USA > New Jersey > Morris County > A history of Morris County, New Jersey : embracing upwards of two centuries, 1710-1913, Volume II > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71
A native son of New Jersey, Max Heller was born in the city of Newark, in July, 1873. He is a son of the late Gustave and Rosa (Levy) Heller. The father immigrated from Germany to America in the year 1835 and settled at Newark, where he gained prominence as a successful merchant. He died when the subject of this review was a mere child, and the mother died two years later. Max Heller has two brothers Emil and Joseph.
Bereft of his parents at a very tender age, Max Heller was early thrown upon his resources to gain a livelihood and to make a place for himself in the world. He managed to glean a fair education in the common schools of Newark and after beginning to work he attended the Preparatory Evening School in Newark. His first employment was with the Leser Lehman Company at Newark, in the grocery department. This company has stores throughout the State of New Jersey, and an excellent opportunity was afforded young Mr. Heller for advancement. That he eagerly took to his opportunities will be seen in the following lines. His first job was that of clerk, but in due time he became manager of the branch store at Dover. When Mr. Lehman died in 1911, Mr. Heller had been his partner in business
22
NEW JERSEY
for fifteen years. After Mr. Lehman's demise he purchased the latter's share in the company and became sole owner of all the stores in Morris and Sussex counties. The L. Lehman & Company was incorporated under the laws of this State with a capital stock of $100,000. Mr. Heller owns the building in which his store at Dover is located, and in this establishment there is employed nearly fifty people. Successful branch stores are con- ducted at Newton, Boonton, and Rockaway, New Jersey.
Mr. Heller is financing a new theatre in Dover which is at this writing in course of erection. The exterior plan of this building shows a most artistic front and reflects excellent taste on the part of the promoter. The Heller home was built after the bungalow type, situated in the most residential part of the town-Morris street and Byram avenue, and is listed with Dover's finest residences.
Mr. Heller is undemonstrative, he is unemotional, and like most men of this type, he does things. "Let us not deceive ourselves" is a favorite phrase of his when discussing important questions with his managers. This very phrase characterizes one side of the man very pointedly. He is a "rock bottom" enthusiast, wants facts with figures, eliminates all guess work in business so completely that any day he can place his fingers on a certain page and show what percentage of profit his various departments are making. He is a most ardent advocate of office system, and has such an unusual grasp of financial matters that the term "brilliant" can be very properly applied. He plays at play time, he works at work time, and these two never conflict. Practicality is his "middle name," as the boys say, therefore he is the kind of man that calls "a spade a spade." He speaks from the shoulder, looking right at you with a pair of honest eyes, and telling you squarely his opinion of the thing, in very plain and very good English. Mr. Heller's high character has not only gained for him the respect of his fellow citizens, but it has been a factor in building up a splendid business. Where character is, confidence is.
Few men are blest with a more amiable woman for a life companion and a true, loving, devoted friend than is shown in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Heller. Beautiful indeed are her qualities-a woman of fine literary and musical tastes and an ideal mother, possessing the rare quality of in- spiring her children with admirable, old-fashioned, juvenile, characteristic politeness.
Like many other successful business men, Mr. Heller's education was confined to a grammar school course, so that the "higher" grade study was received from hard work-the kind of school that men often have to stick to, and where the learning won't rub off.
HENRY RICHARDS
The men who succeed in any enterprise in life, the generals who win their spurs on the field of battle, the financiers who amass wealth-are the men who have confidence in themselves and the courage of their convictions. There is a time in every man's life when he reaches the conclusion that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide, and that though the world is full of good, no good thing comes to him without self-reliance and the power to gain results. The man who trusts himself and who plans well his part on the stage of life is a success. A strong and sterling character is like an acrostic-read it forward or backward or across-it still spells the same thing. Henry Richards, who is an expert mining engineer, with headquarters at Dover, has won success largely through his own well
23
MORRIS COUNTY
directed efforts. He is a member of the George Richards Company, of this city, and is serving on the Dover Board of Water Commissioners.
Henry Richards was born at Easton, Pennsylvania, October 17, 1854, son of Henry and Jane (Price) Richards, the former of whom came to America from England in his young manhood. He was a mining superin- tendent at Glendin, Pennsylvania, during his active career. He was twice married, his first wife bore him the following children: George; Robert ; Sarah, wife of Samuel Wright; Caroline, wife of Robert Boles; Anna, wife of George Richards. For his second wife Mr. Richards married Jane Price, born in Durham, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. Six children: Wil- liam; Henry, of this sketch; Albert, mentioned on other pages of this work ; Mary; Iverness; Emily.
To the public schools of Easton, Pennsylvania, Henry Richards is indebted for his preliminary educational training. In 1872 he was matricu- lated as a student in the Lehigh University, at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and in that institution was graduated as a mining engineer in 1876. His first active experience as a mining engineer was with the Glendin Iron Com- pany, at Teabo, Morris county, New Jersey, and he remained in the employ of that concern for the ensuing fifteen years. For a time he was engaged in the work of his profession in North Carolina, and for three years he was superintendent of mines at the Musconetcong Iron Works, at Stan- hope, New Jersey. Since 1911 he has maintained his home and business headquarters at Dover, where he is well known as an expert mining engi- neer. He is a stockholder in the George Richards Company, a mercantile concern, and owns some valuable real estate in Morris county. Mr. Rich- ards is a Republican in his political convictions, and for the past few years has been a valuable member of the Dover Board of Water Commissioners. He is affiliated with Acacia Lodge, No. 30, F. and A. M., and with his fam- ily he attends the Presbyterian church.
In August, 1877, occurred the marriage of Mr. Richards to Clara M. Beggs, formerly a resident of Bethleham, Pennsylvania, daughter of James and Sarah (Cameron) Beggs. Mr. and Mrs. Richards have the following children : Grace E., at the parental home; Bertha, wife of Albert Kendig, of New York City; Marion, Raymond, Edgar, Harold D., Gladys.
GEORGE E. JENKINS
Mr. Jenkins, who has been a prominent civil engineer at Dover, New Jersey, since 1883, owes his advance in life to his own inherent force of character, commendable ambition and diligence. He served as city engineer from 1885 to 1912, a period of twenty-seven years, during which time he accomplished considerable good work for this community. He is a stock- holder and director in the Kenvil Lumber & Store Company, which concern conducts lumber yards and stores at Mine Hill and Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey.
August 20, 1861, at Mine Hill, New Jersey, occurred the birth of George E. Jenkins, who is a son of David and Rachel (Williams) Jenkins. The father was born in South Wales and there resided until 1856, when he came to America and settled in Morris county, this State. He was one of the pioneers in the iron mines of this section and was engaged in mining opera- tions during practically the entire period of his active career. He died at the homestead at Mine Hill in 1899, and his wife passed away in 1911. They were the parents of the following children: Anna E., a music teacher at Dover; William T., a resident of Mine Hill; Blanche, wife of Emil (7.
24
NEW JERSEY
Kattermann, of Dover; George E., the immediate subject of this review. David Jenkins was influential in founding the Presbyterian church at Mine Hill and in the faith of that denomination all his children were reared.
For several years George E. Jenkins was a pupil in the common schools of Mine Hill and he prepared for college in the private school conducted by Lucy B. Magee, of Dover. In 1879 he entered Rutgers College, at New Bruns- wick, New Jersey, and in that excellent institution was graduated as a mem- ber of the class of 1883, with the degree of Bachelor of Science, two years later the honorary degree of Civil Engineer was conferred upon him. Immediately after graduation he located at Dover, which place has since represented his home. He is an expert mining engineer and his work has taken him throughout various sections of New Jersey. In 1885 he was sent to South America by the Royal Silver Mines of Potosi, Bolivia, a London company and he looked after mining interests at Potosi, that country, for two years. He likewise spent three months in Cuba in the iron ore industry. In addition to his professional work Mr. Jenkins is inter- ested in a number of local enterprises, one of which is the Kenvil Lumber & Store Company, in which concern he is a director and stockholder.
In 1894 Mr. Jenkins married Ella A. Davis, a native of Boonton, New Jersey, daughter of Samuel and Anna (Dean) Davis, the former of whom is a druggist at Boonton and the latter of whom is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Davis had the following children : Ella A .; Harry A .; Alice M., who is a kindergarten teacher in New York City. To Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins have been born two children: Dean Carter, who is a student, class of 1916, at Rutgers College ; Gladys E., a student in the high school at Dover. A Republican in politics, George E. Jenkins has confined his public service to the duties of city engineer, in which capacity he served Dover from 1885 to 1912. He is not connected with any fraternal organizations and in religious matters he is a fervent member of the Presbyterian church at Mine Hill of which he is an elder, succeeding his father upon the latter's death, while the rest of the family are members of Dover Memorial Presbyterian church. Mr. Jenkins has been a liberal contributor to the publications of the geological survey of the State in relation to the iron mining industry and of the brick and clay industry.
GEORGE S. POLLARD
The legal profession in the State of New Jersey is well represented in Chatham, Morris county, by George Sabin Pollard, for many years a mem- ber of the well known firm of Riker & Riker, of Newark, New Jersey. He has been a member of this firm for a quarter of a century and has gained an enviable reputation as a member of the bar.
His father, Charles Beach Pollard, was born in Parsippany, Morris county, New Jersey, and is now (1913) living retired. He was the assistant superintendent, and for a period of twenty-five years chief accountant for the Murphy Varnish Company. He married Sophia Sabin, who was a native of Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
George Sabin Pollard was born in Newark, New Jersey, October 29, 1857. The Chestnut Street Public School of Newark furnished his ele- mentary education, and he was graduated from the high school of the same city in 1874. Immediately after graduation he entered the law offices of Titsworth, Francis & Marsh, November 1, 1875, and pursued his legal studies with ardor. Admitted to the bar as an attorney in November, 1879, he commenced his legal practice in Newark, and March 1, 1889, was admitted to
25
MORRIS COUNTY
a partnership in the firm of Riker & Riker of Newark, with which he has been identified since that time. He removed his home to Chatham, where he had a beautiful house erected and fitted up with all modern improvements, in 1900. He is connected with numerous organizations of varied character, among them being: The Chatham Fish and Game Protective Association ; the old Passaic Boat Club, in whose interests he has been very active; the Essex County Lawyers' Club ; he was one of the orginators and a director of the old Fourteenth Ward Building and Loan Association, this being the largest corporation of its kind in the State at the present time; he has been the first and only counsel of this association since its organization in Decem- ber, 1885; president of the Chatham Building and Loan Association since its organization, and president of the Chatham Park and Land Company.
Mr. Pollard married, in New York City, January 18, 1893, Alma Dell, daughter of Charles E. (brother of Senator A. F. R. Martin, of Essex county ), and Mary E. (Gorgas) Martin, of Newark, New Jersey, Mr. Charles E. Martin was connected with the freight department of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Pollard have two children . Robert S., a student at the Newark Academy; George F. R., a pupil in the Chatham High School. During his entire professional career Mr. Pollard has held a high position among his colleagues. Modest in manner and free from pretension, yet he insists in a most determined way upon obtaining what he considers the rights of any client who has entrusted a case to him.
JOHN D. B. VREELAND
For ten years John D. B. Vreeland has been connected with the upbuild- ing of Morris county, New Jersey, and he has just reason to be proud of the fact that to his efforts can be traced many a substantial enterprise con- tributing greatly to the growth and prosperity of his home community. In every sense of the word he is a representative citizen and a business man of marked capacity. It is to the inherent force of character and commendable am- bition and the unremitting diligence of Mr. Vreeland himself that he has steadily advanced in the business world until he now occupies a leading place among the active and representative men of Dover, where he is interested in the Ulster Iron Works, of which he is secretary and treasurer.
John D. B. Vreeland was born at Pompton Plains, Morris county, New Jersey, July 16, 1872. He is a son of Cornelius and Emma Louisa (DeBow) Vreeland, both natives of New Jersey. The father, who was a plumber and tinsmith by trade, is now deceased and the mother resides with the subject of this review at Dover. There were four children in the Vreeland family to grow to maturity : John D. B., of this notice ; Minnie, who was the wife of Thomas E. Van Auken, of Englewood, at the time of her demise; Nicholas, died at the age of twenty-one years ; George R., died in his twenty- eighth year.
To the public schools of Hackensack, New Jersey, Mr. Vreeland is indebted for his early educational discipline. He initiated his active career as a clerk in the offices of Dodd, Mead & Company, of New York, and continued in the employ of that concern for a period of ten years. He then spent one year with the American Steel & Wire Company and in 1903 he located in Dover, here purchasing an interest in the Ulster Iron Works, a New Jersey corporation, whose official corps is as follows : C. R. Mulligan Sr., president ; John Mulligan, vice-president ; John D. B. Vreeland, secretary and treasurer. This iron industry is an important adjunct to the business world of Morris county and it gives employment to about three hundred and
26
NEW JERSEY
thirty-five workmen the entire year around, and with the addition of the new plant, the number will reach some four hundred and fifty.
A Republican in his political convictions, Mr. Vreeland manifests a deep and sincere interest in all matters affecting the good of the general welfare of Dover and of Morris county. In 1910 he was honored by appointment to the office of town treasurer and he served in that capacity with the utmost efficiency for three years. He and his family attend the Presbyterian church at Dover, and they are popular in connection with the best social activities of that city.
In November, 1903, Mr. Vreeland married Florence M. Brown, a native of New York City, and daughter of Richard Brown, of New York. Mrs. Vreeland has one brother, Richard L. Brown, who maintains his home at East Orange. Mr. and Mrs. Vreeland have three children : John D. B. Jr., Margaret, Richard George.
CHARLTON A. REED
Charlton A. Reed, one of the prominent lawyers of Morristown, New Jersey, was born at Flemington, New Jersey, December 23, 1861. He comes of the old colonial stock that settled in New Jersey prior to the Revolution- ary War. His great-grandfather on his father's side was Asa Reed, who served as captain of militia during the Revolutionary War in one of the New Jersey regiments. Jesse Reed, a son of Asa Reed, was a teacher by profession, and held the office of surrogate of Hunterdon county, New Jersey. He was a Democrat in politics. Charlton A. Reed is the son of John C. and Rachel (Higgins) Reed, his mother's family also having been American for a number of generations. His father was a merchant and for a short period served as surrogate of Hunterdon county, to fill out the unexpired term of Jesse Reed, his father, who had died in office.
Brought up in the country, the first schooling received by Charlton A. Reed was that of the district schools of the neighborhood in Raritan town- ship, Hunterdon county. This was followed by a course at Peddie Insti- tute, at Hightstown, New Jersey, from which he was graduated in 1881. He then went to Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, graduating with the class of 1886. After graduating from college he studied law in his native town and was admitted to practice in New Jersey, as attorney, in 1889. He was admitted to the Oregon bar as attorney and counsellor- at-law in the November term, 1889. Returning to his native State, he was admitted to the New Jersey bar as counsellor in 1892. From 1891 to 1894 he served as clerk at the New Jersey State Hospital at Morris Plains. Dur- ing the year 1893-94 he served as a member of the township committee, Hanover township, Morris county, New Jersey. In 1894 he entered upon the practice of law at Morristown, New Jersey, and has continued in prac- tice up to the present time. His practice is of a general character, and he has avoided the specialization into which so many practitioners fall. He is connected with the American Trust Company, of Morristown, as its coun- sel, its title officer, and its trust officer. He is a Democrat in politics, and from May, 1895, to 1901, he served upon the board of aldermen of Mor- ristown. He was mayor of the same town from May, 1902, to January I, 1907. He became a member of the board of education of Morristown, in 1912. On April 1, 1913, he became prosecutor of the pleas for Morris county. He and his family are members of the First Baptist Church, Mor- ristown, New Jersey.
Mr. Reed married, November 17, 1891, Emilie Harding, daughter of
W.T. Bather !!!
C.N. Eunis
-.- era . . bfu
27
MORRIS COUNTY
William and Phebe (Doolittle) Curtis, of Point Pleasant, New Jersey. The children of Charlton A. Reed and Emilie H. (Curtis) Reed are: I. Rachel, born November 6, 1892, educated at Blair Academy, Blairstown, New Jer- sey, and Mt. Holyoke College. 2. Phoebe C., born March 17, 1895, edu- cated at the Morristown High School, and at Mt. Holyoke College. " 3. Martha E., born September 1, 1896, died April 23, 1911. 4. Elizabeth, born July 28, 1899, a student at the Morristown High School. 5. John C., born August 15, 1902, attends the Morristown public schools. 6. Emilie Harding, born April 15, 1905, attends the Morristown public schools.
CHARLES WESLEY ENNIS
Upon looking closely into the material and commercial prosperity of any city or community we find, in each generation, that by far the greater propor- tion of this has been achieved by the efforts and energies of a selected few who have acted as leaders in various directions, and have been followed in lesser degree by others. Prominent among men of the first mentioned caliber is Charles W. Ennis, head of the firm of C. W. Ennis & Company, of Morristown, New Jersey, who has taken high rank in every field of endeavor with which he has been connected.
Sylvanus Ennis, grandfather of the above mentioned, was born in the State of New York, from which he entered as a soldier in the War of 1812. He served as a clerk in the quartermaster's department until his death, which occurred at Sackett's harbor, as a direct result of exposure. He married Mary Dobbs, a representative of the old and honored Dobbs family of New York, in whose honor Dobbs Ferry was named.
Sylvanus S. Ennis, son of Sylvanus and Mary (Dobbs) Ennis, was born in the city of New York. He was engaged in business in that city for many years, removing from there to Penn Yan, New York, where he spent the remainder of his days. He married Caroline Brown, born in Yates county, New York.
Charles Wesley Ennis, son of Sylvanus S. and Caroline (Brown) Ennis, was born at Penn Yan, Yates county, New York, January 7, 1848. His early education was obtained in the district schools of his native place, and this was supplemented by attendance at Morris Academy, Morristown, New Jersev. He commenced his business career as a clerk in a mercantile estab- lishment in Morristown, a position he filled for a period of six years. He next engaged in business on his own account in Somerville; New Jersey, becoming the head of the firm of C. W. Ennis & Company, dealers in men's furnishing goods, and continued in this business for thirteen years, during a portion of this time being also engaged in the manufacture of shirts and building up the most extensive line of business in the State. Mr. Ennis disposed of his interest in this business in 1885 and returned to Morristown, where he has resided continuously up to the present time (1913). He purchased the interest of the junior partner in the lumber firm of Day & Muchmore, the style of the firm being changed to Day & Ennis, the senior partner being the father-in-law of Mr. Ennis. Subsequently Mr. Ennis purchased the interest of his senior partner, changing the name of the firm to its present form, C. W. Ennis & Company. The office and lumber yard are on Morris street, opposite the depot of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, thus insuring excellent shipping facilities, which adds considerably to their promptness in filling their numerous orders. They deal in pine and hardwood lumber, sash, blinds, doors, moldings, trimmings and all kinds of masons' materials. The wise judgment displayed in the
28
NEW JERSEY
management of his own business led to his being chosen as a member of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Morristown. Mr. Ennis is also secretary and treasurer of the Hanover Brick Company, located at Whippany, New Jersey, of which he was one of the original stockholders and promoters, and which is the second largest brick manufacturing plant in the State of New Jersey.
Mr. Ennis has always taken a deep interest in the welfare, development and advancement of his adopted city, forwarding all movements calculated to promote its growth and prosperity, his own enterprise giving employment to a number of skilled men whom he treats with the utmost consideration. He and his family are members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Morristown, in which he has acted in the capacity of trustee, and has held official position in the board. In political matters he formerly affiliated with the Republican party, and for two terms served as a member of the city council. In 1912 he allied himself with the Progressive party, and was the candidate from the fifth congressional district for Congress. Mr. Ennis has been more than ordinarily active in the interests of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, of which he was one of the charter members. For many years he has been a member of the board of managers of the Memorial Hospital at Morristown, and he was one of the founders of the Masons' Material Dealers of New Jersey. His fraternal affiliations are with Morris- town Lodge, No. 188, F. and A. M., and Washington Association.
Mr. Ennis married, September 10, 1872, Emma F., daughter of Francis A. and Hannah D. Day, the former being one of the enterprising and successful business men of Morristown. The daughters are all members of the Morristown Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolu- tion, through the maternal great-great-grandfather, Daniel Smith Wood, who served in the War of the Revolution as captain of Essex county militia, and was in action near Elizabethtown Point, June 8, 1780. He married Sarah Johnson, and their daughter, Elizabeth C. Wood, married Captain Stephen Day, whose son, Francis Asbury Day, married Hannah Hick, and their daughter became the wife of Charles Wesley Ennis, of Morristown, whose name appears at the head of this sketch. The names of his children are : Mabel, married Frank R. Morse, secretary of C. W. Ennis & Company ; Bertha ; Mildred.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.