Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-04-13
Volume XXVII.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The quarterly meeting Of the Gloucester
County Historical Society was held in the
Williamstown Church on Monday afternoon,
April 10Th.
Before the regular session the visitors and
school children who attended en- masse IAN
idea worthy of repetition examined with
interest the really excellent collection of
relics which were gathered together by Miss
Bugbee. The collection consisted OF old
chinaware, one of the pieces a teapot,
being two hundred years old; Continental
money, old coins, a medal presented to
someone named Girard, by King Of
France, Revolutionary muskets, pewter
plates and candle sticks, clumsy old spec
tacles that aided weary eyes century ago.
lorquette which probably graced some
fine DANES nose before the Declaration of
Independence. An almanac for 1753-1754
printed by the versatile B. Franklin; an or
iginal certificate of membership in the
Society Of the Cincinnati issued to Luther
Halsey in 1884 bearing the signature Of G..
Washington, President of the Society; an
immense German Bible printed in 1879
Another leather bound book certified on its
title page (the most interesting page of old
books) that it was a History of the Rise,
Increase and Progress Of the Christian people
called Quakers with several remarkable oc-
curences intermixed, written originally in
Low-Dutch and also translated into English
by William Sewel'' The oldest book in
the collection was a Bible in excellent con-
dition printed in 1866. A chair was also
exhibited which proudly proclaimed that it
was used by General Washington who stay
ed at the house of Mr.. SickIer, at Chews
Landing after visiting the Fort at Red
Bank to view the damage done at that bat
tie, A number Of samplers, so popular for
youthful ediiication in the early 20's, were
shown. The following lines are from two
of the samples shown:
@When ! am dead and in my grave
And all my bones are rotten
! leave you this to look upon
Isest should be forgotten
~Tis religion that can give
Sweetest treasures while we live
sTis religion must supply
Solid comfort where we die
Frances 0. Seeley Regent of the Cohansic
Chapter Of Daughters Revolution delivered
the opening address explaining the objects
of that Society and the purposes of the D.
A. R. and Colonial DANES.
Prof. R. Howell Tice followed with a
genealogical sketch of the Tice family.
The closing paper was on Jonas Cattell, a
hero of the Battle of Red Bank, which in
the following is printed in full.
JONAS cATTELL, RED BANK HERO.
@What is History?' cries the cynio,
"But a fable agreed upon y
To define the subject briefly is no easy
thing.
We generally regard history as an ae-
count of the old; record of the remote; a
narrative of the past.
To speak comprehensively history means
complete written records of all the expert
ences of humanity down to the latest mo-
ment of the present.
Had every member Of the race been able
to keep diary, and done it, room for hooks
and time TO read them would by this time
be a serious problem.
Practically, history means the preserved
records Of important persons, places and
events Of all the human ages.
Modern conceptions of history include
the why Of things as we'll as the when and
the where, and so we have the ideas Of
philosophy Of history and 'historic per-
spective.A
Since the vanishing point Of mighty
historic vista may fall upon an obscure per
son, an insignificant place or trivial event
it is ours to use both the search-light and
the microscope in our historic investiga-
tions.
Unaccountably we find ourselves in the
midst of mighty revival of interesting his
tory, both local and general, such as chris
tendon has never experienced before.
No literary work attracts more attention
than that Of history; no class Of books
meets with reader sale, and none have in
creased in value, as have historical works,
some of which few years or decades ago
were published at little gain or even at a
loss.
sShourds Fenwick Colony" " Clements
Newtown Township sMickle's Remin-
iscences, . and others are Of the latter class
and happy is the historian who possesses
them or can find them in the old book
stores and public libraries. Blessed is that
member Of historical society who knows