An article about a Salem County Cold Case, a murder in 1874, published in the Salem County Historical Society Newsletter.
While studying the array of officials who made up New Jersey’s 19th-century criminal justice system, I often pore over aging coroner’s reports, trial transcripts, and police blotters. While doing that in South Jersey, I came across an unsettling Salem County Cold Case, the murder of Abigail Dilks in 1874.
From the beginning, the mystifying case stumped 19th-century lawmen and prosecutors. They swept the fields and marsh for evidence and interrogated the “usual types,” but the investigators failed to find a motive. Also, no one provided even the slightest information that might lead to a credible suspect, so the killer escaped.
The questions that stumped law enforcement lingered for decades, but those faded as one generation gave way to another. Still, the coroner’s verdict remains in the aging book of inquests at the Salem County Clerk’s Office. Abigail Dilks died at the hands of an unknown person in a lonely area of Lower Penns Neck near Harrisonville nearly 150 years ago.
Since true crime stories and unsolved mysteries are popular these days, I wrote a piece about this horrendous murder for the summer 2022 edition of the quarterly newsletter of the Salem County Historical Society. The case had mostly been lost in the recorded histories and written records of Salem County.
For nine years, I have served as the editor of the Maryland State Firemen’s Association (MSFA) newsletter, The Volunteer Trumpet. But the summer 2020 issue, which usually coincides with the annual firefighters’ convention in Ocean City, is my last number as I step down as editor. I am pleased during this nearly ten-year term to have had the opportunity to steer the course of the Maryland Fire Service publication while strengthening its content.
Once I accepted the opportunity offered to me by Past President John Denver, I received critical help getting acclimated to the MSFA as I figured out how to pull together the first issue, learned how to find contributors, and worked within the Association. In addition to President Denver, Chief Richard Smith from the executive committee oriented me to the operation, providing valuable contacts around the state, while also outlining expectations. Most importantly, Chief Smith’s ongoing guidance and support as I climbed a steep learning curve with the first couple of issues were essential in helping me transition effectively into the post. This help from two of the organization’s executives was critical for the successful launch of a new editor, and it carried me through more than 50 issues.
We had a strong group of contributors, columnists, and photographers gathering newsworthy material from around Maryland, over this period. So, as I write my final editor’s column, I want to acknowledge the work of the regular correspondents. They made the Volunteer Trumpet while giving us a chance to share amazing Maryland fire service stories, showcase the work of the volunteer fire departments, and present Association activities.
The Volunteer Trumpet, the newsletter of the Maryland State Firemen’s Association
Chief Clarence “Chip” Jewell’s popular Firehouse Logbook added immensely to the periodical. Our senior columnist produced informed fire service commentary, history, and timely, thoughtful opinions in his regular spot in these pages.
Jim Jarboe, one of our most recognizable contributors as our artist in residence, provided timely safety reminders. He also kept readers sharp by challenging them with his Wally Quizzes, “Are you as smart as the old-time fire chief.” These were things the readers looked for on these pages.
MSFA PIO Ron Watkins diligently covered his beat, the Association. He kept us up-to-date on MSFA news and covered local happenings in central and western Maryland.
We also were fortunate to be able to showcase the excellent work of two Maryland Fire Service Photographers, Bruce Secrist, and Neving Steffy. They provided high-quality on-location coverage, supplying images that told the story on the Eastern Shore. The excellent work through the lens of these photographers often occupied prominent spots on these pages.
And Heidi McPherson served as a copy editor, proofreading submissions and keeping an eye on me, too. From MIEMSS, Jim Brown provided news, and from the State Fire Marshal, Brian S. Geraci had his regular updates.
I am grateful to our regular contributors and those who occasionally submitted items. It’s been a privilege to serve as editor of this publication for the past nine years.
Of course, this final year presented challenges as the coronavirus grew from a distant global event to a public health emergency that largely shut Maryland down as Governor Hogan issued stay-at-home orders to stop the spread of the virus. This upended the convention, the focus of our June issue.
So, with the closing of this volume, I am also delighted to pass the torch to a capable new editor, Jonathan Dayton. Editor Dayton will do excellent work guiding the Volunteer Trumpet through the next stage of its development, and I wish him all the best. It has been my pleasure to contribute to the Trumpet over the years.
L to R: Singerly Medic Shirley Herring, Sparky, Captain Mike Dixon, and a school teacher talk about plans for fire prevention week around 1976.
Now is the time for a hospital. That is what the Salem Sunbeam pointed out as life returned to normal. The suffering and the tragedies which visited the county had demonstrated the need for a well-equipped local hospital. “We have been shown that when it is necessary we can provide a hospital and take care of those who would otherwise have suffered much more than they did. The Emergency Hospital was a means of saving life, but how much easier would it have been if this work and how much more could have accomplished if there was a permanent hospital,” the editor asked. 1
It had been impossible to tell the actual number of deaths in the county, but at Carney’s Point and Penn’s Grove there were more than 30 deaths, the editor observed. The emergency hospital at Carney’s Point was taxed to its utmost, and several months ago Judge Waddington made a suggestion along these lines to the Board of Chosen Freeholders, but no action was taken. That we must have a hospital is becoming more apparent every day. And the people are ready for it. No matter what plan is adopted what is needed is a start. The rest will come in good time. 2
Salem County Needs a Permanent Hospital
As troops returned home from Europe, the movement to establish a hospital grew. But the sponsors of the Salem County Memorial Hospital had a “hard road to Hoe,” according to the Elmer Times. In addition to financing the undertaking, there was “the exceptionally bothering question of location and style of building,” as the organizers considered how to balance the needs of the western and eastern regions. If placed in Salem, it would be of little service to the opposite side of the County as Bridgeton and Vineland Hospitals are much more convenient, and if a patient was to be taken by train, it was a quick ride to Camden Hospitals, the paper observed. On account of these barriers of geography, it was hard to raise enough enthusiasm to start the project. 3
Also, rather than being placed in a municipality, it was thought it should be out in the open. The wide-awake Chamber of Commerce in Woodstown secured an offer of four acres on the old Woodstown Race Track free, and the Borough pledged $30,000. This advantage of a central location and admirable surroundings appealed to many. But the Salem newspaper editor noted that it was an advantage to have it in the city because of the ready access to physicians at all times, and also the ability to retain nurses and aides. Besides, it would take two years to erect a new building. 2
An option had been procured on the old Ford Hotel in Salem,
and William H. Chew, the chairman of the campaign, was forceful in his appeal
for this location. He was convinced that
any other site would be beyond financial reach.
Another argument for Salem City was its manufacturing interests. Also, it was the center of the population (if
not of the territory), especially when considering the riverfront settlements
between there and Penns Grove, as a vast majority of all the emergency patients
would come from this developed area.
When a meeting was held in Penns Grove, an “animated
discussion” about the site in Salem City took place. Since the people of Salem had gone so far
with the project, it was a pity that this matter of local pride and prejudice
should interfere with the work, Mr. C. E. Wood replied. “Salem is the logical location for such an
institution. The county seat and the hospital
is a matter in which all the people of the county should be interested.”
Salem County Hospital Difficulties Resolved
These difficulties were soon worked out and ten months after peace was declared, 2,000 people from all parts of the County turned out for the dedication of the fine memorial for heroes, The Salem County Memorial Hospital. It was a glorious tribute dedicated to the “memory of those who remained in France and those who returned, the Salem Sunbeam reported. The old Fort Hotel was a “stately mansion for the sick and suffering.”
The Memorial Hospital of Salem County around the 1930s . (Salem County Historical Society Photo)
The hospital opened for the reception of patients Monday morning with Miss Jane D. Nicholson, superintendent, and Miss Josephine Elwell and Miss Alma Baker, assistants. It was declared by the physicians who toured the building that few hospitals had ever been opened with such complete furnishings, down to the smallest detail. Mrs. Gilbert Barr of du Pont City was the first patient to enter on Monday. She gave birth to a fine boy at 9:15 on Tuesday morning. Dr. W. H. James of Pennsville was the physician in charge. Also on Monday, Frank I. Morrison, came to be treated for an accidental gunshot wound in the hand and on Tuesday John Riley; while painting a roof in Salem was severely bruised in a 20-foot fall. Chester H. Spicer and Rev. Hyman were also there for repairs on Tuesday. 4
The deadly pandemic brought a lasting improvement to Salem County. Following the devastation that shattered so many lives, Salem County established a permanent hospital better to prepare the community for future public health emergencies and provide efficient inpatient care for the growing community while dedicating it to the community’s World War I heroes. Salem had been the first to answer the call and the first to establish a memorial that continues to serve the residents of the area today.
A version of this article originally appeared in the Newsletter of the Salem County Historical Society in the summer of 2019
Endnotes
“Now for a Hospital,” Salem Sunbeam, October 18, 1918 [↩]
Havre de Grace historical marker for the War of 1812
The April issue of Maryland Life has a piece I wrote called “Bicentennial of a Blindsiding: When the Brits Stormed Havre de Grace.” It’s about the devastating attack that took place there during the War of 1812, and the City’s plans for the 200th anniversary observance. The attractively situated community at the top of the Chesapeake has been working on this celebration for a couple of years now and they are anticipating 20,000 visitors on the first weekend in May.
The Concord Point Lighthouse. John O’Neill, the defender of Havre de Grace, received the appointment as the lighthouse keeper in 1827.
A scale model of the town as it existed the day before the British attack was created by a group of volunteers.
