Uriah P. Allen & Phoebe Leek Info

The following comment was posted yesterday on the Blog.

I am looking for Uriah J Allen married to Phoebe Leek and father of John P Allen. Uriah's parents were Thomas and Anne Marie Cranmer Allen. If anyone can help me with the Uriah/Phoebe/John link I would most appreciate it. Thank you, Sara Pugh

Well Sara, I hope the following information helps you in your family genealogy quest. The information comes from a draft copy of an Allen genealogy book that Shirley Whealton, Pat Steinhauer, and myself are working on. The numbers to the left are reference number for navigation purposes within the book.

Pete S

13. THOMAS JEFFERSON ALLEN, SR (JOSEPH4, PETER3, ROBERT2, RALPH1 ??) was born 06 Aug 1802 in Bass River, NJ, and died 03 Apr 1879 in Age 77 widower, Bass River, Little Egg Harbor, NJ. He married ANNA MARIA CRANMER 01 Jun 1823, daughter of CALEB CRANMER and MARY ADAMS. She was born 28 Aug 1801, and died 08 May 1866.

Notes for ANNA MARIA CRANMER:

Listed as Anna Maria in Miller Cemetery.

More About ANNA MARIA CRANMER:

Burial: Miller Cemetery, New Gretna, NJ

Children of THOMAS ALLEN and ANNA CRANMER are:

33. i. CALEB W.6 ALLEN, b. 15 Dec 1823; d. 08 Jul 1909.

34. ii. MARY ELIZABETH ALLEN, b. 14 Nov 1825; d. 20 Apr 1872.

35. iii. URIAH J. ALLEN, b. 11 Feb 1829; d. 03 Oct 1860, Bass River, NJ.

iv. SARAH LOVENIA ALLEN, b. 20 Jul 1830; d. 26 Oct 1833.

36. v. THOMAS JEFFERSON ALLEN, JR, b. 21 May 1834, New Gretna, NJ; d. 10 Nov 1915.

37. vi. ANN MARIA ALLEN, b. Sep 1837; d. 1869.
38. vii. JOSEPH BAKER ALLEN, SR, b. 03 Feb 1839; d. 14 Feb 1925.
    
    

35. URIAH J. ALLEN (THOMAS JEFFERSON5, JOSEPH4, PETER3, ROBERT2, RALPH1 ??) was born 11 Feb 1829, and died 03 Oct 1860 in Bass River, NJ. He married PHOEBE LEAK, daughter of JOHN LEEK. She was born Abt. 1834.

Children of URIAH ALLEN and PHOEBE LEAK are:

i. MARTHA ANN ALLEN, b. 22 Jul 1854, Mathistown, NJ; d. 16 Nov 1856.

ii. WILLIAM HENRY ALLEN, b. 22 Jul 1854, Mathistown, NJ; d. 07 Nov 1856.

iii. MARY EMMA ALLEN, b. Abt. 1860; m. JAMES ROSELL.

66 iv. JOHN P. ALLEN, b. 21 Dec 1856.

66. JOHN P. ALLEN (URIAH J.6, THOMAS JEFFERSON5, JOSEPH4, PETER3, ROBERT2, RALPH1 ??) was born 21 Dec 1856. He married LOUISA M. ALLEN Abt. 1873, daughter of CALEB ALLEN and MARY LEAK. She was born Abt. 1851.

Children of LOUISA ALLEN and JOHN ALLEN are:

88. i. IDA ELVINA ALLEN, b. Sep 1864; d. 15 Dec 1930.

ii. MARTHA ELIZABETH "MATTIE" ALLEN, b. Sep 1871; m. GEORGE ASBURY "GOVEY" CRAMER, 22 Mar 1896.

89. iii. JOHN FRANKLIN "FLICK" ALLEN, b. 23 Nov 1874, Woodbury, NY; d. 09 Apr 1942.

iv. DORA M. ALLEN, b. 18 Oct 1881; m. ISAAC JENNINGS BOLTON, SR., 09 Jun 1901, New Gretna Presbyterian Church, New Gretna, NJ.

Joe French's Variety Store

I was sitting on my recliner this afternoon still wondering what I was going to write about for the Blog when the phone rang. It was Victoria Eddy who just recently took over Sandy Bourguignon's hair parlor on Route 9 in New Gretna. The business, called "Magic Shears" under Sandy, is now called "Hair To Please". Sandy stayed on to help Victoria.

Magic Shears on May 27, 2006

(Photo by Pete Stemmer)

Victoria asked me if I had any information regarding past businesses at her new location. I checked my computer files and was able to come up with some information on the property in the 1940's. It seems that Joe French operated a Variety Store and, later, an antique store in the building.

The only photo I have of Joe French's Store is of Ann Downs who lived across the street. The store, with two tall gas pumps out front, is in the background. Ann was the daughter of Levi and Ella Downs. She later married Win Salmons, an accomplished local artist. Many people in the area have Win's paintings in their homes.

Ann Downs, circa 1940's

(Photo courtesy of Tom Williams)

I also came across two advertisements from the 1940's that show that Joe French operated a Variety Store and an Antique Store in the building across the street from the Downs family Route 9 home.

Ad from a 1940's New Gretna Minstrel Show program

Hummmm! I wonder what Gent's Furnishing are?

Tuckerton Beacon ad - March 14, 1947

The only other thing that I know about Joe French is that his wife, Geraldine, married a widowed Otto Kalm after Joe's death. That would make her Dave Kalm's step-mom. Dave occasionally posts messages here at the Blog.

Otto Kalm and Geraldine French Kalm cut their wedding cake.

(Photo courtesy of Alston & Claire Kalm Allen)

I sure would like to know more about Joe French's store. I'm hoping that some of our readers out in the Blog-O-Sphere can tell us a few stories about Joe French and his store. Surely, Donald Maxwell who lived next door to Joe French's Store and Dave Kalm should be able to recall some memories. Clif Brown, out in California, should also be able to help. Let's hear from you guys!

Pete S

WRITER'S BLOCK

I'm having a case of Writer's Block. I'm running out of things to write about, so things might be slow for a while.

Pete S.

Remembering Hornberger's Bakery

Jackie and I moved to New Gretna in the mid 1970's. One of my fondest memories of the town back then was Hornberger's Bakery, located in the old Knights of Pythias Hall on Route 9 in the middle of town. Unfortunately, both Hornberger's and the old building are long gone.

Hornberger's Bakery

Armin's Pizza Time Cellar in basement

It was one of the best bakeries I have ever been in. I can close my eyes and still smell the aroma of freshly baked bread, donuts, pies, and other scrumptious baked goods conjured up by Mr. Hornberger, himself.

South Jersey Advisor - October 14, 1970

I still worked in Toms River when we moved to New Gretna. It was a long commute, but there was little traffic back then. Sometimes, I wouldn't see a car on the Parkway until I got to Barnegat.

Occasionally, on my way to work, I would stop by Hornberger's to buy sticky buns for my collegues. They were my all time favorite goodie from Hornberger's. Needless to say, my co-workers always scoffed them up, licking their fingers to savor every bit of that sticky flavor.

Usually, the buns were just out of the oven when I stopped by and were still warm. Mr. Hornberger would wrap then up in a white paper wrapper tied from a big ball of string sitting on the counter. No fancy boxes for him. The old fashioned way worked just fine!

I'm sure many of our Blog readers have fond memories of Hornberger's. If so, I'd like to hear from you about you favoite goodie and/or a story you may remember.

Pete S

PS- I notice a 50 cents off coupon on the above ad for the purchase of a birthday cake. If it's anyone's birthday this week, I'll spring for a birthday cake. Just meet me at Hornberger's. The free coffee is on me, too.

Murder She Wrote - Tuckerton Style

Everybody loves a good mystery as evidenced by the long running TV show, "Murder She Wrote", that ran from 1984 to 1996. Jessica Fletcher, played by Angela Landsbury, was a retired English teacher in Cabot Cove, a small village in Maine who had a knack for solving murders. I don't know which was more remarkable, Jessica's ability to solve a murder a week or that there was a murder a week in such a small town.

The show ended after 264 episodes. I guess they finally ran out of murders. It left a lot of disappointed fans.

Well, "Murder She Wrote" fans, I have good news for you. The other day I was surfing the net for sites about Ocean County history when I came across an interesting site that could provide Jessica with addition murder mystery plots to revive the old T.V. series. Jessica would just have to move from Cabot Cove to Tuckerton.

By now, you're probably wondering "Where is he going with this, history-wise?" Read on, and you'll find out.

The web site that I stumbled upon is the "The Ocean County Compendium of History". A subsite, "Murders and Strange Deaths", deals with Ocean County towns including Tuckerton and neighboring communities. Sounds right up Jessica Fletcher's alley! I can see her driving through Ocean County in search of the elusive killers.

Some of the story titles include: The Strangulation of the Belle of Tuckerton (1902), A Murder In West Creek (1905), and The Murder of Caleb Fithian (1901 at Parkertown Cove).

Interested in taking a peek? Just click on the Ocean County Seal below and you'll be on your way. If you happen to bump into Jessica Fletcher, say hello to her for me.

Pete S

Civil War Info Needed

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. I am currently in the process of researching and collecting information on Civil War Veterans from Bass River, Washington Township, and Little Egg Harbor and would appreciate receiving general information, documents, letters, photos, etc. from anyone out in the Blog-O-Sphere who can help with my project. Some of you may even have ancestors from these areas who served in the war. Hearing about them would be especially interesting.

Following is a video clip that may be of interest to Civil War buffs. It's from a February 9, 1956 "WHAT'S MY LINE" T.V. show. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

Pete S

Rube Corlies Meets Babe Ruth

Last Wednesday's Blog entry featured Rube Corlies spotting a sea serpent off the coast of Surf City in 1906. Needless to say, Rube appears to have been quite a character with an infinity of being around where the action is. Today's Blog entry continues that tradition, as we see Rube meeting the biggest baseball legend of all time - Babe Ruth.

Click on the photo of the Babe (below) to read about Rube and the Babe hunting together at the Carvel's Island Gun Club on Long Beach Island. Rube certainly is a celebrity magnate - first "Nessie" in the Atlantic Ocean off Surf City and then the Babe on a duck hunting trip on Long Beach Island. I wonder who else we may find popping up with Rube? Stay tuned!

Pete S