USA > New Jersey > Morris County > A history of Morris County, New Jersey : embracing upwards of two centuries, 1710-1913, Volume II > Part 5
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CHARLES RUSSELL WHITEHEAD
Charles Russell Whitehead, vice-president of the American Trust Com- pany, of Morristown, New Jersey, was born in Washington Valley, Morris county, New Jersey, September 1, 1860. His parents were Aaron D. and Harriet E. (Lee) Whitehead, his father having been a farmer who had been born on the old family homestead in Washington Valley where later his son was born. Aaron D. Whitehead died in May, 1897, at the age of sixty-eight years, on the same farm on which he had been born. His wife was from New York State and now lives in Morristown. They were the parents of five children, three of whom are still living. Besides Charles R. Whitehead, they are: Sarah C. and Mary H., both of them living in Morristown.
Brought up on his father's farm, the early education of Charles R. Whitehead was acquired at the country schools of the neighborhood. Later he attended the public schools of Morristown and became a student at the Morristown Academy. He devoted himself to farming all his life until the summer of 1912, when he moved to Mendham, where he now resides.
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In January, 1911, the American Trust Company was formed and he was actively interested in its organization, and was made its first vice-president, a position he still continues to hold. He sold the old farm in Washington Valley when he moved to Mendham. He served as member of New Jersey assembly for two years-1901-02.
He is a member of Blue Lodge, No. 3. F. and A. M .; of Morristown Chapter ; of Mecca Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and member of Sons of the Revolution, New Jersey Society. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, of Morristown.
Mr. Whitehead married, in May, 1895, in Washington Valley, Elizabeth L. Briant, born in Morris county, both of whose parents are dead. They have three sons : Russell B., David L., Howell N.
VICTOR E. BOELL
The life of Victor E. Boell is the story of one of those rises from small beginnings, step by step, by means of talents, faithfulness and energy, to positions of great responsibility and importance. Well-known as the sec- retary and treasurer of the American Trust Company, of Morristown, he was born in Brooklyn, New York, January 31, 1857.
He is the son of Frederick W. Boell, born in Alsace-Loraine in 1810, came to this country in 1833, settling in Brooklyn. While still a mere youth in his native country he served in the French army. In 1835 Frederick W. Boell married Sophia Swartz, a native of New York. Mr. Boell was a banker and broker of New York, and died in 1886, at the age of seventy- six years. His wife died in 1885 at the age of sixty-seven years. This remarkable couple lived together for over fifty years, and were the parents of sixteen children. A brother of Victor E. Boell, Henry P. Boell, served in the Union Army, and another by the name of Charles, who is now dead, served in the United States Navy.
Victor E. Boell was educated in the public schools of Succasunna, hav- ing left his native Brooklyn at the age of nine years. His first business experience was as an office boy in New York. This was followed by a posi- tion as clerk, and in this he worked faithfully for nine years in Succa- sunna. He then obtained work with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company as ticket agent at Dover, New Jersey, remaining there for three years. This position was followed by a similar one which he held for ten months at Morristown. An opening now came to him as receiving and paying teller in the National Iron Bank, of Morristown, and this posi- tion he held for twenty-one years. When the American Trust Company was organized he was made secretary and treasurer, which office he holds to the present day. In his political convictions Mr. Boell is a Republican. He is a member of the Masonic order, and belongs to the Knights of Pythias. He also holds membership in the Red Men and local lodges. He belongs to the Royal Arcanum, and was a member of the Grand Council of
He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. the Loyal Association.
Mr. Boell married, October 23, 1884, at Asbury, Warren county, New Jersey, Mary A., daughter of the Rev. Isaac and Elizabeth (Rutan) Thomas, the former born in Easton, and the latter in Morris county, New Jersey, and both deceased. They have had three children: Elmer, died in 1887 at the age of two years and five months; Victor H., born April 25, 1889. now a professor in the high school at Chester, Pennsylvania, graduate of class of 1911, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania ; Helen E., born November 12, 1895, now at home, graduate of Morristown High School, class of 1913.
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STEPHEN CARLTON GRIFFITH
Occupying a prominent position among the real estate and insurance men of Morris county, Stephen C. Griffith may justly be said to have come to his present success by his own energy and efforts. He has taken hold of his opportunities with both hands and has made the most of every chance that has come in his way. It is the presence of such men in any com- munity that gives it that power of growth which is the boast of an American city.
Stephen C. Griffith was born in Morris Plains, New Jersey, September 25, 1880. He was educated in the public schools of Morristown, his parents having moved when he was a lad of eight years of age to Morristown from Morris Plains. He early showed his ambitious and energetic qualities, and secured when still a school boy a position as a milk boy. He has remained in Morristown since the family located here in 1888, identifying himself with the life of the town. When he was a little older he obtained work in a confectionery store, and later in a dry goods store. In the activities of these positions he gained an invaluable fund of business experience, and gathered the knowledge of the best methods of dealing with men that has proved one of the foundations of his later success. In 1897 he took a position in a real estate and insurance office working in the employ of E. Arthur Swartwouth, remaining with him until December, 1899, when he succeeded to the business which has continued in his hands ever since. He has met with an unqualified success from the first, and he has probably the largest business in that line in Morris county. In 1902 he moved to his present quarters in one of the largest office buildings in the city, and was made the local manager of the McAlpin estate, one of the most important in the whole region, and he still continues to control these properties.
Besides his large business interests Mr. Griffith has identified himself with a number of the civic and social organizations of the city of his adop- tion. He is a Mason, and a member of the Royal Arcanum. He is foreman of the Resolute Hook and Ladder Company, No. I, of Morristown, and is treasurer of the Tapkaow Club of Morristown. He also serves as recording secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association, and is a member of the board of stewards of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is secretary and treasurer of the Morris County Republican Committee. He filled the office of assessor of Morristown in 1908-09-10.
Mr. Griffith married, April 15, 1903, at East Orange, New Jersey, Gertrude Keeler, born in East Orange, October 3, 1882. Her father died when she was a young girl, her mother, who before her marriage was Nettie Whitehead, of Long Island, living at present in East Orange. Mr. and Mrs. Griffith have two children: Doris Gertrude, born May 3, 1906; Helen Winifred, November 25, 19II.
REV. PHILEMON FOWLER STURGES
A man of earnest and devoted Christian spirit, and an influential leader in every movement of the higher life of the community, the Rev. Philemon F. Sturges occupies a conspicuous position as the rector of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church, Morristown. Trained by a novitiate in the institutional work of the famous parish of St. George's, in New York City, under the inspiring guidance of Dr. Rainsford, Mr. Sturges brought to the Morristown church the discipline of hard work amongst the poor, and the enthusiasm for the spreading of the church's message, which he had gained
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from that contact with realities. In a town which though nominally a city, does not have to face the problems of modern industrial poverty and its attendant evils the work of the church is free to expend its energies upon the larger community of the State, and upon the crowded conditions called into being by the too rapid development of neighboring manufacturing centres. To this work Mr. Sturges has directed the activities of his people, and great good outside of their own bounds has resulted from the efforts of his parish.
Philemon F. Sturges was born November 3, 1875, at Utica, New York. He is the son of Edward Sturges, who was born in Mansfield, Ohio, February I, 1829, died November 19, 1899. Edward Sturges was a dealer 111 lumber at Mansfield and in New York City. He was a descendant of John Sturges, born in England in 1624, who had come to this country and founded the family that bears his name. Judge Jonathan Sturges, a descendant of this man, was born in 1740, at Fairfield, and his house having been destroyed by British troops in 1779 all the records of the family antecedent to his time were lost. The mother of Mr. Sturges is Anna S. (Fowler) Sturges, who was born in Elmira, New York, April 19, 1845, and is still living in Chicago, Illinois. She traces her ancestry, also, to colonial times being descended from Joseph Fowler, born August 16, 1697, in Worcester county, Mass- achusetts.
Mr. Sturges received his early education in Germany, being sent when a young boy to the Real Gymnasium, at Frankfurt. After the thorough preparation of this German school he returned to the United States and matriculated at Yale University, receiving his degree of B. A. with the class of 1896. He had already made the decision to enter the Christian ministry and he now entered the Episcopal Theological School at Cambridge, and after completing the required course took his degree of B. D. He was fortunate, upon leaving the divinity school, in securing an appointment as the first assistant in the working parish of old St. George's Church, New York, where for years past a veritable school of prophets had been in operation under the guidance of the rector of the parish, and where the work was done along the broadest and most efficient as well as most beneficent Christian lines. Here he remained from 1900 to 1903 when he received the call to his present charge. An energetic, resourceful, and devoted man, his success has been attested by the growth of his congregation which numbering four hundred communicants when he came has now increased to six hundred and fifty. Mr. Sturges is a Mason and a member of the Royal Arcanum. In his political convictions he is a Republican.
He married, June 4, 1902, Maria Potter, at New York City. She was born at Schenectady, New York, and is the granddaughter of Dr. Eliphalet Nott, president of Union College, a post later held by her father, Dr. Eliphalet Nott Potter. Mr. and Mrs. Sturges have three children : Philemon Fowler Jr., born August 12, 1903; Katrina, February 14, 1907; Mary Potter, December 21, 19II.
CHARLES MCCOLLUM
Charles McCollum, a prominent citizen of Morristown, New Jersey, and now holding the responsible position of postmaster of the town, was born in Bernards township, Somerset county, New Jersey, May 29, 1846. His father, James McCollum, a farmer, was also a native of Somerset county, but died at the age of thirty-seven years, leaving a widow and four children. The mother of Charles McCollum was Hannah Stout, a native of Hopewell, New Jersey, died at Bernardsville at the age of eighty-three years. Her
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children by James McCollum were : Charles, William Eugene, Alexander and Jennie, the latter two being dead. After the death of James McCollum, Mrs. McCollum remarried and had one child by this marriage, Monroe Bird. The father of Hannah (Stout) McCollum was John Stout, a merchant of Hope- well, New Jersey, who lived to the advanced age of ninety-six years. He was buried at Hopewell where he had always lived. On the paternal side the grandfather of Charles McCollum came from Scotland but the records of him have been lost.
Left by his father's death at the head of the little household, the early education of Charles McCollum was one in responsibility and hard work. That he was successful in this difficult position testifies to his ability and force of character. He kept the farm together, and made it pay, doing the work of a grown man. He was, however, ambitious, and at last the narrow life on the lonely farm grew irksome to the adventurous spirit of the lad. At the age of nineteen years, therefore, he decided to come to town and get work that would give his mental faculties play. Coming to Morristown he secured a position as a clerk in a grocery store, leaving this when an opening offered in the store of Mulford & Babbitt, remaining with them for three years. After this experience he decided to go into the furnishing goods business, continuing in it for eight years. An opportunity then offered to enter the livery business and in this he is still engaged the firm going under the name of Charles McCollum.
He became very much interested when he first came to Morristown in the fire department, and as early as 1867 he became a charter member of Independent Hose Company, No. I, with which he continued all through the many years of his activity. He is honorary member now of his old company, Independent Hose Company, No. I. He is also a charter member of Fire- man's Exempt Association of which he is still a member and has filled most of the offices of that organization as well as president of same. His faithful and intelligent services received their reward in his promotion to the grade of foreman and latterly to that of chief of the department. He served on the excise board for seventeen years prior to his taking the duties of postmaster of Morristown, July 1, 1910. In his political preferences Mr. McCollum is a Republican. He is an attendant of the South Street Presby- terian Church. He is a member of Tapkaow Club and a member of the cemetery board of Evergreen Cemetery, Morristown, New Jersey.
He married (first) in 1876, Minnie Myers Sanborn, who died in 1893. There were no children of this marriage. He married (second) December 6, 1898, Anna Preim, and of this marriage has been born one daughter : May Louise, October 25, 1900.
PAUL GUENTHER
Education and financial assistance are very important factors in achiev- ing success in the business world today, where every faculty must be brought into play, but they are not the main elements. Persistency and determina- tion figure much more prominently, and a man possessed of these qualities is bound to win a fair amount of success. Paul Guenther, whose name forms the caption for this article, was but meagerly educated in his youth, but during the latter years of his life he has climbed to a high place on the ladder of achievement. He is one of Dover's most prominent citizens and, since 1897, has conducted the Paul Guenther Company, incorporated since 1908, manufacturers of silk hosiery, one of the most progressive industries of this city.
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Leurs Historical Puy Co
Paul Smither
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A native of Germany, Paul Guenther was born in the province of Saxony, that country, May 13, 1860. He is a son of Bruno and Therese (Wunsch) Guenther, who passed their entire lives in the fatherland. Mr. Guenther was a farmer by occupation and he and his wife had only one child, namely : Paul, of this notice. Paul grew up on his father's farm, in the work and management of which he early became an important factor, and he was educated in the neighboring public schools. As a young man he became interested in the manufacturing of hosiery and he worked at that line of enterprise until he had reached his thirtieth year, when he immigrated to America. After his arrival in the United States, he spent seven years as an employee in different knitting mills, and then, having thoroughly familiarized himself with American methods of manufacture, he located at Dover in Morris county, and here opened a factory for the output of silk hosiery. This was in the year 1897 and his first place of business was of very small proportions. Since 1902 his business has grown to such an extent that he has been obliged to erect more spacious and modern quarters, and at the present time, 1913, he employs' a force of eight hundred workers. Mr. Guenther's plant is the largest of its kind in the world and he has been the prime mover in bringing his class of goods down to a scale of prices which places them in the reach of all. His splendid success in the business has been due to his wonderful foresight and well directed efforts. He is a stockholder in the National Union Bank of Dover and one of the directors of that institution.
Paul Guenther has been and is an important factor in the growth and' development of Dover in more ways than one. His great plant with the tremendous increase of business it has brought the city stands foremost among his achievements, but his progressive spirit has not stopped here. He is of a generous disposition and desires to share with his employees the fruits of his success, and accordingly has built them dwellings constructed along modern lines with a view to comfort and convenience. These he offers to them for purchase at terms suited to their incomes, and has thus aided many to secure homes which would otherwise have been out of their reach. In the words of one who has known him since he first came to this country ; "He is big, generous, progressive and industrious, unaffected, ready at all times to lay off his coat, roll up his sleeves and repair some piece of machinery that requires skill and immediate attention. A wonderful man who has achieved a wonderful success." His goods are sold throughout the entire civilized world and there is no quarter of the globe where they cannot be found. Sixteen years ago he was practically unknown, and today he stands in the front rank of the great captains of industry. His home, recently completed, stands on a considerable eminence overlooking the Rockaway Valley, and is one of the most attractive in Morris county. It is situated just outside the corporate limits of Dover, to the east of the city, and is a fitting place for him to spend his hours of freedom from office and factory that he has so well earned.
Mr. Guenther is not a politician in any sense of the word, and he does not desire to hold public office of any kind. He is, nevertheless, influential in public affairs and casts his vote for Republican men and measures. He is a valued and appreciative member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is likewise affiliated with the Hamilton Club of Paterson, New Jersey.
Mr. Guenther married in 1896, Olga Mechel, a native of Germany and a daughter of Charles and Louisa (Homagh) Mechel. Mrs. Guenther has two brothers and one sister as follows: Charles, a resident of Mil- waukee, Wisconsin; Richard, who lives in the city of Berlin, Germany ;
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Emma, wife of Fritz Ewest, of Berlin. Mr. and Mrs. Guenther have one daughter, Margaret, a student in the National Park Seminary, at Forest Glen, near Washington, D. C. The family are zealous members of the Presbyterian church, to whose good works they are most liberal contributors.
JOHN M. MILLS
Among the lawyers who have distinguished themselves at the bar of the State of New Jersey during the last quarter of a century, the name of John M. Mills is well forward in the list. He is the protector of the innocent and oppressed, the prosecutor of wrong-doing, and has a habit of going thoroughly to the bottom of any matter he is investigating in such a manner that he is usually able to convince any jury of the justice of his case. In fact, his appeals are so fervid and animated that his hearers are frequently convinced against their will, the strong sympathy which dominates his nature being apparent through everything he says.
Nehemiah M. Mills, his father, was engaged in agricultural pursuits, and was a native of the city of New York. His political support was given to the Republican party, and he was always esteemed as a good citizen. He married Susan Slaght, born in Roxbury township, and they had children : Frank, deceased; George A .; Fannie, deceased; Harriet E .; Mary A .; Harvey L .; Annie E. ; Jennie L. ; Julia A .; John M. ; Clifford.
John M. Mills was born in Morristown, New Jersey, and acquired his elementary education in the public schools of Morris township, from which he was graduated to the Morristown High School. He then became d student at Rutgers College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1897 with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Sciences. Having decided upon the legal profession as his chosen life work, he read law one year with F. G. Burnham, of Newark, and three years with the Hon. W. W. Cutler, of Morristown. He was admitted as an attorney to the bar of the State of New Jersey in June, 1899, and as an attorney and counsellor- at-law in June, 1902. In 1899 he opened offices for the practice of law, and has been actively engaged in the profession since that time. From the com- mencement of his active career he established a reputation for himself by his careful conduct of the cases entrusted to him, and it was not a very long time before the fame of his ability had become far more than a merely local one. His profession has always made manifold demands upon his time, yet Mr. Mills belongs to that class of men who, the more they have to do, the more they find time to accomplish. In line with this trait is the active part he has taken in the public life of the county and State. In the political arena of the Republican party is one of the controlling factors, although not a member of the county committee. He represented the Republican party as a chosen freeholder for a period of five years ; was assemblyman in the New Jersey legislature two years, 1905-06; has served as secretary of the Morris county board of taxation since 1906; for fourteen years since 1900. has been attorney for the township of Morris, and Mt. Arlington borough five years; Mendham township six years, Randolph township two years, and attorney for board of education for Morris township ten years. His religious affiliations are with the Methodist church and his fraternal and social connections are with the order of Free and Accepted Masons, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Tapkaow Club of Morristown and Morris County Bar Association.
Mr. Mills married at Morristown, April 12, 1906, Cora E. Studley, born in Morris township, October 19, 1886. They have one child: Elden, born
John m mills
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in Morristown, June 24, 1908. Mr. Mills is an assiduous student of all public questions, and is a master of the methods of procedure in legislative bodies, having made an exhaustive study of the rules, precedents, etc., governing them. He is fully equal to the time in which he lives and to the responsibilities, and they are numerous, that he is called upon to shoulder. He is a clear and forcible speaker, and his appearance is dignified and im- pressive.
GEORGE PIERSON 1242288
The career of George Pierson is a noble illustration of what indepen- dence, self-faith and persistency can accomplish in America. He is a self- made man in the most significant sense of the word for no one helped him in a financial way and he is self-educated. As a young man he was strong, vigorous and self-reliant. He trusted in his own ability and did things single-handed and alone. To-day he stands supreme as a successful business man and a loyal and public-spirited citizen. Most of his attention has been devoted to farming and lumbering enterprises and for five years he was surrogate of Morris county, New Jersey. He maintains his home at Dover, of which city he was mayor for three terms.
August 19, 1838, in Randolph township, Morris county, New Jersey, occurred the birth of George Pierson, a son of Henry and Nancy ( Powers) Pierson, both of whom were likewise born and reared in Randolph town- ship. Robert Pierson, paternal grandfather of the subject of this review, was born in Morris county, was a farmer by occupation and was a gallant soldier in the war of the Revolution, having participated in the battle of Springfield. Beginning with Robert Pierson and ending with William Pierson, son of George Pierson, four generations of this family have lived in Morris county. Henry Pierson was reared a farmer and he was actively engaged in that line of work until he lost his eyesight, in 1850. He died in 1861, aged fifty-five years, and his cherished and devoted wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Powers, passed to cternal rest in 1891, at the venerable age of seventy-eight years. There were five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Pierson : George, of this notice; Mary, wife of Jerome B. Young at the time of her demise ; Margaret, a resident of Dover ; Martha, married William B. Young and she is deceased; John H., also deceased. The Piersons were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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