In our Matawan Surname Project, the Historical Society collects genealogies of individuals who contributed to the growth of Matawan (the borough and what was previously considered the township) who were prominent in the area’s governance, business and education. This data is collected on Ancestry.com, and family biographs from this data are continuingly being written and made available on our website.
In regard to area men and women who served our country in the military, we plan to start collecting specific information in a spreadsheet which will eventually be exported to a database and will be visible on our website. This data will be entered from available memorials, newspaper articles and other information we access as we research our community. We will also include a “Wall of Remembrance” for individuals killed or are missing in action, along with sponsored family members of individuals who belong to the Matawan Historical Society, similar to the “Wall” at Ellis Island where ancestors who immigrated to the US are remembered. This will be a lengthy, years long project.
Eligibility will include all individuals who resided in the above noted area at any time, along with any graduate of Matawan High School (early graduates lived in Morganville and parts of what is now Old Bridge.) They must have served honorably in one of these entities:
- The US Army
- The US Navy
- The Army Air Corps or US Air Force
- The US Marine Corps
- The US Coast Guard
- The Merchant Marine during times of conflict
- The National Guard
- The Nurse Corps
The biographs will consist of two parts: basic service records put together by MHS using available information (readily available data includes US Navy Muster Rolls for WWII, and similar USMC records. We also have access to records of individuals in the Army Air Corps from WWII reported missing). If we know the units individuals served in and when they were active, we can piece together campaigns in which they participated. The second part will be personal reflections of family members, which we will not research for accuracy. If we don’t have photos of individuals in uniform, families will hopefully be able to provide them.
It takes hours to assemble these biographs, which will be addressed in the order requests from MHS members are received.