NJ History – Page 11 – IDYLEASE: A HISTORIC LANDMARK

The Lost Baptist Church of Newfoundland, NJ

August 14, 2016 9 Comments

The Newfoundland Baptist Church was Established in 1877

The church was founded by Conrad Vreeland in 1877. He was born at Echo Lake and in early manhood he moved to Brooklyn as a contractor & real estate broker whereby he acquired a fortune.

In 1873, he returned to his native place, Echo Lake. There, but limited religious privileges were enjoyed. A Methodist minister preached once in two weeks in the morning and a Presbyterian, once in two weeks in the afternoon.

Mr. Vreeland was not limited to Echo Lake. Six miles away was Newfoundland, where more than sixty years before, in 1804, a Baptist church was. It had had an uncertain life for nearly fifty years. But in 1850, disappeared, save as a few venerable men and women tarried on earth.

In November 1877, thirty-seven members of Echo Lake church were dismissed to organize anew at Newfoundland. Mr. Vreeland was called to be pastor at Newfoundland and was ordained at the recognition of Newfoundland church. At Newfoundland, Mr. Vreeland provided house of worship at his own cost, also securing a supply at Echo Lake.

The church building disappeared from the Newfoundland landscape at some point around the turn of the century and the lot and cemetery were sold to Lawrence Turner between 1918-1920. The overgrown church cemetery quietly marks time at the corner of Clinton & LaRue Roads in Newfoundland, NJ.

Idylease History, Idylease Video, NJ History

Idylease: Preserving the Past

August 4, 2016 No Comments

Preservation is defined as the act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity, and materials of an historic property in all forms. -Richard Zampella

Definition: pre·serve (pr-zûrv)

To maintain in safety from injury, peril, or harm; protect.
To keep in perfect or unaltered condition; maintain unchanged.
To keep or maintain intact

Idylease (/ˈaɪdəl.iːz/ “idle-ease”), a former resort hotel located in Newfoundland, New Jersey, was erected in 1902 and is an architecturally and historically significant example of early 20th century resort architecture in Northwest, New Jersey. The only surviving example of resort facilities in the region, it recalls the popularity of the region as the vacationland for the middle class in the late nineteenth century. Edited by Richard Zampella at Idylease

Idylease History, NJ History

Turn of the Century Immigration: Domestic Servants at Idylease

July 28, 2016 No Comments

Idylease Immigrants — Thanks to Holly Perry Romano for contacting me with the Idylease Census Record from 1910

The thirteenth Census of The United States in 1910 lists 14 employees at Idylease. Predominantly from Ireland, the staff also boasted workers from Canada, Denmark, Sweden, England & Norway.

After the Famine struck Ireland in 1847, millions of Irish immigrants landed on America’s shores. Many of them were women, young and unmarried. In fact, it was far easier for a single woman to get a job in America than a man–because there was a huge demand for domestic servants. Irish female immigrants, in particular, were almost exclusively domestics. They became chamber maids, cooks, and the caretakers of children. Turn of the century Americans disdained this type of work and felt these domestic tasks where fit only for servants.

In a letter written by Dr. Edgar Day who was the operator of Idylease in 1903, he wrote about his preference for Irish servants, “The thing is very simple: the Irish girls are industrious, willing, cheerful, and honest–they work hard, and they are very strictly moral. I should say that is quite reason enough to place them in my employ.”

But, if you think most immigrants who came to the United States in the late 1800s started at the bottom and toiled their way to the top, you’re mistaken.

In fact, when they first arrived in the United States the average immigrant did not make substantially less money than those who were already here and they also tended to advance on the job at the same rate as well, according to the report, A Nation of Immigrants: Assimilation and Economic Outcomes in the Age of Mass Migration.

“Many people have this image in mind that immigrants of the past started out at the bottom of the ladder and worked their way up pretty quickly,” said Leah Platt Boustan, an associate professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, who worked on the report. “But what our data suggests is that immigrants in the past already arrived looking pretty good relative to natives so there wasn’t much of a gap on average to close.”

Those who came from developed countries such as England, Scotland, France and Germany generally went straight into higher-paying jobs, while those from less developed countries — Scandinavia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Poland and Russia — landed jobs that paid less.