Stolen treasure: 300-year-old illustrated book found in Freehold heads home to Mexico

In early 2020, Rick Geffken was digging into some research at the Monmouth County Historical Association’s Freehold headquarters when he encountered an eye-popping surprise.

“I open this envelope and there’s this beautifully inscribed book with writings and illustrations in Spanish,” said Geffken, a historian and author from Farmingdale. “I’m like, ‘What the hell is this doing here? It has nothing to do with Monmouth County history.' It didn’t make any sense.”

The 25-page text, titled “En El Nombre De Dios” (In the Name of God), was written in 1715 and contains guidelines for training missionaries. It’s difficult to interpret because the Spanish is so archaic. One thing, however, was clear to Geffken.

“It didn’t belong here,” he said.

The book came from Mexico, likely plundered in war. Now, after a 173-year odyssey, it’s on the way home. That wasn’t easy, though. It required a stroke of luck.

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'I think he stole it'

According to the Monmouth County Historical Association, “En El Nombre De Dios” is believed to have been commissioned by Marques de la Villapuente, an officer who served in Mexico under King Carlos II and King Philip V.

A distinguished warrior credited with military victories on land and sea, Marques de la Villapuente was knighted by Carlos II and in 1700 became mayor of Mexico City. One of the city’s churches still bears a carving of his likeness. Devoted to missionary work later in life, he funded “In the Name of God” with 10,000 pesos.

“It’s an instructional guide for scholarships for young Mexican boys to become Jesuit priests,” Geffken said.

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How did it wind up in Monmouth County? Enter Lt. James W. Schureman, a West Point Graduate from Shrewsbury who was part of the occupying U.S. Army in Mexico City in 1848 following the Mexican-American War.

“I think he stole it,” Geffken said. “The spoils of war.”

A member of the sprawling Forman family, whose Monmouth County roots predated the American Revolution, Schureman died in California in 1852 at age 30. By then, the volume had entered the Forman collection and would be passed down the generations before the family papers were donated to the Monmouth County Historical Association in 1933.

There it stayed until Geffken pulled it from the envelope while researching the Formans.

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“It’s in perfect condition,” he said. “You would think it was hand-written a year ago. Beautiful, and obviously has not been used a lot. We think it has the original cover — not parchment, but nice stock paper.”

Because “I’m a historian, and I believe things belong where they belong,” Geffken said, he and MCHA officials set about repatriating the book.

“We wrote a series of letters and emails to both the New York and (Washington) D.C. Mexican consulates, explaining what we thought we had and that we wanted to give it back,” he said. “Then the pandemic happened.”

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A stroke of luck

Twenty months passed, and Geffken got no response. Then fate intervened.

Two weeks ago, he stopped in at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Red Bank to make a clothing donation. You know who else happened to be there?

“People from the Mexican consulate,” Geffken said. “They were helping local Mexicans get documentation. I met this guy (from the consulate) and told him the story and he said, ‘I’ll have somebody contact you.’”

Sure enough, Geffken heard back within days. His 300-year-old book had a taker.

“It was absolutely serendipitous,” he said.

On Nov. 18 Miguel Gleason Berumen, executive director of the Mexican Cultural Institute in New York, came to Freehold to receive “En El Nombre De Dios.” Where exactly it winds up has yet to be determined, but the exchange was a full-circle moment.

“I feel really good about it,” Geffken said. “It’s getting back to where it belongs.”

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: En El Nombre De Dios, found in Freehold NJ, heading to Mexico