Sometimes when working with computerized genealogy too much, we can tend to forget that our ancestors were more than just records in a database or strings of ASCII text. So, it really re-energized me last when I finally flew out to New Jersey for a few days to go over the territory that my Gordon (and other) ancestors walked in the 1680-1800 timeframe. I had only discovered my roots in that area a few years ago, and had never been in that part of the country. So it was a first in many ways as I drove around Monmouth Co. and some adjacent areas. Speaking of driving around, the best description is "21st-century traffic on an 18th-century road network". I'll just leave it at that, but I won't be complaining much about our midwestern traffic here at home for a while! Some of my findings and impressions: -- I spent several hours at the Monmouth Co. Historical Assoc. museum. They had a lot of material there, but I really could not come up with any really new genealogical findings. A lot of their material is widely available elsewhere, such as "This Old Monmouth", "History of Tennent Church", etc. -- The Tennent Church cemetery was interesting. I was glad that I had written in advance to the caretaker, as the place is huge and you definitely need to know where to look. I found the gravestone of my 4th-g-grandfather, Peter Gordon, who died in 1770. His sandstone marker was in excellent condition, as opposed to many marble markers that have basically melted away. -- It was also weird to walk among the graves and see so many with my Gordon surname. Many were of those who are not in my direct line, but who I have encountered in my research or are cousins, such as Jonathan Rhea Gordon, Gen. Lewis Gordon, and others. -- Old Scots cemetery is well preserved and cared for, although it is now surrounded by brand new subdivisions. A monument there to early founders in the area includes the name of my 6th-g-grandfather, John Hampton. His daughter, Lydia, married Charles Gordon, father of Peter. Charles and Lydia are probably buried there, but there are few markers (permanent markers were not in common use much before Revolutionary times). I talked to a crew that was doing some work for restoration, and they told me that they had done some survey work with "ground penetrating radar" and had identified over 160 ummarked graves; Charles and Lydia are undoubtedly among them. -- One of the markers that is present at Old Scots is of Archibald Craig (died 1751) and his wife Mary. These are my 5th-g-grandparents (their daughter married Peter Gordon), making this the oldest known gravesite in my family line. -- Another locale in the area is the Craig House, which is part of the Monmouth Battlefield State Park. This house was originally built by Archibald Craig, and was owned by his son at the time of the battle, which took place in part on Craig land. -- I also found the house along Crawfords Corners Rd. that supposedly belonged at one time to Penelope Stout, from whom I am also descended (see next comment). Penelope is famous in local history for being an early resident and survivor of an Indian attack (she died in about 1723). -- Way over in Hopewell, in Hunterdon Co., I also found the location, if not the building, that housed the Baptist Church founded by Jonathan Stout, and in which it is likely that my 3rd-g-grandparents were married some time before they emigrated to Kentucky in about 1790 (Lewis Gordon & Keziah Stout). The important point here is that it was not difficult for me to find these places. Even though I did not really learn many new "facts", just being there to actually touch the markers and see some of the other monuments, houses, etc. did a lot to bring home the reality of these peoples' existences. The trip was well worth it just for that. If you haven't done it yet, try if you can to get out and explore the real places where your family came from. You may be surprised at what you find! Doug Gordon

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0001_01C0D2E1.A4E99560 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Doug, Do you show a the following people in your database? David Gordon b.1721 in Monmouth, NJ d.8/14/1787 Saratoga, NY married 1745 Rebecca English b.1726 Monmouth Children: John b.1746, Ester b.1750, Elizabeth b.1754, William b.1745, Joseph b. 1748 and Kenneth b.1756 This is my line of Gordons(my paternal grandfathers mothers family), just looking for more information on these people and anything on their parents. David & Rebecca is as far back as I have found. Michael Rea IS Manager BFG Supply Company e-mail: mrea@bfgsupply.com www.bfgsupply.com -----Original Message----- From: Doug Gordon [mailto:gordonwd@home.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2001 9:27 PM To: GORDON-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Research trip to New Jersey Sometimes when working with computerized genealogy too much, we can tend to forget that our ancestors were more than just records in a database or strings of ASCII text. So, it really re-energized me last when I finally flew out to New Jersey for a few days to go over the territory that my Gordon (and other) ancestors walked in the 1680-1800 timeframe. I had only discovered my roots in that area a few years ago, and had never been in that part of the country. So it was a first in many ways as I drove around Monmouth Co. and some adjacent areas. Speaking of driving around, the best description is "21st-century traffic on an 18th-century road network". I'll just leave it at that, but I won't be complaining much about our midwestern traffic here at home for a while! Some of my findings and impressions: -- I spent several hours at the Monmouth Co. Historical Assoc. museum. They had a lot of material there, but I really could not come up with any really new genealogical findings. A lot of their material is widely available elsewhere, such as "This Old Monmouth", "History of Tennent Church", etc. -- The Tennent Church cemetery was interesting. I was glad that I had written in advance to the caretaker, as the place is huge and you definitely need to know where to look. I found the gravestone of my 4th-g-grandfather, Peter Gordon, who died in 1770. His sandstone marker was in excellent condition, as opposed to many marble markers that have basically melted away. -- It was also weird to walk among the graves and see so many with my Gordon surname. Many were of those who are not in my direct line, but who I have encountered in my research or are cousins, such as Jonathan Rhea Gordon, Gen. Lewis Gordon, and others. -- Old Scots cemetery is well preserved and cared for, although it is now surrounded by brand new subdivisions. A monument there to early founders in the area includes the name of my 6th-g-grandfather, John Hampton. His daughter, Lydia, married Charles Gordon, father of Peter. Charles and Lydia are probably buried there, but there are few markers (permanent markers were not in common use much before Revolutionary times). I talked to a crew that was doing some work for restoration, and they told me that they had done some survey work with "ground penetrating radar" and had identified over 160 ummarked graves; Charles and Lydia are undoubtedly among them. -- One of the markers that is present at Old Scots is of Archibald Craig (died 1751) and his wife Mary. These are my 5th-g-grandparents (their daughter married Peter Gordon), making this the oldest known gravesite in my family line. -- Another locale in the area is the Craig House, which is part of the Monmouth Battlefield State Park. This house was originally built by Archibald Craig, and was owned by his son at the time of the battle, which took place in part on Craig land. -- I also found the house along Crawfords Corners Rd. that supposedly belonged at one time to Penelope Stout, from whom I am also descended (see next comment). Penelope is famous in local history for being an early resident and survivor of an Indian attack (she died in about 1723). -- Way over in Hopewell, in Hunterdon Co., I also found the location, if not the building, that housed the Baptist Church founded by Jonathan Stout, and in which it is likely that my 3rd-g-grandparents were married some time before they emigrated to Kentucky in about 1790 (Lewis Gordon & Keziah Stout). The important point here is that it was not difficult for me to find these places. Even though I did not really learn many new "facts", just being there to actually touch the markers and see some of the other monuments, houses, etc. did a lot to bring home the reality of these peoples' existences. The trip was well worth it just for that. If you haven't done it yet, try if you can to get out and explore the real places where your family came from. You may be surprised at what you find! Doug Gordon ------=_NextPart_000_0001_01C0D2E1.A4E99560 Content-Type: text/x-vcard; name="Michael Rea (E-mail).vcf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Michael Rea (E-mail).vcf" BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:2.1 N:Rea;Michael FN:Michael Rea (E-mail) ORG:BFG Supply Company;Information Services TITLE:IS Manager TEL;WORK;VOICE:(440) 834-1883 TEL;WORK;FAX:(440) 834-1885 ADR;WORK;ENCODING=3DQUOTED-PRINTABLE:;;14500 Kinsman Rd.=3D0D=3D0AP.O. = Box 479;Burton;Ohio;44021;United States of Ame=3D rica LABEL;WORK;ENCODING=3DQUOTED-PRINTABLE:14500 Kinsman Rd.=3D0D=3D0AP.O. = Box 479=3D0D=3D0ABurton, Ohio 44021=3D0D=3D0AUnited Stat=3D es of America EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:mrea@bfgsupply.com REV:20010228T202227Z END:VCARD ------=_NextPart_000_0001_01C0D2E1.A4E99560--