The document that was probably responsible for solidifying the jackson whites legend was a 1936 book entitled the origins of the jackson whites of the ramapo mountains by john c. The people themselves dont even know what their background is. Was the history of these people lost or was it stolen. We are not going to publish our geneology on your website to prove it. When i was a kid in the 80s and 90s the term jackson whites was often bandied about. In 1902 the foundry was moved across the state line to mahwah, and the mountain people followed their jobs. Very mixed backgrounds, black, white and native american. Available in the national library of australia collection. The galvanizing event, for a group that had always been characterized by outsiders as disorganized and indifferent, was the publication of a book, the ramapo mountain people, which.
Relying more heavily upon the days prevailing mythology than on any personal investigation, storms, a small town newspaper editor, exercised his well known penchant toward over embellishment and romanticism. In this book, the professor shows how the ramapo mountain people lived. Mountain people history and legends of the mysterious jackson whites ever since the revolutionary war there have been stories of a degenerate race of people who live an isolated existence in new jerseys ramapo mountains. Like 90% of the people who read this book, i grew up in the ramapo mountain area. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Ramapo mountains article about ramapo mountains by the free.
When i wrote the ramapo mountain people in 1974 they were identified by the name the jackson whites and stigmatized as inbred hillbillies similar to the stereotype in james dickeys 1970 book deliverance which was made into a movie starring burt. Article on ramapo mountain people, group of raciallymixed people who live in relative isolation and poverty in ramapo mts of northern nj. May 23, 1976 article on ramapo mountain people, group of raciallymixed people who live in relative isolation and poverty in ramapo mts of northern nj. Northwest of manhattan where the new yorknew jersey boundary crosses the treecovered ridges and hollows ridges and hollows of the ramapo mountains there is a group of about 1,500 racially mixed people who have long been referred to by journalists and historians as. How much of these peoples accounts of their history has been passed down from their forebearers, and how much has been tainted by the repeated. Nov 01, 1974 but this, too, is part of the story of the ramapo people. The ramapo mountain people by david steven cohen and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Ramapo mountain people new netherland to the present. His book, the ramapough mountain people 1972, studied this groups origins, racial identi. Dec 04, 20 a recent story in the new york post new movie lifts curtain on njs ramapough mountain people attempted to make the connection more explicit. The ramapo mountain people, the journal of negro history 61. Author of the ramapo mountain people, folk legacies revisited, and the dutchamerican farm. Ramapo college of new jersey new, used, rental and digital. He established that their ancestors included free black landowners in new york city and mulattoes with some dutch ancestry who were among the first pioneers to. David cohen lived among the ramapo mountain people for a year, conducting genealogical research into church records, deeds, wills, and inventories in county courthouses and libraries. History and legends of the mysterious jackson whites weird nj. With sizes available for men and women, the whole family can cheer on ramapo college in style in fan gear, every season.
Many believe this name is short for jacks and whites, with jacks purportedly having been slang for runaway slaves. The case being dismissed against us today serves to embolden the power of the u. Jun 24, 2014 jackson whites is a pejorative term for a group of people who have been living for centuries in the beautiful and remote ramapo valley, a breathtaking section of the ramapo mountains that crosses the new yorknew jersey border at suffern, ny. The ramapo mountain people, the jackson whites, or the ramapo lenape nation are a population of about 5,000 individuals, who live around the ramapo mountains in southern new york and northern new jersey cohen, 1974. The trail is primarily used for hiking and running and is best used from march until november. In a study combining tee disciplines of anthropology, sociology, folklore, and history, david cohen found. Xii preface them in a course she was taking at fairleigh dickinson university. The ramapo mountain people by david steven cohen 1986.
The ramapo mountain people today are a relatively small group. New jersey, who had written a book let about these people, was invited by my sister judy to lecture about. The ramapo mountain people are people who in live the hills in the ramseyringwood area. They number only approximately 1,500 and live in mahwah and ring wood, new jersey, and hillburn, new york. Jul 02, 2009 david steven cohens 1974 book about them, the ramapo mountain people, is fascinating but was controversial with the people themselves, because it properly insists upon their easily provable black ancestry. The present paper is intended to discuss the history and characteristics of this small society. The ramapo mountains the easternmost part of the new jersey highlands form a striking escarpment along the northwest border of bergen county. Feb 11, 2014 wilde is called wilde because nobodys known his real name from the moment a pair of hikers found him foraging for himself in ramapo mountain state forest 24 years ago. History and some genealogy of the people living in the ramapo mountain areas of new york and new jersey. Northwest of manhattan where the new yorknew jersey boundary crosses the treecovered ridges and hollows ridges and hollows of the ramapo mountains there is a group of about 1,500 racially mixed people who have long been referred to by journalists and historians as the jackson whites. The ramapo mountain people, er, ramapough lunaape nation. Now over 40, hes had experience as both a lost boy and a private investigator. The ramapough mountain indians also spelled ramapo, also known as the ramapough lenape nation or ramapough lunaape munsee delaware nation, are a group of approximately 5,000 people living around the ramapo mountains of bergen and passaic counties in northern new jersey and rockland county in southern new york, about 25 miles 40 km from new york city. Jackson whites is a pejorative term for a group of people who have been living for centuries in the beautiful and remote ramapo valley, a breathtaking section of the ramapo mountains that crosses the new yorknew jersey border at suffern, ny.
Manhattan where the new yorknew jersey boundary crosses the treecovered ridges and hollows ridges and hollows of the ramapo mountains there is a group of about 1,500 racially mixed people who have long been referred to by journalists and historians as the jackson whites. Have read the book the ramapo mountain people by david steven cohen. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. As least as of the seventies, the people expressed both racism against blacks, whom they utterly refused to identify with, and also skin. Nov 25, 2006 the ramapo mountain people is an excellent history of the people residing in an area bordering the nynj state line within the ramapo mountains. A recent story in the new york post new movie lifts curtain on njs ramapough mountain people attempted to make the connection more explicit. But this, too, is part of the story of the ramapo people. Ramapo mountains article about ramapo mountains by the. I also want to bring to your attention in cohens book the ramapough mountain people, page 7. As this project develops, this project will try to provide access to the topic without getting embroiled in. Jackson whites was a common, and possibly pejorative, designator for the ramapo mountain people. History and legends of the mysterious jackson whites.
David steven cohen author of the ramapo mountain people. This motley group of social outcasts who had taken refuge in the northeastern hills of the state and. Mahwah occupies the northwest corner of bergen county, where the ramapo mountains, stony foothills of the appalachian range, loom over the intersection of routes 287, 17, and 87. The trail is primarily used for hiking, running, and mountain biking and is accessible yearround. He himself states there is no evidence that this information is related to the origin of the ramapo mountain people. Their ancestors came into the area during the revolutionary war time period and are called the.
David steven cohen history and some genealogy of the people living in the ramapo mountain areas of new york and new jersey. The ramapo mountain people themselves will tell you a variety of stories to explain their own ancestry, intertwining elements of the dutch, hessian, and tuscarora indian sagas into their own legacy. Also how their racially mixed ancestry, their special family and kinship system, and their intergroup attitudes and folkways distinguish and socially isolate these people as a separate racial group today. In his research he claims that the people inhabiting in the ramapo mountains of. Their ancestors came into the area during the revolutionary war time period and are called the jackson whites, a name offensive to their descendants. Oct 28, 1974 like 90% of the people who read this book, i grew up in the ramapo mountain area. Although their elevations exceed 1,000 feet in only a few locations, the gain in elevation from the ramapo river below is quite substantial. The ramapo mountain people, the jackson whites, or the ramapo lenape nation are a population of about 5,000 individuals, who live around the ramapo mountains in southern new york and. Out of the furnace, the 20 thriller which the 39yearold actor coproduced, is based on the ramapo mountain people of new jersey. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. As a people we have been wronged for hundreds of years and maybe just maybe we can begin to. The ramapo mountain people paperback august 1, 1986 by david steven cohen author.
David steven cohens 1974 book about them, the ramapo mountain people, is fascinating but was controversial with the people themselves, because it properly insists upon their easily provable black ancestry. The interviews give an indepth perspective of how this group view and classify themselves, as well as how outside influences have changed their way of life over the years. Degroat is a wellknown common surname among the people from the ramapo mountains. The ramapo mountain people is an excellent history of the people residing in an area bordering the nynj state line within the ramapo mountains. On the morning of april 1, 2006, harold dennison went for a ride on his allterrain vehicle in the woods surrounding his house on stag hill road, in mahwah, new jersey. They claim to be descendants of lenape indians specifically the ramapough indian tribe, and although they have applied for benefits that are given to indian tribes, they have been turned down several times. Jan 28, 2020 wilde is called wilde because nobodys known his real name from the moment a pair of hikers found him foraging for himself in ramapo mountain state forest 24 years ago. Fact book institutional research ir ramapo college. Thompson street was at the time a part of the little africa neighborhood of manhattan, therefore the author probably meant that it sounded as if they were speaking in the black vernacular.
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