USA > New Jersey > Atlantic County > Atlantic City > The Daily union history of Atlantic City and County, New Jersey : containing sketches of the past and present of Atlantic City and County > Part 20
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DAILY UNION HISTORY OF ATLANTIC COUNTY.
troubles improve perceptibly and are cured in sea air. This is particularly so in young strumons children. Digestive disorders are very amenable to treatment in sea air if patients will follow instructions; but if they follow the dictates of an over- stimulated appetite they return home in worse condition.
The effects of sea air on neurasthenia and nervous dirorders vary considerably. Most neurasthenics will do well in Atlantic City in the fall. winter and spring months, but not so well in July and August. In the latter months the crowds are so large and the nervous strain is too great unless in the quiet parts of the island. Thousands of neurasthenics come to Atlantic City every year, live under strict rules from their physician and improve. Many come on their own responsibility, eat all kinds of food, bathe indiscriminately, attend balls and suppers, keep late hours, and then wonder why they do not improve! Every physician here can report numerous cures and phenomenal improvement in many cases. Sleepless nights are forgotten and nerve tone improves. Many melancholic cases are aggra- vated by sea air as it is too stimulant. The same is true of mania and insanity. Hysteria may or may not be improved according to cause. Nervous cases may find their first night or two restless and sleepless, but this period is rapidly followed by soporific effects. This class of cases must be watched closely and forced to follow certain strict rules if improvement is expected.
With Atlantic City at the very doors of Eastern and Western cities, a typical sanatorium summer and winter, furnishing pure sea air and home comforts, and possessing a Boardwalk second to none in the world, why go to the enervating climates of the south? When the tonic, stimulant (sedative to some) and alterative sea air is free to all, disease should no longer be neglected, when finance is not a leading factor.
marine Alga.
A MONG the many attractions of the seashore may be included the sea flora, variously known as "sea moss," "sea weeds," and "marine alga." .\c- cording to Professor W. G. Farlow they do not belong to the group called Lichens, and should not be called "sea moss:" many of them are so exquisitely beautiful that the name "sea weed" seems inappropriate, we therefore prefer to speak of them as algæ.
The lowest order of the cryptogams, or flowerless plants, have been divided into three classes, alga, fungi and lichens. All strictly marine plants belong to the first of these three divisions.
Almost everywhere along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts some species of algæ may be found, excepting sandy beaches, devoid of rocks, piling or other foot- hold, where there seems to be a dearth of them.
In the warmer waters of the Pacific ocean. along the coast of California. the algæ are less delicate in form, but are generally more brilliant in color than those found on the Atlantic coast. where they vary according to locality as well as according to season ; some of the most beautiful and delicate in structure are found in winter, and are not confined to the warmer climate, while the more brilliant in color appear in greater variety and abundance along the middle and southern coasts.
Marine algæ seems to have but little commercial value. Chondrus crispus. called Irish moss in America, is used as an article of food. and makes a delicate and excellent blanc mange. It is gathered in large quantities at Hingham, Massa- chusetts, and other places on the New England coast, and is bleached before sending to market.
Porphyra lacineata (Laver) is used by the Chinese employed in the shoe factories of Massachusetts. who import it from China, but could obtain the same species in great quantities in Massachusetts. Dulse is also used for culinary pur- poses, much of it is imported, although it grows, in abundance, in our northern waters. It is frequently seen in barrels in fruit and grocery stores, and is eaten, principally by sailors and foreigners from seaport towns. In some sections, near the coast, the coarser sea weeds are gathered and used as fertilizers, but many farmers consider them almost worthless and do not use them.
Only three or four flowerless plants grow submerged in salt water, therefore, with these few exceptions, the propagation of marine plants is by means of spores, under the different kinds known as zoospores tetraspores, and o-o-spores.
By most botanists the classification of alga is on the basis of reproduction, but Professor W. H. Harvey of Dublin has divided them into three classes dis- tinguished by their color. Grass green algæ, olive brown or green algæ, and red or purple algæ running into brown or black. Of these three groups, grass green
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is the lowest in organization. The ulva, or sea lettuce, found growing on shells, stone or tufts of grass, between high and low-water mark, is a good and common example of this class of alga. These are likely to fade and do not adhere well to paper when pressed and dried, but are very interesting and valuable for the herb- arium. Although the bright green algae are generally found growing in the shallow water, where they are left uncovered at the recession of the tide, some of the most beautiful species belonging to this group are found below low-water mark, as for instance. bryopsis plumosa (see figure 1), a plume-like plant of rich dark color, growing from two to five or six inches high, and is very beautiful when mounted and pressed.
The Cladophora, with thread-like branches, tufted with delicate green (figure 3) is another beautiful species belonging to this division, and is found below low- water mark, attached to piling or brush.
The second in this division are the olive or brown green algae. Many more species are contained in this class than in the first named, and they are of a higher organization. The genus ectocarpus, alone, contains fifteen or eighteen species, which are of hair-like fineness. They grow on fucus, eel-grass or piling between high-water and below low-water water mark. and can be gathered from early spring until June. The color is bright olive green and they are beautiful when mounted on paper.
The third division consists of the red or purple alga. These are the highest in regard to reproductive process, to structure and to color. The plants in this division seek deeper water and are seldom found above low-water mark. The collector will at once become interested in the rosy ribbon-like Grinnellia, named in honor of Henry Grinnell, the philanthropist of New York. We have but one species, the Grinnellia Americana (see figure 11). It is a graceful plant as seen floating on the undulating water or waving from its foothold on jutting rock or piling. This species is biennial, attains a length of twelve or fifteen inches, and some species measuring two feet have been found. It is abundant, and can be gathered from early June to October.
Another very beautiful genus is the Dasya, only one species of which is com- mon along this coast, the Dasya elegans (see figure 2). This is an irregularly branched plant, growing from three or four inches to more than two feet long, ac- cording to the depth of the holdfast, which may be above low-water mark or four or five fathoms below. The color is rich dark purple, the branches are covered with cilia, which gives the appearance of chenille, and is popularly called chenille plant, being one of the few species of algæ bearing a common or local name.
Polysiphonia is the genus most abundant in species of the red algæ. In a work prepared by J. G. Agardh, one hundred and twenty-nine species are reported. About one-fourth of this number are found in American waters. The color of these plants ranges between light purple, brown and black,-the red being con- cealed in the darker shades. They grow on piling, rocks or fucus, in shallow pools or in deep water. Some species are common in summer. and others, the more robust, appearing in their prime late in the fall or in winter. The plants are
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variable and sometimes attain the length of eighteen or twenty inches. Some species have a very lacy appearance when mounted on paper and make beautiful pictures for framing. An illustration of this genus is shown in Figure 8.
The genus Callithamnion, although the simplest in structure of the red algae, is perhaps the most beautiful to the collector. We have about twenty-five species in our waters. They are widely distributed, are very abundant, many of them are of cobweb fineness, brilliant in color and are common along the whole coast, de- veloping a more rosy color in the warmer waters. When seen floating on the water some species look, and seem, like a mass of jelly, showing to the naked eye no stem or branches, but with careful handling they can be transferred successfully to paper and are very brilliant and attractive (see figure 6).
Very interesting plants belonging to the genus sargassum, sargassum bacci- ferum, and sargassum vulgare (see 1 and 2, figure 5) were found on the beach at Longport in the fall of 1889, but have not since appeared on this coast. Professor W. G. Farlow, in "Marine Alga of New England," says "Sargassum grows, attached, in the West Indies where it fruits, and is found floating in the Gulf Stream and in the so-called Surgasso Sea."
The list of beautiful species of alga is so great that only a few of the most common can be noted here. The visitor, or dweller by the sea will find many more, quite as worthy of notice as these that have been named. The number of species found on the Atlantic coast is not definitely known, but over fifty have been collected at Longport. for their beauty alone, and many more have been found by scientific collectors.
A pleasant and healthful recreation will be found in a walk along the beach, when the tide is coming in, bearing upon the surface of the water these gracciul and beautiful plants. To collect them is a very easy matter when water flow's gently as it does on the bay or Thoroughfare at Longport. The collector should · be provided with rubber boots or shoes. a long slender pole, smooth at the end, so that the specimens may not be torn in removing them, and a pitcher or pail partly filled with salt water. It is not necessary to go into the water to secure the algæ, for the rolling waves will bring them to you on the shore, but if you are bent upon making a scientific collection you will need a boat, and must make a tour of the Thoroughfare, seeking them along the wharves, the piling and the grassy banks. Having made your collection for the day you will repair to your cottage or room at your hotel, and there, in a basin of salt water, place your specimens, a few at a time, let them float out, that you may choose the best, lift it carefully into another basin of salt water, and having provided yourself with thick paper or card- board, neatly cut (5x6, 6x8 and 7x9 inches are good size); you will take up one of the cards, place it in the water beneath the specimen to be mounted, and with the aid of a pointed instrument (a long brass pin is very good) move the specimen into graceful form, when this is done to your satisfaction, gently raise your card letting the water flow from it without disturbing your specimen,-this requires practice as well as great care. When the water has drained off sufficiently lay your card on a piece of absorbent paper (blotting paper is the best) which has been
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previously placed upon a smooth board and covered with a piece of old muslin, cover your specimen with a piece of old muslin, lay on another blotter, cover it with muslin, as before and it is ready for your next mounted specimen when you have mounted all that you desire to preserve, place a smooth board over your last blotter and put a weight upon it. The weight must not be too heavy at first,-ten or fifteen pounds of pressure would be sufficient for the first eight or ten hours, at the end of that time take off the weights, carefully remove the wet blotters and wet muslin, place your specimens between dry muslin and dry blotters, put a somewhat heavier weight upon them and let them remain several hours or until the next day, when they will be dry and firmly adhered to the card, and will fully repay you for the time spent in taking care of them. Some of the coarser varieties of algæ require very heavy pressure to flatten them out and hold them to the paper, while the finer specimens would be ruined by too great weight upon them. This can be learned only by practice.
A collection of alga. made during a sojourn by the sea will be a beautiful souvenir to carry to your home and a lasting pleasure to you.
MRS. M. S. MCCULLOUGH.
marine Life in the Sands.
N the beach, and in the bays and inlets surrounding Atlantic City, live over seventy varieties of shell fish. Some of these are rare and hard to find, and the collector, unless he knows where to seek for them, will pass them by: but many of these shells are easy to discover, and some of them are so numerous that they are crushed under foot at every step upon the beach.
In abundance are found two little snails, the nassa obsoleta and nassa trivittata (Fig. 1). These little animals are very active, and not at all shy when kept in confinement. They feed on other molusks. securing their game by perforating the shells of their victims and sucking the mollusk through the hole. The "trivittata" is seen on the sandy beach at low water, but far the greater number of specimens found are empty shells that have been appropriated by a tiny hermit crab, and whether he has secured his home by lawful conquest, or by borrowing or by theft, may be an open question. The "obsoleta" prefers the quiet of the inlet waters and is there found by the millions when the tide is out. It is a little scavenger, feeding on dead crabs and molusks. In appearance it is not at all attractive, for specimens over a year old are badly eroded, and are covered with a brownish green fungus. The "trivittata" is quite a pretty little shell.
Two large snails are found on the beach quite frequently; they are the "natica heros" (Fig. 12) and "natica duplicata" (Fig. 13). In habit these animals are active for snails, as they move with a good deal of rapidity. They are carniverous and delight to feed upon the young tender sand clams, the shells of which they per- forate. They hide in the sand, and often burrow deeply in searching for their favorite food. They are easily distinguished from each other, for in the "heros" the umbilicus is uncovered, while a large, thick lip partly covers it in the "du- plicata."
The nidas, or egg, ribbon of this snail is made of sand. and does not look unlike a collar. When held up to the light the eggs can be seen as transparent spots.
Another little snail. the "Urosalpinx cinerea" (Fig. 2), is found clinging to the stones and piling in the inlet and bays. It is a sluggish little fellow and moves at the proverbial snail's pace, when it moves at all. It is very careful in the manner in which it deposits its eggs. For their safety it constructs little vases which it firmly fastens to the under side of some overhanging ledge, and in this the eggs are deposited. As the tide is falling a large number of these little snails can be gathered in an hour's hunt.
Two large conchs, the "Fulgar carica." and "Sycotypus canaliculatus," were at one time found in large quantities upon the beach, but these shells have been sought after to such an extent in their deep water home, for use as garden orna- ments and flower pots, that they are now comparatively rare. By the Indians they
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were used as drinking cups, and the central white spiral was made into wampum. The egg cases of these conchs are formed of strings of capsules, there being twenty or more capsules in a string. They are found upon the beach during the latter part of winter.
Adhering to stones or shells, especially the inside surface of small shells that have lost their inhabitants, will be found the curious "crepidula." This shell is simply a hood, more or less flattencd, in the end of which is placed a tiny "shelf."
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The shell conforms to the surface on which it rests, and the little animal attaches itself to this surface by a strong muscle that has the power of suction. The "crepi- dula ungiformis" (Fig. 6) is flattened and usually white, and it more frequently found on the inside surface of other shells. The "crepidula fornicata (Fig. 5) is larger, and deeper, and is usually found on the outside surface of shells or piled in groups one upon another. The "crepidula" feeds upon sea weeds.
Another snail found upon the stones along the inlet is the "Littorina littorea"
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(Fig. 3). It is a native of northern Europe, and seems to have become naturalized upon the New England coast, and is rapidly extending southward. Large num- bers of them can be gathered at low-water any day on the stones that form the break-water at the trolley station at Longport. They are voracious feeders, living on sea weed, and are often gathered and distributed over oyster beds to free them from troublesome weeds. These little "periwinkles," as they are called, are almost amphibious, in fact some varieties will live for months out of water. In Europe the periwinkle is eaten, 2,000 tons being sold annually in the city of London.
The oyster ("Ostrea Virginica") is both native and cultivated in the waters surrounding Atlantic City, and the shell is too well known to require illustration. Frequently the shells, both living and dead are found almost honeycombed. This is the work of a sponge, which is the greatest enemy of the oyster. frequently entirely destroying the shell. Another enemy of the oyster is the star fish.
Of the clam, three varieties are found here in large numbers. On the sandy bottoms of the inlet lives the "venus mercinaria," the clam of commerce. The shell is thick, heavy and hard, and was used by the Indians, they cutting it into buttons and stringing them upon leather thongs for dress ornament and wampum.
The "mactra solidessima" is the large sand clam found so frequently upon the beach. It is quite active for a clam, and hides itself just beneath the surface of the sand when the tide goes out. Frequently the shells of the younger clams are found with a smoothly cut hole, a quarter of an inch in diameter, near the hinge. This is the work of one of the snails already mentioned. These clams are also eaten by the star fish.
The third clam, the "mya arenaria." is found in large numbers on the mud banks on the meadows. It is known as the soft shell or sweet clam, and is much prized as an article of food. It is very active, and can burrow into the sand or mud quickly. Unlike the other clams it has its home, which is simply a hole a foot or more deep in the sand or mud. At high tide it comes to the mouth of its hole to feed, but as the tide goes out, it retires to the bottom. The "mactra" buries itself when the waves leave it. the "venus" wanders about on the bottom of the inlet and bays, but the "mya" seldom leaves its home.
The "solen ensis," or "razor fish," is sometimes called the "razor clam" (Fig. 7). Its home is on sandy bottoms, and the dead shell is frequently found upon the beach. He who would secure a live specimen must be a careful collector, for the "ensis" is very strong and very quick in its motions. When found half sticking out of the beach, it will require a grasp almost strong enough to crush the shell to pull it out of its hole. if indeed one can approach near enough to grasp it, for the jarring of the sand by an approaching step will give it warning of pending danger, and quick as a flash it is gone. It will then be almost useless to dig for it, as it can burrow faster than one can dig. The razor is also a swift swimmer, or rather has the power of leaping through the water.
The "pholas costata" ( Fig. 14) is a burrowing shell fish sometimes found upon the beach. It will perforate clay, wood, and even soft rock, the burrows being vertical, and though they may be very close together, seldom does one burrow
EDWARD S. LEE.
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perforate the wall of another. This animal has the remarkable property of shining in the dark. The shell is hard but very brittle.
Another little burrower is the "petricola pholadiformis" (Fig. 10); it perforates clay, mud, wood, and even soft stone. and is found very frequently in the waters of Atlantic City. Small masses of meadow peat that are thrown by the waves upon the beach are frequently alive with the constantly active "petricola."
After a strong southwest wind there will be found npon the beach a very delicate and beautiful purple shell, frequently broken, and almost always void of the animal that at one time lived in it. This is the "siliqua costata" (Fig. 4). Its home is far below low-water mark, and live specimens are difficult to secure.
Another deep-water specimen that is hard to seenre alive is the "siliquaria gibba" (Fig. 8). It is a second consin to the "razor" and about as active.
The "mytilus edulis" (Fig. 9) and "modioal plicatula" (Fig. 11) are two mus- sels constantly met on the beach. The home of the "mytilus" during the first months of its life is deep water, but at the end of the first year it is found between the tides, or just below low-water fastened together or to large stones or piling by a strong thread that the animal spins. The "modiola" is found upon the mud banks of the meadow or on the beach, it too spins a thread or byssus. \ deep water modiola is often found attached to the "devil's apron," a sea weed that is thrown upon the beach by heavy storms.
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Genealogical Introduction.
HE HISTORY of any community is largely the story of its leading fami- lies. For nearly two centuries the white man has been enjoying the great natural privileges of the ocean, bays, rivers, forests, and climate which made South Jersey previously a paradise for the red man.
In our day it seems strange enough that catching whales in small boats along the coast was the flourishing occupation that brought hither from Long Island and New England some of the first Sculls, Somerses, Adamses, Conovers, and Doughtys. The first Clarks came from Connecticut, the first Sculls, Leeds, Penningtons and Endicotts from England, the first Frambes and Boices from Holland, the first Bryant from Scotland, the first Richards from Wales. Great have been the industrial changes during these generations.
Catching the leviathan of the deep for his "oyl and bone" is now only a memory; the wild birds of the bays are no longer an important element as a food supply of the residents; fish and oysters in the bays have been vastly decimated, the iron industry of the swamps has disappeared and the timber and ship building interests have nearly vanished and changed the occupations of a people whose ancestors served their day and generation well and made interesting history. The writer has endeavored to gather from all available sources the records of as many of the old time families as possible, having been generously assisted by the willing hands of some, the printed works of a few, the accessible purse of many appre- ciative citizens, who have made this work possible, and to the retentive memories and the family bibles of others.
Whatever slight imperfections may be found, we are confident that the result of these researches will be appreciated by many who are rightly proud of their family lineage and whose encouragement has been of great assistance in compiling this work.
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PENNINGTON ARE
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ALBERTSON FAMILY.
As early as 1647, the name Albertson is mentioned in O'Callahan's Register of New Netherlands. Jan Albertson, wife and six children, came from Stemeyck, Holland, before 1650. In 1663 Jan Albertson, his wife and one child, were killed by the Indians. The regis- ter above mentioned records that William Albertson, son of Jan, received a commission as a soldier in 1653.
I. William Albertson, the founder of the New Jersey family of Albertsons, resigned his commission as soldier, having become converted to the religion of Friends, and, May 2, 1682, located a large tract of land in Newton township, Gloucester County, N. J., lying between the south and middle branches of Newton creek. The house that he built stood by the middle branch of said creek and nearly fronting the little settlement called Newton by those first settlers. William, as before stated, was a Friend, being one of the first trustees of Newton Meeting, established 1681. This trust was continued until 1708, when younger men were needed to continue the same, to wit: March 7, 1708, Benjamin Thackara and William Cooper, of Gloucester County, N. J., and William Albertson, the elder, late of Newton, in Gloucester County, N. J., but now of Byberry, Bucks County, Pa., as Trustees of Friends Meeting at Newton, conveyed said property to Thomas Sharp, John Kaighn, and Joseph Cooper, as trustees, etc. (Sharp's Book, p. 30, Surveyor General's Office, Bur- lington, N. J.) A man of estate and ability in the community, William (1) was returned in 1685 as a member of the Colonial Legislature, and also held other minor county and town- ship offices. December 16, 1688, he located a tract of land in Gloucester township, on a branch of Timber creek, called Otter branch. This property he bequeathed by will, 1709. to his son Josiah, June 1, 1698. William (1) conveyed his land in Newton township to his son William, and soon after this removed to Byberry, on the Poquessink creek, Bucks County, Pa. Here he purchased large properties, consisting of mills and lands, some of which formerly belonged to Walter Forrest. In 1692 he purchased of Andrew Robeson a tract in Gloucester County. He died at Poquessink in 1709, leaving a will, proved Jannary 17, 1709, in which he mentions his wife Hannah, seven children, and his son-in-law, Jervis Stoddale. William married Hannah Druit, daughter of Morgan Druit. Hannah Druit Al- bertson transferred her certificate from Abington to Philadelphia meeting, in 1729. Their children were:
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