Full – 4 Column – Page 26 – GOODSPEED HISTORIES

A Story for Halloween

October 28, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in West New Jersey Tags: crime and punishment, Daniel Coxe, politics, portraits, proprietors

Halloween is almost here. The days are getting much shorter, the nights much longer, and soon we will wind our clocks back to make the night seem even longer.

There are two ways to think about this time of year. The cheerful way is to glory in the fall colors and delight in children running from house to house on Halloween, many of the boys dressed as pirates (though not as much as in years past).

A Stockton Inn History

October 21, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in Hockenbury, Hunterdon County, Sharp, Stockton Tags: land titles, maps, taverns

This article is a continuation of the article by Egbert T. Bush titled “When Stockton Was Not So Dry.” (Part One and Part Two.) Today I will enlarge on Mr. Bush’s short history of the Stockton Inn, which is now for sale. It is my hope that by fleshing out this history, a purchaser might be found who will value it as well as the lovely architecture of the place.

When Stockton Was Not So Dry, part two

October 13, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in E. T. Bush, Historians Revisited, Stockton Tags: ferries, maps, taverns

This part of Mr. Bush’s article deals primarily with the history of the tavern in Stockton, which began its life across the road from the Sharp-Lambert store (part one), but ended it as the Stockton Inn, at Bridge and Main Streets. (As usual, Mr. Bush’s article is in italics and my comments are not.)

When Stockton Was Not So Dry

September 22, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in E. T. Bush, Historians Revisited, Hunterdon County, 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 County, 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 County, 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 County 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).

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