[
  {"id":"decatur-hanover","period":"early","kind":"retelling","date_label":"Early 1800s, date unverified","title":"Decatur and the cannonball","place":"Hanover Furnace, Burlington County","lat":39.9815,"lng":-74.5263,"radius_m":2500,"precision":"broad historic","summary":"A later tale has Stephen Decatur fire a cannonball at the creature near the Hanover ironworks. A September 2, 1905 Evening Star article prints this as a tradition; the event date and original witness remain unverified.","source_status":"1905 Evening Star tradition; no contemporary Decatur witness record","source_url":"https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1905-09-02/ed-1/?sp=23"},
  {"id":"cozzens-woodbury","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 16, 1909, later books","title":"Thack Cozzens near Woodbury Hotel","place":"Woodbury","lat":39.838,"lng":-75.153,"radius_m":1700,"precision":"town area","summary":"Later books say Cozzens saw a pale flying shape after leaving the Woodbury Hotel. An original 1909 report has not been located; the exact date and hotel site are unverified here.","source_status":"Later book accounts; original newspaper unlocated","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-16-usa-woodbury.htm"},
  {"id":"minster-bristol","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 16–17, 1909, later books","title":"Bristol postmaster's river view","place":"Bristol, Pennsylvania","lat":40.101,"lng":-74.852,"radius_m":1700,"precision":"town and river area","summary":"Books attribute to Bristol postmaster E. W. Minster a report of a large flying birdlike shape over the Delaware. The event date varies in retellings and no original 1909 account was located.","source_status":"Later book accounts; primary source unlocated","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-17-usa-bristol2.htm"},
  {"id":"evans-gloucester","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 20, 1909 dispatch; date disputed","title":"Nelson Evans and wife: shed roof","place":"Gloucester City","lat":39.894,"lng":-75.12,"radius_m":800,"precision":"town area","summary":"Evans told a reporter that he and his wife saw a strange bird or beast on their shed. The Sun's January 20 dispatch says early that morning; later accounts give other dates. The circle avoids a household coordinate.","source_status":"Contemporary Sun transcription and clipping; date disputed in retellings","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/press/thesun21jan1909.htm"},
  {"id":"camden-east-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 21, 1909 report","title":"East Camden yards and lumber yard","place":"East Camden","lat":39.94,"lng":-75.088,"radius_m":1800,"precision":"neighborhood","summary":"The Camden Daily Courier described hooflike marks in yards and at a lumber yard. Its account documented a public search, not a witnessed animal.","source_status":"Contemporary Courier report, later transcription","source_url":"https://dvrbs.camdenhistory.com/people/richard-f-smith/"},
  {"id":"riverside-manz","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 20–21, 1909","title":"Joseph Manz's yard and dead dog","place":"Riverside","lat":40.034,"lng":-74.963,"radius_m":1000,"precision":"town area","summary":"The local Times dispatch said Manz found his dog dead and reported marks; it said the animal was never seen. A later Sun wire story turned this into a witnessed attack.","source_status":"Contemporary Times text reproduced; conflicting Sun wire copy","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-21-usa-riverside.htm"},
  {"id":"jacksonville-track-party","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 21, 1909 newspaper","title":"Jacksonville farmers followed tracks","place":"Jacksonville, Springfield Township","lat":40.0504,"lng":-74.7635,"radius_m":2500,"precision":"hamlet area; four-mile trail unmapped","summary":"The Philadelphia Inquirer's 1909 front page described armed farmers near Jacksonville following supposed Devil tracks for almost four miles until they stopped. The route and endpoint were not given. This is one track-following account, not a witnessed animal or a four-mile map trail.","source_status":"January 21, 1909 Inquirer quoted in its 2009 archive review; original page uninspected","source_url":"https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/breaking/20090522_Jersey_Devil_seen_by_many__reportedly_caught_100_years_ago.html"},
  {"id":"burlington-ryan-fence","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 21–22, 1909; date disputed","title":"Mrs. Ryan's Burlington fence report","place":"Penn Street corridor, Burlington City","lat":40.08,"lng":-74.856,"radius_m":1300,"precision":"street corridor; no house pin","summary":"A reproduced Trenton Evening Times clipping says Mrs. Michael Ryan saw a creature on her back-yard fence on Penn Street and her son later searched. Its text says 'this morning'; the clipping host attributes it to January 22, while later accounts use January 21. The street is known, but the house and event date are not securely established.","source_status":"Contemporary Times clipping reproduced; masthead/date absent from crop, January 21–22 conflict","source_url":"https://www.ufology.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-21-usa-burlington.htm"},
  {"id":"riverton-window","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 21, 1909 report","title":"Riverton window claim","place":"Riverton","lat":40.012,"lng":-75.016,"radius_m":1100,"precision":"town area","summary":"A Sun dispatch claimed the creature barked at Mrs. William Tackfling's window and flew away. The original witness statement has not been inspected.","source_status":"Contemporary Sun text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-21-usa-mountholly.htm"},
  {"id":"haddon-heights-trolley","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 21, 1909, later accounts","title":"Haddon Heights trolley story","place":"Haddon Heights","lat":39.88,"lng":-75.064,"radius_m":1700,"precision":"town area","summary":"Later versions say trolley passengers watched a winged creature near Haddon Heights. The original newspaper passage and exact trolley location remain unverified here; versions also differ on whether the car was attacked.","source_status":"Later source comparison; period article not inspected","source_url":"https://www.ufology.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-21-usa-haddonheights.htm"},
  {"id":"west-collingswood-firemen","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 21, 1909, later book","title":"West Collingswood firemen story","place":"West Collingswood","lat":39.915,"lng":-75.077,"radius_m":1500,"precision":"neighborhood","summary":"McCloy and Miller, citing Alfred Heston, tell of two men who saw an ostrich-like shape on a roof and firemen who used a hose. The supposed original witness or newspaper record is not identified in the book chain checked.","source_status":"Later book retelling through Heston; primary source unlocated","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-21-usa-westcollingswood.htm"},
  {"id":"camden-sorbinski","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 21–22, 1909, later books","title":"Camden dog and broom story","place":"Camden","lat":39.934,"lng":-75.101,"radius_m":2100,"precision":"city area","summary":"Later books tell of Mary Sorbinski using a broom against an animal holding her dog. Versions disagree on date and spelling; no original witness account has been inspected. This is separate from the documented East Camden tracks.","source_status":"Later book accounts; original report unverified","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-22-usa-camden.htm"},
  {"id":"camden-strehr","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 22, 1909, later book","title":"Officer Strehr's Camden report","place":"Camden","lat":39.934,"lng":-75.101,"radius_m":2100,"precision":"city area","summary":"McCloy and Miller attribute to Officer Louis Strehr a report of a strange animal at a horse trough on Third Street. The original newspaper or police account was not found in the checked sources.","source_status":"1976 book account; primary source unlocated","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-22-usa-camden2.htm"},
  {"id":"pemberton-archer","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 21, 1909 report","title":"Edward Archer's barn account","place":"Pemberton","lat":39.971,"lng":-74.682,"radius_m":1200,"precision":"town area","summary":"A Sun dispatch said railroad conductor Archer described a hairy creature springing from near his barn. No barn site is mapped.","source_status":"Contemporary Sun text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-21-usa-mountholly.htm"},
  {"id":"pemberton-purcel","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 20–21, 1909 report","title":"Rev. John Purcel's leaping animal","place":"Pemberton","lat":39.971,"lng":-74.682,"radius_m":1500,"precision":"town area","summary":"The same Sun dispatch attributed a separate account of a dark-haired animal crossing snow to Purcel. The two Pemberton reports share one broad map center.","source_status":"Contemporary Sun text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-21-usa-mountholly.htm"},
  {"id":"mountholly-cronk","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 20, 1909, reported January 21","title":"William Cronk's large bird","place":"Mount Holly","lat":39.992,"lng":-74.788,"radius_m":1200,"precision":"town area","summary":"Cronk said he saw a long-legged bird fly low across his lawn toward Rancocas Creek. Later summaries call it the Devil, but the newspaper's description is of a bird.","source_status":"Contemporary Sun text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-21-usa-mountholly.htm"},
  {"id":"yardville-clymer","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 20, 1909 report","title":"Harry Clymer's yard","place":"Yardville","lat":40.181,"lng":-74.663,"radius_m":1100,"precision":"village area","summary":"The Trenton Evening Times described puzzling hooflike marks in Clymer's yard. No animal was reported seen there.","source_status":"Contemporary Times text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-21-usa-riverside.htm"},
  {"id":"groveville-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 20–21, 1909 report","title":"Groveville tracks","place":"Groveville","lat":40.177,"lng":-74.696,"radius_m":1200,"precision":"village area","summary":"William McElmoyl described prints he thought resembled a young colt's hoof, with gaps between them. The record is a track claim.","source_status":"Contemporary Times text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-21-usa-riverside.htm"},
  {"id":"whitecity-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909 report","title":"White City grounds","place":"White City / Spring Lake, Hamilton","lat":40.195,"lng":-74.73,"radius_m":950,"precision":"historic park area","summary":"A signed letter to the Trenton Evening Times reported hoofprints on the White City grounds. Abbott Marshlands identifies the former amusement park around today's Spring Lake; no precise track site is known.","source_status":"Contemporary Times letter reproduced; park location from Abbott Marshlands","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-21-usa-riverside.htm"},
  {"id":"trenton-weeden-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909, described in 1939 guide","title":"Trenton councilman's roof marks","place":"Trenton","lat":40.225,"lng":-74.755,"radius_m":2300,"precision":"city area; no residence pin","summary":"A 1939 New Jersey guide says a Trenton councilman heard wings and found alleged hoofprints on a porch roof; it calls him E. P. Weeden. A 1900 Trenton directory instead lists Claudius P. Weeden at the address used in a later account. The original 1909 report and the name discrepancy need checking; this is mapped only to Trenton.","source_status":"1939 guide, printed p. 127; 1900 directory raises first-name conflict; 1909 article uninspected","source_url":"https://dspace.njstatelib.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/564bc3e2-18a5-4eb6-a2cb-a93986d94ac9/content"},
  {"id":"brandywine-journal-yarn","period":"wave","kind":"press","date_label":"January 22, 1909 newspaper","title":"Brandywine Village officer yarn","place":"Brandywine Village, Wilmington, Delaware","lat":39.751,"lng":-75.541,"radius_m":1600,"precision":"historic neighborhood area","summary":"The Evening Journal printed an alleged encounter involving officer Frank Kane near Concord Avenue and West Street. The same story invents comic expert names and sends an office boy with a squirt gun; it reads as a newspaper yarn, not a verified police statement. Other Delaware towns appear in its unsourced opening list.","source_status":"Original Evening Journal page 1 inspected; satirical framing clear","source_url":"https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85042354/1909-01-22/ed-1/?sp=1"},
  {"id":"wilmington-harris-pony-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"press","date_label":"January 22, 1909 newspaper","title":"Wilmington prints called a pony's","place":"West 19th Street area, Wilmington, Delaware","lat":39.755,"lng":-75.551,"radius_m":1300,"precision":"street district; no residence pin","summary":"In the continuation of the Evening Journal yarn, S. S. Harris and his son said marks in their yard looked like Shetland pony prints and did not pursue the trail. The paper placed the item under the Devil story, but its own named observers offered an ordinary animal explanation.","source_status":"Original Evening Journal page 2 inspected; possible pony tracks","source_url":"https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85042354/1909-01-22/ed-1/?sp=2"},
  {"id":"smyrna-pumpkin-prank","period":"wave","kind":"press","date_label":"January 23, 1909 report","title":"Smyrna pumpkin-head prank","place":"Smyrna, Delaware","lat":39.299,"lng":-75.605,"radius_m":2200,"precision":"town area; church unidentified","summary":"The Evening Journal reported that a prankster, inspired by Jersey Devil coverage, held a candlelit carved pumpkin at a church window during a revival service and frightened worshippers. The paper identified the cause, but did not name the church or prankster. This pin records the documented effect of the story, not a creature sighting.","source_status":"Original Evening Journal page 1 inspected; reported prank","source_url":"https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85042354/1909-01-23/ed-1/?sp=1"},
  {"id":"paterson-montrose-1909","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 24, 1909 report","title":"Paterson shadow and windmill noise","place":"Paterson; Spring Street named in report","lat":40.914,"lng":-74.174,"radius_m":3500,"precision":"city area; house and windmill unlocated","summary":"Harry Montrose reportedly glimpsed a winged shadow from his Spring Street home and two-legged pony-like prints were described. Officers searching nearby woods traced the alarming shrieks to a windmill. The shadow and prints were not independently identified; this is not a verified animal sighting.","source_status":"1987 Passaic County Historical Society account quoting January 1909 Paterson coverage; original pages uninspected","source_url":"https://passaiccountyhistoricalsociety.org/vampire-visits-passaic-county/"},
  {"id":"paterson-falls-1909","period":"wave","kind":"encounter","date_label":"January 27, 1909 newspaper","title":"Great Falls Basin shooting claim","place":"Great Falls Basin, Paterson","lat":40.915,"lng":-74.181,"radius_m":750,"precision":"historic falls area; shooting position unverified","summary":"The Paterson Morning Call said a saloon keeper shot at a winged figure crossing the falls chasm and it fell into the basin. The report says the body disappeared beneath ice; no recovered specimen is documented in this account. Its playful language calls for caution.","source_status":"1987 Passaic County Historical Society account quoting the January 27 Morning Call; original page uninspected","source_url":"https://passaiccountyhistoricalsociety.org/vampire-visits-passaic-county/"},
  {"id":"richfield-owl-1909","period":"wave","kind":"animal","date_label":"January 28, 1909 newspaper","title":"Richfield's reported Devil identified as an owl","place":"Richfield, present-day Clifton","lat":40.869,"lng":-74.173,"radius_m":1900,"precision":"hamlet area; hotel site unverified","summary":"A Paterson Evening News story had a group shoot a supposed Devil near Richfield. The paper then identified the bird as a large horned owl. The site of the Richfield Hotel and shooting are unverified; this pin marks the locality, not an unexplained creature.","source_status":"1987 Passaic County Historical Society account quoting the January 28 Evening News; original page uninspected","source_url":"https://passaiccountyhistoricalsociety.org/vampire-visits-passaic-county/"},
  {"id":"philadelphia-sansom-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 20, 1909 report","title":"West Philadelphia tracks","place":"Sansom Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania","lat":39.954,"lng":-75.212,"radius_m":1200,"precision":"street corridor","summary":"The January 21 New York Sun reported marks on a Sansom Street block in Philadelphia. Its printed street spelling or number has not been checked against the page image, so the map shows only a corridor.","source_status":"Contemporary Sun transcription; exact address unverified","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/press/thesun21jan1909.htm"},
  {"id":"philadelphia-north16-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 20, 1909 report","title":"North Philadelphia tracks","place":"North 16th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania","lat":39.989,"lng":-75.162,"radius_m":1200,"precision":"street corridor","summary":"The same Sun dispatch reported marks on North 16th Street. It is a track claim from the same wire account, not an independently described animal encounter.","source_status":"Contemporary Sun transcription; exact address unverified","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/press/thesun21jan1909.htm"},
  {"id":"woodbury-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909 wire report","title":"Woodbury track locality","place":"Woodbury","lat":39.838,"lng":-75.153,"radius_m":1800,"precision":"town area","summary":"A regional wire account named Woodbury among places with reported marks. This is not a separate named witness account.","source_status":"Contemporary Winchester News wire text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-19-usa-gloucestercity.htm"},
  {"id":"gloucester-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909 wire report","title":"Gloucester City track locality","place":"Gloucester City","lat":39.894,"lng":-75.12,"radius_m":1500,"precision":"town area","summary":"The regional wire account named Gloucester among towns with marks. This is distinct from the Evans couple's described encounter, though the claims may be related.","source_status":"Contemporary Winchester News wire text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-19-usa-gloucestercity.htm"},
  {"id":"mountholly-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909 wire report","title":"Mount Holly track locality","place":"Mount Holly","lat":39.992,"lng":-74.788,"radius_m":1700,"precision":"town area","summary":"A regional wire account named Mount Holly among places with marks. Cronk's large-bird report is a separate described observation.","source_status":"Contemporary Winchester News wire text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-19-usa-gloucestercity.htm"},
  {"id":"clayton-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909 wire report","title":"Clayton track locality","place":"Clayton","lat":39.66,"lng":-75.093,"radius_m":1800,"precision":"town area","summary":"A regional wire account named Clayton among places with reported marks; no individual track finder was identified in that sentence.","source_status":"Contemporary Winchester News wire text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-19-usa-gloucestercity.htm"},
  {"id":"wenonah-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909 wire report","title":"Wenonah track locality","place":"Wenonah","lat":39.795,"lng":-75.149,"radius_m":1500,"precision":"town area","summary":"A regional wire account placed reported marks in Wenonah; there is no mapped yard or independently identified observer.","source_status":"Contemporary Winchester News wire text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-19-usa-gloucestercity.htm"},
  {"id":"mantua-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909 wire report","title":"Mantua track locality","place":"Mantua","lat":39.79,"lng":-75.17,"radius_m":1900,"precision":"town area","summary":"A reproduced wire account prints this town as Manuta, apparently Mantua; the reading of the place name needs confirmation against the original scan. No separate observer is named.","source_status":"Contemporary Winchester News wire text reproduced; place reading uncertain","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-19-usa-gloucestercity.htm"},
  {"id":"paulsboro-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909 wire report","title":"Paulsboro track locality","place":"Paulsboro","lat":39.831,"lng":-75.24,"radius_m":1700,"precision":"town area","summary":"A regional wire account placed marks in Paulsboro without describing a separate creature encounter.","source_status":"Contemporary Winchester News wire text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-19-usa-gloucestercity.htm"},
  {"id":"lumberton-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909 wire report","title":"Lumberton track locality","place":"Lumberton","lat":39.965,"lng":-74.806,"radius_m":1800,"precision":"town area","summary":"Lumberton appeared on the wire account's list of places with marks, not in a named eyewitness description.","source_status":"Contemporary Winchester News wire text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-19-usa-gloucestercity.htm"},
  {"id":"vincentown-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909 wire report","title":"Vincentown track locality","place":"Vincentown","lat":39.934,"lng":-74.749,"radius_m":1700,"precision":"village area","summary":"The wire copy spells this place Vincetown; modern Vincentown is used for orientation. Only marks were reported in the locality list.","source_status":"Contemporary Winchester News wire text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-19-usa-gloucestercity.htm"},
  {"id":"mountephraim-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909 wire report","title":"Mount Ephraim track locality","place":"Mount Ephraim","lat":39.88,"lng":-75.094,"radius_m":1500,"precision":"town area","summary":"A wire account named Mount Ephraim among track locations. This is a press locality, not an independently checked encounter.","source_status":"Contemporary Winchester News wire text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-19-usa-gloucestercity.htm"},
  {"id":"almonesson-tracks","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 1909 wire report","title":"Almonesson track locality","place":"Almonesson","lat":39.819,"lng":-75.099,"radius_m":1600,"precision":"hamlet area","summary":"The wire account spells the place Almonessen and lists marks there. It gives no witness or yard; this is a town-level report only.","source_status":"Contemporary Winchester News wire text reproduced","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-01-19-usa-gloucestercity.htm"},
  {"id":"salem-tracks-1909","period":"wave","kind":"tracks","date_label":"January 21, 1909 report","title":"Salem's unequal-footprint report","place":"Salem","lat":39.572,"lng":-75.467,"radius_m":1800,"precision":"city area","summary":"The Bridgeton Evening News reported supposed Devil tracks in Salem and claimed the right print was larger than the left. The Cumberland County Historical Society reproduces the passage; the original newspaper page remains uninspected here. This is a report about marks, not a witnessed creature.","source_status":"Contemporary Bridgeton Evening News quoted by Cumberland County Historical Society; original scan uninspected","source_url":"https://cchistsoc.org/the-legend-of-the-jersey-devil/"},
  {"id":"doughty-atlantic-1909","period":"later","kind":"animal","date_label":"May 5–7, 1909 reports","title":"Captain Doughty's captured-bird claim","place":"Atlantic City / Rum Point coast","lat":39.366,"lng":-74.44,"radius_m":9000,"precision":"conflicting coastal localities","summary":"Newspapers said Captain George Doughty captured an enormous bird and displayed it. Washington reports put a fight on dunes or a beach near Atlantic City; the Asbury Park Press instead put it in a boat about two miles off Rum Point. No specimen or independent identification was verified. The broad circle spans the incompatible settings; it is not a capture location.","source_status":"May 6–7, 1909 newspaper text and clipping reproductions; original full pages uninspected","source_url":"https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1909-05-usa-atlanticcity.htm"},
  {"id":"franklinville-1925","period":"later","kind":"animal","date_label":"October 22–29, 1925 newspapers","title":"Langley's Franklinville carcass","place":"Franklinville / Harding Highway","lat":39.62,"lng":-75.08,"radius_m":3500,"precision":"broad highway vicinity; find tree unknown","summary":"The Monitor-Register named Morrell Langley as finder of an unusual carcass hanging in a pine tree in woods a short distance from the Harding Highway. His home was at the highway's junction with the Franklinville–Iona Road, but the paper did not locate the tree relative to that junction. Henry Finger later sent the specimen to the University of Pennsylvania; no final identification has been found. This is a carcass report, not a live Devil sighting.","source_status":"Original October 22 and 29 Monitor-Register pages inspected; December 17 follow-up","source_url":"https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85035776/1925-10-22/ed-1/?sp=1"},
  {"id":"greenwich-1925","period":"later","kind":"animal","date_label":"December 1925","title":"Greenwich unidentified animal","place":"Greenwich / Bacon's Neck","lat":39.37,"lng":-75.36,"radius_m":2500,"precision":"broad township area","summary":"A farmer shot an animal after poultry losses; a newspaper associated the unidentified specimen with Jersey Devil talk. Its identity was not established.","source_status":"Contemporary Monitor-Register article","source_url":"https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85035776/1925-12-17/ed-1/?sp=1"},
  {"id":"erial-1930","period":"later","kind":"retelling","date_label":"Around 1930, later account","title":"Erial family account","place":"Erial","lat":39.765,"lng":-74.997,"radius_m":2000,"precision":"village area","summary":"A later case compilation recounts a family encounter near Erial around 1930. The event date and original testimony have not been checked; this is a book-era lead.","source_status":"Later source comparison; original report unverified","source_url":"https://www.ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1930-00-00-usa-erial.htm"},
  {"id":"bozarth-mullica","period":"later","kind":"retelling","date_label":"1928 in 1939 obituary; WPA accounts suggest 1935","title":"William Bozarth's Mullica River tradition","place":"Mullica River near Batsto, broad area","lat":39.6744,"lng":-74.665,"radius_m":6000,"precision":"broad river region; route and event site unknown","summary":"A 1939 Tuckerton Beacon obituary says Bozarth supposedly met the Devil while walking along the Mullica River in 1928. A 1937 WPA essay and 1939 guide instead place an encounter in Batsto's pine country a few months before the 1935 Italo-Ethiopian War. Neither is a firsthand 1928 report, and the date conflict remains unresolved. The circle is a regional reading aid, not a walking route.","source_status":"1939 obituary clipping reproduced; 1937 and 1939 WPA retrospective accounts conflict on year","source_url":"https://bassriverhistory.blogspot.com/2011/01/william-bozarth-meets-jersey-devil.html"},
  {"id":"woodstown-smith","period":"later","kind":"retelling","date_label":"1935 or early 1936; WPA accounts conflict","title":"Philip Smith's Woodstown sidewalk report","place":"Woodstown","lat":39.651,"lng":-75.328,"radius_m":1800,"precision":"town area; store and street unnamed","summary":"A 1939 New Jersey guide says slaughterhouse worker Philip Smith saw a large doglike figure pass a grocery store one night in 1935. An earlier 1937 WPA essay says he saw the Devil twice in early 1936. No original statement or shop location has been inspected; the date and count remain disputed.","source_status":"1937 WPA Highlight and 1939 New Jersey guide, both retrospective; conflicting date/count","source_url":"https://dspace.njstatelib.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/8979de20-f739-4f6b-971d-303ea9470053/content"},
  {"id":"woodstown-posse-1936","period":"later","kind":"retelling","date_label":"1936, recalled in 1939 guide","title":"Woodstown search for the Devil","place":"Woodstown area","lat":39.651,"lng":-75.328,"radius_m":4000,"precision":"broad town and woods area","summary":"A 1939 Federal Writers' Project guide says farmers with shotguns searched Woodstown woods and swamps after reports that a creature had frightened women and children. It gives no named witness, search route or contemporary newspaper citation; the circle is only the town region.","source_status":"1939 New Jersey guide, printed p. 662; underlying 1936 record unverified","source_url":"https://dspace.njstatelib.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/564bc3e2-18a5-4eb6-a2cb-a93986d94ac9/content"},
  {"id":"perrineville-stump-1939","period":"later","kind":"retelling","date_label":"Before 1939, date unstated","title":"Perrineville's tree-stump false alarm","place":"Perrineville","lat":40.228,"lng":-74.448,"radius_m":1800,"precision":"village area","summary":"The 1939 New Jersey guide identifies school custodian Howard Patterson, who recalled approaching a glowing figure on a foggy road and discovering a knotty tree trunk lit by foxfire. This is a located misidentification story, not an unexplained encounter; the road and event date are unstated.","source_status":"Named retrospective account in 1939 New Jersey guide, printed p. 584","source_url":"https://dspace.njstatelib.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/564bc3e2-18a5-4eb6-a2cb-a93986d94ac9/content"},
  {"id":"gibbstown-1951","period":"later","kind":"retelling","date_label":"November 1951, day uncertain","title":"Gibbstown child account","place":"Gibbstown","lat":39.827,"lng":-75.283,"radius_m":1700,"precision":"town area","summary":"Later accounts give conflicting versions of a child or children seeing a frightening figure. One compilation attributes its 1951 version to the Philadelphia Record, but that newspaper ceased in 1947; the claimed citation is impossible. No contemporary account has been verified, so this is a weakly sourced locality lead.","source_status":"Later source comparison only; purported 1951 Philadelphia Record source impossible (ceased 1947)","source_url":"https://www.ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1951-11-22-usa-gibbstown.htm"},
  {"id":"dorothy-1960","period":"later","kind":"retelling","date_label":"1960, later chronology","title":"Dorothy sounds and marks","place":"Dorothy","lat":39.4,"lng":-74.828,"radius_m":2500,"precision":"village area","summary":"A later chronology associates strange sounds and tracks in Dorothy with the Devil. No original 1960 article or precise location was located in this pass.","source_status":"Later chronology only","source_url":"https://njdevilhunters.com/post.html"},
  {"id":"mays-landing-1960","period":"later","kind":"retelling","date_label":"1960, later chronology","title":"Mays Landing sounds and marks","place":"Mays Landing","lat":39.452,"lng":-74.728,"radius_m":3000,"precision":"town area","summary":"The same later chronology mentions strange sounds and tracks near Mays Landing. It may refer to the same regional episode as Dorothy; it is not counted as another witness.","source_status":"Later chronology only","source_url":"https://njdevilhunters.com/post.html"},
  {"id":"sweetwater-1969","period":"later","kind":"retelling","date_label":"1969, later chronology","title":"Sweetwater road-crossing claim","place":"Sweetwater","lat":39.619,"lng":-74.646,"radius_m":2300,"precision":"village and road area","summary":"A later chronology says a driver saw a creature jump across a road in Sweetwater. The road, original account and event date remain unverified.","source_status":"Later chronology only","source_url":"https://njdevilhunters.com/post.html"}
]