Full – 2 Column – Page 28 – GOODSPEED HISTORIES

Little Jim, In Jail and In Court

August 11, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in Flemington, Hunterdon Tags: crime

The brutal murder of Mrs. Catharine Beakes in September 1827 became a sensation in Hunterdon County, not only because murders were rare at the time, but because this murder was quite brutal and her alleged killer was a 12-year-old black boy. Following a coroner’s inquest, he was arrested and brought to the Flemington jail (‘gaol’ in those days).

The Story of ‘Little Jim,’ Part One

August 4, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in Hunterdon Tags: crime

The Murder

Note: Records from the Coroner’s Inquest were discovered after the first version of the story was published. I have since updated the article to reflect the new information found there. It is now a much longer, but even more interesting article.

With all the controversy over the possible demolition of the Union Hotel in Flemington, there has been a revival of interest in “The Trial of the Century,” when Bruno Hauptman was tried for the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby in 1932. But there was another “Trial of the Century” in Hunterdon County more than 100 years earlier, held in May 1828, when a 12-year-old boy was convicted of the murder of a 60-year-old woman.

The Manual Labor Institute

July 15, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Twp, Gordon, Rittenhouse, Sergeantsville Tags: schools

This is the story of an unusual school in the 1830s run by an eccentric visionary, who sadly failed to make a success of it.

Ducks’ Flat

July 4, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Twp, E. T. Bush Tags: land titles, schools

Ducks, A Vanished School, and The Dawn of the Space Age
“The ‘Oregon’ and Other Schools,” continued

Ducks’ Flat, view from Route 519 looking north

With a name like Ducks’ Flat, you just know there must be a story there. But first, is it Duck’s Flat or Ducks’ Flat? I pitch for Ducks’, since it must have been a place where migrating ducks would gather. That’s the way Egbert T. Bush saw it. In his article “The ‘Oregon’ and Other Schools,” which I recently published in its entirety.¹

Sergeant’s Mills, part four

July 1, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Twp, E. T. Bush, Fulper, Green, Opdycke, Rosemont, Sergeant Tags: houses, land titles, politics, portraits

This series of posts has been based on an article by Egbert T. Bush called “Sergeant’s Mills Once a Prosperous Place.” My previous post dealt with two of the four farms located in the Rosemont valley, on the north side of the road from Rittenhouse’s Tavern (Rosemont) to Skunk Town (Sergeantsville), otherwise known as Route 604. This post will describe the owner of the third farm, and include the rest of Mr. Bush’s article.

Sergeant’s Mills, part three

June 23, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Twp, E. T. Bush, Green, Historians, Lair, Reading, Rosemont, Sergeant Tags: architecture, early settlers, land titles, proprietors

Being part three in a four-part post about an article written by Egbert T. Bush titled “Sergeant’s Mills Once a Prosperous Place” and published in the Hunterdon County Democrat on January 16, 1930.

Sergeant’s Mills, part two

June 3, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Twp, E. T. Bush, Families, Historians, Opdycke, Rittenhouse, Sergeant Tags: bridges, land titles, maps, mills, schools

After this article was published, some careful readers alerted me to a few errors which merit attention.

Sergeant’s Mills, part one

May 27, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Twp, E. T. Bush, Historians, Lair, Opdycke, Sergeant Tags: bridges, early settlers, houses, land titles, mills

In a recent post on the life of John P. Rittenhouse, I mentioned that his parents, Samuel & Hannah Rittenhouse, lived near the covered bridge in Delaware Township. This reminded me of the interesting article written by Egbert T. Bush about the history of the area around Sergeant’s Mill.

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