USA > New Jersey > Morris County > A history of Morris County, New Jersey : embracing upwards of two centuries, 1710-1913, Volume II > Part 47
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Son of the second Thomas Bright, and a nephew of the great John Bright, was Thomas Bright, the third of the name, the grandfather of our subject. Like his father before him he passed his entire life in England, where he was interested in the mining industry to a large extent.
His fourth son, and the fourth Thomas Bright, was a native of Cum- berland county, England, where he was born in the year 1828. He spent the first few years of his life in his native land, coming to the United States when but seven or eight years of age, and here became the founder
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of the American branch of the family. Upon first arriving in this country he settled in Pennsylvania, but did not remain in that state more than a few years. He was still a youth of eighteen when he finally came to Mor- ris county, New Jersey, and there made his home at Hurdtown. He was already a capable man, despite his youth, and possessed of a thorough understanding of the mining business, in which his family had been engaged in England, and in which he had himself had some experience in Pennsyl- vania. In Morris county he became associated with the Glenden Iron Company, and by them was put in charge of the opening and operating of their mining property. This Mr. Bright accomplished for them with great success, and continued mining there for a period of thirty-eight years, con- prising most of the active years of his life. After the close of his term he removed to Woodport, Morris county, and there purchased property of his own. It is near this property that the Hurd, Ford and Schofield mines are now located. In 1872 he purchased the Woodport House, into which he moved, and conducted the same as a first class hotel with eminent success until his death in the year 1890. Mr. Bright was a very prominent figure in the life of Morris county, and instrumental in building up the industries, especially mining, of the region. He was closely associated for many years with George Richards, another prominent man in Morris county, and with him opened up and operated a great number of mines in that locality. It was these two men who made the first opening in the great Hurd, Ford and Schofield mines already mentioned. Like Mr. Bright, Mr. Richards had come from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. He later died in Dover, Morris county. Besides his mining operations, Mr. Bright was active in almost every department of the community's life. He conducted a general store with great success, and was a prominent figure in politics, being a staunch member of the Republican party. He was a great fraternity man, a member of the Knights of Pythias, of Dover, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the same city. Mr. Bright married Ellen Roebuck, a member of the Roebuck family of Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Daniel Roebuck, of Port Carbon, in that state. She was born at Port Carbon, December 29, 1830, and there passed her girlhood. To Mr. Bright and his wife were born six children, as follows 1. Irene, now the widow of John Wood, of West Orange, New Jersey, where she now resides with her only son, William B. Wood, who is associated with Thomas A. Edison in his great works at West Orange. 2. Ella, now Mrs. C. D. Simpson, formerly of Morris county, and now a resident of New York state. 3. Leonard, deceased ; graduated in letters from Ann Arbor, and later in medicine from Columbia University; married Jennie Merritt by whom he had two chil- dren ; practiced his profession in Dover and Rockaway, New Jersey: was a member of the Morris County and State Medical societies, and of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. 4. Thomas, of whom further. 5. Rebecca, married (first) Joseph H. Nichols, by whom she had one son, Thomas Nichols, who died; married (second) Charles B. Corwin, of Woodport. where he is employed in the government works. 6. George, who died at the age of seven years.
Thomas Bright, the fifth of that name, and the fourth child of Thomas and Ellen (Roebuck) Bright, was born February 10, 1865, at Woodport. Jefferson township, Morris county, New Jersey. The whole region about Woodport is among the most lovely in the highlands of New Jersey, and Lake Hopatcong, itself, combines the charms of natural beauty and of romance as few other bodies of water in the eastern mountains. Its irregular shore line gives occasion to innumerable picturesque bays and inlets, the shores
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rising boldly and are crowned with the beautiful forests of the region. It seems strange to the tourist who now enjoys himself in security on its gracious waters to believe, yet it is a fact, that scarcely so much as a hun- dred years ago it was known to our forbears as the great lake in the wilder- ness, the vaguest notions prevailing as to its position and extent, and the one fact certain regarding it that it was the rendezvous of the Lenni-Lenape, and even of the fierce and dreaded Iroquois, on their periodic travels east and west, north and south. In this beautiful region Mr. Bright passed his boyhood and youth, and has continued to live here up to the present time, with only short periods of absence like those caused by the exigencies of education. He attended for a time the local public schools, but later went to Flushing, Long Island, and to E. A. Fairchild's Institute where he pre- pared himself for college. He matriculated at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the year 1886, and there took the scientific course. Dur- ing his term in college Mr. Bright distinguished himself in the classroom and campus, and finally graduated. After completing his education he turned to the active business of life, engaging at first in a mercantile busi- ness which he has continued with a high degree of success up to the present time, adding by degrees his various other interests to this the original one. Like his father Mr. Bright is a man of great versatility of talents, and his energetic nature could not be content with but one line of activity. The mining industry in one form or another might be said to be a family inher- itance, and accordingly Mr. Bright became interested in the great industry, with the development of which his father had had so much to do. He opened the Weldon Mine which he operated until 1898. He also engaged in the stone business, and now operates a large lime stone quarry from which the returns are highly lucrative.
The chief business connection of Mr. Bright and the one in which he is best known in the community is his proprietorship of the Woodport House on Lake Hopatcong. The management of the Woodport House is first- class in every particular and it affords a most delightful retreat for such as wish to enjoy the holiday season in this picturesque locality. Mr. Bright is not content to devote his entire time and attention to his business inter- ests, even though they be of so varied and diversified a kind as those in which he is engaged. On the contrary he gives generously of both time and attention to the life of his community and the conduct of its affairs. He is a member of the Republican party, as was his father before him, and takes an active part in the councils of the local political organization, being regarded as a leader of his party thereabouts. He is also a member of Acacia Lodge, No. 71, F. and A. M., of Dover, and also of the Dover branch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Bright married, June 20, 1887, Minnie De Freighn, a native of Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, where she was born November 29, 1869, daughter of Charles and Emma (Roebuck) De Freighn, of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bright are the parents of six children, as follows: I. Charles, who lives with his father and is associated with him in business, now twenty- six years of age. 2. Leonard, who died when young. 3. A child, who died in infancy. 4. Thomas, aged twenty years, who lives at home with his parents, and is the sixth fourth child to bear that name consecutively. 5. Brighton, now eighteen years of age and attending school. 6. Elmer K., aged five years.
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ROBERT H. THOMPSON
The Thompson family is of old Revolutionary stock, and a member of the family has fought in every war which the country has engaged in since it became a country. Robert H. Thompson is a great-grandnephew of two Revolutionary heroines, Tempe Wicke and Jane McCrea, and a grandson of Hannah Thompson, who kept open house for General Washington's soldiers while they were at Morristown, New Jersey.
The family has always resided on the same place, in Mendham, New Jersey, the land having been purchased from the Lord Proprietors in 1696 by the great-great-grandfather of Robert H. Thompson, who cleared the land, which at that time was heavily wooded, and his descendants have re- sided there. to the present day. They assisted in founding Mendham, and were among the early Scotch Presbyterians who settled Newark.
David Thompson, son of the founder, served gallantly for the cause of independence in the Continental army, in which he was captain of a com- pany. The line is traced through his son, Stephen, who married and had a son, George Harris, born in Morris county, New Jersey, a farmer by oc- cupation, and he inherited the Thompson homestead from his father. This estate has been in the family since the days prior to the formation of Morris county, when this section was still a part of Essex county. He was a Pres- byterian in religion, as was also his wife, Tempe Wicke (Leddell) Thomp- son, a native of Morris county, New Jersey. They were the parents of six children. all of whom are deceased except the two youngest: David, Mary, Alexander, Philip, Robert H., Susan H., wife of James Lawrence. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson died on the homestead and their remains were interred in the cemetery at Mendham.
After completing the curriculum of the common schools of Mendham, Robert H. Thompson attended the private schools conducted by Mr. Rankin and Mr. Day. He remained at home with his parents after his brothers left the farm and cared for them during their old age. He now owns this estate, which comprises 150 acres and which he keeps in a high state of im- provement. He devotes his attention to farming and stock raising, and his well cultivated fields are a source of pride to him and are the equal of any to be found in Morris county. Mr. Thompson manifests a keen interest in Republican politics. He leads an exemplary life and commands the un- qualified respect of all with whom he is brought in contact. In 1883 Mr. Thompson married Eliza McMurtry Garabrant, a native of Morris county, daughter of Cornelius and Elizabeth (Pitney) Garabrant. She died March 27. 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson became the parents of one daughter. Nancy Isabelle, a graduate of Pratt's Institute, and at present librarian at Bernardsville, New Jersey.
JOHN PREVOST WINTERBOTTOM
The Winterbottom family, which is at present represented in Oak Ridge, Morris county, New Jersey, by John Prevost Winterbottom, has been in the State for a number of generations, and has aided materially in in- creasing its prosperity. The grandfather was John Winterbottom, a shoe- maker. William, son of John Winterbottom, was born in Newton, New Jersey, and learned the trade of cabinetmaking. For a time he worked in the states of New York and Pennsylvania, then returned to New Jersey. He married (first) Jane, a daughter of Abraham Chamberlain, and they had children : John Prevost, whose name heads this sketch, and Ella, born in
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1856, died in 1903. He married (second) Jane Davenport, who survived her husband, and is living at the present time. By the second marriage there were: Theodore, residing on the brick road near Milton; William, a carpenter and builder in Newark, New Jersey ; Phoebe, lives in Newark ; Fannie, unmarried.
John Prevost Winterbottom was born in Jefferson township, Morris county, New Jersey, September 14, 1853. He received his education in his native township, and at the age of seventeen years entered the employ of the New Jersey Midland Railroad Company, now the Susquehanna & West- ern Railroad Company, May 1, 1871. During the first two weeks he was set to cleaning engines, then advanced to the position of fireman, which he held four years. In July, 1875, he was promoted to the post of engineer, the duties of which he discharged faithfully until 1888, during which time he resided at Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He was then with the Elevated Railroad Company in New York City, five years, after which he was agamı with the Susquehanna & Western road for five years, leaving it in order to accept a position with the Elevated Railroad in Brooklyn, New York, known as the Kings County Road. He then made his home in Brooklyn until 1908, then moved to Petersburg, near Milton, New Jersey, on a farm of 115 acres, a part of the Abraham Chamberlain homestead. The residence on this place was erected by Abraham Chamberlain in 1832, while the barn had been erected four years earlier, and both are in excellent condition. Mr. Winterbottom has been exceptionally careful in his career as an engineer, and has never had an accident while in charge of a locomotive. Since 1876 he has been a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. He is also a member of Bangor Lodge, No. 325, F. and A. M., of Stroudsburg. In political matters he has always been a staunch Republican, and has done his utmost to further every project and measure which tended toward the im- provement and development of the community. He married Elizabeth, a daughter of Abraham Vreeland, of Butler, Morris county, New Jersey. He was a farmer and is now deceased, but his widow is still living.
(The Chamberlain Line).
(I) Benjamin Chamberlain, who was born about 1746 or 1747, died November 29, 1816, came from Connecticut and settled near Sparta, Sussex county, New Jersey, prior to 1767, on the farm now owned and occupied by Samuel H. Maines, a great-grandson. It is said a brother, John Chamber- lain, came with him and also settled in Sussex. Of the immediate family of these brothers we have no definite information, but it is quite probable that they were descendants of the early pioneers of this name who emigrated from England to America and settled in one of the New England States. It is not known whom Benjamin Chamberlain married. He was a farmer and shoemaker, and of the Presbyterian faith. Tradition tells us that he was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His tombstone is in the Sparta Presbyterian churchyard. He had children : I. Phebe, born April 17, 1767, died January 31, 1807 ; she married, in 1788, Thomas Lemington, Esq., whu was born at Elizabethtown in 1769; he was a school teacher in Deckertown and Franklin for a number of years, and was constable for the township of Hardiston for twenty-one years ; he moved to Sparta in 1804, purchased property there, and carried on a distillery and forge business until 1814, when he sold out and purchased a property at Hamburg and lived on it five years ; he sold this about 1820 and removed with his family to Ohio; he had children : Phebe, John, Elias, Isaac, Polly. 2. Hannah, married Wil- liam Buchanan, and removed to New York State. 3. Elizabeth, born about
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1772, died May 10, 1855 ; married, February II, 1790, Noah Talmadge, boru about 1761, died August 10, 1837; he was a member of the State troops located at Ogdensburg, now Sodom; he was a carpenter by trade, and as- sisted in the building of the Presbyterian church at Sparta ; children: David, Phebe, Daniel, Benjamin, Samuel, Elias, Cornelius, Sarah, William, Abra- ham, Hannah. 4. Polly, married Thomas Havens, a farmer, and lived on the farm near Sparta, later owned and occupied by John H. Chamberlain ; children : Sallie, Irene, Noah, Thomas, Charles, Samuel. 5. Isaac, diea unmarried. 6. Joseph, born on the homestead near Sparta about 1776, died near Milton, New Jersey, June 1, 1836; he opened the Hopewell Forge in Sussex county, and later purchased the forge property at Russia, Morris county, where he continued the manufacture of iron until his death ; he was prosperous, and owned about 800 acres of land ; in politics a Whig ; his death was occasioned by a stroke of lightning, which killed him instantly, and he is buried in the Headley graveyard, near Milton ; he married (first ) Susan Sayres, and had children: Almeda, Clara, Gabriel; (second) Mary Dow, who died about 1865, and had children: Mahlon, Betsey, Hiram, Marshall, Ida, Cynthia, Emeline, Joseph. 7. Samuel, who died at Milton ; owned land in Jefferson township, and also in Bergen county, New Jersey, and was a member of the Presbyterian church ; he was a successful farmer ; he married Martha Davenport, and had children: Noah, Catherine, Phebe, Hila. 8. Benjamin, was a farmer and lived at Russia, New Jersey ; he purchased his first land in Jefferson township from Sylvanus Cooper ; he married Hannah Banford, and had children: Esther, Amelia, John B., Ephraim, Susan, one other, who lived at Port Jervis, New York. 9. Abra- ham, of further mention. 10. Jabez, born about 1785, died in 1821 ; he was a tavern keeper and farmer at Succasunna, New Jersey, owning a fine farm : he served as constable of Roxbury, and was captain of the "Light Horse Cavalry ;" he was killed at a logging frolic by a tree falling on him, and is buried at Succasunna Plains; he married Eunice Dickerson, who died in 1842, and had: Jane, Mary, Elizabeth, Joseph, Charles, Harriet, Susan, Eunice, Phebe. II. Elias, born January II, 1787, died January 23, 1834; had a farm near Milton : in December, 1823, he bought of William Headley the property now owned by E. N. Norman, and made that his place of resi- dence ; he married Sarah Keepers, born March II, 1793, died April 15, 1876; children : David, Daniel, William, Johnson, Fannie. Caroline, Amelia, Al- bert, Nathaniel. 12. Noah, born on the Chamberlain homestead, August 8, 1790, died there, December 16, 1872; he married (first ) Ann Cox, and had : Jane, Rebecca, Jehiel, Aaron, Sarah, Delia, Arthur ; he married (second ) Ann Maines, born March 21, 1793, died October 8, 1867 : children: Ellen, Benjamin, George; he was a farmer and a Presbyterian, and is buried at Sparta.
(II) Abraham Chamberlain, son of Benjamin Chamberlain, was born on the Chamberlain homestead near Sparta, April 10, 1783, and died at Peters- burg, Morris county, New Jersey, September 3, 1852. His first business venture was the rafting of timber from the vicinity of Milford. Pennsyl- vania, down the Delaware river to Philadelphia. The return trips. a dis- tance of 100 miles, were made on foot, the time consumed being two days to Sparta. After his marriage Mr. Chamberlain settled on the Shores place near Russia, Morris county, and was a carpenter there. June I. 1821, he and Ephraim Adams purchased the Petersburg Forge from Peter Van Winkle and Thomas Van Antwerp, and engaged in the manufacture of iron, with which he was identified until his death. He was also a farmer, and the owner and operator of a grist mill, a plaster mill and a saw mill at Milton,
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and a saw mill at Petersburg. About 1840 he erected a distillery at Peters- burg and operated this until his death, this being caused by a wheel in the distillery falling upon him. His property consisted of about 500 acres. He and his wife attended the Oak Ridge Presbyterian Church. He married Elizabeth Keepers, born September 11, 1787, died at Petersburg, July 7, 1882. Children: 1. Caroline, born at Petersburg, September 8, 1811, died August 26, 1821. 2. Maurice, born at Petersburg, September 2, 1813, died at Middletown, New York, February 10, 1894; in early life he kept a hotel at Milton ; he married Mary McCormick, born at Milton, February 26, 1819, died at Campbell Hall, New York, March 30, 1896; children: Sarah, Mary, Marcus, Julia, Hattie, Ida, Minnie. 3. Horace, a sketch of whom follows. 4. Amos. 5. Lewis. 6. Elizabeth. 7. Almeda, married Joseph Warren Headley, a sketch of whom follows. 8. Jane, married William Winter- bottom, and became the mother of John Prevost Winterbottom.
HON. HORACE CHAMBERLAIN
Hon. Horace Chamberlain, of Morris county, New Jersey, was a man whose long and useful life was consecrated to all that was true and good, and his name will be held in lasting honor in the community where he lived and labored for the welfare of all. He was an extensive land owner and surveyor, and served in public office with credit and honor to himself and the community he so ably represented. He was a son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Keepers) Chamberlain, and a grandson of Thomas Keepers, who served in the war of the Revolution.
Hon. Horace Chamberlain was born at Petersburg, Jefferson township, Morris county, New Jersey, September 12, 1815, died at Oak Ridge, Octo- ber 4, 1891. His education was acquired at a private school conducted by Professor Rankin, at Deckertown. For more than half a century he was prominently identified with the political, social and business affairs of his section of the State. A surveyor by profession, he also owned and culti- vated the large farm upon which he lived. In his professional capacity his services were in great demand, as he was thoroughly familiar with the family lines and the titles to landed property in the counties of Morris, Pas- saic and Sussex. His opinion was of great weight in the courts in connec- tion with the settlement of estates. In his earlier years he was connected with the iron industry, in the days of charcoal forges, several of which he operated at various times. His knowledge of the history of forge operat- ing on the Upper Rockaway and Pequannock rivers was considered valu- able, and sketches of them contained in the History of Morris County are based upon the information furnished by Mr. Chamberlain. Possessing great natural ability combined with a large measure of self culture, he was regarded by those about him as a leader in their affairs, and was frequently called upon to represent them in public and business affairs. He filled many local public offices, serving on the grand jury frequently, and in 1851 was elected to a seat in the New Jersey legislature. Had he been at all solicitous for public preferment, he would doubtless have been called to fill still higher positions. As a citizen he will be best remembered for the sterling integrity of his character, the kindliness of his disposition and his large capacity for rendering service to those about him. He was prudent and successful in his business ventures, and accumulated a large estate, a part of which is his fine farm of four hundred acres.
Mr. Chamberlain married, June 13, 1841, Jane M. Norman, born April 23, 1821, died April 19, 1899. She was a daughter of Charles Norman,
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born near Sparta, Sussex county, New Jersey, June 17, 1787. He mar- ried Sarah Mackerly, a daughter of Michael Mackerly, who served in the War of 1812. Mrs. Chamberlain's paternal grandfather was John Norman, born in England, emigrated to America, and espoused the cause of the Colonies as a soldier in the war of the Revolution. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain: I. Sarah E., born at Petersburg, Jefferson township, Morris county, New Jersey, and still resides on the old homestead; she was educated in a co-educational school at Newton, New Jersey, known as the Newton (New Jersey) Collegiate Institute, and has spent her entire life on the homestead; she is possessed of much of the business ability of her estimable father, has charge of the property left by him, and is a member of the Presbyterian church. 2. John, born on the homestead at Peters- burg, August 16, 1844; in 1863 he matriculated at the Newton Collegiate Institute, pursued a course of study there, and then went to Bryant & Stratton's Business College at Newark; the next eight years were spent in teaching school in Morris and Passaic counties; he was appointed com- missioner of deeds by Governor Abbett, and re-appointed by Governor Werts, serving altogether for a period of eleven years; after the death of his father he followed farming successfully on the homestead; in political matters he was a staunch Democrat; he married (first) September 12, 1877, Thirza S. Wilson, born July 18, 1850, died October 12, 1883; he mar- ried (second ) June 1I, 1896, Jennie B. Campbell, of Brooklyn, New York, born in that city, January 24, 1854. daughter of John G. and Maria Campbell; she has filled the office of treasurer of the Chamberlain Family Reunion ; John Chamberlain died April 25, 1907. 3. Abraham, born in 1849, died unmarried, November 1, 1888. 4. Emily, born in 1852, died unmarried, October 1, 1884. 5. Martha L., died unmarried, April 26, 1887. 6. Annette D., died September 27, 1881.
EDWARD ROE HEADLEY
Leonard Headley, prior to 1664, came from England, and landed at Boston, Massachusetts. From there he migrated to Connecticut, and later to Long Island. Subsequently, in 1664, he with a large party of settlers and their wives, located and settled at Elizabethtown, Essex county, New Jersey. Leonard Headley being at that time married, as the records show, took up and caused to be surveyed a tract of land in the name of himself and wife. Soon afterwards, Leonard Headley or some of his descendants went about five miles west of Elizabethtown, took up land there, and settled what for many years was known on the maps of Essex county (afterwards Union county) as Headley Town, being that part of Union township now known as Unionville, in which many of his descendants may still be found. Much of the land settled by Leonard Headley is still held by Headley de- scendants.
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