Morgan, New Jersey

1710 Deed for Charles Morgan. Material from the New Jersey State Archives and Located by Joseph Grabas, CTP.

Morgan-NJ.org is excited to be able present this portion of the May 7, 1710 deed which transferred a big part of what is now Morgan, NJ to Charles Morgan.  For those that have trouble deciphering the handwriting, transcribed below are some of the important sections including information indicating what some of the phrases mean as well as what we now consider to be misspellings:

This Indenture made this twenty seventh day of May in ye Ninth Year of the Reign of our Soverein Lady Anne by ye grace of God Queen of Great Britain… between Richard Townley a resident of Elizabeth town in the County of Essex & province of New Jersey… & Elizabeth his Wife… and Charles Morgan of Westchester in the County of Westchester and province of New York, Yeoman…

… and in consideration of… of four hundred & fifteen pounds pure money…

… all that certain tract of Land, scituated Lying & being within the province of New Jersey aforesaid on Southerly side of Raritan River, commonly called and known by the name of Cheesequakes, beginning at the mouth of the creek towards the Bay & from thence running North West Fifty Chains (3300 ft) to a Spanish Oak Marked on three sides with PC [Property Corner] thence  West South West one hundred and Twenty Chains (7920 ft) to a walnut tree marked on four sides with PC, thence South South East Fifty Three Chains (3498 ft) to W P Creek, & from thence as up same Creek runnes to the place where it began.

Containing by estimation with allowance for Barnes swamps & Highways, Five Hundred acres of Land & marsh, adjoining to W.P Land, be the same more or Bit less & bounded on the West and North by Bowen Lands, North East by the Bay, & South East by the Creek;

A huge thanks goes to my school friend, Joe Grabas, one of only a handful of New Jersey Certified Title Professionals, for going to the New Jersey State Archives and retrieving a copy of this deed (B-B-B-54) which transferred a big part of what is now Morgan, NJ to Charles Morgan.  If you look at the “Simple List of Morgan Family Members Across the Generations” posting from 13 February, 2011, you will see that the Charles Morgan who purchased the property would have been Charles III, father of James Morgan, Sr.

It is also interesting to note that this deed was entirely hand written, unlike later deeds which appear to have been either typed or used a movable type printing press.  This also makes it harder to read!

In order to get a perspective of the boundaries defined by this deed, Joe also highlighted them on the below 1876 map.  Note the roads of Morgan which were already present as of 1876.  Today they would be known as Old Spye Road, Route 35, South Pine Avenue, Lorraine Ave, and part of Ernston Road.

1876 Everts & Stewart Map Showing the Boundaries of the 1710 Charles Morgan Deed

The next task: Determine exactly who was Richard Townley.

“A Curve on the Central, South Amboy, N. J.” Picture Post Card, Circa 1907, Courtesy of Joyce Elyea.

Here is a post card, post marked July 12, 1908, which struck pretty close to home for me – literally.  It shows the curve of the Central New Jersey railroad in Morgan, NJ, specifically just about in my childhood back yard.  Not only does it show the trestle and bridge of the Jersey Central Traction Company trolley line, which ran through Morgan in the early part of the 20^th Century, the far left side also appears to show the dredge which did a touchup on the Cheesequake Channel from July 17 to August 21, 1907.  According to the 1908 Report of the Chief of Engineers United States Army, the 8,236 cubic yards of “excavated material was dumped on the flats on the west side of the west jetty.”

The below photo is approximately the same location as of 29 August 2011, the day after Hurricane Irene blew through Morgan, some 104 years later.

Some of the obvious changes are the catenary overhead wires and poles for this now electrified railroad, the Pratt truss bridge of the north bound lanes of Route 35 crossing over the tracks in the same location where the Jersey Central Trolley Company trestle bridge used to be located, and the extension of the land fill with corresponding vegetation on the bay side of the railroad tracks.

Present Day “A Curve on the NJ Transit North Jersey Coast”.

If you look very closely on the south bound tracks, you will see a thin layer of rust which formed on the very top part of the tracks. This was caused by the rare occurrence of trains not running on the tracks for a few days combined with the rain and humidity of the hurricane.

The two tallest buildings in New York City as seen over Staten Island and through the railroad catenary wires from the Heights of Morgan, NJ. Left to Right: Mount Loretto Chimney on Staten Island, Empire State Building, 1 World Trade Center (Under Construction), and Steeple of Mount Loretto (Staten Island). Interestingly enough, the Chimney and Church Steeple are only 500 feet apart. Photo Taken on August 29, 2011.

On the beautiful day which came the day after Hurricane Irene blew through Morgan, I was able to look across the bay for the first time in two years (I live in California and was in Morgan for the tour, photographic presentation and dinner – see posting from 4 September 2011).  Rising up approximately where the twin towers of the World Trade Center used to be (see the photo in the 29 December 2009 posting) was the new 1 World Trade Center tower currently under construction.  I’m told they were working around the 72^nd floor on 29 August 2011, the date of the photo.  The building was nearly 1000’ tall and already the tallest structure in Lower Manhattan.  When complete, the structure will be 1776 feet tall.  I honestly didn’t know that construction had even started.  It is hard to believe that 10 years has already passed since that tragic day.

In addition to what would have been my father’s 90^th birthday, today is also the 235^th anniversary of another event which occurred near to Morgan and Manhattan’s Ground Zero but in 1776 – the year corresponding to the height of the new building.  On September 11, 1776, a Peace Conference intending to put an end to the American Revolution was held on Staten Island.  To learn more about this conference, see the Morgan-NJ.org posting from 12 September 2010.

Images of the construction of 1 World Trade Center and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum can be found here.

Relief Effort in South Amboy following the Explosions at the T. A. Gillespie Loading Company.

Located just one mile from the many blasts which occurred between October 4 and 6, 1918, here is a place the citizens of South Amboy and nearby Morgan, NJ should recognize.  It took me a few minutes to realize where it was then took me nearly two years before I could go there and snap a photo of it.  On this most recent trip to Morgan, during the last weekend of August 2011, I took the below photo showing what this location looks like today.  The above photo was taken during the relief effort which took place in the aftermath of the Morgan located T. A. Gillespie Loading Company destruction in the waning days of World War I.  Here we see a person on a stretcher being put into an ambulance.  Note the military uniform and the blown out windows and doors.  Martial Law was declared and everyone ordered to evacuate the town.  The magnitudes of the blasts were so great that windows were blown out as far away as Manhattan some 23 crow flying miles away!

Figured it out yet?

Present Day South East corner of South Pine Avenue at Bordentown Avenue.

It is the south east corner of the intersection of South Pine Avenue and Bordentown Avenue in South Amboy.  This photo is looking northeast across South Pine Avenue toward present day Jacqueline’s Florist and Gifts, my mother’s favorite local flower shop.

Great White Egret In Flight

The day after Hurricane Irene blasted through Morgan was one of the most beautiful days that I have ever seen there.  Go figure.  Clear skies, pleasant temperature, low humidity. On that morning, I took the opportunity to go to the Morgan side of the Raritan Bay Waterfront Park to see how well it fared.  Well, it fared pretty well!  In addition to the usual sea gulls, I saw what is now my favorite Raritan Bay bird, a Great White Egret – at least that is what my untrained eye thinks it was.  This one was walking along the marsh occasionally poking its head into the water for a little fish then decided to go get a better view.

Great White Egret Searching for a Fish

Click here to see many more birds in Raritan Bay Waterfront Park.

Visiting the Morgan Family Cemetery

Despite Mother Nature’s best attempt of threatening a hurricane, nearly 50 of us gathered in Morgan on Saturday, August 27, 2011 to see people we haven’t seen in decades, have been in contact with but had not yet met, or had never met.  We took a tour of the oldest sections of Morgan, enjoyed the interaction when a number of people in the group shared their experience and knowledge of Morgan and its history, had dinner at historic Teddy’s Bar, and listened to four speakers.

Before I go further describing the day, let me first thank a number of people for all of their help in making the events on this day happen.  First and foremost is Christina DiPoalo Olender.  Christina, who grew up in Morgan, wanted to make this special day even more special for Morganites.  She volunteered to take what was originally envisioned to be a casual presentation and dinner for anyone that happened to be around and transform it into a reunion for anyone who wanted to see people they perhaps hadn’t seen for a long time as well as learn more about what we have recently learned about Morgan’s long and rich history.  Let’s just say that the turnout as well as the food was amazing – despite the impending storm.  She made it seem like it was an easy thing to pull together.  It wasn’t easy.  Thank you to Christina for a fantastic job!

Another thank you goes to Mark and Paul Rasimowicz, two brothers and the owners of Teddy’s Bar, their childhood home and the site of our presentation and dinner.  Teddy’s Bar has been a Morgan fixture since the early 1920s and will soon be a topic on Morgan-NJ.org.

Helping Christina to various degrees were her brother John DiPoalo, Jr., Allen Pillar, Joyce Elyea, and Sue Meyer.  Christina also wanted to recognize Jeannie Miller and Ed & Helen Mandel for contributing photographs. Thank you to everyone!

Thanks also goes to two members of the Morgan family, Edward Campbell & Diane Brown, who not only came on tour with us and shared a lot of their knowledge but also opened the gates to the Morgan Family Cemetery.

I really appreciated our three dinner guest speakers, Dan DiPoalo, Fred Frintrup and Ken Durrua coming out despite the impending storm.  Sadly, because of the sudden announcement of road closures and curfews, both Fred and Ken’s presentations were massively cut short.

• Mr. DiPoalo spoke about his long service to the Morgan community including his initiating the creation of the Morgan Panthers (now the Morgan/Parlin Panthers), with the aid of his brother John DiPoalo, Sr., as well as his 43 years of service as a member of the Sayreville Board of Education.
• Mr. Frintrup spoke about the Gillespie Loading Company, located in Morgan during World War I, which was one of the world’s largest artillery shell loading facilities until it blew up in October 1918. Fred, along with teacher/historian/producer Frank Yusko, created two documentary DVDs: the first about the 1918 Morgan explosion at the T. A. Gillespie Loading Company and the second the 1950 explosion at the South Amboy docks.  Fred also announced that additional DVDs about other area historical topics will soon be available.  Both the Morgan and South Amboy DVDs are available and ordering information is shown below.
• Mr. Durrua briefly discussed the history of the New York & Long Branch railroad, which opened in 1875, as well as the other two railroads and two trolley lines which ran through South Amboy.  Ken, along with the recently established Raritan River Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society are actively working to restore and preserve the last remaining station from the Raritan River Rail Road, the Milltown Freight Station.

John DiPoalo, Jr. video recorded the whole day and is offering a DVD for sale.  See below for ordering information.  I have not seen John since our Morgan Panther days long ago. He and his cousin, Danny, were quite the good players.  Let’s not discuss my [lack of] football talents.

The plan called for breaking up the day into three components: a mobile tour, a photographic presentation and a dinner.  Everyone met for the tour in the parking lot across from the Morgan Firehouse.  During the tour, we visited four sites then moved to Teddy’s Bar for the presentationand dinner.  Below is a summary of the places where we stopped and the main topics which were discussed on the tour.

Morgan Tour – Locations and Topics Discussed:

Location 1 – Parking Lot across from the Morgan Firehouse:

• The 1710 purchase of the property comprising a significant portion of present day Morgan bordered on the south by Cheesequake Creek and on the east by Raritan Bay.
• Morgan Fire House.
• Joe’s Kozy Bar, Kozy Lanes & Club Bene.
• T. A. Gillespie Loading Company buildings which used to be located in the parking lot.
• Morgan Lumber.
• View of Lockwood Boat Works.

Location 2 – End of Old Spye Road at the Railroad Tracks:

• C. P. Meyer Company paving stones on Old Spye Road.
• Site of the Old Spye Inn.
• Possible sites of the Morgan Family Mansion.
• Sluice Way remains on Back/Crossways Creek.
• The T. A. Gillespie Loading Company and the October 1918 disaster.
• Look over toward Brown’s Boat Yard to see the remains of the Gillespie power plant building.
• Site of Millie’s Bait Shop.
• Misty Morn fishing boat.
• 1912 railroad bridge.
• Three past sites of Morgan [railroad] Station.
• Verbal history of James Rutus Morgan selling the railroad the right-of-way and establishing a station.
• The building of the railroad and the 1875 opening which was so significant that it had the President of the United States as a passenger on a special excursion train.
• The NJ Transit North Jersey Coast Line (railroad) of today.
• How Old Spye Road used to be the main road to the Jersey Shore before Route 35 & the Garden State Parkway!
• The clay industry of early Morgan area and Morgan Pottery.
• Cheesequake Creek commerce and the John B. Collins steam ship.

Look across the tracks and fence toward the bay and discuss:

• Luhrs Boats and the remarkable Henry Luhrs.
• Morgan Dance Hall.
• Original site of Lockwood’s.
• Cady’s House of Sea Food.
• Robert E. Lee Inn.
• Trolley line of the Jersey Central Traction Company.
• Jersey Central Traction Company trestle between Cheesequake Creek and the railroad tracks.
• Jersey Central Traction Company bridge across the railroad tracks.
• Route 35.
• The amazing way that the mouth of Cheesequake Creek has morphed since the 1870s.
• The many bridges over Cheesequake Creek (7 over time that I am aware of).
• Current EPA issues.

Look toward Morgan Beach and discuss:

• The time when there were dozens of bungalows on Morgan Beach.
• Kaisers Pavilion on Morgan Beach where my parents met during World War II.
• Blodgett’s Restaurant on Morgan Beach.
• Horseshoe crabs, dragon flys, green headed flys & jelly fish.
• Water quality of the bay.

Location 3 – Northern End of Cliff Avenue.

• The amazing collection of species which live in the bay or pass through the bay.
• Dredging of the ship channels in the 1950’s which created the land fill now making up Raritan Bay Waterfront Park as well as much of the area on the bay side of the tracks in South Amboy.
• Great Beds Lighthouse.
• The 1887 Raritan Bay Boundary Commission which decided the boundaries between NY & NJ
• Morgan2, a survey point used in the 1887 Raritan Bay Boundary Commission.
• The Rocket Launcher.
• The buoys (and gulls).
• Remains of Perrine Dock & the filming of an episode of the TV show Mercy.
• The Raritan bay oyster industry which used to be huge and for which the Great Beds Lighthouse was named.
• Staten Island.
• The 1776 Battle of Long Island.
• The September 11, 1776 Peace Conference on Staten Island attended by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.
• Captain James Morgan & the 2nd Regiment Middlesex County.
• The Revolutionary War Era New Jersey Council of Safety.
• Captain Morgan’s hand written notes to General George Washington during the time of the Battle of Monmouth.
• Morgan Clay Pits.
• Little and Big Suey / Forty Horses.
• Terra Cotta industry of South Amboy.
• History of East/West New Jersey & the Proprietors.
• The three railroads and two trolley lines which passed through South Amboy.
• The South Amboy wharf explosion of 1950.

The final location of the tour was the Morgan Family Cemetery.  No commentary occurred due to the sudden onset of the rain from the hurricane which abruptly ended the tour.  We were going to discuss the following at this location:

Location 4 – Morgan Family Cemetery.

• The nearby location of the Chicken Farmer’s farm.
• Morgan Family members and slaves buried in the cemetery.
• The Plantation purported named “Sandcombe”.
• Slavery in Morgan.

Finally we were going to discuss other Morgan locations where people can go on their own on another day:

• Southernmost Portion of Raritan Bay Waterfront Park.
• Brown’s Boat Yard.
• Ernston Memorial Cemetery on Ernston Road containing the Grave of the Gillespie Plant explosion victims.
• Jesse Selover School, play ground and baseball fields.
• Christ Church Cemetery.

People are already asking about the next reunion.  We’ll have to work on that.

Here is how to order the various DVDs:

• For the DVD of the Mobile Tour, Photographic Presentation & Speakers, for now make a comment in the Comment section below.  That will automatically forward your email address to me and I will email you a form to print, fill out and mail.

• The “The Morgan Explosion of 1918” and/or “The Powder Pier Explosion of 1950” DVDs are available from Visionary Video Studios (www.VisionaryVideoStudios.com).  You can check their web site, call 732.828.9086 or send an email to visionaryfilminc@aol.com.