The township's only privately-owned building on the State and Federal Registers of Historic Places is the Smalley-Wormser House at 84 Mountain Ave., the subject of a lengthy article in our Fall l994 issue. The Wormser family owned the property from 1847 to 1937, a 90-year span during which four generations lived there. What little we know of the first generation we glean from the l860 Federal census which lists Barth. Vormser, b. 1809 in France, a farmer with real property valued at $1200, his wife, Margaret, b. 1813 in New Jersey, and their children, Barbary, b. 1842, Flora, b. 1844, Teresa, b. 1846, Bartholomew, b. 1847, John, b. 1851, Margaret, b. 1853, and Joseph, b. 1855, all born in New Jersey. Flora, Teresa, Bartholomew, John and Margaret were attending school. Bartholomew Wormser bought the house and 16 acres from William and Sarah Clark for $300 on June 2, 1847 [the date in our earlier article was incorrect]. Bartholomew, whose German surname may indicate he was from Alsace/Lorraine, was then living in New Providence. He acquired additional land from John Acken in 1854 and David D. Smalley in 1859. On Sept. 16, 1879, Bartholomew, by then a widower, conveyed the house and 54 acres to his son, Bartholomew Jr. He may have died soon after. Bartholomew's son, who died April 28, 1938, married Caroline (1859 - Sept. 26, 1940), and they had at least four children: Caroline, 1886-1953, Rosena, 1884-1917, Josephean, 1888-1890 [none of whom married] and Bartholomew Theodore, May 1, 1892 - March 19, 1957. B. Theodore, a painter and decorator, married Louise K. Meyer (Jan. 30, 1894-1981) on August 11, 1917, Rev. George Bowers officiating, and they had Ruth Louise, b. Nov. 30, 1918, married Anthony J. Komorek [they reside in Chatham] and Robert Theodore Jr., b. June 20, 1921, m. Joan Marie Neary, and died June 13, l995. Ruth and Robert were born in Dunellen. Robert was a general contractor who lived here many years, building homes on Roberts Road and Valley View Road on what had been the family farm. The first three generations of the family were members of the New Providence Presbyterian Church and are buried in the cemetery there. Bartholomew Wormser (1847-1938), a farmer like his father before him, was known as Bartel, the German diminutive of Bartholomew, to distinguish him from his father. According to his granddaughter, Ruth, he used his ox cart to draw the stones used to build the old Stony Hill R. C. Church in Watchung. In the Joel Codington papers [he was a County Freeholder in 1905] we find a bill dated 6/1905 "for carting stone from Bartles quarry for Arch bridge near Johnston's house...," evidence that the stone used to build the church came from Wormser's own quarry. His only brush with notoriety came in 1890 when a Plainfield newspaper carried this article [misnaming him "Wormsley"]: "Bartell Wormsley, who resides with his family on a farm among the Watchung Mountains, had an experience with a party of hunters Thanksgiving Day that was more suggestive than pleasant. Mr. Wormsley's farm is situated at Smalleytown, about five miles northwest of the city. He has repeatedly put up bills warning hunters against trespassing on his property, but the signs have been as often shot off the trees. Thursday he saw a party of hunters going across a young peach orchard on his land. Among the party was an ex-officer of the Game Protective Society, and a negro, and a man known as Compton. Farmer Wormsley told the parties that he did not allow anyone to hunt on his land, and that he wanted them to get off. They paid no attention to him, but continued to hunt. He told them again, when Compton said they were on now and would not go off, at the same time pointing his gun at full cock at Wormsley and telling him not to come any nearer or the weapon might go off. Farmer Wormsley told him to shoot if he dared; he himself was unarmed. Compton then handed his gun to one of his companions, and going up to Wormsley he shook his fist in his face and offered to knock his head off. Compton was finally persuaded by his companions to go away. Wormsley is a quiet man and a good citizen. He went to Borough Magistrate Hardy and swore to the foregoing facts, and a warrant was issued for the arrest of Compton on a charge of pointing a deadly weapon at a person with the intent to intimidate. This is a very serious charge, and Compton will have to explain his conduct before the next court that sits in Somerville, if he is apprehended." [The Constitutionalist, 12-4-1890; Records, N.P. Pres. Ch.; Somerset County Deeds F2-374 and P5-172; 1860 Federal census; interview with Ruth Komorek] |