TRAVELS WITH GEORGE : PRESIDENT WASHINGTON'S BARGE - THE GREETING IN NEW YORK : ABOUT THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

Excerpt and Notes: Page 43-34  (Washington goes by barge to New York from New Jersey and his presidential barge is  greeted by a flotilla....

"... This forty-five foot open boat featured an awing and cushions and was towed by thirteen oarsmen dressed in white.  Washington was accompanied in the barge by a group of dignitaries...  But the New Yorkers were just getting started....

(There was singing - groups of singers - greatly effecting the President.)

Suddenly the waters surrounding the barge erupted into foam.  "At this moment a number of porpoises came playing amongst us, as if they had risen up to know what was the cause of all this joy." But the most impressive sight was still to come as the barge continued its advance toward the New York City waterfront.  "We now discovered the shores crowded with thousands of people.  Men, women, children.  Nay I may venture to say tens of thousands; from the fort to the place of landing although near a half a mile, you could see little else along the shores in the streets and on board every vessel but heads standing as thick as ears of corn before the harvest."  (quoting Boudinot)

(Still, this display just made Washington more anxious about his new role and how he might please the people.)

Excerpt: (Author Nathaniel Philbrick and his wife go to Battery Park - where the Statue of Liberty is.)

... "And yet we did see quite enough: The Statue of Liberty looming above the water, her oxidized copper skin darkened with verdigris  I had always thought the statue depicted the goddess of liberty standing proudly with her gilded torch held high --a welcoming beacon of hope for the millions of immigrants bound for nearby Ellis Island throughout much of the twentieth century.  But once our boat, appropriately named Liberty, had taken us to the landing spot on the south side of the island. I could see that, no, the goddess was not standing still;she was striding forward, the broken shackles of a chain at her feet.

The Statue of Liberty, I soon learned, had been inspired by the abolition of slavery during the Civil War.  A gift from France, it had been left to the Americans to raise the money for the statue's 150 fott-high- pedestal.  Fund raising had lagged until the newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer appealed to the readers of the New York World and raised a significant portion of the required fields.  The Statue of Liberty was finally dedicated in 1886."

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TRAVELS WITH GEORGE : NEW JERSEY WAS DIFFERENT : THE RIGHT OF WOMEN and AFRICAN AMERICANS TO VOTE : SUFFERAGE

 Excerpt: Page 32 

"In terms of suffrage and political access, New Jersey was different than from any other state in the Union. Since 1776, the state's constitution had given voting rights to any adult - male, female, white, or African-American - who had lived in New Jersey for a year and was worth at least fifty pounds. (This would remain the case until 1807, when the Anti-Federalist state legislature restricted the right to vote to white males in an effort to prevent women, who tended to vote Federalist, from participating in the 1808 presidential election, ultimately won by the Anti-Federalist Thomas Jefferson's heir-apparent, James Madison.) Whether or not New Jersey's liberal  voting laws in 1789 had anything to do with it, the women of Trenton took the leading role in celebrating Washington's return. Under their direction, a twenty-foot arch supporting thirteen pillars was constructed over the bridge across the Assunpink. Just as had been done in Philadelphia, the arch was entwined with branches of evergreen, laurel, and flowers.  Emblazoned across the arch's top in large gold letters was the phrase, "The Defender of Mothers Will Be the Protector of the Daughters. Above the inscription was a cupola of flowers encircling the dates of Washington's twin victories.  December 26, 1776, and January 3, 1777, topped by a large sunflower.

When given the choice, Washington seems to have preferred the company of women over men.  He loved to dance, and after a dinner party he could be found in conversation with Martha and her lady friends rather than his male peers.  He particularly enjoyed speaking with sharp-witted, articulate women..."

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1940 U.S. CENSUS SURPRISES : ED DISTRICTS THAT ARE COUNTS OF INSTITUTIONS AND NOTHING ELSE

While the various indexing projects go on, I'm reading a select number of cities page by page.  The subsription database ANCESTRY has Nevada and Delaware (two states with small populations in 1940 indexed if you want to try them out.)   

 I've now found, in New Jersey and in Pennsylvania, two extremely populated states circa 1940, that institutions are getting their own ED district.  I've now read entire lists of prisoners, orphans, and tuberculosis hospitals on single EDs.  Some of these are just a few pages.   ARE YOU NOTICING THIS IN ANY OTHER STATES?  LET ME KNOW! 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY SEARCHABLE DATABASES : NAME CHANGES ENLIGHTENIING

If your research is PRE 1900 (or so) New Jersey, the Department of State of New Jersey offers some searchable databases on line. These focus on early colonial and 19th century records. I see a lot of availability and duplication of those records, but HERE IS A GEM! (Link above!)

Legal Name Changes, 1847-1947 may be of some help for researchers focusing on the great age of immigration. You'll find a lot of "ethnic" surnames made shorter or made easier to pronounce or gone Anglo here: Italians, Poles, and Hungarians doing major changes. Some of these however, may just be about adoption, divorce, or not wanting to be associated with bad news relatives.

https://wwwnet1.state.nj.us/DOS/Admin/ArchivesDBPortal/NameChanges.aspx

I love searchable databases THAT RESPOND TO FIRST NAMES as well as surnames like this one Also consider what an ethnic name in another language may translate to in English when you search. Francis, Franko, etc became Frank.