Owning New Jersey: Historic Tales of War, Property Disputes & the Pursuit of Happiness

by Joseph A. Grabas

Winner of the New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance Authors Award for Nonfiction New Jersey's land records and deeds are unlikely sources for a thrilling tale but reveal little-known, fascinating history. A detailed story of the founding of the Garden State 350 years ago is preserved in these papers. The state's boundaries were drawn in such documents centuries ago, even if the authors never stepped foot in North America. The archives hide heroes, like the freed African Americans who fought for their right to own their piece of the state. And of course, there are the bizarre and mysterious tales, like the silk baron's castle and the assault against a sixteen-year-old maiden during the throes of the American Revolution. Join land title expert Joseph Grabas as he combs through these all-but-forgotten stories of the pursuit of happiness and property in early New Jersey.

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 12, 2014

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of short descriptions of property ownership and its effect on NJ history. It’s not just what is documented, but how, as Grabas makes easy to see. Land ownership was the gateway to numerous rights and opportunities throughout American and NJ history and people used their land ownership to improve their lives and the lives of their descendants.

[Cheyanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Joseph Grabas, a professional in land title research and an amateur historian, obviously has enormous patience for shifting through centuries of real estate deeds and unearthing the human interest stories behind the brittle paper. Some of my Goodreads friends will be particularly interested in the chapter on John Glenn -- not the astronaut, but a 19th century grocer in Trenton -- who tried to operate a store at the corner of Warren and Market Streets. It failed. The location is obviously cursed!
Other interesting historical anecdotes include the hard lot of 17th century orphans, the freed slaves who founded the town of Fair Haven, and the Twelve-Mile Circle that puts part of the Jersey shoreline in Delaware. I skipped over some of the technical detail about metes and bounds, but it's a worthwhile read for anyone wanting to brush up on their New Jersey history.