Many moons ago, I went on a tour of the Pascack Reformed Church and Cemetery, located at 65 Pascack Road, Park Ridge, Bergen County, NJ. and during a tour of the cemetery, the guide told a story about the Rev. Demarest coming home in 1856 and finding his wife and nine children murdered. I forgot about this story until last week when this story is repeated in a local paper The Pascack Valley Community Life on 7 May 2008 with quotes by Carl Weil, the church historian. "In 1854, Dr. John T. Demarest became the first full-time minister of the Pascack Reformed Church, Weil says, barely audible. And in 1856, Demarest came home to find his wife and nine children brutally murdered." In a separate article by Carl Weil he writes "In 1857, John Demarest received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from Rutgers College and remained at Pascack until 1867. He died in New Brunswick, NJ on January 30, 1897 and was buried at New Prospect, NY." _http://www.pascackreformedchurch.org/history/_ (http://www.pascackreformedchurch.org/history/) I checked the Demarest Genealogy and could not find this story mentioned. I phoned Carl Weil, the church historian and he could not answer any of my questions. He did not know the name of the Reverends wife or the names of the murdered children. I mentioned that ten people murdered must have been mentioned in the local newspapers. He said someone checked and did not find the story in the newspaper. Is this a true story? What is the name of his wife? Is there any documentation for any part of this story? Is Dr. John T Demarest listed in the Demarest Genealogy? If he died on 30 Jan 1897 and buried at New Prospect, NY, is there a record of his death? Regards, Ethel Kay Konight **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001)

I did some research on this and discovered the following: On the 1850 Census, John T. Demarest, age 37, had a wife, Sullavan, age 36, and three children: Allen L (12), Emphema (9) and John C. (3). Rev. John T. Demarest married Jane Elizabeth Polhemus on June 9, 1857. On the 1860 Census, Rev. John is 47, his wife Jane E. is 40. Euphemia is 17 and John O. is 12. In 1870, John is 57, Jennie is 50 and Effie is 7. In between the 1860 and 1870 censuses, Euphemia Demarest married John Ackerman. She died 18 April 1868 at the age of 26. In summary: 1. The reverend's first wife died between 1850 and 1857. 2. His eldest child (Allen) is no longer living with the family by 1860. 3. Other children may have been born between 1850 and 1860 but deceased before the 1870 census. (But I do not believe the family could have produced 8 children during that time). 4. Effie, age 7 in 1870, is named in memory of her deceased sister. The earliest reference to the murder story (that I could find) appeared in A History of the Classis of Paramus of the Reformed Church in America, pub 1902, pp. 353-354, published 1902. Wendy On May 12, 2008, at 3:02 PM, ETHELKK@aol.com wrote: > Many moons ago, I went on a tour of the Pascack Reformed Church and > Cemetery, located at 65 Pascack Road, Park Ridge, Bergen County, > NJ. and > during a > tour of the cemetery, the guide told a story about the Rev. > Demarest > coming > home in 1856 and finding his wife and nine children murdered. I > forgot > about > this story until last week when this story is repeated in a local > paper > The > Pascack Valley Community Life on 7 May 2008 with quotes by Carl > Weil, the > church historian. "In 1854, Dr. John T. Demarest became the first > full-time > minister of the Pascack Reformed Church, Weil says, barely > audible. And in > 1856, Demarest came home to find his wife and nine children brutally > murdered." > > In a separate article by Carl Weil he writes "In 1857, John Demarest > received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from Rutgers College > and > remained at > Pascack until 1867. He died in New Brunswick, NJ on January 30, > 1897 and > was > buried at New Prospect, NY." _http://www.pascackreformedchurch.org/history/_ > > (http://www.pascackreformedchurch.org/history/) > > I checked the Demarest Genealogy and could not find this story > mentioned. > I > phoned Carl Weil, the church historian and he could not answer any > of my > questions. He did not know the name of the Reverends wife or the > names of > the > murdered children. I mentioned that ten people murdered must have > been > mentioned in the local newspapers. He said someone checked and > did not > find the > story in the newspaper. > > Is this a true story? What is the name of his wife? Is there any > documentation for any > part of this story? Is Dr. John T Demarest listed in the Demarest > Genealogy? > If he died on 30 Jan 1897 and buried at New Prospect, NY, is > there a > record of his death? > > Regards, > Ethel Kay Konight > > > > **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on > family > favorites at AOL Food. > (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NJBERGEN-request@rootsweb.com > with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and > the body of the message

I erred in my post of 5-12-08. The Euphemia Demarest who married John Ackerman was not the daughter of the Rev. John T. Demarest. The [NJBERGEN] archives include this entry, dated 8 May 1863, from The Bergen County Democrat: "Died in this village, on Tuesday morning, May 5th, Euphemia W., wife of Rev. James Demarest, Jr., and daughter of John T. Demarest, D.D., in the 22nd year of her age." I hope I have not misled anyone. Wendy On May 12, 2008, at 11:10 PM, Wendy Freborg wrote: > I did some research on this and discovered the following: > > On the 1850 Census, John T. Demarest, age 37, had a wife, Sullavan, > age 36, and three children: Allen L (12), Emphema (9) and John C. (3). > > Rev. John T. Demarest married Jane Elizabeth Polhemus on June 9, 1857. > > On the 1860 Census, Rev. John is 47, his wife Jane E. is 40. Euphemia > is 17 and John O. is 12. > > In 1870, John is 57, Jennie is 50 and Effie is 7. > > In between the 1860 and 1870 censuses, Euphemia Demarest married John > Ackerman. She died 18 April 1868 at the age of 26. > > In summary: > 1. The reverend's first wife died between 1850 and 1857. > 2. His eldest child (Allen) is no longer living with the family by > 1860. > 3. Other children may have been born between 1850 and 1860 but > deceased before the 1870 census. (But I do not believe the family > could have produced 8 children during that time). > 4. Effie, age 7 in 1870, is named in memory of her deceased sister. > > The earliest reference to the murder story (that I could find) > appeared in A History of the Classis of Paramus of the Reformed Church > in America, pub 1902, pp. 353-354, published 1902. > > Wendy