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 7
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BIOGRAPHICAL
In 1856, the year after his birth, his parents removed from Plainfield to Springfield, Illinois, the home of Abraham Lincoln, and there during the Civil War, as a member of the firm of Runyon & Britt, Mr. Runyon, senior, engaged in the business of State printing. In 1868 he returned east with his family and established himself again at Plainfield, becoming the proprietor of the "Central New Jersey Times," which he conducted with great success up to the time of his death at Plainfield in 1889. Of this large family of eight children which John Calvin Runyon brought back east, Orrin Emmet was the eldest. The others were David M., Elmer Hay, Laura L., a graduate of the University of Chicago, and at present a teacher in the Normal School of Warrensburg, Missouri; Charles W., deputy clerk of Union County, New Jersey; Harry C., a lawyer of Plainfield, New Jersey; Marion, and Adelaide, the wife of Gerald Oliver, a naval instructor at Chicago.
Orrin Emmet Runyon received his early education in the public schools of Springfield, Illinois. This elementary instruction was supplemented by the work of the Plainfield High School, which he attended on his return to his native city, and still later by a course at the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie during the years 1874 and 1875. At the age of sixteen, having graduated from the Plainfield High School, he entered his father's office and learned the printer's trade-that trade that has served so many distinguished men.
For nine years he worked successfully at the printing business with the exception of the year spent at the business college at Poughkeepsie, and from July, 1877, to the fall of 1879 was the manager of the job printing office of the firm of F. G. Tilton & Co. at Greenfield, Massachusetts. But in 1880 he withdrew and, removing to Newark, obtained the position of book- keeper for J. C. Smith & Co., flour and grain merchants, and remained with them for two years. In 1883, realizing that he had an aptitude for the real estate business, and that he could push his fortunes more rapidly by going into business for himself, he resigned his position with the Smith company and bought a half interest in the real estate firm of R. Burges & Co. of Newark, New Jersey. So successful was he in this venture that by October, 1887, he had acquired Mr. Burges' interest in the business and became the head of the real estate firm whose affairs he has ever since con- trolled.
Mr. Runyon's activities have found other outlets than business affords. Inspired no doubt by the example of his two uncles, Nelson and Frank Runyon, who were members of one of the New Jersey regiments during the Civil War, and saw much active service, Mr. Runyon early displayed a great interest in the military affairs of his native State.' In December, 1884, he joined Company D of the First Regiment of New Jersey, and in 1885 he was elected first lieutenant. In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, he was made captain and was sent with his regiment to Camp Alger, Virginia, and was mustered out November 4, 1898. Mr. Runyon is still the captain of Company D and is the fourth commandant, and is proud of his long associa- tion with a company not only distinguished by its honorable record but as being the oldest one in the State, having been in service since 1846. Mr. Runyon was one of the officers detailed to the manœuvre camp at San Antonio, Texas, in May, 1911. While on this duty he was attached to Company I of the Twenty-eighth Infantry. He also interests himself in civic and political affairs, and was judge of the electoral district of the Thirteenth Ward of Newark, New Jersey.
Orrin Emmet Runyon married, January 5, 1887, Minnie Dormer, daughter of John Mecker, of Elizabeth, New Jersey. They have five children :
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
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Orrin Emmet, Jr., born October, 1888; John Calvin (2), born in May, 1892; Theodore Clark, born in October, 1897; Milton Chase, born in October, 1899; George Elmer, born in June, 1901.
HENRY DARCY SCUDDER, JR.
There is no line of professional work at the present time which offers better opportunities for the development of original ideas in every form of constructive work than that of engineering. The thoughts of many men are turned in this direction, and prominent among the consulting engineers of the city of Newark is Henry Darcy Scudder, Jr. He has already given ample evidence of what he is able to accomplish and the future holds great promise for him.
Mr. Scudder was born in Trenton, New Jersey, November 26, 1884, son of Henry D. and Marvina ( Davis) Scudder. Wallace Mellvaine Scudder, editor and publisher of the Newark Evening News, is an uncle of Mr. Scudder. Mr. Scudder's grandfather, Justice Edward Wallace Scudder, was president of the New Jersey Senate for a time and judge of the New Jersey Supreme Court for over twenty years, and his wife, Mary Louisa, was a daughter of Judge George King Drake, of Morristown, New Jersey. In the earlier ancestry of Mr. Scudder are to be found four barons who signed Magna Charta and he traces his descent from Edward I. Direct ancestors were among the earliest settlers of New England, Thomas Scudder coming to this country in 1635. Scudder's Falls, on the Delaware, is named in honor of the family.
Mr. Scudder received the advantages of a liberal education. He attended the State Model School of Trenton and, from 1899 to 1901, the Princeton University Academy. The next seven years were spent in practical work in the office of William P. Field, a civil engineer, and the experience gained there by Mr. Scudder was a varied and practical one. In 1908 he established himself in an independent practice of his profession at No. 800 Broad street, removing at the end of one year to his present offices at No. 196 Market street. He has now firmly established himself as a structural and consulting engineer, and his patronage is a good one and is rapidly and consistently increasing.
ITe is a member of the Board of Trade of the city of Newark and of the National Guard of the State of New Jersey, serving in the First Field Company Signal Corps for seven years.
SYLVESTER HALSEY MOORE AGENS
Sylvester Halsey Moore Agens, prominent in electrical circles of Newark, was born at 98 Commerce street, in that city, November 5, 1872. He is a son of Frederick Girard and Emma Louise (Moore) Agens.
The Agens family is of Scotch ancestry, James Agens, the great- grandfather of Mr. Agens, was born in Scotland, and at the breaking out of the American Revolution was residing in Edinborough. He was impressed into service in the British army, but eventually deserted and joined the Colonial army. He saw much active service, taking part in General Wash- ington's New Jersey campaign, being wounded at the battle of Trenton. He later fought in the command of General Anthony Wayne at the recapture of Stony Point, New York. After the war he settled in Orange, then a part of Newark, and there he made his home until his death. He had a number of sons, of whom one was Thomas Agens, the grandfather of
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Sylvester, who was a lifelong resident of Newark, and who was for many years a hat manufacturer in his native city.
Frederick Girard Agens, son of Thomas Agens, was born in Newark in 1836. He assisted his father for some years in his hat manufactory and later engaged in the fire insurance business, meeting with marked success. He married Emma Louise Moore, who was born December 13, 1832, and died in Newark May 13, 1892.
Sylvester Halsey Moore Agens is a direct descendant of Lieutenant John Lion Gardiner, known as Lord of Saybrook and Gardiner's Island. He was born in England in 1599 and died on his estate on Gardiner's Island, New York, in 1663. At an early date he emigrated to New England, where he gained distinction in the Pequot War. He was also prominent in the civil affairs of Connecticut and New York. In 1639 he purchased from the Indians the island which now bears his name. His title was confirmed by the Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam and the Earl of Sterling. Here he made his home until his death. The old family estate is now owned by a descendant. Mr. Agens' descent from this prominent old Colonial officer is as follows: 1. Lieutenant John Lion Gardiner married Mary Wimelson, born in 1601 and died in 1665. 2. Mary, daughter of Lieutenant John Lion and Mary ( Wimelson ) Gardiner, born August 31, 1638, and died June 15, 1727, married Jeremiah Conkling, born in 1634 and died in 1712. 3. Mary Gardiner, daughter of Jeremiah and Mary (Gardiner) Conkling, married Thomas Mulford, born in 1650 and died in 1732. 4. Ezekiel Conkling, son of Thomas and Mary Gardiner ( Conkling) Mulford, married Abia Osborn. 5. Jonathan, son of Ezekiel Conkling and Abia (Osborn) Mulford, born September 29, 1718, and died October 16, 1789, served as a private in the Third Battalion, also under Colonel Somer's New Jersey troops in the Revolutionary War. He married Esther Conkling, born August 27, 1715, and died September 27, 1776. 6. Esther, daughter of Jonathan and Esther (Conkling) Mulford, born April 18, 1757, and died September 26, 1819, married, January 6, 1779, Edward Ball, who served in the New Jersey troops during the Revolutionary War. He was born November 8, 1756, and died April 26, 1815. 7. Prussia Alling, daughter of Edward and Esther ( Mulford) Ball, born March 26, 1784, and died February 28, 1867, married Jacob Peshine. 8. Hettie Malvina, daughter of Jacob and Prussia Alling ( Ball) Peshine, born in 1811 and died in 1872, married Sylvester Halsey Moore, born in 1810 and died in 1875. 9. Emma Louise, daughter of Sylvester Halsey and Hettie Malvina (Peshine) Moore, born December 13, 1832, and died May 13, 1892, married Frederick G. Agens, mentioned above. 10. Sylvester Halsey Moore, son of Frederick G. and Emma Louise ( Moore) Agens.
Mr. Agens was educated at the Chestnut Street Public School, the Newark Academy and the John C. Green School of Science at Princeton, New Jersey.
In 1896 he entered the employ of the Crescent Ship Yard at Eliza- bethport, under Louis Nixon, and in 1899 he became associated with the Electric Motor and Equipment Company of Newark. In May, 1911, he formed the company of Agens & Hopper to carry on a general electrical supply business. The company is a distributor for all the leading makers of electrical supplies throughout New Jersey and adjoining States.
Mr. Agens, since engaging in the electrical business, has won distinc- tion in the development of decorative and spectacular lighting. He planned and erected the mammoth electric sign of the Butterick Publishing Com- pany, of New York City, the largest electric sign in the world. He is a
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
recognized expert on searchlights and was awarded the contract for installing the searchlight projectors on the dome of the Capitol building and on the Washington Monument at the inauguration of President Roosevelt in 1905. Hle also planned and executed the intricate work of lighting the court of honor at President Taft's inauguration in 1909, the spectacular illumina- tion at Saratoga Springs, New York, at the triennial conclave of the Knights Templar in 1907; special work for the Dewey celebration and at the time of the visit of Prince Henry of Germany to this country in 1902. He superin- tended the construction of over thirty electrical dressing line equipments for the decorations of the United States battleships, also the dressing lines for the Russian battleships "Variag" and "Retvizan." In addition he also did much decorative work for the Turkish and Japanese war vessels at the Cramps Ship Yards in Philadelphia.
He is a member of the Board of Trade of Newark, South Park Presby- terian Church, Kane Lodge, No. 55, F. and A. M., and the Sons of Jove, an electrical secret society.
He was married, June 2, 1900, to Elizabeth Wallis Taylor, of East Orange, New Jersey. They have three children: Sylvester Taylor, 1901; Margaret, 1906, and David Taylor, 1911.
CHARLES SPEIR DODD
Charles Speir Dodd, who holds a prominent place in the insurance business of Newark, New Jersey, and who is identified with other important financial undertakings, has attained a justly deserved reputation for business acumen and strict integrity. He is of Irish descent, his grandfather having emigrated to America from the North of Ireland when he was a mere lad. Samuel Dodd, father of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Quebec, Canada, removed to New Jersey and engaged in the dry goods business in New York, with which he was connected until his death in 1890. He married Mary Elizabeth, a daughter of John Walker, of Belleville, New Jersey.
Charles Speir Dodd was born in Newark, New Jersey, January 23, 1864, and was educated in the public and high schools of his native city. Upon the completion of his studies he accepted a position in the office of Ryerson & Thompson, remaining with this firm for a number of years. His next field of labor was with J. H. Langford & Co., of New York, and subse- quently he held office as assistant treasurer of the Firemen's Insurance Company, of Newark. The last named position was held for a period of thirteen years, when Mr. Dodd decided to engage in the insurance business on his own responsibility. The thorough and practical experience he had had in these various offices gave him a clear insight into all the various interests involved and his careful attention to detail, combined with his indefatigable efforts for the welfare of his clients have been productive of very satisfactory results. He is resident manager of the Royal Insurance Company, Limited, of Liverpool, and also carries on a general insurance business. As a member of the Newark Board of Trade his opinion carries weight.
Mr. Dodd married, April 22, 1896, Florence Augusta, daughter of Charles and Mary W. Cummings, of Mamaroneck, New York, and their only son is Norman, born June 29, 1899. In politics Mr. Dodd is a Republi- can. He is president of the Fire Insurance Society of Newark and secretary and treasurer of the Underwriters' Protective Association. He has been an active worker in church affairs, and was a trustee of the village of South
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BIOGRAPHICAL
Orange from 1902 until 1906. His fraternal and social affiliations are with St. John's Lodge, No. 1, Free and Accepted Masons; Union Chapter No. 7, and the Essex County Club of West Orange. As a progressive, up-to-date and ambitious business man Mr. Dodd has not many equals. He has the power of concentration to a remarkable degree and executive ability of a high order. His labors in the field of insurance activity have been crowned with a well deserved success and his business methods are worthy of imitation.
JOHN HENRY BENNETT
John Henry Bennett, manager of the Newark branch of J. R. Wood & Sons, jewelers, diamond cutters and watch case manufacturers, of New York and Newark, is a business man of acumen and responsibility and has had a varied and interesting business career. He is a man of action rather than of words, and his achievements demonstrate his ability. Every business detail he has been called upon to discharge has been performed with accuracy and his industry has been unflagging.
John R. Bennett, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Long Island in 1842. Until his retirement from business life he was engaged as a poultry dealer in Fulton Market, in the city of New York. He married Caroline D., daughter of James Morris, of Brooklyn, New York, and had chil- dren: John Henry, Joseph J. and Frank C.
John Henry Bennett, the eldest of these children, was born in Brooklyn, New York, December 4, 1864. He acquired his scholastic education in the pub- lic schools of his native city, and at the age of sixteen years entered the employ of Courbosier-Wilson Watch Case Company, of Brooklyn, New York, and New- ark, New Jersey. Twenty-two years were spent in the employ of this company, where Mr. Bennett had entered as a plain workman, and risen to the responsi- ble position of superintendent of the engraving and decorating department. Hle resigned this position in order to engage in business independently as a manufacturer of novelties, his place of business being in One Hundred and Sixteenth street, New York City. At the expiration of two years he abandoned this enterprise and accepted a position with the Consolidated Dental Manu- facturing Company, at No. 130 Washington place, New York City, of which Mr. H. D. Ballman is president at the present time (1913). He then became the manager of the Pennsylvania Watch Case Company, York, Pennsylvania, but at the end of eighteen months formed a connection with his present com- pany. The Newark branch, of which Mr. Bennett is the head, is engaged exclusively in the manufacture of watch cases since 1912. Mr. Bennett has other business enterprises, being a member of the Hearthstone Building and Loan Association and of the Hollywood Building and Loan Association. His fraternal affiliations are with the Royal Arcanum, of which he has been a member for the long period of twenty-six years.
Mr. Bennett married Lillie May, daughter of John C. and Ella A. (Hayward) Strang, of Brooklyn. They have one child, Ella May, who was graduated from the Bloomfield grammar school and a graduate of the New York German Conservatory of Music. John C. Strang served in the Civil War, enlisting in 1861. He continued in active service until he was mus- tered out at the close of the war. He was a member of the Thirteenth Regi- ment, of Brooklyn, and he wrote much of the correspondence of his regiment. Mr. Bennett has never taken an active part in political matters, but he takes an earnest and intelligent interest in everything that concerns the welfare of the community, and advances to the best of his power and ability any project that holds promise for the public good.
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HISTORY OF NEWARK
JAMES EDWARD HOWELL
Vice-Chancellor James E. Howell, for many years actively identified with some of the most important work in the legal profession in his section of the State, is a man of intellectual attainments, public-spirited to the highest degree. He was born near Beemerville, Wantage Township, Sussex County, New Jersey, June 25, 1848, eldest son of William Chauncey and Julia A. (Schofield) Howell, grandson of John Howell and Austin Schofield, and a descendant of Edward Howell, of March Gibbon, Buckinghamshire, England, who removed to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1639, and thence to Southampton, Long Island, in 1640.
He acquired his early education in the common schools of the neighbor- hood, and pursued advanced studies in Mt. Retirement Seminary, located near what was then Deckertown, now known as Sussex. This was a famous old academy at that time and was then familiarly known as the "Stiles School." Subsequently he entered upon the study of law at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, graduating in the class of 1870. He then returned east, locating in Newton, New Jersey, and for a time read law in the office of Coult & Van Blarcom, a noted law firm. He was admitted to the bar of New Jersey as an attorney in February, 1872, and as a counsellor in June, 1880. He began practice in Newton, New Jersey, remaining until 1874, when he removed to Newark, in which city he has since resided, and until he became vice-chancellor, this was the center of his law practice. On January 1, 1876, he formed a partner- ship with Joseph Coult, under the style of Coult & Howell, and this connec- tion continued until April, 1907, when Mr. Howell was appointed Vice- Chancellor by Chancellor Magie, upon the resignation of Henry C. Pitney, for a term of seven years, in which capacity he is rendering most efficient service. He served as a commissioner for the erection of the new City Hall, under appointment of the late Mayor Seymour, and was a member of the board of the Essex County Sinking Fund Commission, which he resigned in December, 1908, in order to devote all his time to court work. He was formerly vice- president of the Second National Bank and one of its directors. Since his removal to Newark he has been greatly interested in the New Jersey Historical Society, and aided materially in securing for that association its present building. He keeps in touch with his professional brethren by membership in the New Jersey State Bar Association, and is also a member of the Board of Trade, the Essex and University Clubs of Newark, the Lotos and Republi- can Clubs of New York City, the Road Horse Drivers' Association, and a trustee of the Newark Free Public Library. He attends the Reformed Church. Vice-Chancellor Howell married, June 13, 1877, Mary Lillian, eldest child of James H. and Mary (Thomson) Cummins, of Newton, New Jersey. They have one child, Thomson, born December 21, 1888.
EDGAR E. BERGEN
To continue in the same line of business for almost half a century is a record of which any man might well be proud, and it is of such a man that this review treats. Edgar E. Bergen has been at the head of his own produce business for a period extending well over forty years, and has won a position in the business world peculiarly his own, by reason of the respon- sible interests he has represented. He is as highly valued in the other walks of life as he is in the business world, and in religious matters he has also done much good work.
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James E. Howell
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BIOGRAPHICAL
Elias Bergen, his father, was a farmer in Mercer County, New Jersey, and was later engaged in the produce business in Trenton, New Jersey. He married Phoebe Rue, of Monmouth County, New Jersey.
Edgar E. Bergen was born in Mercer County, New Jersey, May 21, 1847, and attended the private school at Heightstown, New Jersey, which is now the well-known Peddie Institute. From there he went to the State Normal School at Trenton, New Jersey, and, upon leaving this institution, he was occupied as a carpenter for four years, his connection with this line of work ceasing in 1872. He then came to Newark, New Jersey, where he estab- lished the business of which he is still the head and the leading spirit. He handles all kinds of foreign and domestic produce, and his business connec- tions are widespread. In addition to this enterprise he conducted, for fourteen years, a fine stock farm in Somerset County, which was known as the Raratana Stock Farm, and this was renowned for the fine breeds to be found there. It was nothing unusual for Mr. Bergen to have as many as seventy-five horses of the finest breed there at one time. He sold this farm in 1903 to H. C. Du Val, who subsequently sold it to William Bradley, the well-known contractor of New York. As a member of the Newark Fruit and Produce Association, the opinions of Mr. Bergen are highly valued as those of a man of experience and thorough understanding of the subject in question.
Mr. Bergen married, May 30, 1871, Lydia Van Syckle, of Phillipsburg, New Jersey; children: Margaret; Albert V., associated with his father, married Blanche Abbott, of Somerville; Edna, married Dr. E. A. Miller, of Portland, Pennsylvania; Ethel E., married Henry Pool, a lawyer of Newark; Edgar W., is a student at Coleman's Business College in Newark. Mr. Bergen is a man of energetic and active appearance and does not show his years. In all probability it is the very fact of his incessant activity that has kept up his youthful appearance, and has added to his enjoyment of life. He is of a social disposition, with a cheerful word for everyone, a warm heart and an open hand for those less fortunate in life than he has been. He takes a deep interest in all matters concerning the welfare of the community, and does all in his power to further any project for the public benefit.
HERMAN E. L. BEYER
The energy and Intellectual activity that is a marked peculiarity of the German character are clearly seen in Herman E. L. Beyer, one of the foremost newspaper men of Newark. As secretary and treasurer of the Town Talk Printing Company, and as editor of the Town Talk Magazine and Newark Ledger, he holds a responsible position and shows the versatility of his talents, wielding at the same time a widespread influence. The place he has achieved is the result of an ambition which even as a boy drove him to work patiently and untiringly towards the aims which he had set for himself. The success that has crowned his efforts and placed him in a position of respect and esteem in his native town can be justly said to be due only to himself and his own ability and unflagging energy.
Unlike many men, the direction of whose careers has been largely the result of chance and the fortuitous combination of circumstances, the lifework of Mr. Beyer was decided upon when he was still a boy, and has been followed until he has reached his present position. When a lad of twelve years of age he showed his ability as a writer and his inclination towards the newspaper business. He got out a small paper that had an extensive circula- tion in the public schools of the city, acting as his own reporter, editor,
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