USA > New Jersey > Morris County > A history of Morris County, New Jersey : embracing upwards of two centuries, 1710-1913, Volume II > Part 14
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Leonard Elliott, son of Alexander and Louisa (Wallace) Elliott, was born in Dover, New Jersey, October 2, 1861. He attended the common schools of that place, and after completing his studies worked at the mines owned and operated by his father, in this way gaining a practical knowledge of that line of work, also the setting up and installing of mining machinery. In 1881 he went to Tucson, Arizona, where he was employed as assistant superintendent of a copper mine, but preferring to live in the east he re-
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turned shortly afterward to Dover, New Jersey, and later removed to Mid- valetown, Passaic county, New Jersey, where he engaged once more in in- stalling mining machinery. In 1886 he secured a position as traveling sales- man for the A. A. Griffing Iron Company, remaining in their employ for the long period of nineteen years, a fact which amply testified to his ability and efficiency. In October, 1905, he entered into partnership with the R. C. Bartley Company, manufacturers and installators of steam heating plants, and this connection continued for a period of two and a half years, when he disposed of his interest, and since that time has been engaged in business on his own account, not only installing but selling and contracting for both steam and hot water heaters. Among the many public buildings and private residences in which he has installed heaters may be mentioned the East Side public school of Dover, Livingston Building of Dover, Dover Alliance Office Build- ing, and the residence of E. L. Dickerson. He has achieved a large degree of success in his private undertaking, the result of years of experience, of ability of a high degree, of straightforward transactions and unimpeachable integrity.
Mr. Elliott is a man of public spirit and enterprise, actively interested in all that promotes the welfare of his native city. He is a staunch adherent of the principles of the Democratic party, served as chairman of the district committee, as a member of the county committee, and in the fall of 1908 was elected to the Dover council, by a majority of seventy-eight, being the only Democrat to hold position in the town, which attests to his popularity. While a member of the council he served as chairman of the fire and lamps com- mittee, and member of the finance committee and the license committee, in all of which he performed his work well, meriting the approbation of all concerned. In 1910 was re-elected to the council by a record majority, and in 1911 elected member board of freeholders, and 1913 was up for re-elec- tion. Mr. Elliott is a vestryman of St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church in Dover, a member of the F. and A. M., Acacia Lodge, No. 20; Otserimgo Consistory, S. P. R. S. of Binghamton, New York; Mecca Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., B. P. O. E., and the R. A.
Mr. Elliott married, January 5, 1892, Stella Eugenia Munson, a native of Dover, born October 24, 1864, daughter of Mahlon Ogden and Phebe Ann (Coe) Munson, who were the parents of two other children, namely : Thomas Sidney, born December 31, 1855, deceased, and Mary Esther, born May 15, 1860. Mahlon Ogden Munson was born in Dover, New Jersey, August 18, 1828, son of Mahlon and Eunice (Parsons) Munson, and his line of descent from the immigrant ancestor is as follows: Ezekiel, Solomon, Solomon, Samuel, Samuel, Thomas, the founder, born about 1612. Mahlon O. Munson was a merchant, a farmer, a Methodist and a Democrat, serv- ing for eight years as clerk of Randolph township. Mr. and Mrs. Elliott are the parents of two children: Marjorie E. and Leonard M. The family resides in the old Munson homestead, which has come down to Mrs. Elliott and Mrs. Curtice from their great-grandfather, it being situated on the south side of Munson Hill.
JAMES E. GIBSON
James E. Gibson, who for a quarter of a century has served in the capacity of boss heater in the Ulster Iron Works, was born in Port Carbon, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, September 19, 1855, son of James and Mary (McCord) Gibson, the former named a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of Port Carbon, Pennsylvania, he a shoemaker
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by trade. Children of James and Mary Gibson: Emma, wife of Joseph Simpson; Charles; Rebecca, wife of Thomas Phillips; John; Benjamin ; James E .; Clara, wife of Louis Marquardt; Lydia, deceased; George, deceased ; Margaret, deceased ; Mary, wife of Milton Lewin; Joseph.
James E. Gibson secured a practical education by attendance at the common schools in his neighborhood, completing his studies at the age of sixteen, and for two years prior to leaving school, during the summer vaca- tion, acted as driver on the canal. He also worked for his father on the farm, thus demonstrating that he possessed a spirit of determination and considerable energy, characteristics which have been apparent throughout his entire career. He then worked in a rolling mill until the year 1876, when he changed his occupation to that of coal miner, but after six years service in the mines he returned to his work in the rolling mill, which line of work he has since followed. He came as a rougher on rolls or assistant roller, and for twenty-five years has been the boss heater, a most important position, one that requires a man of unusual skill and ability, a thoroughly practical man, understanding all the details of the work. He has been con- stantly in the employ of the Ulster Iron Works for thirty-one years. During the Spanish-American War Mr. Gibson displayed his patriotism by enlisting in Company M, Second New Jersey Volunteers, he being the oldest man to offer his services. He was faithful in the discharge of his duties, and was highly commended for the work performed. He was elected on the Republi- can ticket to the offices of justice of the peace, overseer of the poor and con- stable, but would not serve, preferring not to enter public life. He is a mem- ber of the B. P. O. E., I. O. R. M., Pocahontas Tribe, and K. M.
Mr. Gibson married (first) in 1880, Lydia Hinkel, a native of Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Michael and Lydia (McCord) Hinkel, the former named a coal miner, and they were the parents of seven children : Elizabeth, wife of John D. Frank; William; Daniel; Lydia, wife of Mr. Gibson ; Samuel ; Elmer ; James. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Gibson : Samuel J., a sketch of whom follows this; Edna, wife of George Thompson; Ida, deceased ; Emory, Flossie, wife of Allen Van Dervere; Elmer, Elsie. The mother of these children died in 1890. Mr. Gibson married (second) Emma Griffin, born in Newark, daughter of John Griffin. They are the parents of one child, Wilbur J. Mr. Gibson is a law-abiding, substantial citizen, a noted man in his locality, keeps thoroughly posted on all great questions of the day, and is respected for his many sterling qualities.
SAMUEL J. GIBSON
Samuel J. Gibson, who has served as street commissioner of the town of Dover, New Jersey, for the past three years, was born at Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania, October 13, 1881, son of James E. and Lydia (Hinkel) Gibson, natives of the old Keystone Commonwealth; the father is an iron worker by occupation, and their family consists of six children.
To the public schools of Dover, Mr. Gibson is indebted for his pre- liminary educational training. At the age of thirteen years he entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the trade of printer, and as that business is a liberal education in itself he managed to pick up a vast amount of useful knowledge on a number of subjects. He followed newspaper work as a printer for three years, and in 1896 entered the employ of the Ulster Iron Works, at Dover, in which concern he was a roller for eight years. At the present time (1913) he is most successfully engaged in the conduct of his duties as street commissioner, to which office he was appointed in 1910.
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He owns a staunch allegiance to the principles of the Republican party, but is in no sense a seeker after the emoluments of public office. Fraternally he is a member of the K. of M., of Acacia Lodge, No. 20, F. and A. M., and the Captain D. D. Mitchell Camp, Spanish-American War Veterans of Newark. Mr. Gibson and his father gave patriotic service as soldiers in the Spanish-American War. They enlisted in Company M, Second New Jersey Volunteers, the father being the oldest man in the company and the son the youngest. Mr. Gibson is a man of reliable personality, and he com- mands the unqualified esteem of his fellow citizens by reason of his honor- able and straightforward career. He is progressive in all that the word implies and is contributing largely toward the upbuilding of the city of Dover, having erected several residential properties and is pushing forward constantly, accomplishing all this unaided, therefore being worthy of the title, a self-made man.
Mr. Gibson married, in November, 1904, Amanda Wilcox, daughter of Nathan R. and Mary Jane (Goble) Wilcox, the former of whom was born at Sparta, New Jersey, and the latter at Andover, and they were the parents of two daughters: Amanda, aforementioned, and Eva, wife of Jacob Fritz, of East Orange, New Jersey.
RICHARD P. WARD
The year 1902 marks the advent of Richard P. Ward in Dover. He is an energetic business man of the younger generation and here he con- ducts an up-to-date electrical supply house. He was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, 1876, son of Christopher P. and Ann Elizabeth (Rob- erts) Ward, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Delaware. The father located in the Keystone commonwealth in young manhood and there he was engaged in diversified agriculture and stock raising for many years prior to his demise, 1886. He was a devout Methodist in religious faith, and his wife was an Episcopalian. To them were born the follow- ing children: Emily, wife of George T. Alfrey; Louis R., resident of Cherry Hill, Maryland ; Margaret V., married Cornelius K. Campbell ; Anna R., widow of Rea Campbell; Alexander S .; Lydia B., widow of George T. Keck ; Mary L., married William V. Smyth; Ella P., wife of William H. Morford; Charles E .; Richard P., subject of this brief sketch ; George W. The mother of the foregoing children died in 1912.
After completing the prescribed course in the common schools of Alle- gheny county, Pennsylvania, and Cherry Hill, Maryland, Richard P. Ward was a student in the Elkton Academy of Maryland for three terms. He then returned home and assisted his father and brothers in the work and management of the home farm until after he had reached his legal majority. In his twenty-second year he began to learn the trade of electrician and he was employed in that line of work at different places until February, 1902, when he came to Dover and here engaged in business as an electrical con- tractor, at the same time opening an electrical supply house that caters mostly to the retail trade. During the last decade his business has grown to extensive proportions and he requires the aid of eight assistants. Al- though enrolled as a Democrat he usually votes for the man and not the party. He is affiliated with the R. A. and in the time-honored Masonic order has passed through the circle of the Scottish Rite branch, being a member of the F. and A. M., the Lodge of Perfection, Chapter, Consistory, and the A. A. O. N. M. S. In religious matters he and his wife are devout Episcopalians.
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June 19, 1901, Mr. Ward married Adelaide R. Martin, a native of Boon- ton, New Jersey, daughter of Freeman and Victoria A. (Steventon) Martin. Mr. Martin was a Civil War veteran serving in a New York cavalry regi- ment for three years, receiving his discharge on account of sickness; a cooper by trade; he and his wife are both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Ward have four children: Richard P. Jr., Adelaide Ruth, Bertrand M., Fred- erick C. The Ward family are ensconced in a beautiful home in Dover, and Mr. and Mrs. Ward are both popular and highly esteemed citizens.
ALVAH H. VAN HORN
Alvah H. Van Horn, proprietor of a grocery store and butcher shop in Dover, was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, August 18, 1872. His father, Jacob L. Van Horn, was one of the progressive and prosperous farmers of Sussex county at the time of his demise, May 28, 1913. The mother, Jemima (Huff) Van Horn, survives her husband and maintains her home in Sussex county. There are six children in the Van Horn family : Alvah H., of this notice; Charles H .; Esta, wife of William Titman; Anna, wife of Dennis Morris; Almeda, wife of William Howell; Olive, a popular and successful teacher in the Sussex county schools.
The boyhood and youth of Alvah H. Van Horn were passed in his native community, where he attended the public schools until his fifteenth year. He then began to work as a farm hand by the month and was engaged in that manner for the ensuing six years. In 1893 he accepted a position as clerk in the general store of J. W. Roberts, at Dover, and in 1905, he purchased the establishment of his employer, the latter removing to Rock- away. Mr. Van Horn makes a specialty of his grocery and meat depart- ments and his entire store is noted for its extreme cleanliness and the care with which all eatables are handled. He is an excellent manager and em- ploys two clerks and a driver to care for his rapidly increasing trade. Mr. Van Horn maintains an independent attitude in politics and he is affiliated with the K. M. In religious faith he and his family are devout members of the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church.
In 1895 Mr. Van Horn married Sarah Hiler, whose father, William Hiler, was for many years employed at the mines in Morris county. Mrs. Van Horn was born in Rockaway valley and she has one brother and one sister : Daniel and Elizabeth, the latter of whom is the wife of Theodore Dunlap. Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn are the parents of three children : Russell H., whose birth occurred in 1900 and who is now a student in the Dover schools ; Bertha M., born 1903; Milton A., born 1908. In addition to the store property Mr. Van Horn is the owner of a beautiful residence in Dover, the same being improved with every modern convenience.
ELMER WILSON ROMINE
Elmer Wilson Romine, former deputy county clerk for Morris county, New Jersey, was born on Mountain road, Morristown, New Jersey, November 14, 1887, son of Daniel E. and Phebe A. (Wilson) Romine.
David Romine, the first of the line here under consideration of whom there is information, was a resident of Parsippany, New Jersey, where he was the owner of considerable land. He married, December 20, 1802, Anna Doremus, and among their children was David Andrew, of whom further.
David Andrew Romine was born in New Jersey, probably in Parsippany, January 15, 1834. He was connected with the iron foundries of Boonton
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New Jersey, and later retired to his farm on the Parsippany road. He mai- ried Louisa Van Orden, and among their children was Daniel E., of whom further.
Daniel E. Romine was born in Boonton, New Jersey, February 8, 1863, and is now (1913) living in Morristown, where he is engaged in the real estate and insurance business. On January 1, 1914, he was appointed build- ing commissioner for the town of Morristown. He married Phebe A. Wil- son, born in Sussex county, New Jersey, also living at the present time. She is a daughter of Stewart Wilson and Amanda (Stites) Wilson, residents of Parsippany, New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary on January 9, 1914. He was a farmer and carpenter, now retired from active pursuits; and remembers distinctly the log cabin in which his parents lived when he was a boy and in which he was born. She is a descendant of the Moores, who came of a distinguished English family. Sir Thomas Moore, a wealthy shipbuilder of London, left three sons, one of whom came to this country and took service on the American side in the Revolutionary War. Mr. and Mrs. Romine had four children, one of whom, Charles, died November 29, 1911. The three living are: Elmer Wilson, of whom further ; Mildred, living with parents; Harry L., employed as pay- master by the Morris County Traction Company.
Elmer Wilson Romine was educated in the public schools of Morris- town, and after completing the course began the study of law, entering for that purpose in September, 1905, the offices of Vreeland, King, Wilson & Lindabury. He was admitted to the bar in the June term, 1910, but at the outset of his career as a practitioner was appointed deputy county clerk, in which capacity he served until March 1, 1913, when he resigned to devote his attention to the practice of his profession. Mr. Romine pursued a course of study in osteopathy, and on May 2, 1913, he graduated from the American College of Chicago, Illinois, receiving a degree as Doctor of M. T. He has given considerable attention to art, having spent upwards of two years at the National Academy of Designs in New York City. He is a member of the real estate firm of D. E. Romine & Company. He has also established a branch real estate, insurance and law office at No. 607 Main street, Boonton, New Jersey. He organized in May, 1913, the Morris County Mercantile Agency, of which he is the attorney. He is self-educated, and has through his own unaided efforts attained the position he holds in the legal, mercantile and social world. He has acquired a fund of knowledge in various lines, literature, art, science, all by persistent effort and diligent application. During the performance of his duties as deputy county clerk he edited and published a book, "Schedule of Deeds and Mortgages" for Morris county, New Jersey, for the benefit of lawyers and others in- terested in search work. He has also written many short stories and plots, some of which are being produced in moving pictures. He is a frequent contributor to magazines, and his work has been very acceptable. Although at the age when most young men are thinking of making a beginning, he has already advanced to a position of prominence, being well known not only in Morris county but throughout a large portion of that section of the State. He has been engaged in many important cases in the Morris county courts, and although a young practitioner displays exceptional ability as a trial lawyer and a pleader. On January 30, 1914, he was appointed clerk of the road committee of the board of freeholders of Morris county, and on the day following he was appointed counsel for the township of Mend- ham. He has in his possession a gun that is over a hundred years old, a bag pouch of the same age, an old family Bible of the same age, and other 7
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carefully treasured relics of the long ago. He is a member of the South Street Presbyterian Church, of the F. and A. M., of the I. O. O. F., and Y. M. C. A. He is affiliated with the Republican party.
Mr. Romine married, at Boonton, New Jersey, March 31, 1909, Lillian E. Estler, born August 16, 1887, daughter of George A. and Mary A. (Stickle) Estler, of Boonton, the former named one of the freeholders of Morris county at the present time (1913). Mr. and Mrs. Romine have one child, Berton Elmer, born December 30, 1909.
HARRY RAYMOND GILL
A Morris county journal with a definite influence as a molder of opinion and with prestige as a successful business enterprise is the Dover Advance. Its editor and proprietor, Harry R. Gill, was practically brought up in a newspaper or printing office, and though a young man in his early thirties, his experience as a newspaper man dates back fully twenty years. He is an able editor, a first-class business man, and a live and public spirited factor m the affairs of his home city and county.
Harry Raymond Gill was born in Kingsland, Bergen county, New Jersey, April 25, 1879. In his family mingle two substantial stocks from the British Isles, the maternal ancestors being Scotch, while on the father's side he comes from an old family whose original seat was in Cornwall, in the min- ing and industrial regions of southwestern England. The paternal grand- father was James Gill, a native of Cornwall, who came to this country in 1846, and to New Jersey in 1864. He was an experienced miner and was captain of mines in Tennessee. He was probably of Welsh stock, an in- ference which is strengthened by his musical ability and tastes. He was both a writer and a leader of choral music. He died at Wharton, Morris county, some thirty years ago. His first wife was a native of Tywardreath, Eng- land; they were married in Ireland, and she died in 1864, at Cincinnati, Ohio, and was buried in that neighborhood. James Gill later came north and was again married. His children were: John H. and Elizabeth, de- ceased ; James W., father of the Dover editor; Charles A., a resident of Eureka, Utah; Isaac F., of Paterson; Phillipa Ann, unmarried, living at Newark; Fannie, wife of Thomas E. Sturtevant, of Rockaway, New Jersey ; Christie, widow of the late George Dorman, of Wharton, New Jersey ; Mary, wife of William Rosewall, of Camden, New Jersey.
The parents of Harry R. Gill are James W. and Johanna H. (Mc- Dougal) Gill. James W. Gill was born at Valley Forge, Chester county, Pennsylvania, and now at the age of sixty-three, resides at Dover, New Jersey. His wife, who was born at Mendham, Morris county, New Jersey, died at the age of fifty-two in Dover. She was a daughter of Robert and Ann E. (Hand) McDougal. Robert McDougal died at Mendham. In the family of Robert and Ann E. McDougal were the following children : Johanna H. (McDougal) Gill, mother of H. R. Gill, and wife of James W. Gill; Amanda, widow of Joseph Lynn, of Newark, New Jersey : Ezra, of Dover ; Emma H., unmarried, living at Rahway; Etta H., died at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. To the marriage of James W. and Johanna H. Gill were born the following children: John E., of Chicago; James Walter, a ma- chinist at Newark, New Jersey ; Edna M., living at home in Dover ; Johanna Mabel, of Dover ; Harry R.
In the public schools of the city of Dover. Harry Raymond Gill con- tinued a pupil until he was twelve years old, and from that time forward his practical career continued without interruption. His vocational training may
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be said to have begun when he entered the employ of the Morris County Journal, the old Prohibition paper. He was next with the Dover Index, and still later with the Morristown Chronicle, under J. Frank Lindsley. He was also with the Jerseyman, and has the distinction of having brought out the first issue of the Daily Record of Morristown. On March 9, 1903, Mr. Gill founded the Dover Advance, an independent paper in politics, and one of the best news and advertising sheets in Morris county. The home of the paper was first on Warren street, where the first issue of the paper was published. The Advance has occupied its present home for the past five years. Its publication is twice a week, and its eight pages are filled with the local news, and crisp editorials, and with a generous quota of local advertising. The mechanical and reportorial staff include eight people, and the paper has been prosperous throughout its ten years of existence.
Outside of his chief business field, Mr. Gill is prominent in social and civic circles. He is president of the Morris County Editorial Association, is district president of the Epworth League in the Paterson district, extend- ing from Rutherford to Belvidere. His fraternal affiliations are with Morris Council, R. A .; with Randolph Lodge, I. O. O. F .; with Morris Council, J. O. U. A. M., and is a member of the Methodist church of Dover. In politics he is, like his paper, independent.
On April 29, 1902, Mr. Gill was united in marriage with America Davis, daughter of Samuel and America Davis, of Dover. To their marriage were born two sons: Raymond D. and Samuel. Mrs. Gill, the mother of these two children, died in May, 1907. Mr. Gill's present wife, before her mar- riage, was Catherine Lanyon Hambley, daughter of William and Eleanor Opie (Merton) Hambley, of Succasunna. By the second marriage is one child living, Eleanor Lanyon; another, Harry Merton, died in infancy.
THE DOVER INDEX
As a newspaper of intellectual dignity, and one of the first among the organs of opinion in Morris county, the Dover Index is one of the oldest and most successful journals published in the county. It closed its thirty- eighth volume late in August of the year 1913.
The Dover Index was founded October 5, 1875, by Francis F. Hummel and Lorenzo D. Tillyer, the gentleman first named being its present editor and publisher. Its first issue was as a four-page weekly, and since that time many changes and improvements have been introduced, though it is still issued as a weekly. Owing to the increasing facilities of news service and the needs of advertisers, the Index was first enlarged to a six-page sheet, later to eight pages; and in the past ten years was issued as a ten-page paper, while for the most of 1913, in order to accommodate unusual quantities of news and advertising matter, it has been and yet is expanded to twelve pages, of eight columns to the page, twenty-four inches in length.
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