The Salem County Historical Society will host its November Annual Meeting on Sunday, November 24, 2024. The event will occur at 1:30 p.m. at Friends Village in the Fenwick Auditorium in Woodstown, NJ. Our presenter for this meeting is Paulie Wenger and his topic is “New Jersey’s Lost Infidel: The Life and Works of Tamar Davis, 1821-1866”.

Tamar Davis, from Alloway, New Jersey, was throughout her tumultuous life a chronicler of church history, fiery skeptic, science writer, romance novelist, nationally-known poet, and convicted counterfeiter and forger. Her writings angered many, gained a loyal fanbase, and covered some of the most pivotal moments in the United States history, including the publishing of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, the Maine Liquor Law of 1851, and the ongoing United States Civil War. But what caused Davis, wealthy from her writing career for publications like the Boston Investigator, Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper, and New York Dispatch, to find herself in one year of solitary confinement at the New Jersey State Prison and soon after forgotten to the annals of history? This is a story that has never been told before and one that needs to be seen to be believed.

Paulie Wenger is a senior adjunct instructor in History and Sociology at Atlantic Cape Community College. He has worked at several New Jersey museums, including the Burlington County Prison Museum, Princeton University Art Museum, and Whitesbog Preservation Trust. In August 2024, Paulie will begin working towards his PhD in American Civilization at the University of Delaware.