LaRue Mizelle - Where are you?

Last week two ladies were walking through Miller Cemetery looking for the grave site of LaRue Mizelle. My history buddy, Steve Eichinger, happened to be in the cemetery, and they asked him if he knew where LaRue was buried. Seems they were working on a genealogy project for a friend with a family connection to LaRue.

LaRue Mizelle was a likable, easy going guy.

Steve was able to take the ladies to LaRue's wife Vola's grave in the West section of Miller Cemetery. Hers is the only gravestone on the four grave plot which caused the two ladies to ask, "Where is her husband, LaRue, buried?"

Not knowing the answer to their question, Steve called me from the cemetery and asked me to look up the location of LaRue's burial on my computer database of New Gretna burials. Unfortunately, I had to tell him that LaRue was not listed. 

There are no official burial records for Miller Cemetery. They either were not kept or were lost many years ago. The database we presently have was constructed by reading information on the existing grave stones, so if someone was buried in Miller Cemetery without a tombstone we would have no record of their burial.

So, the obvious questions concerning LaRue's where-a-abouts are "Is LaRue buried in Miller Cemetery without a stone or is he buried somewhere else?" and "If he is buried in Miller Cemetery without a stone, in what plot is he buried?" As Sherlock Holmes was fond of saying at the beginning of each case, "The game is a foot!"

The first place to begin our investigation into the life of LaRue Mizelle is Ancestry.com on the internet. Here we find information from the Social Security deaths records that tell us that LaRue was born December 24, 1898 and died in February, 1970 while living in New Gretna. It's not a lot of information , but it's a start!


Census records give us additional information.

The June 9, 1900 census tells us that LaRue was one year old and living in Columbia County, Florida with his parents, William and Carrie.


LaRue's 1917 World War I draft registration card gives us more information. It confirms his birthdate listed in the Social Security records; tells us that he was living on Cleveland Street in Riverside, New Jersey in Burlington County; was employed as a jointer's helper at the Traylor Shipyard in Bucks County, Pa.;  and his middle name was Deleon. His closest relative is listed as his father, William, which indicates that he was not yet married.

I was unable to find 1910 census records on LaRue, so we pick up the Mizelle family in the 1920 census where they are living in Riverside Townhip, New Jersey. LaRue, now 21 years old, has two brothers, Ercel and Percy, and a sister, Coletta.

The 1930 census shows us that LaRue has moved out of his parents house, is married to Vola B., has a daughter, Lois, and is living with his father-in-law, William Loveland, on Greenbush Road in Bass River Township.

A young Vola Loveland before her marriage to LaRue

The 1940 census shows that LaRue and Vola are still living in Bass River Township but have moved out of the William Loveland house to a home on North Maple Avenue. They now have two daughters, Lois (age 13) and Fay (age 8). Tolbert Loveland, Vola's younger brother, is living with them. LaRue's occupation is listed as "Bayman". Note that Vola's name is mispelled as "Viola".

Fay (left) and Lois Mizelle

In 1940, the Mizelle family lived in an old house on North Maple Avenue which was across the street from the present Municipal Building. It was known as the "Owl's Roost" by the old timers. The house was torn down sometime in the late 1960's. The property is now a gravel parking lot.

The "Owl's Roost" just before being torn down

Location of the Owl's Roost
(Photo courtesy of Bing Maps)

LaRue, in addition to working the bay, also ran a charter fishing boat as evidenced by the following undated clipping from a local directory. The last boat he owned was called the Evelyn which he kept at Allen's Dock which is just a stone's throw from the Bass River Bridge..

(Right to left) LaRue, Tom Newell, and Lib Shutte.

We've been fleshing out LaRue's life but still haven't solved the problem of where he is buried. A review of records from the Woods Funeral Home narrows down this mystery with a notation that LaRue born December 24, 1898 in Jacksonville, Florida, died on February 17, 1970 and was buried in Miller Cemetery in New Gretna. This is not surprising, as his wife, Vola, is buried in the West section of Miller Cemetery with a headstone.  The funeral records also tell us that his daughter, Lois, married name is "Ready" and Fay's married name is "Venti".

There is no head stone for LaRue in Miller Cemetery, but one might assume that he is buried next to Vola without a stone. This assumption; however, would be incorrect. A probing of the three empty grave sites on the plot where Vola is buried shows that they are unoccupied. LaRue is not buried with his wife. So the mystery deepens!


Realizing that I likely would find no documentation as to where in Miller Cemetery LaRue is buried, I turned to another source - oral testimony. Howard Ware, now 91 years old, remembers LaRue's death and burial next to Orville Hickman in the West section of Miller Cemetery, not far from Vola's grave site.


LaRue spent the last few years of his life with Lib Schutte in the old Hickman house on Hickman's Hill on North Maple Avenue, then called Allentown Road. Lib's brother was Orville Hickman who is buried in the Hickman plot in the West section of Miller Cemetery. LaRue was buried in an unmarked grave next to Orville. This information supports Howard's recollection.

Well, as Sherlock Holmes would say at the end of a successful case . . . "Case solved, my dear Watson!" And so it is with the where-a-abouts of LaRue Mizelle. May he rest in peace!


Pete S

Bass River News - July 3, 1919

Following is another installment of New Gretna News which will be published here on the Blog from time to time. The original scan from the Tuckerton Beacon is supplemented by photos and comments. Hopefully this approach will add interest and additional content to the original article.

The article begins with an announcement of the reconstruction of Job's Creek to eliminate a bad curve that was causing accidents. It shows that, even in the early days of the automobile, traffic safety was an issue.

A 1916 accident on the Job's Creek bridge was one

of many that caused the Freeholders to reconstruct the bridge.

The reconstruction of the Job's Creek Bridge, 1922

Notice the two girls in swimsuits at the project.

The news article continues with the July 4th celebration at the New Gretna Presbyterian Church. The churches were focal point of community activity in old time New Gretna. 

The Lodges referred to were fraternal organizations including the Knights of Pythias and the Sons and Daughters of Liberty.

Knights of Pythias Ribbon

belonging to Elvin McAnney

Elvin McAnney

Knights of Pythias stationary letterhead

The next entry reminds us of the sacrifice of our local residents in the fighting of World War I and the appreciation shown by the community.

Howard M. Allen (l) with his parents, Capt. Edward Allen and Margaret .

Howard Allen in the front yard of his

 parents North Maple Avenue home.

Unfortunately, Howard returned from the war two years later, a casualty of a gas attack in the trench warfare in Europe, as noted in the following June 16, 1921 Tuckerton Beacon article

The July 3, 1919 news article ends with the following.

Walter Atkinson ran a bus service out of Tuckerton which served the area for many years. It started with a horse drawn coach and evolved to a motorized bus service after the advent of the automobile.

Walter Atkinson by his horse drawn bus

at the old Mullica River bridge in 1903.

Well, I hope you enjoyed our July 3, 1919 news clipping from the Tuckerton Beacon. I know some of you out in the Blog-O-Sphere are related to people mentioned in the article. If so, let's hear from you!

Pete S

PS- POP QUIZ. How did Job's Creek get it's name?

John H. Mathis Shipyard - Camden, NJ

I got the following email from Dick LeGates regarding John H. Mathis who owned the John H. Mathis & Co. Shipyard in Camden. He would like to link John H. to the Great John Mathis but has been unable to make the family connection.

Hi Mr. Stemmer,

I'm looking for any information you may have on a John H. Mathis. He was the owner of the John H. Mathis Shipyard in Camden, N.J. which merged with Trumpy Yachts. John H. Mathis died in 1939. That's all the information I have. The John H. Mathis Shipyards was a famous builder of yachts like the Presidential Yacht Sequoia. I would think with such notoriety, there would be a biography of some type. But I have failed to find any information on the man himself or any link to the Great John Mathis' family. Great John Mathis is my wife's 6th Great Grandfather. 

Appreciate any information you may have.

Dick LeGates

Click on the photo below to go to a Web Site that provides information on John H's Camden Shipyard. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide any family or biographical information that would help to link him to the Great John Mathis line.

The John H. Mathis & Co. Shipyard in Camden, NJ.
Notice the masts from various schooners in the background.

I'm hoping that someone out in the Blog-O-Sphere might have some information on John H. (his parents, siblings, wife, children, etc.) that would shed some light on a possible link to Great John. My gut reaction tells me there is a connection, however distant.

Pete S

New Gretna News Project

It's been a while since I posted a Blog entry. Seems I've been struggling with a severe case of writer's block. I seem to be plum out of ideas as to what to write about.

I've been working on a project to scan New Gretna news columns from back issues of the Tuckerton Beacon. Locals refer to these as gossip columns. The writers, usually not identified, were paid by the word or line, so a variety of items made the news in an effort to increase the paycheck. The more items, the more money made. It's American capitalism at the grass roots level.

Many of the news items are brief and may seem inconsequential, but such is not the case. They give use a peek at everyday life in old New Gretna. We learn who lived in town in a given year, what people did for a living, what church they attended, and a variety of other information that is not available from any other source. Piecing together these brief items over a period of time also allows us to get a sense of everyday life from other eras. Many of you with New Gretna roots many also notice the names of descendants mentioned. 

Over the next few weeks or so, I'll be featuring a variety of these New Gretna News columns, starting with a few from the late 1890's, the oldest ones that I have been able to find.  They are Out of the Past Columns made up of a brief selection of items reprinted from older columns.

The first column is a reprint from the November 26,1896 edition of the Tuckerton Beacon. I thought it was interesting in that it mentioned an Indian medicine show that was held at the town hall which was located on Route 9.

The old town hall was located on Route 9. It was later used by the Knights of Pythias

fraternal organization. I remember it as Hornberger's Bakery when I moved to New

Gretna in the early 1970's. It is now an empty lot. (Postcard courtesy of Paul Steinhaurer.)

Old timers have told me that Medicine Shows visited New Gretna into the 1930s . The following is a recollection from Dave Kalm.


I wanted to mention the traveling medicine show that used to come to New Gretna in the summer. I went with my Dad, I was probably 7 or eight at the time. It was in the mid thirties. The performers set up their stage on the back of an old model truck next to the Knights of Pythias hall, across from Donald Maxwell's home, on New York Road (Rt. 9). I remember that the performers were not locals. I also remember the older fellows in town throwing tomatoes at the performers. They kept the tomatoes hidden in a basket under the steps of the KP building. I can remember a tomato hitting a fat lady playing the piano, got her right in the back.

Dave Kalm

Lillian Arnold Lopez, a Forked River, NJ Piney, wrote a poem in "Pineylore" about the medicine shows that toured the Pine Barrens area. It gives a good mental picture of the type of Medicine Show that may have visited new Gretna.

                                                       

The Medicine Show

Every summer, in the old days, they listened for a sound,

when they heard the ratt'lin wagons, it was time to gather 'round.

The medicine show they'd waited for was comin' down the road.

The horses' labored breathin' told they pulled a heavy load.

And when they pulled into the town the villagers looked on 

to see the show they'd waited for upon the village lawn.

A horseback rider's daring tricks, it made the people gasp.

A cowboy sang about his gal, his voice a whining rasp.

A juggler kept half'dozen plates suspended in the air.

A pretty girl in spangles danced with a big, black bear.

Then, after entertaining with acting and with song, 

the medicine man began his spiel, and brother, it was long!

"The elixir in this wagon you see lined up on the wall,

is guaranteed to help your kidneys, yur liver and your gall.

It cures a cough, it stops an itch, it eases aches and pains.

It calms your nerves, it strengthens bladders, use it on your sprains."

"Your horse's gimp, your husband's limp, ain't nothin' it won't cure.

A dollar for a bottle; of course, it's a hundred pure.

While we're here, might's well stock up; we'll soon be on our way.

Only a dollar for a bottle; sech a little price to pay."

Hard earned dollars changed hands, believing in its worth,

caught up in the fevor, the excitement, and the mirth.

Then, in a cloud of dust they watched the wagons disappear,

and went about their daily chores, until another year.

The next column from December 24, 1896 mentions Mrs. Joseph B. Lamson. She was the wife of the man who built the New Gretna House on the North-West corner of Route 9 and Maple Avenue which is also an empty lot today. It also shows how different schooling was in the old days, as the one room school was closed due to the absence of the teacher.  It appears that substitute teachers were not used in New Gretna at the turn of the 19th century.

Joseph B. Lamson built the New Gretna House in

the late 1880's. (Photo courtesy of Betty Lamson West.)

The last New Gretna News column from April 29, 1897 shows that New Gretna must have had a pretty good baseball team back in the old days, as they trounched Parkertown by a score of 26 to 11. Too bad that it didn't mention who played in the game.

Hope you enjoyed these old New Gretna News columns. Let me know if any of you out in the Blog-O-Sphere noticed the names of any relatives in these columns.

Pete S

The Greenwood Cemetery Society

There have been various articles in local newspaper about cemeteries in surrounding towns having financial troubles that make proper care of the cemeteries challenging. Greenwood Cemetery in Tuckerton is a case in point. The cemetery has been looking unkempt lately, and local citizens have rallied to attend meetings to strengthen and give support to the Cemetery Board to improve the appearance of the cemetery. Hopefully, their efforts will be successful.

Greenwood Cemetery Entrance- Rt 539
(Photo by Pete Stemmer)

The problem of keeping Greenwood Cemetery looking presentable is an old problem which led to the formation of the  Greenwood Cemetery Society in 1928. 

The Greenwood Cemetery Society sometime back morphed into the Tuckerton Old Home Society which maintains Greenwood Cemetery today. I am unaware of when and how this happened. Perhaps someone out in the Blog-O-Sphere, can shed some light on the situation.


Pete S

The Sandpaper Newspaper Online

The Sandpaper Newspaper has excellent local history articles, often written by Pat Johnson, my favorite local history reporter. Unfortunately, It is not available in New Gretna and those of you out in the Blog-O-Sphere away from Tuckerton do not have access to it. 

I was pleased to find out that it is available on line. You may want to pay a visit to its Web Site and bookmark it for future reference. Click on the Sandpaper photo below to go to their web site.

The latest edition has an article on a Civil War presentation that I recently gave at the Tuckerton Library. It focused on the Civil War and Little Egg Harbor. 

 Pete S

Shipwreck Shopping

There has been quite a bit of publicity about the likelihood of a Super Walmart being constructed on Rt. 9 in Little Egg Harbor Township. There appears to be two sides regarding the desirability of the project. Those who are against the project as creating undesirable traffic and congestion problems and those who are in favor of the project which will bring shopping closer to home and thus more convenient. 

Convenience, it seems, is extremely important in today's society. I got to thinking about shopping in our area near the turn of the 19th century. Not only were there no chain stores in the area to make shopping convenient, but there were few stores of any kind. Most goods of any consequence had to be shipped in by sea or rail or the buyer would have to travel by wagon to a far off city for a major purchase. Sometimes that trip would take days.

While reading an old scrapbook with news articles clipped from the late 1800's thru the early 1900's, I discovered another unexpected alternative to shopping which was made possible by the trecherous seas in our area - shipwrecks. 

A beached schooner

You may wonder what shipwrecks have to do with shopping. If so, please read the following article about the wreck of the Charlemagne Tower, Jr. The last sentence provides the answer, so read on. It seems that our ancestors were a rather resourceful and thrifty lot.

March, 1914 news clipping

Unknown Newspaper

Sometimes, shipwreck shoppers would become impatient and resort to trickery to move things along. When schooners ruled the seas, a common trick of tying a lantern on a tall stick attached to a donkey and walking him back and forth on a dark beach sometimes induced a shipwreck. An unsuspecting captain, unfamiliar with the local waters, would mistake the bobbing and swinging lantern for another ship and unwittingly steer too close to shore causing a beaching of the ship or a shipwreck. Either way, the locals would end up with the cargo. They would help unload the beached ship's cargo to lighten the load to re-float the ship or would gather the items that floated onto the beach from a shipwreck.


In the market for a few household items? How about meeting me on Long Beach tonight for a little shipwreck shopping? I'll bring the lantern and stick. You bring the donkey!

Pete S