By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger (Originally posted on BF November 2013)
The Historical Society of Ocean Grove was recently presented with a sepia-colored photograph of an OG house dated “1896”. The image was donated by relatives of a man who had settled the estate of a Dorothy Quinn.
The image shows “a two story stick-style house with Victorian trim including arches, square posts, shutters, a gull-wing roof, two wrap-around porches and a third floor balcony. Also shown in the photo are five people with bikes and a baby in a buggy, identified as possibly being a young Dorothy Quinn.”*
“On the right side, the building is cut off, but another gull-wing is suspected; although some houses in the Grove have a single-gull-wing. The square posts are said to be unusual.”*
The back of the photo is captioned in pencil with “House of La Vogt, Ocean Pathway. Mrs. PM Day (with buggy) and Dorothy in carriage. Ocean Grove Sept 1896.”
Ted Bell, HSOG historian, sent Blogfinger the photo for scanning and presentation on the blog. He said that his people would call my people when more research had been done regarding the image. Knowing that Ted took many years to complete his book on the Great Auditorium and knowing how meticulous he is, I thought that I should grow a beard and swear not to cut it off until I hear from him.
Well, la-dee-dah— a short while later I receive an email from someone I never heard of before: Roxanne Greco, “HSOG history intern.” It seems that Ms. Greco had done some original research on the photo with the encouragement of Mr. Bell. Voila! Ted had found a researcher to help him, and we thank Ms. Greco for the quick turn around.
She tells us that the building in the photo was probably at 10 Main Avenue rather than the Ocean Pathway and that it was likely a boarding house owned by Louis A. Vogt. Ms. Greco found old records that multiple families lived there “at once and in short periods throughout the late 19th century as found in the Ocean Grove House Occupancy Directory by David H. Fox.” She also found Mr. Vogt listed at 10 Main Avenue, when checking another source.
In 1939 the Pine Tree Inn was listed at 10 Main Avenue. Mrs. John Shafer proprietor. Greco’s research found nothing else about Louis A. Vogt, and one of the goals is to find out more about him. Ms. Greco says, “The mystery continues into the 20th century when the house was converted into the Pine Tree Inn (aka The Arsdale,) with many of the Victorian features removed.”* That building was recently changed from a small hotel into a private home.
The photo above doesn’t look much like the current structure at that Main Avenue location, but Ted and Roxanne see similarities in the windows and a suggestion that the earlier wrap around-porches had been removed. They would like to evaluate the interior of the building to check certain details such as the width of the floor boards. The idea that the building in the photo was on Main Avenue and not Ocean Pathway is strongly suggested by the information at hand, but it is not certain. The “Ocean Pathway” address on the back is not explainable so far.
Roxanne says that the history of 10 Main Avenue remains a mystery due to “several gaps in the timeline of our resources.” “Further investigation is necessary,”
She says, “Normally we prefer to confirm our research from more than one source. We need a solid timeline.” She and Ted will continue researching those gaps. “This photo is now part of the known history of 10 Main Avenue, and we look forward to filling in in the existing gaps.”
She says that the HSOG is “currently soliciting donations to install a word/phrase search feature on the recently completely digitized Ocean Grove Record/Times newspaper. This search feature will enable those interested to perform a more efficient and quicker inquiry as to their house’s history.” and the people who lived there.
Here is a link to the BF post about a wedding in 2014 at 10 Main Ave:
https://blogfinger.net/2016/08/15/wedding-bells-on-main-avenue-2014/
Blogfinger has been interested in OG history since the birth of the blog (which is after the birth of the blues) and we welcome information that helps our citizens understand the history of our town—religious and secular. Contact us if you have a story to tell.
*All quotes are by Roxanne Greco, HSOG history intern, who provided the research results for this article with the assistance of Ted Bell. You can see how tough the process can be. —PG
FRANK SINATRA (from the movie Pal Joey) Can you see that steeple?
Reblogged this on Blogfinger and commented:
Ocean Grove history: so many aspects—fascinating. Re-post from 2 years ago.—Paul
Will do Paul. We actually sold and closed in late July. Stop by and introduce yourself to the new owners though. I hear they are really lovely.
Hi Traci. Good to hear from you. I assume you are still the owner of 10 Main. It’s interesting that the current design goes back 100 years. If you ever get to scan that postcard, please send it so we can show it to Ted Bell and post it with this article. Paul
HI Paul, this presents quite an interesting set of questions. If you notice, the old photo has the door on the far right, and much taller windows than the current structure shows. We did what was by far the most extensive renovation of the house, but the exterior and shutters are actually still the original.
My hunch is that the well-intentioned lady who said that the house depicted in the old photo belonged to Mr. Vogt was either incorrect, or that the photo perhaps is of another property he owned. But I do not believe that the old photo is of 10 Main. Somewhere we have very old postcards (dating to the early 1900s) showing the house looking pretty similar in structure to how it looks now.
If the house shown in the old photo was in fact the original structure on 10 Main Avenue, it would have had to have been razed and rebuilt or the exterior extensively renovated prior to the turn of the century. There was no evidence in the actual house that the latter was the case (and we gutted it to the studs in 2008). I hope this information is helpful.
I owned the Pine Tree Inn at 10 Main Avenue in OG for 16 years and I was delighted to see this picture….Thank you, Ted…..Karen Mason
Editor’s note: Here is a link to our photo article about when #10 Main Ave. was decorated for a wedding. I put the link inside this current article. And the music, “Our Day Will Come” is about the passing of time and relishing the future.
And thanks to Ted and Karen for touching base. —Paul @Blogfinger
https://blogfinger.net/2016/08/15/wedding-bells-on-main-avenue-2014/
Ruth: Thank you for the input regarding our quest in OG for information about our 1896 photograph.
Oh, and btw, that is Mrs. P.M. Day, as in Pennington M. Day. He would be the brother of Wilbur Fisk Day. He was a confectioner in Neptune, and his daughter Dorothy would have been born about 1896. Mrs. Day’s name was Jenny.
rakitter – Thanks for the tips, I will check those sources out today. I’d love it if you could email me more about your information, it would be a big help. Blogfinger will forward you my email.
The Hauxhursts –Phineas R(ice) (Rev) 1204 Heck. James H. (Rev) Proprietor Wawarsing Cottage, 67 Pilgrim Pathway, Rosalie B, 678 Pilgrim Pathway, and Helen 67 Pilgrim Pathway. PR Hawxhurst in 1880 lived in Ellenville NY, married to Kate, and he was an Elder in the MC In 1880, 3 children, Howard H, (14) Alma K (12) and Maggie B (2). Phineas Rice Hawxhurst. He retired from regular preaching in 1896. James H. was his brother. There should also be a CT Hawxhurst in OG or Asbury Park, who died just before him.
Remember, it would be UNCOMMON to have the wife’s name on the deed in 1896.
Cheers, Ruth
Francis Day (~1823-1905) was Mary Day’s father. He was a lumber dealer in Morristown. She also had a son named Francis Day Vogt. She also had a sister named Louisa. Louis Vogt was the editor of the Democratic Banner in Morristown with his brother, Edward LeClerc Vogt. Mary and Louis had three children: Anna (1876), Grace (1880-19776) and Francis Day. The Days were big wheels in the Methodist church in Morristown and of course in OG. The Vogt’s maintained houses at 51 Franklin Street, Motown, and in OG, that much is clear. Ruth
Thank you. This is interesting. Roxanne emailed me this afternoon to say that records at the Monmouth County archives show that Francis Day and Louis Vogt purchased the property in 1892 from Phineas R. Hauxhurst. The records at the HSOG for 1896 show 4 names as tenants that year at 10 Main: Jane Crosset, Maria Crosset, Francis Day and Louis Vogt.
rakittner tells us that Louis Vogt’s wife Mary was related to the Day family, but where is Mary on the tenant list? Back in Motown?
As for Francis Day, Francis is usually a name for a male. The plot thickens.
BF readers: Send us your theories as to what is going on. The best one wins a prize.
Help Roxanne! (It’s too bad your name isn’t Rhonda…we could play “Help Me Rhonda.”)
Thanks Ken. I had it ready, but forgot to post it. Too busy drinking coffee at the Bean. Paul
Disappointed there is not a picture of the current 10 MAIN in the article for comparison.
ken
I didn’t provide enough info. His wife, Mary, was a Day. He lived at 49 Franklin, in Morristown. His parents, Louis C and Elizabeth, emigrated from Germany some time before he was born ~1845. You can find more about him in the Day family histories, if you want to.
Ruth
According to the city directory, Louis A Vogt was an editor living at 10 Main Avenue in OG. (Asbury Park, New Jersey, City Directory, 1897) He also had a house in Morristown, on Franklin Street. He was an editor, and I think he was related to the Days.