USA > New Jersey > Morris County > A history of Morris County, New Jersey : embracing upwards of two centuries, 1710-1913, Volume II > Part 31
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ABRAHAM RYERSON
One of the most prominent and influential citizens of Lincoln Park, Morris county, New Jersey, is Abraham Ryerson, ex-sheriff of the county. The origin of his family in this country is a most interesting one. Among those valuable French subjects whom the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes drove out of France were immigrants of the best type who brought sub- stantial additions to the early settlers of this country. Of these Frenchmen who sought an asylum in Holland was a family known as Reyerse. Though the family intermarried with the Dutch and acquired some of their charac- teristics, they never wholly lost the vivacity and other charming attributes of their French ancestors. A member of this Huguenot family, Martin Reyerse, came with other Netherlanders and settled near the western end of Long Island, on Wallabout Bay. He married Annetje Rapelje, who was the first white child born on Long Island. The Canarsie Indians, in recognition of this distinction, had donated to her a large tract of land. They had four sons, three of whom went to New Jersey, settling in different parts of the State. About this time the spelling of the name was changed to Ryerson.
Joris or George Ryerson was the first member of his family to come to New Jersey, having been a planter in New York. He arrived in Bergen county, in 1710, and settled on a place which he called Pacquauac. He was a deacon in the Dutch Reformed church. He died in 1749, and his remains were interred in the Ryerson Cemetery.
George Ryerson, seventh child of Joris or George Ryerson, was born January 5, 1703, died in April, 1792, buried in the Ryerson Cemetery. He
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was a surveyor by occupation. He married Mary Duboise, of Somerset county, New Jersey, born 1721, died April 8, 1792.
Abraham Ryerson, fifth child of George and Mary (Duboise) Ryerson, was born 1761, died in September, 1810. He was a surveyor by occupa- tion. He married Sarah Mandeville, born 1765, died in February, 1831. They had seven children.
Abraham (2) Ryerson, son of Abraham (I) and Sarah (Mandeville) Ryerson, was born January 14, 1783, died February 7, 1856. He was a surveyor by occupation. He married Sarah Bush, who bore him five chil- dren.
George A. Ryerson, eldest child of Abraham (2) and Sarah (Bush) Ryerson, was born 1803, in Essex county, New Jersey, died on his farm at the age of seventy-six years. He was a farmer and surveyor by occupa- tion. He achieved considerable prominence in the public affairs of the community, and was the first county clerk of Passaic county, New Jersey. He married Christina De Bow. Children: Sarah Lavina, married Martin Van Ness ; Theodore, married Sarah O'Neil; Lorenzo, married Mary Man- deville ; Ann Louisa, died unmarried; Abraham, of whom further ; Paulina, married Henry Ryerson.
Abraham (3) Ryerson, son of George A. and Christina (De Bow) Ryer- son, was born at No. 14 Temple street, Paterson, New Jersey, in January, 1842. He was educated in the public schools of Passaic county and in an academy at Pompton Plains. Upon the completion of his studies he was Apprenticed in Newark to learn the trade of machinist, remaining for a period of two years, up to the breaking out of the Civil War. He enlisted un New York City, October 22, 1861, in Battery L Artillery, mustered in as Fourth New York Independent Battery Light Artillery, Captain James E. Smith. The battery was attached to General Hooker's division at Budds Ferry and remained there until April, 1862, then ordered to the Peninsula, Virginia, where Hocker's division became the Second Division, Third Army Corps. They participated in the siege of Yorktown, Virginia, April Io to May 4, 1862; engaged in battle of Williamsburg, Virginia, May 5, 1862; served in operations before Richmond, Virginia, from June to July, 1862; engaged in battle of Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862; at Harrisons Landing, Vir- ginia, until August, 1862, then moved to Alexandria, Virginia, on duty there until October, 1862; battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 13, 1862; Mud Marsh, January 20-24, 1863; battery transferred to First Division, Third Army Corps, in spring of 1863; battle of Chancellorsville, May 1-4, 1863 ; Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, and served as No. I on extreme left gun of Fourth New York Battery, Third Army Corps, near Devil's Den. He was promoted first corporal, September 1, 1863; he took part in the Mine Run campaign, December 26-28, 1863 ; transferred to Fifth New York Independ- ent Battery, December 4, 1863; wintered at Brandy Station, Virginia ; par- ticipated in battle of Wilderness, May 5-7, 1864; battery attached to Fifth Corps, May 17, 1864; battle of Spottsylvania, May 18, 1864; ordered to Washington, May 19, 1864; garrisoned Fort Albany until July 15, 1864; was in Shenandoah campaign, battle of Winchester, September 19, 1864; Fisher Hill, September 22, 1864; Newmarket, September 24, 1864; promoted to sergeant, October 13, 1864; battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864; honorably discharged from the service of the government, October 21, 1864.
In December, 1867, Mr. Ryerson was appointed assistant jailer of the Hudson County Jail, and served in that capacity for almost ten years, serv- ing under two appointments, and for almost a year, between his two appoint- ments, he devoted his attention to carpenter work. He then returned to
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Abrahama Ryerson
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Wayne township, his old home, and for a period of time was engaged in building sidewalks in the Oranges and at carpentry work. Subsequently he: was employed by the Laflin & Rand Powder Company of Wayne, for a period of twenty-two years, until he was elected sheriff of the county in 1902. Prior to his election as sheriff he served as township clerk of Wayne township, Passaic county, being twice elected, and also served one term as: clerk of Pequannock township, Morris county. He was a chosen freeholder for two years, representing Pequannock township, and also served many. times as a member of the Morris county Republican committee. He has been for many years a member of the Reformed Church of Pompton Plains, and a member of the consistory. He has been a Mason since 1873, affiliat- ing with Highland Lodge, No. 80, of Jersey City, demited to Silentia Lodge, Butler, New Jersey ; Triune Chapter, No. 29; Hugh De Payen Com- mandery, No. I, of Jersey City ; and Salaam Temple. He is an honorary member of the Paul Revere Council, No. 197, J. O. U. A. M., also charter member of Zabriski Post, No. 38, G. A. R., of Jersey City, demitted to John E. Beam Post, No. 92, Bloomingdale, New Jersey. He is president of Lincoln Park fire department. He served twice on the grand jury, act- ing once as foreman of that body.
On October 9, 1912, twenty-five members of the First New York Volun- teer Engineers' Association and the veterans of the vicinity, together with their wives and families and other guests, gathered at the home of Abra- ham: Ryerson, at Lincoln Park, to celebrate the thirty-second reunion of the association. The veterans were given a royal reception by Mr. Ryerson and the reunion was one of the most enjoyable from every standpoint that the association has had. Not only did the older people take the reunion as an excuse for a holiday, but the school children as well, for the Lincoln Park School was dismissed after the morning session in order that they might be present in the afternoon and hear the old soldiers talk about the war. Mr. Ryerson's home was decorated in patriotic style with large American flags. Owing to the number of people the host was unable to ac- commodate his guests in the house, and a large tent was erected on the lawn, where the dinner and exercises were held. Exclusive of the school children there were over one hundred of the veterans and their friends present. After the meal had been served Mr. Ryerson gave the veterans a chance to talk and each speaker confined his remarks to a short space of time. Among the veterans who spoke were Comrades L. A. Piaget, C. F. Hopkins, H. H. Trenor, Major Parsons, Rev. Fred E. Foertner, of Pompton Plains, Mr. Ryerson and several others.
Mr. Ryerson married (first) Martha Benjamine, (second) Melinda J. Van Ness. Children : 1. Alice, married Ira Mitchell : child, Esther. 2. Cora. 3. Claribel, married Warren Parker. 4. Alfred Bird. 5. Nellie. 6. Christine, married William C. Winkelman ; children, Clara and Alfred, twins. 7. Helen.
HENRY W. KICE, M. D.
The first member of this old New Jersey family to come to America was Peter Kice, a native of Germany, who came over prior to the year 1776, and fought in the Revolutionary War, serving as private in Colonel Lamb's Second Regiment of Artillery. He deserted from the Hessians to join the Continental army, enlisting at West Point, New York, serving three years. He was a resident of Warren county, but it is not recorded how long he made his home there, nor when he died. The name of his wife is
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not given, nor the number of his children; but one son, Henry, is mentioned below.
Henry Kice, son of the immigrant Peter Kice, was born in Warren county, New Jersey, May 16, 1792, died February 28, 1840. He became a farmer in that locality. He married Betsey Nunn, and had a son, Wil- liam L., of further mention.
William Losey Kice, son of Henry Kice, was born in Warren county, New Jersey, and became a farmer like his father. He died from pneumonia in 1874, at the age of forty-six years. His wife was Ellen W. Lutes, a daughter of John Lutes and his wife, who was a Miss Jane Seals before her marriage to Mr. Lutes. The family was of German extraction, residing in Hunterdon county, New Jersey. Mrs. Kice survived her husband and is now living at the age of seventy-nine years.
Henry William Kice, M. D., son of William Losey and Ellen W. (Lutes) Kice, was born in Chester township, Morris county, New Jersey, October 16, 1860, and has been for the last twenty-five years a practicing physician of Wharton. He received his education at the public schools of the county, and at Hiller's Home School, in German Valley, his preceptors having been Dr. Wentworth and Dr. Wiggins, of Flanders and Succasunna, New Jersey. At the conclusion of his studies, he became a teacher in the public schools for awhile, teaching in Morris county and in Hunterdon county. He then entered upon his medical education, being admitted to the medical depart- ment of the University of the City of New York, where he was finally graduated in the class of 1888, receiving his degree of M. D. Locating at Port Oram, now Wharton, New Jersey, he entered upon the practice of his profession in April, 1888; but in 1900 took a post-graduate course at the Medi- cal School and Hospital of New York. He has been practicing continuously ever since, and is now one of the leading physicians of Wharton with an ever increasing field of labor. He is connected with the leading medical societies and institutions of New Jersey, now secretary of the Morris County Medical Society and is a member also of the New Jersey State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He belongs in addition to the Tri-county Medical Society, representing Sussex, Warren and Morris counties. He was appointed physician to the board of health, and medical inspector for the public schools, and he is surgeon for the Empire Steel and Iron Company, and for the Thomas Iron Company. His practice in Whar- ton for the past twenty-five years has been a very active and important one, and he has won the confidence and esteem of the entire medical fraternity.
Dr. Kice is very active in the public affairs of the community and has done much good work for the social and civic betterment of the town. In 1898 he was elected mayor of the borough on the citizens' ticket, and for fifteen years has served on the board of education and accomplished many needed reforms in the school system and management. He is interested in fraternal affairs, and is a member of the K. of P., the I. O. O. F., and the F. and A. M., belonging to the Acacia Lodge, No. 20, of the last named, in Dover. Dr. Kice is one of the organizers of the Port Oram Social and Literary Club and is one of its most active members. He is a consistent member of the Methodist church.
On March 10, 1883, Dr. Kice was married to Marilda Alpaugh, daughter of George and Angeline (Thorpe) Alpaugh; she is a native of Morris county, New Jersey. Dr. and Mrs. Kice have one son, Luther, born in Morris county, now a successful physician of Baldwin, Long Island. He was educated at Cornell University, after which he entered Jefferson Medical College from which he was graduated in the class of 1908. He married Etta
Hiking
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Stewart, of Brooklyn; they have one child, Janith. Dr. Kice and his charming wife have a handsome residence in Wharton, which was built by him in 1908; they have many friends and acquaintances and exercise a lavish hospitality.
WILLIAM HILLMAN THOMPSON
The Thompson family, represented in the present generation by Wil- liam H. Thompson, of Morristown, is one of the old and honored families of New Jersey, tracing their connection with the State back to the seven- teenth century. The members of the family of the Mendham branch claim the old stone homestead located on the road south of Mendham as the original homestead of the family.
Thomas Tomson, the first member of the family of whom we have definite information, sailed from the port of London, England, in the ship Abagal, in July, 1635, and landed probably in Boston, Massachusetts, in same year, aged eighteen, occupation not known. He lived in Lynn, Massa- chusetts, then New Haven, Connecticut, from there moved to Easthampton, Long Island, and from there to Elizabethtown (Elizabeth, New Jersey). He was a member of the New Jersey colonial legislature in 1776. The will of Thomas Tomson, on file at Trenton, indicates that he came to Lyons Farms with a part of the Plymouth colony from England and went to Long Island and then the entire body went to Elizabeth, New Jersey, and settled there. The original maps of assignment of lots in and about Elizabeth show lots assigned to Thomas Tomson and one each to each of his sons, Moses, Aaron and Hur. The last named was a particularly rebellous subject of the king, and was arrested for an attack upon the property of a Tory. Aaron was the progenitor of the Mendham branch of Thompsons. The name was spelled first Tomson, later Thomson, and still later Thompson.
Joseph Thompson was born near Elizabeth ( North Plains), New Jersey. He moved to Mendham, 1739, and his death occurred there in 1749. The Mendham homestead farm was deeded to him in 1740. Charles D Thomp- son, of Jersey City, has in his possession the original deed.
David Thompson was born near Elizabeth, New Jersey, October 4, 1737, died December 28, 1824, at Mendham, New Jersey. He served in the Revolutionary army and was known as captain, but in the official register he is enrolled as a private. In the minutes of the provincial congress and council, as the delegate of safety, 1775-76, he is mentioned as the delegate chosen at a meeting of freeholders and inhabitants of Morris county held in Morristown, May 1, 1775, where it was resolved that delegates be chosen to help the county of Morris, and that said delegates be vested with power of legislation and that they raise men, money and arms for the common defense. On May 2 the delegates mnet and voted to raise 300 men divided into five companies. He was chairman of the committee of observation at Mendham, July 8, 1775, and deputy to the provincial congress in New Jersey in August, 1775. He was judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Morris county, from 1778 to 1799. Judge Ephraim Marsh, late of Morris county. a member of the New Jersey constitutional convention of 1844, said he knew David Thompson and that he fought at Monmouth with his men. David Thompson married Hannah Carey. Interesting records of David and Hannah Thompson can be found in Irving's "Life of Washington," also articles published in Harper's Magazine by Joseph F. Tuttle, volume 18, and further records in the New Jersey Archives, under the name of Thomas Tomson and his three children: Moses, Aaron and Hur.
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Stephen Thompson died in 1750, leaving one son, Jacob, who was the father of four sons: Stephen Ogden, Joseph, David, Aaron.
Joseph (2) Thompson, son of Jacob Thompson, was born in Mendham, New Jersey, November 6, 1778, died May 20, 1824. He married, September I, 1803, Mehitable Thompson, born August 26, 1783, daughter of Benjamin and Millicent (Burnet) Thompson, of Madison, New Jersey, the former of whom died there, the latter in Fairfield, Connecticut. Children : Albert P., born September 7, 1804; James Burnet, of whom further ; William B., born September 12, 1808; Benjamin E., born August 11, 1812, died April 13, 1813.
James Burnet Thompson, son of Joseph (2) Thompson, was born in Mendham, New Jersey, January 3, 1807, in the old stone homestead, above named, died August 18, 1878, at The Ingham Spring, New Hope, Pennsyl- vania. His first occupation was clerk in a store at Morristown, which was located on the site of the McAlpin Building. Later he took up his residence in New York City and there secured employment as clerk in a dry goods store. Following this he established the provision business known as James B. Thompson & Company. In 1850 he was appointed inspector of this line, and in 1857 moved to Cleveland and Bedford, Ohio, and became interested in the packing industry. During the Civil War he resided in Philadelphia, and the last six years of his life were spent at The Great Ingham Spring, where he devoted his time to the artificial propagation of trout and salmon, being one of the pioneers in this line, forwarding the trout for stocking pur- poses from many of the streams throughout the eastern States. He mar- ried, August 9, 1837, in New York City, Phoebe Steen Merritt, born in New York City, July 12, 1818, died in Morristown, New Jersey, September 30, 1890. The Merritt family are of English descent, three brothers, David, Austin and George, settling in Newburgh, Orange county, New York. George Merritt married a Miss Fowler, and their children born in Orange county were : George, Reuben, Gidney, Humphrey, Samuel Fowler, Fowler, Polly, Keiser, Jane. Samuel Fowler Merritt, born 1779, died 1850, married Elizabeth Halstead, born in New York, 1776, died 1853, and their children were: Charles, Ann, Isaac, Abigail, Caroline, Mary Jane, Phoebe Steen, above mentioned, Eliza, Margaret, the first seven of whom were born in Newburgh, New York, and the remainder in New York City. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson: I. Caroline Elizabeth, unmarried. 2. Emma Louise, wife of Charles Grant Foster, of Morristown, New Jersey ; children : Ward, Charles, Caroline. 3. Kate, wife of Colonel Charles A. R. Dimon, of Lowell, Massachusetts, a member of the United States Army. 4. May, wife of Dr. Augustus F. Muller, of Germantown, Pennsylvania, a member of the United States Army ; children : Theodora, Maude. August. 5. James Burnet Jr., unmarried. 6. John Seely Ward, married Josephine Coles Smith; children : Lemuel Halstead, Edward Annan. 7. John P. R., un- married. 8. Lena Leffingwell, unmarried. 9. William Hillman, of whom further.
William Hillman Thompson, son of James Burnet Thompson, was born in Bedford, Ohio, July 7, 1859. In 1863, on account of the Civil War, the parents of William H. removed from that State. making their home in Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, and William H. attended the Brown street public school and the Germantown Academy at Germantown. Completing his studies in the year 1873, he went to work on his father's place in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, remaining thus employed until 1879, when he served an apprenticeship at the paper maker's trade in The Ingham Spring Paper Mill, located near New Hope, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1884,
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in which year he removed to Morristown, New Jersey, and accepted the position of superintendent of a stock farm, in which capacity he served for ten years. He was interested in the Paper Fiber Mill located at Whippany, New Jersey, and also in the Webb Folding Box Company of Newark, New Jersey. He is now serving his fourth term as collector of taxes for Morris township, being first elected in 1904, on the Republican ticket, the principles of which party he has always advocated, casting his first vote for James A. Garfield. He has always taken an active interest in the affairs of Morris county since 1884, serving on executive and county committees, and has also been an active factor in school and town affairs. He is a member of Lodge No. 188, F. and A. M., of Morristown, and of Lodge No. 815, B. P. O. E., of Morristown.
Mr. Thompson married, September 20, 1895, Maude Alice Smith, born in New York City, March II, 1864, daughter of Lemual and Josephine (Coles) Smith, and granddaughter of John and Rachel (Watts) Smith, of Boston, and of Robert and Harriet (Pye) Coles, of New York City. Lemuel Smith was born in Boston, Massachusetts, September 25, 1815, died in New York City, February 16, 1889; his wife was born in New York City, June 1, 1833, died there, March 3, 1877 ; their children were: Anthony, Lemuel, Josephine, Maude Alice, aforementioned. Mr. and Mrs. Thomp- son have one child, Charles Foster, born in Madison, New Jersey, December 25, 1896, at the present time ( 1914) a student at Morris Academy.
FREDERICK WOOSTER OWEN, M. D.
Doctor Frederick Wooster Owen was born October 6, 1840, in Vine- yard Haven, Massachusetts, a son of Captain William Wilson Owen and Adeline (Wooster) Owen.
His earliest schooling was in Saint Mark's Hall, Orange, New Jersey, and in Saint Matthew's Academy, New York City. His academic training was at Gymnasia in Neuchatel, Switzerland, and Leipzig, Germany. He graduated in 1867 from the medical department of the University of Georgetown, United States, and in 1869 at the Medical University of Paris, France. After a term as adjunct surgeon in the Long Island College Hos- pital, he settled for forty years of medical practice in Morristown, New Jersey, where for eighteen years he was attending physician of All Souls Hospital, and where he is consulting physician of Memorial Hospital. He also served as the first health physician of Morristown, and also as physician and surgeon to the county jail. He is still affiliated in city, county, and State, with the various medical societies.
Doctor Owen served in the war for the Union from August, 1861, to December, 1864, entering the military service as second lieutenant, Thirty- eighth New York Volunteers, and being promoted successively to first lieutenant, captain, brevet major and brevet lieutenant-colonel, the last two commissions reading "for gallant and meritorious services in the war."
WILLIAM J. WOLFE
One of the most arduous, as well as one of the most honored and glori- ous of all the professions, is that of medicine. No profession makes such constant and unremitting demands upon mind and body, and unless the nerves are under absolute control the desired results cannot be achieved. The self-sacrifice of the men engaged in this profession is not to be over- estimated. There is scarcely a day when a physician does not encounter
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risks which endanger his own life, yet all this is done voluntarily-for the sake of suffering humanity and to further the cause of science. Among those who have distinguished themselves in the medical profession in Mor- ris county, New Jersey, the name of Dr. William J. Wolfe takes high rank. Had he devoted himself to any special branch of medical science he would undoubtedly have become a leader in it, but general practice claimed so large a share of his time. and he felt that he was accomplishing worthy work along those lines, so that his practice never became a specialized one. He is a descendant of an old and well known family of Pennsylvania, and the name was originally spelled Wolf. In 1870, however, the final "e" was added, and has been retained since that time.
George Wolf, the American founder of the family, and the great-grand- father of Dr. Wolfe, was born in Germany, and became an American citizen about the year 1759. He had two sons: George and Philip. George Wolf, the son, took up the study of the law with the Hon. John Ross, and served as postmaster of Easton, Pennsylvania, for two years under the administra- tion of Thomas Jefferson. He was elected to the lower house of the State legislature in 1814, was elected to Congress in 1824, and served three terms. In 1829 he was elected the seventh governor of Pennsylvania, and was re- elected to succeed himself. Through his instrumentality a law was enacted by which the banks were compelled to loan money to the State for public im- provements, and by this procedure, the State treasury, which was in a very depleted condition at the time, was not called upon. In association with the Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, he organized the free school system of the State, and instituted various other measures, the benefits of which are still felt at the present day. He served for a period of two years as the first comp- troller of the treasury of the United States, having been appointed to the office by President Jackson in 1836, and President Van Buren appointed him collector of the port of Philadelphia. His death occurred March II, 1840.
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