Goodspeed Histories: February 2022
** February 27, 2022
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Today’s article, Johnson’s Tavern, was supposed to be a break from writing about Flemington’s Main Street buildings, something quick and easy. But as usual, it turned into something much more complicated and intriguing.
Johnson’s Tavern (https://goodspeedhistories.com/johnsons-tavern/)
This is one of Egbert T. Bush’s articles, which was titled “Kingwood Tavern, Substantial Relic of a Bygone Day” and published in 1931. It started out as something relatively easy, but the more I wrote, the more I had to dig and of course the more interesting it seemed to get. So my additional comments only got me as far as 1831. The rest will have to wait.
Next on my agenda, though is to work on the Tomlinson family tree, which isn’t quite ready for prime time. I do want to finish it though, because members of this family continued to be involved in Hunterdon history, and there were two different Francis Tomlinsons involved in ownership of Johnson’s Tavern.
I had hoped to publish a week ago, when I could take note of the date February 22, 1797. It was on that day that the New Jersey Assembly passed “An Act to regulate the Election of Members of the Legislative-Council and the General Assembly, Sheriffs and Coroners, in this State,” which formally allowed women to vote in these elections. This right was subsequently rescinded, much to the shame of the gentlemen of the NJ Legislature.
Comments on the Website:
As many of you know, awhile ago, I got hacked. In order to resuscitate the website, the comment feature was turned off, as it was suspected that that was the way that hackers got at the site. The feature is still turned off, but it is still possible for readers to make comments.
They new approach is for you to send me your comment to marfyg@gmail.com , and will respond through email. If it is the sort of comment that should be shared, I will add it to the article being commented on. If you really want to comment directly, go ahead and attempt it. You will receive a refusal. Send it to me and my webmaster can white-list you so you don’t have to comment through me in the future. Give it a try!
So now, after catching up on all the things I have postponed (like this year’s seed order), I will get back to work on Flemington’s Oddfellow’s Hall, which may be demolished by the time I publish.
Regards to all,
Marfy
** February 11, 2022
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Today I have published the next article in my series featuring the Italianate buildings on Flemington’s Main Street, the ones with an arch along the front roofline. This time it is:
Fulper’s Store (https://goodspeedhistories.co
This one was a real challenge because I had to research not just the owners of the building and lot, but the various business partnerships that operated in the store. And I was amazed at how often business partnerships got dissolved. The heading “Notice of Dissolution” turns up constantly in the old Hunterdon Republican newspaper.
Also, as I explain in the article, although most people know it as the Nevius Building, I’ve given William H. Fulper the credit he deserves for putting up one of the handsomest buildings on the street, and thankfully, one that will be preserved during the Union Hotel redevelopment project.
While I was at it, I published the Fulper Family Tree (https://goodspeedhistories.co
The Website
As you may know, last month my website got hacked, and it took some doing to get it restored. In the process, a firewall was added that affected the comment feature by stopping all unknown isp addresses from getting through (basically everyone, for now).
If you want to comment, there are two approaches. The simplest one is to email me at marfyg@gmail.com (mailto:marfyg@gmail.com) and I will take note. A better approach is to do a “test” comment and receive an error message from the firewall. Forward the error message to me and I will pass it on to my webmaster, Phyllis Hartzell. She will then white-list your isp so that you can comment freely in the future.
Apologies for the inconvenience, but the web just isn’t as safe as it used to be. These are the steps we must take to avoid getting hacked in the future. Thanks so much for your patience.
Next Door
I had originally thought I could publish an article that covered both the Fulper store and the building next to it, once known as Hopewell’s Building or Oddfellows’ Hall. But that was not to be. Since that building is going to be lost, and soon, I better get to work on it.
A Series on Taverns
I’ve mentioned before my new interest in tavern licenses, especially as a wonderful resource for researching old Hunterdon families. This got me interested again in writing about some of those early taverns, beginning with the one in Locktown called “The Swamp Meeting House Tavern (https://goodspeedhistories.co
Next on the list is another very old one, Johnson’s Tavern in Kingwood Township on Route 519 south of Barbertown. But it will have to wait a little while.
I have written about taverns before, as can be seen in the Index of Articles, under the category of Hunterdon. Some of these earlier articles may be getting revised to include new information from the tavern licenses.
That’s it for now.
Best wishes to all, and stay well!
Marfy