Full – 3 Column – Page 24 – GOODSPEED HISTORIES

When Stockton Was Not So Dry

September 22, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in E. T. Bush, Historians Revisited, Hunterdon, Stockton Tags: alcohol, houses, land titles, maps, portraits, roads, stores

Egbert T. Bush was very fond of grand old trees, and when they had to come down, he lamented the loss in his articles, including one that I published awhile ago, titled “Old Sentinel Oak Has Passed.” That huge tree, or as Bush would call it, a “Monarch,” once stood along Route 523 as you enter Stockton. Today’s article should have preceded “Old Sentinel Oak,” as it concerns the neighborhood of that great tree before it was taken down.

Working For Big Wages

September 1, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in E. T. Bush, Franklin Township, Historians Revisited Tags: farming

In recognition of Labor Day this weekend I thought it would be interesting to see what labor was like when Egbert T. Bush was young. He would have been fifteen years old in 1863, during the Civil War. Since he was too young to be drafted, he was available to the neighborhood farmers who were short-handed, thanks to the war. His employer in those days left a big impression on the young man.

Requiem for a Monarch

August 25, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in E. T. Bush, Historians Revisited, Hunt, Hunterdon, Stockton Tags: farming, flora and fauna, Going, roads

Given that the Stockton Inn is now for sale, and a radical proposal for development of the site has been offered by the seller, I thought it would be appropriate to publish this article by Mr. Bush about a previous “improvement” to the Borough that took place not far from the Inn.

Little Jim, Part Three

August 18, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in Flemington, Hunterdon, Kingwood Township Tags: crime and punishment

Epilogue

The story of Little Jim is not quite over.¹ There was the execution itself in Flemington, and then the aftermath, the way people processed these disturbing events. The court’s decision was so controversial it turned up in a modern U. S. Supreme Court case.

Little Jim, In Jail and In Court

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

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 and punishment

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 Township, 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 Township, 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 Township, 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.

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