FREEHOLD – After many years, a former Freehold Borough firefighter and his wife have had their memories honored with the placement of a headstone at their gravesite.
On May 21, a headstone was placed in the Old Tennent Cemetery, Manalapan, at the final resting place of Frank Muldoon, who was a member of the Freehold Fire Department’s Goodwill Hook and Ladder Company, and his wife, Mary A. Muldoon.
Frank Muldoon died in 1952 and Mary Muldoon died in 1928. Their gravesite was not marked with a headstone until last month.
Goodwill Hook and Ladder Company member Norman Miles said the effort to provide the Muldoons with a marked grave took a year.
Miles said Goodwill members Jaye Sims and Mitchell Shatz knew that Frank Muldoon was buried at the Old Tennent Cemetery, but could not locate his gravesite while they were preparing to honor deceased members of the fire company for Memorial Day in 2016.
The cemetery’s caretaker, Ed Burke, eventually located the unmarked grave where Muldoon was buried and Miles began to conduct research about Muldoon to ensure his memory was properly honored.
With the assistance of Kevin Coyne, who is Freehold Borough’s historian, Miles obtained newspaper articles about Muldoon and eventually learned that Muldoon died on Sept. 22, 1952, at the age of 90. Through further research, Miles discovered that Muldoon joined the fire company in 1896 and requested his exemption in 1912.
According to the newspaper articles, Muldoon was a resident of Freehold and owned a sporting goods store on Main Street. He was known in Monmouth County as a sportsman, participating in a shooting tournament in 1911 and hosting one in 1916.
In 1913, a young man shot and injured his friend with a gun he allegedly stole from Muldoon’s store.
Muldoon was in the news again in 1916 when a woman at an adjoining business fell through a window and cut her throat. Although Muldoon provided aid to her, the woman died before physicians arrived. Muldoon sold his store in about 1922, according to the research.
Muldoon unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the position of Monmouth County coroner in 1908.
In 1934, Muldoon appeared in the news again when a barn in the rear of his residence caught fire. He suffered a heart attack in 1945 at the age of 83, but survived and lived for seven more years.
Although Muldoon’s obituary did not mention a wife, Miles found a 1926 article that stated he was married to Mary Muldoon.
With assistance from Deb Carmody of the Monmouth County Historical Association, Miles was able to locate an obituary for Mary and learned she died on Jan. 12, 1928, at the age of 64.
After Miles uncovered the information about the Muldoons, the fire company commissioned a headstone for the couple and dedicated the marker in their memory on May 21.
“A headstone was finally placed on the graves of Frank and Mary Muldoon, 89 years after Mary’s death and 65 years after Frank’s death,” Miles said.
