Records provide "fascinating" insights into Tuckerton's past
Published in the Asbury Park Press 09/21/05
BY BRIAN PRINCE
MANAHAWKIN BUREAU
TUCKERTON — Pneumonia, fits and scarlet fever are some of the many causes of death listed in an aging registry housed inside a vault at borough hall.
The registry, which chronicles births, deaths and marriages from 1849 to 1880, is one of about 10 books containing old municipal records Borough Clerk Grace DiElmo is collecting donations to preserve.
"The whole thing is very fascinating," she said Tuesday.
The registry is actually written in old-style penmanship, and covers a time period before Tuckerton seceded from Little Egg Harbor to become its own municipality in 1901. Its fraying pages provide a glimpse of what life was like in the 19th century, a time when people in the area made their money in professions such as blacksmiths, mariners and lumbermen.
"It really is a picture of the history and the way people lived," DiElmo said, adding that she would like to be able to preserve a couple of books a year.
Other records include about 60 years of Borough Council meeting minutes starting in 1901. She said that she hopes at some point the borough will be able to put the information online.
"They're great books," said Barbara Bolton, a member of the Tuckerton Historical Society. "It's good that they have that at the borough hall."
Resident Nancy Speck said she has a personal connection to the records.
"My grandparents would be in there and everything," Speck said. "I just thought it was a good thing to donate to."
The borough has received a proposal from Brown's River Records Preservation Services in Vermont to encase the pages of the old registry in Mylar and put it on microfilm, a process that will cost about $1,500. Some of the other books may be rebound instead of being encased in Mylar, DiElmo said. Preserving the minute books would range from $700 to $1,100 each.
While modern vital statistics records often only include information on deaths that happen inside a municipality, the old registry also contains information on the deaths of residents that occurred outside the borough, DiElmo said. As a result, there is information about residents who died out-of-state during the Civil War.
"I will certainly contribute to her quest there," Bolton said of DiElmo. "I'm sure she'll be able to do it. People around here are interested in it."
Brian Prince: (609) 978-4537 or
bprince@app.com
