The John C. Budd Farm Ledger and the New Gretna Connection

My friend, Dick Ireton, alerted me to a farm ledger belonging to John C. Budd that contained a handwritten notation (See below) that reads "John C. Budd, Out West Rd., New Gretna, N.J." that recently appeared on EBay.

The ledger, with entries from 1856 - 1895, was advertised as being from New Gretna. Photos of some of the ledger pages are also presented. You can see the EBay auction listing by clicking on the link below. Hit your browsers Back Arrow to return to this page.

Go to EBay

Note: I sent this Blog entry to the seller at EBay who has since corrected the title of the ledger from "1856-95 John C Budd Farm Ledger Book, New Gretna, NJ" to "1856-95 John C Budd Farm Ledger Book, West Deptford, NJ". He also has changed his summary comments from those presented below to reflect the information presented on the Blog.

Sample pages from the Budd ledger from EBay.

The ledger sure was a puzzlement to me, as the original auction summary comments regarding the ledger (See below) lists names that are clearly not New Gretna names. Not a Mathis, Cramer, French, Adams, Loveland, or Allen among them!

A vintage farm account ledger book dating from 1856 through 1895 of John C. Budd, West Road, New Gretna, N.J.. The ledger includes names of Thomas Budd, Branson L. Ore, Richard W. Howell, Abner Starn, Frank Snyder, David Paynter, Joseph Osgood, Henry Hendricson, Carles Carter, Josiah Budd Jr., Jacob and William Myers, John Postol, Clement Raves, James Mickle Jr., B.P. Howell, Samuel Watkins Jr., Stewart Senior, Isaac Eldridge, Casper Budd, William E. Tatum, John M. Budd, Joseph Budd, Andes E. Budd, and others. There are 62 pages with about 10 pages of child doodling / alphabet practice, and the first page with pasted in recipes. about 6 pages are torn with some of the 2 cent Internal Revenue stamps cut out. Lots of 2 cent stamps still on the pages. Signed in ink on front of book: John C. Budd and on back of book: John C. Budd Day Book.

I did some research on the ledger writer, John C. Budd. He was clearly from the John C. Budd farm in West Deptford, and not from "out West Road in New Gretna", as his wife's name Emma L. appear both in the ledger and the 1880 census..

I thought that identifying one of the persons mentioned in the ledger as also living in the West Deptford area wouId confirm the ledger's origin outside the New Gretna area. I choose one of the more unusual names, Branson Ore, to narrow down the possibility of there being more than one person with the same name. If he lived in the West Deptford area, that would pretty much confirm that the ledger was from the West Deptford area and not New Gretna.

The 1870 census information below shows that Branson Ore was, indeed, from West Deptford, thus confirming my theory. I suspect that if I had the time to check out the other names from the ledger, they would also be from the West Deptford area. The ledger entries clearly are not from the New Gretna area.

The 1900 West Deptford census (see below) also helps solve the mystery. It shows John M. Budd, who appeared in the 1880 census as John C. Budd's son, as the head of the household. John C., named after his grandfather, and Clifford are two of his sons and thus grandsons of the John C. Budd who kept the farm ledger now being auctioned on EBay.

Brothers John C. (Jack) and Clifford ended up living in New Gretna sometime after 1930 as they don't appear in the 1930 Bass River Township census. One of them, probably older brother Jack, brought their grandfather's ledger with them. The ledger notation which reads "John C. Budd, Out West Road, New Gretna, N.J." referred not to the original John C. who wrote the ledger but to his grandson, John C. "Jack" Budd who actually lived on West Road and was actually written two generations after the original ledger was penned.

The location of the old Jack Budd farm on West Road.

Map courtesy of Bing Maps.

The Cliff and Veronica "Bonnie" Budd home on the corner of North Maple Avenue and Mink Path. (February 1, 2009 photo by Pete Stemmer.)

Obituary courtesy of Shirley Whealton.

Both Veronica (1907-2001) and Cliff (1899-1986) are buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Cedar Run. Jeanette (1938-1938), their daughter who was stillborn, is buried in the same plot.

I don't know much more about the Budd family in New Gretna nor do I have any photos of them. I'm hoping that someone out in the Blog-O-Sphere can tell me more about them and, perhaps, furnish a photo or two.

Pete S

PS- Wednesday's planned Blog on the children of Joshua and Rebecca Grant Mathis may be a day or so late, due to me getting sidetracked on this ledger issue. But, hey, that's the fun of digging into this history stuff! Stay tuned!

Sabra Mathis- Daughter of Aaron Mathis, Jr.

Well, I'm finally beginning to get back into my normal routine after my recent health mishaps. I had left off with a statement that I would begin a series of postings on the children of Joshua and Rebecca Grant Mathis' children (See the Wednesday, March 3rd Blog entry.) I plan to start that series this coming Wednesday.

Meanwhile, I received the following photo of Sabra Mathis, the eldest child of Aaron, Jr. and Margery Kirkbride Mathis, and Joshua Mathis' elder sister, from George and Mary Mathis. I thought I would pass it along to you. Hopefully, those interested in the Mathis Family will find it an interesting addition to their Mathis genealogy photo collection.

Hum! Wonder if those are Sabra's biceps or just frilly dress sleeves? I bet five bucks that she could take Jim McAnny or Ricky "White Shoes" Steele in an arm wrestling contest. Any takers?

Sabra E. Mathis, daughter of Aaron and Zelphy (Anderson) Mathis, born 13 June 1861 at New Gretna, died 1943, married at Stafford Township 4 January 1882, Allen Hazelton Cranmer, son of Edward E. and Elizabeth Ann (Cook) Cranmer, born 16 December 1854 at Manahawkin, died 1926. Hazelton was a farmer in Eagleswood Township in 1915. They are both buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Cedar Run. Their children:

i Leon H. Cranmer, married Emily A. Garcelon.

ii Everett Wilson Cranmer, married Eunice Sprague.

iii Carrie M. Cranmer, married Eugene Kelly, son of Cornelius Kelly.

iv Nevada E. Cranmer, married William James Jones Jr.

v Thelma E. Cranmer, born July 1903, married Edward Kane before 1929.

From "The Descendants of William Cramer of Elizabethtown, NJ"

by Jean and Murray Harris

Pete S

I'm Back - Sort Of

I went into the hospital for a same day minor surgical procedure. Unfortunately, multiple complications developed, and I ended up spending the next nine days in the hospital. I came home two days ago and still have some recuperating to do. Hopefully, in two weeks, give or take a few days, I should be back to normal - whatever that is. Meanwhile, I can't say exactly when I'll be restarting the Blog on a regular basis, so stay tuned.

I want to thank all who sent cards, emails, etc. and offered prayers.

Blessings,

Pete

Cecil Mathis Wedding Photos

I had planned to begin a series on Joshua and Rebecca Grant's children today but was sidetracked with a minor health problem that will involve minor surgery this Friday. With all the running around to various doctors and for a variety of medical tests, I just didn't have the time to put together anything worthwhile on Joshua and Rebecca's children and their families. I still plan to do so, but that may have to wait until sometime next week.

Meanwhile, I received two photos from George and Mary Mathis involving Cecil Mathis' wedding and thought that I would share them with you.

Pete S

Cecil Mathis and Joyce Leek on their wedding day. The reception was at the New Gretna Fire Company station. (Photo courtesy of George and Mary Mathis)

Picture of some people helping Cecil & Joyce celebrate their wedding day. Starting from the left is Cecil's father Leon Mathis. Slightly in back is David Cavileer. Lady in front center is Esther (Mathis) Miller, daughter of George W. Mathis and Jennie Hollman (Brown) Mathis. To the rear, the man over her left shoulder not sure. Facing him is George W. Mathis, son of Leon Mathis and Verda Mamie (Mott) Mathis. Front older gentleman is Harry Allen, father of Sara (Allen) Ware. To his left is Howard Ware, Sara Allen's husband. (Photo courtesy of George and Mary Mathis.)