Let Me Introduce You To Chalkley Willitts

Teegate

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All,

This photo shows the grave stone of Chalkley Willitts in the Tabernacle Cemetery. I suspect everyone here knows nothing about him so I will pass along a little info that you may find interesting. As the stone says, he passed away on February 21, 1885, which coincidentally was 136 years ago today. As far as I know Chalkley did not have a claim to fame, but he did own a piece of property that we all pass right by and actually cross over on our way down Carranza Road.

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His property.

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Chalkley's property started at a stone right behind the building on the curve on Carranza that we have discussed before, and is shown below. Curiously, Tuckerton Road is not shown on the map. The road that appears to be the Tuckerton Road is the Oriental Road that came out right next to the house that recently burned down and has been rebuilt.

His property corner was behind this building.

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In any event, his property crossed over Carranza road which was not the same back then, and extended out into the property across the street cutting right through the driveways of the current homes on the NE side of Tuckerton. It extended far into that property and then turned back and met close to the current Carranza Road right on the curve at the entrance to Wharton which was at that time the Tuckerton Road. This map, made sometime between Chalkley's death and about 1905, does not go into detail, however; it appears it returned to the beginning point without actually crossing the old Tuckerton road, as Wilkinson owned the property on the opposite side. Today, Chalkley's property has been absorbed into the larger track of land, and it no longer even shows up on tax maps.

If you don't remember, this is the old Oriental Road we discussed before.

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Teegate

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That one only has one "T" in Willitts.

That would have been two mistakes. I doubt it was him then.
 

Teegate

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I am not sure what you are saying. Are you saying the person put in the wrong info, or the stone is marked wrong???? I am confused.
 

Teegate

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I failed to photograph the wife grave but it is not Martha. However, it is Ann. They have the daughter as Anna at your link. I saw the wife's grave next to the one I photographed and it is Ann.
 

Teegate

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I will go back to the cemetery and photograph all of the stones. There were quite a few of them. I really need to go after noon because the mid morning light sucks.
 

Teegate

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Category:Marriage
Headline:Married
Date:November 20, 1845
Page:2
Column:5
Summary:At Medford, on Thursday November 13, 1845, by Reading N. Wright, Esq., Mr. Chalkley Willitts to Miss Ann Worrel, both of Burlington County.
 

Teegate

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It appears he married her late in life and may have had another wife before Ann. Maybe Martha????
 

bobpbx

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It appears he married her late in life and may have had another wife before Ann. Maybe Martha????
So far, that's what I get out of it too. Ancestry has his child Anna born in 1845, the same year he married Ann. Martha may have died near that time. Ancestry shows a question mark about her date though.
 

bobpbx

Piney
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Wasn't there a Chalkley in the old Andy Capp comic?
I didn't realize it, but if you look at the comic strip at the bottom of this link, there was one, a neighbor. Different spelling though.

 

Teegate

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So far, that's what I get out of it too. Ancestry has his child Anna born in 1845, the same year he married Ann. Martha may have died near that time. Ancestry shows a question mark about her date though.
As mentioned, I failed to photograph the rest of the stones. It was cold and I could not even see the writing in the morning. I need afternoon sun.
 

Teegate

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Update on this thread about Chalkley Willitts. I have the deed(s) to his property along Carranza Road and he purchased it 2/8/1870 from Garrett Prickitt.

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Even though he died on 2/21/1885 it was not until about 28 years later before Susan Willitts conveyed his property to John R. Wilkinson. You may remember or know that the Wilkinson Gun Club is right across the street from this property. So we can be certain that the origins of that club may go back as far as 1923.



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And just like the Hampton Park property many of the property stones for that property and Chalkley Willitts property were located in the center of what today is Carranza Road.

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