 |
| Theodore F. Randolph |
Researching Theodore F. Randolph, the 22nd
Governor of New Jersey, through the Internet and the artifacts we have at MNHP
was quite an interesting task. What was really intriguing were the artifact
given to MNHP from the Washington Association of New Jersey (WANJ), a group
that started the preservation of historical artifacts in New Jersey, especially
that of George Washington’s time in Morristown during the American
Revolutionary War. Most of the artifact about the company, such as their
records and notes, were where I found much of the information about Governor
Randolph and his part in the association. He was their first President and one
of their biggest funders until the time of his death in 1883. Without Governor
Randolph it appears the WANJ would have lack both leadership and unity at the beginning
of their association.
 |
| Official WANJ Stock, signed by Randolph |
 |
Newspaper clipping
from the Newark Advertiser,
advertising WANJ stock.
|
The project
I was doing on Governor Randolph involved looking at the man himself, his
involvement in the WANJ, and the WANJ’s connection to the Morristown National
Historical Park. What I found was a laundry list of notes of the WANJ meetings
as well as many other records of Governor Randolph and the other founders of
the association. Governor Randolph political career was quite prolific
according to my findings. Prior to his Governorship, he also represented New
Jersey in many other government offices. As for his involvement with the WANJ,
Theodore F. Randolph was there first president and one of their largest
funders. One of the pieces that caught my eye, while researching the records of
the WANJ, was a Newspaper add of sorts, which offered stock in the association
a $100 a share and a membership, written by Governor Randolph. It appeared that
in the need for funds at the beginning of the WANJ Randolph decided that
allowing new members to be added to the association, with the purchase of
stock, would create revenue for them. It would in fact work out and get the
funds needed for the WANJ. Another interesting piece was the record of a
transaction, which Governor Randolph and the other founding members had with
the Attorney General of New Jersey. In this transaction a deal was struck that
would allow the WANJ to receive money from the New Jersey government each year
in order to sustain the preservation of their historical artifacts. Governor
Randolph and the WANJ put it rigorous work to protect their venture of
preserving such artifacts and it would pay off.
The hard work done by Theodore
Randolph and the other members would be a building block in the future of
historical preservation in New Jersey. Their efforts would lead to a government
run parks and museum system in New Jersey, such as MNHP. Without Randolph the
WANJ would have had a much more difficult time succeeding in the early stages
of their association, which could have been detrimental to what I am doing
today.
This post by Zachary De Leon, Kean University
No comments:
Post a Comment