TOMS RIVER, NJ – Tom Nivison, owner of Silverton Farms and descendant of Revolutionary War hero John Nivison, has thrown his name in to run for town council on Dan Rodrick‘s Republican party ticket. If elected, Mr. Nivison will be the first farmer elected to Toms River Council in memorable history.
“Something is refreshing about the idea of a farmer working for us in Town Hall,” Rodrick said. “Not another builder, not another owner of commercial properties—but just a plain, old ordinary farmer. A hard-working guy with good old-fashioned common sense. This farmer could have sold out and sold his large organic farm years ago to developers. He could have thrown in the towel; he didn‘t! Instead, Nivison chose to stay, work and fight.”
Nivison’s family has a history of fighting for Toms River dating back to colonial times when Toms River was under British control.
John Nivison, Tom’s 5th great grandfather, fought beside Joshua Huddy when the British attacked the Block House and burned down the village of Toms River in what is now Downtown Toms River.
Today, Nivison is fighting his own battle for the future of Downtown Toms River beside Mayoral Candidate Dan Rodrick as a candidate for Town Council.
Tom Nivison, like Rodrick, opposes the plan to turn the downtown into what he calls a city of hi-rise apartments. Nivison believes Toms River should remain a village.
“American Patriots like Captain Joshua Huddy and my 5th Great Grandfather John Nivison fought to protect and preserve our town,” he said. “Joshua Huddy gave his life for it. The challenges facing us today in Toms River do not require the kind of sacrifice that Joshua Huddy, John Nivison, and so many other patriots were called upon to make.
He said there’s a long fight ahead to save Toms River from those modern-day pillagers who want to turn the town into a major city with high-density hi-rise apartments across town.
“It requires our best effort and a willingness to believe in ourselves and to do what is right in that same revolutionary spirit,” he added.
It is in that same spirit that Tom Nivison, a local farmer, is running for Toms River Town Council. The Nivison family has a long history of service. His grandfather fought in the First World War, and Tom’s father liberated the horrific underground concentration camp at Dora Mittelbau in 1945.
He was shot and was hit with shrapnel in an explosion. Nivison received the Purple Heart and Silver Star. He returned home to Toms River and died at 39 from his injuries—leaving behind 7 children and a pregnant wife.
According to Ancestry.com, “John William Nivison Jr was born in 1720, in New Jersey, British Colonial America as the son of John William Nevinson. He married Hannah Beers on 11 June 1747, in New Jersey, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 2 daughters. He died on 16 May 1804, in Middletown Township, Monmouth, New Jersey, United States, at the age of 84.”
