|
a.
|
Note: US Census
1880: Somerset St., Raritan Village, Bridgewater Twp., Somerset Co., NJ
____________________________________________________________________
CEMETERY DOLL HOUSE WAS LOCAL ATTRACTION FOR NEARLY A CENTURY [From Warren History, Vol. Two, No. 8, Fall 1997] http://www.warrennj.org/wths/doll.htm
Until vandals destroyed it some 25 years ago, Lizzie Eckel's doll house in the cemetery behind Trinity United Church was one of Warren's attractions, even rating mention in Ripley's Believe It or Not. One of the earliest newspaper accounts about the doll house appeared in the Plainfield Courier-News on Oct. 20, 1948, penned by local resident Isabel Duderstadt: "Times change, they say, but little Lizzie Eckel's grave in the Coontown Congregational Church cemetery looks as it did 66 years ago when her parents buried her there at the age of 12.
"Coontown, a part of Warren Township, took its name from the family of early settlers named Coon. In early times it was a flourishing community in its own right and boasted a distillery, blacksmith shop, general store and a coat factory. Now the only visible remains of its past is the Coontown Congregational Church [now, Trinity United]. "Lizzie Eckel before her death was the only living child of Catherine Finger Eckel and Emmanuel Eckel who resided in Somerville. Lizzie's mother was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Finger whose 80-acre farm was located on King George Rd. and whose old home is now occupied by the Giddes family.
"Many local residents are unaware of the 66-year old grave with its handsome headstone bearing the date of Lizzie's death, Jan. 27, 1882. The inscription reads: 'She was lovely, she was fair, And for a while she was given; then an angel came and claimed her own and bore her home to heaven.' "But many out-of-town visitors have seen and talked of the memento - a glass doll house 2' by 1' with a gabled roof and wooden chimney - placed upon her grave by her parents. Only time has changed its appearance. "Thirty-five years ago, in 1913, Lizzie's parents who were then residing in the west, wrote asking George Freiday, whose father was the late Peter Freiday and former sexton of the Coontown Congregational Church, to care for the grave and do any necessary repairing of their daughter's prized and favorite possession. Mr. Freiday, whose property adjoins the cemetery, repaired and painted the sides of the doll house which are made of window sash. He also cleaned the inside, Several years later he again repaired and painted the house.
"About three years ago Clarence Scheurman of Green Brook Township renovated and painted the house taking particular pains to use all original materials. "Sixty-six years ago, as now, little Lizzie's favorite doll dressed in Victorian style presided over a tea table with a complete miniature tea set. Time took its toll of the doll's dress until three years ago it was in tatters. "The Mrs. Edith Conklin of Middlesex Boro and a member of the ...church, took the doll from its house to find that it also needed a new covering for its body. Mrs. Conklin used the original straw stuffing and the China head and hands. She used the old dress for a pattern and, after several months, matched the original material and made a replica of the original dress - a blue and white dotted chambray with lace at the neck and sleeves. She also made new white lawn pantaloons.
"The former parsonage at the rear of the cemetery was converted in 1934 in the Community House for the...church. About three years ago it was sold to Mr. and Mrs. John Thurling, who have remodeled it and now make it their home. This past summer Mrs. Thurling again painted the outside of the doll house white and a roof of bright red.... On August 30, 1959, the New York Sunday News ran a lengthy article about the doll house under the intriguing headline, "Saga of Lizzie...a Doll...and a Stranger:" "High on a hillside in a Warren Township churchyard cemetery sits a small green and white doll house containing the cherished toys of a little girl. Thanks to Mrs. William Seiler of Plainfield, the house and its contents look as bright and new as they did on Jan. 27, 1882.
"That was the day when heartbroken Mr. & Mrs. Emmanuel Eckel buried their lovely little daughter, 12-year-old Lizzie. On the grave they placed Lizzie's playthings -- the doll house containing a pink-cheeked china doll, a tea set of English Davenport china and a doll-sized hutch table. "Mrs. Seiler, a doll collector, first heard of the grave and the doll house around 1943. She started a search of cemeteries in the nearly hills of Warren Township. "After numerous unsuccessful attempts, I gave up the search," said the handsome widow, "but I could not get the story out of my mind. "Then, six years ago, Mrs. Seiler mentioned the story to a friend and fellow doll collector. "To my surprise, she said she knew where the grave was located," says Mrs. Seiler.
"But the joy of discovery turned to disappointment when Mrs. Seiler saw the condition of the doll. "The doll was falling apart, Its stuffing was coming out. The doll house was falling apart too, and the dishes were black," she recalled. "Mrs. Seiler obtained permission from the cemetery caretaker to remove the toys and restore them. "I took the house to a carpenter and the doll to a doll hospital. When I took them back to Lizzie's grave they were completely made over, and I've been taking care of them ever since." "In the spring the little house gets a cleaning and Little Lizzie gets dolled up for Memorial Day. Mrs. Seiler dresses the doll in a white embroidered Swiss organdy dress of the fashion of the Victorian era. That's the doll's summer outfit. "When winter cleaning time comes around, usually in the beginning of December, Mrs. Seiler dresses Little Lizzie in a white woolen Little Red Riding Hood outfit....
"Through six years of tending to Lizzie's grave, Mrs. Seiler began to wonder what happened to the bereaved parents. Cemetery personnel told her that the Eckels had moved to Colorado where another daughter was born. About three years ago Mrs. Seiler learned the whole story of Lizzie Eckel. "I received a phone call and a woman who introduced herself as Edwina Prud'homme of Denver, Col., said Mrs. Seiler. "She said she was the Eckel's second daughter and would like to come and see me." A woman in her seventies, Mrs. Prud'homme said she had come to New Jersey to look for her sister's grave. "Mrs. Prud'homme told how Lizzie had developed a high fever of unknown cause and had died within a few hours. Rather than face constant reminders of their little girl, the grief-stricken parents decided to move West. They left Lizzie's playthings with her. Last year...Mrs. Prud'homme sent Mrs. Seiler a tinted miniature picture of Lizzie Eckel. Looking out from the frame is a grave-faced little girl with chestnut ringlets cascading over her shoulders. She wears a blue silk dress and high button shoes."
Members of the congregation and others continued to care for Lizzie Eckel's doll house until 1973 when a cretin took the doll house and its contents from the cemetery. Several days later the house and some of the dishes turned up in a field in Martinsville, obviously tossed there by whoever stole them. The doll and most of the furniture were missing. The remains of the doll house and its contents were never returned to the grave.
|
