Angelo Collazo Comics

09/15/2025

Born today in 1789, James Fennimore Cooper (bestselling author of The Last of The Mohicans) started life at 457 High Street, which is still standing today. Below is historical information directly from the booklet A City's Legacy: An Introduction to the Historic Sites of Burlington...

THE JAMES FENNIMORE COOPER HOUSE

The James Fennimore Cooper House, built in 1780, is both the birthplace of the famous novelist and also the headquarters for the Burlington County Historical Society. In 1914, a group of ladies founded this historical society, meeting in various places throughout the city. In 1923 they raised sufficient money to purchase a permanent home, and the Cooper House was selected as a result of its historical significance and has been the headquarters for the Society ever since.

In 1970, additional buildings were dedicated and opened to the public. They were the Pearson How House, built from 1705-1725, restored and refurnished for the early eighteenth century, the Delia Biddle Pugh Library, housing material on history and geneology, and the Aline K. Wolcott House, with a special collection of lighting devices from Roman times to the present. Quaker dress, wedding certificates and other historical memorabilia are also part of the permanent exhibit.

Under the very able leadership of such people as Margaret Haines, Aline K. Wolcott, Delia Biddle Pugh, and Corson Poley, much was accomplished and many gifts were received. Nathaniel Ewan and George DeCou were especially interested in research and published some very scholarly pamphlets and books.

James Fennimore Cooper — 1789–1851

The James Fennimore Cooper House at 457 High Street became the headquarters for the Burlington County Historical Society in 1923. The Society purchased this historical house, built about 1780 by Samuel How, Esq., and rented to the Cooper family. It was the birthplace of the first American novelist to make popular in book form the life of the colonists and Indians. Cooper’s mother’s family, the Fennimores, were from Willingboro, New Jersey, and his father was a native of Byberry, Pennsylvania.

For a number of years, the older Cooper, William, was a merchant and shared a shop on High Street in Burlington. The Coopers were a large family, James Fennimore being the eleventh of a family of twelve children. When opportunity arose for the Coopers to acquire land in New York State on Lake Otsego, they left Burlington. James was born in Burlington in 1789 and lived there thirteen months before being taken to Otsego. Cooper returned on two different occasions while his father was a delegate to the Continental Congress, then meeting in Philadelphia. It is said that he studied Latin under a teacher by the name of Higgins in Burlington. After a short stay at Yale, he was apprenticed as a sailor and learned much about sea-going vessels and the sea itself. This information he later used in his novels about the sea and sea life. In 1811, he married and soon after began his career as an author. He wrote some thirty-five different volumes, including The Deerslayer, The Leather-Stocking Tales, The Prairie, and The Last of the Mohicans. Cooper House has at least one copy of all his writings, as well as an original manuscript and other artifacts. Many items relating to Cooper were given to the Burlington County Historical Society by members of the Fennimore family. Besides the material dealing directly with Cooper’s life, there is an interesting collection of pottery and ironware. The collection of large platters is particularly interesting. A large and unusual collection of dolls, doll carriages, and doll furniture is housed on the second floor of this building. A most attractive fashion doll of 1870 is located here.

The Bonaparte Room, housing original portraits, a bed, table, and vanity belonging to Joseph Bonaparte, the older brother of Napoleon, is located on the second floor. Joseph Bonaparte lived in Bordentown, New Jersey for some years and was at one time King of Italy, Sicily, and Spain. Joseph was a gambler, as were his cousins, the Murats of Bordentown. The fireplace furniture on the first floor of Cooper House is said to be payment for a gambling debt owed by Joseph Bonaparte when he was unable to repay loans from the Murats.

09/09/2025

Heads up : Soon I’ll be reaching out to you individually via Messenger to see if you’re interested in joining my email newsletter :)

09/07/2025

Yesterday, at the Wood Street Fair, I purchased a cool pamphlet entitled A City’s Legacy: An Introduction to the Historic Sites of Burlington. Over the next few posts, if people are interested, I’ll share the various neat structures listed in this booklet. Let’s begin with the star of the Wood Street Fair—the Revell House:

THE REVELL HOUSE

This one-story brick building was constructed on the south side of Pearl Street by George Hutchinson in 1685. Hutchinson was a wealthy Quaker distiller who produced large quantities of rum for sale in Burlington and in the West Indies. He acquired large sections of real estate and in 1696, sold more than sixteen hundred acres to Richard Stockton, the grandfather of the signer of the Declaration of Independence. As a Friend, Hutchinson made a genuine effort to avoid the distribution of his rum to Indians, as he felt the consequences were not worth the few shillings which liquor costs.

In 1696, the property was sold to Thomas Revell, who used it as an office. Revell came to Burlington on the ship Shield on December 10, 1678, accompanied by his wife, children, and servants. He held numerous political offices in West Jersey and was considered a scholarly gentleman. As an administrator, he was honest and efficient and his records were detailed and accurate.

The building was purchased by Isaac DeCou in 1699, and a second story was added, stressing the gambrel Dutch architecture. Isaac DeCou came to America in 1681, landing in New Castle, Delaware. From this point, he traveled to Burlington where he was appointed recorder. The DeCou family has made a significant contribution to Burlington County and has displayed its artistic and literary skills for many years.

The Revell House is sometimes called the Gingerbread House, as a friendly woman living in this dwelling served Benjamin Franklin gingerbread in 1723. Franklin was passing from Boston to Philadelphia and had less than a dollar in his pocket. He missed the ferry boat to Philadelphia and while he awaited the next departure, he explored Burlington with his large portion of gingerbread. Each year the Revell House distributes gingerbread to honor Franklin’s presence.

At the end of the 19th century, the Revell House was purchased by the Annis Stockton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. This organization emphasized the contributions which the founding fathers made to America and seeks to perpetuate the ideals of 1776. The structure contained a great deal of material which was available to the public to personify the spirit and creativity of Burlington’s contributions to the revolution.

In the early 1950’s, the Revell House was showing definite signs of its ancient construction. Many Burlingtonians were dissatisfied with the shabby state of this landmark and decided to sensitively rehabilitate the structure. They wanted to emphasize the original proportions of the building and to maintain its colonial flavor. Groups representing every segment of the population cooperated in this project. Black boy scouts, war veterans, the Kiwanis Club, businessmen, and housewives all worked to recreate the Revell House. This community cooperation exemplified the spirit which was necessary to develop Burlington from a wilderness to a modern community.

Although the Revell House has been moved from its original Pearl Street site, its colonial history continues to fascinate visitors. It is the oldest building in Burlington County and possibly in the state. The opportunity to explore a structure more than two hundred years old provides the curious with more than adequate material for their imagination. Whether it is referred to as the Revell House or the Gingerbread House, this edifice knew Burlington when it was a small cluster of buildings along the river. The Revell House has seen kings honored and deposed and it has viewed far ways come to pass. Although it is beginning to once again show its age, there can be little doubt that the heritage of these bricks and wood panels is an indigenous part of Burlington Americana.

09/03/2025

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☠️ Each month marks the actual dates of legendary events—Blackbeard’s final battle, the Port Royal earthquake, the Spanish treasure fleet disaster, and more.

📅 Covers Sept 2025 - Dec 2026
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⚓ Don’t miss it—download today and see piracy’s most dramatic moments on the days they happened!

08/13/2025

🚢⚓ Jack Sparrow may set sail again! Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer says he’s talked with Johnny Depp about returning for Pirates 6 — and if Depp likes the script, he’s in. The screenplay’s still in the works, but Bruckheimer is optimistic. Depp last played Sparrow in 2017, with the franchise raking in $4.5B worldwide. Could the captain be making a comeback? 🏴‍☠️

08/03/2025

JULY NEWS: 💰 A $138 million pirate treasure shipwreck has been discovered off the coast of Madagascar! Identified as the Nossa Senhora do Cabo, the galleon was captured in 1721 by the infamous pirate Olivier “La Buse” Levasseur after a violent storm crippled her. Archaeologists recovered over 3,300 artifacts, making this one of the richest pirate hauls ever found. Real treasure. Real pirates. Real history. 🏴‍☠️ 🏴‍☠️

See link to Smithsonian Magazine article in the comments.

Or use the following search terms to find more great reports online: portuguese pirate treasure sunken shipwreck madagascar

07/31/2025

Do you like pirate treasure stories? (Here's a true one.)

This is one of my favorites. Thanks to historian Shipwrecked with Captain Marrow - 2.0 for all this great research!

12/17/2023

My Blackbeard comic is now available for you to read for FREE on the GlobalComix platform. I highly recommend the reading experience on GC over just a PDF (especially if you try out their panel-to-panel view). Enjoy!

Read Blackbeard's Treasure: A Ghost Pirate Legend [One Shot] [Black & White] Online. The year was 1717 and Blackbeard the pirate had a problem: Where should he bury his...

10/07/2023

Weird NJ - Weird New Jersey magazine has published an article, written by me, about the Blackbeard in Burlington legend. You can read my article on page 51 of issue #61. You can buy a copy nearby at Antiques Market On High. You can also read my comic book for free at BlackbeardComic.com.

07/27/2023

Want to see some hard evidence that Blackbeard the pirate was in our area? Well, behold maties!

What you’re looking at here is the personal journal of Philadelphian merchant Jonathan Dickinson. (I took this video today at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.) On October 21, 1717, Dickinson complained: “Captain Thatch alias Blackbeard” and his “130 men” have been menacing “our Capes & taken six or seven Vessels”. Another entry mentions, “thus is our River Blocked Up Until he goes hence.”

But Dickinson wasn’t the only merchant who complained about Blackbeard. James Logan, whose journal is also held at the HSP, wrote on October 24, 1717: “We have been very much disturbed this last week by the Pirates. They have taken and plundered Six or Seven Vessels bound out or into this river. Some they have destroyed, Some they have taken to their own use & Some they have dismissed after Plunder. ... The Sloop [ship] that came on our Coast had about 130 Men all Stout Fellows all English without any mixture & double armed ... their Comander is one Teach who was here a Mate from Jamaica about 2 years agoe.”

Photos of these 2 journals can be seen here in my previous post: https://www.facebook.com/100063618577056/posts/769354005195212

Why am I so interested in Blackbeard the pirate? Legend has it, he buried treasure just two blocks from my house in Burlington City, NJ. Although you can read the legend in the 1846 history book "Historical Collections of the State New Jersey", you can also read its retelling in my comic book entitled Blackbeard’s Treasure. Learn more at: BlackbeardComic.com

07/27/2023

Today, I visited the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and looked at 2 journals (written by colonial merchants Jonathan Dickinson and James Logan) which contain October 1717 entries complaining about Blackbeard the pirate. I was amazed that I was actually allowed to read, photograph, and touch these artifacts with my bare hands. (Thank you to the scholarly paper “Blackbeard Off Philadelphia” for pointing me to these primary sources.)

06/18/2023

Ahoy maties! My comic book about the Blackbeard in Burlington legend is now ready for you to read online (right here on Facebook)! Thank you for your patience. (Please note a few things: A. I decided to make it all black and white, B. This is a self-contained 24-page story, C. It's rated T for Teen due to piratey violence.) If you are interested in buying the print edition / hard copy (which isn't ready yet), then please fill out this form, and I'll add you to the waiting list: https://forms.gle/bWX2K41gptdja7QJ6

Thanks for your continued interest in my comic!