Category: Historical Accounts
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Childhood at Woodbury, NJ
My grandmother’s maiden name was Sarah Holmes Thorn. She was a farmer’s daughter and both she and my grandfather were born in New Jersey. They had six children—Elwood S., A. Spencer, Laura, Warren (my father), Theodore L., and Hannah L. In 1869, when my father was six years old, the family moved across the Delaware…
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Under Lowering Clouds
It is a generally accepted theory that protracted epochs of great mental strain and emotion, such as occasioned by war or pestilence, exert a definite influence on the characters of children born during the period. My father was a striking contradiction of this theory. He was quite the reverse of bitter, sectionistic or militaristic. Yet…
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An Appreciation
“An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man”—never were these oft-quoted words of Emerson more truly applicable than to my father. His character and personality are interwoven in every policy and method of Warren Webster and Company. Beginning his career when the use of steam was practically restricted to motive-power, Warren Webster saw its…
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Carol Sampson Feaster – Oral History
Q – Were you baptized and if so, in what religion? A – Protestant. It was a Presbyterian church. I was baptized in this church because I remember being dipped in the water. [First Presbyterian Church – Ed.] Q- So you were older? A – Yea, I was about 9 years old, that I remember…
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The Sampson Family Oral Interviews
With Herbert A. Sampson & Carol Sampson Feaster Herbert A. Sampson and Caroline Suzanne Sampson were born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to William Allen Sampson (1860-1937) and Helen Ida Petty (1887-1931). Helen, a native of Newfoundland, immigrated to Massachusetts in the mid-1910s, while William hailed from Boston. In approximately 1924, the family, including older sister Lillian…
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Herbert Allen Sampson – Oral History
“Q- Where was the first home you remembered? “A- The first home that I can remember was at 12th, that I really remember, was on 12th and Penn streets in Camden. “Q- How old were you then? “A – I don’t know, 3 or 4 years old. “Q- Do you remember what the house looked…
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In the ’30’s, they danced on a Cooper River barge – Tracking History
By Thomas A. Bergbauer, Retired Courier-Post Editor Over the years, Admiral Wilson Boulevard has been home to many attractions—some good and some not so good. Among the good ones were the first drive-in theater, which was in Pennsauken; the famous Whoopie Coaster, a wooden thrill ride that automobiles could drive onto for 25 cents; and…
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Orange Crates – Tracking History
By Thomas A. Bergbauer – Retired Courier-Post Editor While reminiscing about street games and vendors and the subject of orange crates came up and how versatile they were in our early years. This struck a chord with me because innovation back then seemed to be a universal thing with the children of my time. Kids…
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Pyne Point Park – Tracking History
By Thomas A. Bergbauer, Retired Courier-Post Editor If you grew up in North Camden then you had to remember Pyne Point Park. They were synonymous. For many living in that part of the city it was a great escape, especially during the warm summer months. Many spent hours there swimming or playing baseball. This piece…
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The Sinking of the M & E Henderson – Tracking History
By Thomas A. Bergbauer, Retired Courier-Post Editor The sinking of the M & E Henderson off the coast of North Carolina on Nov. 30, 1879 had been one of South Jersey's most famous mysteries and tales. There is certainly great mystery and confusion about this ship. Clippings in the Courier-Post library report that the ship…
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Glass Windows and the Nicholson House – Tracking History
By Thomas A. Bergbauer, Retired Courier-Post Editor It's hard to imagine living in a house with windowpanes that you cannot clearly see through. Being able to view the outdoors without difficulty is something we take for granted every day. But there was a time when there was one thing that our forefathers could not see…
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Ferries Across the Delaware – Tracking History
The Fire on the Ferry New Jersey in 1856 By Thomas A. Bergbauer, Retired Courier-Post Editor A need to cross the Delaware River between Camden and Philadelphia was felt as early as the 17th Century and it was ferry service between Cooper's Point in Camden and Saxamaxon Street in the city of Brotherly Love that…
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Ben Franklin Bridge – Tracking History
By Thomas A. Bergbauer, Retired Courier-Post Editor In 1926 the Delaware River Bridge was a marvel to behold with a 1,750 foot center span. It was the longest suspension bridge in the world—holding that record for three straight years until it was beat out by Detroit's Ambassador Bridge. Predictions from the bridge commission was that…
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Bellevue Hospital – Tracking History
By Thomas A. Bergbauer, Retired Courier-Post Editor A few times in the past two months I have received several phone calls from readers asking if a hospital ever existed in North Camden next to the Ben Franklin Bridge and if so, what was its name. The answer of course is, yes! The name of the…
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Gutter Fun – Tracking History
By Thomas A. Bergbauer, Retired Courier-Post Editor While driving not too long ago I noticed two youngsters playing in water at the curb of a street. Immediately I had flashbacks of water running down the gutter of my old city street in North Camden. They were draining the fire hydrant at the corner and it…