Freas Leslie Hess (1896-1959)

From the History of Somerville, New Jersey, 1909-84.

  A standout figure in the history of Somerset County, New Jersey, World War I veteran Freas Leslie Hess served a decade as mayor of Somerville and midway through his terms won a seat in the state assembly. He later was elected by his fellow representatives as speaker of the house for the 1945 session and also served as majority leader. Hess continued his political ascent in 1948, when he was elected to the state senate, and continued in that office until 1951. The son of James Gearhart (1865-1939) and Eleanor Amelia (Stevens) Hess (1866-1937), Freas Leslie Hess was born in Thorndale, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania on March 11, 1896.

  During his youth, Hess was a student in the Sonestown, Pennsylvania school district and graduated from the local high school in 1913. He entered the workforce in the early 1910s when he joined the Garlock Packing Company of Palmyra, New York, and in 1916 took employment with the Johns-Manville Corporation, then located in Manville in Somerset County, New Jersey. He continued affiliation with that company until his death, being superintendent of packings at the time of his passing. 

  Shortly after joining Johns-Manville Freas Hess was called to military duty, enlisting in the U.S. Army. He took rank among the 311th Infantry Reg., 78th Division, with which he would serve in France. Hess later attended Officer's Candidate School while in Europe and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He served until the close of WWI and was discharged in May 1919. Freas L. Hess married Wilhelmina Taylor (1890-1977) in April 1920, to who he was wed until his death. The couple had three children, Freas Leslie Jr. (1921-2001), and twins John Edwin (1929-2018) and Jean Elizabeth (1929-1997).

  Returning to his position at Johns-Manville, Freas Hess was active in the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Y.M.C.A. In the 1920s, and in 1924 chaired the church's Pioneer Club banquet, which saw famed clergyman Samuel Parkes Cadman as a featured speaker. Hess took an active role in the Somerville Male Chorus, serving as its vice-president, and was active in several civic and fraternal groups, including the Somerville Exchange Club, the Harold Halstead VFW Post, the Boy Scouts, the Solomon's Lodge No. 46 of Free and Accepted Masons, and the Keystone Chapter No. 25 of Royal Arch Masons. A devoted baseball fan, Hess is remarked as having played semi-pro baseball during his early life.

   Following his removal to Somerville Freas Hess took an active role in local Republican circles, and made his first foray into politics in 1928 when he was a candidate for the Somerville borough council. He won the election that November and served a three-year term. Towards the end of his term, Hess agreed to serve another year on the council to fill a vacancy, due to the resignation of Robert L. Adams, then mayor-elect of Somerville. Hess was reappointed to the council in January 1932 but refused to be a candidate for renomination that fall.

  In April 1933 Hess announced his candidacy for mayor of Somerville. Hoping to garner the Republican nomination, Hess proved successful, and in the May primary was virtually assured the election, handily defeating his only serious challenger, councilman Fremont Masker. No Democratic candidates entered the mayoral primary, and that November Freas Hess was elected unopposed.

From the Bridgewater Courier-News, April 14, 1933.

   Sworn into office in January 1934, Hess swiftly made appointments to various borough offices, and "pledged an administration that will do its full part in bringing about a complete economic recovery", stating:

"As to the future we feel, that good times are slowly and surely returning, and the time is not that far distant when everyone will have a chance to earn a fair and honest wage. We have learned during the past year or two that in these days of reconstruction, in order to be successful we must first get our house in order, pay our bills, and set up our business on a sound and economical basis. This we can certainly apply to the management of our borough and to this end we as your governing body pledge our best efforts." 

   All told Hess served five consecutive terms as mayor (1934-1944), and during his terms was a member of the administrative board of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, and in 1938 was president of the Somerset County Association of Mayors and Township Committee Chairmen. Midway through his mayoralty Hess was bolstered by his fellow Republicans as a potential candidate for the state assembly. After several months of consideration, Hess threw his hat in the ring in August 1938, remarking:

"To represent Somerset County in the state assembly would be an honor and an opportunity for broader public service. Because such an opportunity appeals to me and with a feeling that it is my duty to accept the call of the many voters who have expressed their confidence in me, I have consented to become a candidate for the Republican nomination." 

From the Bridgewater Courier-News, August 9, 1938.

  In September 1938 Hess defeated Frederick R. Wyckoff in the Republican primary, and that November bested Democrat Harvey S. Smalley Sr. by a "majority of 4,900." He took his seat in January 1939 and during the 1939-41 session was named to the committees on Corporations and Labor Industry, and the joint Sinking Fund Committee. Additionally, he would chair the joint committee on Buildings and Grounds. Hess continued to pull political double duty, serving as mayor of Somerville while an incumbent assemblyman. He was re-elected to the state assembly in 1940, and concluded his decade-long tenure as mayor in January 1944, being succeeded by Howard S. Lyon. 

  Hess's second assembly term saw him continue service on the committees on Corporations, and Labor and Industries. He also sat on the committee on Municipalities and was chairman of the committee on the Revision of the State Constitution. He would win a third term in 1942, and after his fourth assembly win in 1944 was elected by his fellow assemblymen as speaker of the house for the 1945 session. Described by the Bridgewater Courier News as "the quiet gentleman from Somerset County", Hess announced his main goal as speaker was to "put across the program of efficiency and governmental reform initiated last year by Gov. Walter E. Edge." During this term, Hess served as president of the Somerville Republican Municipal League from 1945-46.

  Freas Hess was elected to one further term in the assembly in 1946, and served on the committee on Unemployment Compensation, and chaired the Committee on Military Affairs. In February 1947 he announced his bid for the state senate, hoping to succeed incumbent H. Rivington Pyne, and in June won the Republican nomination. In the days following his win, the Bridgewater Courier noted Hess's familiarity "with the problems of labor and industry in his position of superintendent of packing in the Manville factory of Johnson-Manville."

From the Bridgewater Courier, October 30, 1947.

  The general election in November saw Hess defeat Democratic nominee Anthony Kearns, polling 14,673 votes to 7,305. Sworn in January 1948, early in his tenure Hess introduced Senate Bill 205, which aimed to create the Borough of Raritan in Somerset County. In his last year of service, he chaired the New Jersey Air Pollution Commission, which sought an appropriation of $35,000 for the state health department to combat air pollution. He continued to represent Somerset County in the senate until his defeat for renomination in April 1951, losing the Republican primary to Malcolm Forbes.

  After leaving state government Freas Hess remained a leading citizen in his region, serving as a trustee of the Somerset Hospital, chairman of the Somerset County Officials Association (1938-1955), and until 1954 was director of Somerville Civilian Defense. He would serve as chairman of the Somerville-Raritan Sewage Authority until his death and was a member of the municipality committee of the New Jersey Taxpayer's Association. In May 1955, after three decades of public service to Somerville, Hess was named Man of the Year by the borough Chamber of Commerce and was feted with a reception at the Far Hills Inn in Somerville. 

  The last weeks of Hess's life were marred by ill health, and after a brief illness died at the Somerset Hospital on November 7, 1959, aged 63. Days following his death he was memorialized in the Bridgewater Courier News as having:

"Contributed much time and effort to various civic organizations, municipal and statewide governmental groups. Freas Hess had the ability of assuming responsibility and producing. He long will be remembered for his service to his home town, his state, and his fellow citizens."

  Hess was survived by his wife of nearly forty years, Wilhelmina, and their three children. Following her death in 1977 Wilhelmina Taylor Hess was interred alongside her husband at the New Somerville Cemetery.  

From the Central New Jersey Home News, November 8, 1959.

Sedgwick Rusling Leap (1886-1979)

Portrait from the Bench and Bar of New Jersey,1942.

   Hailing from the same New Jersey county that produced the esteemed A.M.P.V.H. Dickeson, Salem County resident Sedgwick Rusling Leap was a practicing lawyer for many years and also made a name for himself on the New Jersey political scene, serving as a state assemblyman, state senator, and common pleas judge. Born in the borough of Penns Grove on July 16, 1886, Sedgwick R. Leap was the son of John and Julia Ware Leap. 

   Young Sedgwick attended schools local to Penns Grove and went on to study at the West Jersey Academy at Bridgeton. He would further his education at the Wharton School in Philadelphia and graduated with his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1910. Following his graduation Leap spent one further year of study in the law office of Judge Maja Leon Berry (profiled here in October 2014) and in 1911 was admitted to the New Jersey bar.

  From 1911 to 1913 Leap practiced law in Camden with a partner, William Darnell. Leap would later leave that firm and operate a solo practice for three years, and in 1916 joined the firm of Leap, Sharpless, and Way as a senior partner. Leap was also a veteran of the First World War, serving in the U.S. Army. In January 1921 he married Bridgeton, New Jersey native Mary Dennis, with whom he would have one daughter, Mary Jane (born 1923).

  Active in Republican Party circles in Salem County, Sedgwick Leap represented that county in the New Jersey State Assembly from 1927-1929 and in 1930 began a six-year stint in the New Jersey State Senate, during which time he gave:

"His aid and support to many measures which he has deemed vital to the upbuilding of the state and has just as earnestly opposed those which he believed to be inimical to the welfare of the Commonwealth."

   In his last year in the state senate, Sedgwick Leap became Judge of the Salem County Court of Common Pleas, serving on the bench until 1941. In May of the following year he was reappointed as judge, an office he would continue to hold well into the 1950s.  A member of the Salem County, New Jersey State, and American Bar Associations, Sedgwick Leap was a longstanding parishioner in the Methodist Church and for a time served as a member of the board of managers of the Vineland, New Jersey Soldiers Home. 
   Little else could be found on the life of S. Rusling Leap, except notice of his death in New Jersey in November 1979 at age 93. A burial location for both Leap and his family remains unknown at the time of this writing.

S. Rusling Leap, 1886-1979.

Corsville Edmunds Stille (1876-1963)

                                                         Portrait from the Philadelphia Enquirer,June 3, 1909.

   The following write-up takes us to New Jersey and Corsville Edmunds Stille, one of the youngest men ever to serve in the New Jersey legislature. The son of William and Zella Stille, Corsville Edmunds Stille was born in Millville, New Jersey on December 15, 1876. His early life was spent on his family's farm in Tuckahoe in that state, and he attended the public schools of that town. At age fourteen he entered into work as a machinist at the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, remaining here for a decade. 

   Following his leaving the Baldwin Locomotive Works Stille found employment as the manager for the American Bicycle Company, located in Washington, D.C. The 1908 Manual of the New Jersey Legislature notes that "after the failure of that firm" Stille became affiliated with a wholesale hardware business in New Jersey, but was forced to leave on account of ill health. This same work relates that Still purchased a farm in his native Tuckahoe and in the succeeding years became a "proficient and studious agriculturalist."

   In the early 1900s, Stille married Laura Morrison (born 1879), about whom little is known. As a member of a "staunch Republican family" with its roots in Cape May County, Corsville Stille became the Secretary of the County Republican Executive Committee at just twenty-two years of age. In November 1906 he was elected to his first term in the New Jersey State Assembly. Just twenty-nine years old at the time of his election, Stille would serve one more term in the state assembly in the legislative session of 1909-1910 and held seats on the following committees: Claims and Revolutionary Pensions, and Towns and Townships. 

   During his final term in the state assembly, Corsville Stille announced his candidacy for the New Jersey State Senate. Known as an "enthusiastic champion of inland waterways and good roads", Stille was unsuccessful in his candidacy but wasn't out of the political spotlight for long. In November 1916 he won another term in the state assembly as a representative from Cape May County, subsequently serving on the committees on Federal Relations and Stationery. Little else could be found on Stille's life following his last assembly term, excepting notice of his death, which occurred sometime in November 1963. A burial location for him is also unknown at this time.  

Carnot Obadiah Spencer (1832-1908), Carnot Bolton Meeker (1836-1911)

From Taylor's Legislative  History and Souvenir of Connecticut, 1901.

    Described as an "ideal public functionary" and  a "worthy citizen and gentleman", Essex, Connecticut native Carnot Obadiah Spencer served terms in both houses of the Connecticut General Assembly and in the twilight of his life held the post of State Commissioner of the School Fund, being responsible for tracking education expenditures throughout the state. 

  The son of Obadiah and Susanna Pratt Spencer, Carnot O. Spencer was born on May 27, 1832 in what is now Essex, Connecticut. A former state assemblyman and Warden of the borough of Essex, Obadiah Spencer had married in 1818 and would have a total of four children, Carnot being the fourth born. Carnot's early education occurred in the common schools of Middlesex County and as a young man was employed by his father in the latter's general store in Essex. Spencer continued his education at the Connecticut Literary Institute in the town of Suffield and married in 1855 to Maria Jane Fuller (1834-1900), a Suffield native. The couple was to remain childless through the entirety of their marriage. 

  In 1861 Spencer followed in his father's stead and was elected as Essex's representative to the Connecticut State Assembly. He would be returned to that body in 1862, 1878, and 1879 and also served Essex as a school board member, town assessor, selectman in 1866, and town clerk from 1875-1878. In 1869 Spencer was elected to the state senate from Connecticut's 19th district and served here until the close of the 1869-70 session. 

  Carnot Spencer left Essex in 1880 and moved to the city of New Haven, where in 1881 he was selected to be chief clerk in the Connecticut School Fund commissioner's office.  He relocated to Hartford sometime afterward but continued in his role as chief clerk until 1898, when he took the reigns as State School Fund commissioner, being appointed to that office in the wake of Commissioner Jeremiah Olney's death. 

  Spencer's time as school fund commissioner extended until his death at age 76 on June 21, 1908. Before his death Spencer had been a longstanding member of Hartford's First Baptist Church and had served as a church treasurer and deacon. Spencer was memorialized in the Budget Report of the Connecticut Department of Finance, which related that 

"In the death of Carnot O. Spencer on the 21st of June 1908, the school fund met with a loss not to be measured or recorded in columns of statistics, although his actions for twenty years was felt in the statistics of the department......The present condition of the School Fund is excellent, owing to his faithful oversight and management."

  Spencer had been preceded in death in July of 1900 by his wife Marie, and following her passing remarried to Josephine C. Williams (1957-1926), who would survive him upon his death in 1908. Both Carnot and Josephine were interred at the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford.

                                                              From the Connecticut Legislative Souvenir of 1905.

From the Biographical and Genealogical History of Morris and Sussex County, 1899.

  Civil War veteran Carnot Bolton Meeker was a lifelong resident of Morris County, New Jersey and entered into political life in the late 1880s when he won election to the New Jersey General Assembly. One of four children born to Daniel and Sarah Richards Meeker, Carnot's birth occurred in what is now Afton, New Jersey on November 28, 1836. 

   A graduate of the Frame Academy in Bloomfield and the Woodbridge Institute, Meeker enlisted in the Union Army and was prominent in the establishment of the 2nd Regiment New Jersey Calvary. He received the promotion to second lieutenant of Co. B. in that regiment and in 1864 became a first lieutenant and aide-de-camp to Union General Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana. 

   At the war's conclusion, Meeker returned home to New Jersey and engaged in farming.  In November 1886 he was elected as a Republican to the New Jersey State Assembly from Morris County and during the 1887-89 session, Meeker would hold a seat on the assembly committees on Agriculture, Fisheries, and Lunatic Asylums. After leaving the assembly he served as the chairman of the Morris County Republican Committee and in the late 1890s was a member of the county Board of Registry. 

  In addition to his political doings in Morris County Carnot Meeker was a member of the A.T.A. Corbett Post of the Grand Army of the Republic as well as being a parishioner at the Hanover Presbyterian Church. A lifelong bachelor, Meeker died on September 13, 1911, in Florham Park, New Jersey, with his burial being at the First Presbyterian Church of Hanover Cemetery.

Auxencico Maria Pena Venezuela Hildreth Dickeson (1842-1879)

                             This picture of Oxie Dickeson was e-mailed to me on January 5, 2012.

                This tiny passage appeared in an 1883 book detailing the history of Salem County, N.J.


   The political figure profiled today is without question one of the most obscure figures I've had to research thus far, and I think you'll agree that he possesses one of the most unwieldy names you'll ever hear of! That gentleman is Auxencico Maria Pena Venezuela Hildreth Dickeson, a 19th-century New Jersey State Assemblyman. Originally, no picture of Mr. Dickeson could be found to place within his article here (see the update below) and the small passage posted above is one of the few available biographical resources on him. Even his last name is variously given as either "Dickinson" or "Dickeson". The following facts on "A.M.P.V.H.", as he is often listed, were discovered in a book entitled The History of the counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland, New Jersey, with biographical sketches of their prominent citizens, published in 1883. 
   Auxencico M.P.V.H. Dickeson was born at Hancock's Bridge, New Jersey on September 29, 1842 (or 1843, according to the article above), the first child born to Dr. Thomas P. and Joanna Hildreth Dickeson. Auxencico is recorded as engaging in farming during his youth and received his education at the Salem Academy, later graduating with high marks from Princeton University in the class of 1864. 
   Bitten by the political bug early in life, Dickeson was elected at the age of twenty-two to the New Jersey State Assembly, representing his home county of Salem. This was Dickeson's only foray into the political arena, and he served in the assembly from 1865 to 1866. He is mentioned as opening a law practice shortly after passing the New Jersey State bar in 1867, but never actively engaged in his profession because of health concerns. Dickeson was also a very active Mason in his community of Salem and he was a former past master of the Excelsior Lodge #54, serving from 1871 to 1872. It is also known that Dickeson married New Jersey native Mary Jane Springer, with whom he would have five children. 
   Dickeson (one genealogical website lists his nickname as "Oxie") suffered from impaired health for the majority of his life, although it isn't elaborated on what exact malady it was. This unknown illness probably led to his untimely death at age 36 on June 15, 1879, at Hancock's Bridge, New Jersey. When one takes into account that Dickeson died at such a young age, the fact that he managed to graduate from Princeton, serve as a state assemblyman, attorney and high ranking mason can certainly be considered a varied and full life, despite his lack of years!

  Dickeson's name as it appeared in the 1875 edition of a Theta Delta Chi editorial.

  
   I first became aware of "Oxie" Dickeson courtesy of a 1906 edition of the Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey. Located in this particular book was a roster of every person who had served in the New Jersey State Senate and Assembly up until the year 1906. As I culled through the massive list of politicians looking for unusual names, the initials "A.M.P.V.H" immediately jumped out at me. After finding out this man's full name, I immediately set about trying to find more facts about his life, as well as a picture. Sadly, the initial research on Oxie yielded very little, and this remained the norm until two wonderful readers changed that! Read on to find out more!

                                      An Auxencico Update.......January 6, 2012

  Since I discovered Auxencico "Oxie" Dickinson in 2009 in a New Jersey State Legislative Manual, I have wracked my brain trying to find out more information on his life, as well as a photograph of him. Dickeson was profiled here on the "SNIAPH" blog back in July 2011 and in one of my "You Can Help" sections pleaded for any prospective readers/historians to do some digging on Oxie and report back with their findings.

  On November 22, 2011, an incredibly helpful reader named Frank left a message stating that more information had come to light on Oxie and in a later message stated that a photograph of him adorned the wall of the Woodstown Masonic Lodge #138 in Woodstown, New Jersey.

  On January 5, 2011, Frank sent me the portrait of Oxie that now adorns the top of the article you are now reading. In addition to this picture, Frank also sent me some previously unknown information on Oxie, including his Masonic lodge affiliations, his stint on the baseball team at Princeton University (his alma mater) and a reunion Oxie had with his old college fraternity.

 I cannot state how helpful Frank has been in researching this infinitely obscure man, and it is incredibly nice to know that there are historically-minded people out there like Frank who manage to do some digging and really help out a total stranger with a very odd history-based project. 

 And in a humorous aside note-- I'm fairly certain that Oxie is probably grateful for all the attention he's receiving over 130 years after his untimely death!

                          A Dickeson article mentions his leadership of the Excelsior Masonic Lodge.

                       An Auxencico Update.....Part Two!!! (February 6-7, 2012)

 With nearly 100 page views to its credit, the blog article on Auxencico Maria Pena Venezuela Hildreth Dickeson (1842-1879) has proven to be the most popular page on the blog. "Oxie" Dickeson's name is truly one of a kind and he currently occupies the coveted #1 slot in the SNIAPH book, usurping the great Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar. 

   For those of you who haven't read his article yet, the condensed version is as follows: Oxie Dickeson served as a New Jersey State Assemblyman from 1865 to 1866 and was also a highly active Mason in his native state. He suffered from ill health throughout the majority of his life, and an undisclosed illness claimed him at age 36 in June 1879.

   Throughout November and December 2011, new information on Oxie came to light, courtesy of a very helpful reader named Frank, who e-mailed me some facts that filled in a lot of the blanks in Oxie's life. He was also kind enough to photograph and send me the picture of Oxie that adorns the top of his article. After adding this information, I felt that I could rest easy knowing that Oxie Dickeson now had a face to place with his name and some much-needed life facts to tie his article together. Interestingly enough, however, a very great surprise was in store for me!!!

    On February 1, 2012 I returned from a walk and set about writing an article on Fort Elmo Land, who served as the Georgia State Superintendent of Education from 1925-27. Before doing so I checked my e-mail and noticed a message from a user named "Hildy", concerning Auxencico M.P.V.H. Dickeson.....needless to say, I was immediately intrigued! As it turns out, "Hildy" wanted to inform me that their great-great-grandfather was none other than Auxencico Dickeson!!!! Evidently, Oxie was known by his later descendants as "Alphabetical Dick" (because of his "outstandingly different" name) and there was a family explanation for how he received his wonderful name.....

       This article (and its spelling variations regarding Oxie's name) appeared in the 1887 Princetonian.

   Hildy went on to tell me that Oxie's father, Thomas Dickeson, was the close friend of a young medical student named Auxencico Maria Pena, who was studying at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Pena hailed from Venezuela and was the first student from that country to graduate from the school in its history (this occurring in 1836.) Thomas Dickeson was evidently so taken with his friendship with Pena that  "he vowed to name his son in honor of him, and so he did!" With the addition of the country of Venezuela to the name, as well as the maiden name of Thomas's wife (Hildreth), the end result is certainly interesting to say the least!

   Hildy also clued me in on two previously unknown websites that gave much-needed info on the aforementioned Venezuelan medical student, as well as one that went more in-depth on the Dickeson family. Oxie's wife, Mary Jane Springer, was born in 1844 and survived her husband by nearly forty years, dying on February 2, 1918. The two were married in Salem, New Jersey on February 22, 1870. Further information was also gathered on Oxie Dickeson's five children, who are listed as follows: Wilbur F.S. Dickeson (1871-1871, who lived only four months), J. Hildreth Dickeson (1872-1918), Wilbur S. Dickeson (1875-1921), Anne Dickeson (1877-ca. 1884) and lastly, Cornelia Dickeson (1878-1884). One can notice that ill health plagued the Dickeson family, as three of the children died before reaching their 10th birthday, and the two remaining sons died in their forties! Oxie himself died at age 36, so it is quite tragic that his wife lost so many of her family within such a short period.

   With those facts in hand, I want to give a hearty shout-out and thank you to "Hildy", who kindly provided me with the facts presented here in this addition to the article above. I would also be remiss in mentioning that Hildy thanked me for my article on Oxie, and believe me, those words mean a lot! It was truly a pleasure to "rescue" Oxie from the shroud of obscurity that has clouded his life since his death over 130 years ago.

 Thank you again "Hildy" for your words of encouragement and your help!!!!

An Auxencico Update....Part III: July 18, 2012

   If you've followed this site for any length of time you'll hopefully recognize that I take great pride in the article/biography I've put together on Auxencico Maria Pena Venezuela Hildreth Dickeson! Dickeson (whose nicknames are Oxie and "Alphabetical Dick") was a 19th-century New Jersey State Assemblyman who hailed from Salem County, and it is he who holds the honored title of "the strangest name" out of a great many politicians I've collected and profiled over the years. Mr. Dickeson's site profile is the most viewed article out of the 170 or so that I've done thus far, with over 180+ views to its credit. You might also remember reading the two updates I wrote for "Oxie" and his article centering on the help of two wonderful blog readers (Frank and Hildy) who volunteered their time to correspond with me and send me the portrait of Oxie above!  

  While many new pieces of information on Oxie came to light, many others remained a mystery, especially in regards to his burial site. Dickeson died at the young age of 36 in 1879 but no available source gave notice as to where his final resting place might be--that is until now!

   Earlier this week I developed some correspondence with Salem County Librarian Beverly Bradway, who related to me that Oxie is buried in the Salem Friends Burying Ground in the town of Salem, New Jersey. This cemetery (which contains graves that date back to the 1690s) is also home to the famed Salem Oak tree, shown in the picture below. I owe a great debt to Beverly for all of her help, and without her aid, I might never have known where Dickeson was interred!

   In addition to the above information, I also received a death notice for Oxie, the closest thing to an obituary that could be found. Beverly found this rare article in a June 20, 1879 edition of the Salem Sunbeam, which states that Auxencico M.P.V.H. Dickeson died "at the residence of his father, Dr. Thos. P. Dickeson, in Hancock's Bridge on the 15th inst." This newspaper is located in the archives of the Salem County Historical Society and is in all likelihood the only death notice for "Oxie" that you'll ever see. While the mysteries of his burial site location and place of death have been solved, only one question remains...what illness claimed A.M.P.V.H. Dickeson's life at the young age of 36?

                                                                   From the Salem Sunbeam, June 20, 1879.

  The above-mentioned question centering on Oxie's illness/death may never be sufficiently explained, but I can rest easy knowing that over a year a plethora of research was done in regards to the life of this infinitely obscure man, and with the help of Frank, "Hildy" and now Beverly Bradway, more people can learn of the life and exploits of this wonderfully named and sadly obscure New Jersey resident!