Benedict B Mione (1910 - 1966), Beautician, Keyport

Benedict B Mione, owner-operator of Ben's beauty shop in Keyport, thanked his customers for years of faithful patronage in the 2 Mar 1944 edition of The Matawan Journal as he announced the closing of his business on Saturday 11 March 1944 for the duration of the war. Mione had been drafted into the Second World War. "I hope that when my work for Uncle Sam is finished, that I may again be able to serve you."

Benedict was born on 3 May 1910 in Manhattan, New York, the son of Mr and Mrs Lorenzo Benedetto Mione. Lorenzo came from Italy in 1908 and was a presser in a pants shop in the 1910 Federal Census in Manhattan. Lorenzo was a shirt presser in later censuses. The 1910 census identified Lorenzo's wife as Colomba, and later records show his wife as Rose, Rose Mary, or Rosemarie.

Benedict moved to the Bayshore about 1934 and opened Vincent & Ben's Beauty Shop on Broad Street in Keyport with Vincent Geraldi, his wife, Lillian (Geraldi) Mione's brother. Benedict's eldest son is apparently the namesake of Vincent Geraldi. (See Benedict's son Laurence's birth announcement and some of this paragraph's details in the 15 Feb 1935 edition of The Matawan Journal.)

Benedict (born 1910) enlisted in the US Army as a private on 20 Apr 1944 at Fort Dix, NJ. His enlistment papers said he was a resident of Monmouth County, New Jersey, and his occupational category was provided as "barbers, beauticians and manicurists." He had one year of high school education.

Benedict (30 NY Italy Italy) was enumerated as head of household living in a rented property on Holmdel Road in Raritan, Monmouth Co, NJ in the 1940 Federal Census. He was a beautician with a beauty shop. His household included his wife, Lillian Mione (29 NY), and sons Laurence (5 NJ) and Vincent Mione (9/12 NJ).

Benedict served as commander of the Raritan Post of the American Legion. He was a third degree member of the Keyport Council of the Knights of Columbus.

Benedict died 6 Nov 1966 at Riverview Hospital in Red Bank, according to his obituary, which appeared in the 10 Nov 1966 edition of The Matawan Journal (Second Section, page 3 (page 17 of 22)). His funeral was conducted at St Benedict's Church in Hazlet, where he had attended for many years. He was buried at St Joseph's Cemetery in Keyport. He was survived by his wife, Lillian; two sons - Laurence V Mione in Neptune, and Vincent G Mione in Chestnut Hill, PA; brother, Leonard Mione in Brentwood, Long Island; and sister Rosalie Marino.


According to Find-a-Grave, Private Mione's war service is described on his gravestone as follows: Private, Company B, 55th Infantry, Training Battalion (PVT CO B 55 INF TRG BN).

History: John Travers, Founder of Trinity Episcopal, Matawan (1791 - 1882)

John Travers (30 October 1791 - 26/27 May 1882) was only briefly in the Matawan area, but during that time he played a significant role in the establishment of Trinity Episcopal Church on Main Street.

The Madison Township Historical Society at the Thomas Warne Museum in Old Bridge, NJ has been conducting extensive research on John Travers in support of Laurence Harbor history. I am pleased to play a small part in that project and wish them well in their venture. Below is my review of Ancestry.com for birth, baptism, marriage, census and graveyard records on John and his Wall Street trader son William, as well as historical information from selected church websites.

Support your local historical societies.

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John Travers was baptized on 4 April 1792 at St Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland. John's father, also John, is said to have been an Englishman who was a wine merchant along the US mid-Atlantic coast.

John went to England as a teen to apprentice at his uncle's shop in London. He returned to Baltimore in 1812, according to research notes at Gen Forum.

He married 1) Susan Rebecca Hanson Moale on 3 April 1816 in Baltimore County, Maryland.

John and Susan had son William Riggin Travers in July 1819 in Baltimore.

John's wife Susan died 27 January 1822 in Maryland.

John could be identical with a man with this name in the 1830 Federal Census in Acquackanonk, Essex County, NJ. The family member ages could fit the available data from the enumeration. This would support the idea that the family moved to New Jersey in the 1820s, as suggested in research notes at Gen Forum.

He married 2) Harriet Riggin on 26 October 1835 in Somerset County, Maryland.

They had a daughter, Harriet Emily Travers, about 1837 and a son, Robert Travers, about 1840, both born in Maryland.

The 1840 Federal Census for New Jersey showed John Travers as head of household in South Amboy, New Jersey. The household includes 1 M 40-50 (John, 49), 1 M 20-30 (UM, probably a servant), 1 M 15-20 (William, 20), 1 M >5 (Robert, infant), 2 F 30-40 (Harriet, 38; UF, probably a servant), 3 F 15-20 (UF, all probably servants), and 1 F >5 (Harriet Emily, 3).

The 1850 Federal Census for New Jersey showed John (59 MD) as head of household in South Amboy. He was a farmer with $20,000 in property. The household included his wife, Harriet (48 MD), daughter Emily (13 MD), and son Robert (10 MD); the soon-to-be first pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church in Matawan, Ferdinand C Putman (35 MA);  three laborers, who were probably working on the construction of the church; and two adult women.

Trinity Episcopal Church's website quotes from the Churchscape website, which mentions John's role in the founding of the church:

"Construction of the old church was initiated by Colonel John Travers, who lived at the mouth of the Cheesequake River in what was then Middletown Point. The cornerstone was laid on April 24, 1850, by the Rt. Rev. George W. Doane, Bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey. The Church was incorporated on May 11, 1850, and admitted into union with the Convention of the Diocese at its annual meeting in Newark that month. Bishop Doane consecrated the Church on June 10, 1851."

Note 1: The mouth of Cheesequake Creek was in South Amboy in those days, not Middletown Point. Today, a drawbridge carries Route 35 over that creek, the north bank being in the Morgan section of Sayreville and the south bank in the Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge.

Note 2: The reference to John as Colonel is rife in local records but all seems to draw from limited sourcing. He was the right age to serve in the War of 1812, but would have been too young to attain such a rank. He would have been too old to suddenly lead troops in the Mexican War (1846-48). So just where does this military rank come from? His father could have been a colonel in the US Revolutionary War, but the English emphasis in his background hints more at Tory than Yankee.

The 1860 Federal Census for New York showed John (70 MD) as head of household in New York City. He had no occupation, apparently retired. He had $60,000 in real property and $5,000 in personal property. His household included wife Harriet (58 MD), daughter Harriet E (21 MD) and three domestics, who were from England and Ireland.

I had no luck finding John in the 1870 or 1880 Federal Census. He reportedly returned to Baltimore by 1867, according to research notes at Gen Forum, but I was unable to surface his census records. John owned property on Main Street in Matawan in 1873. According to a map of the borough, his property was adjacent to the Trinity Episcopal Church.

John died in May 1882 at the Baltimore home of his niece, a Mrs Wright, according to obituaries appearing in the 26 May 1882 edition of the Paterson Press and the 27 May 1882 edition of The Baltimore Sun.

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A reference in the online history of the St Lawrence Roman Catholic Church to a John Travers as being married to the only sister of James Provost, must pertain to John's father.

"In 1684, the region became incorporated as part of South Amboy Township (which at that time also included the land of modern day Sayreville, Old Bridge and Monroe Townships). During the 18th Century, the area of Laurence Harbor was the private estate of the Provost family. Major General Provost, who had been an officer in the British Army, built a house on the bluff. His son, James Provost, had a disagreement with his father, and so the land and holdings were willed to James' only sister, who was married to Colonel John Travers (tax assessment records list Col. Travers as the owner of the estate in the 1830s). The Travers family were Episcopalians, and funded the building of Trinity Episcopal Church on Main Street in Matawan in 1850."
Note: This early connection to South Amboy by John's father would explain the younger John's relocation to the area circa 1840.

Dr Frank K Travers (1840-1873) came to Matawan from Baltimore in late 1868 to join a medical practice and died about five years later. Frank's line of the Travers family came from Dorchester County, Maryland. While there is likely a connection between the John and Frank's father Samuel (born about 1787), they are more likely cousins than siblings.

Son - William Riggin Travers

John's son William R Travers attended the US Military Academy at West Point, New York. He was registered at the school, according to US military post returns filed in August 1836 and February 1837.

He married Maria Louise Johnson about 1846.

The 1857 New York City city directory showed William as a broker on Wall Street. He listed work addresses at 1 Exchange Place and 30 Merchants Exchange and a home address of 179 West 23rd Street.

The 1860 Federal Census for New York showed William (40 MD) as a broker living in New York City. He was head of household with wife Louisa (39); daughters Mary (12), Louisa (11), Hattie (10) and Ellen (7), Matilda (5) and Susan (3); and son John (8). All were born in Maryland, except the last two children - Matilda and Susan - who were born in NY. He had four female Irish domestics working/living in the household.

The 1880 Federal Census for New York showed William (60 MD) as a broker living in New York City. He was head of household with wife Louise (50 MD); daughter Mary Grey (33 MD) and her two daughters Minnie (11) and Louise (10); son John (28 MD), cotton merchant; daughters Matilda (24) and Susan (22); and sons William (19) and Reverdy J (16). They had seven live-in servants from England, Ireland, Germany and New York.

The 1886 New York City city directory showed William as a broker working on Wall Street. He listed work addresses at 52 Broadway, 64 Broadway, 39 New Street, 25 William Street, and 10 West 23rd Street. His home address was 3 West 38th Street.

William died 19 March 1887 in Hamilton, Bermuda. He is buried at Island Cemetery, Newport, Rhode Island, according to Find-a-Grave. The site provided this brief biography of William:

     "New York City lawyer, financier, and sportsman who was a member of the New York Stock Exchange, a co-founder and first president of Saratoga Racecourse at Saratoga Springs, New York, and the first president of the New York Athletic Club. The Travers Stakes, America's oldest major race for Thoroughbred horses, was named in his honor. Travers Island, part of the The Pelham Islands group in Long Island Sound, was also named in his honor. William Travers married Maria Louisa Johnson, daughter of statesman, Reverdy Johnson."

History: Frank K Travers, Matawan Physician (1840 - 1873)

Dr. Francis K. "Frank" Travers (June 1840 - July 1873) was a medical doctor in Matawan from late 1869 to early 1873. He died quite young. Below are some resources on his life.

The 1850 Federal Census for Maryland showed Frank Travers, age 9, in the Dorcester County household of Samuel Travers, age 63, farmer, $8,000 in property, and Mary Travers, age 36. He was the sibling of William (16), Catherine (6), Ann (5), and Samuel (2). All were born in Maryland.

The 1860 Federal Census for Maryland showed Francis Travers, age 21, physician with $200 in personal property, living in the Dorcester County household of S Columbus Tall, age 28, born in Maryland, gentleman with $1,000 in real property. Tall seemed to be widowed with several young children and perhaps his mother and mother-in-law in the household. Also in the household was a Louisa Harris, age 20.

A 1862 US IRS Tax Assessment list showed F K Travers, physician, of Taylors Island, Maryland taxed $10 for a Class B license.

The Civil War Draft Registration as of 1 July 1863 showed Dr Francis K Travers, age 23, doctor, living at Taylors Island, Maryland. A number of men with the surname Travers appeared on the same page of the registration.

The 1868 Baltimore City Directory showed Frank Travers living at 162 South Charles St. 

The 1870 Federal Census for New Jersey showed Frank K Travers, age 30, born in Maryland, living in Matawan. He owned $4,000 in real property and $2,000 in personal property. He was enumerated as part of the household of Thomas R Ryer, age 60, born in New York, farmer with $30,000 in real property and $10,000 in personal property. He was likely a tenant.

The 26 Jul 1873 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 2 col 6) contained this plea to Dr Travers' patients to pay their overdue bills because he had been housebound for many months and unable to conduct his routine collection of payments.

To My Friends of Matawan and Vicinity: Having been confined to the house for five months, and making in that time but few collections, I am greatly in need of money. I therefore hope my patients will respond cheerfully to this call, and come forward promptly and settle their bills. Thereby oblige,
Yours Truly,
F K Travers

The 2 Aug 1873 edition of The Matawan Journal held Dr Travers' obituary:

"Frank K Travers, MD, was born in Dorchester County, Md about eight miles from Cambridge, the county seat, in June 1840. At the early age of ten years he manifested a fondness for medicine, and even then said he intended to be a doctor when he got to be a man. This desire increased with age, and after completing his educational course he commenced the study of the medical profession, and graduated from the Maryland University, at Baltimore, in the term of 1860, having been only twenty years of age. After receiving his diploma he practiced for a while at Baltimore, and then removed to Seaford, Delaware, where he remained until invited to become the partner of the late Dr Dayton in the winter of 1869 and '70. In this partnership he continued until the death of Dr Dayton, in July, 1870, when he took control of the entire practice. As a physician and surgeon, he gave evidence of ability and a love for his profession, and was recognized by official appointment by the Monmouth Co Medical Society, of which he was a member.

 He was connected with the Orders of Odd Fellows and Free Masons at Seaford, Del and continued in active relationship with Aberdeen Lodge F & A M at this place.
 Up to last fall he was in possession of as apparently good health as men generally enjoy, but the labors  of his profession told upon his constitution and developed a rapid hereditary consumption. For more than six months he has been unable to attend to any business, and on Friday evening, July 25th, as the sun was setting in the western sky, his sun sank beneath the horizon of human hope,  but only we dread to ----- forth in the realms where there is no night.

The funeral took place in the Presbyterian Church on Sunday afternoon July 29th at 4 o'clock, and notwithstanding the severe storm there was a large attendance of firm and sympathizing friends. At the conclusion of the service the body was left in the church until Monday morning, when it was taken to Old Bridge and thence conveyed to Glassboro in Gloucester County, where it was interred in the Episcopal burial ground."

The History of Monmouth County, New Jersey, by Franklin Ellis (1885: Philadelphia (R T Peck & Co), pg 345, contains the following biography of Dr. Travers, a text which I'm afraid would violate copyright law if it were to be published today:

"Frank K Travers, MD, was born in Dorchester County, Md about eight miles from Cambridge, the county seat, in June 1840. At an early age he manifested a fondness for the science of medicine, and after completing his educational course he commenced the study of it, and graduated at the Maryland University, Baltimore, in the session of 1860. After receiving his diploma he practiced for a time in Baltimore, then removed to Seaford, Del, where he remained until invited to become a partner with Dr A B Dayton, of Matawan, NJ, in the winter of 1869-70. In this partnership he continued until the death of Dr Dayton, in July, 1870, after which he remained in charge of the practice. Up to the fall of 1872 he was in possession of apparently good health; but his labors weighed upon his constitution, and developed a rapid hereditary consumption. For more than six months he was unable to attend to business, and he died on the 24th of July, 1873.

As a physician and surgeon, Dr Travers gave evidence of ability and love for the profession. In his personal relations he was friendly and courteous, just and upright in his dealings, and a firm advocate of professional etiquette. He was held in high esteem by his professional brethren, and by a large circle of sympathizing friends and patrons."

Ellis, pp 321-2, showed Dr Travers to be a member and officer of the Medical Society of Monmouth (1871-2).

Dr Travers is buried in the St Thomas Episcopal Church Burial Ground in Glassboro, NJ. A photo of his gravestone is captured at Find-a-Grave under the name Dr E K Travers.

History: Rev James M Anderson, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Matawan (1874 - 1881)

Reverend James M Anderson (10 Sep 1827 - 23 Aug 1907) served as the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan from 1874 to 1881. He was married and had three daughters and a son.

James Marshall Anderson was born 10 September 1827 to James and Janet (Marshall) Anderson, according to the Mary Elisabeth Anderson Brown genealogy available at Ancestry.com.

James M Anderson was born 10 September 1827 in Kilmarnock, Scotland, according to the Presbyterian Ministerial Directory of Ministers of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, published by the Ministerial Directory Company, Oxford, OH in 1898. Kilmarnock is famous as the original home of Johnnie Walker spirits and the place where Robert Burns penned his first poems.

James M Anderson married Elizabeth Robbins on 25 August 1864 in Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticut, according to the Mary Elisabeth Anderson Brown genealogy. Elizabeth was born 21 February 1835 to Samuel R and Frances "Fanny" (Osborne) Robbins.

The 1870 Federal Census for Pennsylvania showed James Anderson, age 40, born in Scotland, Presbyterian clergyman, with property worth $3,000, living in the 28th Ward and 91st District of the city of Philadelphia with his wife Elizabeth, age 35, born in New York and daughters Jessie (5 OH), Elizabeth (3 OH) and Agnes (1 MA). The Mary Elisabeth Anderson Brown genealogy names the Anderson children as Jessie McMillian Anderson, Elizabeth Marshall Anderson, Agnes Stevenson Anderson, and Robbins Battell Anderson.

The 11 Apr 1874 edition of The Matawan Journal reported that Rev Anderson of Belvidere had accepted the call of the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan. Belvidere is a small town in Warren County, New Jersey.

The 23 May 1874 edition of The Matawan Journal carried details of a wedding officiated by Rev Anderson.

The 1 Aug 1874 edition of The Matawan Journal said Rev Anderson would be leaving on a four week vacation next week.

The 5 Sep 1874 edition of The Matawan Journal said Rev Anderson's brother-in-law, Rev Robbins, of the Oxford Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, preached two sermons the previous Sunday. Apparently Rev Robbins was filling in for his vacationing brother-in-law.

The 21 Nov 1874 edition of The Matawan Journal stated that Rev Anderson would be delivering the sermon at the Union Thanksgiving Service at the Methodist Episcopal Church in Matawan. It would be his first Thanksgiving service in Matawan, so the newspaper encouraged a large turnout at this annual ecumenical event. A summary of his Thanksgiving sermon appeared in the 28 Nov 1874 edition, and the full text appeared on the front page the following week.

The 25 Dec 1875 edition of The Matawan Journal reported that members and friends of the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan would be visiting Rev J. M. Anderson at the parsonage on Tuesday evening 29 Dec 1875.

The 17 Apr 1880 edition of The Matawan Journal reported that Rev Anderson was named by the Presbytery of Monmouth meeting in Allentown, NJ, as one of its delegates to the annual session of the Presbyterian church's General Assembly, which was to be held in May.

The 1880 Federal Census for New Jersey showed James M Anderson, age 52, born in Scotland to Scottish parents, minister, as head of household in Matawan. His wife was Elizabeth, age 45, born in New York to Connecticut parents. They had three daughters and a son, namely daughters Jessie (15 OH), Bessie (14 OH) and Agnes (11 MA), and son Robbins B Anderson (3 NJ).

The 12 Jun 1880 edition of The Matawan Journal noted the recent return of Rev Anderson from the annual session of the General Assembly of the PCUSA.

The 16 Oct 1880 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 2 col 1) reported that Rev Dr Seward of Red Bank had been filling the pulpit for Rev Anderson at Matawan for the past three months due to the latter's ill health and the church was anxiously awaiting his return.

The Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the USA for 1881 (New Series Vol VI, pg 897) showed James M Anderson was pastor at the Matawan church that year. The church had two elders and no deacons. It took in 5 members, baptized 2 infants, had 171 students attending Sunday School and 191 church members. The church spent $2,947 on the pastor's salary, Sunday School supplies, building and repairs, liquidation of debts and relief of poor members of the congregation. The members donated $14 to evangelize and educate freed men; $12 to support disabled pastors and aid the families of deceased clergy; $118 for home missions; and $165 for foreign missions. Members paid $214 for Bible societies, tracts, and general benevolences. And the members paid $13.44 for General Assembly administration.

The 26 Nov 1881 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 2 col 5) reported that Rev Anderson participated in the Union Thanksgiving services in Matawan.

The Minutes of the 103rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the USA for 1891 (New Series Vol XIV, pg 498) listed James M Anderson as pastor of the Bismarck Presbyterian Church in Bismarck, North Dakota in the Synod of North Dakota, Bismarck Presbytery.

The 1895 Minnesota Territorial and State Census showed James M Anderson, age 68, born in Scotland, clergyman (retired), living in Duluth at 831 Boulevard W, with Mrs James M Anderson, age 62, born in NY, daughters Jessie Anderson (30 OH), Elizabeth Marshall (28 OH), and Agnes Anderson (25 MA), and son Robins B Anderson (18 NJ). Also in the household was a domestic from Norway named Ida Hanson.

James M Anderson's wife Elizabeth died in Duluth on 13 April 1896, according to the Mary Elisabeth Anderson Brown genealogy.

The 1905 Minnesota Territorial and State Census showed Rev James M Anderson, age 77, born in Scotland to Scottish parents, minister, living in Duluth with Helen Anderson, age 83, born in Scotland to Scottish parents, and James's daughter Elizabeth M Anderson, age 38, born in Ohio to a Scottish father and NY mother. Helen is very likely James Anderson's sister, who was born 16 November 1821, according to the Mary Elisabeth Anderson Brown genealogy.

James M Anderson died in Duluth on 23 August 1907, according to the Mary Elisabeth Anderson Brown genealogy.

History: Dr Carl Gesswein, Matawan Physician (1881 - 1956)

Charles Albert "Carl" Gesswein was a prominent medical doctor with an office at the corner of Church and Main Streets and a home at 205 Main Street in Matawan for many years. He born on 30 May 1881, in Canton, Ohio, married Bessie Morrow about 1906, and died on 19 Mar 1956 at Riverview Hospital in Red Bank after a long illness.

In the 1881 Canton City Directory, Carl's father Gustave L Gesswein was foreman at the Diebold Safe and Lock Co and lived at 148 South Cherry Street in Canton. In a separate section of the directory, G Gesswein was listed as the 4th Ward's member of the school board. His term of office was due to expire in 1890.

Gustave appeared in the 1888-1889, 1889-1890, and 1891-1892 Canton City Directories.

Carl was a student living with his parents, Gustave J and Mary Gesswein, at 506 Bucher, Canton, OH, in the 1896 Canton City Directory. Carl's sister Laura was in the same household; she was working as a bookkeeper at the co-op grocery. His sister Rose was also there, listed as a stenographer.

Carl was a student living with his parents, Gustave and Marie Gesswein, in Hamilton, OH in the 1900 Federal Census. His father, who was born in Sep 1850 in Germany and came to the US five years later, was superintendent of a safe manufacturer in Hamilton, OH. Home to three major safe companies, Hamilton was considered the Safe Capital of the World at the time. Carl's mother was born in Feb 1856 in the portion of Virginia that would become West Virginia; her father was born in Germany and mother in Switzerland. Gustav and Marie were married about 1877 and had four children, one of which had died by 1900.

The 1900 Hamilton City Directory showed Gustave as Superintendent of the Mosler Safe Company, Grand Boulevard, East Hamilton. Their residence was at 229 North 7th Street in Hamilton. Carl was a clerk at Mosler. Gustave's wife was Mary A Gesswein. Carl's sisters Laura and Rose were in the household but listed no occupations.

Carl was a student in the 1902 Hamilton City Directory. Laura was a stenographer, while the other details above remained the same.

Carl was a medical student in the 1904 Hamilton City Directory. The other details above remained the same.

Carl finished undergraduate work at the University of Cincinnati, then medical school at the University of Illinois, Urbana, according to his obituary. He opened a medical office in Plainfield, NJ in 1904.

Carl married Bessie Morrow about 1906. Bessie and her fraternal twin, Jesse Morrow, were born in Oct 1879, children of John and Ada Morrow, according to the 1900 Federal Census. The family lived in Hamilton, OH, where John was a salesman. The twins were born in Seven Mile, OH, according to Bessie's obituary, which showed her name as Bessie Hudson Morrow. Her burial record and Carl's obituary both showed her maiden name as Hudson, but the Hudson connection was not obvious. John and Ada had been married 29 years in the 1900 Census and the children showed Pennsylvania parental birth places, matching John and Ada.

Carl and Bessie were enumerated at 102 Central Avenue in Plainfield, NJ in the 1910 Federal Census. He was a doctor with his own office. He and Bessie had been married for four years at the time.

Carl appeared with a business listing in the 1912 Plainfield City Directory. He was a physician with hours 8 - 10 am, 1 - 3 pm, and 7 - 8 pm. His residence was at 102 Central Avenue in Plainfield, NJ. His phone was 730-J. His father Gustave was listed in the household; he was working as a superintendent in Philadelphia. The women were not listed.

Carl was listed with physicians in the 1914, 1915 and 1916 Plainfield City Directories. Each showed his 102 Central Avenue address.

Carl and Bessie moved to Matawan in 1916, according to his obituary. The 14 Dec 1916 edition of The Matawan Journal contained this report:

"Dr. George G. Reynolds has sold his house on Main Street to Dr. Carl A. Gesswein of Plainfield, who, with his wife, moves here to-day. Dr. Gesswein is a graduate of The Chicago College of Physicians and Surgeons, with twelve years' experience of practicing medicine and has had experience as operating surgeon in the Plainfield Hospital."

An advertisement for Dr C A Gesswein appeared in the 1 Nov 1917 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 6, col 5). His office was at the corner of Main and Church Sts, telephone 214, was open early in the morning (7:30 - 9 am), afternoon (1 - 3 pm), and evening (7 - 8:30 pm).

By the time Carl registered for the WWI draft in Sep 1918, he and Bessie were living at 205 Main Street in Matawan. He was of medium height and build with brown hair and grey eyes and was keeping a medical office at 30 Church Street, according to that record.

Carl's parents and two unmarried sisters were living in his 205 Main Street household in the 1920 Federal Census. His father was no longer working. (This record, in contrast to the 1900 record above, says that Gustave emigrated to the US in 1870 and was naturalized in 1875. And Marie's parents were both born in Switzerland in this record.) Carl's sister Laura was a secretary at the Episcopal church.

Carl and Bessie's household at 205 Main Street in the 1930 Federal Census included his parents, his sister Laura, and Bessie's sister's daughter Lillian Kenny. Lillian was a nurse in an office, presumably Carl's medical office.

Carl's parents went to Germany and spent several weeks there in the early fall of 1930, according to an Oct 1930 article reprised in the 1 Oct 1970 edition of The Matawan Journal. The article revealed that Gustav held the title of Justice of the Peace.

The doctor hit the news in 1930 when he recommended testing the water in Lake Matawan for toxins.

In Jun 1931, Carl took Bessie and their niece Lillian Kenny to Philadelphia, where he attended the convention of the American Medical Association, according to a history article in the 17 Jun 1971 edition of The Matawan Journal.

Bessie hosted the Matawan Women's Club at her home to hear the Mayor Edward Currie speak on municipal management, according to the 25 Nov 1932 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 1, col 3). (Her  attendance in the early 1950s at a Former Presidents of the New Jersey Federation of Women's Clubs suggests that she served as president of the Matawan Women's Club at some point.)

Bessie hosted the Wednesday Afternoon Bridge Club at her home, according to the 25 Jul 1935 edition of The Red Bank Register.

Carl maintained a flower garden on the lot where Daniel B Strong had a store for many years, according to the 16 Aug 1935 edition of The Matawan Journal. (You can also see the text of the 1935 article at History of Singer Sewing Machines in Monmouth and Middlesex Counties in his blog.)

The 1940 Federal Census showed Carl and Bessie hosting his unwed sister Laura and an adult niece named Lillian Kenny at their 205 Main Street residence. Lillian was a technician, office assistant.

Carl served on the committee for the annual dance benefit for Riverview hospital, according to the 18 Jul 1940 edition of The Red Bank Register.

Carl's medical office was at 35 Church Street in 1942, according to his WWII draft registration papers.  He and Bessie were at 205 Main Street and their phone number was 214. He was 5'8" tall and 200 lbs with grey hair and had a tattoo on his arm.

During WWII, Carl was chief of emergency medical services of the Matawan Borough Defense Council.

Carl worked on the staff at Monmouth Medical, Riverview and South Amboy hospitals. He served as the school physician for the Matawan Township school district. He also worked in Holmdel Township. He was a former member of the Monmouth County Medical Society.

Carl served on the Board of Directors of Matawan Bank and attained the presidency of the bank, according to his obituary. The 12 Jul 1951 edition of The Matawan Journal had a public notice of the accounts of this bank, showing Carl as president.

Carl was a member of Matawan Lodge #192 F & AM {Free and Accepted Masons}, according to his obituary.

Bessie was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church, according to her obituary. She served as President of the Glenwood Mission Band until 1950, according to the 19 Jan 1950 edition of The Matawan Journal. She was also a circle member, among other activities of the church. She was also active in the Matawan branch of the American Red Cross. She is mentioned in this context in the 13 Apr 1950 edition of The Matawan Journal.

Bessie died of a heart attack on 11 Nov 1952 at their home in Matawan, according to the 13 Nov 1952 edition of The Matawan Journal. Her funeral was to be conducted by Rev Chester Galloway of the First Presbyterian Church on 14 Nov 1952, with burial to follow at Old Tennent Cemetery.

Carl resigned as Matawan Township schools physician in Feb 1955 due to illness, according to the 24 Feb 1955 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 1, cols 4-5). He also resigned as schools physician in Holmdel, according to the 14 Jul 1955 edition of The Red Bank Register.

Carl's obituary appeared in the 22 Mar 1956 edition of The Matawan Journal, (pp 1, 4). His funeral was conducted by Chester Galloway of the First Presbyterian Church. Burial was on 22 Mar 1956 at Old Tennent Churchyard in Tennent, NJ, according to Find-a-Grave.

Carl left $45,000 and the balance of his estate, minus $30,000 in directed bequests, to Lillian Kenny, his niece, according to the 12 Apr 1956 edition of The Matawan Journal. The bequests went to cousins and nieces as well as his late wife's twin brother.

History: Our Matawan Portfolio (1891)

Page 3 of the 25 Jul 1891 edition of The Matawan Journal had a section called Our Matawan Portfolio, in which some local news items were reported. Below are items from the paper, followed by my research notes.

1. Charles H Schanck sent six baskets of peaches to New York last Wednesday.
2. Dr Jackson has a Kensington cart that attracts much attention and is admired by all.
3. Remember the Oriental lecture and entertainment in the Baptist Church this Friday evening.
4. Benjamin Cooper, of Freneau, had a stroke of apoplexy on Monday and is lying in a critical condition.
5. The net receipts of the Fourth of July Picnic under the auspices of the St Joseph's R C Church were over $725.
6. Almost forty young people from this place attended the harvest home at Old Tennent Church Wednesday evening.
7. Mrs E Sylvester, of Perth Amboy, has removed to Matawan and is occupying a house on Broad street owned by E I Brown.
8. Elwood Hopkins gathered three bushels of swamp huckleberries in two days this week. Where he was they were plentiful.
9. The pile driver is at work on the bridge crossing the creek above the railroad trestle. Henry Holland is the engineer in charge.
10. The August number of Butterick's Delineator is out. As usual, it contains just what the ladies need in preparing their summer costumes.
11. J W Cooper and family, of New York, have rented the James Cottrell house in the upper part of the town and are now occupying it.
12. A new fence has been built around the property of C H Wardell in the rear of Washington Hall. W A Fountain, Jr furnished the labor.
13. We acknowledge the receipt of a map from Amzi T Dodd, of Long Branch, showing the different points reached by way of the Central R R of New Jersey. Please except (sic) thanks for same.
14. Dr C Knecht has removed his heater from his house and W A Fountain has contracted to put in a Furman steam heater, which is expected to give much better results than the one just removed.
15. On Monday night as Garret Hendrickson was leaning back in a chair on the stoop of Conover's restaurant, his weight proved too much for one of the large glass windows and the top of the chair went through it.
16. The meeting of the Commissioners announced for Saturday evening last was attended by only three members, one less than a quorum. It was decided to have the next meeting on Saturday, July 25, at the usual hour and place.
17. Mr E H Dominick has a copy of The Lord's Prayer printed in fifty-three different languages. It was compiled by F A Strale of New York in 1811 and has been in the possession of Mr Dominick since that time. It is certainly a curiosity.
18. The evangelist, Lavinia A Browne, was married on Monday at Little Silver to Mr Joseph Anderson of Atlantic Highlands. Mrs Browne-Anderson will continue her evangelistic work while her husband is in college preparing himself for the ministry.
19. A number of farmers in this vicinity were noticed going to the seashore on Saturday morning last with empty tubs and rakes. Upon their return in the evening their tubs were filled with hard clams, and in addition to having a day's recreation they were amply remunerated for their long drive.
20. Rev C I Percy and Mr P V Hyer engaged in a croquet game on Monday evening on Dr Knecht's grounds. Chinese lanterns made light for the occasion and the grounds presented a picturesque appearance. The game was hotly contested and resulted in a draw, after more than an hour's play.
21. The Midway Shooting Club of this place will meet the Perth Amboy Gun Club on the latter's ground on Saturday and shoot a friendly team match. The contest will begin at 1 pm and will be at live birds. The opposing teams will consist of at least eight and possibly ten men and the Midways hope to carry off the honors.
22. Potatoes, tomatoes, apples, corn, peppers, cabbage and other early produce have been going to the market in large quantities this week. The first of the week tomatoes brought $3.50 a crate, but on Thursday they were quoted at $1.59@$3. Potatoes range from $1.75@$2, and apples from 75c@$1.50, Nyacks bringing $2.50.
23. The present week has been a joyous one for the country people. Different localities have made up parties and visited the shores of Raritan Bay for a pleasant time in bathing, boating, etc. On Thursday several load of children from the neighborhood of Ticetown passed through town bent on a day's outing at Cliffwood.
24. If any of our readers have last week's copy of The Journal at hand and can spare it they will confer a favor by sending it to this office.  We have a call for several copies which are wanted to send to friends of Miss Ida Faye. The demand last week was an unusually large one and our edition was exhausted before all our friends were supplied.
25. Assessor Bedle has about finished  his visits to taxpayers. Only a few property-owners have not handed in their schedule and in case this is not done soon the assessment will be made and if deductions should afterward be claimed the application will have to be made to the State Board of Assessors, which will probably meet in this county some time next month.
26. William P Malcolmson, who was said to have been committed to the Reform School July 16 by Judge Conover, is still at liberty. The Judge was not satisfied that the Reform School was the proper place for a boy of his age and the matter was laid over for a week. On Thursday the hearing was again laid over in order that the father of the boy could be present at the proceedings.
27. Charles Gehlhaus has lost two cows this week. The first one died Sunday morning and the other Tuesday afternoon. It is supposed that there must have been something wrong in the food given them, as both died in the same manner. Both cows were buried near by in Straub's barnyard. Last week Mr Gehlhaus also lost a horse, and his cup of  bad luck seems to be running over.
28. Mr Antisell has sold his first piano, manufactured in Matawan, to the Baptist Sunday school of this place. The instrument is an upright in style and finished in the best manner known to the trade. Its tone is superior to any we have heard and we have no doubt as soon as its merits become known in the East the demand for the Antisell piano will be greater than the anticipation of the manufacturers.
29. Nothing of importance was done at the special meeting of the Township Committee on Saturday evening last. After a half hour's talk it was decided to adjourn until Wednesday and go over the new road and what was still required to be done. The plans for the new bridge as prepared by the county will be used by the Township in building its part of the bridge, thus making the entire bridge uniform in material used and mode of construction.
30. Sebastian Miller, of New York, a man noted as an athlete, wrestler, and heavy lifter, visited the Aberdeen Inn on Tuesday, in company with Mr Wickert, of Keyport. While there he showed his strength by breaking a cobblestone into pieces with his hand doubled up. In appearance he is a rather short man but powerfully built. It is said that he will give an Exhibition in the Armory, Keyport, in about a fortnight, which will be under the auspices of the athletic club of that place.
31. We are informed that Ruliff Quackenbush will soon put on stages between Keyport and the railroad station in opposition to the horse railroad company. He has been thinking over the project for some time and the one thing in the past that has deterred him from doing it before was that he believed the Matawan patrons of the horse railroad would be very apt to continue with the railroad. He now, however, has reached the conclusion that the people riding from this section will bestow their patronage on him and for that reason is going to give it a trial. 
32. As J L M Dominick was making a delivery at the piano factory on Wednesday he left his horse standing along the public road. The animal was attracted by some foliage on the bushes and crossed the road to get it. Just at this point there is a five foot ditch and as he was about to step into it he was stopped by Dr Knecht, who was passing at that instant. It was fortunate for Jerry that that the doctor came along as he did, as the horse would have fared badly in another minute, and his loss would have been a severe one.

NOTES

1. - There was a Charles Schanck, born about 1836, who was enumerated in Matawan in the 1860 Federal Census. He was living with Mary A Cook and her daughter Gertrude, and what appears to have been Charles's mother, Hager Schanck, born about 1801.
   - There was a Charles Schenck, born about 1835, enumerated in Marlboro in 1870 as a farm laborer. He had a wife Elizabeth and a 15 yr old son Charles.
    - There was a Charles Schanck, born about 1840, enumerated in Marlboro in 1880 as a farm laborer in the household of Vanderbilt Whitlock. He had a wife Elizabeth.
    - John V P Schanck was Schanck the Grocer (wholesale and retail), of Matawan, who advertised in The Matawan Journal in the 1880s and early 1890s. He had a son Charles W Schanck born about 1867.
2. - There was a Andrew J Jackson, born Dec 1842 in New York, physician, living on Main Street in Matawan in the 1900 Federal Census. A Kensington cart was likely an electric car manufactured by the Kensington Automobile Company, of Buffalo, NY, which made cars from 1899 to 1904.
3. - Oriental lectures in the Baptist church would likely have been Sunday school classes teaching about the Holy Lands or mission work in the Far East. There was an Oriental Lectures Bureau selling Sunday school materials on West 23rd Street in New York in 1887. And there was an Oriental Lectures Bureau at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, undated.
4. - Benjamin P Cooper, carpenter, was born about 1817 in New Jersey. He lived in Raritan (Keyport)  and then in Matawan until his death.
8. - Elwood Hopkins, born Dec 1851, appeared in the 1900 Federal Census living with his widowed mother, Lucy Hopkins, born Mar 1828. Also in the household was Elwood's sister, Dora Hopkins, born Dec 1855. No one in the household was working in 1900.
9. - Henry Holland, born Nov 1853, stationary engineer, appeared in the 1900 Federal Census in Matawan. He listed himself as married sixteen years, but there was no wife, only a son, Robert.
10 - I found an online copy of the May 1891 edition of Butterick's The Delineator .
11. - There was a farmer named James H Cottrell, born about 1830, with wife Patricia Ann, living in Marlboro in the 1860 and 1880 Federal Censuses.
12. - Charles H Wardell, bank cashier, born about 1838, appeared in the 1880 and 1900 censuses in Matawan along with his wife, Mary. They were living with his mother-in-law, Charlotte Simpson, in 1880.
12. and 14. - William A Fountain, born Apr 1839, ran a hardware store in Matawan.
13. - Amzi Dodd, born about 1867, was the son and namesake of the owner of Dodd's Express, a baggage handling service in the New York City area. He was attending college and living with his father in New York City in the 1880 Federal Census. The 1900 Federal Census showed him living in Ocean, NJ, where he was enumerated as the superintendent of Dodd's Express. There are a number of letters to the editor and even a dedicated article (Express Nuisance) in The New York Times complaining bitterly about the New York Transfer Company, of which Dodd's Express was part. The company would lose or steal from people's baggage. There was an article in The Hartford Weekly Times claiming that one of the company's drivers conspired with thieves to steal from postal bags between the port and the post office. A company cashier committed suicide by taking morphine, again as reported by The NY Times.
14. - Cyrus Knecht was a physician in Matawan in the 1900 Federal Census. He was born in Sep 1851 in Pennsylvania. He was a physician in Easton, PA in the 1880 Federal Census. He was the doctor who treated a knife wound after a pool room fight on Main Street in 1929. He died in 1934 and was buried at Green Grove Cemetery in Keyport. (See 12 above re W A Fountain.)
15. - Garret Hendrickson, born about 1838 in NJ, was son of John S and Eleanor Hendrickson. Garret lived with his father, a farmer in Raritan Township, in the 1850 Federal Census. He was a clerk in a mill living in the household of David Craig, a merchant in Matawan, in the 1860 Federal Census. He was married and back in his father's household, a $26,000 farm in Holmdel that used the Matawan post office, in the 1870 Federal Census. And he was a store clerk living with his father-in-law, Benjamin E Griggs, the tax assessor in Matawan, in the 1880 Federal Census.
15. The 2 Aug 1890 edition of The Matawan Journal announced the Saturday 27 July 1890 opening of W H Conover's restaurant and dining rooms adjoining the Journal's offices. William H Conover, born about 1837 in NJ, was enumerated in Matawan in the 1880 Federal Census as a farmer. He had a wife and three daughters living with him at the time.
17. - Edward H Dominick, born about 1811 in New York, was a watch repairman when he was enumerated in Matawan in the 1880 Federal Census. Also in his household was his 45 year old housekeeper (Alice Compton) and his 7 month old son (Amsey Dominick).
17. - Frederick A Strale, born about 1795 in Stockholm, Sweden, paper maker, 5' 10" tall, hazel eyes, brown eyes, dark hair, enlisted in the 5th Infantry Regiment (US Army), Company D, on 17 March 1820. He became an artificer in light artillery. (The 5th Infantry notably built a fort at the mouth of the Minnesota River during this time, laying the groundwork for the construction of Minneapolis-St Paul.) He graduated Uppsala University in 1809, and then graduated Andover Theological Seminary, Andover, Massachusetts in 1827. He was ordained an evangelical Presbyterian minister on 16 September 1829 at New Lebanon, NY. (This town was home to the New Lebanon Conference, where Presbyterian leaders challenged the preaching methods of Charles Finney at the peak of the Second Great Awakening.) Strale, late of Chenango, Broome County, NY, had died recently when a public notice to creditors was placed in The Broome Republican at Binghamton, NY on 11 Oct 1832. I suspect the Lord's Prayer was assembled by Rev Strale but not in 1811, which coincidentally was Edward Dominick's approximate year of birth. Strale was likely still in Stockholm in 1811.
20. - Rev C. L. Percy preached at the First Baptist Church in Matawan from January 1890 to October 1894, according to a 1904 history of Baptists in the area. He conducted a wedding in Matawan on 21 Feb 1894, according to the 28 Feb 1894 edition of The Red Bank Register. He accepted a call to a Baptist church in Deposit, NY, starting his new charge on 1 November 1894, according to Christian Work, vol 54, published in 1894.
20. - Peter V Hyer, born about 1839, lived in Holmdel with his wife Julia in the 1860 Federal Census and used the Matawan Post Office. He had a $15,000 farm in Holmdel in the 1870 Federal Census. And he was a farmer in Matawan in the 1880 Federal Census.
21. - The Midway Shooting Club's founding was announced in the 2 Oct 1875 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 2 col 4). "A company of gentlemen from Matawan and vicinity, who are fond of the sport connected to the gun," rented the hall above the stores in the Rose Building across the street from the Episcopal church on Main Street, Matawan, for their new club.
22. - The Nyack pippin or Champlain apple was an obscure form of Sweet Bough dessert apple grown in New Jersey and Delaware in the mid to late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was thought to have originated in Vermont or New York. Reference the Bulletin of the US Bureau of the Plant Industry, 1907; The Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the New Jersey Horticultural Society, 1876; and The Western Fruit Book, by Franklin Reuben Elliott, 1859, reprinted.
24. - Ida Faye, born about 1857, was one of three single adult daughters of the widow Jane Faye, born about 1820. They were all living together in their mother's Matawan household in the 1880 Federal Census. The newspaper she wanted extra copies of, the 18 Jul 1891 edition of The Matawan Journal, included a story on pg 2 col 3 about a farewell reception held at the Baptist church for Ida Faye, MD, who would be departing in August for missionary work in India.
27. - Charles Gehlhaus, born about 1842 in Germany, was a baker enumerated in Matawan in the 1880 Federal Census, along with wife Caroline and eight children. His son Otto was boarding in Keansburg as a real estate salesman in the 1930 Federal Census. He reported that his father was born in Hamburg, Germany and his mother in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
28. - The T M Antisell Piano Company of Matawan manufactured the patent steel wrest plank tuning device and high grade pianos recognized with awards in New Orleans and Melbourne, according to an 1891 advertisement in the Music Trade Review. It employed 20 persons in Matawan in 1909, according to the Industrial Directory of New Jersey, 1909. The Red Bank Register, 8 May 1901, reported that Matawan residents had invested $2,000 towards the establishment of a foundry, due to open 1 June 1901, called the Matawan Steel and Iron Company. The foundry would be located in the old Antisell piano factory.
30. -  An article at Muscles of Iron says Sebastian Miller was born in January 1862 and came to the US in 1887.
- Wrestling Observer contains research on events involving Sebastian Miller mentioned in issues of The Brooklyn Eagle between 1888 and 1902.
- The 1910 Federal Census shows Sebastian Miller, born about 1862 in Germany, living at 122 4th Street in Manhattan. Terese Miller, born about 1858 in Germany, was his second wife, this being their second year of marriage. Sebastian was a saloon proprietor. He claimed to have immigrated to the US in 1887 and that he was a naturalized citizen.
- The 1920 Federal Census shows Sebastian Miller, born about 1862 in Germany, living at 3019 North Clark Street in Chicago. His wife Theresa and nephew Joseph Miller were living in the household. Sebastian was a tailor. Sebastian claimed to have immigrated to the US in 1886 and that he was naturalized in 1895.   
- A Sebastian Miller, born about 1862 in Germany, came to America in steerage as a mason in December 1881 aboard the SS Switzerland, which sailed from Antwerp, Belgium to New York City.
- A Sebastian Miller, born about 1862 in Germany, last residence Munich, came to America in 2nd cabin as a machinist in December 1892 destined for New York aboard the S S Spaarndam, which he boarded at Rotterdam to New York City.
31. - Ruliff Quackenbush, born about 1816 in New Jersey, was enumerated in Matawan in the 1880 Federal Census. He was a laborer. His wife was Cecelia, also born in 1816 in NJ.
32. - Jared M Dominick, born about 1851 in New York, was enumerated in Matawan in the 1880 Federal Census. He was an expressman. His wife was Sarah and his infant daughter was named Mary.

History: Main Street, Matawan (1873) (Part 1)

Above is a northern portion of Main Street in downtown Matawan, as pictured on page 17 of the 1873 edition of Wolverton's Atlas of Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Along the left side of the map is Matawan Creek, while on the top right you will see a bit of Gravelly Brook, which actually ran parallel to Main Street throughout that part of the borough. Both of these waterways were later diverted as part of the creation of Lake Matawan and Lake Lefferts.

Above is the current (2013) Google Maps rendering of the same part of downtown Matawan featured in the Wolverton Atlas (1873).

 

 GETTING ORIENTED

I've selected a section of 1873 Main Street that includes Trinity Episcopal at the north (east side) and Matawan Methodist Episcopal Church at the south (west side). Trinity is still there but it's Bart's Restaurant today. The Methodist church was torn down but was located at the intersection with Ravine Drive, just north of the US Post Office. The Methodist congregation moved to Aberdeen.

I should point out that Main Street is not marked as such on this portion of the 1873 map,  but you should get the idea. Main Street is oriented roughly north-south on the 1873  map, while it runs NNW on today's Google Map.

Below you will find the results of my research on the properties along this downtown section of Main Street. The listings are north to south in the context of the map segment being studied. After Hendrick and Koertenius Wyckoff,, the research results are presented for properties south along the west side of the street and then south along the east side.

 

NORTHERN MAIN STREET

 

Hendrick and Koertenius Wyckoff

H. & K. H. Wyckoff occupied lots on either side of Main Street at the very top of this picture. The Wyckoffs advertised in the Sep 1869 edition of The Matawan Journal as wheelwrights and blacksmiths operating on Main Street. (See related article)

• Koertenius Wyckoff, age 30 NJ, blacksmith, $5,000 $1,000, page 6, dwelling 48, household 49. Wife and young daughter and son, plus Benjamin Sickly, age 60, grist and flour mill. (1870 Federal Census)
• Hendrick Wyckoff, age 66 NJ, blacksmith, $2,000 $500, page 32, dwelling 265, household 271. Wife. (1870 Federal Census)

 

WEST SIDE OF MAIN STREET

 

J Lamberson (70 Main Street)

The next lot on the west side of the street belonged to a J. Lamberson, who had a small building on the property. A modern ranch style home at 70 Main Street currently sits on that corner lot. While it isn't marked, the cross street is called North Street.

 

Trinity Episcopal Church (74 Main Street)

On the south side of North Street (marked Epis. CH. and indicated with a green icon) is Trinity Episcopal Church, whose congregation is now located on Ryers Lane in Freneau. The old brick church building is still at 74 Main Street and as classy as ever, but occupied by the popular Bart's Restaurant  since 1982.

Sydney Bray (76 Main Street)

Just south of the church was Sydney Bray (marked S Bray), a lumber merchant.  Bob McCloskey Insurance (BMI), which has been in business since 1975, occupies this building at 76 Main Street. The house belonged for many years to the Radl family -- Joseph and his daughter Ann each rented out an apartment in the house for extra income. Below are some references to 76 Main as found in the Matawan Journal back to 1919.

• Mrs Matilda Linzmayer Peterson, 82 years old, was living at this address when she died in 1973, according to the 12 Apr 1973 edition of The Matawan Journal. 
• Francis G Roberts, 71, died at home at this address in 1965, according to the 28 Jan 1965 edition of The Matawan Journal. 
• This address was listed as having an apartment for rent in the 6 Feb 1958 edition of The Matawan Journal. The rental had 2 1/2 rooms, private bath with shower, private entrance 1st floor, refrigerator, heat, water, lights supplied. Furnished or unfurnished. Ideal for couple or two gentlemen.  
• Ann M Radl, R. N., was offering high calonic irrigations (colon cleansings) and electric bakings by appointment at this address in 1933, presumably as a treatment for polio, according to the 13 Oct 1933 edition of The Matawan Journal. (The Hospital for Deformities and Joint Diseases, New York City, advertised in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol 71, 1918, pg 30, that it was treating 200 patients a day with 'electric baking, hydrotherapeutics, galvanic, faradic, and sinusoidal electric currents, massage, and muscle education before a mirror.")
• Ann M Radl, 42 years old, was enumerated on Main Street in Matawan in the 1930 Federal Census. She listed herself as superintendent of the general hospital, perhaps the Matawan Hospital? Her widowed father, Joseph Radl, 79, was born in Bohemia to Austrian parents and had come to the US in 1872. Ann was listed as single and her building was said to have no building number. (Note: Ann's mother was also named Ann M Radl, according to the 1910 Federal Census. The family lived on Lower Broad Street at that time.  Joseph was a shoemaker. Young Ann was a bookkeeper at a department store.)
• Five recently renovated rooms at 39 Broad Street, with "bath, gas, electric, steam heat, stationary tub," were newly available, according to the 20 Jan 1928 edition of The Matawan Journal. Prospective renters were to contact "Miss Radl" at 76 Main Street.
• Mr and Mrs Joseph Radl, 76 Main Street, were entertaining their daughter, Mrs Roland E Waller, while she waited a month to join her husband, an ensign in the US Navy, in Honolulu, according to the 11 Aug 1921 edition of The Matawan Journal. Her husband had recently been transferred from the US Naval Air Station at Hampton Roads, Virginia.
• Those interested in renting a garage were directed to inquire at 76 Main Street, according to the 12 Jun 1919 edition of The Matawan Journal.

 

Thomas W Thorne

The next two lots south of Sydney Bray's place belonged to Thomas W Thorne (T. W. Thorne). The first was and still is a vacant lot. The second has a house on it (above) that could be the same building that stood there in 1873.

• Thomas W Thorne, age 65 NJ, retired merchant, lived in Matawan in the 1880 Federal Census. His daughters Eleanor (30) and Annie (28) were in the household, as were a boarder and a servant.
• Thomas W Thorne died in Matawan on 7 Jun 1981.
• Thomas W Thorne, age 55 NJ, merchant in dry goods and groceries, with $4,500 in personal property and $30,000 in real property, was enumerated in Holmdel in the 1870 Federal Census, along with daughter Ellen and Annie. (Joseph Thorne, age 45 NJ, merchant in dry goods and groceries, was enumerated next on the same page. Joseph is likely Thomas' brother.)
• Thomas (35 NJ) and Margaret (26 NJ) Thorne were enumerated in Raritan, NJ in the 1850 Federal Census. He was a merchant.

 

Charles W Fountain

Charles W Fountain (C W Fountain) was a 38 yr old grocer and dry goods merchant when he was enumerated in Matawan in the 1870 Federal Census. He was residing with his wife Anna (35), and children Henry, Jane and William, and a domestic servant. Charles had $11,000 in real property and $4,000 in personal property.

Daniel H and Charles F Wyckoff

Daniel H and Charles F Wyckoff (D H Wyckoff; C F Wyckoff) occupied neighboring lots on the west side of Main Street. D H Wyckoff and Company advertised in the Sep 1869 edition of The Matawan Journal as a coal dealer. (See related article)

• Daniel H Wyckoff, age 44 NJ, coal merchant, $35,000, $13,000, page 25, dwelling 216, household 220. Wife, two young children, and Charles F Wyckoff, below. (1870 Federal Census)
• Charles F Wyckoff, age 20 NJ, coal dealer, $ - , $2,000, living with Daniel, above (1870 Federal Census)

MILL STREET

Behind the Episcopal church is Mill Street, which runs parallel to Main Street for a couple of blocks. It turns 90 degrees and joins Main StreetA few businesses were on that street, including Cartan & Co and the S. G. & S Mill. Matawan Creek was a commercial waterway at the time.

 

 Dr Aaron Pitman (94 Main Street - Burrowes Mansion)

Aaron Pitman (Dr. A Pitman) was born about 1817 in NJ, according to the 1870 Federal Census. He was enumerated in Matawan with wife Ann and four children: Charles, Hattie, Rodman and Emma. Both Aaron and his son Charles were dentists. Aaron had $10,000 in real property and $2,000 in personal property. The family had a domestic servant.

His long and detailed obituary appeared in the 27 Oct 1894 edition of The Matawan Journal:

"On the Death of Dr. Pitman.

Dr. Aaron Pitman, who died on October 17, was born on a farm near Princeton on April 22, 1817. He had
seven brothers and four sisters, two of his brothers being older than he. When a young man Mr. Pitman learned the trade of cabinet making and later took dentistry as a profession. On December 23, 1839, he married Miss Anne Wilson of New Brunswick at Newark and from there went to Trenton. Here he lived for a short time when he removed to Matawan in 1840. The doctor and his wife took up their residence in what was called the "Round House," which was on the site now occupied by E. I. Brown. From there he moved to W. E. Arrowsmith's house adjoining Dr. Knecht's and after living there a few years bought in 1854 the residence in which he resided until his death. This house was a tavern during the Revolutionary War and is now 153 years old.

Aaron Pitman lived in Burrowes Mansion most of the second half of the 19th century.

During Dr. Pitman's early residence here he followed his calling in various sections of the county, it being the custom in those days to drive about the country with a horse and wagon. He had an office at Freehold and spent two days in the week there until his sons William W. and Charles F. grew to manhood, when he turned that office over to them. He then confined his practice to Matawan and until the last
few years had his share of the work.

About four years ago his throat became affected and an operation was performed to clear his windpipe of an obstruction. This was done by a New York specialist, but apparently did little good. The doctor lost his voice and since that time could converse only in a hoarse whisper. Subsequently he submitted himself to an examination by seven of the most prominent physicians in New York and they advised that another operation be performed and suggested the same specialist be asked to do it. But the doctor refused
to consent, as his recollection of his previous experience was not of the pleasantest. His windpipe was gradually closing up and it was thought he would choke to death, but when death came the expectation was not realized and he passed away peacefully and without a struggle. The doctor leaves a wife, two sons and two daughters— Charles P, Rodman C., Miss Hattie and Miss Emma J. Pitman.

Dr. Pitman was a noted man in many ways. He was six feet two inches tall and when in his usual health weighed around 225 pounds. He was of commanding appearance and noted in his younger days for his great strength and bravery, and it is said of him that his prowess had become so well known that no ordinary man could compete with him. During the rebellion he was a strong anti-war Democrat, believing that the differences between the North and South should be settled by arbitration. For his fearless expressions his life was threatened on more than one occasion, but knowing no fear he pursued his avocation and his courage protected him when other men might have lost their lives.

Just previous to Dr. Pitman coming to Matawan he joined the old Liberty Street Methodist Church in New Brunswick and since that time he was an active worker for the cause of the Master. He was ordained a local preacher in 1850 by Bishop Beverly Waugh and was authorized to perform the marriage ceremony. His membership with the Methodist church here extended over half a century and he always oecupied a particular pew in the "Amen" corner.

The funeral services were held last Saturday afternoon in the Methodist church. The doctor's remains were placed in the lecture room (in accordance with his request) and the services held in the auditorium of the church. Revs J. L. Howard, W. W. Moffett, and G. C. Maddock were present and delivered eulogistic addresses on the life of the deceased, after which the funeral cortege moved to Rose Hill
Cemetery where interment was made."

Aaron Longstreet

Aaron Longstreet (A Longstreet) (17 Aug 1805 - 4 Nov 1894) was a 64 yr old lumber merchant enumerated in Matawan in the 1870 Federal Census. His wife Catharine was 53 yrs old and son Henry was 11 yrs old. They had a domestic servant. Aaron had $18,000 in real property and $50,000 in personal property.

This house sits on the north end of the Longstreet lot but seems to be too small and too close to the Burrowes Mansion to be the original house. Perhaps the lot was subdivided and the Gulf station takes up the southern part?

Aaron and Catharine appeared in the 1860 Federal Census with children Mary (20), Huldah (10) and Henry (2). Aaron was a merchant with $9,000 in real property and $12,000 in personal property.

Aaron and Catharine were enumerated in Raritan (Keyport) in the 1850 Federal Census with children Mary (10) and Huldah (7/12). He was a merchant with $12,000 in property. 

Aaron is buried at Holmdel Cemetery in Holmdel, according to Find-a-Grave.

James H Horner

James H Horner (J Horner) was a 39 yr old dry goods dealer and grocer in the 1870 Federal Census for Matawan. He lived with his wife Charlotte (36) and 4 yr old twins, son William and daughter Jessie. He had $8,000 in real property and $8,000 in personal property.



Mrs Michael Conover

Nancy Conover (Mrs M Conover) was the 66 yr old wife of Michael Conover, age 71 in the 1870 Federal Census for Matawan. Michael was a farmer with $3,000 in real property and $600 in personal property.

Gordon D White

 See Gordon D White below.

George W Bell - Drug Store, Office of The Matawan Journal

George W Bell (G W Bell) was a 55 yr old druggist from England who was enumerated in Matawan in the 1870 Federal Census. His 21 yr old son Americus was a clerk in the store. Also in the household was son Franklin (15) and a domestic servant. George had $3,000 in real property and $2,500 in personal property.

George operated both the drug store (Drug Store) and the local newspaper, The Matawan Journal (Ofc of Matawan Journal).

UNLABELED ALLEYWAY

There was an unlabeled alleyway that connected Main Street with Matawan Creek. Along Main Street between this alley and  Little Street was a block with a series of 7 small, mostly unlabeled, structures facing Main Street. One was labeled Market EWH. Another was labeled SM.

Along the alley itself - 

Miss E Brown

I was unable to identify Miss Brown.

Lydia Disbrow

Lydia Disbrow (Mrs J Disbrow) had a shop of some sort at the end of the alleyway, at the edge of Matawan Creek. She was the 50 yr old wife of John N Disbrow, 53 yr old constable, per the 1870 Federal Census. John had $4,000 in real property and $2,500 in personal property.

An advertisement in the 18 Jan 1873 edition of The Matawan Journal promoted John's role as both constable and auctioneer. He not only collected on local debts but also sold the repossessed items at auction.

"John N Disbrow - Constable and Auctioneer, Matawan, NJ. Attends to the collection of all claims. Orders for Auction Sales may be left at the Matawan Journal Office."

LITTLE STREET (West side of Main Street)

 

Gordon D White

Gordon D White, born about 1823 in New Jersey, was a retired manufacturer enumerated in Matawan in the 1870 Federal Census. The handwriting is unclear, but he appears to have had $50,000 in real property and $30,000 in personal property.  He was living with his wife Catharine and four children.

Gordon and Catharine White were enumerated in Raritan (Keyport) in the 1850 Federal Census. His business appears to read "stove & tin." He had $700 in property.

They were enumerated in Matawan in the 1860 Federal Census. Gordon's occupation was stove manufacturer.

 

Factory

Perhaps this factory was Gordon White's stove manufacturing facility?

 

B Reed 

 I had no luck finding this person in the census or newspapers.

 

MORRISTOWN ROAD

Morristown Road is what we now call Ravine Drive. It remains Morristown Road for a section of roadway between Cross Road and Cliffwood Road.

 

EAST SIDE OF MAIN STREET (North of Little Street)

 

Colonel John Travers

Opposite the Episcopal Church on the east side of the street was the property of a J Travers. This would be Col John Travers, who was the prime force behind the construction of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Matawan. An online history of the church says Col Travers lived at the mouth of the Cheesequake river in Middletown Point, a part of Matawan Township, but the 1850 Federal Census says John Travers, born about 1791 in Maryland, lived in South Amboy with his family - wife Harriet, age 48, daughter Emily, age 13, son Robert, age 10. A farmer with $20,000 in property, Col Travers was hosting 35-year-old Massachusettsan F C "Putman", clergyman, identical with Ferdinand C Putnam, who would be the first pastor at Trinity. Also in the household were several laborers, likely some of those helping to build the church on Main Street in Matawan.

 

Daniel Lewis

Next on the east side of Main Street, just south of Travers, was the property of D Lewis. The 1870 Federal Census shows a Daniel Lewis, age 52 NJ, boot and shoe maker, with wife Catharine, age 48 NJ. The property had a building on Main Street and another, possibly a shed, at the back end.

 

Joseph Rose

Next on the east side of Main Street, just south of Lewis, was the property of J Rose. The 1870 Federal Census has a Joseph Rose, age 60 NY, farmer, with $35,000 in real property and $30,000 in personal property. Living with him was his wife, Frances, age 60 CT, and several other persons. The property had a building on Main Street. At the rear of the property was a school.

There was an alley south of the Rose property, possibly to provide access to the school.

 

Francis P Simpson

South of the Rose property was the Simpson estate. This was likely the property of Francis P Simpson, born about 1800 in England, who was a merchant in Matawan with $21,000 in real property and $14,000 in personal property in the 1860 Federal Census. His wife, Charlotte, was a widow in the 1870 Census. Her daughter Mary and lawyer son William, as well as a number of others were in the household with the widow in 1870.

 

Lawrence Cartan

South of the Simpson estate was a property labeled L Cartan. The 1870 Federal Census showed a Lawrence Cartan, 59 Ireland, with $8,000 in real property and $5,000 in personal property, who operated a grist and flour mill. He had a wife Ellen and 3 children at the time of the census.

 

Richard W Brown

South of the Cartan property were two lots, with one building on each, both owned by R Brown. The 1870 Federal Census had a Richard W Brown, age 42 NJ, brick mason, with $800 in real property and $250 in personal property. His wife Margaret was 34 NJ.

 

Peter L Cortelyou

South of the Brown properties was a lot with a building owned by a P L Cortelyou. The 1870 Federal Census showed a Peter L Cortelyou, age 40 NY, farmer, with $25,000 real property and $8,000 in personal property, and wife Jane B 40 NY and four children.

This ad (left), which appeared in the 24 May 1873 edition of The Matawan Journal, read: "HOUSE FOR SALE LOW! In the lower part of Matawan, pleasantly located on Main street. The style is modern, and there are 7 rooms. Lot streets on 3 streets. A good garden, and a small barn. Apply to P L CORTELYOU."

 

William H Conover

South of the Cortelyou property was a lot labeled W H Conover. A number of choices are available for this one, so additional research will be required.

• The 1870 Federal Census had a Michael Conover, 71 NJ, farmer, with wife Nancy, with a William H Conover, 32 NJ, farm laborer, with wife and kids living as a separate family within the household. Likely father and son. Michael had $3,000 in real property and $600 in personal property. William had $1,500 in real and $300 in personal property. The enumeration showed the Presbyterian Church just above Michael on that page of the census.
• A William H Conover, Jr was named Prosecutor of the Pleas for Monmouth County, according to the 13 Apr 1872 edition of The Matawan Journal. (pg 3 col 2)
• The 16 May 1874 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 2 col 2) included a William H Conover on a list of local applicants to Monmouth County for a hotel and saloon license.

 

Aaron H Hopkins Estate

Aaron H Hopkins (A H Hopkins) was a 49 yr old boatman living in Matawan in the 1870 Federal Census. His wife Lucy (Burlew) Hopkins was 43 yrs old and their three children -- William,, Elwood, and Eudora -- were living in the household. Aaron had $6,500 in real property and $2,500 in personal property. Son William was also a boatman.

Aaron was the 38 yr old "captain of a vessel" living in the Middletown Point area of Matawan in the 1860 Federal Census. Many of his neighbors were also in maritime occupations. He owned $7,000 in real property and $3,800 in personal property. His wife, Lucy was 29. There were three young children in the household - William, Elwood and Eudora.

Aaron was a 39 yr old boatman living in Middletown Point when he registered for the Civil War draft in Jun 1863.

Aaron was a 27 yr old boatman living in Raritan (Keyport) in the 1850 Federal Census. He had $2,000 in property. His wife's name was rendered as Lucia; she was 22 yrs old. They had a 2 yr old son William.

One genealogy shows that Aaron died in 1871 in Matawan, explaining why the property is listed as an estate.

Aaron named a ship after his wife, according to an article in the 20 Oct 1955 edition of The Matawan Journal regarding the upcoming 100th birthday of Nicholas Conover. The "Lucy Hopkins" was among the ships he piloted in his day. The article says that the Lucy Hopkins was eventually scuttled at South River to create a dock. Conover lived many years in Matawan

 

Two Empty Lots

There were two empty lots between the Hopkins estate and Mrs Brown's place.

Mrs Brown

Mrs Brown could be Anne E Brown, born about 1825, the apparent widow of Benjamin Brown, born about 1819. They had several children and were living in South Amboy for the enumeration of the 1850 Federal Census. Anne was a single mother in South Amboy in the 1860 Federal Census and the same in Matawan in the 1870 Federal Census. She had $3,000 in real property and $500 in personal property in the 1860 census and $4,000/$1,000 in the 1870 Federal Census.

Aaron H Hopkins Estate

See above.

 

William S Horner

William S Horner (W S Horner), a 61 yr old grocer and dry goods merchant, appeared in the 1870 Federal Census. He had $10,000 in real property and $25,000 in personal property. His wife Hannah was 60 yrs old and his son Robert S Horner, 20 yrs old, was a clerk in the store and resided with his parents. The family had an Irish maid servant.

William was a merchant in the 1860 Federal Census. He had $9,000 in real property and $16,000 in personal property. His son William H Horner, 18 yrs old, was a bookkeeper. Robert was going by his middle name, Stockton in this census; he was 10 yrs old. The family had a different Irish maid servant.

 

John M Hulshart

John M Hulshart (J M Hulshart), a 37 year old brick mason, was enumerated in Matawan in the 1870 Federal Census. He had $6,000 in real property and $2,000 in personal property. His wife Elizabeth M Hulshart was 38 yrs old and their son Clifford was 8 yrs old.

John was a 27 yr old master mason enumerated in Matawan in the 1860 Federal Census. He was head of household with two other masons and a 59 yr old housekeeper residing with him. He had $1,000 of real property and $700 in personal property.  The name was rendered Hulsart, a common variation for the name.

John was a mason enumerated with a group of masons and their families in Raritan (Keyport) in the 1850 Federal Census.

John was a mason enumerated in Matawan in the 1880 Federal Census. Again his name was rendered as Hulsart. He had married a second wife, enumerated as Amanda, age 40. They had three young children, the eldest boy possibly from the marriage with Elizabeth and the younger two possibly from the marriage with Amanda due to the gap in births.

 

Lieutenant John N Cottrell

Lieutenant John N Cottrell (J N Cottrell) (1827 - 1910) served as an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, operated a pottery business in Matawan, and moved in with his son in Neptune, where he died in 1910. He is buried at Mount Prospect Cemetery in Neptune. See his gravestone and other details at Find-a-Grave.

John was a 42 yr old pottery ware maker enumerated in Matawan in the 1870 Federal Census. His household included his wife Percilla and 7 children ages 1 to 18, with a set of twins in the bunch. A 4 yr old boy was named Wyckoff Cottrell, suggesting a connection to that family. He owned $2,120 in real property and $500 personal property.

John was a 1st Lieutenant in Company D, 38th NJ Volunteer Infantry with Union troops in the Civil War. The 38th NJ Infantry served at Fort Powhatan, a garrison on the James River east of Petersburg, Virginia, during the last months of the war.

Name: John N Cottrell
Enlistment Date: 20 Sep 1864
Rank at enlistment: 1st Lieutenant
State Served: New Jersey
Survived the War?: Yes
Service Record: Commissioned an officer in Company D, New Jersey 38th Infantry Regiment on 24 Sep 1864.Mustered out on 30 Jun 1865 at City Point, VA.
Sources: Register of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War 1861-65

John was living with his son Wyckoff Cottrell in Neptune in the 1900 Federal Census. Wyckoff was a mason and had been married only two years at the time of the census.

 

Francis W Hayward

See slaughterhouse listing below.

William W Disbrow

William W Disbrow, born about 1826 in New Jersey, was a commission merchant in Matawan in the 1880 Federal Census. His 42 yrs old wife Carrie was born in South Carolina. They had three children: daughters Lillian and Irene and son Lee.

The 1870 Federal Census showed William as a single parent with three children: daughters Lillie, Lizzie and Irene. The eldest were born in South Carolina, while the youngest was born in NJ. William was a waterman by occupation.

The 10 Mar 1897 edition of The Red Bank Register carried this interesting obituary for William's wife, per Distant Cousin. "Mrs. William W. Disbrow died of pneumonia at Matawan on Tuesday of last week, aged sixty years. She was a native of North Carolina and was distantly related to Robert E. Lee of Virginia. She married Mr. Disbrow in 1871. Her husband and one son survive her." 

William L S Harrison Estate

William L S Harrison was born about 1820 in New York and ran a prominent printing business for the City of New York in the 1850s and 60s. He died in 1865. The property (W L S Harrison Estate), apparently acquired when Harrison lived in Matawan at some point, remained intestate in 1873.

The 18 Jul 1874 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 2 col 3) reported the death in Brooklyn of Amy Harrison, the only remaining member of the Harrison family, who had once lived in Matawan. The parents and two of the three children died from consumption, leaving only one son, according to the article. Amy was the niece of Mrs Benjamin Tuthill, of Matawan, thus the local news coverage of this death.

The Matawan Journal said, in part: "The family some years ago resided in Matawan, and at that time consisted of father, mother and three children. Consumption had taken away all except the youngest child, now a young man. The father, Mr. W. H. Harrison, in his life, had one of the best job printing establishments in New York, where he amassed quite a handsome fortune."

The 20 May 1865 edition of The New York Times reported that W L S Harrison died on 19 May 1865, age 41.

The 1860 Federal Census showed William Harrison, 40 yrs old, printer, wife Julia, and several children living in Manhattan. Amy Harrison, age 6 in this census, is likely identical with Amy Harrison living with Freeman and Emeline Harrison in Sparta, NY in the 1870 census.

Freeman, born about 1811, was a physician. He appeared in Alumni Record and General Catalogue of Syracuse University (1911, pg 1675, available at Google Books) as Freeman Peck Harrison, Geneva Medical College, Class of 1844, a student from Sparta, NY.

William L S Harrison, printer, was charged and eventually cleared of all charges related to the printing of counterfeit Turkish currency, about which The New York Times published a lengthy piece in its 9 Oct 1858 edition. Harrison lived at 82 Duane Street in Manhatan at the time.

Benjamin and Margaret Tuthill, 57 and 46 yrs old, respectively, and family were enumerated in Matawan in the 1880 Federal Census. (Margaret's father and Freeman Harrison's wife were both born in England. Perhaps there is a hint there to the relationship mentioned between the families? It's a wild stretch, but Margaret's father and Emeline could be siblings.)

Capt Haddock Whitlock

Roger Haddock Whitlock (Capt H Whitlock) was born 2 Feb 1800 in Freehold. He married three times and had fifteen children. (See Stillwell's History of NJ, Vol 3, p 122, the details of which are captured in the notes on this page at Rootsweb WorldConnect) The Federal Census showed him living in Raritan (Keyport) in 1850 and Matawan in 1870. His occupation in both instances was "waterman."

Francis W Hayward, the Slaughterhouse

Francis W Hayward (F W Hayward), a 31 yr old butcher born in Massachusetts, ran the slaughterhouse next door to the hotel stables in Matawan, as enumerated in the 1870 Federal Census. He had $8,500 in real property and $3,000 in personal property. His wife Mary and infant daughter Carrie lived in the household, as did his brother, John W Hayward, age 26 and born in NJ. John was also a butcher. Evidently the Hayward family moved from Massachusetts to NJ in the early 1840s.

 

John H. Farry, the Matawan Hotel and Stables

John H Farry (J H Farry) was a 40 year old hotel keeper born in New York, according to the 1870 Federal Census. He ran the Matawan Hotel (Matawan Ho) and the associated stables (Stables). John claimed $50,000 in real property and $15,000 in personal property in that census. His wife Delia was 32 yrs old and also born in New York. Their four children were born in NJ.

 

G. D. White Company

G. D. White Co was a stove manufacturing company belonging to Gordon D White.

 

Mary Crook

The widow Mary Crook (Mrs Crook) was born 25 May 1806 in Kent County, England. She married Benjamin Crook and came to the US in 1829. He died shortly after they moved to Matawan, leaving her with a number of children to raise, so she opened a notions shop selling sweets and toys. She joined the Methodist Episcopal Church of Matawan in 1844. She died at home on 2 Feb 1881 and was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery.

Mary had three grandchildren living with her in Matawan in the 1870 Federal Census. The children could be from any of her boys. She had $8,000 in real property and $4,000 in personal property.

Mary's occupation as running a "fancy store" in Matawan was spelled out in the 1860 Federal Census but not in the others. Her eldest granddaughter was enumerated in her household, as was her daughter Eliza and husband, William S Dunlop, who was in the "market business." Henry and William Miller, barbers, and an Irish maid servant were also living there.

Mary was living in Raritan (Keyport) in the 1850 Federal Census, along with her 17-year-old son Charles, stone cutter; Eliza, 15; and Thaddeus, 13.

Mary was in Middletown in the 1840 Federal Census in the household of her son, Benjamin Crook (age 15-19). Living in the household were six persons: Benjamin; Unknown (age 10-14); Charles, 7; Eliza, 5; Thaddeus, 3; and Mary, 32.

Mary's son Charles Crook was building a new shop and would be moving his marble works to another part of town on 1 Apr 1878, according to the 16 Feb 1878 edition of The Matawan Journal, which cited The Newton Herald for the news. The 1880 Federal Census showed Charles Crook, operator of a marble works, living on Church Street in Newton, Sussex County, NJ with his wife and children.

Mary's obituary (right) appeared in the 5 Feb 1881 edition of The Matawan Journal.

 

 LITTLE STREET (East Side)

 

A few doors up from the Methodist Episcopal church you'd find Little Street.  The image above shows Little Street in a recent image, crossing from bottom right to upper left, and Main Street from lower left to upper right. Broad Street can be seen in the right corner.

In 1873, Little Street was on both sides of Main Street, but it stopped at Broad Street. There was no bridge over Lake Matawan at the time. In fact, there was no Lake Matawan.


Frederick Schock

At the northeast corner of Little Street and Main Street was a small property shown on the map as F Chock. This was very likely a tobacconist shop operated by one Frederick Schock, born about 1843 in Baden, Germany, who was a tobacco and cigar retailer based on his enumeration in Matawan in the 1870 Federal Census. Esma Travel is at that corner now, in a long building that extends down Little Street.


Washington Engine Company

East of the Schock property on Little Street was the Washington Engine Company (Eng Hos). Established in 1869, the engine company was at 47 Little Street from 1869 to 1976, when it relocated to Jackson Street.

A special election was scheduled for 8 May 1883 for Matawan fire district voters to approve collection of a local tax totaling $100 to allow the incorporation of the Washington Engine Company, according to the 5 May 1883 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 2 col 6).

The 20th annual election of officers for the Washington Engine Company was documented in the 9 Feb 1889 edition of The Matawan Journal.

Next door to the engine company at the time of the move in 1976 was the Matawan First Aid Squad building at 28 Little Street. The squad was established in 1934 as an offshoot of the engine company. See the 9 Jul 2009 edition of The Independent for coverage of the first aid squad's 75th anniversary celebration.

 

EAST SIDE OF MAIN STREET (South of Little Street)

 

Christian Straub

Christian Straub (C Straub) owned a butcher shop at Main and Little Streets. He was born in Mecklenburg, Germany in Apr 1841 and came to the US as an infant a year later. Christian, 29 Mecklenburg, was enumerated in Matawan in 1870 and in South Amboy in 1900. His wife Caroline was deceased by 1900; Christian was widowed and head of household with a number of children. What looks to have been Christian's older brother Frederick, 34 Mecklenburg, also a butcher, was living in Christian's household in Matawan in 1870. 

 

Charles Gelhaus

Charles Gelhaus (C Gelhaus), born about 1842 in Baden, Germany was a new baker in Matawan when he was enumerated in the 1870 Federal Census. He was living with his wife Caroline, 27 years old and also born in Baden; daughter Anna, age 2 NY, and son Otto, born in Oct 1849 in NJ. They had $4,000 in real property and $1,500 in personal property. An elderly seaman with a French name was boarding in their household.

 

Joseph Maggs 

Joseph Maggs (J Maggs), born about 1804 in England, was a manufacturer with $75,000 in real property and $10,000 in personal property in Matawan when he was enumerated in the 1870 Federal Census. His wife Mary was ten years younger and born in NJ.

The 13 Sep 1873 edition of The Matawan Journal carried this advertisement, suggesting that Joseph grew grapes, probably for the New York City market:

$5 REWARD!
The subscriber will give the above reward for information that will lead to the detection of the party or parties who robbed his vineyard of  a large quantity of GRAPES.
     JOSEPH MAGGS, Matawan, Sept 13, 1873 

Joseph was a cabinet maker enumerated in Raritan (Keyport) in the 1850 Federal Census. He had $21,500 in property at the time. When he died in Mar 1878, Joseph was a brick manufacturer, a common occupation in the area at the time due to local clay deposits. That is a hint to the "manufacturer" reference in the 1870 census.

Joseph's younger brother William, sister-in-law Ann, and five niece and nephews were living in his household at the time. William was born about 1811 in New York, suggesting that William and Joseph's parents emigrated to the US between 1804 and 1811. This period was remarkable for the Napoleonic Wars, but the British, who were warring with France during this entire time frame, owned the seas.

 

Methodist Episcopal Church

The bottom center of this map shows the intersection of Main Street and Morristown Road (now Ravine Drive). The green box at that intersection is the old Methodist Episcopal Church (M. E. CH.), which is where Matawan Drugs stood for many years and, more recently, a dollar store operated. (The cursive "Matawan" from the Matawan Drugs sign is still on the wall of the building.) The old Matawan Hospital would have been on Morristown Road within a block of Main Street.