This article by Egbert T. Bush concerns a family who lived in the Croton neighborhood in the mid-19th century. I thought it typical of Mr. Bush’s style of writing, which may seem a bit florid, but is full of empathy for the characters he described.
E. T. Bush
Articles by Egbert T. Bush published in the Hunterdon Democrat
Pole Raising in the Days of Lincoln
This article was originally published in “The Delaware Township Post” on March 1, 2009. The Post went out of business, and the articles I published there have disappeared. It seems appropriate now to republish this article, greatly modified, here.
Baptistown, part one
Recently there has been much discussion on the Facebook page “Historical Kingwood Township” about the history of Baptistown. So, it seems appropriate now to publish this article by Egbert T. Bush with his memories of the ancient village.
“Old-Time Debates”
The next presidential debate for Democratic candidates is coming up on September 12th. In light of that and also with thoughts about the kind of discourse Americans are having these days, it seemed appropriate to publish Mr. Bush’s article on a practice that went out of fashion long ago—local debating societies. Somehow it was possible for 19th-century neighbors to dispute current issues without making enemies of each other.
The Railroad That Wasn’t Built
Part one in the series, The Route Not Taken
This article by Egbert T. Bush caught my attention because it is reminiscent of PennEast’s attempt to dig a pipeline across Delaware Township and other parts of Hunterdon and Mercer Counties. The big difference here is that many landowners along the proposed route of this railroad supported it because they expected real benefits, whereas PennEast’s pipeline is likely to do more harm than good.
Haines Farm, part two
This article is a continuation of The Haines Farm, part one.
The Haines farm has a pretty remarkable history, as Mr. Bush wrote:
From the first Isaac Haines the property descended to his son, the second Joseph; from this Joseph to his son, the second Isaac; and from him to his son, the third Joseph, the present owner, to whom it was conveyed by his father and mother, March 10, 1920.
The Haines Farm
This post returns to an article by Egbert T. Bush titled “Old Farms in Old Hunterdon,” published in 1931. I published large parts of this article before, in “The Moore Family,” in 2016. As the introduction to that article mentioned, two families were discussed in Bush’s article, the Moores and the Haines. Having discussed the Moore family at length, it is time to focus on the Haines family and their farm on the east side of Haines Road in East Amwell. This will conclude my study of some (but not all) of the farms located in the original proprietary tract of John Dennis.
The Hart-Taylor Cemetery
Twice in his career, Egbert T. Bush wrote about a small family burying ground in Delaware Township. The first time was in 1911, in a paper presented to the Hunterdon County Historical Society which was later published in the Hunterdon County Democrat. This was many years before Mr. Bush became a regular contributor to the Democrat.1
Cyrus Vandolah, Jr.
Or, Sandy Ridge, part eight
This is a continuation of my history of the Vandolah family of Sandy Ridge, Delaware township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. (See The Vandolah Family, Sandy Ridge, part seven.) Cyrus, Jr. was the last of the line.
Sandy Ridge, part five
This post is a return to Egbert T. Bush’s article “Sandy Ridge Long a Farm Community,” the first half of which was published last month (“Sandy Ridge, part four.”) Today I resume with Mr. Bush’s description of a small lot on Sandy Ridge Road, where once stood a house that is now long gone. (Block 54 Lot 10).