Lathrop Building
For HIstory of the Society
Click Here

Next meeting:
May 16, 2023, Tuesday, 7:00pm
Susan Simon: The Lathrop and Gibbons Families: The Civil War Through the Gilded Age
William Gibbons amassed extensive holdings in New Jersey, New York, and Georgia, which were inherited by his children when he died in 1852. His only son, William Heyward Gibbons, was forced to serve the Confederacy in order to save the rice plantations near Savannah, Georgia. Susan Simon will talk about the role played by Isabel Gibbons on the disposition of the Gibbons property during the post-Civil War years. The youngest of the Gibbons children, Isabel married Frank Lathrop, the son of the revered Judge F.S. Lathrop who was a contemporary and neighbor of William Gibbons. William, you may know, built the Greek revival style country home, now called Mead Hall on the campus of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.
Susan is a former two-term President of the Madison Historical Society. She has written many articles for the Madison Living Magazine about Madison history. She holds a degree in mathematics from Willamette University and a Master's degree from the University of Oregon. During her 39-year teaching career at the intermediate, high school, and college levels, she was twice nominated for the Tandy Outstanding Teaching Award. Susan has had a long-time interest in genealogy and history and after her 2005 retirement became more intensely active in both fields. In 2015 she was elected president of the Morris Area Genealogy Society and currently serves as one of the organization's trustees. She has published several articles in the genealogy field and in 2013 was named a member of the First Families of Ohio.
Susan is a
For a Zoom link to the program email: historicalsociety@rosenet.org or
Click here
May 16, 2023, Tuesday, 7:00pm
Susan Simon: The Lathrop and Gibbons Families: The Civil War Through the Gilded Age
William Gibbons amassed extensive holdings in New Jersey, New York, and Georgia, which were inherited by his children when he died in 1852. His only son, William Heyward Gibbons, was forced to serve the Confederacy in order to save the rice plantations near Savannah, Georgia. Susan Simon will talk about the role played by Isabel Gibbons on the disposition of the Gibbons property during the post-Civil War years. The youngest of the Gibbons children, Isabel married Frank Lathrop, the son of the revered Judge F.S. Lathrop who was a contemporary and neighbor of William Gibbons. William, you may know, built the Greek revival style country home, now called Mead Hall on the campus of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.
Susan is a former two-term President of the Madison Historical Society. She has written many articles for the Madison Living Magazine about Madison history. She holds a degree in mathematics from Willamette University and a Master's degree from the University of Oregon. During her 39-year teaching career at the intermediate, high school, and college levels, she was twice nominated for the Tandy Outstanding Teaching Award. Susan has had a long-time interest in genealogy and history and after her 2005 retirement became more intensely active in both fields. In 2015 she was elected president of the Morris Area Genealogy Society and currently serves as one of the organization's trustees. She has published several articles in the genealogy field and in 2013 was named a member of the First Families of Ohio.
Susan is a
For a Zoom link to the program email: historicalsociety@rosenet.org or
Click here
To Go To Then and Now Click Here
We are collecting personal stories of Madisonians during the covid-19 pandemic
This was certainly a stressful time. Many of us were confined to our homes during the pandemic period. Others of you may have been working outside of your homes, perhaps as front line workers. How did the covid-19 period impact you and your family? Your work? Are there anecdotes about things in the borough that might be of interest to future generations? As an example, I found it interesting that during the 1918 flu pandemic, Madison had to use the YMCA building on Main Street to house the sick due to overcrowding of the hospitals. The society invites you to write about your experiences during the pandemic. Send a copy of your impressions of the period during the pandemic to the society.
You can send it through our contact page (see top of this page). Or you can send through our email: historicalsociety@rosenet.org. Or you could use the U.S. Mail: The Madison Historical Society, P.O. Box 148, Madison, NJ 07940
You can send it through our contact page (see top of this page). Or you can send through our email: historicalsociety@rosenet.org. Or you could use the U.S. Mail: The Madison Historical Society, P.O. Box 148, Madison, NJ 07940
Slideshow of historic sites in Madison

Madison Historical Society is located in the Local History Center of the Madison Public Library
39 Keep Street
Madison, New Jersey
Office Hours: Until further notice there will be no visitors in the office on Tuesdays. Contact the office by email to make an appointment for Thursdays.
historicalsociety@rosenet.org
Office Phone: 973-377-0722 ext. 8