|
I been busy so I haven't updated the website lately and might not for the next 2 months. -Dennis 
1811-1790s Samuel Burrough died and a portion of the money from rents of Plantation in Waterford and Plantation in Chester Twp. are to go to "the building of a Meeting House for the Friends at or near Cropwell Schoolhouse." Emmanuel Beagary (sp) rents the plantation in Chester Township (Collins Lane house) and a new kitchen is added to the house at this time. Emmanuel Beagary is involved with St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Colestown and is teaching school at a one room log cabin schoolhouse (I think or taught at Chesterford School ??) nearby the "Collins Lane house." He is married to Catherine Slim, the daughter of Peter Slim. (German descent) Samuel Burrough who died (moved to Evesham) Now contemplate this- The Cropwell Friends Meeting, and Marlton for that matter, is at the start of the South branch of the Pennsauken creek (once called Cropwell River) Can you picture the Burroughs boating up and down the creek from when they were children on? Well.... Samuel's brother Joseph died in 1810 and left his home (Woodland farm "in Cherry Hill") to son Joseph and Grist Mill and land in Chester Township to son Reuben. This was a transition period for several years and Joseph somehow got the plot of ground along the relatively new Stage Road and built a schoolhouse for the neighborhood. We do not know specifics but Cropwell Meeting House was built in 1809 and it was time for a new schoolhouse in this area. Perhaps it had been talked about for several years ?? -Dennis I was going to make a bunch of copies to hand out today at the 4th of July Parade, but my OLD laser printer someone gave me isn't up to par. Here is the new version I made (one or two words changed and color logo substituted with text heading)
Maple Shade Historical Society-The Maple Shade Historical Society invites you to attend our next meeting. It will be held after the parade, July 2, 2011, at the train station, located at the corner of Front St. and North Forklanding Road. Chesterford School (Little Red Schoolhouse) celebrates it's 200th Anniversary this year. Help in planning and events during 2011- 2012 -Betty Procopio, Pres. Lenhardt's hardware Store Photos-Lenhardts was sold to Mike Ferrace and later was run by Mike's son Dave. These three photos are from Marie Franzen who knew the Lenhardt family and had an uncle who worked for them. 
When you reach the bend in Frederick Avenue and see on each side of the street, the angle of the property lines, you are looking at the border line of the Stiles' 425 acres crosssing town. You missed out if you didn't come to the "Studies of Stiles" Maple Shade Historical Society meeting. The ideal thing was attend the meeting which had short films and slideshows, hand outs, work sheets, etc... and then to buy a cd with the material for 10 dollars. Cds are still available. Third down on the benefits would be to see the "Studies of Stiles" pages at this website. Old Houses PhotosOld Houses Maple Shade & Vicinity Horace Roberts in 1917 Progresses-  Maple Shade chose to OPPOSE Moorestown separating. 200th Anniversary Celebrations of the Chesterford SchoolhouseWell not yet. The schoolhouse and the Collins Lane house will soon undergo repairs. The Chesterford Schoolhouse is on the National Register of Historical Places as of this past year. Fights-Well if you are into historical research, you soon realize about holdings and propriety etc... of say something of the land of Maple Shade in a Philadelphia Historical collection or Burlington County. When it is happening so blatent in the year 2011 and so selfish, such as Moorestown Historical Society having recently obtained a Chesterford school made sampler and not rushing to contact the Maple Shade Historical Society and give it to us.... I think they think its theirs as a Cowperthwaite did it. The segment of Cowperthwaite land east of Lenola Road is today Moorestown as they put their water works nearby (mostly why) The end of 2010 and throughout 2012 Maple Shade will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Chesterford Schoolhouse. The other agitation to me is the possible razing of the last of the old homes of old Lenola along Camden Ave. under their "hidden eminent domain." http://lenola.info/ Their was a large Itailate house that was converted into the Lenola Community Center, now the site of a 7-Eleven, and another large old house which stood where McDonalds does today. Now they seem to want to take out the last of Old Lenola. Lenola Moorestown Those apartments are also affordable housing, which Moorestown payed Mount Laurel to take their by law affordable housing. (Should not be allowed!) And is one reason you see they have not done repairs. Why repair what is emenent domained! -Dennis Weaver 
The Old Surveys aren't that hard to figure out. Starting at a stake near the creek, North 45 degrees and 10 minutes, East 75 chains and 10 links to a black oak tree for a corner.... I used to think that they couldn't be figured out, but its Kindergarten surveying! Book of Thornes pages-Selected pagesStiles photos of 1897- T. Chalkley Matlack One of the hits of this past Maple Shade Historical Society Meeting, where I talked, was my homemade Surveyor's Chain. Well I made a Half Chain (50 links). The surveys in the old deeds are in measurements of chains and links. 
How to make a Gunter's Chain These Chains were used for a few hundred years or more! Now they use GPS! Ever wonder why an acre is 208.71 feet square or why a mile is 5200 something feet? They weren't based on feet and inches!They and the Gunter's chain are based on the distance a horse could pull a plow before it needed to rest. (a furlong) A furrow means a groove such as a plow would make. Chains, Acres, and Miles are based on "the Furlong." Read all about it here-
It was an agricultural world in the 1600s! New pages-Studies of Stiles The Depression 1682 Surveys-I just noticed in that Roberts memorial book, that they don't use Cimsissinck Creek for Daniel Leed's survey. They were I guess "correcting or updated the name. Nov. 14, 1682 SurveysBig Image- 1/2 MB- Slow Loading! Did you think?-Up until the early to mid 1960s Maple Shade despite its size, ranked at the top of the lists for Burlington County's 40 Townships for population and taxes paid!
1960 taxes paid to Burlington County by 40 municipalities A Train Shipment of Pears from John S. Collins & Son, Merchantville-Google book Snippet (and multiple web searches of snippet text ) says-
NEW JERSEY— Merchantville, Jan. 4.— John S.
Collins & Son of this place have shipped 100 carloads
of pears, over 50 going to London, Liverpool and Glasgow.
In England the Kieffer pear is only second in popularity to the
Calabash of France, one of England's favorite fruits.
In addition to those shipped by train, 25000 baskets are carried in
wagons to Philadelphia. The trees are trimmed every winter and sprayed five times
in the year. The ground is plowed and harrowed each season and
600 lb. of fertilizer applied per acre. The oldest trees are
25 years old, but the Lesters have one tree over 100 years old which
has been grafted with 20 varieties of pears.
The Country gentleman: Volume 76 (Published 1911) (I think NJ apples and pears were shipped to England and South America, the England ones probably were boated out from New York. ? Through many groups of words at beginnings and ends of sentences I got the whole above snippet. I think where it says Lesters they mean Collins and were thinking Lester Collins. Merchantville Collins tract started in black berries (Wilson I believe) and I guess by 1911 was pears. And I guess they had a lot more land for pear orchards as well.) Farming Magnitude of Orchards, etc...-Two biggies were the Roberts and Collins family. Emmor Roberts, the father of Horace was in same time period as John S. Collins. Horace was in time period of an old John S. Collins and his sons, Irving (lumber companies), Lester, (orchards), and Arthur (nursery).
After the Depression Charles Collins owned many farms and Emmor, Byron, and maybe another son or so, sons of Horace Roberts bought Jersey Jerry Label for apples etc... and then their sons Coles Roberts and Mac Roberts continued.See John Flack's Evesham website for several articles- Below is some links I found on Google Books- 75 acres of blackberries in Merchantville- John S. collins150,000 baskets, Horace Roberts Horace Roberts orchards in 1910 (He bought a lot more farms after that!) New Pages-Roberts Memorial bookI had that up a few years ago as a webpage and not image scans. I bet that cool flip style book will get it more reads! I added some more- The Two Brickyards New Page-Samplers made at Chesterford School If you want to do something for the Maple Shade Historical Society then write to the Moorestown Historical Society and ask them to donate this sampler they are "thinking about aquiring into their collection" to us. Historical Societies are generally selfish and view things as their propriety and don't think of others. This is Maple Shade history. The Cowperthwaite house is in Moorestown now but their land went across Schoolhouse Lane etc... and was mostly in Maple Shade. Chesterford School could use this.
Moorestown Historical Society
Dennis' letter to Moorestown Historical Society
And they sure could get on the horn now to the lady in Columbus and tell her! -den |
