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 28
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Mr. Venino married (first) in 1867, Emily Hueter and they have been blessed with children as follows: Ferdinand, died in childhood; Henry, born in 1868, is associated with his father in business; Albert, a graduate of the New York Law School, is practicing law in New York City, and
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married Barbara Wegelehner; Ferdinand, born 1874, is associated with his father in business, and married Barbara Loeffel. Mr. Venino married (second), 1875, Emily Schoemacher, and has had children: Emily and Armont, deceased; Julius Otto, a graduate of the New York Law School, is engaged in legal practice in New York City; Ottmar, electrical engineer in Jersey City; Aquila N., graduate of the New York University, is practicing in Newark; and Olga D., only daughter, residing with her father. She was chosen as Queen Titania the Eleventh in Asbury Park in 1911. Mr. Venino is held in high esteem by all classes of the community. His advancement in business life has been a strong and consistent one, and his personal efforts have been apparent in every onward stride made by the various concerns with which he has been connected. His advice and counsel are sought by others in the organization of corporations, and he has become recognized as a farseeing man of affairs.
JOHN ERB
One of the most popular and successful business men of the city of Newark, New Jersey, a man noted for his never failing good humor and ready sympathy with anyone in distress, is John Erb, the genial manager of the Essex County Brewing Company, whose output is justly celebrated.
Christian Erb, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Baden- Baden, Germany, in 1804. He was apprenticed to learn the curled hair and mattress-making business, then spent seven years in the military service of his country. Upon the completion of this strenuous duty he set sail for the United States, arriving at New York in 1832, after a voyage of ninety days. He went on to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, found employ- ment there in a rope factory, but at the expiration of four years went to Newark, and settled there at a time when there were but seventeen Germans in the entire town. Engaging in the curled hair and mattress business, he conducted a prosperous trade until his retirement therefrom to private life in 1868. Christian Erb married Magdalena, daughter of Anthony Brueder, of Baden-Baden, Germany, and of the fifteen children born of this union a number of the younger ones died within a few weeks of each other during a fever and cholera epidemic. Those now living are: Christian, William, Thomas, George, who served with honor in the civil war; Louis and John.
John Erb was born in Newark, July 17, 1850. His education was a very thorough and practical one, being acquired in the Webster Street Public School and the House of Prayer private school. He was seventeen years of age when he entered the employ of S. B. Saunders, a wagon body builder, whose place of business was located in Market street, Newark. Mr. Erb, however, desired a wider horizon than that afforded by this line of business, and in 1875 associated himself in business with his brother, William, and opened a cafe at No. 338 Broad street. This was conducted successfully. until 1900, when Mr. Erb assumed the duties of a collector for Mrs. Eliza- beth Ziehr, owner of the brewery at the corner of Seventh street and Clifton avenue, Newark. June 4, 1901, Mrs. Ziehr sold her brewing plant to the Essex County Brewing Company, Mr. Erb becoming the manager of this corporation, a position he is still filling with a more than usual amount of executive ability. His son, John Erb Jr., is now associated with him. As a member of the Newark Board of Trade, Mr. Erb is an important factor in all matters of note which come under discussion. He holds membership in numerous organizations, among them being the following: The Demo-
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cratic County Club, of which he was the honored treasurer for a period of five years; Eureka Lodge No. 39, the Order of Free and Accepted Masons, Tall Cedars of Lebanon, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, Grant Lodge, Road House Association, Joel Parker Association, Gottfried Krueger Association, Smith Gun Club, Metro- politan Social Club, and a number of others.
Mr. Erb married Emily, eldest daughter of Ferdinand and Elizabeth Zuhr, of Newark, and they have had children: John Erb Jr., born Decem- ber 27, 1882, married Elizabeth, daughter of Allen J. and Emily Hazelett, of Rutherford, New Jersey; Lily Elizabeth, born July 18, 1885; Clifford, born August 22, 1887, deceased; Emma, born August 18, 1890; William, born July 16, 1896. The success which has marked the management by Mr. Erb of the vast concern under his direction has very naturally attracted wide- spread attention, and many of the innovations he has introduced have been copied to their great advantage by other plants of a similar kind. He is a steadfast supporter of the cause of pure politics and his capable work in influencing others in this direction has gained him the respect and esteem of all classes.
PAUL ELIAS HELLER
The city of Newark, New Jersey, has gained a wide reputation as a manufacturing center, and one of the most important factories in the town is that for the manufacture of files, started by the father of Paul Elias Heller, who is now the president of one of the largest file factories in the United States. The Heller family is of Huguenot descent and were driven from their home in France, at which time they sought and found refuge in Alsace-Lorraine. Elias Heller, grandfather of Paul Elias Heller, at the age of twenty-five years, came to America with his parents and made his home for a time in Newark, subsequently removing to West Orange. He was engaged in the manufacture of files and rasps. He married Mary, a daughter of George and Catherine Laegle, natives of France. They had seven children.
Elias George Heller, son of the preceding, was born in Newark, April 27, 1837. Hle attended the public schools and obtained an excellent business education, was in the employ of Tiffany & Company, of New York City, for some years, then for a time with Paul A. Brez. He possessed much mechanical ingenuity and had a clear, level head for the conduct of business, and, in 1863, commenced working for his father, under whose careful supervision he became an expert in the manufacture of files and rasps. His brothers, Peter and Lewis, joined forces with him in 1865, and together they organized the firm of Heller Brothers. A plant was erected in the business center of Newark the following year, and since that time the needful additions have been made as the increased demands made necessary. In the course of time Lewis and Peter withdrew from the firm, and two other brothers, George and John, were admitted to a partnership. More spacious and modern quarters were imperatively needed and a large tract of land was purchased on Mount Prospect avenue, on the Greenwood Lake division of the Erie railroad. The northern district of Newark, in which this tract was located, is now known as Forest Hill, but was at that time entirely a farming district. A well-equipped plant was erected there with all modern improvements, and, as they had ample space at their disposal, the manu- facture of other tools and also steel was added to their former industry.
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Later Mr. Heller bought an additional large tract adjoining his factory prop- erty, being firmly convinced that this would in time become a fine resi- dential section. He donated largely to public and private charities and the land on which the Forest Hill Presbyterian Church is located was one of his gifts. The appointment of a park commission was in large part due to his individual efforts, and he was the first man to make it a donation of land. This property consisted of eighteen acres of land along Branch Brook, and was the kernel from which grew the present Branch Brook Park. As the board of education had no funds with which to erect a schoolhouse which had become imperatively necessary in the vicinity of the factory, Mr. Heller set apart six of his lots for this purpose and, at his own expense, erected thereon a school building. At the expiration of two years the board of education came to the conclusion that it was inadvisable to have a public school in the ownership of a private citizen, and purchased it from Mr. Heller, who sold it at exactly what it had cost him. He was a member of Belleville Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; New Jersey Historical Society; North End Club; Forest Hill Golf Club; Forest Hill Social Club; organizer and treasurer of the File Makers' Relief Association; president of the File Manufacturers' Association of the U. S. A. For two years he served the city of Newark as alderman, and for a similar period of time as a member of the board of education. His death occurred March 22, 1912. He married Sophia C., daughter of Nicholas C. and Frances (Doclow) Geoffroy, and had three sons, Paul E., Arnaud G. and Reuben A.
Paul Elias Heller, the eldest son, was born in Newark, February 6, 1869. His elementary education was acquired under private tuition, and he was nine years of age when he became a pupil of the public schools. His educa- tion in them was supplemented by a special course of study in the Newark Technical Academy, and upon the completion of this commenced his business career in the factory which had been established by his father. The mechanical genius he had inherited and which had been augmented by the special course he had received, there found ample scope for proper develop- ment. He introduced many innovations and, like his father, was ever ready to adopt new methods, when a proper trial had proven their practicability. Upon the death of his father he became the president of the corporation, his brother, Arnaud G., becoming vice-president and secretary. In the course of years the output of the plant has increased to such an extent that it is now annually about one million dollars and is constantly and consistently increasing.
Mr. Heller is a member of the following named organizations: Essex County Country Club, North End Club, Forest Hill Golf Club, Forest Hill Social Club, Deal Golf and County Club, Blooming Grove Hunting and Fishing Club, life member of the New Jersey Historical Society. His religious affiliations are with the Forest Hill Presbyterian Church, in whose interests he is an active worker. In his private life, as well as in his business capacity, Mr. Heller is a man of indefatigable energy and ambition, and can be as earnest in his endeavor to win at any sport as in conducting the most important business transaction. In other words he is a man whose power of concentration has been developed to a remarkable degree.
OSCAR C. MILLER
The Miller family is one of the oldest in the. State of New Jersey, having come from the north of Ireland and settled at Logansville, New
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Jersey, as early as 1713. His great-grandfather took an active part in the Revolutionary War, having served in the Morris County Militia.
Charles Miller, father of the subject of this sketch, removed from Logansville to Newark in 1842, and there found employment with John Jelliff, then located at No. 300 Broad street, and later at No. 794 in the same street. Mr. Jelliff soon learned to appreciate the sterling value of the business qualities of Mr. Miller, and the result was a partnership compact. This was in force until the death of Mr. Jelliff, when Mr. Miller carried on the business alone until his retirement to private life in 1894, his death occurring March 4, 1901. He married Lucy A., daughter of Horace Conger, of New Fairfield, Connecticut, and a lineal descendant of John Conger, who settled at Woodbridge, New Jersey, in 1667, just one year after the settle- ment of the first colonist at Newark. Children: Frank T., Frederick H., Oscar C., George H., Isabel, and M. Ingraham.
MAHLON S. DRAKE
A conspicuous figure in the business world of the city of Newark, and one who is known as earnestly devoted to the best interests of the com- munity, is found in the person of Mahlon Smalley Drake, a lincal descendant of Sir Francis Drake, whose famous discoveries and other achievements were the most powerful agents in making England mistress of the seas. The great-grandfather of Mr. Drake was the American progenitor of the family, engaged in the milling business at Somerville, and was followed in this occupation by his son and grandson. His son removed the business to Scotch Plains, and the grandson removed it to Irvington, where for many years he held office as town collector and tax commissioner, and where his children-George D., Augusta, Mahlon Smalley, Nathaniel and Harriott- were born.
Mahlon S. Drake was born in Irvington, New Jersey, July 2, 1854, and acquired his preparatory education In the public schools of his native town. Later he became a student at the Newark Academy, and subsequently rounded out his preparation for business life by attendance at the Newark Business College. Thus amply equipped for life's battle, at the age of eighteen years he engaged in the ice business and in real estate, and for forty years has been continuously occupied in this line of business.
Mr. Drake is a man of more than ordinary business ability and acumen, far-seeing and conservative, yet ever ready to lend his support to soundly managed enterprises which seem assured of success and which will add to the material prosperity of the community. It is owing to his clear vision and just appreciation of the probable growth of the city that various sections have been developed. A type of the highest American citizenship, he has exhibited consummate ability in every relation of life. While never an office seeker, Mr. Drake has responded to the public demands made upon his time, and has served for two years as an alderman for Irvington. He is an influential member of the Board of Trade, and of the Irvington Club. His two sons are now in business with him. He married Mary Jeannette, daughter of Isaac and Margaret P. Wade, and their children are: Mahlon S., Jr .; Raymond W., Margaret C. and Helen Christine.
Of broad and liberal views, Mr. Drake rises above the prejudices of the hour and is an eminently just man. He is firm of purpose and resolute in the pursuit of the right as he sees is, and earnest and unflinching in his maintenance of it. Forceful and a keen student of human nature, ho
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possesses an unusually shrewd insight into character. In short, he is a man of strong mentality, whose face bears the impress of a striking personality.
AUGUST C. FINK
The history of the great business undertakings of modern times is still an unopened book, and mainly yet to be written. Hidden in the past, when man was more of brute than brain, is to be traced the still existent worship of heroes of war, that makes us stand in admiration of the romance of the field, whereon death has left its marks. Unfortunate as it may be, as long as there will be life in this world, there shall be struggle; but the field is rapidly shifting, for the brute gives way to the man, and the muscle to the brain.
When the romance enveloping commercial enterprise shall be told in language intelligible to the people, then shall it be known that many a Waterloo has been fought, lost and won within the four walls of an office, just over the wire, with no other means than the scratch of a pen, a mere word, but backed by a will, a brain. With modern methods, discoveries and inventions, business has place only for those who combine the capacities of both the general and the diplomat-qualities which are united in the person of August C. Fink, Jr., of Newark.
On Belmont avenue, in that city, stands out before the admiring gaze of the passer-by, a great building incorporating a gigantic enterprise, the main plant of the largest meat-packing business in New Jersey, and one of the greatest in the wide world-that of A. Fink & Sons. It was the father who laid the foundations of the mammoth enterprise in 1868, who projected it and resolutely adhered to his purpose in face of what appeared to be insuperable difficulties, and gave it a firm establishment. It was the sons who resolutely followed, and carried the purposes of the father to a higher consummation.
The family of Fink comes of sturdy old stock. The father, August C. Fink, Sr., was born in Breton, Baden, Germany. The glowing stories current in the old home country about the fortune lying in wait for the ambitious man in the land across the seas, appealed to his sturdy and ambitious spirit, and in 1868 he came to the United States and settled in Newark, New Jersey. If he had expected to find a gold mine which he had only to claim- an idea that was not rare then in Europe, and seems to have left up to this day an after effect-he must have felt a pang of disappointment, but he was not a man to sit down to bemoan the inevitable, and he started straight to work, establishing a meat business. It would be exaggeration to say that he saw at the beginning the great success which awaited him; but youth, energy, ambition, industry, honesty, perseverance, constant belief in him- self, were his attributes, and he built up an extensive trade.
The small business had developed to such an extent that it demanded a greater field of activity, and in 1904 the business was incorporated, at which time the business of the Wagner Packing Co., also that of the Bender Packing Co., was taken over. Upon the death of Mr. Fink the same year, his son, August C., succeeded him to the presidency of the company, at which time Adolph became vice-president. He married Wilhelmina Wagner, and the children who survived were: August C., Adolph, Ernest R., who died January 30, 1909; Bertha and Louise.
Since the death of their father, the business has been conducted by his two sons, August C., Jr., and Adolph, and much credit must be allotted to them for the manner in which they have met the added responsibilities
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which have been thrust upon them. Had it not been for their close connec- tion in their untiring efforts in aiding their father to build up such a large business, this would have been impossible.
August C. Fink, Jr., was born in Newark, August 1, 1870. He received the education which the public schools of his native city afforded, but his real and practical education was experience, with his father as mentor.
The elder Fink was far from being a theorist, and at an early age the son became identified with the business, learning every detail, both outside and inside. He began at the bottom-nothing was too rough for him, and he climbed the ladder to his present position as head of the company, by giving to every detail, however insignificant it might appear, its due atten- tion. He revolutionized his trade, installing modern machinery. The clumsy methods of distribution were discarded, and automobile trucks put in service for the rapid distribution of his products.
Here is, in short, the history of a man under whose wise management a small unknown concern has grown into the largest industrial packing company in the State, and one of the greatest in the world, with branches at Nos. 480 and 482 Tenth street and 372 Fifteenth avenue, Newark, and South and Elizabeth avenues, Elizabeth, doing a monthly business of over one hundred and twenty-nine thousand dollars.
Mr. Fink was united in marriage to Kathryn, daughter of Henry and Mary Holzhauer, who has always proved a most helpful and cheering com- panion to her husband. In spite of the great activities that command his attention, they are insufficient to debar him from the pleasures and duties of social intercourse, Masonry and athletics, with a promiscuous field between, supplying the nature of his diversion.
As a business man, as a man of the world, Mr. August C. Fink has won a wide circle of friends throughout the State. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge of his native city, and has attained the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite degrees. He is also an active figure in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Gottfried Krueger Association, the Newark Turn Verein, the Wein-obst und Gartenbau Verein, the Schnäbisher Saenger- bund, the Arion Society, and lastly, though not least, the Newark Butchers' Association, and the Newark Board of Trade, where Mr. August C. Fink's words always spell "attention."
FRANK FOSTER CRISSEY
The city of Newark has an exceptionally fine record as far as the list and standing of its public citizens are concerned. In the character of its employees this is especially notable, and among those who have shown a many-sided ability must be mentioned the name of Frank Foster Crissey.
Born in Newark, May 18, 1860, he is the son of John H. and Josephine (Wall) Crissey, the former the son of William and Caroline (Whitfield) Crissey, of Belleville, New Jersey. The father of Mr. Crissey was the keeper of the military stores at Trenton, New Jersey, and retired under the Vreden- burg Act. He served during the Civil War, at first as a private, later as a sergeant, and was then promoted to a captaincy in virtue of his office as keeper of stores. The maternal great-grandfather of Mr. Crissey owned a large estate on the eastern shore of Maryland, held many slaves, and was extensively engaged in the mercantile business transacted between Baltimore and New York City by steamboat. On his paternal side Mr. Crisscy is a descendant of the famous Methodist, Whitfield.
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Mr. Crissey obtained his education in the early years of his life in the public schools of his native city, and was graduated from the high school there. For a period of three years he was a student of dentistry, then engaged in the drug business in Bank street, and was connected with this for twenty years. While thus engaged he matriculated at the College of Physicians in the city of New York. The public affairs of the city and country had always been of intense interest to Mr. Crissey, and he had followed every matter of public importance with the closest attention. July 1, 1910, the common council of the city, upon the recommendation of the city clerk, appointed Mr. Crissey as clerk to this officer, a duty he is fulfilling with much ability at the present time. Of broad and liberal spirit and commendable enterprise, he has always taken an especial interest in furthering the cause of education, and for four years was a member of the board of education. His political affiliations are with the Republican party, in whose interests he has been an earnest worker. His connection with other organizations is confined to membership in the Lincoln Club and the Order of Foresters.
Mr. Crissey married Minnie B., daughter of William and Mary E. Clark, of Newark. Their only child is William Clark, born March 7, 1890, who was graduated from the University Law School of New York in 1912, and is now pursuing his legal studies in the office of Guild & Martin in Newark. The keynote to the success achieved by Mr. Crissey is the fact that he has been laborious, steadfast, and devoted to any task he undertakes. There is nothing shallow about him; everything has depth, and every matter is given serious thought. Deliberate in beginning any piece of work, there is no unnecessary delay in carrying it on to completion.
WILLIAM DAVID BLEICK
The medical profession, more than any other, demands intellect of a high standard combined with a number of other traits which are not so necessary in other walks of life. These admirable characteristics are firmly and evenly blended in the person of Dr. William David Bleick, of Newark, New Jersey, whose renown as a physician is far more than a merely local one. He was born in Vansburg, Prussia, Germany, January 23, 1871, a son of Carl and Justine ( Hoffman) Bleiek, and has a brother, Theodore, who is also a physician in Newark. His father was a shoemaker in Vansburg and came to this country with his family when the children were very young.
Dr. Bleick attended the public schools of Newark, the Jersey Business College, and took a two years' course in the Newark Technical School. In one sense he may be considered a self-made man, as he earned the means to enable him to pursue the studies necessary to the end he had in view. From his earliest years he was firmly imbued with the idea of being of definite use to the cause of suffering humanity, and considered that this end could best be served by taking up the study of medical science. Earnest, fearless, untiring and thorough, it is but a natural outcome that he has made a success in his field of endeavor. As a preparatory step, he took the Regents' examination, and passed this successfully in 1895. While using his spare time in preparation for this examination, his days were spent in the employ of the Bannister Shoe Company of Newark. His next step was to matriculate at the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in due course with the -degree of Doctor of Medicine. Hle at once established himself in the practice of his profession
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