You from Jersey? Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Lenni-Lenape.

Erroneously called "Delawares" by Europeans, the Lenni-Lenape (or Lenape) presaged modern NJ residents by leading a mobile life. Many spent the summer "down the Shore," enjoying the mild climate and abundant seafood. "Ho-Ho-Kus" is a real town in NJ -- the phrase probably meant "red cedar" in Lenape -- where about 5% of the current population are Native Americans.

Answer: The Dutch and the Swedes. Oh, ja!

The Dutch thought of the place as an adjunct to their colony on Manhattan Island. That view persists today among certain misguided individuals. The colony of New Sweden was located in the southwest. Can you say Nya Elfsborg, New Jersey? They ran afoul of Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutchman from Manhattan, who annexed the Swedish colony to New Netherland in 1655.

It's cool, though. The British were ready to rumble with Pete.

Answer: Jersey supported the Royalists during the English Civil War.

Luckily, the Isle of Dogs sided with Parliament. The Island of Jersey supported Charles I and his son Charles II. Chuck the Two -- er, Charles II -- gave a huge tract of land in North America to his brother, the Duke of York. The Duke carved out "New Jersey" from the land between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers, and gave it to his Royalist buddies Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley.

There were no Amboy Dukes until the late 20th century.

Answer: Some colonists didn't pay their rent .

During the late 17th century, New Jersey was a "proprietary colony," meaning that the colonists paid land rent ("quitrents") to the proprietors of the colony. By 1673, the rent for western and southern New Jersey was seriously overdue. Instead of trying to collect it, Lord Berkeley sold his half of New Jersey to the Quakers for quick cash.

The Quaker part, contiguous to Pennsylvania, became "West Jersey." In 1702, the two parts were reunited when New Jersey became a royal colony under Good Queen Anne.

Answer: Princeton University.

The college was almost named after the Royal Governor of New Jersey -- a gentleman named Belcher. Seriously. The college moved to Princeton in 1756, but only adopted the name Princeton University in 1896. The current "College of New Jersey" in Ewing Township was founded as the "New Jersey State Normal School" in 1855.

After a stint as "Trenton State College," it became "The College of New Jersey" in 1996. Rutgers' subtitle is "The State University of New Jersey." Confused? Forget about it!

Answer: It granted the vote to women as well as men.

The 1776 Constitution enfranchised women as well as free non-whites. It blurred the "separation of powers" in several ways. The Governor was appointed by the legislature instead of being elected. The Governor and the Legislative Council formed the state's highest court.

Answer: The Battle of Monmouth.

Her real name remains a subject of debate. A few cynics (probably New Yorkers) claim she's just a legend. The true believers all say she served at the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778. The battle was fought near the county seat of Monmouth County -- then called "Monmouth Court House"; now Freehold, NJ. Today the battlefield is a park, featuring annual re-enactments starring Molly herself. Really.

Answer: Some of the Hessian troops were hung-over.

"Hessians" was the generic term for German troops who fought for the British. Tradition has it that the Hessian garrison at Trenton over-indulged in celebrating Christmas, thinking that the rag-tag rebel army could not attack. (There is some recent scholarship indicating that the Hessians were better-prepared than that, but Washington still triumphed.) Although some colonists feared and loathed the German troops, many "Hessians" decided to settle in the US after the war.

Their farming skills (and maybe their taste in beverages) helped them to assimilate.

Answer: On the Weehawken Heights overlooking Manhattan.

Weehawken was a sadly popular place for duels -- an easy commute from Manhattan by ferry across the Hudson River. Today, the site of the duel is a public park with a spectacular view of the city's skyline.

Answer: NJ (finally) abolished slavery.

New Jersey was the last northern state to abolish slavery. The process was "gradual emancipation," however. Most slaves were not legally free until approximately 1830. As late as 1865, there were still about a dozen African-American "apprenticed freedmen" in the State.

Despite these challenges, free African-Americans established several thriving communities in NJ prior to the Civil War.

Answer: He wasn't from NJ.

Commodore John Barry (1745-1803) was born in Ireland, emigrated to the colonies, and established himself as a prosperous sea captain -- in Philadelphia. He fought in the Revolution, later received commission number 1 in the new US Navy, and was its senior captain.

He was instrumental in founding the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He deserves to be remembered, though his connection with NJ is rather tenuous.

Answer: Votes for women.

The Constitution of 1776 granted the right to vote to women and also to non-white men. The 1844 Constitution limited the vote to white males. On the positive side, the 1844 Constitution included a Bill of Rights (for some people, anyway), direct election of the Governor, and a clear separation of powers among the three branches of State government.

Answer: Stephen Douglas.

Douglas actually won the popular vote in NJ by approximately 52% to 48% for Lincoln. The State's 7 Electoral College votes were divided 4 for Lincoln and 3 for Douglas. Douglas ran second in most States, losing to Lincoln in the North, to Breckenridge in most of the South, and to Bell in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Douglas received Electoral College votes only from NJ and the border slave state of Missouri.

Answer: George McClellan, of the Philadelphia McClellans.

George Brinton McClellan (1826-1885) won NJ's vote in 1864, but lost the Presidential Election overwhelmingly to Abraham Lincoln. While his military skills are debatable, he was a popular Governor, serving from 1878 to 1881. His son, George B. McClellan Jr., defected across the Hudson and served as Mayor of New York City from 1904 to 1909.

Answer: Paterson.

Prior to electricity -- Tom Edison, Jersey Boy! -- water power was critical for heavy industry. The factories of Paterson harnessed the 77-foot drop of the Great Falls on the Passaic River Not Niagara Falls, but way good enough.

Answer: Fort Lee.

Thomas Edison built his first motion picture "studio" in West Orange, but it was little more than a large black box. The studio that is, not West Orange.

Once movie cameras became more mobile, Fort Lee beckoned with its reliable sunshine (seriously), proximity to New York City, and variety of nearby scenery. Beginning in 1907, over a dozen major production companies built or leased studios in Fort Lee.

In 1911, the Nestor film company (ironically, a NJ-based firm) built the first studio in Hollywood, California. The rest is history -- California history. Thanks, Nestor!

Answer: The first recorded baseball game (1846).

In September of 1845, Alexander Cartwright published a set of rules for "Base Ball" (a.k.a. "The New York Game") for his team, the Kickerbocker Base Ball Club. During the fall of 1845, the Knickerbockers practiced the new game at the Elysian Fields in Hoboken, making it the first Spring Training facility (?).

The epic first official game was played there on June 19, 1846 against a club known as the New York Nine -- consisting chiefly of former Knicks who quit the team because they didn't like practicing in NJ.

The New York Nine won 23-1. New York, New York, New York ... we've got the Giants and the Jets, anyway.

Answer: A smoldering ocean liner aground just off shore.

The Morro Castle was returning from a cruise to Cuba when she caught fire. The ship continued northward along the NJ coast, coming to rest off Asbury Park. The exact cause of the fire remains a mystery, though arson was suspected.

Answer: The Holland Tunnel.

The Holland Tunnel (opened in 1927) was first conceived as a bridge, in 1906. Planning shifted to a tunnel in 1913, when it was determined that a bridge would have to be at least 200 feet high, and the cost of buying the land on the Manhattan side would be prohibitive.

It was originally to be called "The Hudson River Vehicular Tunnel." It was re-named in memory of its principal designer, Clifford Holland, who died before the tunnel was completed.

Answer: Most of Ellis Island was declared part of NJ.

The entire island is on the NJ side of the Hudson River. Don't believe me? Go swim! Before the American Revolution, New York seized the island, and NJ didn't counter-attack. In 1834, NJ formally admitted New York's control.

But hang on, there: after the agreement, the federal government enlarged the island by 90%, through dredging and landfills. In 1998, the US Supreme Court ruled that NJ "owned" the artificial portion of the island, since it didn't exist in 1834. This was a problem, because some of the buildings are split by the new state border. New Jersey and New York agreed to "share" the island -- which is entirely federal property anyway.