USA > New Jersey > Morris County > A history of Morris County, New Jersey : embracing upwards of two centuries, 1710-1913, Volume I > Part 57
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Was artistic penmanship a feature in the early schools of Dover? Or was this proficiency simply a peculiar and individual talent? Two speci- mens of artistic penwork by others still survive the flight of years, both executed at such a date that they may have aroused the ambition of the boy who passed from Dover to the White House because of his skill with the pen. One of these specimens is a family record of the Baker family, done by Stephen Hurd, a teacher in Dover, about 1807 or 1808. This is now (1913) in the possession of Wm. H. Baker. It is a beautiful speci- men of work from the pen of the first teacher in Dover of whom we have any trace, and it is finished in colors. This Stephen Hurd afterwards set up a store in Sparta.
The other specimen is a family record of the Daniel Lawrence family and was done by William Everitt, May 4, 1812, "On a Very Snowy Day, Morris County, State of New Jersey." It states that Daniel Lawrence was born May 18, 1773. Sibelar Doty was born April 15, 1779. They joined hearts (picture of two hearts) and hands (picture of two clasped hands, both lefts) January 7, 1796.
(These dates are of interest as bearing upon the history of the Daniel Lawrence homestead, beyond Mt. Fern, now the Doney House.)
Then follow the names of ten children with dates of birth from 1797 to 1823. This family record is now ( 1913) in the possession of Mr. John T. Lawrence, living near the South Side School in Dover. He is the son of Samuel T., who was the son of Daniel Lawrence. Job Lawrence, who lived in the Jacob Lawrence house near the reservoir, is a cousin of these Lawrences.
These facts are mentioned here with some particularity, because of the difficulty in making out the true story of these two Lawrence houses. If this digression makes the narrative appear involved, it merely illustrates what happens to one who is doing "laboratory work" in local history.
Skill in penmanship is handed down largely by the power of example. Did O. L. Pruden see these specimens? Can we trace to them any of the incentive that landed our Dover boy in the White House and made him, through his engrossing of foreign treaties, "stand before kings?" "Seest thou a man who is diligent in his business, he shall stand before kings, he shall not stand before mean men."
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Now, this distinguished penman was brought up in the little house on Dickerson street that Mr. Foster Birch has recently bought and had re- painted. Mr. Andrew Byram says he has seen the Secretary of State of the United States coming out of that house. He had probably been calling on "Aunt Sally," the lady who kept the scrap-book. It signifies something to keep a scrap-book. Some notable people traveled along Dickerson street in the olden times. Some very good people resided on that street, which was then the main highway; and some very important little people went to school on that street.
Since the railroad came to Dover important people still travel along that highway, such as Mark Twain, on his last earthly journey. When "Uncle Billy" Young prophesied that the railroad would run along that street his neighbors scoffed at the idea.
In Grandma Pruden's scrap-book there are frequent and extended notices of the career of her son. He enlisted in Captain Halsey's Com- pany at Dover. He was in General Holt's office at Washington. At the time of Charles Dickens' death he made a beautiful pen and ink portrait of the great novelist. He is known in the White House as "Tave" (short for Octavius). He gets excited when he goes to the Capitol with big nomina- tions or important messages and refuses to recognize any of his newspaper friends. He looks like a preacher, but is not one. He knows all about his business, which he keeps to himself. He likes a good cigar. He enjoys a joke and tells one very well. He is present in 1891 at President Harri- son's family Christmas Tree, and hears little Mary McKee give Christmas greetings to her grandmother in German:
Grossmama, Dir Gottes Segen, Glück und Freud' auf allen Wegen, Und Gesundheit allerbest, Zu dem schönen Weihnachtfest.
On January 19, 1892, he arranges a brilliant state dinner in honor of the cabinet. The beautifully decorated dinner-cards are the work of his hands. The order of seating the members of the cabinet and their ladies has been reduced by him to a fine art, almost an exact science.
It is he who addresses, in his "fine Italian hand," all those coveted little envelopes in which are contained invitations for somebody to rest his legs under the presidential mahogany. Finally, long-continued service in the official family of half a dozen Presidents gives him complete knowledge of public affairs and a close intimacy with Executive methods. He is, there- fore, an invaluable servant that no President has ever thought of displacing.
And his grandfather lived in the old farmhouse near the reservoir, now belonging to Evken Grange.
We Dover school teachers have had great times over that house, try- ing to straighten out its history and "make both ends meet." In The His- tory of Morris County, 1882, we are told that this house was completed on the day that Cornwallis surrendered, October 19, 1781, and that it was built by Isaac Hance. Now Isaac Hance was born in 1779. And I. W. Searing declares that his father helped build this house, when he was a young man, which may have been in 1826. And yet, according to the obituary notice in Mrs. Brannin's scrap-book, Sally Lawrence was born in that house in 1804 and lived there with her parents until 1824. There are some things "that no feller can find out."
Byram Pruden-We have still something to learn about the human his- tory that belongs to the Pruden Homestead on Dickerson street. On the
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seventy-third page of Grandma Pruden's scrap-book we read: "The last of Dover's Nonogenarians passes away." This newspaper clipping seems to belong to the year 1888. From it we gather the story of a life that reached back to our first president. To quote :
It was but a short time ago that there were living in Dover three persons, all so near the century mark of their existence, and all so well preserved that it seemed probable that each of them would attain to that distinction. But Providence has willed otherwise, and within a year and a half all of them have been called away. First was Mrs. Martha Chrystal, at the age of 99; then Elder James Ford, at the age of 98; and now the venerable Byram Pruden, who would have reached his 96th birthday, had he lived until the 25th of July next, has been called to his rest after a blameless, serviceable, and well-spent life. His death was merely a painless transi- tion, a peaceful passing away, in perfect keeping with his placid existence.
Byram Pruden was born July 25th, 1792, while George Washington was Presi- dent of the United States. He was the son of Peter Pruden, whose farm was located on the Baskingridge road, about one mile from Morristown. His grandfather also was born and lived all his life upon the same farm, in the old house which is still standing. When the Revolutionary army was quartered near Morristown the ill-fed colonial soldiers would frequently cross the intervening mountain to obtain food at the Pruden homestead, and its patriotic inmates never withheld the giving hand.
Upon this farm there was a brick kiln, and here Byram Pruden, when a young man, made and burned all the brick of which the present Morris County Court House is constructed. At the age of twenty he enlisted in a New Jersey Company for the war of 1812, and the detachment to which he was assigned was quartered on Governor's Island for the defense of New York City. He served as long as his services were required, and became one of the pensioners of that war. He drew his last pension only last week, and we believe his death leaves the venerable Thos. M. Sturtevant, formerly of Dover, but now of Madison, the only survivor of that war in Morris County.
About fifty-eight years ago Mr. Pruden came to Dover to reside with his brother, Zenas Pruden. He never married, but always lived with his brother till the latter died, and since then with his widow and children, who ever treated him with the most affectionate regard, making his long life a very pleasant one and ministering faithfully to his every want in his declining days. Soon after he came here he became associated with an event in our local history which was always a pleasant memory with him. The Morris canal was completed from Dover to Rockaway, and Mr. Pragnall, the father of Mrs. Alfred Dickerson, having built the first boat, named "The Dover," Mr. Pruden was entrusted with the command and the launching of it was made an event of great importance and rejoicing. There was a great celebration in the town, to which the people flocked from many miles around, and Mr. Pruden started off upon the first trip to Rockaway amid great enthusiasm. Afterward, when the canal was opened to Newark, he ran this boat for some time as a freight carrier.
When Mr. Pruden first came to Dover, it was only a little hamlet of a few houses, consequently he had in his life seen about the whole of its growth and prosperity. After leaving the canal he was engaged for a time in clearing wood jobs, and later on was engaged as a clerk in the stores of John M. Losey and Mahlon Dickerson. He never followed any particular trade or calling, but engaged in whatever his hands found to do. A quiet, unostentatious man, he was greatly esteemed by all who knew him, and he was called "Uncle Byram" most respectfully by the whole community.
In politics he was always an earnest and vigorous opponent of the Democratic party. He allied himself with the honored old Whig party during the whole period of its existence, and when it ceased he became an ardent supporter of its suc- cessor-the Republican party. His brother was as earnest as a Democrat, but they mutually agreed to avoid political discussions in their home. "Uncle Byram," however, exercised his convictions everywhere else, and being a reader and seeker after information, was ever ready to defend them intelligently. For many years he took a pride in casting the first vote in the township, and he never missed recording his vote at any election until last Spring, when his failing health would not permit him to go out in the terrible blizzard. Upon a number of occasions he was urged to accept local offices, but having no liking for them, could never be prevailed upon to do so.
Although never a member of any church, he led a strictly moral life, and in his views and beliefs was a Presbyterian, which church he attended until his im-
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paired hearing deprived him of much of the enjoyment of religious services. His sterling honesty, industry, and upright character were always such as to set a goodly example in the community where he lived so long and was so highly respected. He was a good man, and the world was made better for his having lived in it.
Here ends the quotation from Grandma Pruden's scrap-book. From the style of this article it must have been written by Dr. Halloway, and is a good piece of historical writing, illustrating incidentally many points of interest in the history of Dover and the county of Morris.
The three biographies-those of "Uncle Byram," of "Aunt Sally," and of "Tave" Pruden, with references to the life of Zenas, the wheelwright, go far to give us the history of the Pruden corner on old Dickerson street, and to make it a notable street in these chronicles.
A Golden Wedding-Judging from old scrap-books it has been the fashion in Dover to celebrate Golden Weddings. Miss Carrie A. Breese has given us a fine sketch of family life in Dover as described in her poem on the golden wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Titus Berry. The story of another such event may be gathered from a newspaper clipping of May 30, 1890. It was about that date that Mr. and Mrs. Wm. A. Dickerson celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their wedded joys and responsibilities. The event had more than a passing interest because this worthy couple had al- ways been identified with the growth and development of our town, and in their early lives took a deep interest in its concerns.
In 1835 Mr. Dickerson, who was born in Dover, established himself in business as the village blacksmith in the shop where for more than half a century his sturdy blows made unceasing music upon its anvil. This shop was on the premises now ( 1913) occupied by the Ulster Iron Works. The history of all our village blacksmiths would make an interesting series. The names Garrigus, King, Ford, Dickerson are a hint of the possibilities. Tubal Cain should be the patron saint of Dover, pictured with uplifted hammer, standing by his anvil.
This particular Tubal Cain was one of the original thirty-five mem- bers who formed the Presbyterian congregation, and besides taking a prom- inent part in all the affairs of this church he led its choir for many years. In this choir the leading soprano was Miss Jane Pragnall, daughter of the William Pragnall who built the first boat that plied the waters of the Morris Canal. The sturdy choir leader was ten years the senior of the comely soprano singer, but the blind goddess recks not of ages in mating hearts, and so their association in the choir resulted in their being joined in enduring bonds.
The wedding took place in the house that stood a half century ago on the corner of Blackwell and Morris streets, where, in 1890, the Y. M. C. A. rooms were. It was an old-fashioned wedding, and although Dover was then but a small village, over one hundred guests graced the occasion with their presence. Rev. B. C. Magie, their pastor, performed the cere- mony, this being the second wedding which he had consummated in Dover. The Rev. Jas. M. Tuttle, then pastor of the M. E. Church, was among the guests. The next day sixteen couples drove with them to Hacketts- town in carriages and there partook of dinner.
Two years later Mr. and Mrs. Dickerson moved into their house on Essex street (occupied in 1913 by John P. Force) where they resided for forty-eight years. It then stood in a clover field on the outskirts of the village, and from there to the Point of the Mountain no other dwelling house could be seen. Here six children were born to them, among whom we find the names of Joseph H. Dickerson, Mrs. A. J. Coe, and Mrs. C. F.
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Trowbridge. All three of these were enrolled in the Dover public school of 1856.
It is interesting to trace the family history of our school children.
Rev. Dr. Magie, who was present with his wife, made a few remarks, in the course of which he said it was something unusual for both a pastor and his wife to live to see the golden wedding of a couple he had married. He then recited an original and appropriate poem. Mr. Dickerson, at the time of this anniversary, was seventy-seven years old.
A Golden Wedding and a Diamond Birthday-We may infer from the preceding story that another golden wedding must have occurred shortly before, and on turning the pages of the old scrap-book we find the account of the Rev. B. C. Magie's golden wedding and diamond birthday, of date the fourth of December, 1888, Dr. Magie being then Superintendent of Morris County Schools. It was at New Paltz on the Hudson, opposite Poughkeepsie, that the parson, on his twenty-fifth birthday, was wedded to Miss Mary Belden, daughter of Rev. William Belden of New York City.
About six months after the wedding, in the summer of 1839, Mr. and Mrs. Magie came to Dover, the husband having been called to the pastorate of the Presbyterian church, then worshiping in the upper room of the Stone Academy. For the unusually long period of thirty-seven years he continued to minister to this church, both he and Mrs. Magie being closely identified with the religious and social life of this community.
In 1848 they built the family residence on Prospect street, which they occupied until 1876. (The railroad afterwards came through the town by the side of this house.) Their six children were born in Dover, namely : Susan, the wife of Coley James, of Plymouth, Connecticut; Miss Lucy Magie, principal of the Prospect Hill School at the family residence; Mr. Wm. E. Magie, cashier for the firm of Ogden & Co., brokers; Miss Abbie Magie, assistant principal of the Prospect Hill school; Mr. Burtis C. Magie Jr., first assistant principal of the Eighty-sixth street school in New York City; and Minnie, wife of Mr. Halloway H. Hance, of Stephensburg. Among the adornments of the supper table was a superb birthday cake, which was about two feet in diameter and bore 75 candles, with the figures "1813-1888." This was made at Mr. Young's confectionery shop.
Among the fifty-four guests were five clergymen, Rev. W. W. Hallo- way Jr., of Dover; Rev. Dr. E. W. Stoddard of Succasunna; Rev. Dr. David Stevenson of New York; Rev. Wm. H. Belden; and Rev. Jolin Scott. This delightful occasion was happily concluded by the recital of the following appropriate lines :
Fifty years ago this night, (Time, how rapid is thy flight!) Stood before the nuptial altar Parson Belden's fairest daughter. There her purest troth was plighted; She and I were there united. She was beauty in her teens; So, at least, the old man weens. She was loved intensely then ; Loved still more at three score ten. * * *
* She's been to me an angel bright, Making life one sweet delight. Without money still content, For others she her life has spent. Now she's old and most worn out, Still, you never see her pout.
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Her bright hope now nothing mars Of life and rest beyond the stars. * *
* *
Friends, we thank you, one and all, For this kind half-century call.
Grandma Pruden's Scrap-Book-It is nothing more nor less than Zenas Pruden's Day Book, 16"x61/2", containing 167 pages when converted into a scrap-book. He had a wagon shop on the corner of Dickerson street and Morris street and was doing business there in 1825, as we see by glimpses of the old accounts where they have not been covered over with clippings from newspapers. In these glimpses of the wagon-maker's ac- counts we find such entries as these: one new one horse waggon finnished off $40.00; To spoking and rimming one Weel $2.50; painting one belless .3712; one Drawer-knife 1.00; painting one slay $4.00; making one weal barrow $2.50.
The following is a memorandum of some of the most important find- ings in the scrap-book :
I. The Autobiography of an Old Organ, page I. Evidently the story of the old organ which was first used in the Second Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth, N. J., then sold to the Dover people for $600, and later sold (or given) to the church in Rockaway. Miss Anna M. Davis used to play this organ in Elizabeth. Episodes : Worrell; A. Byram, coasting whistles.
2. Octavius L. Pruden, assistant private secretary in Washington, D. C .; p. 6.
3. A "switchel" Gen. Washington; p. II.
4. Poems of sentiment & family life, humor (passim).
5. Letters from Mr. Potter, missionary to Persia.
6. Obituaries, Mrs. Millie Wallace, Aunt Jennie; p. 51.
7. Mrs. Segur. Poem by Carrie Breese ; p. 57.
8. O. L. Pruden in White House: Xmas, Dinner, Cabinet ; pp. 58-9.
9. W. H. McDavit, obit 1891. The presidents; pp. 62-63.
IO. Trolleys in Morris Co. Letters from California; p. 71.
II. Byram Pruden, obit. 3 nonogenarians (b. 1792); p. 73. Family Hist. Peter Pruden. Brick of Court House.
12. The first canal boat, The Dover of Dover; p. 73.
The Old Quaker Church ; p. 74.
13. .R. Brotherton, John E. Vail, Mrs. Mott: the last ones.
14. A Golden Wedding, Rev. B. C. Magie, p. 79. His children, poem : quote a few lines.
15. Historical Sermon of B. C. Magie 1885: 50th anniv .; p. 81. Rockaway Ch., B. King, First S. S., Bank, Segur, Capt. Pease, prayer meeting, Crittenden singers, fiddle, organ sold.
16. Temperance, Segur, fight, pledge.
17. Mine Hill Church, history of; pp. 83-85.
18. The Great Blizzard of 1888; p. 87.
19. The Dickerson Mine, closed 1891; p. 92. Hist. of 1716-Early Forge-rights, canal 1838.
20. A Golden Wedding, Wm. A. Dickerson, choir-master ; p. 95. Jane Pragnall, soprano singer : Church Romance; Essex St., then a clover field. 21. The Rogerenes ( Baptists) ; p. 96. Samuel Smith : First Hist. of N. J. 1765.
22. O. L. Pruden ; p. 102.
23 . Dr. Magie's funeral; pp. 103-105.
24. O. L. Pruden ; p. 116.
25. First S. S. in Dover ; p. 133.
26. 1713 John Reading. Proprietors of East Jersey sold 527 A. to Joseph Latham, near the Syccunn mine; p. 134.
27. The Fourth of July in Dover (date?) ; p. 152.
28. Mt. Olive Church; p. 154.
29. Tales of Old Randolph 1664-East & West Jersey; p. 160.
30. The Raid on the Signs; p. 161.
31. With a loose copy of The Jerseyman, February 17, 1866, laid in the book, containing an obituary notice of Richard Brotherton.
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Dr. Lefevre-On Saturday, the fourth of October, I called on Mrs. H. W. Cortright at her home, Nolan's Point. Her father, Dr. Wm. B. Le- fevre, when a young man, taught school in Dover sometime between 1835 and 1840. He studied medicine and graduated from the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia in 1838. Soon after graduating he came to Hurd- town, where he had a country practice that kept him riding over the hills on horseback or in his sulky at all hours of the day or night. He was an elder in the Berkshire Valley Church and superintendent of the Sunday School for twenty-five years. When he was about forty years old he mar- ried Mary Condict Hurd, the oldest daughter of David B. Hurd.
Why was Mary Condict Hurd named with the name "Condict"? Her mother was Eliza Condict, daughter of Judge Edward Condict of Morris- town. His signature is seen on the deed of 1809 by which Peter G. Hoag- land acquired the land afterwards known as the Munson Place. An oil portrait of Judge Condict is hung in the dining room at Mrs. Cortright's, copied by her brother from another painting. Eliza Condict was eighteen years old when married. She became the mother of eight children. A framed picture done in black silk thread upon a white silk ground repre- sents "A Roman Monument at Igel in the Dutchy of Luxemburgh" and is a specimen of her skill and artistic talent. It was done November 1, 1810, before her marriage, probably, and is remarkably well done, in that peculiar style of art. It was her daughter Mary, then, who became the mother of the artist, Wm. Jelf Lefevre, the only son of Dr. Lefevre, and the brother of Mrs. Cortright.
Wm. J. Lefevre was sent to school, when eight years old, to Mount Retirement at Deckertown, the famous school of Mr. Stiles, who was a personal friend of Dr. Lefevre. He also attended Mr. Rankin's school in Mendham, and after his conversion during religious services conducted at Hurdstown by students from Drew Seminary he went to Drew Seminary and took a two-year course, with the expectation of becoming a minister. But his natural impulse led him afterwards to take up the study of art. He went to Philadelphia and became a pupil of Peter Moran. Later he had a studio of his own in Philadelphia and devoted himself especially to. etching. The photograph of his studio shows him seated with his back to the camera. Several of his pictures are seen about the room and the person facing the camera is his friend, Stephen J. Ferris, a notable artist. He was also a friend of Joseph Pennell, now a distinguished artist. Returning to his home at Hurdstown the young artist applied his art to his immediate surroundings. He painted and etched pictures of the farm, especially any- thing with cows or oxen in it, as the list of works will show. Just as he was beginning to make a name for himself he died at the early age of thirty-five in the year 1883.
He was for a time a Dover schoolboy, for his name is found in a list of pupils who attended Mr. Hall's school in 1861, and I am told that he also attended Miss Susan C. Magie's school in Dover. His life therefore claims a place in our Dover History. The paintings of this Dover school- boy which are to be seen at the home of Mrs. Cortright are: I. Watering Cattle in Winter. A dark and bleak scene on the home farm at Hurdtown, showing how a hole must be cut in the ice to allow the cattle to drink from the pond. Rather cold beverage. 2. Unloading Hay at the Barn. A scene on the Hurd farm. 3. The Marauders. Cows breaking through a fence to get at the haystacks. A scene on the Hurd farm. 4. Cows in Landscape, at Hurdtown. 5. A Copy from Another Artist. Cows and goats and a boy
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with a stick facing them. 6. A Copy of the Portrait of Judge Edward Condict. He made a few other paintings, but they have been given to friends.
Most of his work was in the form of etchings. Of these Mrs. Cort- right has quite a full collection, containing twelve or more copies of many of them. She also has the original plates.
Etchings-I. Driving Home the Cows. Back of Hurdtown. A windy day. Clouds. 2. Hauling Wood With a Team of Oxen. 1881. Price marked $3.00. 3. The Ten-Acre Lot on His Home Farm. Cows, trees. 4. Scene in Sparta. Stone bridge, house. One of his best. $1.75. 5. Land- scape and Cattle. Stream, load of wood. $1.00. 6. Winter Landscape. Snow, ox-sled. $1.00. 7. At the Watering Place. Cows. $2.50. 8. Cows in Meadow. $1.00. 9. Cow in Landscape. $1.00. 10. Leaving the Pasture. Cows. $1.00. II. Landscape. Cottage, stream. No cows. Pretty picture. $.50. 12. Eating Apples. A cow. 14. Evening Landscape. 15. Coming from the Mill. Mr. Nolan and team. 16. Going to the Mill. Mr. Nolan and team. 17. Foddering Sheep. $1.50. 18. Cow's Head. A mooly cow. Good. $1.00. 19. A Portrait. Madame cow again. 1882. 20. Driving Home the Cows. $3.00. 21. Gratitude. Cow at hole in ice, looking back. $2.00.
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