Below are summaries of an assortment of newspaper articles mentioning crime in Oak Shades between 1868 and 1929. The influx of migrants seeking jobs in the brickyards, tile and pottery works, sash and basket factories, and the railroads provided great benefits to industry but there were social implications for the region. References to people as Black, Italian and Irish are captured here for context. The newspapers of the era could be harsh at times when it came to race and ethnicity.
(Image above: Beers Atlas of Monmouth County, Oak Shades insert to Matavan Township map, 1873)
John Paw Paw, alias Curry, a Black man employed by Captain Cornelius Britton, of Keyport, was found dead on the premises of William W Fowler’s “Oak Shades” establishment between Matawan and Keyport. He allegedly left Oak Shades drunk and froze to death a short distance away. The inquest was adjourned due to lack of evidence but never resumed. The newspaper quoted someone as saying unraveling the mysteries wasn’t important due to Paw Paw’s race. Monmouth Democrat, 19 Dec 1867; Monmouth Inquirer, 19 Dec 1867; Monmouth Inquirer, 2 Jan 1868
An unidentified “rascal” took Perrin Brown’s horse and returned it after a hard ride. Monmouth Democrat, 9 Mar 1871, Matawan Journal, 3 Apr 1871
Patrick Sullivan was indicted for keeping a disorderly house at Oak Shades. He pleaded not guilty in county court. John H Farry and T Mulholland posted his bail. Matawan Journal, 13 Jul 1878
Ebenezer Stenhouse removed his house from its lot in Oak Shades despite its being subject to a county sheriff’s levy in a pending lawsuit filed by George E Jessup. The judge postponed the case to provide an opportunity for the parties to settle it out of court. Matawan Journal, 28 Sep 1878
Charles J Guiteau, who shot US President James A Garfield in early July 1881, may have visited Oak Shades in the fall of 1878, according to a letter to the editor. Keyport Weekly, 30 Jul 1881
William H Grandy, of Oak Shades, was arrested for allegedly stealing money from Captain Charles Pattison, of the Sloop Alfred. He was taken to county jail in Freehold. Daily Register, 9 May 1883
William H Grandy, who lived near Oak Shades, was struck by a train at South Amboy and died of his injuries. Matawan Journal, 11 Aug 1883
William J Grandy died with three widows to grieve him. New York Times, 18 Aug 1883
Joe Harris was arrested for assault and battery on Joe Lewis at Oak Shades. Monmouth Inquirer, 20 Sep 1883
“It is about time for the proper authorities to enforce the law and see that the drunken men and disreputable women are sent to pay a visit to the sheriff at Freehold.” Daily Register, 26 Sep 1883
Charles Cooper, a Black man working at Oak Shades, was implicated in a regional theft ring. He was arrested and taken to the county jail in Freehold. New York Times, 15 Dec 1883
Young people have been gathering at Oak Shades and getting drunk for the past four or five Sundays. Fights involving Irish “toughs” resulted in some severe beatings. Daily Register, 29 Apr 1885
Rose Parker pleaded guilty for keeping a disorderly house at Oak Shades. Her sentence was a $50 fine or 60 days in county jail in Freehold. Monmouth Inquirer, 12 Aug 1886
A thief broke into a grocery store operated by Patrick Sullivan in Oak Shades. Several shoulders of meat, watches and cash were stolen. The authorities focused on Jack Burns, who had been recognized as he attempted to break and enter the same place about six weeks earlier. Burns was arrested and sent to the county jail in Freehold to await trial. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to two years hard labor in the State Prison. Keyport Enterprise, 19 Feb 1887, 21 May 1887, 4 Jun 1887, 11 Jun 1887
An employee of Dan Sullivan, the Oak Shades junk dealer, stole a silver watch from the pocket of one of Sullivan’s daughters and fled to Red Bank, where he sold it. Sullivan tracked down James Hammond, retrieved the watch, and had him arrested. Hammond pleaded guilty and was sentenced to thirty days in the county jail at Freehold. Keyport Enterprise, 25 Jun 1887
A man was injured during a fight at Oak Shades. Using an assumed name, the man was treated in Keyport for a stab wound above his left eye. Keyport Enterprise, 13 Aug 1887
Samuel Maguire of Oak Shades arrived home inebriated and kick the dog off the porch. His wife and mother-in-law took umbrage at his condition and a fight ensued. His wife menaced Samuel with a knife and the mother-in-law hit him over the head with a stove lid. Freehold Transcript, 14 Nov 1890
Claude Darden, a Black barber of Oak Shades, attempted to have 14 Black men registered to vote. The local Matawan board of registry refused to register them, so Darden took the issue to Freehold. Darden swore that the men were legal New Jersey residents but couldn’t say how long because he only recently got out of prison. Keyport Weekly, 4 Nov 1893
Claude Darden, a resident of Oak Shades, was accused by witnesses of voting illegally in the Matawan Borough election. Witnesses claimed Darden presented himself to vote, claiming he lived in a barber shop in the borough, all of which Darden denied. Darden rented a house in Oak Shades owned by the wife of James Short. The jury was unable to agree to convict and were dismissed. Matawan Journal, 26 May 1894
Claude Darden, proprietor of a Black barber shop in Oak Shades, hosted a Saturday night dance that branched off into a card game with money on the table. A knife fight ensued between Sam Royal and Jack Kinney over a fifty-cent piece. “Immediately a genuine, old fashioned colored shaving bee took place, and the number of close shaves turned out in less than five minutes was remarkable.” Kinney fled to the borough after being stabbed multiple times. No warrants were issued. Matawan Journal, 26 Jan 1895
Claude Darden, proprietor of a Black barber shop in Oak Shades, had a very public fight with Shorty Barnes, his counterpart in the Borough, over a deck of cards. Barnes ordered Darden outside, where “they fought it out to their hearts content, to the amusement of by-standers and with the advantage in favor of Barnes.” Matawan Journal, 6 Apr 1895
Walter Skypel, a Black man living in Oak Shades, was arrested for assault and battery on Thomas Washington, another Black resident of Oak Shades. Skypel broke a brick over Washington’s head. Keyport Weekly, 17 Aug 1895
Two men were arrested for prostitution at Oak Shades. Thomas Washington and James Webb, Black men, were each fined $14 plus court costs for “fornication with a wench” at Oak Shades. The fines were payable to the township overseer of the poor. Keyport Enterprise, 12 Nov 1897
James Webb, a Black man, was tried and convicted of assault and battery on William Taylor during a fight over a poker game at Oak Shades. Webb attempted to borrow a revolver to shoot Taylor but ended up breaking a poker over the man’s head. Webb claimed self-defense. Freehold Transcript and Monmouth Inquirer, 28 May 1897
The Matawan Journal complained that Keyport’s baseball players ended up moving their Sunday games to the sand fields at Oak Shades. “Matawan is not the dumping ground for Keyport’s lawbreakers. The authorities should take immediate steps to prevent Sabbath desecration during the coming summer.” Monmouth Press, 13 May 1899
Charles Carter, a Black man from Matawan, was severely injured by Henry Terry, a brickyard worker, after they quarreled during a game of dice at Oak Shades. Terry allegedly ran up behind Carter, who was walking alone near the railroad station, and slit his throat. Carter was lying at the point of death. Asbury Park Press, 14 May 1900
The “Citizens of Oak Shades” wrote a letter to the editor of the Keyport Weekly to complain that the newspaper attributed stabbings at West Keyport as having occurred at Oak Shades. The letter explained that West Keyport was between Oak Shades and Brownspoint. The time had come, the letter noted, “when we must defend ourselves or have outsiders consider us as barbarians altogether.” Keyport Weekly, 17 Jul 1903
William Bush, of Matawan, a negro brickyard worker, visited the Italian settlement at Oak Shades and indulged freely of Italian wine. He got into a fight, during which he was shot in the groin by an Italian known only as Bob. (Bob’s Italian friends refused to identify him or help the authorities locate him.) Bush was taken to the Matawan train station by a negro named Zach Walker and transported to the hospital at Long Branch. Walker was arrested at Matawan train station for possession of a concealed weapon when he drew a revolver on Constable Lambertson. Daily Standard, 24 Dec 1909
Miss Harriet R Conover, of East Orange, a schoolteacher in Newark, invested three thousand dollars several years ago in a Matawan property development through a Newark real estate operator named George W Cross. “As a security for the $3,000 investment, Miss Conover was to receive a mortgage on the land to be developed, comprising 101 lots belonging to Mrs Elizabeth W Morton, mother of Mrs Cross. The property was known as Oak Shades. This mortgage, though dated December 3, 1914, was not recorded until September 20, 1915, . . .” Daily Home News, 17 Jul 1916
Rose Esposito, a sixteen-year-old girl from Rahway, was allegedly kidnapped by men near her home and taken to Oak Shades, where she was allowed to call her father from a store operated by an Italian. Her father and relatives drove to Matawan and found her in the Italian district. Daily Home News, 8 Dec 1919
Federal agents conducted Prohibition enforcement operations in Matawan. They visited Michael Worker’s place called “Oak Shades” on Gaston Avenue after allegations of liquor possession, but nothing was found in his home. Daily Home News, 16 Dec 1921
Gus Bosket, of Oak Shades, was arrested and charged with stealing tires, cushions and small accessories from Thomas Leonard’s garage on Beers Street. The goods were found at his father’s home, so Peter Bosket was charged with possession of stolen goods. Keyport Weekly, 3 Aug 1923
Julius Conover, a Black man from Belford, was convicted of breaking and entering and stealing a $250 seal coat from Lizzie Danderville, a Black woman of Oak Shades. Julius pleaded guilty, claiming that he had been using dope at the time and was under the influence. He was sentenced to the county jail at Freehold. Matawan Journal, 17 Aug 1923
Trial dates set for the following men arrested in Oak Shades: Frederick Garnone, illegal sale of liquor at his poolroom and gas station at Oak Shades; Joseph Nunziato and Mary Andrews, illegal sale of liquor; Peter Fracinse, illegal sale and possession of liquor, Joseph Angelo, illegal sale and possession of liquor. Daily Record, 15 Jan 1925
Multiple Matawan residents were arrested for possession of moonshine, which they bought in Oak Shades, but none would say precisely where they acquired it. Those arrested were James West, James Fallon, John Flannigan, Michael Sobel, and John Dunn. Keyport Enterprise, 28 Jul 1927
State Troopers based in Keyport raided several places in Oak Shades related to Prohibition violations. First to be visited was the grocery store operated by Joseph Nunziatto, Gerard Avenue. Then they raided the grocery store of Frank Peperino, 201 Broadway. Lena Weber and John Fischer were also arrested. All were taken to Freehold. Matawan Journal, 19 Jul 1929
By Pat Noble, with invaluable research support from Ed Fitzgerald
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