USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > A History of the city of Newark, New Jersey : embracing practically two and a half centuries, 1666-1913 Volume III > Part 24
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Mr. Heilmann married, in March, 1879, Sarah, daughter of Frederick C. and Julia Hexamer, and has four sons and four daughters now living. Mr. Hexamer founded the undertaking business in which Mr. Heilmann is now engaged.
Mr. Heilmann is a member of a number of fraternal and other organiza- tions, among which may be mentioned: Schiller Lodge No. 66, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master; he has been past district deputy of the Eleventh Masonic district; Jersey City Council, Scottish Rite Masons; Salaam Temple; president of the German Past Masters' Association; Knights of Pythias; Independent Order of Odd Fellows; in the last-named order he has been past district deputy of the subordinate lodge and of the encamp- ment degree; Arion, Germania, Harmony and Phoenix singing societies; Improved Order of Heptasophs; Newark Turn Verein. He has been president of the United Singers of Newark for the past three years (1912). Much
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might be said of the benefit derived by these various organizations from Mr. Heilmann's connection with them. He is a man of great concentrative power, and whatever engages his attention has the advantage of his calm considera- tion and mature and well-formed opinion.
ERNEST A. GEOFFROY
Credit is due to any man who makes a success of his business life, but in a far greater measure is it due to the man who has worked his way up from small beginnings and owes his rise to his unflinching determination and ambition. Such a man is Ernest A. Geoffroy, one of the representative men of the city of Newark, New Jersey, treasurer of the Heller Brothers Company, and a leading spirit in several other business enterprises.
His father, Nicholas C. Geoffroy, was born near Bellefort, France, and came to this country at the age of seventeen years. He was the owner of a cider mill, which he kept in active operation for many years at Madison, New Jersey, and married Francois Duclos, a native of Lyons, France.
Ernest A. Geoffroy was born in Madison, Morris county, New Jersey, May 4, 1857, and acquired his education in the public schools of that town- ship. Immediately after his graduation from the public school he entered upon his business career. His first position was with Heller Brothers & Company as an apprentice, and, commencing at the very bottom of the ladder, he has, by perseverance and faithful performance of the duties assigned him, won his way to the topmost round, now holding official posi- tion in the same concern which was the scene of his initial struggles. He is not only treasurer of the Heller Brothers Company, but he has an interest in the business. The Heller Brothers' Tool Company is another concern with which he is connected, also in the capacity of treasurer. He is also manager of the Heller Brothers Steel Works. In the Woodside Building and Loan Association he has held the position of treasurer for the long period of twenty-eight years, since its organization. As a member of the Newark Board of Trade his opinions are listened to with the closest attention and his counsel is eagerly sought by those interested in financial matters. In political affairs he takes no active part, simply casting his vote as an honest, right-minded citizen who has the public welfare at heart. He is not a mem- bor of any social or fraternal organizations, preferring to spend his spare moments in other forms of recreation.
Mr. Geoffroy married, in 1883, Elizabeth C., daughter of Alfred and Phoebe (Sturgis) Eagles. Mr. Eagles was in the coach lamp manufacturing business in Newark, the firm being known as Eagles & Lockwood, one of the oldest concerns in the city. Mr. and Mrs. Geoffroy have been blessed with two children: Francois, who married E. A. Ward, a mechanical engineer, and Rhoda, who lives at home with her parents. The life of Mr. Geoffroy has been an unusually active one, and, although he has reached the prime of life, he still occupies a position of eminence in the business world which is second to none. ITis important business enterprises have not been permitted to occupy his time to the exclusion of charitable work, and his benefactions have been large and carefully applied.
REV. M. P. CORCORAN
Among the services rendered by good citizens to the community of which they form a part, not least is that done by the preaching and example of a high-minded priest and spiritual guide. Of this number is Rev. M. P.
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Corcoran, now an assistant in the parish of St. Rose of Lima, of Newark, New Jersey. He was born in Jersey City, June 30, 1876, the son of Michael and Bridget (Mullen) Corcoran, who were both natives of Ireland. He was the eldest of a family of seven children, the others being: Mary A., Margaret V., Matthew J., David B., Helen A. and Hannah A. Showing from his earliest years those marked mental and religious qualifications that have unfolded with the passing years, he was sent as a young boy to St. Bridget's Academy, after which he went to the Academy of the Immaculate Concep- tion. He completed his academic studies at St. Vincent in Pennsylvania. He then matriculated at Seton Hall College, South Orange, New Jersey, and after completing the course with credit received his degree of A. B. in 1897. Hle received his A. M. degree from the same institution in 1899.
In 1901 he was ordained priest of St. Patrick's Cathedral by the Right Reverend James McFaul, D.D., Bishop of Trenton. Soon after his ordination he was appointed curate of St. Joseph's, Newark, entering upon his duties July 5, 1901. After doing an excellent work here he was transferred to St. Joseph's, Paterson, New Jersey. In 1907 he returned to Newark to assist in the spiritual oversight of the parish of St. Rose of Lima, into which charge he was installed June 6, 1907, and where he still continues to do a valuable service. Father Corcoran is a member of the Knights of Columbus, of the Olive Branch Council. He is the chaplain of the Newark Fire Department, and is the spiritual director of the Newark Federation of the Holy Name Societies.
JULIUS A. LEBKUECHER
Germany has contributed to the United States many bright and pro- gressive business men who have attained prominence, occupying positions that have marked influence in the development of the communities in which they locate, and among these is Julius A. Lebkuecher, of Newark, a well known jeweler.
Mr. Lebkuecher was born in the province of Baden, Germany, Feb- ruary 9, 1844, son of Francis and Louise (Kurz) Lebkuecher, who emigrated to the United States in 1848, taking up their residence in Jersey City, New Jersey, from whence they removed to Newark, same State, in 1852. Julius A. attended the public schools, completing his studies in the high school of Newark, from which he graduated in the class of 1860. He at once turned his attention to the mastery of the jewelry trade, and by strict application and perseverance became thoroughly familiar with the various branches of the trade, and in 1869 was competent to embark in business on his own account, joining George Krementz in the organization of the ' firm of Krementz & Company, whose business constantly increased in volume and importance year by year, and at the present time (1912) is one of the most extensive and most successful business enterprises of its kind in the city of Newark. They carry a full line of high grade goods, and the cour- teous treatment accorded their patrons secures to them their constant and liberal patronage. In connection with his other interests Mr. Lebkuecher is vice-president and a director of the Union National Bank, the Franklin Savings Institution, and is president of the Fourteenth Ward Building & Loan Association.
In public affairs Mr. Lebkuecher has been quite prominent, having been called upon to fill a number of positions of trust and responsibility, but he would never consent to accept public office until the spring of 1894 when his name was placed on the Republican ticket as a mayoralty candidate
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in Newark. He was elected by a majority of nearly five thousand, this being an unmistakable evidence of the trust and confidence reposed in him as a man of splendid business qualifications and unquestioned integrity. He entered upon the duties of his office, May 7, 1894, and in the beginning of his administration placed the general business of the city upon a business footing. Extravagances in the purchase of supplies were cut off; the cost of sewers, paving and other improvements was lessened; the business meth- ods of the department were put on a more practical and therefore economical basis; the long out-standing claims due the city from various corporations were collected, including one of eighty-nine thousand dollars against two railroad corporations, which money was devoted to the increase of public school accommodations in the city, and he secured the passage of a state law encouraging street paving. Considering the fact that great improve- ments were made during his term and that there had been but a slight increase in taxable valuations, owing to the depressed conditions of the times, the tax rate of the city was reduced, rather than increased. Mr. Lebkuecher, however, was not successful in his candidacy for re-election, although supported by the most substantial and progressive citizens, those who had the future welfare of the city at heart, as had Mr. Lebkuecher.
Mr. Lebkuecher married, (first), July 20, 1870, Mary Hayden, a native of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, who died in 1893, leaving three children: Frank, Carl, Mary. Mr. Lebkuecher married (second) Mrs. Louise Burger.
This brief resume of Mr. Lebkuecher's many spheres of activity proves the broadness of his mental vision, and whether considered as employee, employer, business man or as executive head of a large and thriving city, he has ever been found true to himself and true to his fellows. Through a long period of time he has been accounted among those whose enterprise and splendid judgment have contributed to the general prosperity, and he bears the honorable record of a conscientious man, who by his upright life has won the confidence of all with whom he has come in contact. His devotion to the public good is unquestioned and arises from a sincere interest in the welfare of his fellowmen.
HUGO GOERKE
Among the leading real ostate men of Newark, and a business man who commands the respect and confidence of the whole community, Hugo Goorke is a well-known figure. Of German birth and extraction he is an ardent and patriotic supporter of all the activities of the German-American society of the city. But his keen interest in all that pertains to the fatherland detracts in no respect from his allegiance to the land of his adoption, and he is a citizen who may always be counted upon for the support of all move- ments looking towards the public welfare. Gifted with great business ability and executive powers of a high order, he is also endowed by nature with the social qualities which make him cordially welcomed amongst a large circle of friends. In his business relations his record has been high and his name is synonymous with upright and honorable dealing. No bus- iness man in Newark has achieved a more enviable reputation.
Mr. Goerke was born July 5, 1855, in Dantzig, Germany, and is the son of Ferdinand and Paulina Goerke, his father having been a well-known financier of that city. His parents were anxious to give the promising boy the best educational advantages and he was sent at an early age to the Real Schule. Here, besides the general academic work which was taught in the thorough German fashion, he took an exhaustive course in the study
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of economics. The benefits of this work in the theory of interchange, and in the philosophy of business relations became evident, when at the age of twenty-three years he determined to come to the United States and enter upon a business career in a fresh field. .
The first year after his arrival was spent in New York. After this an advantageous offer took him to Chicago where he remained four years. At the end of that time he returned to New York and after a short stay removed to Newark, New Jersey, where he has since remained. He has identified himself in a generous way with the best life of the city and has been one of those citizens that have been of great worth and value in the development of the higher life of the town. His first position in Newark was in the employ of the Prudential Life Insurance Company. Here he re- mained for seven years acquiring an invaluable fund of business experience and giving evidence of those qualities of faithfulness, reliability, and integ- rity that have been the foundation of his business reputation in the suc- ceeding years.
Feeling that the time had come when he might venture into the business world on his own account, he left the service of the Prudential Life Insur- ance Company to enter the advertising business. His confidence in his own powers was justified by the flattering success which he met with from the outset. He was at the same time connected with the German Theater, this business interest being one that continued for twenty years. After a period spent in the advertising field he was strongly attracted by the possibilities in the real estate business, and he decided to engage in the operations of that market. In this work he has continued ever since, building up for himself a business that is highly successful and well established in the esteem and respect of a large clientele.
Mr. Goerke, like most Germans, is extremely social in his instincts, and is a popular member of many musical and fraternal societies. He is a member of Schiller Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; of the Schlaraffia Society; of the Germania Singing Society; of the Deutsche Sprach Verein, and of the Musical Society Eintract. He belongs also to the Technical Verein of Newark; to the Skat Club; to the New York City Society; and to the Kreutzer Quartet Club. He has a fine musical taste and a great enthusiasm for the art and he has been active in promoting the organization of various musical clubs. He was also the organizer of the House Owners' Asso- ciation of Newark. While his business interests are in Newark, Mr. Goerke makes his residence in East Orange.
Mr. Goerke married Mary Frey of Newark. They have no children.
BENEDICT PRIETH
Benedict Prieth, the successful and brilliant journalist, was born in Graun, Tyrol, January 7, 1827, died in Newark, New Jersey, October 29, 1879, after having contributed much to the furthering of German-American interests in New Jersey, and assisting in the upholding of the Federal gov- ernment during the Civil War. His father, Gabriel Prieth, was a clerk in the courts of Graun, and came of a good burgher family, as did also his mother, Anna Prieth.
Benedict Prieth received his early education at Graun. Taking up a course of legal study he pursued it at the schools and colleges of Innspruck, Gratz and Vienna. In 1848, the year of so many European insurrections, ho joined the student company at Vienna which took part in a revolutionary uprising in that city. Like many of his fellow students, Benedict Prieth,
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when this revolt was over, was thrown into prison by the authorities at Salzburg, for treasonable actions, and was not released for a year.
He returned to Tyrol in 1849 and became interested in the expression of his ideas through the medium of the press. Soon he became attached to the staff of the Bozener "Zeitung." Leaving Tyrol for Switzerland, and settling at Berne, he found employment in connection with the Bund, at the same time continuing his legal studies. Going thence to Munchen and Tubingen he soon received the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence. The stern laws then prevailing in central Europe, and the generally distressing conditions among the poorer classes turned bis attention to the new world where all things at that time attracted the attention of emigrants by promises of more favorable and comfortable modes of living. He therefore determined to cross the ocean, and find this wider field for his ambition, without fear of interference from the authorities whose disfavor he had gained in 1848.
In August, 1857, Mr. Prieth left Germany, and soon was settled in Newark, New Jersey, where some members of his family had already pre- ceded him. Journalism proved, however, a more promising opportunity than law, and he enlisted his services as a writer in the employ of the New Jersey "Zeitung." This paper was published in Newark, the city in which Mr. Prieth resided from the time of his immigration, and his connection with the paper continued for more than twenty years. The following year, he was able to make a more important connection with this journal. He bought out the former owners, and on April 26, 1858, became sole proprietor and owner of the paper. Its name, however, was changed to the "New Jersey Freie Zeitung," and with the increase of its popularity it became a tremen- dous power among the large German-American element that had settled in New Jersey.
The remarkable executive ability of Mr. Prieth and his progressive ideas soon rendered the newspaper a very valuable piece of property. Known as the best and foremost German American newspaper in that portion of the United States, the views expressed in its editorial columns soon became of power throughout a wider field than New Jersey. Mr. Prieth's editorials were characterized by forcible and clear expression, shrewd argument and keen judgment in the weighing of political and social affairs. He allied himself with the Republican party and earnestly advocated its principles. Throughout the Civil War his paper was an active factor in supporting the cause of the Union. In New Jersey politics he was also an influential leader, and did much good work during the settlement of the difficult problems following the war of the rebellion.
Benedict Prieth married, in 1854, Theodora Sautermeister, before his coming to America. His wife survived him many years. Their children were: 1. Bertha, married Charles A. Feick; 2. Anna, married L. W. Faber; 3. Theodora, married Henry Thielen; 4. Benedict (2); 5. Edwin S.
CLARENCE M. HEDDEN
Clarence M. Hedden, a well-known manufacturer of Newark, and a man of the highest position in the business and social circles of that city, came of an old and distinguished family. The name with its corruptions of Heddon and Hoddon is of English origin, though it is also found in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The fact that the crescent occurs in the amorial bearings of the family shows that they fought in the Crusades. Their crest is an eagle erased, with the motto, "Suffer." Jared IIedden,
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the first of the family to come to this country from England, was born about 1608, and is mentioned as having come in the fleet with Winthrop. He settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was a man of substance and great influence in the community. In the next generation Edward Hedden went to New Jersey and settled at the "Mountain," now in the vicinity of South Orange, where he received grants of land. His sons were the owners of the tracts later known as the "Hedden tracts" at South Orange, at the Mountain, near Luddington brook, and on the Rahway river. These Hed- dens of New Jersey were noted for their patriotism and devotion during the Revolution, and many members of the family took an active part in the struggle that was made in that part of the State.
Clarence Myers Hedden was the son of Charles Israel and Matilda Ward (Myers) Hedden, and was born at Orange, New Jersey, June 25, 1856, and was the third of seven children. His father was a prominent citizen of the Oranges, and his mother was a daughter of Zebulon Myers, and a granddaughter of Judge John Lindsley, and was related to the well-known families of Day, Condit and Ward, and other early settlers. His first school work was that done in the private schools of Orange, and here he studied until he was fourteen years old. In 1870, when he was a lad of fourteen, serious business losses came to his father as a result of the Civil War, and necessitated the removal of the family to a plantation in North Carolina. Here his mother very soon died, and his education was still further inter- rupted. After a few months of school in Massachusetts, it became necessary to help with his own support. It was at this juncture that the innate strength of character of the youth made itself evident. By the practice of self-denial, and by his untiring energy and perseverance he put aside from the small wages that he earned a few hundred dollars. The possession of this small capital furnished him later with the opportunity to put in prac- tice his excellent business ability and good judgment, qualities that were to put his name among the foremost men of his class in the community. When he was twenty-five years of age he entered into an association with his father in the manufacture of hats in Newark. In 1899 the firm was incorporated under the laws of New Jersey, and of this corporation Clarence M. Hedden became president, his wife, Nellie H. Hedden, being vice-presi- dent, and William II. Fitz, secretary. Besides the hat business, Mr. Hedden. carried on for several years an extensive real estate business. The absolute integrity of his character was shown in every transaction of whatever nature, and put him on the highest plane in the estimation of his associates. Of a rigorous conscientiousness in regards to his obligations to his customers and friends, he was, as an employer, a man of the greatest kindness and gener- osity. His keen sense of justice and ready sympathy made him a friend to his people such as is seldom seen. And yet so unobtrusively was all his kindness done that few ever knew of it except those whom he benefited.
He was a member of Newark Lodge No. 8, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was also an active member of the West End Club upon the board of governors of which he served for a number of years. His largeness of heart and breadth and liberality of view made him a genial companion, and a welcome member of every circle. He was connected with the Sixth Presbyterian Church, having been for twenty-eight years an active member and sixteen years of that time a member of the board of trustees. By his death, May 11, 1904, Newark lost an exemplar of the purest and highest typo of American citizenship, a man who in both, business and in private Ife gave ovidenco of a nobility and blamelessness of character that is at
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once the justification and the pride of our republican institutions. Though not long when counted by the years, his life did not lack a certain element of finality which is the test of one-well spent.
Mr. Hedden married, at Haydensville, Massachusetts, Nellie Frances, born at Shelburne Falls, November 2, 1857, daughter of John Royal and Sarah Clarissa (Mather) Hamilton. John R. Hamilton was a descendant of an old pioneer family of Vermont. Their children were: Frances Matilda, born September 2, 1880; Lulu Josephine, born October 12, 1882; Clarence Ilamilton, born July 1, 1885; Nellie Estelle, born December 14, 1887; Charles Leslie, born January 1, 1890; Ernest Myers, born September 28, 1892; Albert Henry, born June 23, 1895; Walter Page, born June 25, 1898; Dorothy, born December 28, 1902.
WILLIAM H. BEIDELMAN
The name of William H. Beidelman is synonymous in Newark with expert business capacity and professional honor of that unusual kind that, not content even with high ability, ever seeks to develop and improve itself for the more adequate service of those who seek its assistance. He is of Holland extraction on his father's side, and English on his mother's, being thus a typical American of the new generation, full of the vigor and health of many races.
He is a son of Solomon and Maria Elizabeth (Sargeant) Beidelman, and was born on April 8, 1879, in Newark in which place he has always made his home. His early education was gained in the Newark public schools, where he quickly displayed ability as a student, graduating from the high school in 1897 at the age of eighteen. The science of accounting and business auditing appealed strongly to his interest, and he could not help but be conscious of marked ability on his part in this line of work; so marked, indeed, that he determined to devote himself to it as a business carcer. To this end he studied under private tutors for a considerable period, and later associated himself with Frank G. DuBois, one of the most prom- inent accountants of Newark. But Mr. Beidelman is one of those men who is wise enough to perceive that a too close application to the details of a subject does not by any means produce the highest degree of proficiency thorein. Rather ho know that to familiarize oneself with many cognato branches is the best means of reaching the highest mastery. Accordingly, he associated himself successively with a number of business and profes- sional interests of the city.
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