Sandyston Township
''A Look Back''
Warren C. Hursh
1843 - 1914
Born on November 28, 1843, Warren C. Hursh was the third son of ten children born to Benjamin DePue Hursh and Anna Shay Hursh of Layton, New Jersey.
The DePue and Shay families are credited
with the donations of a portion of their lands and creation of the
Shaytown Burial Grounds (Hainesville Cemetery) in 1812. Warren was
named for the then Pastor of the Centerville Methodist Church located
in Centerville (Laytons, NJ), the Rev. Warren Corry Nelson. He spent
his entire life near the place of this birth, leaving only at the
age of 19 in 1862, when he enlisted in the GAR (Grand Army of the
Republic) and served three years in the Civil War in Company G 1st
NJ Calvary Volunteers. He was wounded in the Battle of Harrisburg,
VA., and carried a bullet in his hip for the rest of his life. Warren
wrote many letters home during his service during the Civil War describing
the horrors of the War that he experienced first hand.
He married Miss
Barbara Arnst of Dingmans Ferry, PA., on October 21, 1869, and had
three daughters, Anna Mary (became the wife of Frank McKeeby), Arzanda
"Sarah" (unmarried) and Cora (became the wife of William Shay). There
are many descendants of Warren and Barbara Hursh still living in Sussex
County today.
Warren was a successful teacher for nearly forty years,
teaching at the Layton, Shaytown and Tuttles Corner schools. He served
as an agent in the insurance field and was a correspondent for newspapers
in Sussex County, NJ, and Pike County, PA. His columns were accounts
of the weekly happenings in Sandyston, NJ. Warren was the "Historian"
of his day. In the later 1890's, Warren wrote a series of articles
for the NJ Herald called "A Tramp and His Travels", in which he walked
from Flatbrookville to Hainesville describing the people and places
as he traveled along. Today, these stories give us a glimpse as to
what life was like back in the 1890's.
At the time of his death on
March 24, 1914, Warren was a "Justice of the Peace", Commissioner
of Deeds and a Notary Public. He served in many offices for Sandyston
Township and his beloved Methodist Church. Warren and his wife Barbara
are both buried in the Bevans Cemetery, Bevans, NJ.
Warren's home is
still standing today in the center of Layton at what was once called
"Hursh's Corner", across from the Red Schoolhouse on the Layton-Hainesville
Road.
The Story of Warren C. Hursh
Patte Haggerty Frato, Sandyston Township Historian, has family which dates back to the Revolutionary Era in Sandyston. Patte is in the process of collecting pictures of people and memorbilia pertaining to Sandyston Township. This can be old photographs, family bibles and/or family genealogy. Please check our website regularly for new stories and information on upcoming Sandyston Township Historical Society events! Patte is eager to talk with you about your family or help you research your roots in Sandyston Township. You may contact her via email patte@nac.net or 973-948-7443.
