Old Things and Old Time Ways

By in E. T. Bush, Historians 1 Comment Tags: , ,

Taxes Were “Outrageous” When Rate Was 40¢ per $1 00.
Cutting Sausage with an Axe

by Egbert T. Bush, Stockton, N. J.
published in the Hunterdon County Democrat, February 23, 1933

Comment:  Unlike my usual practice, I have nothing to add to this very contemplative article. A passing knowledge of scripture and of the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson would be helpful. It is interesting that Bush combines the subjects of sausage making and paying taxes. There’s an echo here of the common association of sausage making with passing laws, from whence we get the burden of taxation. Bush’s thoughts on this subject are well worth contemplating, in particular his opinion that those who complain the most about their taxes should think about what they demand of government.

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House Histories, part two

By in Hunterdon, Sources No Comments Tags:

This is the second part of my article on how to do a house history, published March 29th. If you followed through with that article, you will now have a more or less complete chain of title. So, what next?

Step Four.  Flesh Out the Story

A chain of title for your property is wonderful to have, but, really, all it is is a list of names, dates and sources. There’s no story there. It’s not really very interesting until you start digging and learn about who these people were, what their lives were like. Were they rich, poor, farmers, merchants? Were they important in their community? Did they get into trouble? This is where genealogical skills come into play.

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NJ History Online

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I recently discovered some interesting articles online about New Jersey history. For instance:

“Mutiny of the New Jersey Line” by Michael Schellhammer (March 19, 2014)

Nice summary of the events of the winter of 1780-81 when NJ troops stationed at Pompton became fed up with their conditions. Written in casual, non-academic language, perfect for us busy folks who love history but have other things to distract us. Considering that the mutineers had agreed to return to camp, it is surprising that Gen. Washington took such a strong position against them. Despite the fact that the NJ men only wanted to return home because their enlistments had expired, Washington and Howe determined to make an example of them, to discourage insubordination throughout the army. Two men were executed: Sergeant David Gilmore and Sergeant John Tuttle. Sergeant Major Grant would have been, but officers were persuaded he was not a ring leader that they thought he was. It was a high price to pay for a disciplined army.

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