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HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEW JERSEY !!! (Part one)

There's no birth certificate to prove it, but 1664 is considered New
Jersey's official birth year. For your historical information, read on
for some significant milestones in the history of the state.



1> THE TWO NEW JERSEY'S

It is somewhat arbitrary to pick 1664 as New Jersey's birthdate, since
native Americans had been there for thousands of years, and various
Europeans, including Swedish and Dutch Colonizers, had settled here
before that date. Still, 1664 is the year an area approximating
today's state began to be called New Jersey, due mainly to Sir George
Carteret's defense of the Isle of Jersey. The Crown awarded half of
New Jersey to Sir George and the rest, to another favorite of the
Crown, Lord John Berkeley.



2> NEW JERSEY GET'S IT'S OWN GOVERNOR

The Governors of the East and West Jersey Colonies, lived in New York
and Philadelphia, respectively, with the influence of those cities
hanging over New Jersey even then. In 1738, Lewis Morris, a native
son, was chosen as the state's first Governor, and New Jersey's
consciousness of itself as a single entity had begun.



3> RAISING HOPES OF VICTORY

A disconsolate George Washington stood on the Palisades in Fort Lee in
November 1776, watching the British capture the Manhattan side of the
Hudson River, now called Washington Heights. Washington's bedraggled
army had been forced to escape across the river to Fort Lee, arriving
at the exact spot where the bridge that bears his name now stands.



4> FIRST TO RATIFY THE BILL OF RIGHTS

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to
the U.S. Constitution, on November 20, 1789, the first state to do so.
It's a distinction barely remembered.



5>TWO GREAT CANALS

1820s-1830s. Many New Jerseyans are unaware of the two canal systems
that once crossed the state: The Delaware/Raritan and the Morris. The
canals served as passageways across the state for commerce between New
York and Philadelphia.



6> REJECTING ABRAHAM LINCOLN

1860 & 1864. Although New Jerseyan's may not wish to acknowledge this,
Abraham Lincoln failed to carry the state in both his campaigns for
the Presidency. In 1864 Lincoln was opposed by General George
McClellan of West Orange, who won New Jersey with ease. He would later
be elected Governor of the state.



7> NEW JERSEYANS IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Grover Cleveland, born in Caldwell, is the only native of New Jersey
to occupy the White House-and he did that twice. He was elected in
1884, defeated in 1888, and won again in 1892, the only president in
our history to serve two non-consecutive terms. Woodrow Wilson,
elected President in 1912, although born in Virginia, was far more
involved in New Jersey life and politics than Cleveland. Wilson served
two terms. Another New Jerseyan almost became President. Garrett
Hobart was born in Long Branch and educated at Rutgers, and for many
years was Mayor of Paterson where his statue stands in front of City
Hall.



8> NEW JERSEY, ENGINE OF INNOVATION

1870-1955. Thomas a. Edison, America's greatest inventor, developed
most of his key projects, including the phonograph, the electric light
bulb and the movie camera in Menlo Park, beginning in the 1870's and
in his West Orange Lab after 1887. Thanks to Edison's pioneering work
in film, New Jersey-not Hollywood, was the original movie capital of
America.



Look for "Happy Birthday New Jersey" part two, in our upcoming blog, next week.



For all your Real Estate and Insurance needs & helpful hints, contact
LEGACY REALTY GROUP, "the New Star in Town", 1963 Oak Tree Rd. Edison, N.J. 732.744.0400.