In the fight that attempted to drive legalized booze from both Dover and Berkeley townships, the Tribune was the organ of the liquor interests, and printed their arguments. Anyone who had the rashness to oppose the liquor men, could look to receive a flaying in its columns. While Judge Jeffrey made no secret of the fact that personally he was opposed to the liquor trade, as a judge of the court who had to sit in license cases, he held aloof from the combat. That, however was not enough to satisfy the liquor element, whose motto was 'All that are not with us are against us

New Jersey Courier 17 Sep 1903 The trial of CHARLES BENNETT, of Tuckerton, for the murder of MRS. MARY A . DARBY on the morning of Christmas Day, was begun before Justice BENNETT VAN SYCKEL at ten o'clock Monday morning. For the state, Prosecutor BROWN was aided by I.W. CARMICHAEL of Toms River, EDMUND WILSON of Red Bank, and SAMUEL A. PATTERSON of Asbury Park defending Bennett. It took but an hour and fifteen minutes to secure a jury, the defence exhausting its twenty peremptory challenges for cause being allowed the defence by the court, and the State using seven challenges. The jury consists of : J. WESLEY BREWER, electrician, Lakewood WALTER C. HYDE, carpenter, Lakewood WILLIAM T. GIBERSON, lumber dealer, Toms River PETER Y. VEEDER, farmer, Bayville CHARLES WILLIAMS, farmer, Forked River SAMUEL BROCKWAY, farmer, Bayville GEORGE W. ANDERSON, laborer, Point Pleasant CLARENCE HARDY, undertaker, Point Pleasant CHARLES STOUT, farmer, Cedar Creek JOHN W. WHITE, mason, Whit

From New Jersey Mirror 11 Sep 1907 At the session of court held by Judge Horner on Thursday morning application was made by Eckard P. Budd, counsel for Caleb Rogers, for a new date for the trial of his client, Walter Simons and Theodore Wells, charged with the manslaughter of Howard Beebe, at Chairville, in April. This trial was set down to begin today, but Mr. Budd was informed last week that a case in which he is interested in the Ocean county branch of the Supreme Court would be called to-day, and he could not attend both courts. Beyond stating that he was ready and anxious to try the cases Prosecutor Atkinson did not oppose the motion made by Mr. Budd, and after a conference in the matter it was decided to call the case on October 1.

NJC 26 JUL 1929 Mrs. Margaret Jackson, colored, of Point Pleasant, was fined $1 and costs of court by Justice of the Peace James Irons on Thursday of last week for driving her car without a driver's license. She explained the case to the judge, telling him that she left her home in a hurry and had forgotten her license. Officer Smythe made the arrest.

From New Jersey Mirror 22 Jul 1936 Overgrown Jacob Ciemiengo celebrated his seventeenth birthday in the death house of State Prison, Trenton, on Thursday, happy because his life had been spared by the Court of Pardons. Scheduled to die the week of July 26 for the $4 holdup-murder of Herman Eilers, Florence township farmer, Ciemiengo and his companion, George Hildebrand, 27, had had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment on Tuesday two days before. The six-foot farmer boys awaited removal to another prison cell after official notice of the court's action was received by Principal Keeper Lagay. One of his attorneys, Stanley K. Heilbron, quoted the youth as saying, "I will show them I can make good." He reiterated this promise to his parish priest, Rev. M. A. Konopka of All Saints' Church, Burlington. He told the priest he intends to learn a trade in the prison shops and prepare himself for a useful life. Father Konopka, a prime mover in the drive to obtain a c

from New Jersey Mirror 16 Jul 1936 The Court of Pardons having commuted the death sentences of Jacob Ciemiengo and George Hildebrand, who slew Herman Eilers, a Florence farmer, in cold blood, the question arises, what sort of murder demands the exaction of the extreme penalty

from the New Jersey courier 24 Jun 1875 Captain Samuel Crowley and William Sooy of Washington Township have a law suit on hand before Squire Brome, growing out of a disputed cedar swamp. The township committee of Washington Township have determined to investigate these charges of malfeasance against Captain Samuel Crowley. They have appointed Charles Brome, Joel VanSant,jr., and H.H. Miller, a committee to examine his work. Said committe will proceed to business next Friday June 55th [obviously a typo]

Asbury Park Press 21 Apr 1993 A Superior Court jury began deliberations yesterday on whether a Toms River man purposely killed a Lakewood prostitute by hitting her with his car following a dispute about money. James A. Grove, 67, is charged with murder and aggravated assault in the 1990 death of Luceita Christina Streeter. The public defender for Grove told the jury during closing remarks in Toms River yesterday that the Union Street resident should be acquitted because the state's witnesses are not credible and there is no physical evidence linking him to the death of Streeter. The witness who testified she observed the murder, Diane Marshall, had changed her account several times, and her stories were inconsistent with the evidence, James Pinchak told the jury. Marshall testified she called the house Grove shared with a friend, Bruce Veeder, and asked for a ride from Lakewood so she could visit another friend of Veeder's who was in jail. After Grove got her in the early m

Asbury Park Press 19 Apr 1990 The state Supreme Court Wednesday overturned a death sentence for a 27-year-old convicted murderer from Lakewood who killed a school teacher in 1985 by stabbing her 53 times. In returning the case to the lower courts for a possible retrial, the high court ruled 7-0 that defendant Kevin Jackson, though he confessed to the crime, had never acknowledged during earlier trials that he had "purposely or knowingly" caused the death of 51-year-old Meredith Levithan of Brick Township on Sept. 9, 1985. She was his neighbor. "This ruling may strike some as hyper-technical," says a 12-page opinion released Wednesday. "After all, there is no danger here that we are about to execute an innocent man. Defendant has never denied that he murdered the victim," the judges said. "The question, however, is not whether defendant is in any sense 'innocent,' but whether, under our law, he deserves the death penalty. His appeal is tha

from New Jersey Mirror 20 Mar 1936: The Court of Errors and Appeals, in a decision handed down in Trenton on Thursday, refused to grant a new trial to Jacob Ciemiengo, 16, and George A. Hildebrand, 26, convicted of first degree murder of Herman Eiler, Florence township poultry farmer. A Burlington county jury brough(t) in the verdict that was appealed to the high court. The upholding of the conviction of Ciemiengo and Hildebrand leaves only one avenue of escape from electrocution. That is the Court of Pardons. The decision affirming the conviction of the pair was written by Supreme Court Justice Joseph L. Bodine. The court refused to uphold the contention of the defense that the examination of two witnesses by the state, Arthur Therien and John Malseed, was improper. The court said there was abundant evidence to uphold the ruling of the trial court that the confessions made were voluntary. It was stated in the decision that both confessed they had gone to Eiler's home to rob him

New Jersey Mirror 18 Mar 1936 Argument on the appeal of Jacob J. Ciemiengo and George Hildebrand for a new trial in the murder of Herman Eiler, Florence township poultryman, will be heard before the Court of Errors tomorrow. They both were convicted in the Burlington county courts of first degree murder. The defendants are represented by Stanley K. Heilbron, of Mount Holly, and Jay B. Tomlinson, of Bordentown. Prosecutor Howard Eastwood is representing the state and will argue that no errors were committed at the trial. Because of this hearing to-morrow, the weekly session of criminal court, at the court house will be postponed until Friday.

From the New Jersey Courier of 24 June 1875: Captain Samuel Crowley and William Sooy of Washington Township have a law suit on hand before Squire Brome, growing out of a disputed cedar swamp. The township committee of Washington Township have determined to investigate these charges of malfeasance against Captain Samuel Crowley. They have appointed Charles Brome, Joel VanSant,jr., and H.H. Miller, a committee to examine his work. Said committee will proceed to business next Friday June 55th [obviously a typo]