ridgewood public library is offering a workshop on genealogy Sat, April 21, 2018 Time: 10:30 AM Ridgewood Public Library, 125 N. Maple Ave, Ridgewood,NJ 07450
April 8,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Using familysearch.org, Saturday, April 21, 10:30am. Learn about the wealth of records and research help available free on familysearch.org. Instructor: Judy Kenney. Registration and fee required. Please contact Local History Librarian Sarah Kiefer at HeritageCenter@ridgewoodlibrary.org or call 201-670-5600, ext. 135.
Ridgewood Nj, the Ridgewood Historical Society presents ,History Hunt booklets . Kids can enjoy visiting the Schoolhouse Museum with our new scavenger hunt for the current exhibits. Come by Saturdays from 1pm-3pm and Sundays from 2pm-4pm. They provide the pencils, you provide the little sleuths! See you there!
The Ridgewood Historical Society is housed in a one-room schoolhouse at 650 East Glen Avenue in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The schoolhouse was built in 1872 and was an operational school until 1905. It now serves as a museum of historic artifacts and is maintained by the Ridgewood Historical Society. Formerly District School No. 45, the Museum features exhibits that emphasize the historic Saddle River Valley area in the 18th and 19th centuries, an area that was primarily Dutch when first settled.
Please visit our website for more information and to donate:
Days/times open:
Thursday and Saturday.: 1pm to 3pm
Sunday: 2pm to 4pm
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Public Library will be hosting author M. Earl Smith will be speaking on his book “Ridgewood: A Postcard Series” and doing a book signing afterwards. All are welcome to join
Monday, April 2 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM
Next Week · 36–48° Partly Cloudy
Ridgewood Public Library
125 N Maple Ave, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
The founding fathers designed the Constitution to deal with the eternal truth that national government USUALLY accumulate and abuse power and wanted the citizenry to have the ability to resist threats to their liberties. There is no mention nor even spirit in the language of the Constitution or Federalist Papers that law-abiding citizens be limited to weapons inferior to that of the military. There is AMPLE evidence that the founders wanted the citizenry to be able to DEFEAT a regular army (not to mention the paramilitaries of the blue windbreaker agencies FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS, etc. whose very existence would have chapped their @ss) if used to infringe on civil liberties. If you find such language, please feel free to share it.
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Historical Society presents “THE THREAD OF LIFE—Exploring the fabric of family over the centuries through fashion and style”.
According to the Ridgewood Historical Society , “Much of our life and personal history is woven into the fabrics of an era. This exhibit recreates the intimate journey of an imagined New Jersey family as they navigate the milestones of life: birth (christening dresses), marriage (wedding gowns), and death (mourning attire)—and many familiar events in between. For this exhibit we showcase some of our most priceless antique garments, and accompany them with historic artifacts and ephemera from our own collection.”
“This is a beautiful presentation of generations of a family’s milestones illustrated by the clothing they wore and the artifacts that surrounded them. We will arrange special group tours and we encourage all teachers to bring their classes. Contact us at 201-447-3242.”
Schoolhouse Museum
650 E Glen Ave, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
Ridgewood NJ, from time to time over the years the Ridgewood blog has been criticized for providing a forum for anonymous free speech. Over the years some of the criticism has admittedly been valid ,but most of the time its part of a which hunt looking to punish and take out the poster .
The experience and fate of the Ridgewood “Math Moms “, having their children attacked and being almost driven from their homes , is one of the more egregious examples in semi recent Ridgewood history . While maligned in Ridgewood , the so called “Math Moms: who where not good enough to discuss education policy in the Village , but were invited to meet the President of the United States in the White House to discuss domestic education policy .
In recent history this blog has documented time and time again peoples businesses being targeted or bulled by coward and low life politicians who think that bullying the public is a legitimate political option .
Fact is “anonymous free speech” protects many who challenge the orthodox view in town , and lends airs to ideas that would otherwise often be suppressed because the person who mentions them is not considered “important enough” by the powers that be.
But more importantly Anonymous speech was a frequent feature of Founding father Alexander Hamilton’s life , and of the very founding America it self. Arguably the single most influential piece leading to American independence was signed simply “Common Sense,” Thomas Paine’s pen name. Just over a decade later, Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay co-wrote the Federalist Papers as “Publius.”…
Anonymous free speech was also used heavily in the deep south during the civil rights struggles and was integral in keeping supporters of civil rights from being lynched .
Ridgewood NJ, Separated at Birth — and by about a half a mile. Are these the coolest door knobs you’ve ever seen? The one on the left is in the Ackerman-Naugle House on East Saddle River Road — that cool Jersey Dutch stone house discussed earlier right across 17 from the church, and the other is from what else but the Zabriskie Schedler House we’ve been talking about on West Saddle River Rd. Both these houses were part of the original settlement of “Pyramus”, and both are still with us. They look positively ancient and really bring that period to life when you see and touch something like that. Might, say, someone like Alexander Hamilton have turned one of those knobs? Or Mr. Burr?
Actually, yes. I asked noted Jersey Dutch Architecture expert Tim Adrience about these and he explained: “The latch….is called an iron plate spring latch. That type of latch is found in a number of houses in Bergen County, and it is better than a thumb latch in operation. This type of latch was made from roughly the 1740’s to the 1830’s, and is only found on interior doors”.
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Historical Society Congratulates the winner and runners up of the Ridgewood Historical Society Letter Writing Contest! In partnership with the social studies department at Ridgewood High School, we invited students to submit fictionalized letters after viewing artifacts at the 2017 exhibit “From the Revolutionary War to the 1960s Revolution!”
The award presentation was last night at the Board of Education meeting. View the presentation with this link at time marker 11:35 https://youtu.be/tB80BUw3Z8g
The winning letters will be posted on our website very soon!
We look forward to this year’s contest which will reflect our upcoming exhibit “The Thread of Life”, opening on March 11th.
posted for in Vintage Ridgewood New Jersey Facebook group
Ridgewood NJ, Zabriskie-Schedler house Public Meetings tonight @ 7:30! Come support the House! Great things on the agenda as the Mayor noted in her post. Getting a new roof and potential archeological study. The Dutch Gambrel roof on this house is both it’s most distinctive and threatened feature, and with no roof there’s no house. so getting this right is really important. Very special skill set. And just imagine what’s in the earth there. Hard to believe the roar of 17 is right next door. the ground is literally littered with the remains of old dressed sandstone foundations. You practically trip over them. Outbuildings? Haybarracks? soldier’s firepits?
Ridgewood NJ, according to the Ridgewood Historical Society , (https://www.facebook.com/groups/356146547743521/ ) Lucinda L. Johnson was born a slave on a tobacco plantation in Virginia in 1848. She moved to New Jersey after the Civil War to find domestic work, and saved her money to buy a small house on S. Maple Avenue. Lucinda married twice and had no children of her own, but cared for many foster children who affectionately called her “Aunt Lucindy.”
She became very involved in the fight against discrimination, which motivated her to host lawn parties in order to found the Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church of Ridgewood, a house of worship “dedicated to the Negroes of Ridgewood.” The church is described in an article from the Ridgewood Herald on Jan. 8, 1908 as “a real addition to the architectural attractions of Ridgewood…The church has a basement chapel, kitchen, library rooms…The lighting is by electricity and a furnace gives heat.” Inside the church, there is a stained glass window with an angel’s face marked “For Lucinda.” Johnson’s obituary, published in The Ridgewood Herald-News in Feb. 1940, described her as “a remarkable woman”; she was buried in a lot in Valleau Cemetery that she purchased back in the 1890s.
As this month comes to an end, we encourage everyone to remember Black History and attend Tuesday night’s (Feb. 27th) Academy Award-nominated film at Ridgewood Public Library at 7pm. “I Am Not Your Negro” envisions the book “Remember This House” that James Baldwin never finished, a radical narration about race in America, using the writer’s original words, as read by actor Samuel L. Jackson.
Ridgewood NJ, Welcome to Downtown Ridgewood — Circa 1830! (Or what did Zabriskie-Schedler look like, Part II). This view is from the opposite direction from the last one, and what this provides is context — and why this is about more than just “a house”. This is looking SW down West Saddle River Rd toward Paramus Church and what was then known as “Paramus Center”. What you can hopefully get a sense of is the important community that existed here (in Ridgewood!), first settled in the 1690’s as Anthony’s earlier post indicated. Why here? It was the convergence of indian trails that later became an important crossroads connecting the region (much as Rt’s 17, 4 and the parkway do today). As Peggy Norris detailed in her excellent history of the property, John Zabriskie bought just over 9 acres from the church in 1825 to build this house and farm, and incredibly, 7 acres of that purchase remain untouched to this day (the property originally extended across 17 to franklin tpke — those two-plus acres now lie under six lanes). I took license again with that 230 year-old tree — it’s drawn as it appears today — but that is to scale. it dwarfs the house and pre-dates it by some 40 years!
Ho Ho Kus NJ, an Eagle Scout is working on a Revitalization of the “Old Burying Ground” in Ho-Ho-Kus . The site is an area up by the train station near First Street and if you look down onto the large municipal parking lot on the right is the cemetery.
The Scout Alexander Melarti has done a nice job there and these last couple of items are putting a nice touch to his work to honor the families of the deceased.
Eagle Scout Revitalization Project of “The Old Burying Ground”
Prepared by Alexander Melarti (Eagle Scout – Troop 7)
And
Stanley A. Kober (Historic Ho-Ho-Kus Researcher)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Eagle Scout candidate’s full legal name: ALEXANDER MELARTI
Eagle Scout Service Project Name: REVITALIZING OF “THE OLD BURYING GROUND”
“The project will take place on First street in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey. There is a 200 year old cemetery where some of the Hopper and Zabriskie families are buried; the families were the first inhabitants of Ho-Ho-Kus, and a member of the Zabriskie’s built what is now called the Ho-Ho-Kus inn and tavern. The last time any proper care was given to the cemetery was in 2006. The shrubs that were planted behind the headstones have become overgrown, and fall over the graves. Weeds, leaves, and dead thicket cover most of the floor of the plot, and the tarp under the gravel path leading up from the parking lot is in disarray. There is also a slope on one side of the cemetery where erosion has created a side entrance to the lot.
“This project has 4 steps. The first is to fundraise for the materials and supplies needed. The Second Step is to clean out all the debris, and trim the shrubs hanging over the grave. The third step is to add stones to the eroded side entrance in an attempt to terrace the dirt. The gravel path will be redone, and wood chips will be laid down in the fenced in section of the lot to further prevent erosion. The last step is to repair and repaint the fence posts surrounding the lot. In addition there will be a bench, an interpretive panel outside the fenced in area, and some evergreen plantings inside the lot.
“The interpretive panel will contain a brief history of the cemetery’s occupants and the role they played in the town’s history It will be placed on the perimeter of the fence where it meets the gravel path. [added recently is the installation of a QR code on the plaque that will be linked to the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus Master Plan].
“The Bench will match the style of the other outdoor benches of the town; the bench is made of steel and extruded aluminum with a heat fused poly-vinyl coating. It will be placed parallel to the pathway, and two feet from the fence.” [Excerpted from Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook by Alexander Melarti dated 10/23/17]
The funds to be raised will cover the purchase of the Park Bench, the Interpretive Panel, shrubbery, and other assorted materials to make the historic family cemetery a place of honor for the families interred there. Some of the items are in the process of being ordered and it would be very beneficial for the funds to be received as soon as possible.
We are extremely grateful for whatever anyone may donate for this worthwhile Eagle Scout Project honoring these families.
LOCATION: The area up by the Ho-Ho-Kus train station is First Street and if you look down onto the large municipal parking lot, on your right is the cemetery. The young Scout has done a nice job there and these last couple of items are putting a nice touch to his work to honor the families of the deceased. Click on this link and it will take you to the site. https://goo.gl/maps/PDZha5kbGhr
Ridgewood NJ, So what exactly did the Zabriskie-Schedler House actually look like? Like this! Thought that might help the discussion. And best part is it’s all still right there. This is from a photo taken yesterday. the early and mid-20th C. additions have been stripped away — porches, dormer etc., to reveal the original structure. Chimneys “repaired”. Cedar shake siding that was likely done in the ’30’s removed to reveal the clapboard, corner boards and water board still almost certainly underneath. What you see is a classic farmhouse in the Federal style, popular between 1780-1830 or so. But built in the Dutch manner. in that regard very different from the dutch stone houses of the area. Federal style was typified by a simple clean approach, with broad, plain surfaces and “attenuated” detail — modest and clean. All reflecting the mood of the early republic. So modest details, minimal facia/soffits and overhang, and simple entry with plain transom. But that’s not to say this was a house of modest means! At a time when most houses in the area were a single story with a garret up above, a full second story would have been for someone of affluence. The simplicity is more a reflection of the style of the day. Historian @peggynorris in her great foundational work on this house shows that Mr. Zabriskie bought the land from the church in 1825, and that’s exactly when I would have placed this based on physical evidence. I suspect he began construction that year. But there’s a puzzle! we know the tree is about 230 years old — there since the republic’s founding in 1787! But that’s 35 years before the house. The architects who surveyed the property noted that the smaller wing may actually be earlier. I agree, and think the tree’s age, and this cleaned up image support that view. Simple, one-room houses were common for area tenant farmers. I think the wing is late 18th C., pre-dates the main house (and even Mr. Zabriskie’s ownership) and possibly as old as the tree. To the right there’s a fenced-in corn field across The West Saddle River Rd., and a period hay barrack back in the North Field. There are two liberties taken here: the Tree is it’s present size tho of course it should be much smaller. and the well and well-sweep are in the front year when in fact the remains of the well are in the same approx. position but behind the house. But here’s the thing — this is all present today. Relatively simple to return this house to it’s period correct appearance. I know cause I’ve done it myself.
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Historical Society is looking for sponsors for its next exhibit . Next week the official poster is off to the printer. There is one more week for businesses to join our sponsors to be listed on this poster and other promotional materials.
Join the Ridgewood Historical Society by supporting this exhibit and our mission to provide a place of historic artifacts, history and education to our local schools and families right here in Ridgewood. To sponsor The Thread of Life exhibit, please call 201-447-3242 .
alexander hamilton, part three: aaron burr Tue, January 30, 2018 Time: 7:00 PM Location: Ridgewood Public Library, 125 N. Maple Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450
January 27,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Alexander Hamilton, part three: Aaron Burr, Tuesday, January 30, 7pm. Rick Feingold on Burr, who killed Hamilton in a famous duel and was later tried for treason. With music from the Broadway show. All welcome, light refreshments.
Hamilton, An American Musical is the hottest ticket on Broadway and Aaron Burr is the villain. As a Lieutenant Colonel in the Revolutionary War he begins an unlawful relationship with the wife of a British Officer. Elected Vice President in 1800 under Thomas Jefferson he kills Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a famous duel in Weehawken, NJ. Burr gets away with murder but is later tried for treason. This program covers the women in Burr’s life and features music from the Broadway production including The Election of 1800 and the Hamilton Burr duel.
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![alexander_hamilton_pic[1]](https://theridgewoodblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/alexander_hamilton_pic1.jpg "Ridgewood Public Library is offering a Workshop on Genealogy")
