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Query: Union Cemeteries

March 31, 2015 By Marfy Goodspeed in Uncategorized Tags: cemeteries, Queries

Some time ago, I received a query from Alice Groner, regarding the name Union, as applied to cemeteries. Here is what she wrote:

Why were so many cemeteries named Union Cemetery years before the Civil War? . . . I have continued my search as well and discovered that Union Twp. in Hunterdon County was named after Union Furnace which made, among other things, cannon balls for the Revolutionary War. And a lot of the Union Cemeteries in NJ were established before/long before the Civil War. The Union Cemetery, which kicked off the discussion with my friend, is located near Finesville (on the Warren County side of the Musconetcong River), and it is so old that few tombstones are readable. I’m, also, wondering if the usual rather small cemeteries of our early churches filled up and, therefore, folks decided to have a cemetery uniting those of all/most faiths.

“…so many questions…so little time.”

A Google search on the word Union in the Revolutionary War will get you some articles on the many flags that were flown during that time, one in particular (from Taunton, Massachusetts) with the words: “Liberty and Union.” So the word was on people’s minds when they thought about uniting the colonies. The goal of creating “a more perfect union” was used in the preamble to the Constitution.

Perhaps some of you can come up with a better answer for Alice. It’s an intriguing question.

The Van Dolah School

March 27, 2015 By Marfy Goodspeed in Barber, Dalrymple, Delaware Township, Families, Lair, Lambert, Larison, Rockafellar, Sandy Ridge, Trout, Wolverton Tags: schools

Of all the one-room schools in Delaware Township, none seems to have inspired more devoted attachment than the Van Dolah School. The number of graduates was large, and many of them were highly accomplished in later life. It was probably one of the best photographed schools in the county. I have included many of them here.

Asa Romine and Sarah Fulper

March 23, 2015 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Fulper, Historians Revisited, J. M. Hoppock

Postscript to “Asa Romine’s Beloved Farm“

Some time ago I got a copy of an article in the Democrat-Advertiser of 1902. Actually, copies of several articles, but I neglected to file them in any useful way. Today, I stumbled across this particular article and immediately regretted not having it at hand when writing about Asa and Sarah Romine. It is a celebration of their long married life, probably written by Jonathan M. Hoppock. Here it is:

Some Controversial Baptist Ministers

March 20, 2015 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Historians Revisited, J. M. Hoppock, Kingwood Township, Locktown, Sutton Tags: churches

My original intention was to publish an article by Jonathan M. Hoppock on the history of the Baptist Church in Locktown. And that is what I will do here, but after reading his article, I discovered that some of the ministers he listed had troubled careers, and that, of course, makes them interesting. But first, here is Mr. Hoppock’s history of the Church.

Query: Rosemont Methodist Church

March 18, 2015 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Rosemont Tags: churches, Queries

I got a letter today from Joan Verity of Frenchtown who wondered about the history of the Methodist Church in Rosemont. It was built in 1860, but only lasted about 20 years.

Charles Cane purchased the building in 1948 and renovated it to serve as housing for his employees. Phil Cane still has a news article about the work that was done, and the bell that once hung in the church steeple can now be seen in the Cane Farm parking lot.

The Sergeantsville Inn

March 14, 2015 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Fisher, Gordon, Lake, Sergeantsville, Thatcher Tags: stores

The original version of this post, published on March 14, 2015, has been significantly revised because of new information I have received. Most of these revisions concern Jonas Thatcher, Jr. Consider this Chapter One of the History of the Sergeantsville Inn.

Query: Trout Farm?

March 11, 2015 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township Tags: Queries

Lora Olsen, clerk of West Amwell Township, got in touch with me recently to see if I knew where this farm was located. She had some reason to think it might have been the farm once owned by George Trout. The Trout family lived on the farm just south of the tract of land owned first by the Robins, and later by the Buchanan family. I wrote about the location of that farm here.

How Locktown Got Its Name

March 6, 2015 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, E. T. Bush, Families, Heath, Historians Revisited, Lair, Locktown, Rittenhouse, Sutton, Warford, Williamson Tags: alcohol, churches, schools, taverns

Back in February, I published an article on the cemetery connected with the Locktown Baptist church. Previously I have written about the Baptist congregation here as well as the Locktown Christian Church and its Cemetery. It seems appropriate now to include Mr. Bush’s own history of this neighborhood, which was published in the Hunterdon Democrat, on May 22, 1930. Along with the churches, Mr. Bush discusses the school house, the distillery and the Locktown Hotel, which began its life as a humble tavern, and also some of the old families, like the Chamberlins, Heaths, Lairs, Rittenhouses, Smiths and Suttons. Photographs in this article were provided by Paul Kurzenberger.

Johnson, Lair, Snyder

March 5, 2015 By Marfy Goodspeed in Families, Lair, Snyder Tags: Queries

Query from Janice Earliene Carr, March 3, 2015:

My husband is descended from the SNYDER FAMILY of Hunterdon, County, N.J., which I will get to later!

My husband James William Carr of Washington, D.C.,
his father is James Entwisle Carr of same; his Mother, Olive Ida SNYDER of Ridgewood, N.J.. (dau. Of Gardiner JOHNSON SNYDER & Elizabeth “Lizzie” Amy LAIR; – dau. Of John LAIR & Mary HANN, which both died young

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