Declaration: Fourth will be fun in Ridgewood
Wednesday July 3, 2013, 9:39 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Some people have a casual interest in family history.
But family history is a bit more serious for the grand marshals of this year’s Fourth of July parade in Ridgewood.
Ridgewood’s Bartlett family and Demarest’s Thornton “Thorny” Lockwood are all related to the founding fathers – the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
According to Margie Downs, a 25-year organizer for the Fourth of July Celebration Committee, the Bartletts, whose daughter is Ridgewood Police Capt. Jacqueline Luthcke, are related to Declaration signers Josiah Bartlett and Benjamin Harrison. Lockwood, who has lectured before the committee in the past, is also a descendant of Bartlett, and a first cousin, eight times removed, of Benjamin Franklin.
These individuals’ prominent participation is part of the village’s 2013 Fourth of July theme celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“That’s how the whole day started … the signing of the Declaration of Independence,” Downs said, noting that she believed this was the first time in the celebration’s history that the Declaration was being highlighted.
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