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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02248 0658
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
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MEMORIAL CYCLOPEDIA
OF NEW JERSEY
UNDER THE EDITORIAL SUPERVISION OF
MARY DEPUE OGDEN
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ADVISORY BOARD
MRS. GARRET A. HOBART, PATERSON.
MRS. R. V. W. FAIRCHILD, PARSIPPANY.
MRS. JOSEPH D. BEDLE, JERSEY CITY.
MRS. ANDREW SINNICKSON, SALEM.
MRS. HENRY S. WHITE, RED BANK.
MISS ELIZABETH STRONG, NEW BRUNSWICK.
MRS. CRAIG A. MARSH, PLAINFIELD.
MISS MARGARET O. HAINES, BURLINGTON.
MRS. E. GAYLORD PUTNAM, ELIZABETH.
MISS SARAH NATHALIE DOUGHTY, ATLANTIC CITY.
MRS. JOHN MOSES, TRENTON.
MRS. WILLIAM NELSON, PATERSON.
MRS. MARY ROBESON SMITH, BELVIDERE.
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VOLUME III
MEMORIAL HISTORY COMPANY NEWARK, NEW JERSEY 1917
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CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
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SEMPER
PARATUS
Marsh .
CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
MARSH, Craig A.,
Distinguished Lawyer, Honored Citizen.
A list of the well known men of New Jersey would be incomplete if it did not contain a record of the late Craig Adams Marsh, who for more than twenty-eight years served as Corporation Counsel of the city of Plainfield. As a man and as a citizen he displayed a personal worth and an excellence of character that not only commanded the respect of those with whom he associated, but won him the warmest personal admiration and the staunchest friendships. The name Marsh was prominent in Great Britain for many centuries before the discovery of Amer- ica, many of the name occupying po-i- tions of importance and honor. The arms of the family is as follows: Gules, a horse's head couped argent, between three crosses crosslet fitchee of the same. Crest : A griffin's head couped, ducally gorged or, holding in the beak a rose, gules, leaved vert. Motto: Semper paratus.
As early as 1174 a Sir Stephen Marsh, Lord of Newton, etc., in Norfolkshire, is mentioned, and from that period onward the name among both "patricians and plebeians" fills up a goodly share of space in the English and Scotch, and also Irish records. At least six of the name, neither closely related to the other, came to New England more than two centuries and a half ago to seek new homes amid new surroundings and to broaden their field of activity, there being greater possibil- ities in the New than the Old World, and at the present time their descendants are to be found from Maine to California, many of them having gained renown in
the arts and sciences, in literature and law, in medicine and statecraft, and in the Christian ministry.
(I) Samuel Marsh, the progenitor of the line here under consideration, was born about 1620, died in September, 1683. He was a resident of Essexshire, Eng- land. The first mention of his name in this country was in the year 1641 when his name appears on the Boston records, and about four years later he removed to New Haven, Connecticut, where he re- sided for about twenty years, and then removed to Elizabethtown. New Jersey. where he spent the remainder of his days. On April 7. 1646, he was serving in the militia of New Haven. for it is stated that because of sickness "his absence from traynings was accepted of the court as a sufficient excuse." On May 2. 1648. he took the oath of "fidellitie" to the govern- ment. When the English gained posses- sion of New Jersey from the Dutch, he took the oath of allegiance to the King (Charles II.) on February 16. 1665, and his name appears. curiously. for pulling up the fence of one Richard Mitchell, to whom the Governor had given a lot, but whose title to the same the town did not acknowledge. Eight persons were in- cluded in the bill of indictment. the charge being riot, and of course with the Governor, who was Carteret, on the side of the prosecution, they were found guilty and each fined five pounds (the chief culprit seven pounds) "to the use of His Majesty." They used no more force than was necessary to remove what they considered an obstruction.
After the removal of Mr. Marsh to Elizabethtown, he became one of the first
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"Associates" of the town, and a man of to reap abundant reward. He was public- property and responsibility, as we fre- spirited to the highest degree, ever for- ward in encouraging enterprises which would advance the interests of his com- munity, and in the year 1710 was chosen to represent the county of Essex in the Assembly, performing his duties in a meritorious manner. He married, about the year 1697, Sarah (perhaps Clark), who bore him eight children, among when was Samuel, of whom further. The will of Mr. Marsh, which was proved De- cember 21, 1723, mentioned his widow and six children, and it also described him as "of Elizabeth Town," though re- siding near the present Rahway. quently find him going on bonds for others. On November 30, 1676, he took out a patent for two hundred and five acres of land in six parcels, including a "house lot" of seven acres, and other parcels of respectively, eighteen, one hun- dred, sixty, fourteen, and six acres, on the left bank of the Rahway river, near Trembly Point. At the same time his son, Samuel, Jr., took out a patent at Elizabeth Town for one hundred acres in three parcels, two of which were also on the "Rahawak" (Rahway) river. In his will, dated June 10, 1683. probated Feb- ruary 24, 1685, his widow Comfort, ex- ecutrix, his residence is described as "at Wawanday," which must have been a corruption of "Rahway."
Mr. Marsh married, probably shortly after his arrival in New Haven, Com- fort (surname unknown), undoubtedly of Puritan ancestry. Children: Mary, born 1648, probably died unmarried; Samuel, February 12, 1650, died 1684 or 1685, married Mary Trimmins; Comfort, Au- gust 22, 1652, married Joseph Meeker : Hannah, July 22, 1655, probably died un- married ; Elizabeth, December 27, 1657; John, May 2, 1661, married Elizabeth Clark or Clerk; Joseph, of whom further. These children were identified with the original church established at Elizabeth- town at the time the first settlers pur- chased their land there, which was Con- gregational or Independent. Subsequently many of them became Presbyterians.
(II) Joseph, third son and youngest child of Samuel and Comfort Marsh, was born at New Haven, Connecticut, April I, 1663, died in December, 1723. He acquired a practical education in the schools of his day. and his active career was devoted to the occupation of mill- ing, and probably farming, conducting the former occupation in such a way as
(III) Samuel (2), eldest son and sec- ond child of Joseph and Sarah Marsh, was born near Rahway, New Jersey, about the year 1700, died about the year 1772. He was reared and educated in the community in which he was born, residing there throughout his entire life- time, and his last residence, enclosed with shingles fastened on with wrought nails, is said to be still standing at the corner of Main street and Elm avenue, in what was once known as "Bridgetown," or "Lower Rahway." He took an active and prominent part in public affairs, and in 1740 was one of the charter aldermen of Elizabeth Town, when that town took in a large district of adjoining terri- tory. He was a prominent member of the Woodbridge, Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting, presumably becoming a Quaker through the influence of his wives, who were of that religious faith. his forbears having been of the Congre- gational or Presbyterian denomination. He married (first) Mary Shotwell, who died about 1741; married (second) Mary Shotwell, in 1743, and by these two mar- riages to women of the same name be- came the father of fourteen children, nine sons and five daughters, among whom was William, of whom further.
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(IV) William, third son and third child of Samuel (2) and Mary (Shotwell) Marsh (the first wife), was born near Rahway, New Jersey, December 12, 1732, died about October, 1792. He also was a Quaker in his church relations, although little else is known of him, except that in 1753 he married Sarah, daughter of Wil- liam and Susanna (Cowperthwait) Web- ster, of Plainfield, New Jersey, who was a Quaker, as was also her ancestors for many generations. According to the rec- ords of the Woodbridge, Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meetings, there were fourteen children born to them, among whom was William, of whom further.
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(V) William (2), son of William (1) and Sarah (Webster) Marsh, was born near Rahway, New Jersey, August 12, 1754. He spent his entire lifetime in the section of the State wherein he was born. and his occupation was probably that of a farmer. He may have been the "Wil- liam Marsh of Essex county" who served in the Revolutionary War. His life was one of usefulness and activity, during which he strove most earnestly to fulfill every duty and responsibility, and hav- ing been honorable in all his dealings with mankind, won the esteem of all with whom he was brought in contact. He married, March 25, 1775, Sarah Frazee, who bore him twelve children, among whom was Frazee, of whom further. She was of Presbyterian ancestry, and the probability is that her husband also be- came a Presbyterian.
(VI) Frazee, youngest child of Wil- liam (2) and Sarah (Frazee) Marsh, usually known as "Captain Marsh," was born near Rahway, New Jersey, April 19, 1798, died in Plainfield, New Jersey, Feb- ruary 28, 1874. He acquired a practical education which thoroughly qualified him for an active and successful career, and a keynote to liis success was his execu- tive force and mastery of detail in what-
ever engaged his attention. He was an important factor in the development of Plainfield, having been one of its promi- nent merchants, and probably the great- est compliment that can be paid him is that he made himself an honor to the commercial world, as well as a credit to the mercantile community in which he resided. He was equally active and prominent in public life. frequently mak- ing addresses upon political topics, and he held a State commission as captain of the militia. He was a firm believer in education, and desired for others all the knowledge they could secure. From one of his numerous preserved addresses on that subject we quote these paragraphs to show his exalted style of language and excellent reasoning powers :
There was a time when knowledge was made the monopoly of a few: when it was purposely concealed under the garb of monkish priestcraft. nursed in cloisters, and dispensed to the people with a very sparing hand. But, thanks to high heaven, thanks to the stern patriotism of our forefathers who gave us liberty, those dark days of superstition have passed away, and it is now known that knowledge, like gold, becomes the brighter the more it is handled. Knowledge has also furnished us with the means of dispersing those thick clouds of ignorance which so long enslaved the human mind. When the voice of the tempest is up, and hill speaks to hill in vibrating thunder, instead of imagining we are visited by the judgments of a vindictive Being. the student of nature, the man of a cultivated mind, beholds only a beautiful Benefactor: views Him destroying the noxious vapors of disease, purifying the air for the use of His creatures, flinging over earth a freshened verdure, and scattering new odors from every flower.
Thus to the man of a cultivated mind, every flower, every leaf, every pebble. may become tutors in the great school of Nature to instruct the mind and improve the heart. The day has now arrived when he whom wishes to learn hardly needs a master. for with only this assist- ance some of the greatest scholars and philoso- phers have formed themselves.
But, to obtain this preeminence, we must ex- pect to use exertion. Without it as well might
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the hapless herdsman, whose hut is in the path- way of the thundering avalanche, hope that the ponderous mass might be stayed in its midway career. . Knowledge is not inherited from parents, nor is it the gift of high birth or great wealth, but the result of our great endeavors.
Mr. Marsh's views on slavery, after- ward also held by his son Warren, were well expressed in the closing paragraphs of an address on that theme delivered in 1855 :
We are often told that should we let the slave go free it would render the master poor. I would say then, better be poor than unjust; bet- ter beg than steal; better die than tramp on a fellow-being and reduce him to a brute for sel- fish purposes. For we have been assured by Him who cannot lie that it will profit a man but little to gain the whole world and lose his own soul.
The following was spoken of Mr. Marsh by his grandson, Craig A. Marsh :
He wielded a trenchant pen in the discussion of public questions in the press, and at a time when it required courage and independence in a high degree to do it, because it threatened loss of business, and social hostilities; he contributed weighty arguments against the then recognized national institution of slavery. He was self- made, but nevertheless a scholar. When he asked one of his grandchildren who was home from college on a vacation, how high a flag pole was that cast a shadow of fifteen feet at high noon in the latitude of Plainfield, and the young sophomore said that he could figure it out by trigonometry and the table of logarithms, but that he had not brought the book home with him, the old gentleman took a scrap of paper, figured out the height of the flag pole by the rule of three, and quietly remarked: "I never had a college education, but I don't think I missed much if you can't use it without carrying the books around with you."
Mr. Marsh married, November 6, 1818, Phebe, born 1791, died December 2, 1859, daughter of Aaron and Lydia Tucker. She bore him seven children, among whom was Warren. of whom further.
Mr. Marsh married (second) September 8, 1861, Mary, daughter of David and Harriet Van Kirk. No children.
(VII) Warren, third child of Frazee and Phebe (Tucker) Marsh, was born at Short Hills, south of Plainfield, New Jersey, February 28, 1824, died in Plain- field, January 12, 1898. He was educated in the public schools of Plainfield, and later added considerably to the knowl- edge thus gained by reading and observa- tion. In his early career he met with obstacles which to others less hopeful and less courageous would seem unsur- inountable, but by perseverance and in- dustry he overcame them and gained for himself a position among the prominent and influential business men of Plainfield. He was one of the leading contractors and builders in that city, retiring from active business some fifteen years prior to his death. During his active career many of the principal buildings of Plain- field were put up under his direction. About the year 1855 he built at 45 (now 301-303) East Third street, then a fine residential street, the first brick dwelling erected in Plainfield, which was com- modious and attractive, and which was occupied by him until about the year 1889, when he purchased a house at 340 Franklin Place, where he resided until his death. The property is still owned by his heirs.
To a natural dignity of manner, Mr. Marsh added a geniality that won him hosts of friends and made him welcome everywhere. He was a man of strongly marked characteristics, was thoroughly optimistic in his views, of absolute loyalty to friends and kindred, hospitable and generous, with a ready sympathy for those in affliction or need. He was a man of few words, but was positive in his con- victions, which were generally right. A clear evidence of this is the fact that dur-
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ing the excitement of the early abolition days preceding the Civil War, he con- sistently voted for men for high office who favored the abolition of slavery. He was a member of Jerusalem Lodge, No. 26, Free and Accepted Masons, in which he served as master.
Mr. Marsh married (first) Ann Eliza, born May 2, 1823, died March 25, 1852. daughter of Jeptha' Holton, of Plainfield. He married (second) December 22, 1855, Kate Harned, born in New York City, May 1, 1838, died July 30, 1905, daughter of Thomas R. Adams, of New York City. Children: Craig Adams, of whom fur- ther; Warren . Henry, who resides in Plainfield; Ada Grace, who resides in Plainfield, unmarried. Mrs. Marsh was a woman of independent spirit, lofty cour- age and unusual intelligence, as shown by her brilliant conversation and her vari- ous contributions to the press. Amid the usual cares of her early married life she always found time to read good books, and from the first she was interested in those things which she knew would give her children superior advantages in life.
(VIII) Craig Adams, eldest son of Warren and Kate Harned (Adams) Marsh, was born in Plainfield, New Jer- sey, December 8, 1856, died there Novem- ber 12, 1910. He attended the public school of Plainfield, graduating from the high school in 1872, in his sixteenth year. His mind turned to Princeton as an edu- cational institution which he should like to make his alma mater, but his chief pre- ceptor suggested he should enter Union College at Schenectady, New York, this preceptor being himself a graduate of that institution. Having sent his name to Union College, and being informed that he was too young to enter, he con- cluded to spend one year more in a post- graduate course in the high school, which proved to his advantage, as it enabled him to enter Union as a sophomore. Some
of his classmates who have made repu- tations for themselves in the world were: James R. Truax, Ph. D., who became in- structor in Languages and Literature in Union College; Rev. John W. Doremus, of Bryan, Texas; Mr. Homer Greene, of Honesdale, Pennsylvania; Mr. Frank Tweedy, of Washington, D. C .; Rev. Dr. A. V. V. Raymond, later president of Union College; the late Rev. Dr. John G. Lansing, professor in Rutgers College, and Mr. Justice William G. Rudd, of Albany, New York. While a student in the high school he was fond of athletics, in which he excelled, and this fondness followed him at Union, where he was captain of the college base- ball nine, and not only becaine an expert player, but won the "President's prize" for best ball playing. At college he be- came a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. He was elected respondent by the "House of Representatives" for the anniversary exercises in June, 1875, and was chosen orator for class day at the graduation, when his standing in his class was ninety-five, an unusual mark of scholarship.
When Mr. Marsh graduated from Union College in 1876, he was not de- cided as to whether he would enter the ministry or study law, but after careful deliberation he chose the law. He entered the office of Dodd & Ackerman, of New- ark, the senior partner, Hon. Amzi Dodd, having served as Vice-Chancellor of New Jersey from 1871 to 1875, and again from 1881 to 1882. After spending one year in this office he entered Columbia Law School in New York City, in 1877, and was graduated therefrom with the degree of Bachelor of Arts on May 14, 1879, after a two years' course. During his course at the law school his eyes became weak from overuse, and then he found his wife (having married in the mean- time) his best helpmeet in a situation
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which he had not expected. She read to him law book after law book, case after case, while he listened and absorbed the common law, statutes, opinions and court dicta. It proved a source of enjoyment to both, and enabled him to complete his course in the required time.
After his graduation from Columbia Law School, he entered the offices of Suydam & Jackson, in Plainfield, where he remained for a few months. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar at the November term of the Supreme Court, 1879, as an attorney-at-law. Shortly afterward he opened an office for the practice of his profession in the Dunlap building, where he remained for many years. He soon was in receipt of a good practice, which steadily increased in volume and importance, due to the fact that he achieved success in the justices' courts and in the Union circuit. Mr. Marsh early acquired a reputation for successfully defending alleged criminals. He did this often in the city police court, but also in the higher State courts, and at various times in the Federal courts at Trenton and in New York City. He had a great horror of unjust convictions in the criminal courts, and a most hearty contempt for sensational petitions. Among the press clippings which he preserved at the beginning of his practice and car- ried about in his pocket were two which greatly impressed him. The first may in part account for the earnestness and vigor with which he always so endeavored to defend a client as to make sure the jury would give heed to a "reasonable doubt," and not convict an innocent man of a crime. The second was upon the great ease with which petitions could be pro- cured, and it aided to prove to him that they were of no real significance, espe- cially in criminal cases. During his early years of practice he had several students
who admired him both as teacher and friend.
The rapidity with which Mr. Marsh rose in his profession, so far as admission to the various courts and the highest ap- pointments within the gift of his native city would indicate, may be best gathered from the following dates: He was sworn in as an attorney on November 6, 1879. Three years later, at the corresponding term of court, which was at the earliest possible moment under the rules of the court, he was admitted as counsellor. Nine months previous to this, however, on February 6, 1882, he was appointed a Master in Chancery by Chancellor Run- yon. On May 1, 1882, after but two and one-half years practice, he was appointed Corporation Counsel of the city of Plain- field, a position he retained through all administrations, Republican, Democratic, Independent and Prohibitionist, until his decease. On February 20, 1883, he was appointed Supreme Court Commissioner, which authorized him to take testimony upon reference. On December 15, 1886. he was admitted to practice before the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of New York. On March 15, 1887, he was admitted to practice be- fore the Circuit Court of the United States for the Third Circuit, including New Jersey, and also the United States District Court, District of New Jersey. He was also a Special Master in Chan- cery. He also received the degree of Master of Arts from his alma mater, June 14, 1885.
Mr. Marsh was only twenty-five years of age when he was appointed Corpora- tion Counsel of the city of Plainfield by Hon. L. V. F. Randolph, who was then mayor. Undoubtedly he was the young- est man ever appointed to the responsible position of Corporation Counsel in any city in the State of New Jersey, and few
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have received such an appointment when they were simply attorneys and not coun- sellors. But the result justified the ap- pointment to a remarkable degree. From the outset his written legal opinions to the municipal body were brief or lengthy, as the occasion demanded; were lucid, were exact, and were always accepted as correct law. The questions submitted to him for his determination in writing by the Common Council were numerous and varying, and they concerned the accept- ance and regulation of dedicated prop- erty, assessment and revocation of taxes, terms and duties of the city officials, extra compensations of officials, authority of the city over shade trees in the streets, the powers of council over the liquor question, duties of election officers, power to sprinkle streets at public expense, the legality of votes when the voters had temporarily removed their residence, and hundreds of similar questions, many of which required tedious and exhaustive consideration. It is doubtful if any other counsel in the State ever had more puz- zling questions to settle, or gave as close attention to the duties of the office. Be- sides his numerous written opinions, he was constantly called upon by the vari- ous city officials, chairmen of committees and heads of departments, including the Chief of Police, for instructions upon almost every conceivable municipal topic. Their rule of conduct in cases of doubt was invariably that which was laid down to them explicitly by the Corporation Counsel. He also was interviewed on all manner of interesting public questions by the reporters of the press. During the first five years of his counselship he attended all meetings of the "City Fathers," but afterward, finding it was too much of a drain upon his time, and not based upon any necessity, he only attended meetings under a previous ar- rangement, or when sent for. Summing
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