Howardsville's Buildings

[Teegate]

All,

I have just recently been starting to explore Howardsville looking for what I always do. I have acquired some maps of the area, and just today spent some time looking them over. I learned quite a bit and will pass some of the info along now.

The property was surveyed quite a few times, and I have quite a few of them in my possession. For this bit of info we will be discussing the December 1958 survey by a firm from Tom's River.

The survey is called "Part of the Greenwood Forest Tract" and it mentions that the property was being "conveyed" to the state of NJ from the Penn Producing Company. So at that time the state was in the process of acquiring it.

There is a "transmission" line crossing route 72 that goes into Howardsville and apparently follows the edge of the bogs. How far that actually goes, and where it goes is as of yet unknown by me. I will be checking that out sometime in December maybe.

But one question that I am sure many people have is where exactly were the buildings, and how many were there. Well, we now know from the below maps. BTW, I have a 1947 map that shows even more dwellings, but I have not looked that over in detail yet. So for now this will have to do.

Notice at the top where it says Marble Monument. That is long gone but if you visit the lake there and walk to the western side you can still find the steel post that was so popular for some reason with the surveyor's back then. They usually were hammered in right next to the monument. Most of the places I find the posts, the stone or monument is long gone. What a mistake!

And notice where the buildings are. The big one may have been the packing house. If you look very closely at the bottom edge of the building you can still see the oval road is visible even today.

Ben...sorry that the photo breaks the edge. It took me a while to get the maps made, and I did not want to have to make it again in a smaller form.

Guy

 

[Boyd]

Thanks for posting that Guy, very cool!

 

[BEHR655]

If I recall, there is a large depression at the upper most building site.

Steve

 

[bobpbx]

Guy, Jack Cervetto's manuscript.."Living with the Pine Barrens" indicates there were 6 families. So, we should look for 6 buildings.

 

[woodjin]

Interesting. I was there just recently. I always wanted to explore that field but it was either the wrong time of year or I didn't have enough time.
Thanks for the info, Also, what is a transmission line?

Jeff

 

[Ben Ruset]

The first time I went to Howardsville, I noticed a lot of brick/bog iron debris in the field across from bog #4. I agree with the assessment that it was likely the packing house.

Bob, I am sure that some of those families lived in frame houses with no cellars, so there likely would not be any cellar holes for many of those buildings.

I would not be surprised if the two larger buildings across from bog #3 were some sort of dormitory living arrangement for single/migrant workers.

 

[ebsi2001]

Guy, Jack Cervetto's manuscript.."Living with the Pine Barrens" indicates there were 6 families. So, we should look for 6 buildings.

A photocopy of a private letter in my possession seems to indicate that a member of the Howard family lived in a large house there. So, perhaps, the largest of the smaller buildings may have been that residence. My assumption would be that it had a cellar...

ebsi

 

[Teegate]

The earlier survey I have shows more and when I can I will piece it together. The photo I took cuts that area right down the middle making hard to envision where they were.


Jeff...I guess it is an electrical line that just runs through the property. I am not sure if it is for Howardsville or everyone. I will be visiting it in December

Guy

 

[Teegate]

Also, what is a transmission line?

Jeff

Today I took a very quick detour to check out the "transmission" lines. There were none!

So it is apparent that what is mentioned on the map was the original power lines that ran to Howardsville which originated across Route 72. You can still see where they were located in the below map. They must have removed all of the poles and wires, but on the road near the clearing we did find the remains of the support for the guy-wires for it. It would be interesting to walk the route and see if anything else remains.

Guy

 

[Teegate]

I have been trying to find any information I could on the Penn Produce company that in the 1940’s owned Howardsville and the cranberry bogs there. Doing a quick search on the internet I came up with a Penn Produce company from Fogelsville Pa near Allentown. I have no idea as of yet if it is the same company; however, it may be since that company was founded in the 1940’s when it appears they were purchasing property at Howardsville. I have a 1947 survey of all of their property. It is substantial!


About Penn Produce
About Us Penn Produce was founded in the 1940's and has been under the current ownership for the past twenty-four years Penn's focus is mainly foodservice and while it's primary product line is fresh fruits and vegetables, it does offer basic products in value added produce, frozen foods, dairy, seafood and dry categories Penn's mission is to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers in terms of service, quality and value, and to provide a friendly environment for our employees.
We operate from a modern food safety certified facility of 20,000 sq ft with over 8,000 sq ft.

Divided into six different temperature zones ranging from zero to sixty degrees fahrenheight Our fleet of refrigerated trucks are all less than five years old and are maintained under full service leases to ensure maximum reliability We deliver daily from our Fogelsville facility within a radius of 100 miles which covers all of southeast Pennsylvania, western New Jersey and northern Delaware To learn more...



They have a website at pennproduce.com but when I tried to access it the site was not active. I then found this.

http://www.ams.usda.gov/news/074-06.htm

It would be interesting to know if they are the company that once owned Howardsville and much of the surrounding land that consisted of hundreds of acres around Howardsville.

BTW, just for the record Howardsville consists of 11 bogs.

Guy

 

[Boyd]

They have a website at pennproduce.com but when I tried to access it the site was not active.

But the WayBack machine never forgets:

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://pennproduce.com

This part is pretty funny in light of the other link you just posted:

Food Safety
Penn Produce is known for our special focus on food safety; we believe our company is the marketplace leader in this critical facet of the business. We adhere to the most stringent food safety standards. In fact, our commitment has gone so far as to have contracted with one of the country's leading, independent food safety auditing firms to make periodic inspections of our facility.

 

[Teegate]

Nice find! The WayBack machine at work again

Guy

 

[Jerseyman]

TeeGate:

In conducting a bit of research for you I discovered that the company you referenced in Pennsylvania did not incorporate until the early 1940s. However, I think the firm that owned Howardsville might be this one:

Penn Produce Company, 418 Henderson Street, Jersey City, New Jersey
Incorporated 10 July 1908
Agent: George W. Huyler
Authorized Capital Stock: $100,000

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[Teegate]

Again, thanks Jerseyman. I will see if I can find anything more on the company in my research.

Guy

 

[Theressa]

All,

I have just recently been starting to explore Howardsville looking for what I always do. I have acquired some maps of the area, and just today spent some time looking them over. I learned quite a bit and will pass some of the info along now.

The property was surveyed quite a few times, and I have quite a few of them in my possession. For this bit of info we will be discussing the December 1958 survey by a firm from Tom's River.

The survey is called "Part of the Greenwood Forest Tract" and it mentions that the property was being "conveyed" to the state of NJ from the Penn Producing Company. So at that time the state was in the process of acquiring it.

There is a "transmission" line crossing route 72 that goes into Howardsville and apparently follows the edge of the bogs. How far that actually goes, and where it goes is as of yet unknown by me. I will be checking that out sometime in December maybe.

But one question that I am sure many people have is where exactly were the buildings, and how many were there. Well, we now know from the below maps. BTW, I have a 1947 map that shows even more dwellings, but I have not looked that over in detail yet. So for now this will have to do.

Notice at the top where it says Marble Monument. That is long gone but if you visit the lake there and walk to the western side you can still find the steel post that was so popular for some reason with the surveyor's back then. They usually were hammered in right next to the monument. Most of the places I find the posts, the stone or monument is long gone. What a mistake!

And notice where the buildings are. The big one may have been the packing house. If you look very closely at the bottom edge of the building you can still see the oval road is visible even today.

Ben...sorry that the photo breaks the edge. It took me a while to get the maps made, and I did not want to have to make it again in a smaller form.

Guy

TeeGate,
Here is what i have on Howardville, Sims Place etc. some of which you might have. I've included census records on John Bowers family.

On Feb. 7, 2003via E-mail Carolyn Goudreau, a Florida resident wrote: "John Bowers (Bauer) my grgrgandfather was b. in Germany in 1830. That he was b. 13 Nov 1830 and d. 19 Oct. 1912. and that his wife Catherine Wildermuth, was born 2 Apr 1838 and died 25 June, 1894." She also said, " John Bowers managed carnberry bogs for over 50 years for the Howard family." That "He lived in Sims Place most of that time." That "John lived and worked there so long that some called it Bowers bogs."
She also said, "In an article on Sims Place I found this: 'After Mr. Bowers death (1912) Hillard Corlis was appointed as foreman in Sim Place. In 1912 there were eight families living in Sim Place and each was provided with a house.' John Bowers had a daughter, Catherine) who married a Corlis but I don't know his name. Could be this Hilliard Corlis."

These are just odds and ends of information that I found while researching the Bowers family. Hope there's something here you can use. Carolyn

On Feb. 8, 2003 Carolyn Goudrea, wrote: " One of his (meaning John Bowers) daughters, Ella B. Hewitt claimed he was from Holland, Germany and that he ran away form home. To my knowledge, there is no such place bgut in searching on line I found that in 1839 boundry lines changed. The Germans lost Luxembourg and wrfe given large parts of the Dutch province of Limburg which now became a German Duchy in personal union with the Neatherlands, remining atq the same time a Dutch Province, much like Luxembourg had been before." " The same daughter, Ella Hewitt, is the one who said she was one of 15 ch. in an article that appeard in the Tuckerton Cronicle on her 91st birthday. Ella moved in with her sister Catherine after she broke her hip and took care of Catherine for 13 years. Catherine d. in 1966 at 94. Her son Richard died the same year as his mother at age 74. Catherine's house was sold after Richard died. Ella died at age 98 in Rest-A-While Nurshing Home, Blackwood, NJ.

Sim Place
The following article was sent to me by another visitor to this site. It was written by someone named Jack Cervetto, of Warren Grove NJ.

Sim place was named after an Indian Chief by name of Sim. Sim was Chief of the Oswego Tribe that lived there. This high piece of ground of about twenty acres was an 'ideal location for a village.' There is a fresh water stream nearby and wet cedar bottom almost surrounds it, which was a protection from forest fires. Their burial ground was about a hundred yards north of the present Big Red House. They had a path made through the south swamp and came out where.the Allen Road ends at the swamp. This gave them a direct path to the bay to gather their clams and oysters. The only means of transportation for all the Indian tribes in this region was walking. During and after the Revolutionary War there were four settlements in the vicinity of Sim Place: The Parker Place on Sim Place Road before the main dam, the Penn Farm west of Sim Place, now Penn State Forest; the Rossell Place southeast of Sim Place opposite the blueberry patch and the Kilpatrick Place north of Sim Place on Stephenson Road. These people produced charcoal and cedar for Martha and Stafford Forges and Furnaces; as well as for many other people living in the Pinelands. About the middle of the 1800's a Mr. Webb set out a patch of wild cranberry vines in a cedar swamp that was cut off. This experiment was so successful that by 1900 thousands of acres of cut off cedar swamps were converted into cranberry bogs. It was in this period that the Sim Place bogs were developed. The owners were Millard Howard, James Lippincott and Richard Harrison.

These men set out the nine bogs at Howardville also. I believe that the village was named after Mr. Howard. About 1860 the bog operation was quite active. The Indians moved northwest of Sim Place approximately five miles, not far from Winding PEII Road. At this time a medium size log cabin was built in Sim Place. For several years the owners used it to oversee and plan out their operation. During this period they hired John Bowers to take care of the work. Mr. Bowers was bom and raised in Cedar Grove (now Warren Grove). [CORRECTION: See bottom of page for more information on his birthplace] He lived at Howardville for twelve years before moving to Sim Place in 1872. He moved into the Log Cabin, the only dwelling there at this date. At this time a steam powered saw mill was erected in the field behind the shanties along the road. He would manage the cranberry bogs for over 50 years. Mr. Willet Caywood of Chatsworth was the operator of the mill. He moved to Warren Grove until a place was built for him in Sim Place. This mill produced all the lumber needed for water control gates in bogs, and also lumber for storage sheds and new dwellings. The 25 acre bog and the 3 5 acre bog were the first planted. The first to produce though was the Forty Acre Bog. All cranberries were hand picked until 1920.

For a number of years there were enough people in the area to gather the cranberries, but as more bogs produced, more help was needed from the outside. A small piece of land was the place for the outside help to live during the cranberry picking season. They constructed two 2 1/2 story buildings and a few years later two more buildings of the same size were constructed. The pickers lived on the outside as a camp or picnic area. The buildings were only used in bad weather and to retire for the night. John Bowers was in charge of operations in Sim Place and Howardville for well over fifty years. He died in 1912 and was buried in Warren Grove Cemetery.
[I have pictures of the grave stones at Reevestown Cemetery. Called Warren Grove Cemetery above.]

In 1912 there were eight families living in Sim Place, and each family was provided with a house. The two-family red Big House was completed at this time. The Penn Producing Co. was organized and Isaac Harrison was appointed sole manager.

After Mr. Bower's death, Hilliard Corlis was appointed as foreman in Sim Place and Thomas Sweeney as foreman in Howardville. Corlis moved in one side of the big house and his brother Hank lived on the other side. The serious problem facing Mr. Harrison was a lot of cranberry bogs and no water reservoir. He decided to build the road and dam across the swamp that created an entrance to the village on the north side. Prior to the construction of this new dam, the old road went through the Sixty Acre Bog to the old Red Bridge and entered the village on the south side. Ira Couch was Mr. Harrison's skilled construction man. He built the two concrete bridges with control boards to raise or lower the water as needed. He also built a bridge with water control boards across the road going north to the Stevenson Road. He dug a canal from this bridge to supply water to bogs below. After this new road was completed, Mr. Harrison started to clear the ground for the Sixty Acre Bog and the Reservoir east of the bog. Then the dam was built and the bog was planted. This work was completed about 1910. Not long after this new time, a new road was finished. Mr. Harrison gave Howard Brown permission to set up a sawmill for himself just across the dam before you turned left to enter the village. Howard had several acres of cedar in Plains Branch of the Oswego River and operated the mill here for about twenty five years. After Mr. Brown moved his mill from Sim Place, Harrison built a new saw mill just west of the site of Brown's mill and about a hundred yards south towards the red Big House. This mill was operated by a gasoline motor until 1940. Electricity was brought in from Hog Wallow and the mill was operated by electric power. William Giberson was the principal saw man in this mill.

During the 1920's, the local men of the village could scoop cranberries but most of them were hand picked by outside help. Hand picked berries need not be cleaned but the scooped berries had a lot of dirt in them. Scooping cranberries was something new and the cranberry growers did not know what effect scoops would have on the vines. In a few years they improved on the style of scoops. The growers convinced themselves that this was the best way to gather their berries and it could be accomplished in a shorter time. This fact prompted Harrison to build a cleaning house or sorting house with the proper sorting equipment inside. Mr. Ira Couch was placed in charge of this construction.

The people that lived in Sim Place proper at this date were: William Giberson, Charles Dennis, Harvey Cranmer, Spike DeCamp, Francis Parker, Thomas Mick, John and Steven Hardeski and their father also worked there and lived in the same house as did Georcre White.
At this time, Raymond Cranmer was made foreman at Howardville. The people that lived in Howardville at that time were: Raymond Cranmer,Oscar Parker, Edward Bunnell, Thomas Sweeney.

In May of 1912 a forest fire was headed straight for the village and bogs. The weather was hot and dry with a good breeze blowing. The fire was getting closer and closer. Finally Harrison, seeing little hope and in desperation fell on his knees and prayed to God that if the village and bogs were saved he would build a church in Sim Place to serve God. As Richard Harrison, rising from the prayer, heard someone say: "Look at that black cloud coming up". It was a fast moving shower and the fire was getting closer. The village was getting thick with smoke. The rain and the fire approached the edge of town the same time and it rained so hard that it put the fire out before any damage was done. The church was soon built and Mr. Harrison hired Rev. Woodmansee of Barnegat to conduct services there for the duration in which the church held services which was about twenty five years. Church members held their annual Camp Meetings in the Pine Grove at the Parker Place. Theodore Holloway died in 1961, and Charles Dennis was placed in charge of the work.

In the next ten years several major changes were made. Mr. Dennis eventually moved to Forked River and Raymond Cranmer was placed in charge of both Howardville and Sim Place. Then Howardville was sold to Kupire Corp. of Trenton. They sold it to the State of New Jersey as a Fish and Game Wildlife Management Area. Raymond Cranmer died and James Beebe was placed in charge of work at Sim Place. In this period, Isaac Harrison died and his son-in-law William Shaw managed the operation for a few years. The Kupire Corp. purchased Sim Place. At this writing of December 1985 they still own Sim Place and continue to produce cranberries. The late Jack Cervetto worked for many years to keep the local history and culture alive. He worked for many years at cutting and milling cedar, raking moss and decoy carving. He served as Mayor of Stafford Township and wrote a book about the history of Stafford Township.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Another visitor to this site has added this tidbit of information:
John Bowers who managed the cranberry bogs at Sim Place (first at Howardville) for 50 years for the Howard family. There is one error there by the late Jack Cervito. John Bowers wasn't born in Cedar Grove/Warren Grove as stated. He was born in Germany. His name was originally Bauer but people spelled it as they heard it so it became Bower and later Bowers. He's in every Burlington Co. Census from 1850 (he was 20) through 1910 listed as "born in Germany" His employment at Sim Place was only broken by a nine month enlistment in the Civil War. A copy of his Civil War discharge also states he was born in Germany.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1850 US Cen. Union Twp., NJ 284/297
Wildermuth, John, age 51, farmer, b. Germany = b. abt 1799
Elizabeth, age 45, = b. abt 1805
Jamer, age 22 = b. abt 1828
Harriet, age 14 = b. abt 1836
CATHERINE, age 12 = b. abt 1838
Mary, age 7 = b. abt 1843
William, age 2 = b. abt 1848
Giberson, Joseph, age 35, laborer, b. NJ = b, abt 1825
BOWERS, JOHN, age 20, laborer, b. Germany = b. abt 1830
(A dutchman), Henry, age 35, laborer, b. Germany = b. abt 1825
Birdsall, Samuel, age 52, laborer, b. NJ = b. abt 1798
1860 US Cen. Barnegat, Union Twp., NJ, 456
Bowers, John, age 30, farmer , b. Germany = b. abt 1830
Catherine, age 20 = b. abt 1840
Margaret, age 4 = b. abt 1856
Elizabeth, age 2 = b. abt 1858
Sarah, age 4/12 = b. abt 1859-60
Bower, John Private enrolled: Aug. 30, '62 mustered in: Sept. 20, '62 for 9 Mos mustered out: June 30, '63 Source: http://www.njstatelib.org/NJ_Information/Searchable_Publications/civilwar/NJCWn914.html
1870 US Cen. Union Twp., NJ 377
Bowers, John, age 39, b. Germany = b. abt 1831
Catherine, age 32 = b. abt 1838
James, age 8 = b. abt 1862
Edward, age 7 = b. abt 1863
Harriet A., age 5 = b. abt 1865
Mary, age 1 = b. abt 1869
Wildermuth, Elizabeth, age 65 = b. abt 1805
Giberson, Joseph, age 59 = b. abt 1811
================================================================
1880 United States Census
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Household:
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
John BOWERS Self M Male W 49 GER Farmer GER GER = b. abt 1831
Cathanne BOWERS Wife M Female W 42 NJ Keeps House NJ NJ = b. abt 1838
James W. BOWERS Son Male W 18 NJ Works On Farm GER NJ = b. abt 1862
Edward H. BOWERS Son Male W 17 NJ At Home GER NJ = b. abt 1863
Harriet BOWERS Dau Female W 15 NJ At Home GER NJ = b. abt 1868
Mary BOWERS Dau S Female W 11 NJ At Home GER NJ = b. abt 1869
Cathanne BOWERS Dau S Female W 8 NJ At Home GER NJ = b. abt 1872
Ella BOWERS Dau S Female W 4 NJ At Home GER NJ = b. abt 1876
George W. BOWERS Son S Male W 2 NJ At Home GER NJ = b. abt 1878
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
===================
Found in Edwin Salter's book: "Cedar Grove M.E. Church.
The M. E. Church at Cedar Grove in Stafford township near Job Corlies' residence, was dedicated December 24, 1874. The certificate of incorporation, filed February 4, 1875, name the following trustees: Reuben C. Corlies, JOHN BOWERS, Job M. Corlies, John G. Corlies, Joshua M. Corlies, Samuel Stackhouse, Jr., William Cranmer. An effort was made about 1880 to change the name from Cedar Grove to Corlisville."
=======
From: c goudreau Subject: Re: [NJBurlin] Wiseman, Cramer/Cranmer, Warren, Corlis/Corliss/Corles Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2003 09:30:21 -0800 (PST)
Theressa, I have a few bits and pieces abt. Wiseman and Corlis. These names are connected to my Bowers line but I'm not researching those names, just Bower. My grgrgrandfather was John Bowers (Bauer) who was b. in Germany in 1830. He married Catherine Wildermuth who was b. 2 Apr. 1838.
Catherine's parents were John W. Wildermuth and Elizabeth Wiseman who m. 9 Nov. 1825 (Co. clerks records, Burlington Co.)
John and Catherine Bowers are buried in Reevestown Cemetery, near Warren Grove. They had 15 ch. I don't have all their names but they did have a Harriet and a Lida (Lydia?)

This was in the 1880 Census
John Bowers age 49 b. Germany - 13 Nov. 1830 (d. 19 Oct.1912)
Catherine Wildermuth age 42 b. U.S.- 2 Apr. 1838 (d. 25 June, 1894) Living in Bass River Twp., Burlington Co. (Sim Place)
Among the ch. still at home was Harriet, age 15
1900 Burlington Co. - Bass River Twp. - Bowers Bogs
John Bowers age 71 living with him were:
Lydia Wiseman, granddaughter, age 15 b. Sept. 1884
Clarence Corlis, grandson, age 7 - b. June 1892

1900 Burlington Co. Bass River Twp.-Bowers Bogs
George W. Bowers age 21 b. Nov. 1878 N.J. (this was a son of John Bowers)
Mary A. age 20 b. Aug. 1879 N.J.
John V. son, age 1 b. Mar. 1870 N.J.
Edward, brother, age 30 b. Mar. 1870 N.J.
Katie Corlis, niece age 5 - b. Aug. 1894

 

[Theressa]

Howardville and Sims Place info

All,

I have just recently been starting to explore Howardsville looking for what I always do. I have acquired some maps of the area, and just today spent some time looking them over. I learned quite a bit and will pass some of the info along now.

The property was surveyed quite a few times, and I have quite a few of them in my possession. For this bit of info we will be discussing the December 1958 survey by a firm from Tom's River.

The survey is called "Part of the Greenwood Forest Tract" and it mentions that the property was being "conveyed" to the state of NJ from the Penn Producing Company. So at that time the state was in the process of acquiring it.

There is a "transmission" line crossing route 72 that goes into Howardsville and apparently follows the edge of the bogs. How far that actually goes, and where it goes is as of yet unknown by me. I will be checking that out sometime in December maybe.

But one question that I am sure many people have is where exactly were the buildings, and how many were there. Well, we now know from the below maps. BTW, I have a 1947 map that shows even more dwellings, but I have not looked that over in detail yet. So for now this will have to do.

Notice at the top where it says Marble Monument. That is long gone but if you visit the lake there and walk to the western side you can still find the steel post that was so popular for some reason with the surveyor's back then. They usually were hammered in right next to the monument. Most of the places I find the posts, the stone or monument is long gone. What a mistake!

And notice where the buildings are. The big one may have been the packing house. If you look very closely at the bottom edge of the building you can still see the oval road is visible even today.

Ben...sorry that the photo breaks the edge. It took me a while to get the maps made, and I did not want to have to make it again in a smaller form.

Guy

TeeGate,
Here is what i have on Howardville, Sims Place etc. some of which you might have. I've included census records on John Bowers family.

On Feb. 7, 2003via E-mail Carolyn Goudreau, a Florida resident wrote: "John Bowers (Bauer) my grgrgandfather was b. in Germany in 1830. That he was b. 13 Nov 1830 and d. 19 Oct. 1912. and that his wife Catherine Wildermuth, was born 2 Apr 1838 and died 25 June, 1894." She also said, " John Bowers managed carnberry bogs for over 50 years for the Howard family." That "He lived in Sims Place most of that time." That "John lived and worked there so long that some called it Bowers bogs."
She also said, "In an article on Sims Place I found this: 'After Mr. Bowers death (1912) Hillard Corlis was appointed as foreman in Sim Place. In 1912 there were eight families living in Sim Place and each was provided with a house.' John Bowers had a daughter, Catherine) who married a Corlis but I don't know his name. Could be this Hilliard Corlis."

These are just odds and ends of information that I found while researching the Bowers family. Hope there's something here you can use. Carolyn

On Feb. 8, 2003 Carolyn Goudrea, wrote: " One of his (meaning John Bowers) daughters, Ella B. Hewitt claimed he was from Holland, Germany and that he ran away form home. To my knowledge, there is no such place bgut in searching on line I found that in 1839 boundry lines changed. The Germans lost Luxembourg and wrfe given large parts of the Dutch province of Limburg which now became a German Duchy in personal union with the Neatherlands, remining atq the same time a Dutch Province, much like Luxembourg had been before." " The same daughter, Ella Hewitt, is the one who said she was one of 15 ch. in an article that appeard in the Tuckerton Cronicle on her 91st birthday. Ella moved in with her sister Catherine after she broke her hip and took care of Catherine for 13 years. Catherine d. in 1966 at 94. Her son Richard died the same year as his mother at age 74. Catherine's house was sold after Richard died. Ella died at age 98 in Rest-A-While Nurshing Home, Blackwood, NJ.

Sim Place
The following article was sent to me by another visitor to this site. It was written by someone named Jack Cervetto, of Warren Grove NJ.

Sim place was named after an Indian Chief by name of Sim. Sim was Chief of the Oswego Tribe that lived there. This high piece of ground of about twenty acres was an 'ideal location for a village.' There is a fresh water stream nearby and wet cedar bottom almost surrounds it, which was a protection from forest fires. Their burial ground was about a hundred yards north of the present Big Red House. They had a path made through the south swamp and came out where.the Allen Road ends at the swamp. This gave them a direct path to the bay to gather their clams and oysters. The only means of transportation for all the Indian tribes in this region was walking. During and after the Revolutionary War there were four settlements in the vicinity of Sim Place: The Parker Place on Sim Place Road before the main dam, the Penn Farm west of Sim Place, now Penn State Forest; the Rossell Place southeast of Sim Place opposite the blueberry patch and the Kilpatrick Place north of Sim Place on Stephenson Road. These people produced charcoal and cedar for Martha and Stafford Forges and Furnaces; as well as for many other people living in the Pinelands. About the middle of the 1800's a Mr. Webb set out a patch of wild cranberry vines in a cedar swamp that was cut off. This experiment was so successful that by 1900 thousands of acres of cut off cedar swamps were converted into cranberry bogs. It was in this period that the Sim Place bogs were developed. The owners were Millard Howard, James Lippincott and Richard Harrison.

These men set out the nine bogs at Howardville also. I believe that the village was named after Mr. Howard. About 1860 the bog operation was quite active. The Indians moved northwest of Sim Place approximately five miles, not far from Winding PEII Road. At this time a medium size log cabin was built in Sim Place. For several years the owners used it to oversee and plan out their operation. During this period they hired John Bowers to take care of the work. Mr. Bowers was bom and raised in Cedar Grove (now Warren Grove). [CORRECTION: See bottom of page for more information on his birthplace] He lived at Howardville for twelve years before moving to Sim Place in 1872. He moved into the Log Cabin, the only dwelling there at this date. At this time a steam powered saw mill was erected in the field behind the shanties along the road. He would manage the cranberry bogs for over 50 years. Mr. Willet Caywood of Chatsworth was the operator of the mill. He moved to Warren Grove until a place was built for him in Sim Place. This mill produced all the lumber needed for water control gates in bogs, and also lumber for storage sheds and new dwellings. The 25 acre bog and the 3 5 acre bog were the first planted. The first to produce though was the Forty Acre Bog. All cranberries were hand picked until 1920.

For a number of years there were enough people in the area to gather the cranberries, but as more bogs produced, more help was needed from the outside. A small piece of land was the place for the outside help to live during the cranberry picking season. They constructed two 2 1/2 story buildings and a few years later two more buildings of the same size were constructed. The pickers lived on the outside as a camp or picnic area. The buildings were only used in bad weather and to retire for the night. John Bowers was in charge of operations in Sim Place and Howardville for well over fifty years. He died in 1912 and was buried in Warren Grove Cemetery.
[I have pictures of the grave stones at Reevestown Cemetery. Called Warren Grove Cemetery above.]

In 1912 there were eight families living in Sim Place, and each family was provided with a house. The two-family red Big House was completed at this time. The Penn Producing Co. was organized and Isaac Harrison was appointed sole manager.

After Mr. Bower's death, Hilliard Corlis was appointed as foreman in Sim Place and Thomas Sweeney as foreman in Howardville. Corlis moved in one side of the big house and his brother Hank lived on the other side. The serious problem facing Mr. Harrison was a lot of cranberry bogs and no water reservoir. He decided to build the road and dam across the swamp that created an entrance to the village on the north side. Prior to the construction of this new dam, the old road went through the Sixty Acre Bog to the old Red Bridge and entered the village on the south side. Ira Couch was Mr. Harrison's skilled construction man. He built the two concrete bridges with control boards to raise or lower the water as needed. He also built a bridge with water control boards across the road going north to the Stevenson Road. He dug a canal from this bridge to supply water to bogs below. After this new road was completed, Mr. Harrison started to clear the ground for the Sixty Acre Bog and the Reservoir east of the bog. Then the dam was built and the bog was planted. This work was completed about 1910. Not long after this new time, a new road was finished. Mr. Harrison gave Howard Brown permission to set up a sawmill for himself just across the dam before you turned left to enter the village. Howard had several acres of cedar in Plains Branch of the Oswego River and operated the mill here for about twenty five years. After Mr. Brown moved his mill from Sim Place, Harrison built a new saw mill just west of the site of Brown's mill and about a hundred yards south towards the red Big House. This mill was operated by a gasoline motor until 1940. Electricity was brought in from Hog Wallow and the mill was operated by electric power. William Giberson was the principal saw man in this mill.

During the 1920's, the local men of the village could scoop cranberries but most of them were hand picked by outside help. Hand picked berries need not be cleaned but the scooped berries had a lot of dirt in them. Scooping cranberries was something new and the cranberry growers did not know what effect scoops would have on the vines. In a few years they improved on the style of scoops. The growers convinced themselves that this was the best way to gather their berries and it could be accomplished in a shorter time. This fact prompted Harrison to build a cleaning house or sorting house with the proper sorting equipment inside. Mr. Ira Couch was placed in charge of this construction.

The people that lived in Sim Place proper at this date were: William Giberson, Charles Dennis, Harvey Cranmer, Spike DeCamp, Francis Parker, Thomas Mick, John and Steven Hardeski and their father also worked there and lived in the same house as did Georcre White.
At this time, Raymond Cranmer was made foreman at Howardville. The people that lived in Howardville at that time were: Raymond Cranmer,Oscar Parker, Edward Bunnell, Thomas Sweeney.

In May of 1912 a forest fire was headed straight for the village and bogs. The weather was hot and dry with a good breeze blowing. The fire was getting closer and closer. Finally Harrison, seeing little hope and in desperation fell on his knees and prayed to God that if the village and bogs were saved he would build a church in Sim Place to serve God. As Richard Harrison, rising from the prayer, heard someone say: "Look at that black cloud coming up". It was a fast moving shower and the fire was getting closer. The village was getting thick with smoke. The rain and the fire approached the edge of town the same time and it rained so hard that it put the fire out before any damage was done. The church was soon built and Mr. Harrison hired Rev. Woodmansee of Barnegat to conduct services there for the duration in which the church held services which was about twenty five years. Church members held their annual Camp Meetings in the Pine Grove at the Parker Place. Theodore Holloway died in 1961, and Charles Dennis was placed in charge of the work.

In the next ten years several major changes were made. Mr. Dennis eventually moved to Forked River and Raymond Cranmer was placed in charge of both Howardville and Sim Place. Then Howardville was sold to Kupire Corp. of Trenton. They sold it to the State of New Jersey as a Fish and Game Wildlife Management Area. Raymond Cranmer died and James Beebe was placed in charge of work at Sim Place. In this period, Isaac Harrison died and his son-in-law William Shaw managed the operation for a few years. The Kupire Corp. purchased Sim Place. At this writing of December 1985 they still own Sim Place and continue to produce cranberries. The late Jack Cervetto worked for many years to keep the local history and culture alive. He worked for many years at cutting and milling cedar, raking moss and decoy carving. He served as Mayor of Stafford Township and wrote a book about the history of Stafford Township.
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> Another visitor to this site has added this tidbit of information:
John Bowers who managed the cranberry bogs at Sim Place (first at Howardville) for 50 years for the Howard family. There is one error there by the late Jack Cervito. John Bowers wasn't born in Cedar Grove/Warren Grove as stated. He was born in Germany. His name was originally Bauer but people spelled it as they heard it so it became Bower and later Bowers. He's in every Burlington Co. Census from 1850 (he was 20) through 1910 listed as "born in Germany" His employment at Sim Place was only broken by a nine month enlistment in the Civil War. A copy of his Civil War discharge also states he was born in Germany.”
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1850 US Cen. Union Twp., NJ 284/297
Wildermuth, John, age 51, farmer, b. Germany = b. abt 1799
Elizabeth, age 45, = b. abt 1805
Jamer, age 22 = b. abt 1828
Harriet, age 14 = b. abt 1836
CATHERINE, age 12 = b. abt 1838
Mary, age 7 = b. abt 1843
William, age 2 = b. abt 1848
Giberson, Joseph, age 35, laborer, b. NJ = b, abt 1825
BOWERS, JOHN, age 20, laborer, b. Germany = b. abt 1830
(A dutchman), Henry, age 35, laborer, b. Germany = b. abt 1825
Birdsall, Samuel, age 52, laborer, b. NJ = b. abt 1798
1860 US Cen. Barnegat, Union Twp., NJ, 456
Bowers, John, age 30, farmer , b. Germany = b. abt 1830
Catherine, age 20 = b. abt 1840
Margaret, age 4 = b. abt 1856
Elizabeth, age 2 = b. abt 1858
Sarah, age 4/12 = b. abt 1859-60
Bower, John Private enrolled: Aug. 30, '62 mustered in: Sept. 20, '62 for 9 Mos mustered out: June 30, '63 Source: http://www.njstatelib.org/NJ_Information/Searchable_Publications/civilwar/NJCWn914.html
1870 US Cen. Union Twp., NJ 377
Bowers, John, age 39, b. Germany = b. abt 1831
Catherine, age 32 = b. abt 1838
James, age 8 = b. abt 1862
Edward, age 7 = b. abt 1863
Harriet A., age 5 = b. abt 1865
Mary, age 1 = b. abt 1869
Wildermuth, Elizabeth, age 65 = b. abt 1805
Giberson, Joseph, age 59 = b. abt 1811
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1880 United States Census
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Household:
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
John BOWERS Self M Male W 49 GER Farmer GER GER = b. abt 1831
Cathanne BOWERS Wife M Female W 42 NJ Keeps House NJ NJ = b. abt 1838
James W. BOWERS Son Male W 18 NJ Works On Farm GER NJ = b. abt 1862
Edward H. BOWERS Son Male W 17 NJ At Home GER NJ = b. abt 1863
Harriet BOWERS Dau Female W 15 NJ At Home GER NJ = b. abt 1868
Mary BOWERS Dau S Female W 11 NJ At Home GER NJ = b. abt 1869
Cathanne BOWERS Dau S Female W 8 NJ At Home GER NJ = b. abt 1872
Ella BOWERS Dau S Female W 4 NJ At Home GER NJ = b. abt 1876
George W. BOWERS Son S Male W 2 NJ At Home GER NJ = b. abt 1878
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Found in Edwin Salter's book: "Cedar Grove M.E. Church.
The M. E. Church at Cedar Grove in Stafford township near Job Corlies' residence, was dedicated December 24, 1874. The certificate of incorporation, filed February 4, 1875, name the following trustees: Reuben C. Corlies, JOHN BOWERS, Job M. Corlies, John G. Corlies, Joshua M. Corlies, Samuel Stackhouse, Jr., William Cranmer. An effort was made about 1880 to change the name from Cedar Grove to Corlisville."
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From: c goudreau Subject: Re: [NJBurlin] Wiseman, Cramer/Cranmer, Warren, Corlis/Corliss/Corles Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2003 09:30:21 -0800 (PST)
Theressa, I have a few bits and pieces abt. Wiseman and Corlis. These names are connected to my Bowers line but I'm not researching those names, just Bower. My grgrgrandfather was John Bowers (Bauer) who was b. in Germany in 1830. He married Catherine Wildermuth who was b. 2 Apr. 1838.
Catherine's parents were John W. Wildermuth and Elizabeth Wiseman who m. 9 Nov. 1825 (Co. clerks records, Burlington Co.)
John and Catherine Bowers are buried in Reevestown Cemetery, near Warren Grove. They had 15 ch. I don't have all their names but they did have a Harriet and a Lida (Lydia?)

This was in the 1880 Census
John Bowers age 49 b. Germany - 13 Nov. 1830 (d. 19 Oct.1912)
Catherine Wildermuth age 42 b. U.S.- 2 Apr. 1838 (d. 25 June, 1894) Living in Bass River Twp., Burlington Co. (Sim Place)
Among the ch. still at home was Harriet, age 15
1900 Burlington Co. - Bass River Twp. - Bowers Bogs
John Bowers age 71 living with him were:
Lydia Wiseman, granddaughter, age 15 b. Sept. 1884
Clarence Corlis, grandson, age 7 - b. June 1892

1900 Burlington Co. Bass River Twp.-Bowers Bogs
George W. Bowers age 21 b. Nov. 1878 N.J. (this was a son of John Bowers)
Mary A. age 20 b. Aug. 1879 N.J.
John V. son, age 1 b. Mar. 1870 N.J.
Edward, brother, age 30 b. Mar. 1870 N.J.
Katie Corlis, niece age 5 - b. Aug. 1894

 

[Carolyn G]

John Bowers/Sim Place Theressa Graham

Theressa, you seem to have correctly copied the information I sent you about my grgrgrandfather John Bowers and his 50 years managing the cranberry bogs for the Howard
family. Even the Census records were correct as was John's Civil War record.
It's the McCambridge genealogy that you screwed up on that I would like removed as it's full of flaws and inaccuracies.
I have my own genealogy of the McCambridge's on the RootsWeb website and Ancestry.com

Carolyn G.

 

[Ben Ruset]

The McCambridge thread was deleted.