I don't know much about the place or its history, but below I have transcribed the 1930 Census along with notes on the families who lived there at that time. In 1930, there were only fifteen occupied residences in Brookville. About 44 people made up the entire village. (Compare this with 1920: there were 14 homes, and 45 people).
Also, if you want to see some news items from the area, click here
According to the 1930 census, only two of the families (Joseph Spiska and Charles Gynakovic) did not own a radio set at the time.
Federal Census For Brookville, 1930
"Main Road" - the streets apparently were not named in Brookville in 1930.
BACHMAN FAMILY
This house had five residents in it: the head-of-household whose name is illegible, his wife,
Myra, and children: Virginia (16), Robert (14), and Lawrence (9). The Bachmans were born in New York; in
1930 he was 40 and she 41. They had been married about 18 years, or two years before the birth of their
eldest daughter, Virginia. Both had been born in New York, as had each of their parents. They had apparently
come to New Jersey sometime after 1906, as all but the youngest child, Lawrence, were also born in New York.
Mr. Bachman gave his occupation as a "buyer" but it is difficult to make out for what industry or company
is listed on the census.
The 9 Aug 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier mentions that Mr. and Mrs. Vere Bachman and son have returned from a week in New York State.
JOHN H. CRANMER FAMILY
In 1930, John H. Cranmer was 73 years old. He lived with his wife, Amanda A. Cranmer, who was almost ten
years younger than he (64). [The 1900 Census lists his birth as Jan 1857, hers as Apr 1865.] According to the 1930 Census, they married when he was 35 and she was 26,
so that would be about 38 years ago, or 1892. Both were born in New Jersey, as were their parents. I found this
family in Brookville on the 1920 Census as well. At that time, John gave his occupation as 'laborer.' In 1910,
the family was also living in Brookville; Amanda's name was given as "Manda"at that time for some reason,
and they had a son, Woodward W. Cranmer, living with them. He was 24 at the time, which would make him born
about 1886 [The 1900 Census says Apr 1885]. That would mean, according to the 1930 Census, that he was born before his parent's marriage,
but the 1910 Census says his parents had been married for 26 years. That would place their marriage around
1884.[This agrees with the 1900 Census as well.] In 1910, both John and his son worked as laborers. According to the 1910 Census, John and Amanda had another
child as well, though he or she was not living with them at the time. However, a look at the 1900 Census tells us who she is:
in 1900, the whole family lived in Ocean Township, and probably in Brookville. "Woody" was there, as well as
his sister, Geneva. She had been born in Dec of 1890. In 1900, both children attended school, and their father worked as a 'day laborer.'
JOSEPH SPISKA FAMILY
I have had no luck tracking this family down on any census prior to the time they showed up in Brookville, in 1930.
According to the census entry, Joseph Spiska came to this country from his native Hungary in 1905, and his
wife Elizabeth in 1907, but they do not show up anywhere (so far) that I have looked in 1910 or 1920.
At any rate, JOseph was 63 in 1930, and his wife, Elizabeth 59. They had a 17 year old daughter, Mary, who
had been born in New Jersey. Joseph and Elizabeth were ages 25 and 21 when they married, indicating they
had been married for about 38 years, so presumably they were married in Hungary before moving here. Their
marriage would have been about 1892. As of 1930, neither of them were citizens and listed 'Magyar' as their
primary language. Joseph was employed doing 'odd jobs' at the time.
DEBORAH A. ESTLOW
Deborah lived by herself, a 72 year old widow, in 1930. She definitely does not appear on the Brookville
census in 1920, although there was another Estlow family (that of Francis T., who also appears here in 1930).
However, she does show up in 1910: she was married at that time to Jesse S. Estlow, age 69 (i.e., fifteen
years her senior). They lived next door to, or perhaps across from, Hiram Parker (see his entry below).
The 9 Aug 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier contains news items from Brookville, and it mentions that Deborah had been 'on the sick list.' It also mentions that she was visited by Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Gaskill and son Wallace, and Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Nippens of Riverside. The Gaskills spent the weekend with her.
THOMAS SWEENEY FAMILY
It's not clear where this family lived prior to Brookville either; they did not live here in 1920. It's possible that Thomas lived in Jersey City; there's a Thomas J. Sweeney at the right age living there at that time, without a family. According to the 1930 Census, Thomas and his wife had only been married for six years, so it makes sense to not find them together prior to this.
In 1930, Thomas was 52 and his wife, Sadie, was 44. Both were born in New Jersey, as were all of their parents. They had no children. Thomas was employed as a foreman at a cranberry bog.
An August 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier mentions Thomas Sweeney in the news items from Brookville: he was visited by Mr. and Mrs. James Estlow of Whitings. He was also visited by Zeb Collins, though it's not clear if he's related to the Zebulon Collins who lived out in Bamber.
OSCAR COUCH FAMILY
Oscar was the son of J. Nelson Couch. Jesse Nelson Couch and his wife,
Phoebe, were both born in New Jersey (he about 1858, she about 1872; their 1900 Census entries say he was born Nov 1860 and she in Nov 1871), so this is an "old New Jersey" family,
and probably one of the first families in Brookville. As of 1900, J. Nelson was employed as a 'laborer'.
J. Nelson and Phoebe Couch were the parents of :
The August 9, 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier makes reference to this family:
"Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Couch, daughter Doris and Mr. and Mrs. Tilden Estlow were Tuesday callers at Barnegat" with his sister, Mrs. Everett Reeves.In that same issue, Phoebe Couch, Oscar's wife, is mentioned as having been on the sick list along with Deborah Estlow.
"side Road, Left"
After visiting the four residences on the "main road" through Brookville, the enumerator traveled down the left hand side of
the "side road", apparently the only other street in Brookville. He encountered the following families:
DOMINIC GANGEMI
Dominic was a 41 year old Italian immigrant. He gave Italian as his primary language, and he worked at 'odd jobs'.
Living with him was a woman named Martha Alick, age 36. She is listed as "married", and has been since she was 25, but
her husband does not appear in this house. She was born in New York, as were her parents, and gave her occupation as "housekeeper".
I'm not positive if this is the same man yet or not, but in 1920, there is a Dominic Gangemi living on Center Street in Brooklyn,
NY. He was 29 at the time, also an Italian immigrant. He worked as a painter in a shipyard, and had immigrated in 1906. (He was
not a citizen). At that time he lived with his wife, Martha, age 26. It seems likely that Martha Alick and Martha Gangemi are the
same person, though why she gave her maiden name in 1930 is not at all clear. Nor is it clear why someone would move from Brooklyn
to the Pine Barrens, although there were a number of Italian families in the Cranberry business by the '30s, so perhaps that
had something to do with it. However, Dominic was not employed at any of the Cranberry bogs.
CHARLES F. PETERS
I haven't found this family on any prior censuses yet, so I'm not sure from whence they came. Charles was born in Pennsylvania, ca.
1882, but I haven't been able to find him in that state either. He married a woman named Ruth, when he was 33 and was 18 (which
was fifteen years ago, ca. 1915). Ruth was also born in PA, about 1897, but her father was an immigrant from England.
Charles was employed in Brookville in 1930 as a laborer at at Cranberry Bog, presumably the same one at which Thomas Sweeney,
above, was the foreman.
Charles and Ruth were the parents of:
JOHN COLLINS
In 1930, John lived alone in Brookville. He was 68 years old and a widower--his wife, Bertha, died sometime between 1900 and 1910, as he was
also listed a widower in Brookville in that year. John was born in New Jersey, and in 1930 he worked as a moss gatherer.
Ten years prior, in 1920, he was listed as head of household living alone; but there was another "household" in the same residence,
that of William Collins, age 28.
In 1910, John was living in Brookville with his family, where he worked as a laborer. His children at that time were:
HIRAM PARKER FAMILY
Hiram Parker was living in Brookville at least as early as 1900, with his wife, Jennie. Hiram was born in July of 1874, and Jennie
in August of 1879. At that time, he was employed as a day laborer. By 1910, they had a son, Hiram E., and were still living
in Brookville next to Jesse and Debroah Estlow (see above). However, in 1910, Jennie was no longer there: Hiram had been married
for seven years to another woman, Florence (she is listed as his second wife; he was her first husband). Hiram E. must be
the offspring of the second marriage, as he was only five in 1910. They also had another son, Francis H. Parker, age 3 in 1910.
By 1920, the family was still in Brookville. It seems that Hiram E. was now going by the name "Earl". Hiram, sr. was still
a laborer, and no new children had arrived. They lived next door to Alvin Couch in 1920. By 1930, Florence was dead. Hiram
was now a cranberry grower and his two sons were laborers at a cranberry bog. It may be that Hiram owned the bog at w hich
Thomas Sweeney was the foreman and Charles Peters was a laborer.
"side road, right".
After the enumerator visited the four homes on the left hand side of the street, he went up the right side of the "side street".
There were five homes on that side of the road:
LOUIS BALATNIC FAMILY
I'm not actually sure of the spelling of this fellow's name; he was an immigrant from Czechoslovakia and the writing
is also hard to read, but this is the closest I can come. He was 52 years old in 1930, and had been married since he was
36 to Helen, also from Czechoslovakia. She was only 20 when they were married. (This is puzzling, because he is 52 now and was
36 when married,indicating about sixteen years ago; she is 38 now, and was married at 20, indiciating 18 years ago).
Both of them listed "Slovak" as the language they spoke. Louis immigrated in 1907, and Helen in 1912. Louis had no job
as of Apr 5, 1930 when the census enumerator visited his home. He definitely did not live in Brookville, or anywhere in Ocean
Township, in 1920. I have had no luck finding him on the 1920 or 1910 census in any part of the country.
CHARLES GYNAKOVIC
Again, I had a difficult time making out the correct spelling of this name. Charles was an immigrant from Hungary; he came in 1896,
and like Louis (above) was apparently unemployed in 1930. He gave "Magyar" as his language. He was 75 years old, and married to
67 year old Rosy. They had been married for about 43 years, or since about 1887. She wsa also a Magyar speaker from Hungary.
STEPHEN SABO
Charles was not the only Hungarian immigrant in the little town of Brookville; Stephen Sabo came from Hungary in 1900. He too spoke
Magyar, and worked as the proprietor of a gas station. He was 42 years old in 1930, and was married to Ethel, also 42; they had
been married for twenty years and had the following children living with them:
Prior to 1920 I haven't been able to find the family: Stephen and Ethel were probably married around 1910, so they may not show up together on the census. There is a Stephen Sabo, born in Austria-Hungary, living in Middlesex Co. (South River Twp) as a boarder, and he is the right age, but it's not possible to really know if this is the same person.
GEORGE A. KRASSOWSKI
Another immigrant to Brookville. George was born in Poland about 1892. He married Nellie around 1902, and worked as an auto
mechanic in Brookville. (Possibly at the gas station run by Stephen Sabo, his neighbor next door?) Nellie was older (he was 38,
she was 44). Nellie was born in England, though her parents were born in Scotland, and she came to America in 1909, while
her husband did not come until 1912. It's hard to imagine what the circumstances were under which a Pole married the daughter of
Scottish immigrants to England. Where were they married? It clearly happened prior to their immigration; it's even stranger that
the wife came to the United States several years before her husband. George gave his primary language as Polish, but either he
spoke some English or his wife spoke some Polish, or it would have been a strange marriage indeed. They had no children
living with them in 1930. I have been unable to find this family on any other census.
FRANCIS T. ESTLOW FAMILY
In 1910, Francis and his wife, Lida (or Lydia) S. Estlow lived in the village of Wells Mills, Ocean Twp, Ocean Co., NJ, with his father, Francis R. and mother, Lucy A. Estlow. This
is not far at all from the town of Brookville where we find him in 1920. [In 1910, Francis R. was 66 and Lucy A. 57.]
In 1920, he and his wife lived in Brookville in their own house. He was employed as a farmer at the time. Their daughter,
Myrtle, was 16 at the time. And now the parents lived with the child; Francis R. was 76 and Lucy A. was 71. Those numbers don't really agree with the ages given back in 1910 however.
In August of 1929 the New Jersey Courier news items from Brookville mentions a Mrs. Tilden Estlow visiting at Barnegat, but how she relates to this family is not known yet. The same issue also mentions that a Tom Taylor and friends of Trenton were visiting Tilden Estlow in Brookville.
Here are some of the other families that lived in Brookville prior to 1930. I've attempted to find out where they went after leaving Brookville, when possible.
Oscar Cranmer
In 1920, 44 year old Oscar R Cranmer lived in Brookville with his wife, Ida M. cranmer (age 39). Their daughter, Lucy J. Cranmer,
was 18 and son Herman was 16. An 80 year old woman, Harriet A. Brower, is listed as Oscar's mother in the same home. She is a
widow, and perhaps remarried (thus the different surname). Oscar worked at a sawmill. (Note that in 1930, none of the residents
worked at a sawmill. Either there was no longer a mill by 1930, or perhaps there never was, and Oscar worked in a different town,
like Wells Mills or Waretown). This family was also present in Brookville in 1910. A daughter, listed as "daughter-adopted",
named Lucy J. Cranmer, age 9, lived with them in 1910 but not in 1920.
In 1900, Oscar and Ida still lived in Brookville. They had no children yet, but it his mother, Harriet Cranmer, lived with them.
Oscar's birthdate is given as Jan 1874; Ida, Jul 1880; Harriet as Feb 1839 (she is a widow).
Theodore Holloway
Theodore was 36 yeard old in 1920 when he and his wife, Laura (age 35) lived at Brookville. They had a 13 year old daughter,
Martha, living with them. Theodore worked as a laborer. This family was gone from Brookville by 1930.
George Suralik
George and Anna Suralik were both 45 year old Hungarian immigrants living in Brookville in 1920. They both spoke Magyar as their
primary language. (Who would have thought tiny little backwater Brookville would attract so many Hungarians? Several more show up
in 1930-see above). They lived with their grandson, Robert Holman, 1 year old, and nephew Julius Suralik, age 8. George worked as a laborer in 1920; the family
(including little Robert) is absent from the town in 1930.
Rachael Couch
Just what the relation of this woman is to the other Couch family that lived in Brookville throughout the early 20th century
is not clear. She was a 63 year old widow living alone in Brookville in 1920. She is gone by 1930, perhaps deceased?
Fred Lumburger(?)
It's hard to read the writing on his last name, so it may be spelled incorrectly. He was 53, his wife Lillian, 51; both were born in
New York.
William Collins
It's not clear what the relationship is between William Collins and John, if there is one. [See above--John lived in Brookville
in 1930].
In 1920, William lived in Brookville; he was 28 and his wife, Blanche, was 27. They lived with several children:
Henry Leek
In 1920, Henry Leek lived in Brookville with his sister Susan A. Parker. He was 67, she was 77 and a widow. (Henry's entry says
he was married, but there is no wife living with him). Henry worked as a laborer, and was not in Brookville in 1930. It seems likely that he died. I haven't been able to find a record of where these people were in any other year so far.
I. Cranmer
The 9 Aug 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier mentions that I. Cranmer of Brookville has been doing some work for John Mansfield this week. Neither of those men appear on the 1930 census, however.
Fred Nissen
The 9 Aug 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier mentions that Fred Nissen of Brookville was a recent caller in Barnegat.
Tilden Estlow
The 9 Aug 1929 issue of the New Jersey Courier makes numerous references to Tilden Estlow of Brookville, though he does not appear on the 1930 census there.