Jersey Mermaid
Posted by: Loren Coleman on August 26th, 2007
August 10 – The people of Tom’s River, N.J., are just now having a little sensation – it being nothing less than the capture of a veritable mermaid or at least a water animal strongly resembling that poetic species of fish. Two fishermen, while pursuing their vocation a few days ago in the Inlet, effected the capture after a violent struggle. At seeing the animal its captors became hugely frightened, and took to their heels. After a while they mustered up sufficient courage to return and look at their prize. In appearance it more resembled a human being than a fish, having a face frightfully like that of a man or woman, with body and breasts exactly resembling the latter. The lower part terminated in a fish tail. The fishermen, after looking at the monster, became so superstitious, that they threw it back into the sea. It’s a pity they did not preserve it.“Mermaid found in New Jersey,” Port Jervis Evening Gazette, Port Jervis, New York, August 10, 1869.
Thanks for this historical item from
No such creature as a Mermaid, A Manatee yes, it could come up along the coast from Florida
One must remember to take old newspaper accounts with a grain of salt… there were many newspaper hoaxes in the 1800s, designed to attract readers. In my lake monster research, I found that newspaper accounts before about 1900 were often very outlandish and incredible (that is, “not credible”)!
Most mermaids round here have legs…
Sounds like a manatee.
Humm, which would the lot of us rather discover a mermaid, or Bigfoot. I vote… uh.
Let’s just hope that (if real) it was just a mermaid and not a siren or any other of the dark mer-creatures that lurk in the scary stories of ancient sailors.
oh, and I would have to vote big foot