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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.

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. Currently, plans are in the works for the creation of the Sandyston Township Historical Society. Please check our website regularly for new stories and information! 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.