GENEALOGY OF THE BARTLETT FAMILY - of South Jersey (NJ)
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On a USGenWeb/NJGenWeb Web site, June 2007
TRANSCRIBED BY GEORGE PRICE, a volunteer for NJGenWeb 
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Source: The Daily Union history of Atlantic City and County, New Jersey : containing 
sketches of the past and present of Atlantic City and county, with maps and 
illustrations specially prepared, by John F. Hall; Atlantic City, N.J.: Daily Union, 
1900

BARTLETT FAMILY
During or soon after the Revolution , one Oswald Good Bartlett, a German soldier, engaged in farming on the seaward 
side of the shore road at Pleasantville. He died about 1836, and is remembered as one of the first German citizens
in the county. He married and raised a family of five children:: (2) David Good, (3) John good, (4) Alexander Good, 
(5) Nancy, (6) Eliza.
 
The oldest son David Good Bartlett, lived at Cooper’s Point, Camden, for several years, and later settled down as
a farmer near Mount Pleasant Church, at Pleasantville. The old house is still standing where he raised a family 
of seven sons. His wife was Margaret Jones, a native of the county. The seven sons were: 
(7) William Good, b. November 3, 1820, died June 15, 1896; (8) Harry Good, (9) Alexander Good, (10) John Good, 
(11) Joseph Good (12) Lewis Good, and Enoch Good. The last three are still living.

(7) William Bartlett was born at Cooper’s Point, in Camden, and lived there till his father moved to 
Pleasantville. As a young man he was noted for his energy and business enterprise. When twenty years 
of age he engaged in the oyster business, in which later he reaped a fortune. He went into the woods
and cut the timber to build a boat, a sloop yacht, the Essex, in which he carried oysters and clams 
to New York. In those days, before the railroads, the products of the bays were also hauled in wagons 
extensively over sandy roads to Philadelphia. Young Bartlett often came to this island with beach parties
on a day’s picnic for surf bathing, when the only bath houses were the groves and hollows among the sand hills.
 
In 1848 William G. married Armenia, daughter of David Lake and Sarah Ann Tilton. About that time he engaged 
in the oyster commission trade in Philadelphia, which he continued till near the close of his life. For years
he received and sold all the produces of Atlantic County bays and elsewhere that were sent to him. As soon 
as the building of the first railroad was proposed, in 1853, he secured space near the Vine street wharf, 
and there prospered greatly for years. He was one of the first to come to this island with the first railroad,
buy land, build houses and stores and share in the various enterprises and successes that followed. He paid $800 
for the lot where the Atlantic City National Bank has been, and other lots later in that locality. In 1857 he 
started the ice business, which is still continued by his estate. About the same time he started the first 
market house on this island. In 1869 he built Bartlett’s market building, in which Charles Hotz conducted business 
for many years.

In 1870 Mr. Bartlett succeeded John Cordery, of Absecon, as lessee of the street car system on Atlantic avenue. 
He paid the railroad company $500 a year each for the privilege of operating four cars drawn by mules over the 
steam car tracks, between the Inlet and the old Seaview Excursion House at the ocean end of Missouri avenue. 
Fares were ten cents. There were no tickets nor gongs nor any regular schedule for the cars, which had to stop
when trains were on the track and which waited for loads at either end. Fare was not extracted of local people,
but visitors made that mule tramway profitable.
  
In 1875, when the railroad company demanded $1,000 rental for each car, Mr. Bartlett gave it up and became one
of the incorporators of the Passenger Railroad Company. Associated with him were Alexander Boardman, Joseph A. Barstow, 
Henry L. Elder, Joseph H. Burton, D. C. Spooner, and Horace Whitman. This company was organized at Schauffler’s Hotel,
April 13, 1874. City Council had given the new company, a right by ordinance, to lay tracks on Pacific, New Hampshire,
Michigan, and Ohio avenues. Tracks were laid by strategy in the night over the disputed territory between North Carolina
and Massachusetts avenues, and the ties still lie buried in the street. An injunction secured by Andrew K. Hay,
stopped the work and the railroad company operated its own mule cars and later its trolley cars without ever 
having any franchise except for steam railroad purposes.

In 1865, Mr. Bartlett engaged in the shipbuilding business in Camden and was very successful.
During the war when vessel property was very profitable, Mr. Bartlett was part owner of twenty
vessels. He disposed of his interests in the shipyard 1885.

In 1881 he erected the first the first large brick building in this city for a bank. Until 1887 
he made Atlantic city his summer home only, continuing to live in Philadelphia.
He was the father of twelve children, all but one of whom is living. 

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