COMMENTS FROM OUR READERS

If you would like to respond to our readers comments, please send your emails to www.historyproject@edmail.com and we will forward your comments. Thank You.

I would like to know the years of operation of the ferry boat from Penns Grove NJ to Wilmington Delaware.
 Myron

 

As a child in the 60's, I use to visit a relative who took care of horses at the last calvary unit in the United States. I believe the man's last name was Schnelli (or his wife's madden name). In the early 70's the property was on the cover of Parade Magazine. The property had been sold to a private school. (The property was near "Turtle Back Zoo".) If you can provide me with any more information about the name, address or web site to locate additional information, I would be grateful.
Thank you very much. Joanne

 

Hi, I just saw your NJ history website. What a great idea! Please check out my site: www.morristownusa.com for information on the Morristown area. Thanks
Gerry

 

 I am doing some research and was wondering if Mae Gaskins was ever a superintendant of Public Schools in New Jersey and if so , what city and who provides school bus transportation for that city .Any help would be appreciated.
Debra

 

My name is Jennifer and I am in 10th grade at Absegami High School. Three other students and I are working on a project for A.P. History which entails finding out information on Galloway Farming in the late 1800's. We would appreciate it greatly if you could give us information on this, or a place, site etc. which we could further our research. Thank you for your time. Please respond as soon as possible.
Jennifer

 

I was raised in California and have not visited New Jersey, but my father was raised in Hackettstown at the first two decades of the century. He is 90 years old now and still living. He has told me many stories about growing up in Hackettstown. I've been trying to collect as much information as I can on New Jersey history, focusing on Hackettstown and the Morris canal. I plan to write a historical fiction novel based on my father's stories and what else I can find out. 

He told me that the barge captains going down the canal were paid up front for their load of coal, so they didn't think anything of it to dump some of the coal overboard as they made their way down the canal. He said a few families tried to make some money by dredging for this coal. He didn't think they were very successful. He also told me about farmers that used to go out onto the canal during the winter after it froze over. They cut ice for their ice houses. Once in awhile, someone would fall in. 

The area was full of wildlife. My father was one of ten children and learned to trap from a couple of "mountain men" bachelors who lived next door. He got quite successful at it and often kept the family fed when his father was out of work. His father was a tacker at the tannery and I understand work was somewhat seasonal. I would like to find out more about the people who sailed on the barges. If you come across a source, I hope someone would be willing to share it with me.
Connie

 

I'm trying to find out information on the Toms River If you have anything please let me know. I was told that it was named after Thomas Luker, and that there is a book out about the history of the lukers and the river. If you can help or know where I need to look to find out about this please email me back.Thank You 
Cheryl

 

I just found your page and was wondering if you know of any related links for New Jersey in the late 1800's. The reason I ask is due to a number of papers I have from that time period, about two thousand overall, some of which are posted on my home page. If you know of any could please forward the links to me I would greatly appreciate it.
Mark

 

I am looking for history on Salem Co., Carneys Point. My mother worked around 1944 for E.I. Du Pont at Carney's Point Work's plant packing bombs. I am trying to find any information on this. Can you help me or point me in the right direction?
Sonja

 

I live in Glendora N.J., very close to Big Timber Creek. A friend of mine told me recently that there used to be ship builders and large vessels navigating on the Creek as far up stream as the development of Broadmoor. Can you tell me if this is correct and tell me where I might find any info. on this subject on the web? Thank you for your time,
D.Grayce

 

I Found your e-mail address through the New Jersey History Page. I was raised in Morgan (Near South Amboy) in the 1950's and played with my friends amid the remains of many old brick buildings which I learned had been used for the construction of munitions, I think during WW I. The story I received was that there were a series of chain reaction explosions which destroyed these buildings. I have no further knowledge of the details. However, I can tell you that while living in the area in two separate houses our family found unexploded shells which had to be removed by explosives experts from Raritan Atsenal. I heard through a friend that the area has been searched more thoroughly in the last ten years for these shells since they had begun to surface as more homes were built in the area. Can you confirm the origin of the explosion and what is known about the story as well as any details relating to the incident. I am hoping to include this information is my own autobiography for my children and would like to be accurate about the details. If you cannot help me, perhaps you could direct me somewhere else.
Rev. George A. Burn

 

 

I'm looking for information on the Two Bridges School in Scotch Plains. It is currently a private residence on Old Raritan Road, near the Terry Lou Zoo. We are looking up deeds at the County Courthouse now to corroborate the history of the building and site. So far we have traced it to a purchase from the Fanwood Board of Education to a private owner (not the current owner). The building is supposed to have been from the early 1800's and was used as a one room schoolhouse. The family who lives there now is interested in getting the site registered as a historic place.  Could your organization provide any assistance or recommendations on how to proceed? We have tried to contact the local historical society, but they seem not to be interested unless we get all the deeds corroborating the verbal history.
K. Gilbert

 

I am trying to overlay Lenape trail routes atop our current road sytem - primarily in NJ, but (since one thing leads to another) also Alogonquian and Iroquois trail routes New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio and Maryland.

Is there anything definititive on this topic that I can access?

So far, my only sources are Samuel Steele Smith's book on the Lenape in Monmouth County (which overlay a few paths on an old Hagstrom road map) and snippets from individual municipal histories.

I am strictly an amateur at this. My hidden agenda is to convince the State to erect small roadside historic markers delineating that "this road used to be (or parallelled) a Lenape path that went from x to y."

Any help you can provide would be much appreciated.
Jeff

 

 

Hi, my name is Alan T. Clark and I reside in Budd Lake NJ. I was born and raised in Paterson and spent most of my growing years in the back woods of what now is the Monksville Reservoir.

I am presently a Junior in NJIT and my major is in Electronic Engineering Technology.

I am presently attending Summer classes and one of my classes is on Environmental Protection. I have chosen the Monksville Reservoir as my Thesis topic, mainly because it is something that I can relate to.

I am 40 years old and literally seen this area make a 360 degree change (for the better) in the past 10 years. My father, God rest his soul, was one of the ironworkers that worked on the Dam itself.

I would appreciate any and all information that you may be able to forfeit to me to help and assist my research of this topic. My sincere thanks for any and all assistance in this area.
Alan

 

 

I hope that you are able to direct me in my twenty-one year search for information regarding my maternal grandfather. I had hoped to gather information and present it to my mother before her death, but I was not successful. Now I continue my search so that the great grandchildren can have this information.

Unfortunately, my grandfather did not have a birth certificate, so there is no information regarding parents. And this also means we can't be sure of a birth date. Since social security cards were required after his death, he had no social security number. His name was John Patrick Hagan (and depending on who wrote the name it could have been O'hagan, O' Hagan, Hagan, Hagans, Hagen, Hagin) And he was probably born between 1881-1886 or even 1885.

He enlisted in the calvary in 1902 (he told his oldest daughter he had to lie about his age in order to enlist) and stated his place of birth was Ringwood, New Jersey. He listed his "closest relative" a sister by the name of Mamie Hagan who lived in Wharton, N.J. in 1906 and in Westfield, N.J. (421 Central Ave.) in 1912 (by 1912 she had married and her name was Mrs. Mamie Nelson). His sister's residency is according to his reinlistment papers (well, to the small piece of singed paper of the remains of his military records..as you probably know, there was a devastating fire in 1973 and all U.S. military records were destroyed)

The only other piece of information I have is the name of an aunt, Mrs. Thomas Rose who lived in Paterson, N.J. (165 Butler Street) in 1902.

I have pretty much exhausted resources. I contacted the Registrar of Vital Statistics for the Borough of Ringwood and was told that local Ringwood recrods do not go as far back as the dates I need. I have accessed websites, genealogical sites, and every list online...but to no avail.

So, I write to you with hope in my heart that someone there can help. Now, I have no idea if the next piece of information is correct, but I should mention it in case it has some bearing on how to find information. His oldest daughter stated that my grandfather told his children he was "Indian" (my aunt could not remember the name of the tribe), and he did speak another language other than English according to other relatives, but again, I have no further information. 

Well, I send this to you and would be more than grateful to have a response. After twenty-one years of searching, I am tiring, but I keep thinking of my nieces and nephews and know that if I don't do the research, it won't get done. I thank you in advance and look forward to your reply. Oh, and please feel free to forward the email message and my email address should there be anyone else who may direct me.
S.D. 

 

 

 Back to Front