For all those who can trace their ancestry from John Ogden (1609-1682), who settled in Elizabethtown, New Jersey colony (now: Elizabeth, Union Co., New Jersey), and who is buried there, or from his brother Richard Ogden, who immigrated with John - both stone masons . . .
In Feb. 2013 I learned from Jack Harpster, author of the book "John Ogden, The Pilgrim (1609-1682): A Man of More Than Ordinary Mark" and also a John Ogden (The Pilgrim) descendant, that he located, purchased, and donated the Bible which originally belonged to John Ogden (b. 19 Sep 1609 probably in Lancashire, Eng. - not Bradley Plains, Hampshire as the Wheeler book proclaimed; d. 30 May 1682, Elizabethtown, New Jersey, British Colony) to the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth, New Jersey, the church John Ogden helped found in 1665. There is a nice news story in the Feb. 21, 2013 issue of Newark Star-Ledger [newspaper]:
http://www.nj.com/union/index.ssf/2013/02/17th_century_bible...To add to that info, I received another email from Jack Harpster a few days ago. He has given me permission to post this:
[Quote]
Dear Ogden "cousins":
here's a copy of an email I received from Rev. Bob Higgs at the First Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, NJ regarding the Ogden Family Bible I donated to them last year:
_____________________________
Jack,
Happy New Year to You!
Wanted to let you know that Evelyn Ogden has pledged $9000 and the Descendants of the Founders of NJ $1000 for the restoration of the Ogden Bible. We will be starting work shortly though the Center for the Conservation of Art and Historical Artifacts of Philadelphia (CCAHA).
As part of the Elizabethtown 350th, the Matthias Ogden Regiment will be at FPC on Saturday, March 29 between 11a-3p to have a demonstration for the community and lay a wreath at Matthias' gravesite. One of the members of the group will be a Tim Ogden from Connecticut.
CCAHA believes the restoration will be finished by then.
We're hoping to attract as many of the Ogden family to Elizabeth for the unveiling. Perhaps you can spread the word through your contacts and turn it into a kind of reunion!
Thank you for getting the ball rolling. I never imagined the level of interest we've had in the project.
Bob
Rev. Robert Higgs
First Presbyterian Church
Elizabeth, NJ
____________________________
At this point, I can't tell you anything more about that potential Ogden get-together that Reverend Higgs mentioned. It may or may not develop. As for the "Elizabethtown 350th" he mentioned, that's the 350th anniversary celebration of the city John Ogden founded. It's being celebrated this year, and here's a link to those activities if you're interested:
http://www.goelizabethnj.com/350/Here's the second little Ogden tidbit:
Next Ogden tidbit is this: Last year I [meaning Jack Harpster] wrote an article about the Ogdens (John and Richard) building the stone church in New Amsterdam. Initially, I just adapted material from my John Ogden book for the article. However, the peer reader for the prospective article alerted me that a great deal of new scholarship had recently been published about some political shenanigans that were going on in New Amsterdam at the time the church was being built, and how the church itself played a significant part in those struggles. So after a lot of additional research I rewrote the piece incorporating all the new material. The article was published in two installments in a journal named The Journal of the Early Americas.
[snip]
Best regards,
Jack
[End quote]
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Added info from Jean E. DeLauche:
Jack Harpster’s 2 part article entitled “The Stone Church at Fort Amsterdam” appeared in the March/April 2013 (part I) and July/August 2013 (part II) issues of The Journal of the Early Americas.
http://www.journaloftheearlyamericas.com/To find copies of the publication, ask at your local public library or check the library holdings at a nearby college/university library, in the event they subscribe to the publication. If the library doesn’t subscribe, talk with a reference librarian at your local public library (or your college/univ. library if you are a college/univ. student or a member of the faculty or staff) about how to obtain copies of the articles through InterLibrary Loan. Note: There may be a fee for obtaining copies of the article, since many libraries have been hard hit regarding budgets for many, many years.
For those who live near Elizabeth, New Jersey, the city in which John Ogden (The Pilgrim) settled, or wish to plan to travel there for the city’s 350th anniversary celebrations and/or the March 29 wreath-laying ceremony at the gravesite of Matthias Ogden, start making your plans. And, thank Jack Harpster for his wonderful work of locating the Bible and donating it to the First Presbyterian Church.
FYI: Jack Harpster has a website where there are synopses of the books he has written:
http://www.jackharpster.comPlease pass the word to other John Ogden (The Pilgrim) descendants.
Best wishes -
Jean E. DeLauche
(one of "The Great Big Ogden Family" as I call the descendants of John Ogden (The Pilgrim) and his brother Richard Ogden)