Woodside, the North End of Newark, N.J.: Its History, Legends and Ghost Stories Gathered from the Records and the Older Inhabitants Now LivingHine, C. G. (Charles Gilbert)
History
Woodside, the North End of Newark, N.J.: Its History, Legends and Ghost Stories Gathered from the Records and the Older Inhabitants Now Living
Hine, C. G. (Charles Gilbert)
Hine, C. C. (Charles Cole), 1825-1897; Woodside (Newark, N.J.) -- History
In the course of ten days Mr. Winser dropped in to see how his favorite
was coming on, and was told by a stableman that his master had driven
her to Pamrapo where he was superintending some road building. This
seemed reasonable, but when a second visit some two weeks later elicited
the statement that the Major had shipped “Nelly” from Pamrapo to
Maryland, and it was found that the Major’s house was closed and that he
would not return until January, it seemed about time to move in the
matter.
The case was laid before a well-known lawyer in Newark, who would not
touch it because the Major and he were on the same Republican Committee.
It was then given to Mr. Runyon, later Chancellor and Ambassador to
Berlin, and he, not being of the same political faith as the Major, took
the case with great gusto.
The Major turned up in Newark in the course of time and the case was
heard before Judge Depue. The Major said that “Nelly’s” bones were
bleaching on the Eastern Shore of Maryland; that she was absolutely
valueless, and that he had taken her out of pure pity to save her from
ill-treatment. He had but one witness, who declared that he had driven
with the Major, and had no hesitation in saying the horse was lame, half
starved and not fit to be put in harness.
Mr. Runyon demolished this testimony by proving that this witness had no
knowledge of the points of a horse, by showing that he was indebted to
the Major for his position at that time and that he had not seen the
horse until she had been in the Major’s possession for some time. The
Major was inclined to be flippant with the Court and, finally, when
asked how he stood in regard to certain transactions, he answered that
he “stood in his shirt and trousers”. The judge warned him that he would
have to answer for contempt of court.
After ten minutes’ deliberation the jury returned a verdict against the
defendant for $400 for the value of the horse and also assessed the
costs on him, but it is needless to say that he never paid either
amount, being a politician of note. The Republican party in Newark has
certainly been loaded with a hard lot of citizens, first and last.
THE OPENING OF WASHINGTON AVENUE.
It will now be necessary to go back a bit in our chronology in order to
get at the beginnings of the Woodside we know.
The opening of Washington avenue, about 1865, was the beginning of a new
era for the neighborhood, for then Parker and Keasbey purchased a
considerable tract in the vicinity of Washington and Elwood avenues and
cut it up for suburban dwelling purposes and Morrison & Briggs,
contractors, appeared on the scene.
To be sure “the opening of the new highway consisted merely in setting
the fences back and making a narrow cut through the hill just north of
Carteret street, the earth from which was used to fill the ravine
further north”. A single car track was then laid from the cemetery to
Second river, and Woodside was open for business.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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