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 6
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
Aqueduct Board. The association terminated at the close of ten years, when Mr. Schlesinger went into business for himself.
On May 8, 1904, largely through his efforts, was organized the Union Building Company with Morris Rachlin and the late Leser Lehman. This company has erected the ten-story fire-proof Union Building, having 200 offices, and the twelve-story fire-proof Essex Building, having 330 offices, both located on Clinton street, which thoroughfare is known as the "Wall street" of Newark. These buildings are the largest structures in the State of New Jersey devoted exclusively to office purposes, and number among its tenants some of the leading corporations and firms in the United States.
Some of the most valuable work done by Mr. Schlesinger in his capacity as vice-president, treasurer and managing agent of the Union Building Com- pany has been the reclaiming of some of the unsightly waste places of the town and transforming them into beautiful and attractive regions. The com- pany purchased in 1905 the Farley & Treacy tract lying north of Clinton avenue and west of Seymour avenue, which consisted of 520 city lots. By means of scientific grading and paving, by the installation of gas and elec- tricity, and by the planting of lawns and shade trees, a wilderness has been, in a short time, changed into one of the most beautiful residential sections of the city and about two hundred one and two-family residences have been erected representing a value of at least one million dollars.
On April 10, 1911, the business was incorporated, with offices in the Essex Building, under the title of Louis Schlesinger, Inc., of which Mr. Schlesinger is president and Louis Kamm vice-president, the latter having been associated with Mr. Schlesinger since October, 1909. The same gentle- men have also organized and control the Century Realty Company, which includes among its holdings the Century Building and contiguous properties on Market and Halsey streets, as well as the "Broderson," the largest apart- ment house in the State of New Jersey, located on the corner of High street and Breintnall place, and other parcels in Newark and East Orange, New Jersey.
The business activities of Mr. Schlesinger are not confined to real estate operations and improvements. He is extensively engaged in the fire insurance business and represents the Newark agency of many old and important companies. His business acumen and judgment in all matters relating to the valuation of property are regarded so highly that he has been appointed by the Court of Chancery receiver of properties in litigation, executor and administrator of estates, and he serves also as appraiser for many financial institutions, and has acquired realty holdings for numerous enterprises in the "Industrial City" which has helped to change the map of Newark in many instances.
His business cares with their manifold ramifications do not absorb all of Mr. Schlesinger's attention. He gives a goodly portion of personal over- sight to the charitable work that interests him. One of these institutions is the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, of which he was recently elected an honorary director. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the leading Jewish congregation, and is a member of the Progress Club, Northern Lodge No. 25, F. and A. M .; charter member of Salaam Temple, Mystic Shrine, New Jersey Historical Society, the Board of Trade, South Orange Field Club and Moun- tain Ridge Country Club, of West Orange, New Jersey.
Mr. Schlesinger married, October 8, 1890, Sophie, daughter of Joseph and Fanny Levy. They have two children: Alexander L. and Joel L. The former is a Princeton graduate of the class of 1912, and is associated with the leasing department of Louis Schlesinger, Inc.
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BIOGRAPIIICAL
SAMUEL WARD BALDWIN
The Baldwin family, represented in the present generation by Samuel W. Baldwin, treasurer of the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, of Newark, is an old and honored one in England, from whence they came to this country, locating in the State of Connecticut, from whence descendants of the settlers migrated to New Jersey, settling in Newark. Samuel W. Baldwin is of the eighth generation, tracing his descent to the immigrant through Caleb W. (2), Caleb W. (1), Caleb, Moses, Joseph (2), Jonathan, Joseph (1).
Samuel W. Baldwin was born in Orange, New Jersey, February 15, 1851, son of Caleb W. (2) and Theresa (Oliver) Baldwin, life-long residents of Orange. Samuel W. obtained his education by attendance at the private school of the Rev. Frederick A. Adams, from which he graduated in 1865. Shortly afterward he accepted a clerkship in the Mutual Benefit Life Insur- ance Company, and for a quarter of a century acceptably filled that position. In 1889 he was promoted to the office of assistant treasurer of the company, in which capacity he served until 1905, when he was appointed to his present position, treasurer. During his long connection with the company he has striven earnestly to fulfill every duty and responsibility, and that he suc- ceeded in his purpose is evidenced by the fact of his various promotions. He is a director of the National State Bank and the Firemen's Insurance Com- pany, of Newark. He is a Republican in politics, and holds membership in the Essex Club, the Essex County Country Club and the Republican Club of East Orange. Mr. Baldwin is unmarried. 1
THEODORE S. FETTINGER
Typical of the successful business man and useful citizen, Theodore S. Fettinger is one of the important names among those who are doing things In Newark. Though not a native-born son of the town, he has identified hitabelf with all the movements for the development and improvement of the city of his adoption. He is the son of Henry and Katharine (Nixdorf) Fettinger and was born In Altoona, Pennsylvania, March 28, 1865. His father was one of the early settlers of Altoona and the last burgess of the town before it was incorporated. He was one of the leading citizens of the town and a very public-spirited man. Almost every community has a few men to whom it owes a large part of its material prosperity, and to this class of those who lead belonged Henry Fettinger. He was a merchant by occupation, and full of years and of honors when he died at the age of eighty- one, in 1891.
Theodore S. Fettinger acquired his early education in the public and high schools of his native town of Altoona, leaving his studies at the age of fifteen to go to work. Hle first entered the employ of his father in the mercantile business. After three years here he had an opening offered to him in the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in the great car shops for which the town is famous, and in this position he remained for three years, gaining much valuable training and information. By this time his natural tastes had begun to show themselves clearly, and he realized the strong and insurmountable bent of his mind towards literary pursuits. He had always had a bias for newspaper work, and at twenty years of age this call began to take precedence of everything else. His first venture was the publishing at this youthful age of a weekly newspaper called "The Courier." . He continued in the publishing business until 1895, when he
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
came to Newark and entered the employ of W. V. Snyder & Company as their advertising manager, a post which brought into play his fertility of ideas and resourcefulness of mind in much the same measure that news- paper work would do. He remained with this firm for eleven years, intro- ducing many new and striking ideas, and making an unqualified success of his department. He then became identified with Hahne & Company in the same capacity, and with this firm he has continued up to the present time. He is a member of the Board of Trade and has been active in it for ten years. He is the secretary of the Clinton Hill Improvement Association, and is a director of the Broad and Market National Bank, of which institution
he was one of the organizers. He is a director of the Hahne Building and Loan Association, and is secretary of the United Merchants' Realty Company.
Mr. Fettinger married, in 1892, Rosetta, daughter of John Keithley, of Antoona, Pennsylvania. They have two children: E. Forrest and Beatrice E.
EMILE C. BATAILLE
Among the prominent figures of the banking circles of Newark is Emile C. Bataille, president of the American National Bank. He was born in Newark, January 22, 1874, and is the son of Emile and Mary ( Meehan) Bataille, his mother having been a native of Pennsylvania and his father having come from France with his parents at the age of three years. They had settled in Newark and there engaged in commercial pursuits. His father has now retired from active business. Emile C. Bataille received the usual education of the American boy, attending public and private schools in Essex County. He had shown ability along business lines whilst still a young man, and his subsequent career has justified the hopes he inspired among his friends. His first employment was under his uncle, J. B. Marquet, a box manufacturer of this city. Upon leaving this position he engaged himself to the old firm of Pitcher & Manda, florists, of Short Hills, New Jersey, and with them he remained till 1893. In that year the firm failed, and he was taken into the banking business by the receiver. This gentleman was the president of the old Summit Bank, now known as the Summit Trust Com- pany, and in this institution he received his first training in banking. After remaining with them for a period he accepted a position with the City Trust Company as teller. His next post was that of paying teller with the Fed- oral Trust Company, leaving them to take that of treasurer of the Mutual Trust Company of Orange. For about two years he was engaged in the foreign banking business. In 1908 he was one of the organizers of the American Commercial Bank, originally capitalized at $50,000, the bank changing in 1909 to the national system under the name of the American National Bank. Of this institution Mr. Bataille has been president since its organization. It has had a phenomenal growth, having from a small capi- talization of $50,000 increased in the past three years to over $2,000,000 assets, the capitalization being increased to $300,000. In his political views Mr. Bataille is an Independent. Ho is treasurer and a director of the New Jersey Fire Insurance Company, director and member of the executive com- mittee of the Mutual Trust Company, of Orange; director of the Atlantic Mortgage Company, of New York City, and is a director of a number of other corporations. He married, in 1900, Gertrude, a sister of C. C. Murray, of Newark.
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BIOGRAPHICAL
DAVID BIRDSALL CORSON
The profession of education is represented in the person of David Birdsall Corson, of Newark, New Jersey, who has won reputation and influ- ence in this field of activity. An account of the "Corsanes or Corsons" may be found in McDowall's "History of the Burgh of Dumfries." According to tradition, the history of the family in America began when three brothers of this name settled in the central colonies in the eighteenth century, while state records show that members of the family served in the Revolutionary War. The maternal branch of Mr. Corson's ancestry had also become native before the struggle for independence. His mother's father, Elijah Birdsall, was a farmer and schoolmaster, and married Hannah Hayes, a relative of Rutherford B. Hayes, nineteenth president of the United States.
David Peacock Corson, father of the Mr. Corson of this sketch, was born on a farm in the southern part of the State of New Jersey. He was active in his support of the Methodist denomination, being a class leader and a church worker. In political matters, he was a stanch Democrat. He was never engaged in military service, having furnished a substitute at the time of the Civil War. He married, May 29, 1850, Mary Ann, a daughter of Elijah and Hannah ( Hayes) Birdsall. Their children were: Lydia A., Mary, David Birdsall, Lafayette and William Y.
David Birdsall Corson was born near Millville, New Jersey, February 17, 1864, and as a boy attended the public schools of Camden, New Jersey, after which he become a student at the State Normal School at Trenton, from which he was graduated in 1884. He matriculated at the New York University, from which institution he received his degree in 1893. From the time he com- mepred teaching his career has been one of consistent and progressive suc- cess. . He has served as principal of Columbian School at Rahway, New Jersey, and was the first educational superintendent of that city, his predecessors having been appointed because of their political affiliations. He resigned to become principal of the Ann Street School at Newark, and later was trans- ferred to the principalship of Elliot Street and Ridge Street Schools of the same city. He was elected first male general supervisor of Newark in 1904, and one year later as first assistant city superintendent of schools. In all of these offices he has discharged the responsibilities involved with a dignity and energy which have earned for him the commendation and admiration of pupils, teachers and all his colleagues.
He has clearly defined opinions on all matters pertaining to the public welfare, and until Theodore Roosevelt ran for the Presidency in 1912 he gave his active support to the Republican party." He was an elder and the clerk of session in the Forest Hill Presbyterian Church, but is now a mem- ber of the First Presbyterian Church, Newark. Mr. Corson has formed con- nections with many organizations in the course of his life, among which may be mentioned: Wednesday Club of Newark, Principals' Association, School- men's Club of Newark, Schoolmasters' Club of New York, Council of Educa- tion of New Jersey, of which he was president; New York University Alumni Association of Northern New Jersey, of which he was one of the organizers, was its first treasurer and a vice-president; Presbyterian Union of Newark, in which he served as president, 1911-1912; director in the Children's Aid Society and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; organizer of College Extension Courses for Teachers, which has since developed into the Newark Institute of Arts and Sciences, of which Mr. Corson is a vice- president.
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
Mr. Corson married in Rahway, New Jersey, November 21, 1893, Kate Thomson, born in Brooklyn, New York, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Noble) Thomson. The officiating clergyman was Rev. John A. Liggett, D.D., of the Second Presbyterian Church. Mr. Thomson was formerly a member of the firm of Richardson, Spence & Thomson, merchant tailors, No. 470 Broad- way, New York. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Corson are: David Noble, born October 7, 1894, now a student at Princeton University; Frances, born June 20, 1897, a student at the Barringer High School; Mary, born October 18, 1898, also at the Barringer High School.
ALBERT HENRY BALDWIN
Albert Henry Baldwin, a distinguished financier of Newark, born in that city October 24, 1868, is the son of Albert and Jennet Phelps (Hooker) Baldwin. He comes of fine ancestry on both sides, his maternal grand- father being Dr. Charles Hooker, a practicing physician of New Haven, Con- necticut, descended from the famous Rev. Thomas Hooker, who came over in 1633 to New England, and settled three years later in Hartford, and founded the first church in Connecticut. Jennet Phelps Hooker was born in 1837, died February 16, 1883. The Baldwin family probably take their name from the various nobles of Flanders, who bore it as a Christian appella- tion. The Counts of Flanders, Baldwin I, who married Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald of France and Baldwin II, married Aelfthryth, daughter of Alfred. the Great of England, were mighty warriors in their day and brought a strain of royal blood into the family. The name recurs constantly in the mediaeval history of Europe. In England the Baldwins were a prominent family, and are registered as early as January 6, 1552, in the will of Richard Baldwin, of Dundridge, parish of Ashton Clinton, County Bucks, who loft property to his three sons, Henry, John and Richard. The oldest son, Henry Baldwin, spent his life in Dundridge, with his wife, Alice, and his will was proved July 2, 1602, leaving his eldest son, Richard, as his executor. This Richard Baldwin did not leave England, but three of his sons did, including Joseph Baldwin, who was one of the original settlers from New Haven in Milford, Connecticut, in 1639. Jonathan Baldwin, son of this emigrant, married as his first wife, Hannah, daughter of Sergeant John Ward, of Branford, who in 1666 became one of the original settlers and a prominent figure in the founding of Newark, New Jersey, with which town the Baldwins have been identified for more than two hundred and thirty years.
Joseph Baldwin, son of Jonathan and Hannah (Ward) Baldwin, owned a great deal of Newark property, inherited from his grandfather Ward, and married a Miss Bruen. Amos, his second son, was born in 1720 in Newark, and was a deacon of the Orange church. His son, Lewis Baldwin, was a native of Orange, New Jersey, as was also Henry Baldwin, the next generation, who, however, married a relative, Sarah Baldwin, of Newark. Their son, Cyrus Baldwin, was still identified with Orange, and was the only surveyor in that part of New Jersey, drawing up the original plan of the Rosedale cemetery. Cyrus Baldwin was also a justice of the peace, and the only recognized legal practitioner of that locality, executing many wills and other documents to the satisfaction of all concerned. He died in 1854, aged forty-six years, a comparatively young man, but one who had the reputation of absolute honesty, and whose wisdom and many virtues had long won for him the respect and admiration of every one. He married Elizabeth Cooper Mandeville, of noted French Huguenot descent, came from Rouen, France, to Holland, and thence to New Amsterdam, in 1647.
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BIOGRAPHICAL
Their son, Albert Baldwin, was born, together with his twin brother, Abram Mandeville Baldwin, at East Orange, New Jersey, July 5, 1835, and died October 21, 1897. His father, Cyrus, and himself were both without the advantage of an early education, and were obliged after leaving the district school to perfect themselves in the higher branches which led to their individual success in life. As a boy, Albert Baldwin, father of the subject of this sketch, entered the employ of the Orange Bank, of which Stephen D. Day was then the president. In a few years he had a thorough knowledge of bookkeeping, and in 1856 was able to obtain a position as receiving and paying teller in the City Bank of Newark, in which the only other employees at that time were a bookkeeper, clerk and runner. The capital stock was three hundred thousand dollars, with an equal amount of deposits, and the teller's position was a responsible one for a man of barely twenty-one years of age. His sterling character and profound knowledge of financial matters, as well as his remarkable executive ability, were called upon to fulfill the duties of his position. For forty years this Albert Baldwin proved himself efficient, and worthy of the trust imposed. In 1858 he was advanced to the position of cashier, and at the time of his death held the double position of cashier and vice-president. During this time the bank's capital stock increased to one-half a million, the deposits to nearly two million dollars, and the working force was trebled. Few bank employees in Newark can display such a record for faithfulness and devotion to the interests of any institution. Mr. Baldwin's Christian nature was also shown in his fidelity to church relations, and he became a vestryman of Grace Protestant Episcopal Church in Newark. He married in May, 1861, Jennet Phelps Hooker. Their three children are: Charles Hooker, Albert Henry and Jennet Eliza, who is deceased.
Albert Henry Baldwin was born in Newark October 24, 1868. He is now a resident of Maplewood, New Jersey, but spends his business hours in New- ark. He received his education at the Newark Academy. Entering the service of the Newark City National Bank as a clerk at the age of eighteen, in 1886, he steadily advanced from one position to another, until he became assistant cashier, and upon the consolidation of this bank, in 1902, with the National Newark Banking Company, Mr. Baldwin was elected vice-president of the latter institution, the oldest bank in the State of New Jersey. In the faithful and honorable discharge of the responsibilities and duties devolving upon him, he has earned the confidence and esteem of his associates and of the business community. He has no time nor wish to engage in other business outside of the one concern to which he has so steadily devoted his energies, the National Newark Banking Company. In church matters, he has for many years been a warden and the treasurer of St. George's Protestant Episcopal Church, in Maplewood, which he attends, and is a member of the board of trustees of the Episcopal fund of the Diocese of Newark. In societies he is a member of the New Jersey Historical Society and the Sons of the American Revolution. In 1912 he was appointed a commissioner of the sinking fund of Essex County.
Mr. Baldwin married, June 30, 1897, Mary Ellen Pearson, born in Wisconsin, daughter of the Rev. Peter and Anna M. (Chamberlin) Pearson, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin have no children.
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
GEORGE WILLIAM KNIGHT
George William Knight, a well-known engineer of Newark, is a man who has, by the force of his native talent and energy, made for himself a position of prominence in the business world. He is of New Jersey birth, though he is of English parentage, having been born in Newark, September 13, 1882. His father, Walter J. Knight, came to this country from England in 1875, settling in Newark, where he married Marie A. Besser. He prac- ticed the profession of the law until his death in 1910. His children were: Walter J., deceased; George William, with whom the present biographical sketch is concerned; Miriam Louise and Hazel Josephine.
George W. Knight being endowed with a natural mechanical bent, it was a foregone conclusion that he should have a technical education. After a thorough preparatory course at the Newark Academy, he completed his academical studies in 1901, going from there to the Stevens Institute, Hobo- ken, where he entered upon a course that led to the degree of Mechanical Engineer. He completed the work here and gained his degree in the year 1905. Immediately upon leaving the Institute he obtained a position with the Standard Oil Company as assistant to the chief engineer of the New York Transit Company, which was a branch of the Standard Oil Company. After being with this company for a time he entered the employ of the M. W. Kellogg Company, contractors and manufacturers of mill supplies, the position he filled for them being that of one of the erecting superintendents.
Of an alert and energetic type of mind, Mr. Knight had formed an association shortly after his graduation with two partners, the firm going under the name of the Dairy and Confectionery Refrigeration Company, the business becoming from the outset a success. With this concern Mr. Knight has continued his connection, serving in 1909 as vice-president. Not over a year after the organization of this firm he became interested in the organi- zation of the Engineering Company of New York, entering the firm as one of the partners. In 1908 he received the appointment to the office of super- vising engineer of the Board of Education of Newark, and this position he holds to the present day.
Mr. Knight has achieved by his undoubted talents and energy a remark- able position for a man of his age. He occupies a rank among the men of his profession second to none, and is regarded by the business community as one of its most promising young men. He is a member of Kane Lodge, No. 55, Free and Accepted Masons, of Newark, Union Chapter, No. 7, Royal Arch Masons, and is also a member of the Board of Trade of that city. He belongs also to the Union Club of Newark, and to the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers.
Mr. Knight married, April 17, 1907, Elsa Anna, daughter of Carl and Anna (Kuechler) Hartdegen. They have two children: George William, Jr., born in April, 1908, and Elizabeth Anna, born October 12, 1910.
ORRIN EMMET RUNYON
Orrin Emmet Runyon, one of the most successful real estate men of Newark, New Jersey, was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, November 17, 1855, the son of John Calvin and Harriet M. (Chase) Runyon. Although both his parents were of the east, his father having been born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and his mother being a native of Hamdon, New York, Orrin Emmet Runyon spent his youth up to his fourteenth year in the middle west.
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