Forgotten Towns of Southern New Jersey Index

Pine Baron

Explorer
Feb 23, 2008
480
25
Sandy Run
I recently finished reading Beck's Forgotten Towns of Southern NJ. Always "spot read" this book, but never read it cover to cover, so I decided to do this. Needless to say, this is an amazing book, but one thing that always bothered me about it was it's lack of an index.

There are times you remember a place or name but can't remember what chapter it was in. So, as the reading began, I started taking notes, and using the index for More Forgotten Towns... as a guide, I alphabetized them set up an index that contained proper and place names only.

This index was set up for my own personal use and may not be a formal index, but I thought I would share it with the other students of history on the board. I've checked and rechecked to keep mistakes to a minimum, but there still may be some. Any constructive criticism is welcome.

Hoping this is useful,
John-


A few footnotes are provided to help you understand it better.

1) All names are alphabetized by letter regardless of capitalization, prefixes, etc.

2) All names are as they appear in the book. No liberties taken to "formalize" names.

3) Some assumptions were made for surnames when married daughters and children were mentioned in proximity with the parents.

4) Page numbers in bold face indicate frequent mentions in the balance of chapter.

5)Waterways such as R, Cr are abbreviated so as not to confuse them with town names.
(Ex.-Toms River). Branch is spelled out so as not to confuse it with Bridge.

6) The name NJ has been omitted as well as the names of all NJ counties.
 

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ecampbell

Piney
Jan 2, 2003
2,840
958
That's a really nice piece of work, and it will be useful. I remember alot of stuff, but can never find it again.
Thanks,
Ed
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,602
8,181
Pine Barren,

A fantastic addition to the site and I appreciate all the time and effort you put into it. It is a "must have" for any Beck fan. Well done! Rutgers should pay you and add that to all future additions of the book.

I like that fact that you gave it a version number and added your NJPB name to it. You need to take credit for this work.

Guy
 

MarkBNJ

Piney
Jun 17, 2007
1,875
73
Long Valley, NJ
www.markbetz.net
Great idea, and thanks for taking the time to do it. I love reading Beck for color and texture, and personalities. I find him a little frustrating to do research in, and this addresses one of the reasons why. Typically I'm looking for the answer to a specific question or set of questions, and digging answers out of Beck's endless anecdotes without rereading the whole shebang can be a chore.
 

strom

Scout
Apr 24, 2004
86
1
90
barnegat. nj
I'm glad you enjoyed this and can find it useful.

John-
great job john........................ive read most of beck since my youth,always fascinating.............................you deserve a lot of credit for such an involved task...................its incredible to read of his travels on all sand roads,in a model t..........what a brave guy,and optimist as well..........he needed my ford ranger 4wd.............strom
 

LARGO

Piney
Sep 7, 2005
1,552
132
53
Pestletown
John,
I finally had a moment to give this a good look. I have and love that book. I do not know where you got the notion but man, your work looks nice and would likely be welcome to the reader. You should be proud and yet you share it freely. Yer a good man.

I was lookin' to start the S-10 the other day just to move it around and thought of you squeezed into it at the cleanup. You were a trooper. I should have had a skylight top for you yet you hung in there all day through the bumps, climbing in and out, and my shear insane use of the old truck. Listening to me yap all day should have merited a trophy. Peace brother.

g.
 

Pine Baron

Explorer
Feb 23, 2008
480
25
Sandy Run
I was lookin' to start the S-10 the other day just to move it around and...

George-

I would squeeze in and out of your S-10 a dozen more times, if only to extend the conversations we had! A priceless day. No need for a skylight top... it's not your fault you got stuck with Herman Munster. Peace to you, my friend.

Thanx (to all) for the kind words... but it was actually no trouble at all. It was something I've been wanting to do for some time, and finally got around to it.

John-
 
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