Looking Back, Looking Forward<\/h3>\n

This is the 400^{th<\/sup> article I have published on this website. Nice round numbers feel like milestones; they inspire us to reflect and to look forward, so that is what I will do today.<\/p>\n}

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A Short History of My History Blog<\/h4>\n

Back in 2009, I was having one of my typically-rotten spring allergy seasons, forcing me to stay indoors for several weeks. I was desperate for some kind of work.<\/p>\n

By that time I had been writing house histories for Hunterdon County residents for 27 years, and had accumulated quite a bit of information on Hunterdon properties and families. Also, I had taken on the job of township historian, which gave me access to all sorts of interesting records.<\/p>\n

It did not seem right to keep all this to myself and my limited number of clients. But that problem began to be solved when I started writing articles for the township newsletter, \u201a\u00c4\u00faThe Bridge.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9\u00ac\u2020The only drawback to that was that I was limited to Delaware Township stories.<\/p>\n

More than one person suggested writing a book, and I did consider it. But it takes an awful lot of discipline to write a book. An article I can handle, but a whole book? I made a couple attempts, but just couldn\u201a\u00c4\u00f4t stick with it.<\/p>\n

Then the internet evolved to make it not only possible, but relatively easy for individuals to publish blog posts on their own. This seemed like something worth trying. My first post was published on June 11, 2009, which I called “A Blog About Hunterdon History<\/a>.” It was an introductory article, and I am surprised to find that it is still relevant to what I am doing these days.<\/p>\n

Over the years I have learned that the act of writing is one of the best ways to learn. Almost every sentence seems to raise a question. Answering those questions takes me into new territory, providing new discoveries. It\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s actually a lot of fun, and kind of addictive.<\/p>\n

But 400 articles? That took me by surprise. It means I have outstripped my mentor, Egbert T. Bush. Except that I could not have reached this number if it weren\u201a\u00c4\u00f4t for all of the Bush articles I have published here (with my comments added).<\/p>\n

Favorite Subjects<\/h4>\n

Having discovered that I had New Jersey ancestors, I was eager to explore their history, which began with the early settlement of the Province of West New Jersey. Somehow, genealogy began to take a back seat as I became intrigued with late 17^{th<\/sup> century politics in the province.<\/p>\n}

<\/a>If you click on \u201a\u00c4\u00faIndex of Articles\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 at the top of the page, you will find a list of published articles arranged by subject matter, starting with articles related to the early history of West New Jersey. You can see there that I left off at 1691, which is too bad, because quite a lot of interesting history took place after that. I have always thought I would resume that history, and have not given up the hope that someday I will.<\/p>\n

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