Tag Archives: family-history

Ramapo Reformed Church 100 Island Road Mahwah, NJ 07430

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Graveyards and Cemeteries, Exploring Historic Towns in New Jersey, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Farms of Bergen County, NJ, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic Cemeteries and Graveyards in New Jersey, Historic Churches of New Jersey, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), The Bergen 250-250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, Visiting Farms and Farm Stands of New Jersey, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ramapo Reformed Church

100 Island Road

Mahwah, NJ 07430

(201) 529-3075

https://ramaporeformedchurch.org/home

Open: Sunday 10:00am-12:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Profile/R4960NKjustinw/photo/819672582?m=19905

The Ramapo Reformed Church at 100 Island Road

The historic sign of the history of the church

The church in the summer

The history of the Ramsey Reformed Church:

(from the Ramapo Reformed Church website)

Formerly The Ramapo Meeting House was organized in 1785 and built in 1798

In 1713, a small group of eleven German Lutheran families settled at the “Island,” so named because of extensive marshlands surrounding high, dry land. They formed a congregation in 1715, and c. 1720 built a log church. Prior to 1739, they built a larger, frame church.  

Dutch, French, English and Scottish settlers of the Reformed faith came to the Island about mid-century and attended church in Paramus, 10 miles distant. In 1785, they organized The Ramapo Dutch Reformed Congregation at Ramapough in Bergen County.  

After the Revolutionary War (1776-1783), the first task of the new nation was to repair the damages of war and neglect. Neither the Lutheran nor the Reformed congregation at the Island had sufficient means to build a new church. In spite of having fought on opposing sides during the War, they agreed to jointly repair and use the old Lutheran church. The arrangement was so successful that in 1798, they agreed to build the present church together.  

Construction began on June 4th, and was finished in November. The last items purchased were “one lock and two keys” on December 12, 1798. The two congregations shared the church for fifty years until 1848, when the Lutherans sold their interest and moved to Airmont, NY and established the present Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church.  

As soon as its doors opened to the public in 1798, the new Ramapough Meeting House became the heart of the daily activities. Social gatherings and civic meetings were held here all week long, and personal and official notices were posted on the doors. But on the Sabbath (from sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday) the building became a sacred place.  

Ramapough – or Bellgrove, as it was called at this time – had four mills, several blacksmith shops, a general store, a stagecoach stop, and U.S. Post Office, one of the earliest in New Jersey (1797). The old Kings Highway of 1703 or Ramapough Road (Island Road) was part of the ancient 150-mile Albany Post Road from Paulus Hook (Jersey City) to Albany, NY. Dobbin & Tustin, est. 1797, ran a passenger and mail stage line on this road, right past the door of the Ramapough Meeting House.  

In 1798, when pews and people were smaller, the Meeting House held 385 people. (Today, it holds 250). Though the old box-type pews are gone from the sanctuary, the gallery seats above still exist.  The Island Church held an important place in the railroad hamlet of Mahwah throughout the 1800s. It was known simply as the Community Church until the 1950s, when suburbanization brought many other faiths to Mahwah.  

One of the earliest public schools in the area, c. 1815, was operated on the church property until 1906, when the church sold land to the Township for the Commodore Perry School. In the cemetery is a roadbed of the old Kings Highway.  

The Ramapo Reformed Church is the oldest public building in Mahwah, and a repository of more than 200 years of local and regional history. It is the older of only two remaining frame Federal-period churches in Bergen County, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The modern church sign

I walked through this quiet and reserved graveyard in search of ghosts from the past. The graveyard at the Ramapo Reformed Church, like many of these former Dutch churches, are steeped in memories of the past.

The historic graveyard in the back of the church

In the unique graveyard are the places of rest of many of the first families of Bergen County, NJ who not just shaped the county, but the State of New Jersey and the United States as well.

The oldest part of the graveyard surrounds the church

While the names Haring, Christie, Blauvelt, Demarest, Ramsey, Sutherland, Fox, Hopper, Van Ripper, DeBaun, Terhune and Tice may not similar to most people, to a generation of us were the names of farming families in Bergen County.

The Hopper Family plot

https://www.usrhistoricalsociety.org/families

https://www.hhkborough.com/home/hopper-zabriskie-family-cemetery

Getting to Know the Hoppers!
Family Files Catalog

Another branch of the Hopper family

Their farms supplied us with fresh fruits and vegetables when in season and places for us to go during Halloween and Thanksgiving for our baked goods and much needed apple cider.

The Suffern family plot

https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/SUFFERN

https://www.ancestry.com.au/last-name-meaning/suffern?srsltid=AfmBOorrfCGqRBXcEw4poUsVKndOmhzuu2NoaQ6dYjeuEz1I7Ph2UHeI

The 1980’s real estate boom put an end to many of these traditions but those names still live in the memories of an older generation. We see some of these traditions still hold tight at Demarest Farms in Hillsdale where hayrides and apple cider and fritters are still part of that experience.

The Goetschius family plot

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~njhudson/bio_goetschius_family.html

https://bergencountyhistory.catalogaccess.com/people/17462

https://dutchgenie.net/GSBC-familyfiles/familyfiles/g0/p463.htm

For this trip though, I was in search of graves of our brave veterans of the American Revolution and in the faded tombstones surrounding the church, I found most of them.

The oldest part of the graveyard wraps itself around the church or faces the road, which at one time must have been a country lane.

Some of the oldest families from the community are buried closest to the church building

The graveyard is filled with family plots of most of the first families of the area once surrounded by old fences.

The graveyard is full of families and their memories. In some parts of the graveyard, family plots are organized by generations. To so the progression of mother and father to their children and grandchildren. The history of these families is in the rows of names and the intermarriages of all these families to one another.

The Fox family plot, where one of the members of the family was a veteran of the Civil War

https://www.familysearch.org/ms/search/catalog/2366042

Early Bergen County Families, by Pat A. Wardell

The Ramsey family plot

https://bestofnj.com/features/entertainment/jersey-through-history-ramsaysburg-james-ramsay-farmstead/

The Ramsey family plot

The grave site of Peter Ramsey, who the town of Ramsey was named after

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/K4FS-R7L/peter-j.-ramsey-1804-1852

Peter J. Ramsey was born on 23 November 1804, in Bergen, New Jersey, United States. He married Margaret Hopper in 1828, in Hohokus Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 5 daughters. He died on 10 May 1852, in Ramapo, Bergen, New Jersey, United States, at the age of 47, and was buried in Mahwah Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States (Family Search.org).

Closer to the church, I discovered the graves of our brave soldiers from the Revolutionary War whom I had been searching for.

The grave of John Suffern, who fought in the Revolutionary War and whose family the County of Suffern was named after

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/MT85-8B1/john-suffern-1741-1836

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Suffern-60

When John Suffern was born on 23 November 1741, in County Antrim, Ireland, his father, William Suffern, was 27 and his mother, Margaret Templeton, was 19. He married Mary Myers on 1 January 1766, in Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 7 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Rockland, New York, United States in 1820 and Ramapo, Rockland, New York, United States in 1830. He died on 11 November 1836, in Suffern, Ramapo, Rockland, New York, United States, at the age of 94, and was buried in Ramapo Reformed Church Cemetery, Mahwah Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States (Familysearch.org).

The graves of John Suffern and his wife

The Christie family plot, where John and James Christie who fought in the war were buried

The graves of John Christie and his wife

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L2SY-CNW/john-w-christie-1754-1815

When John W Christie was born on 7 May 1754, in Schraalenburgh, Bergen, New Jersey, British Colonial America, his father, William James Christie, was 33 and his mother, Catalijntje Demarest, was 32. He married Annatie Hannah Brinkerhoff about 1773, in New Barbadoes Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 8 daughters. He died on 11 September 1815, in Bergen, New Jersey, United States, at the age of 61, and was buried in Bergenfield, Bergen, New Jersey, United States (Familysearch.org).

The graves of James Christie and his wife

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LKRF-61W/james-willem-christie-1744-1817

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/M56X-DYC/james-christie-1746

When James Willem Christie was born on 20 August 1744, in Bergen, New Jersey, British Colonial America, his father, William James Christie, was 24 and his mother, Catalijntje Demarest, was 22. He married Maria Banta about 1772, in Schraalenburgh, Bergen, New Jersey, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 5 daughters. He died on 23 July 1817, in Bergenfield, Bergen, New Jersey, United States, at the age of 72 (Familysearch.org).

The grave of Lawrence Sutherland another Revolutionary War Veteran

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LHNH-3RV/lawrence-sutherland-1763-1846

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sutherland-2841

When Lawrence Sutherland was born on 12 June 1763, in Harrington Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States, his father, James Sutherland, was 21 and his mother, Marietje, was 19. He married Elizabeth Sutherland in 1786, in New Hampstead, Rockland, New York, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. He died on 9 October 1846, in New Hampstead, Rockland, New York, United States, at the age of 83, and was buried in Mahwah Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States (Familysearch.org).

The Terhune family plot

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~batrhune/genealogy/Early%20Dutch%20Family%20Ties/page04.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terhune_House_(Wyckoff,_New_Jersey)

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~batrhune/genealogy/Early%20Dutch%20Family%20Ties/page29.htm

The grave of John DeBaun and Matilda Van Belget

The Haring family plot of John and Elizabeth Haring

https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/HARING

The graves of John and Elizabeth Tice

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tice_Farms

Early Bergen County Families, by Pat A. Wardell
The Theis family arrives in North America and settles in New Jersey

The historic family tombstones

The Ackerman family plot

https://www.njgsbc.org/files/familyfiles/g0/p10.htm

https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/ACKERMAN

Click to access Ackerman-A-G-Ber-Co-Fams.pdf

The graves of John Straut and his wife, Susan Evers Straut

There are a million stories to be told in this graveyard and it is interesting to know their families stories

The family plots in the graveyard

Third Shearith Israel Cemetery 98-110 West 21st Street New York, NY 10011

Dedication to Warren Watrel, exploring Chelsea, Exploring Historic Graveyards and Cemeteries, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Chelsea Neighborhood in Manhattan, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Lower Flatiron District, Historic New York City neighborhoods, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around Manhattan, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Third Shearith Israel Cemetery

98-110 West 21st Street

New York, NY 10011

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2260432/third-cemetery-of-congregation-shearith-israel

Third Shearith Israel Cemetery

Open: Closed to the Public but you can see it from outside the fence.

The Cemeteries of the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue Shearith Israel

My review on TripAdvisor:

Closed to the public

The cemetery sits behind the former ‘Ladies Shopping District’ department stores

The front of the cemetery

When I was finishing my walk of the streets of Lower Chelsea, I came across this quiet and respectful cemetery in the middle of a busy neighborhood. This small graveyard was the third of series of moves that Shearith Israel made to bury their dead since the original cemetery open on the edge of what is today Chinatown.

Like its earlier counterparts, the cemetery is locked to visitors. So you can only admire it from a far. The graves date back to the early 1800’s.

The History of the cemetery:

(From the New York City Cemetery Project and Find a Grave)

This cemetery is located on 21st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, in use 1829-1851. Shearith Israel, the first Jewish congregation in North America, was formed in 1654 by Spanish and Portuguese Jews who journeyed from Recife, Brazil, seeking refuge from the Inquisition.

The entrance to the cemetery is always locked

The sign for the cemetery

While New Amsterdam’s city fathers did not recognize freedom of worship, they respected the Jews’ right to their own consecrated burial ground. Shearith Israel purchased the cemetery plot on West 21st Street in 1829 for $2,750. It, too, was on the outskirts of the expanding city, which for sanitary reasons had prohibited interment below Grand Street after the yellow fever epidemic of 1822.

The view of the cemetery from the fence

In 1832 the congregation bought land extending the cemetery east to Sixth Avenue and south to 20th Street. Fifty years later the land was sold to Hugh O’Neal, who built a dry goods store there. Shearith Israel used the cemetery for burials until 1851.

The graves are from the early 1800’s

That year, New York City prohibited burials south of 86th Street and the establishment of any new cemeteries within city limits (Find a grave.com).

The side section of the cemetery and pathway

The view of the cemetery and its quiet respect to those buried there

The history of the Cemetery from the Congregation of Shearith Israel The Spanish & Portuguese Synagoge website:

According to rules of ritual purity, Cohanim are prohibited from coming into contact with the deceased (except for their immediate family.)  This means that ordinarily Cohanim cannot participate in any of the mitzvoth related to burial.  One particularly commendable priest, Mr. Lewis I. Cohen, realized that the consecration of a new and unused cemetery afforded him an opportunity to participate in a mitzvah usually off limits to Cohanim.  So it was Mr. Cohen who volunteered to dig the first grave for the first burial of the new cemetery in November 1829.

Some of the notable persons laid to rest in the 21st Street cemetery were Moses Levy Maduro Peixoto and Isaac Seixas, ministers of our congregation, and Harmon Hendricks, founder of one of America’s first great industrial companies and whose descendants are still members of our congregation today. Perhaps the most influential person to be buried in the 21st Street cemetery was the great Jewish diplomat and proto-Zionist, Mordecai Manual Noah.

In 1851, the city prohibited burial in Manhattan below 86th Street.  Rather than continue to look north (as Trinity Church did), the Congregation searched outside of Manhattan for its next burial ground.  Together with Bnai Jeshurun and Shaarei Tefila, the congregation purchased a large plot of land in Ridgewood, Queens.

Union Cemetery (Van Blarcom Burial Ground) 151 Franklin Avenue Wyckoff, NJ 07481

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Graveyards and Cemeteries, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Exploring Wyckoff NJ, Exploring Wyckoff, NJ, Historic Cemeteries and Graveyards in New Jersey, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), The Bergen 250-250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Union Cemetery (The Van Blarcom Burial Ground)

151 Franklin Avenue

Wyckoff, NJ 07481

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/688580/union-cemetery

https://www.facebook.com/people/Wyckoff-Historical-Society/100064722099119/

Preserving History: Wyckoff Historical Society’s Efforts at Union Cemetery

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Profile/R4960NKjustinw/mediabatch/13650290?m=19905

The historical sign for the Union Cemetery at 151 Franklin Avenue in Wyckoff, NJ

The marker sign put up by the Wyckoff Historical Society

The walled garden just outside the cemetery in bloom

The Union Cemetery was originally the resting place of the Van Blarcom family and the right hand side of the cemetery has the Van Blarcom family plot

One of the descendants of the family, Ethel Van Blarcom Green donated money for the preservation of this family plot.

The Biography of Ethel Van Blarcom Green:

(From the Wyckoff Historical Site)

If you at all familiar with the Wyckoff Historical Society’s recent activities at Union Cemetery, you may know that the 250 year-old site was the original Van Blarcom burial site. The name can be traced to the early 1700s when the first Van Blarcom family settled in New Jersey. The oldest legible headstone dates to 1764.

What you may not know, is that Ethel Van Blarcom, a direct descendant, bestowed a significant financial contribution to the Society beginning in 1978, with her wish that her beloved family cemetery be maintained. Although she lived in California for most of her adult life, Union Cemetery obviously held a special place in her heart, and she wanted to see it survive. The Society has Ethel’s hand-written letters that confirm her generous donation. She also continued to renew her Society membership until 1984.

However, it wasn’t until 2019 that the current trustees decided it was time to use the funds for its intended use, and honor Ethel’s wishes. Several headstones were repaired, new fencing is being installed, and yearly grounds maintenance is conducted, thanks, in part, to Ethel’s generosity.

It was at this time that Society trustees, Doris Noerr, Melanie Long, and Linda Vreeland, dove into genealogy websites and Society archives to learn more about Ethel’s life and to particularly find a photograph of her. 

“After several week of research, we obtained Ethel’s death certificate which led to contacting her niece Naomi who is now 92,” said Society president, Lynn Groel-Lynch. “To our delight, she had a photo of Ethel and her husband, Roy Green that we believe is her 1916 wedding photo.”

Ethel was born in Paterson in 1897 and lived to the age of 89. She and Roy moved to the Los Angeles, California area most likely around the time of her mother’s death in 1933. The couple had no children.

“We are still in the process of contacting a few descendants, and those we’ve spoken to have been happy to share what they know about Ethel,” said Melanie Long. “We also will install a plaque in her memory near where her father, Edward is buried in Union Cemetery. There are thousands of Van Blarcom names as they were the one of the prominent families in our area’s farming community, and after all these years, the Society is thrilled to finally honor the legacy of one very important Van Blarcom, Ethel Van Blarcom Green. As they say, ‘It’s never too late’”.

The current history of the Union Cemetery:

(Wyckoff Historical Society website)

The original Grange sign from the 1960s at the Franklin Avenue entrance of Union Cemetery was weathered and fragile. The Wyckoff Historical Society recently replaced the old sign with one that is also hand-lettered, and includes the Grange logo which was barely visible on the old sign. Two new posts display the new sign.

The Ackerman and Terwilliger families are buried to the left/northern side of the cemetery

The Terwilliger family plot

The resting place of James Terwilliger’s tombstone

To the right of the pathway around the cemetery to the south is the Van Blarcom family plot where on the oldest graves is that of John Van Blarcom, a veteran of the Revolutionary War.

The resting place of Revolutionary War veteran, John Van Blarcom

https://patch.com/new-jersey/wyckoff/birth-of-a-nation-revolutionary-officer-remembered

The original section of the Van Blarcom family plot dating back to the Revolutionary War

The later burial section of the Van Blarcom family

The resting place of Daniel and Rebecca Van Blarcom

The Terwilliger family has two sections of the family plot in the northern section of the cemetery

The Ackerman family’s plot is to the middle most northern end of the cemetery

The Mallinson/Westervelt family has the further most family plot of the cemetery

The cemetery is so peaceful and relaxing to walk around. The Wyckoff Historical Society has done a wonderful job maintaining the property. Even though it is the resting place of many family plots, it’s still a very welcoming place and you can feel it as you walk the paths. There is a respect of remembering the people of the past that can be felt here

As you walk the pathways, you visit the people who have contributed to the growth and history of Bergen County and the surrounding area. They shaped their communities from before the Revolution War to today.

My video of visiting the cemetery and the families that rest here.

The History of the Cemetery:

(From the Wyckoff Historical Society website)

The Union Cemetery on Franklin Avenue dates back to the first half of the 1700s, when Johannes Van Blarcom set aside an area of his property to become a burial place. The earliest readable stone is from 1764 and thought to mark the grave of a slave girl because there is no surname given. Johannes Van Blarcom’s daughter, who died in 1725, is alleged to be buried there also. Various community groups have volunteered to maintain the cemetery, including the Wyckoff Historical Society. In 2018, dead trees, underbrush, and poison ivy were removed.

Most are early Van Blarcom family members as the cemetery was one of the original family cemeteries.  

Captain John Outwater/Outwater Family Cemetery 710 Washington Avenue Carlstadt, NJ 07072

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Carlstadt, NJ, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Graveyards and Cemeteries, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic Cemeteries and Graveyards in New Jersey, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), The Bergen 250-250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Captain John Outwater/Outwater Family Cemetery

710 Washington Avenue

Carlstadt, NJ 07072

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10735322/john-outwater

https://www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com/new_jersey_revolutionary_war_sites/counties/bergen_county_revolutionary_war_sites.htm

Open: Sunday-Saturday 24 hours

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Profile/R4960NKjustinw/mediabatch/13650283?m=19905

The entrance to the Outwater Family Cemetery

The stone marker sign at the entrance to the family cemetery. This cemetery is the final resting place of Captain John Outwater from the local militia who fought in the Revolutionary War and his family.

The memorial to Captain Outwater in the center of the cemetery dedicated to his contributions to Revolutionary War

Captain John Outwater during the Revolutionary War

https://www.outwatersmilitia.com/about

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KJ4L-N3R/john-j.-outwater-1780-1842

Captain John Outwater’s bio:

(From family search website)

When John J. Outwater was born on 9 February 1780, in Hackensack, Bergen, New Jersey, United States, his father, Captain John Outwater, was 33 and his mother, Hendrickje Dirck Lozier, was 34. He married Cathalina Van Bussum on 1 February 1813, in Old First Reformed Church, Passaic, Passaic, New Jersey, United States.

They were the parents of at least 4 sons. He died on 25 September 1842, in Wilson, Wilson, Niagara, New York, United States, at the age of 62, and was buried in Glenwood, Lewiston, Lewiston, Niagara, New York, United States.

The original entrance to the cemetery must have been on Moonachie Avenue in the distant past.

The original graves of Captain John Outwater and his wife, Louise Lozier

Across from their graves is the memorial to the family

Various members of the Outwater family including parents, brothers and sisters and children are buried here.

The grave of Jacob Outwater and his family

The tombstone of Jacob Outwater

The grave of Jacob’s son who died as an infant

The graves of George Outwater and his wife, Ann Van Note

I think this is the grave of George Outwater’s first wife, Mary

Buried outside the family plot is the grave of Henry Cordes

The Outwater family cemetery sits on a small hill overlooking a Quick Check store and gasoline station. Talk about modern progress.

I took a quick tour of the cemetery:

My video of the Outwater Family Cemetery and the grave of Captain John Outwater of Revolutionary War fame.

Hopper-Zabriskie Family Cemetery First Street Ho Ho Kus, NJ 07423

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Towns in New Jersey, Exploring Ho Ho Kus, NJ, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic Cemeteries and Graveyards in New Jersey, Historical Towns of New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), The Bergen 250-250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hopper-Zabriskie Family Cemetery

First Street

Ho Ho Kus, NJ. 07423

(201) 652-4400

https://www.hhkborough.com/home/hopper-zabriskie-family-cemetery

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hopperzabriskie-cemetery

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2303434/zabriskie-cemetery

Zabriskie-Hopper Family Cemetery, Paramus, NJ [GSBC Index]

Open: Sunday through Saturday Dawn to Dusk

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Profile/R4960NKjustinw/mediabatch/13643018?m=19905

The entrance to the Zabriskie-Hopper Cemetery

The History of the Cemetery:

(from the Borough of Ho Ho Kus, NJ website)

It is a family cemetery started before 1792 on land originally owned by Abraham Hopper. The Hopper family was the first to settle Ho-Ho-Kus, then known as Hoppertown. Many Dutch families also settled the area including the Zabriskie, Ackerman, Blauvelt, Bamper, Banta, and Terhune families. Most were members of the Old Paramus Reformed Church nearby.

While family members were commonly interred in the church graveyard, some chose to bury family members in small local plots closer to their residences. Such was the case with the Ackermans who had a plot on the northeast side of town near the Saddle River, and the Hopper and Zabskie families who were buried in the small plot in Hoppertown near the Ho-Ho-Kus brook.

The small cemetery

The historic sign

The original family cemetery of the Hopper family when the original name of the area was ‘Hoppertown’ for the family whose land dominated the area. While some would bury their loved ones at the family church’s graveyards, some preferred their loved ones closer and would be buried on the family farm. Some families picked the highest point, usually a small hill that would over look the land. This particular cemetery is located in a small cove at the bend of the road.

This small historical cemetery is another example of history lost in time. The generations of distant family members no longer care for this historical spots and they were left for the elements. This cemetery was cared for by Veterans of the Wars and the Boy Scouts who put a lot of care in it. Now it is under the Borough of Ho Ho Kus, NJ.

The history of the cemetery

The history of the Zabriskie family

The family plot map of the tombstones.

The small family burial plot common to farms in Bergen County at that time.

Who is buried here:

(From the Borough of Ho Ho Kus, NJ website)

There were a number of descendants from the Hopper and Zabriskie families who were interred in the small cemetery between 1792 and 1867. In 1910, an archivist named John Neafie from New York City cataloged the names on the headstones and provided a copy to the Bergen County Historical Society. Some of those appearing in this catalog included:

  • Garret Hopper, died Feb.17, 1792, age 69 years
  • Elsey Hopper, wife of Garret Hopper, died March 8, 1816, age 89 years
  • Mary Zabriskie, wife of Henry Zabriskie, died June 3, 1821, age 69 years
  • Francis W. Perry, wife of James H. Perry Esq. and daughter of H. and Sally Zabriskie, born June 25, 1814, died Nov. 27, 1834
  • Henry Zabriskie, died Feb.23, 1839, 22 years
  • Henry H. Zabriskie, died Feb. 27,1832, age 46 years
  • Sally Zabriskie, wife of H.H. Zabriskie, died May 11, 1829, age 41 years
  • Garret H. Zabriskie, died Aug. 6, 1867, age 79 years
  • Caty Van Voorhase, wife of Garret H. Zabriskie, died Nov. 6, 1833, age 41 years
  • Garret Zabriskie, son of Henry and Lavinia Banta, died Oct. 16, 1832, age 4 years
  • Ann Bamper, wife of Jacob Bamper, died Feb. 26, 1844, age 90 years
  • C.I.Z. (probably refers to Casparis, son of Mary Zabriskie)

The grave of Henry Zabriskie

The graves Henry and Garrett Zabriske

The graves Garrett Zabriske and Francis Perry

The grave of Caty Van Voorhase

The grave of Sally Zabriskie

The grave of Francis Perry

The cemetery is a testament to the family and their love of the land they owned.

The History of the Hopper and Zabriskie families in the area:

(From the Borough of Ho Ho Kus, NJ website)

The Hopper’s owned homesteads in the center of town on both sides of the brook and operated a grist mill. During the American Revolution, they were committed to the patriot cause and served with the Bergen County Militia. The British made several raids into Hoppertown during the war while foraging for military stores, farm animals, and other goods. One notable siege took place at Hoppertown on April 16, 1780. John J. Hopper was seriously wounded. His home and those of his brothers were burned down. The grist mill on the brook was also destroyed. The Zabriskie family would later acquire and occupy the original Hopper residence which was placed under siege. The building is now known as the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn & Tavern. Materials from John Hopper’s original house razed during the raid are believed to be incorporated into the foundation of the inn.

Around 1830, John J. Zabriskie took up residence in the former Hopper home, which became known as the Mansion House. The Zabriskie’s owned several farms and buildings nearby and built a dam and mill on the brook. The Zabriskie family also acquired the Hopper family cemetery on the hillside adjacent to the mill. When the first Zabriskie mill dam breached in 1862, John Jacob would build a much grander dam out of brownstone blocks to create Sylvan Lake while at the same time expanding cotton mill operations.

Hopper Farm Family Cemetery Lexington Lane Oakland, NJ 07436

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Graveyards and Cemeteries, Exploring Historic Towns in New Jersey, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Oakland, NJ, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic Cemeteries and Graveyards in New Jersey, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Hopper Family Farm Cemetery

Lexington Lane

Oakland, NJ 07436

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2247921/hopper-farm-family-cemetery

https://ldsgenealogy.com/NJ/Bergen-County-Cemetery-Records.htm

Open: Dawn to Dusk

My review on TripAdvisor:

The Hopper Farm Family Cemetery is a reminder of what happens when time passes you by and the world changes around you. I went in search for the grave of Andrew Hopper, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. I could not find it.

This historic cemetery is hidden from the road behind two large homes on a tiny hill in the back woods. The only way to access the cemetery is to walk down the utility road off the main road, walk through the woods and walk up through the bush to back of two families back yards.

You can tell by the rotting fallen fence that this cemetery was once enclosed but the fence has since fallen and the cemetery in disarray. Still there is a quiet elegance to it.

The cemetery is in desperate need of clean up and repair as tombstones are broken, fallen and discolored.

Some of the family tombstones have fallen. Still you can see members of the Hopper and Demarest families buried here.

Members of the Vanderbryck family Maryann and Rachel

The grave of David Hopper

The grave of Susan Storms, wife of one of the family members buried here.

The grave of Peter Bogart, a member of the extended family

One of the broken tombstones that I could not read

Another tombstone in loving memory of a name I could not read

The broken stone of Fredrick Storms grave

The family cemetery sits quiet and neglected in the woods. Most of the tombstones broken and discolored and hard to read.

I took one last look as I walked down the hill and said a prayer to these forgotten people. One what must have once been the family farm sits a development of extremely large and well maintained McMansions. This is the irony of this once prominent family.

The family buried at this cemetery:

(Bergen County Genealogical Society website)

Copied July 4, 1913, By John Neafie New York City.

    1.  Abraham Verbryck, d. Jan. 8, 1843 ae. 63-11-8.
    2.  John P. Ackerman, d. Feb. 24-1829 ae. 34-1-4.
    3.  Rachel, wife of John P. Ackerman, d. Oct. 4,1844
        ae. 49-11-22.
    4.  Martha Ann, d. Apr. 6, 1835 ae. 1 yr. 8 da.
    5.  Martha Ann, d. Feb. 5, 1837 ae. 2 mos. 7 da.
    6.  Rachel Ann, d. July 12,1838 ae. 6 mos.
    Children of
    Abraham and
    Susan Hopper.
    7.  Peter G. Bogert d. 5 Dec. 1859 ae. 76-6-16.
    8.  Mary his wife d. 5 April 1866 ae. 72-6-21.
    9.  David Berthoif d. 8 Jan. 1851 ae. 85-2-29.
    10. Catharine Storms his wife d. 19 June 1864 ae. 87-2-5.
    11. Peter, son of Stephen D. and Eliza Berthoif, d. 19 Nov.1843
        ae. 1-7-2.
    12. Elizer L. Ramsey (My Mother), wife of Stephen D. Bertholf
        d. 18 Dec. 1876 ae. 56-7-5.
    13. Stephen S. Berthoif (Brother), d. 28 Oct. 1875
        ae. 21-11-17.(same stone as above.)
    14. Frederick Storms d. 20 Feb. 1826 in 54th yr.
    15. Alice, widow of above, d. 6 Jan. 1859, ae. 81-6-25.
    16. John, son of Frederick and Alice Storms d. 29 Apr. 1852
        ae. 37-7-10.
    17. Susan B. Storms, wf. of Stites Miller d. at San Francisco,
        Cal. 16 Dec. 1863 ae. 60 y.
    18. Eliza, wf. of Philip Vantassel d. 10 Sept. 1830
        ae. 29 y.21 d.
    19. Samuel V. Codington b. 19 Jan. 1824 d. 30 Oct. 1834.
    20. Mary Ann Verbryck, wf. of William Codington b. 9 Sept.1802
        d. 17 Feb. 1835.
    21. Samuel Verbryck b. 15 Nov. 1780 d. 16 June 1847.
    22. Rachel his wife b. 5 Aug. 1778 d. 13 Dec. 1864.
    23. Conrod Lines d. 20 Dec. 1839 ae. 66-2-8 (footstone C. L.)
    24. Garret G., son of Philip and Jane Hopper, d. 17 Apr. 1833
        ae. 15 mos.
    25. Rachel Bogert d. 22 Oct. 1793 ae. 70 y. 22 d.
        widow of Lucas Bogert.
    26. Rachel dau. of Lucas Bogert d. 21 Feb. 1791 ae. 30-10-4.
    27. Lucas Bogert d. 2 Sept. 1777 ae. 57 y. 4 m.
    28. Maria Mandevil, wf. of Steven Bartolf, b. 26 May 1736
        d.22 Feb. 1813 ae. 76-8-27.
    29. Aaron G. son of Patrick and Sarah M. Cronk d. 25 Nov.1861
       ae. 6 m. 29 d.

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-Seven Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents “The Bergen 250-the 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ” April 23rd, 2025

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Projects, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring ' The Northwest Bergen History Coalition', Exploring Hackensack, NJ, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Graveyards and Cemeteries, Exploring Historic Towns in New Jersey, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Paramus NJ, Exploring River Vale, NJ, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic Churches of New Jersey, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, Interesting Parks and Zoos in New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan-Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc., The Bergen 250-250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Every semester for my Business Marketing, Management and Communications classes, I create one big Team assignment for my students. In a Commuter College, it is a lot tougher for students to get to know one another between their studies and their jobs, so I create these projects to foster learning, creativity and especially Teamwork.

This was the first time I had ever taught International Marketing and it was a challenge I really wanted to tackle. With International Tourism in a state of flux due to the economy and politics, what type of creative programming and offerings do we have to attract a foreign customer?

Promoting Bergen County, NJ for tourism has been one of biggest challenges I have had and how we get all these places to enter the modern era with a fresh approach to getting people to visit their establishment. The ‘Bergen 250-the 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County’ has been our most ambitious project to date. We took the website and plans the County of Bergen had planned and expanded it in every direction.

We added in special events, fundraising ideas, scavenger hunts and walking tours along with a new direction in promoting these sites through Digital Marketing and outlets like Tik Tok, YouTube and using QR codes so that the younger generation can use their phones interactively.

In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.

Professor Justin Watrel, CEO Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.

Our Corporate site (created my one of my former President’s:

Additional Resources

As my International Marketing class entered its second month and before I ran the Midterm, I introduced the Team Project, similar to the one I created in 2020 just as COVID hit “From Revolution to Renewal-Exploring Historic Bergen County, NJ”:

The project that we started right before COVID closed the college:

Day One Hundred and Sixty-Five: Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents: “From Revolution to Renewal-Exploring Historic Bergen County, NJ” Essentials of Marketing Class Project-Bergen Community College April 27th, 2020

With that class, I had planned a series of field trips once we got back from Spring Break but we never went back to campus. That project was done with work that had to be done online and with what we had because we could not leave our houses at that time. This project was to do what that project could not accomplish.

So I approached Vivian Davis, of the Bergen County Historic Division, who I had worked with for years in my time at the Department of Disabilities Services for the County, and who I initially worked with on the first project and asked her to help me again. She is running the ‘Bergen 250-the 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County’ event. Would she let me help her coming up with a different angle on advertising the event and some new ideas for special events and a fresh perspective on looking at the event from the students viewpoint?

It would be one of the most ambitious projects that I had ever attempted for this company model. She agreed to let me help in my own way plus be available for being a listening ear for the students and assist us on the Team site visits and tours.

It was a great partnership as she got much needed research and ideas for advertising while the students learned something new about their communities that they did not know. Even I learned about historical sites that I never knew existed and I have lived here off and on for the last thirty years. Everyone got something positive out of it and it was a win-win partnership.

I put together the project and had Vivian look it over and with some adjustments, it was a go and I presented to my students two weeks before the Spring Break in March. We would work on this project for the next seven weeks along with a series of site trips to places in the ‘Bergen 250’ roster. It would be an eye opener project for everyone involved.

The initial project concept for the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Team Project “The Bergen 250”:

BCC-Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. 2025 The Bergen 250 CelebrationDownload

I chose my Executive Team from a series of what I call “Alumni Students”, who I had in other classes and I knew their work and how they had performed in other Team Projects that I had run. I chose the remainder Student Executives from a look series of papers I had them write for the class promoting Foreign Tourism and Advertising.

Paper Two: Promoting McDonalds Foreign Food items for the American Market:

BCC-International Marketing Paper Two 2024Download

Paper Three: Promote your Town for Foreign Tourism

BCC-International Marketing Paper Three Spring 2024Download

These two papers are how I determined who would be on what Teams and how they might perform on that section of the project. For the most part I was right. I saw this at the end of the project.

I broke the class into the following Teams: Marketing, Talent, Historical and Food Service with each Team having their own responsibilities (Please read the project). They were led by the President and Senior Vice-President of Operations, who reported to me as their CEO. Both of these students had participated in previous projects that had been equally ambitious.

The two weeks before the Spring Break, the Student Consultants got their game-plans together, divided the responsibilities and started their research on the historical sites being promoted by the ‘Bergen 250’. There are a lot of historical sites in Bergen County that date back to the Revolutionary War and before To the time of Dutch settlements.

When we arrived back from the break, I arranged a series of Field Site visits that I took my student to so that they could experience and tour the sites up close. These were also location trips for of Food Service division who would be arranging a series of special meals at these sites.

The first place the Team visited was the Garretson Forge & Farm in Fair Lawn, NJ. This historic home and grounds were going to be one of the locations for a special event for the Food Service Division.

The Garretson Forge & Farm at 4-02 River Road in Fair Lawn, NJ

https://www.garretsonfarm.org/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46430-d12854166-Reviews-Garretson_Forge_Farm-Fair_Lawn_New_Jersey.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

Garretson Forge & Farm 4-02 River Road Fair Lawn, New Jersey 07410

The previous project Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. did on the site:

Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents: “The Bergen 250: Visiting the Garretson Forge & Farm in Fairlawn, NJ-A Historical Walking Tour”

We had done a promotional project on the site a few semesters before with much success and now we would be arranging a ‘rustic’ Afternoon Tea on the grounds and promoting the gardens with a Flower sale.

The Student Consultants starting a tour of the Garretson Forge & Farm led by historian Vivian Davis.

The students touring the historical kitchen

The students touring the historical room at the Garretson Forge & Farm

Our class picture at the site

Our host and ‘Client’ Vivian Davis joining us in the group picture

The trip to the Garretson Forge & Farm was one of a series of trips that I thought would be important to the students to get a feel for these sites rather than just passing by. We also could incorporate layouts and use of historical items for our Scavenger Hunt that people could download to their phones that our Marketing Team was creating for their part of the project.

The next week we went out into the field again, this time to the Baylor Massacre site in Old Tappan, Nj and the Haring Farm Cemetery, a tiny family plot on what used to be the Haring Farm both in Old Tappan, NJ.

The Baylor Massacre site is where the Patriots had gotten ambushed by the British on a tip from a local resident and instead of following protocol of war, the British bayoneted the troops and through their bodies in a ditch. The bodies had been rediscovered only in the last fifty years when they wanted to develop the land.

With the Haring Farm Cemetery, this was the final resting place of Abraham Haring, a prominent farming family in the area, on what was once hundreds of acres of land of the Haring family. As Vivian explained to us, these families always assumed that the farm would be there and in the family hands.

The Baylor Massacre site at 486 Rivervale Road in River Vale, NJ

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baylor_Massacre

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46777-d12277914-Reviews-Baylor_Massacre_Burial_Site-River_Vale_New_Jersey.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

Baylor Massacre Burial Site Rivervale Road & Red Oak Drive River Vale, NJ 07675

The historic marker just outside the site

Walking around the site before the students arrived

The site of the graves

The location of the old mill where the bodies were thrown

Vivian’s counterpart in the Historic Division, Colin, joined us on this day for this tour and was better than me on explaining everything.

Before everyone got there, I had been to the sites the day before and while the Baylor Massacre site is well taken care of by the County, the Haring Farm Cemetery was a mess of fallen fences, fallen trees and branches all around the site, making it dangerous to walk around. I even touched a dead branch and it came crashing down.

The entrance to the Haring Farm Cemetery at Old Haring Farm Court in River Vale, NJ

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/river-vale/2020/10/08/river-vale-nj-cemetery-refurbished-teen/5898284002/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46777-d33055554-Reviews-Haring_Farm_Cemetery-River_Vale_New_Jersey.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

Haring Farm Cemetery Old Haring Farm Court River Vale, NJ 07675

The cemetery looked so much nicer when it was cleaned up

I always felt like the family was watching me as I had such a positive feel at the site

Even the family tombstones looked a lot better

Being married into the Haring family via my father’s older brother’s wife sister in law, I felt an obligation to clean this place up. So in a two piece suit the next day, I got to the graveyard early, removed all the branches, raked the whole site, fixed the fence and raked the entire site, cleaning the tombstones while I was doing all this.

There is a good feeling when you honor and respect the dead

After cleaning the site, I got myself together and went back to the Baylor Massacre site and started to meet the students. Some arrived early and started to walk around to get a feel for the site.

Colin and I talking to the students about the incident at the site during the Revolutionary War

The Baylor Massacre site was going to be used for a Jazz Concert to honor the soldiers and Patriots whom had passed with a food truck event to go with it along with historical walking tours that evening. The evening event was planned with luminaries lining the paths and the gravesite being lit for the evening to honor those who had passed.

First we walked the entire site to understand the logistics of the event

After the tour and discussion of the site we took a few group pictures of us at the site. In some cases, this was the first time almost all the students had visited the site. This shows how these sites need to be better publicized.

My class at the site with the Memorial in sight

The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Team Picture at the Baylor Massacre site

After the tour of the Baylor Massacre site, we headed up to the Haring Farm Cemetery, which was up the road. When we all got there, Colin explained to us that rather than burying their loved ones in a church graveyard, some families wanted to have their loved ones buried close by and again these families thought these farms would always be in the family hands.

Vivian had explained to the students at the initial meeting that one of the past times people had during the Revolutionary War was picnics at cemeteries and graveyards. This is where we got the idea of graveyard tours with a box lunch. We would create an interactive map with QR codes that people could tour with their ‘to go’ lunch.

We arrived at a cleaned up cemetery

The renovation of the site was done by an Eagle Scout

We took some time to understand burial rights of farming families and get a feel for the family members

We toured the small site and Colin explained to the students that Bergen County was dotted with these types of sites because of the number of family farms that once made up Colonial Bergen County, NJ.

We took our group shot while respecting the resting place

After all my students left after the both tours, I went back for one more look and again, I felt such a positive presence as if the family were so happy that we visited.

The weather prevented the next field trip and we had to concentrate on the project so after lecture, the students worked with their groups. Throughout this part of the semester, I would alternate between lecture one day and being ‘out in the field’ the other. This the students had a better experience of being ‘in the industry’.

As the project progressed and started to come together, we took our last and most ambitious field trip to Park Ridge, NJ, to the sites of the ‘Farm to Table Dinner’. This site tour included the Wortendyke Barn, the Pascack Reformed Church, where the Candlelight Tour of the Wortendyke family graveyard would take place and then to the Pascack Valley Historical Society, where the Cocktail Party would take place to open the event.

Then after the site visit, I would be wrapping the afternoon with lunch at Pompilios Pizzeria in Downtown Westwood, NJ for a Team dinner. It was a long afternoon but the students got to experience so much and see a lot.

Our first stop was the Wortendyke Barn, one of the few surviving Dutch-American examples of early American barns.

The barn in the early Spring on one of the few nice days of the week

Vivian met us again for the first part of the tour and explained how the barn was designed, who the Wortendykes were as a family presence in Bergen County and the use of the barn since it became County parkland.

The Wortendyke Barn at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wortendyke_Barn

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46713-d12591229-Reviews-Wortendyke_Barn_Museum-Park_Ridge_New_Jersey.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

The Wortendyke Barn 13 Pascack Road Park Ridge, NJ 07656

The Team discussing the barn with the students. The outside of the barn is where the main dinner would take place.

Vivian discussing the inside of the barn

The interior of the barn

Farm tools of an earlier era

The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Team doing another group shot outside of the barn

The Pascack Reformed Church at 65 Pascack Road in Park Ridge, NJ

https://www.pascackreformedchurch.org/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46713-d33069980-Reviews-Pascack_Reformed_Church-Park_Ridge_New_Jersey.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

Pascack Reformed Church 65 Pascack Road Park Ridge, NJ 07656

We then moved on to take the next tour at the Pascack Reformed Church, one of the oldest churches in the State of New Jersey. Our tour was hosted by Pastor Sharon Gross-Gill, who had joined the church and loved the idea of the project promoting the church and its historic values.

The Team touring the second level of the church

The team touring the bell tower of the church

Our Vice-President of Marketing ringing the church bell. Each Team member could ring the bell if they wanted to try it.

We were then joined by the church historian who gave us the tour of the Wortendyke family plot

Touring through the Wortendyke family plot

Our Team picture with Pastor Sharon Gross-Gill at the Pascack Reformed Church graveyard

We then moved on to a quick tour of the Pascack Historical Society, which has an interesting display of early Dutch artifacts and only Wampum making machine (Native American currency) in the United States Almost all my students had not seen these things before.

The Pascack Valley Historical Society at 19 Ridge Avenue in Park Ridge, NJ

https://pascackhistoricalsociety.org/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46713-d12610386-Reviews-Pascack_Historical_Society_Museum-Park_Ridge_New_Jersey.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

Pascack Historical Society Museum (John C. Storms Museum) 19 Ridge Avenue Park Ridge, NJ 07656

I have to thank the amazing support of the Pascack Valley Historical Society Board for coming out in full force to help support this project.

The Board touring with us at the museum

The Team with Board member, Peter Meany, as he explains how the Wampum machine worked.

Our Team group picture with the Board of the Pascack Historical Society

I wanted to thank Board Members Kristin Beuscher, Peter Meany, Ralph Donnell Jr., Christopher Kersting and Patrick Dolan for being our hosts, leading the tours and some of them showing up for our presentation of the final Presentation.

After the tours were all over, I took the entire Team to lunch in Downtown Westwood for a Team building pizza lunch/dinner. It had been a long day and the students had worked so hard the whole day, it was nice to break bread with the Team plus the pizza here is excellent. We had a really good time at lunch and everyone got to know each other a little better.

Pompilio’s Pizzeria & Restaurant at 233 Westwood Avenue in Westwood, NJ

https://www.pompiliospizzeria.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g46923-d4643410-Reviews-Pompilio_s_Pizzeria_Restaurant-Westwood_New_Jersey.html?m=69573

The Marketing Team dining together

The Historical Team dining together

Members of the Talent Team with the Marketing Team

Members of the Historical Team dining with the Executive Team

The pizza here is delicious and I love taking my Teams here for lunch

This was the last of the field trips before the presentation two weeks later. One of the pitfalls of the projects that I did that semester was the Spring Break in March and then the Easter Break in late April which had some of my students traveling for the break. I am happy to say that everyone showed up and did their work.

The presentation went by really well and was well attended for an afternoon event. Several parents as well as boyfriends and girlfriends showed up. Vivian and Colin both showed up with their boss from the Division, so the real life ‘clients’ were there for the presentation.

The formal Presentation on YouTube of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. “Bergen 250-The 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County, NJ”:

The video of the Presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1naKliR-RuAQ1vzMVz6bMXvGnhTg4Jg6wdEST5n9IsGM/edit?usp=gmail#slide=id.g34db14d69c0_0_0

The PowerPoint for the Presentation

https://www.bergecco-parcbergen250.com/

The Website created for the Project

https://www.bergecco-parcbergen250.com/

President Robert Meg welcoming everyone

Senior Vice-President of Operations Gabriela Chavasco welcomes everyone

The Executive Team leading the Presentation

Vice-President of Operations Brandon Robertson leads the presentation of Foodservice Special Events

Vice-President of Marketing Bart Potensky leads the Marketing Team in their presentation of the Advertising gameplay

Vice-President Kate Trinidad leads the Talent Team on the inside operations of keeping the company well supported from Corporate

After the successful Presentation was over, we took the official Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Corporate pictures.

It was a job well done for the entire Team. I also want to thank Vivian Davis and Colin Fitzpatrick from the Historic Division of the County of Bergen in New Jersey for all their support and guidance and feedback on this assignment. It really was a “Team Effort” from everyone involved.

Thank you everyone for a job well done!