William Fields of New Bedford, who died last week, was buried on Thursday. The funeral took place at the home of his brother, Joel Fields of South Eatontown, and the body was buried in Fields’s cemetery at that place. Mr. Fields was born in the old farmhouse at Chestnut Plains now occupied by Edward Dangler. He was about 55 years old and was the son of Britton Fields.

Mr. Fields had been in poor health about a year. When a boy he fell from a porch and injured his spine, which rendered him a dwarf. He was about four feet in height. His head, hands and feet were the size of an average man’s, but his body was like a child’s and his voice had a childish treble. He was unable to do any hard work. He made his home with his brother, John Fields, and he worked about his place. He was also a brother of ex-Sheriff Theodore Fields.

Source: Red Bank Register, Wednesday, June 14, 1899

Some additional excellent resources for your research are:

• New Jersey Census, 1772-1890 - Ancestry.com

• Calendar of New Jersey Wills, 1670-1760 - Ancestry.com

• Interment.net - NJ ~ New Jersey Cemetery Transcriptions on the net.

• MyCinnamonToast.com ~ Keep up with FREE databases as they come online