Lathrop Building
Our office located in the Madison Public Library will not be open to the public until further notice. We are accepting email and phone messages

Speaker: Richard Geffken
Tuesday March 16, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom
Richard (Rick) Geffken has authored numerous New Jersey history articles and books. He will be talking about his most recent book, Stories of Slavery in New Jersey virtually. One of the stories included in the book concerns the progenitor of the influential Morris family, Lewis Morris, who brought Barbadian slaves to work on his estate in Monmouth County. Morris County was named for Lewis Morris as was the Lewis Morris Park. Another story is about a Lincroft family, Charles Reeves and his wife Hannah Van Clief, who married soon after their emancipation in 1850. They became prominent citizens of Lincroft, as did the next four generations of their family. Rick Geffken will be revealing more stories from New Jersey’s dark history of slavery.
Rick has spoken about New Jersey historical topics – Lost Amusement Parks; Quakers & Slavery in NJ; NJ’s Submarine Inventors: Simon Lake & John Holland; The Morris Family of NJ - at dozens of historical societies and libraries. He has been a featured speaker at the Trent House Museum, the Quaker Meeting of Shrewsbury, the Battleground Historical Society, and other organizations. He is a Trustee of the Shrewsbury Historical Society; Past-president and a Trustee of the Jersey Coast Heritage Museum at Sandlass House; and a member of the Monmouth County Historical Association.
Rick is currently heading up a project called the New Jersey Slavery Records Index under the auspices of Monmouth University of West Long Branch, NJ.
You will need to register in order to receive the link to join the Zoom presentation. Use the website’s contact page or use email historicalsociety@rosenet.org Registration will open two weeks prior to the presentation on March 2nd.
Tuesday March 16, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom
Richard (Rick) Geffken has authored numerous New Jersey history articles and books. He will be talking about his most recent book, Stories of Slavery in New Jersey virtually. One of the stories included in the book concerns the progenitor of the influential Morris family, Lewis Morris, who brought Barbadian slaves to work on his estate in Monmouth County. Morris County was named for Lewis Morris as was the Lewis Morris Park. Another story is about a Lincroft family, Charles Reeves and his wife Hannah Van Clief, who married soon after their emancipation in 1850. They became prominent citizens of Lincroft, as did the next four generations of their family. Rick Geffken will be revealing more stories from New Jersey’s dark history of slavery.
Rick has spoken about New Jersey historical topics – Lost Amusement Parks; Quakers & Slavery in NJ; NJ’s Submarine Inventors: Simon Lake & John Holland; The Morris Family of NJ - at dozens of historical societies and libraries. He has been a featured speaker at the Trent House Museum, the Quaker Meeting of Shrewsbury, the Battleground Historical Society, and other organizations. He is a Trustee of the Shrewsbury Historical Society; Past-president and a Trustee of the Jersey Coast Heritage Museum at Sandlass House; and a member of the Monmouth County Historical Association.
Rick is currently heading up a project called the New Jersey Slavery Records Index under the auspices of Monmouth University of West Long Branch, NJ.
You will need to register in order to receive the link to join the Zoom presentation. Use the website’s contact page or use email historicalsociety@rosenet.org Registration will open two weeks prior to the presentation on March 2nd.
We are collecting personal stories of Madisonians during the covid-19 pandemic
This is certainly a stressful time and it is our wish that everyone be careful and take good care of themselves. Many of us have been confined to our homes since the middle of March. Others of you may have been working outside of your homes, perhaps as front line workers. How has the covid-19 period been impacting 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 current pandemic. Keep a journal and send a copy of it to the society at your convenience.
You can send it through our contact page (see top of this page). Or you can send to our email historicalsociety@rosenet.org
Susan Simon, President
You can send it through our contact page (see top of this page). Or you can send to our email historicalsociety@rosenet.org
Susan Simon, President