Another House Lost

November 16, 2012 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Fisher, Gordon, Heath, Sergeantsville Tags: Going, houses

The Gordon-Fisher Homestead

Gordon-Fisher House — Fisher Tenant House, Nov. 13, 2012, photographed by Renee Kiriluk-Hill

photograph found on NJ.com, taken by Renée Kiriluk-Hill for the Hunterdon County Democrat http://connect.nj.com/user/rbhill/photos.html

On November 13, 2012, the home of Brian McVey and his 11-year-old son Calvin was destroyed by fire. Not only did they lose all their possessions, they also lost their dog, who for reasons unknown ran back into the house while the McVeys were escaping. The community is coming together to help the McVeys get back on their feet. Gift cards to places like Target, Walmart, Lowes, etc. can be delivered to the Delaware Township school, in an envelope marked for Eileen Ventimiglia and Sue Whitlock.

John Lambert’s Letters, 2/19/1808

October 28, 2012 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Families, Hoppock, Hunterdon County, Lambert Tags: John Lambert

beginning in 1807 when Lambert was a member of Congress
ending in 1815 when Lambert was in his last year as a U. S. Senator

The original letters can be found in the Emma Finney Welch Collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. I have transcribed the letters as Lambert wrote them, which is why there is an absence of commas and periods. My only change is the addition of paragraph breaks to make the letters easier to follow. Check my running glossary of names mentioned by Lambert to see who he’s referring to.

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A Short History of Rittenhouse Tavern

October 26, 2012 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Families, Hoppock, Rittenhouse, Rosemont Tags: houses, The Revolution

In this week’s edition of the Hunterdon County Democrat, the regular feature “Old Ink” had an interesting item:

1887
PRESIDENTIAL–The house owned by Mr. George Hoppock at Rosemont is now undergoing an overhauling. This is an old relic, built in 1754. The rafters were raised on the day of Braddock’s defeat. It was long known as Rittenhouse’s tavern. It is reported that Gen. Washington took dinner in the house during the period of the Revolutionary War.

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New Jersey, A History of the Garden State

October 13, 2012 By Marfy Goodspeed in In My Library

I don’t do book reviews, so this is not that. But I just got my copy of New Jersey, A History of the Garden State, edited by Maxine N. Lurie and Richard Veit, with an introduction by Marc Mappen, and I’ve got to say—run out and get this book! It’s a terrific collection of articles on the different periods in New Jersey’s history, starting with Richard Veit’s excellent first chapter on Native Americans who lived here, as far back as 12,000 years ago and into the colonial period. Thank you Rich. It came just in time to help me sort out this confusing history for my own blog.

I’m really looking forward to reading the next chapters, because they are all written by the top people in the field: Michael Birkner, John Fea, Howard Gillete Jr., Brian Greenberg, Larry Greene, Graham Russell Gao Hodges, Paul Israel, Maxine N. Lurie, G. Kurt Piehler and Richard Viet.

No doubt about it. If you love New Jersey, you’ll love this book.

John Lambert’s Letters, 2/1/1808

October 8, 2012 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Families, Hunterdon County, Lambert Tags: John Lambert

beginning in 1807 when Lambert was a member of Congress
ending in 1815 when Lambert was in his last year as a U. S. Senator

The original letters can be found in the Emma Finney Welch Collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. I have transcribed the letters as Lambert wrote them, which is why there is an absence of commas and periods, and many misspelled words. My only change is the addition of paragraph breaks to make the letters easier to follow and letters in brackets where they are needed. For cumulative information on the people mentioned in Lambert’s letters, see the Lambert Glossary.

A John Lambert Glossary

October 2, 2012 By Marfy Goodspeed in Barber, Delaware Township, Families, Hoppock, Hunterdon County, Lambert, Larison, Other Sources Tags: John Lambert

People Mentioned in the Letters of John Lambert to Susan M. Hoppock, arranged alphabetically first by given names that have no surnames, then by surname (married women are listed under their maiden names).

I have begun to realize that it is a challenge to keep track of all the people mentioned by John Lambert, mostly family but also friends and neighbors. So here is a list of them all so far, which I will add to whenever someone new is mentioned. This is most definitely a work in progress, and any help that readers can lend me for some of my mysteries will be most appreciated. I will include a link to this post with each subsequent letter published. To view those letters, click on the topic “John Lambert” in the right-hand column.

Letters of John Lambert, 12/28/1807

October 2, 2012 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Families, Hunterdon County, Lambert Tags: farming, John Lambert

beginning in 1807 when Lambert was a member of Congress
ending in 1815 when Lambert was in his last year as a U. S. Senator

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The Lenape of Central New Jersey

September 23, 2012 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Hunterdon County, West New Jersey Tags: early settlers, Indians

This is the beginning of a series of articles on the Lenape people who eventually came to live in southern Hunterdon County, before moving further west into Pennsylvania.

By Their Names You Shall Know Them

In the late 17^th century, a Lenape Sachem named Caponokonickon walked the paths of “Scheyechbi.” His name was spelled many ways, such as Coponnockous, Capenokanickon, Kapanockanickon, Caponeaoconeacon, Caponakonikikkon or Caponokon. He was a Lenape Sachema or Sarkemaker or Sachamaker, and walked the paths of central New Jersey, known as “Scheyechbi” or Lënape Ehendawikihtit.”

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