I recommend investing in a phone call to the Vital Records folks. It is worth it to find out what the problem is or to bring your request to the top of the heap. Or maybe it was sent to the wrong office. The expenditure is well worth it. Gail Brown in Bergen -----Original Message----- From: Sharon / Harry Colquhoun <Thistledew@BelleMeadInternet.com> To: NJMERCER-L@rootsweb.com <NJMERCER-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Monday, October 02, 2000 4:51 AM Subject: Re: Death Certificate >And I'm STILL waiting for naturalization papers I requested last >December! The confirmation letter was very efficiently sent to me but >I've since written to ask what happened to the file and have still not >heard! I realize my info is coming from a different office - just >wanted to see if my waiting time is "normal"! > >Sharon > > > >Dbe754@cs.com wrote: > >> I waited nearly four months for a death certificate. >> >> Donna >

Rather depressing to hear of all these stories regarding turn around time. A few weeks ago I sent off for a number of docs. and was naively hoping to hear soon! Dova Wilson Communications Officer IREX dwilson@irex.org 202-628-8188 x544 -----Original Message----- From: gailb2@pipeline.com [mailto:gailb2@pipeline.com] Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2000 5:41 PM To: NJMERCER-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: Death Certificate I recommend investing in a phone call to the Vital Records folks. It is worth it to find out what the problem is or to bring your request to the top of the heap. Or maybe it was sent to the wrong office. The expenditure is well worth it. Gail Brown in Bergen -----Original Message----- From: Sharon / Harry Colquhoun <Thistledew@BelleMeadInternet.com> To: NJMERCER-L@rootsweb.com <NJMERCER-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Monday, October 02, 2000 4:51 AM Subject: Re: Death Certificate >And I'm STILL waiting for naturalization papers I requested last >December! The confirmation letter was very efficiently sent to me but >I've since written to ask what happened to the file and have still not >heard! I realize my info is coming from a different office - just >wanted to see if my waiting time is "normal"! > >Sharon > > > >Dbe754@cs.com wrote: > >> I waited nearly four months for a death certificate. >> >> Donna >

I "ll just add my two cents worth. I waited four months for a death certificate also. and I did call after about two months. Since they had cashed my check I inquired as to when I could expect the death certificate. The answer I got was we are back logged. I then waited another two months for the certificate. I think this is ridiculous if the people doing this are so overworked and can't handle the job, then get rid of them and hire people that can do the job. Bob Trenton, NJ

Is there a Hopewell boro (Mercer Co.) directory for the 1940's and/or 1950's? I'm looking for any CONNER's who may appear. Thank you, Dan Conner

Although I agree the waiting time is terrible, I did have a pleasant experience last month. I had sent for two death cert. and received a phone call from them asking about the first name on one of my requests, so they wouldn't make a mistake and send me the wrong one. Although I was very impressed , I am still waiting over 2 months and will probably have to wait one or two months more . Bev

I know there are tons of these horror stories, but I sent in a package of 8 last January. The check was cashed in March (yes of this year, lol). I finally called in August and I was told there is only ONE person to fulfill ALL genealogical requests at the Archives. That is an abominable situation, in my eyes. Not only is this lone person completely overwhelmed, overworked, and probably underpaid. But, how on earth can the attention to detail necessary to find elusive records be accorded to each request, knowing there are a couple of miles more worth of piles to go through? On another note, I have noticed a 4 to 6 month turn around on single document request's. So, I would strongly suggest each person only send for one item per envelope. At least until the situation has been rectified. I must applaud the letter written to the State as regards Vital Records, and wonder if there isn't more we, as a community, can do to remedy this situation? It is not only the Department of Health and Senior Services as the archives are also affected. Is it a manpower shortage? What is the true root of the problem here? Any suggestions? Joyce Hope I didn't offend anyone from my 'soapbox'.

I just last week sent a hefty package of requests to the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services, for multiple copies of birth, marriage and death certificates, for genealogical holiday gifts for relatives. I thought I was comfortably within the necessary time frame, as I am three months from Christmas, and I sent the same to Pennsylvania the week before and have already started to receive the documents from them. I am sufficiently horrified by the replies that I saw to Anne's query about how long the turnaround time is for vital records requests and I have just sent the following letter to the commissioner of the department of health, with copies of the related e-mails, -- and have sent the same to the governor and my district senators and assemblymen: Christine Grant, Commissioner Department of Health and Senior Services PO Box 360, John Fitch Plaza Trenton, NJ 08625-0360 Dear Ms. Grant, I have never in my life written to any New Jersey officials until today and while I recognize that this may be a small matter in the course of things that you must address in a day, it in no way diminishes the anger I feel at seeing the correspondence that has been passing through my e-mail these past couple of days and I am prompted to write and ask that something be done about this. Last week I sent a hefty package to the Department of Health and Senior Services. In that package were numerous requests for birth, death and marriage certificates, as I am preparing a genealogical Christmas gift for two of my cousins and my sister. I prided myself on finally being organized enough to get this together three months in advance of when I needed it (for Christmas, of course). Within a couple of days of having sent the package, I found an ominous sign in some e-mail to the Mercer County genealogical mailing list to which I subscribe - someone wrote to ask about the turnaround time for vital records in New Jersey, because they sent in a request on August 12th and have heard nothing (see attached). The first reply (also attached) said they waited nearly four months for their information! This morning's reply said they are still waiting since December for their information! I find this completely appalling - and vaguely reminiscent of affairs in some third-world country where you are at the mercy of the staff who throws your papers in a corner somewhere. I sent for identical papers to Pennsylvania a week before the New Jersey request and in Friday's mail I got my first reply. I am horrified to think that I may have to wait for months and months to get my papers (including my own birth certificate) from your department. Is this standard procedure? As I said, I recognize that this is an apparently small matter, but is there anyone in the state who doesn't need one of these documents at some time in their lives? It would seem that this state of affairs will affect everyone at some point. Would you please look into this and do something about it if it is as the genealogical world seems to think it is. I would be willing to pay more per document if it meant getting decent service - but I would resent having to do that when I can get better, cheaper service from Pennsylvania…and since they are much bigger, we must presume their volume is even greater. Very truly yours, Lynne K. Ranieri

And I'm STILL waiting for naturalization papers I requested last December! The confirmation letter was very efficiently sent to me but I've since written to ask what happened to the file and have still not heard! I realize my info is coming from a different office - just wanted to see if my waiting time is "normal"! Sharon Dbe754@cs.com wrote: > I waited nearly four months for a death certificate. > > Donna

I waited nearly four months for a death certificate. Donna

I requested a death certificate on August 12. Will some one please tell me the usual turnaround time for vital records in New Jersey. Many thanks. Anne

I just received a copy of my ggggrandfathers will and it listed his home as No. 23 Woodside Ave. Does this street still exist and if so where in Trenton is it? _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.

Had Family in NJ-PA-NYC Warren Journal-NJ- April 10,1908 Woman Kills Herself Mrs Mary A.Woolever,52 years old,wife of Stewart Woolever,of Hackettstown committed suicide Tuesday by shooting herself in the head with a revolver,Mrs Woolever had been mentaily affected for some time owing to the burning to death of a child a few years ago.She made an unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide nearly two years ago by taking carbolic acid.Last fall she was committed to the State Hospital at Morris Plains for treatment,returning home about two months ago improved in health.Recently however,her condition had changed for the worst.Although watched she searched their home,and finding a revolver,escaped from the house unnoticed,went in the rear of the barn but a short distance away and killed herself.Several hour's search among neighboring houses where she was thought to have gone were made before the body was found by a daughter.The husband,who is employed on the Lackawana Railroad,arived home just as the body was discovered.Coroner Jesse Smith had the body removed to her home.Mrs Woolever was the mother of seventeen children,nine of whom are living. Husband Was Jacob Stewart Willever-Woolever A/K/A/Stewart Woolever Obit can be found at Warren Co Library N.J. From the Warren Republican , Friday 6/23/1899 Badly Burned Ada Lillian Willever, second daughter of Mr. And Mrs. J. Stewart Willever, aged 12 years and 6 days, was terribly burned last Saturday which resulted in death at her parents home on Plane street Sunday noon. Her clothing caught fire from a bonfire in the Institute grounds, and immediately her whole body was in flames. Some boys who were near by, hearing her her screams, ran to her assistance and smothered the flames. She was taken to her home and a physician called. She was badly burned about the back and shoulders, and lived until the next day at noon.. The girl was to have taken part in the Children's Day exercises in the M.E. church last Sunday afternoon. Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon. Obit Hackettstown Library Side NOTE The Institute Grounds are the Grounds of the "CENTENARY COLLEGE" Plane St is Located behind it.So is the House of the Willever's- Woolever's It was a KNOWN FACT that: they had lots of acre's which they were raising their chickens, and had their Cow & horse, and many other farm animals, and they also had huge growing gardens on which they grew all of their "Fruit Tree's My Family-Willever-Woolever Nolan,Vogel,Johnson,Hill,Alexander,Major,Crotsley Lee,Gerard,Handler,Miller,Dalley,Benward,Houston Dalton,Wainwright,Caskey,Taylor, http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/w/o/o/Stewart-J-Woolever-jr/index.html

If this question was asked and answered before, I apologize, it's just that I'm now getting into looking at the 1895-1915 censuses for NJ. Can anyone tell me if the Soundex index that exists is ONLY for head of household? So if someone was living in a boarding house, only the owner would be listed? Or if you searched for a female who might have been living with her daughter's family (different last name) and did not know their last name, you could not find her? And is it true that you need to know the Ward and E.D. to find them, or would the Soundex index give the exact page on the roll of film that their census record is on? Thanks for any help! Holly Knott in Bucks Co., Pa HollyKnott@aol.com

Hi All! I'm wondering if someone would have access to the 1920 Index to Federal Census for NJ, Mercer County? If so, I'm looking for a married couple named CONNER. I believe they would have lived in Hopewell boro. I do not even know what their first names were (this information was given to me by my Dad and he can't seem to recall their first names, only that they had kept the family history for our CONNER line). I believe they would have been 45-55 years of age at the time of the 1920 census. Any help would be greatly appreciated. D. Conner Omaha, NE

Any mail-orders for the books? How much do they cost? Pamela Sackett A Trentonian at Heart in Manassas VA -----Original Message----- From: nighsmith [mailto:nighsmith@email.msn.com] Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2000 5:14 AM To: NJMERCER-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Trenton Picture Book Signing Calling all local Mercer County listers, As some of you may already know, a book of historic pictures of Trenton was published last year. Tomorrow night (Thursday, September 21 from 4:30 to 8:30) there will be a book sale/signing of this fascinating little volume at the local history room of the Trenton Public Library. Please come, purchase a copy & meet the authors, Cate Crown & Carol Rogers. Proceeds from the sale of the book tomorrow will go directly to support the great work the library is doing to preserve our heritage. If you haven't been to the Trenton Library, lately or even ever, this is your chance to see/meet, not only this book & its authors, but also the 'Trentonianna' collection and its historian, Wendy Nardi. There are invaluable resources at the library for family history researchers and also lots tosee on display: a fragment of the Arch that greeted George Washington on his famous ride to inauguration as President, a fascinating collection of matchbooks, and pieces of the fabulous collection of artwork from the R.C. Maxwell Billboard Company. The library is located on Academy Street between N. Broad & N. Montgomery Streets. There is a parking lot for the library right next to the building. For driving directions visit their website at: http://www.trentonlibrary.state.nj.us/ Hope to see you there, Gary Nigh

Calling all local Mercer County listers, As some of you may already know, a book of historic pictures of Trenton was published last year. Tomorrow night (Thursday, September 21 from 4:30 to 8:30) there will be a book sale/signing of this fascinating little volume at the local history room of the Trenton Public Library. Please come, purchase a copy & meet the authors, Cate Crown & Carol Rogers. Proceeds from the sale of the book tomorrow will go directly to support the great work the library is doing to preserve our heritage. If you haven't been to the Trenton Library, lately or even ever, this is your chance to see/meet, not only this book & its authors, but also the 'Trentonianna' collection and its historian, Wendy Nardi. There are invaluable resources at the library for family history researchers and also lots tosee on display: a fragment of the Arch that greeted George Washington on his famous ride to inauguration as President, a fascinating collection of matchbooks, and pieces of the fabulous collection of artwork from the R.C. Maxwell Billboard Company. The library is located on Academy Street between N. Broad & N. Montgomery Streets. There is a parking lot for the library right next to the building. For driving directions visit their website at: http://www.trentonlibrary.state.nj.us/ Hope to see you there, Gary Nigh

I am looking for information on my g-g-g-g-grandfather, Isaac Covert. He was born circa 1795-1800. He married Amelia Margerum in November 1823 in Newtown, PA. Marriage records indicate that he was a carpenter in Trenton. Their first child, Mary Baker Covert, was born in 1824 in Princeton. The family later moved to Georgia and received land in the Cherokee Land Lottery and made a final move to Michigan. He died there prior to the 1860 census. Any information on this family (his parents, siblings, etc.)will be appreciated.

Hi, Thanks to all who sent me the Old Mill website and the Trenton Library and Historical Society information. I just spent the afternoon at the Trenton Library and was able to look at about 15 years of directories and the 1900 census in about 3 1/2 hours. They were very nice and helpful and I got a lot of the info that I was searching for. Thanks Again, Margie

Can anyone tell me why someone would be listed in a city directory twice, with 2 different spellings of the last name? For example, my g-g-g-grandfather Daniel Knott, and g-g-grandfather Thomas James Knott, were listed in the 1882 Trenton City Directory under those names, AND under the spelling of the last name NUTT. I can see how NUTT or KNOT or NOTT could be mistaken for KNOTT, but why would the directory list them twice? I mean, you'd think they would have been asked by the preparers of the directory what their names were, and entered once, that way... so any ideas on how or why they would be in their twice? Thanks for any info! Holly Knott in Bucks Co., Pa

Margie (and others), Trenton city directories are available on microfilm at the NJ State Library in Trenton, NJ (if you have access to it), and I think they are also at the State Archives in Trenton. Does anyone know if this means that they are available via local LDS centers? There are also almost 6 years' worth of them online on the Mill Hill website that might give you a good start - check out: http://www.oldmillhillsociety.org/research/directories.htm Hope this helps! Holly Knott in Bucks Co., Pa