Middlesex, New Jersey c.1872

(click image to enlarge)

c.1872

Middlesex County

New Jersey

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Early New Jersey Land Records - Finding John Catlin

Proprietary Warrants and Surveys, 1670-1727
      

Using this free searchable database which indexes warrants and surveys of the proprietors of the provinces of East and West New Jersey and includes many of New Jersey's earliest extant land records, I was able to locate 18 land records that name our ancestor, John Catlin.
Two of which have him listed as the Grantee.

From here I can order copies of up to 5 records from this database by clicking the "Select" button next to each record. The selected records appear at the bottom of the page and an order form can be printed.
If only all records were this easily searched and ordered!

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Beverly National Cemetery

Beverly National Cemetery, located in Burlington County, New Jersey, was established in 1864. It began as a single acre off of Beverly's Monument Cemetery, purchased from a local resident in 1863 for the purpose of interring Union Army casualties who died in the civil war era Beverly United States Army hospital. Of the original 147 Union soldiers buried at Beverly National Cemetery, only 10 are unknown.

For much of its history, the cemetery handled relatively few interments. But that changed significantly when space became unavailable at Philadelphia National Cemetery, and it is now closed to new interments.

Beverly National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Buried here in Plot: Y, 0, 2617

is Joseph Colbush 

PFC, US ARMY

Birth: Feb. 11, 1901, New Jersey,

son of Ignatz & Pauline Kolbush

Death: Nov. 16, 1963, New Jersey

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Newark, New Jersey c.1666

 

Newark, New Jersey

circa 1666

(click on map to enlarge)

In this town resided our ancestor, John Catlin (1643-1704), who was Newark's first schoolmaster. He opened his school in 1676 in his home as was the custom in those days.

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Genealogical Acts of Kindness - Church Marriage Record Shared

In hopes of discovery more about the origins of our Kolbusz ancestors, I sent a query via email to St. Stephen's Church - below is the scanned record I just recieved:

Translation provided by the Parish Secretery: 

Wojciech Kolbusz (33 years old) & Apolonia Gobur (25years old).

They were married on February 6, 1893, and were eleventh couple to be married at St. Stephen’s.

He was born in Losnica – Galicja and she was born in Luknorowo – Galicja (her parents: Piotr Gobur and Anna Zradzionka.

 I am always so grateful for Acts of Genealogical Kindness! 

Wordless Wednesday with Some History - St. Stephen's RC Church

On April 26, 1892, Bishop Michael J. O’Farrell assigned Father Stephen Szymanowski to attend to the spiritual needs of Polish Catholics living in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.  A storefront located in the Schiller Building on New Brunswick Ave. was soon renovated into a chapel for liturgical services. That fall the church property on State Street was purchased and construction began on the original church, which was blessed by Bishop O’Farrell on May 30, 1893.


It was at this church that my G-Grandparents,  
George Ignatz Kolbusz & Pauline Gobur 
were married on 06 Feb 1893.

St. Stephen's Roman Catholic Church continues to serve the Polish community today.

Sentimental Sunday - Jamesburg Style

When I was visiting my father's hometown of Jamesburg, NJ, as a teenager, I thought this old, gothic style house made of green tinged stone was so cool and would be a great place to live....
until my father told me it was the mortuary.

 

Intravatolo House: A Gothic Revival House with unusual character given by the use of a green-tinge stone. Its dormers were once hung with slate and its gables are steeply pitched. It is one of the few high-style large stone houses in Jamesburg. It was built by P. H. Pownall and the large stone barn at the rear with its slate-covered cross gambrels was originally used as part of his mortuary business. The house underwent major renovations in 2003.    (http://www.jamesburg.net/)

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Finding Local Images

Historic Railroad Station Pictures of Jamesburg & Helmetta, New Jersey.

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Family-Images.Com contains a wide collection of images from all over the United States. This site strives "to help local historians and genealogists find local images from their hometowns and surrounding areas".

New Searchable Database: New Jersey Civil War Treasury Vouchers

New Jersey’s Civil War-period treasury vouchers collection includes 15,770 payment receipts for military expenditures and wartime purchases made by the State of New Jersey from 1861 through 1866. It includes soldiers' discharge certificates for final pay (over 9,300 items), affidavits of family members for pay due to deceased soldiers (over 1,400 items), and quarterly returns of the counties and cities listing the names of soldiers’ families and dependant mothers who received subsistence pay during their service. It is important to remember that your ancestor need not have lived in New Jersey to be in included in these records. Some individuals were credited for service to states in which they did not reside, plus individuals living on the borders of New Jersey in other states may have served for New Jersey.
In all, nearly 114,000 index entries provide access to the content of the documents.

This new database is searchable by any combination of first name, last name, regiment, county, and year.

https://wwwnet1.state.nj.us/DOS/Admin/ArchivesDBPortal/CivilWarVouchers.aspx

Results include Name, Rank, Reg. & Co. Description, Location, Date, & Citation - Ex: 

Bacon, Charles H. (Wife of)

3rd Reg. Co. F

Payment to County of Cumberland (Jonathan Elmer) / Subsistence : For Families of Volunteers.

Item Payment: $18.00. Voucher Total: $756.00

Cumberland County
27 Sep 1861
1861 : M : 487. Item No. 2

The processing and indexing of New Jersey’s Civil War vouchers was made possible by the New Jersey Civil War Heritage Association (NJCWHA) who supplied the volunteers to sort, flatten and folder nearly 16,000 documents; and, with the aid of a grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, contracted for the creation of a database to index them.


New Jersey Division of Archives and Records Management: www.state.nj.us/state/darm/links/archives.html
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Origin of Names

FLORENCE, FLORENT, etc., Popular in the victorian era it is derived from the Latin florescere: ‘to grow, flourish’;  the source of the English word flower.

SOPHIA (f): The Greek word for “wisdom” became an English personal name to large extent through French and German SOPHIE, favored in certain European royal houses; it was hugely popular into the nineteenth century.

Sisters, Florence and Sophie Krukowski, were born in New Jersey and are the daughters of Katherine Kolbush (b.19 Oct 1897 New Jersey) and Stanley Krukowski (b. abt 1895 Poland) who were married c. 1818.

http://tangledtrees.blogspot.com/2009/05/joined-in-marriage.html
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Joined in Marriage

Katherine Kolbush (b.19 Oct 1897 New Jersey)

& Stanley Krukowski (b. abt 1895 Poland)

Married c. 1918

All Creatures Great & Small - Smile for the Camara

Pauline (Gobur) Kolbush (born c.1865 Austria/Poland) with her turkey. Although most likely not a pet, I am sure she was still quite proud of her bird.
Photo taken in 1936 on the farm of George & Pauline Kolbush in Jamesburg, Middlesex, New Jersey.

Tombstone Tuesday - Andrew & Anna Bauman

Andrew Bauman b.29 Jan 1901 B. Oszlop, Veszprem, Hungary;
Son of Ferenc Bauman & Zsuzsanna Grosz

m. 16 Oct 1937 in Manhattan, NYC, NY

Anna Stosz b. 16 Nov. 1910 Segenthau, Temes, Romania;
Daughter of Anton Stosz & Maria Rauner

Buried in St. Peters Cemetery in New Brunswick, Middlesex, NJ

Seabee Buzz

Steven Hack - U.S. Navy Seabee WWII

Born Istvan Hack on 21 August 1907 in Porva, Hungary.
Was a shoemaker in Budepest then worked as a lumberjack in Canada before immigrating to the U.S.
Married Theresa Stosz in Feb. 1938.
Steven Hack died on 7 January 2007 and is buried in Whiting Memorial Park in Whiting, Manchester Township, NJ.

Seabees - Naval Construction Battalions
Construimus, Batuimus - "We Build, We Fight."

The first Seabees voluntarily enlisted. Emphasis in recruiting was based on experience and skill. The age range for enlistment was 18-50, but after the formation of the initial battalions, it was discovered that several men past 60 had managed to enlist. Because of the emphasis on experience and skill rather than physical standards, the average age of Seabees during the early days of the war was 37. Voluntary enlistments were halted in December 1942; as a result the average age of Seabees was much younger and they entered the service with only basic skills.

During the Second World War, the Seabees performed numerous tasks in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters of Operation including building major airstrips, bridges, roads, gasoline storage tanks, and Quonset huts for warehouses, hospitals, and housing.

Monument Monday - John Catlin

John Catlin was born 1643 in Connecticut, son of John Catlin and Isabelle Ward. He married Mary Baldwin in Sept. 1662, and they had several children including our ancestor, Mary Catlin. John died in the Deerfield Massachusetts Massacre on 24 Feb 1704.


This monument, erected in his honor in 1911, is located on the corner of Broad and Commerce Streets in Newark, NJ., and reads:

On this Site
John Catlin
Newark's first schoolmaster
opened his School in 1676, holding
it in his home as was the custom
in those days. By vote of the
town's men he was engaged to
"Do his faithful honest and true endeavour
to teach the children or servants of those
as have subscribed...English and also
arethmetick...as much as they are capable
to learn and he capable to teach them."

He was a man of mark in the
community, serving as town's attorney
and later as town's man.
In 1683 he became one of the early
permanent settlers of Deerfield, Mass.
where his services gained for him
the honorable title of "Mr."
He was killed Feb. 29, 1704, in the
defence of his home against an
attack of French and Indians.

He was a guide of youth
and a leader of men

Erected by the Newark Schoolmen's Club
Newark Day, Nov. 6, 1911

Remembering Those That Gave It All

Martin Joseph Wetzel

Pilot, U.S. Army Air Forces
Royal Air Force Ferry Command
Entered the Service from: New Jersey

Died: 14-Aug-41

Buried at: Plot G Row 3 Grave 156
Cambridge American Cemetery
Cambridge, England

Martin wanted to join the fight in WWII before the United States was officially involved and gave his life before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. We recognize his sacrifice and call to serve.

Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial is one of 14 American WWII military cemeteries erected on foreign soil. It began as a temporary cemetery in 1943 on land donated to the United States by Cambridge University. Buried there are over 3800 American servicemen and women who died during WWII. Included in the memorials in this cemetery is the jazz band leader, Glenn Miller, who died Dec 15, 1944, on his way to Paris to set up a Christmas program. The cemetery is maintained by the American Battlements Monuments Commission.

Where They Worked - Helme Snuff Mill

Located in the Borough of Helmetta, New Jersey, is the Helme snuff mill.
In 1880 George W. Helme, bought land between Jamesburg and Spotswood for a mill to produce snuff (powdered tobacco ingested by snorting) and related products like chewing tobacco. Helme named the area after his daughter Antoinette who was known as Etta. Helmetta was a classic company town. The mill employed most of the residents; they lived in company-owned housing, and they shopped with company-issued scrip at the company-run store.

Several of my ancestors worked at this mill including two of my great-grandparents (George I. Kolbusz & Ignatz Kollain). My grandfather, Alexander Kolbush, was born in one of the company houses in July 1905. Son of Polish immigrants George Ignatz Kolbush (Kolbusz) and Pauline Gobura, Alexander was also employed by the snuff mill between 1930-1936.

A special thank you to the Jamesburg Historical Association and www.jamesburg.net

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday - Jamesburg, NJ

***Bring more life to your ancestor's past - Locate pictures of the places important in their lives. Look on-line at local historical associations or find old post cards on e-bay or in shops and antique markets like the two I found here showing the old church in my father's hometown ***




The original St. James Roman Catholic Church located in Jamesburg, New Jersey. Constructed in 1879 and later demolished in 1958 when a new church opened.

A special thank you to the Jamesburg Historical Association and www.jamesburg.net

  the original interior