USA > New Jersey > Morris County > A history of Morris County, New Jersey : embracing upwards of two centuries, 1710-1913, Volume II > Part 62
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the High School, and that in turn by work at the old Morris Academy, later going to the C. C. Institute of Hackettstown, from which he graduated in 1889. Upon leaving school he came home and went at once into the business which had been established by his father. From a small beginning the undertaking has prospered and grown enormously, meeting as the years went by a success commensurate with the energy, ability and integrity of the men at the back of the enterprise. The older brother, Waters B. Day, has charge of the Newark branch of the firm of W. F. Day & Brothers. He is also president of the Newark Trust Company.
Mr. Wilbur F. Day is in his political preferences a Republican. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum. For many generations back he and his an- cestors have been members of the Methodist Episcopal church, his father having served as president of the board of trustees for six years. Mr. Day married at Morristown, November 21, 1894, Cora N., born in Morristown, February 15, 1874, daughter of Gilbert Young, a contractor of Morristown, with a large experience in that town, and now living retired from active business. They have five children: Evelyn Young, born July 5, 1896; Wilbur F. (3), born May 18, 1898; Alice Mary, born January 20, 1900; Lois Cornelia, born May 16, 1905; and Thomas Monroe, born September 16, 1910.
ALVIN MARTINIS
Progressiveness is one of the main attributes in the character of Alvin Martinis, who is strictly a self-made man and who has been a resident of Chester, New Jersey, since 1898. He is thoroughly familiar with the milling business and has been engaged in that line of enterprise in different sections of this state for many years. For several years he has conducted a store dealing in grain, flour, feed, meal and bran at Chester, where he is well known as an enterprising and reliable business man. A native of War- ren county, New Jersey, his birth occurred February 27, 1869. His father, George F. Martinis, was a farmer by occupation and he was summoned to the life eternal in 1911. The mother, whose maiden name was Mary Ann Tunison, survives her honored husband and now resides at Danville, New Jersey. There were seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Martinis as follows: Adelina, wife of Daniel S. Kennedy; William and Anna, both deceased; Jacob; Alvin, the immediate subject of this review ; John; and Louis, a farmer in Morris county.
To the age of fifteen years Alvin Martinis attended the common schools of Warren county, and during the ensuing six years he assisted his father in caring for the old homestead farm. At the age of twenty-one years he went to Flanders, New Jersey, and there learned the milling business. Two years later he located at Milldale, where he conducted a flour mill for a period of twelve years, at the expiration of which, in 1898, he came to Ches- ter, where he has since maintained his home and where he has won consider- able success as proprietor of a store dealing in grain, flour, feed, meal and bran. Although not an active participant in public affairs, Mr. Martinis supports the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor and in a fraternal way he is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men.
Mr. Martinis was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Skellenger, a native of Morris county, and a daughter of Elias H. and Margaret (Hoey) Skel- lenger, the former of whom is deceased. There were four children in the Skellenger family: Phineas; Charles; Laura (wife of Frank Miller) ; and
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Lucy. Mr. and Mrs. Martinis became the parents of three children: Clar- ence, died at the age of nine months; and Clara and Blanche, both at the paternal home in Chester. In religious matters the Martinis family attend the Congregational church. They occupy a beautiful residence in Chester. and are liberal but unostentatious in their hospitality.
WILLIAM DEE
William Dee is one of the foremost business men of Chester, where he has resided during the greater part of his life thus far. Here he con- ducts a first-class establishment dealing in stationery, confectionery, tobacco and cigars, and he is also extensively engaged in real estate operations. He was postmaster of Chester during the regime of President Cleveland, and is now one of the freeholders of Morris county. He is a native of Chester, his birth having occurred September 6, 1862, and he is a son of John and Mary (Corbet) Dee, who are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Dee were both born and reared in Ireland, but their marriage was solemnized in America. The father immigrated to America and settled in New Jersey, eventually becoming a prominent farmer in the vicinity of Chester. He manifested great loyalty to the government of his adopted country by enlisting for service in Company F, Fifteenth New Jersey Volunteers, and serving in the Civil War for a period of three years. He was a Democrat, and a devout communicant of the Catholic church, with which his wife was like- wise connected. They were the parents of the following children: John, is deceased; Matthew; Thomas, deceased; William, to whom this sketch is dedicated ; and Anna, wife of Joseph Bragg.
After finishing the prescribed course in the common schools of Chester, Willim Dee was for one winter a pupil in the private school conducted by Miss Magie. He initiated his active career in the employ of James Tread- way, who was engaged in the butcher business and who likewise conducted a harness and buggy shop. Mr. Dee was bookkeeper for James Treadway for a period of twenty-one years. Later he started a little stationery and confectionery store at Chester, and this establishment is now one of ex- tensive proportions : tobacco and cigars are also handled. Mr. Dee ownis considerable real estate in Chester, and during the second administration of President Cleveland he served this city as postmaster. He is a Democrat in politics, and takes an active part in public affairs. He has represented Chester township in the board of freeholders of Morris county for the past three years. His fraternal connections are with Chester Lodge, Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife are members of the Congre- gational church.
December 13, 1887, Mr. Dee married Miss Stella Hart, a native of Sussex county, New Jersey, and a daughter of William and Mary (Smith) Hart. Mr. Hart was a Civil War veteran, and for many years was engaged in the general merchandise business. He and his wife had three children : John; Eva, wife of Robert W. Anderson; and Stella, wife of Mr. Dee. Mr. and Mrs. Dee have one daughter, May, who was graduated in the Chester public schools at the age of fifteen years and who is now a student in the Dover High School.
THOMAS E. THARP
Thomas E. Tharp, a prominent business man of Mount Olive, Morris county, New Jersey, is a member of a New Jersey family and was born about
1
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a mile outside of Flanders, an adjacent town to Mount Olive, August 15, 1855. He is the son of William and Charity (Landon) Tharp, both now deceased, the father born in Bartley and the mother in Flanders. Mr. Tharp Sr. was a successful farmer and lumber dealer in that part of the state, his death occurring August, 1899, at the age of seventy-seven, and that of his wife in 1895, at about the same age. To them were born three children, as follows: Mahlon K., a sketch of whom follows in this work; Margaret A., died in April, 1908, wife of Anson Protzman, of Eastern Pennsylvania ; and Thomas E., the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Tharp obtained the elementary part of his education at the local public schools and later attended the State Normal School for two years. In his youth he had had a desire to go west, and upon reaching man's estate he realized this wish and went to DesMoines, Iowa, where he remained long enough to learn the painter's trade. In 1883 he returned to his home in New Jersey, and there has plied his trade continuously ever since in the vicinity of Flanders. Besides this occupation, he is engaged in the coal business which has thriven remarkably under his skilful management. Mr. Tharp has not confined his activities to his own personal affairs, however, but has taken part in the politics of the community. He is a Democrat and prominent in his party's councils. He has served in a number of public offices, notably as collector of Mt. Olive township for seven years, and for four years as postmaster of the same place. He is also prominent in fraternal circles and is a member of Ionic Lodge, Order of Odd Fellows, of the Knights of Pythias of German Valley, of the Junior Order of American Mechanics, Stanhope, and of the Royal Order of Moose of Dover. Mr. Tharp was mar- ried May 10, 1883, to Miss Mary L. Yeager, a daughter of Jacob and Dor- othy Yeager, of Flanders, New Jersey. Mr. Yeager was a native of Ger- many, but came to this country and settled in Morris county, where he engaged in farming. Here he met and married his wife, a native of Morris county. Both Mr. and Mrs. Yeager are now dead. To Mr. and Mrs. Tharp has been born one son, Charles, born in 1884, who only lived to the age of nine years.
Mr. Tharp is one of the substantial citizens of Mount Olive township, and a man of substance and property, owning considerable real estate in Flanders. In 1889 he erected a fine home for himself, which was unfor- tunately destroyed by fire in 1906. Mr. Tharp rebuilt the following year, however, the handsome house in which he now lives. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian church.
MAHLON K. THARP
Mahlon K. Tharp, a freeholder of Morris county and a prominent citizen of Flanders, Morris county, New Jersey, comes of an old New Jersey family and was born about a mile from Flanders, son of William and Charity (Landon) Tharp, concerning whom see preceding sketch.
Mr. Tharp received the elementary part of his education in the local public schools and later attended the Seminary at Schooleys Mountain for a year. After completing his studies he engaged in farming for a few years and for a like period in the lumber business. Mr. Tharp has always been extremely active in politics. He is a staunch member of the Democratic party and has served for twenty-one years on the Democratic committee, being the oldest in point of membership on that body. From 1892 to 1896, he served as a member of the board of freeholders of Morris county, and in 1910 and again in 1913, he was re-elected to the same office. Mr. Tharp
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was married in 1878 to Miss Mary A. Swackhamer, of Pleasant Hill, a daughter of Isaac and Eliza (Hopkins) Swackhamer. Mrs. Tharp's father is dead but her mother is still living and in her ninety-fifth year.
With the exception of three years which he spent in Hackettstown, Mr. Tharp has been a resident of Mount Olive township all his life, dwelling either in Flanders or on his farm nearby. The home in which he now lives was erected in about the year 1877. Mr. Tharp has long been regarded as one of the leading citizens of Morris county and has filled the various public offices he has been elected to with integrity and concientiousness and to popular satisfaction. He and his family are members of the Pres- byterian church.
LAIRD HAYES BOWERS
One of the most popular and widely known citizens of Millington, Mor- ris county, New Jersey, is Laird Hayes Bowers, at present postmaster of the town, as well as prominent in its business life. Tracing his career we note the persistent purpose with which he has attended to the duties that various posi- tions have entailed upon him, and find that his fidelity was rewarded from time to time by increased prosperity. At present he ranks among the important citizens of the county, and his success is indeed creditable, as it has been acquired through his persistent, honorable effort and splendid business ability.
John Bowers, a native of Germany, came to this country with his family in 1842 and settled in Warren township, Somerset county, New Jersey. He was a farmer all his life here, and had married in Germany, Julia
Rev. Nicholas Bowers, son of John and Julia Bowers, was born in Ger- many in 1830, and died in New Jersey, in April, 1908. He received his early education in his native land, and was twelve years of age when he came to this country with his parents. For some years he assisted his father in the cultivation of the homestead farm, then commenced his theological studies, and was later ordained a minister. For many years he was an exponent of the tenets of the Methodist denomination, and for the last ten years of his life represented the Presbyterian denomination, and had charge of the Sterling church. He married (first) Mary Ann Van Winkle, born in 1832, died about 1876, whose parents came to this country from Germany. He married (second) Catherine McMurtry, who is still living. Children: John, a resident of Somerset county, New Jersey ; Laird Hayes, whose name heads this sketch; Mary Ann, married Charles Faulkner, and lives in Pleasant Plains, New Jersey ; Henry N., of Newark; Isaiah, of Bernardsville; Sam- uel, deceased.
Laird Hayes Bowers, son of Rev. Nicholas and Mary Ann (Van Winkle) Bowers, was born in Millington, Morris county, New Jersey, August 14, 1857. He was educated in the public schools near his home and then turned his attention to farming, in which he was very successful. For a period of thirty years he obtained excellent results from a farm he owned in Som- erset county, New Jersey. During the past five years Mr. Bowers has been a resident of Millington, Morris county, where he engaged in the livery and real estate business. Since attaining his majority Mr. Bowers has con- sistently given his support to the Democratic party, and he served one term as assessor of Bernards township, Somerset county. He was appointed postmaster of Millington, January 12, 1914, and is managing this depart- ment to the satisfaction of all concerned. He has been a member of the Basking Ridge Presbyterian church for the past thirty-two years, and has
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been a liberal contributor to its support. He is the owner of a fine residence in Millington, and his fraternal connections are with: Ancient Order of United Workmen for eighteen years; Independent Order of Odd Fellows, eleven years. Mr. Bowers married, in 1881, Margaret E. Allen, daughter of John J. Allen, a carpenter and builder of Basking Ridge, who died in 1906 at the age of seventy-eight years; her mother was Sarah De Coster, who died in 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Bowers have had one child: Mary Edna, who was graduated from High School, and married Joseph J. Twohig, a native of Morris county ; they have one child, Laird Bowers Twohig. For the past eleven years he has held a position with the Hanover National Bank, and their place of residence is in East Orange, New Jersey.
DR. THEODORE W. BEBOUT
The Bebout family in this country, represented in Stirling, Morris county, New Jersey, by Dr. Theodore W. Bebout, is of French Huguenot origin, the first of the name having come to America from Holland, whither they had fled after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Some of their descendants remained in the east, while others wandered farther west, and are to be found scattered throughout the west and southwest at the present time.
Peter Bebout, grandfather of Dr. Bebout, was born on the Bebout home- stead farm at Myersville, Morris county, New Jersey, and there his entire life was passed. He married, and had children : Joel T., of further men- tion; Elizabeth, died unmarried; Mary, married McVoy, both now deceased. Joel T., son of Peter Bebout, was born on the Bebout home- stead in 1825, and died there about 1892. He was a farmer all his life. He married Lucy, born at Stony Hill, died on the Bebout homestead, a daughter of Martin Ruckman, and had children: Theodore W., whose name heads this sketch ; Elber, lives on the family homestead; Joel Herbert, lives in Chatham township; Edwin, of Myersville.
Dr. Theodore W. Bebout, son of Joel T. and Lucy ( Ruckman) Bebout, was born at Myersville, Passaic township, Morris county, New Jersey, January 23, 1874. From his earliest years he was of a studious disposition, and passed with credit through the public schools of his township, the Mill- ington Academy and the State Normal School at Trenton. He then ma- triculated at the Baltimore Medical College, Maryland, from which he was graduated in the class of 1897, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He at once engaged in the practice of his profession, locating for a time in Summit, New Jersey, and in Hunterdon county, in the same state. In Jan- uary, 1900, he removed to Sterling, Morris county, New Jersey, established himself in practice there, and now has a large and lucrative patronage. He has not alone gained the confidence of his numerous patients, but he has won the respect and admiration of his professional colleagues. He is a member of the Morris County Medical Society, New Jersey State Medical Society, Summit Medical Society, Morris County Mosquito Extermination Commis- sion, and is active in each of these. In political allegiance he is a Democrat, and his religious affiliation is with the Presbyterian church. Dr. Bebout married Mary E., a daughter of Clarkson B. and Mary (Elson) Moffett, of Stirling, and has had children : Helen Mary and Joel Theodore. In 1900 Dr. Bebout erected a house suited to his requirements, and he has resided in it since March, 1901.
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I. W. APGAR
I. W. Apgar, the genial proprietor of the Flanders Hotel, at Flanders, Morris county, New Jersey, has inherited in rich measure the sturdy traits which distinguished his ancestors. The name of Apgar was originally spelled Ebgert, then Ebcher, still later Ebgar, and finally assumed its present form about the time that John Adam Ebger came from the Swiss borders. of Lombardy, Italy, to Philadelphia in 1749. We cannot trace the descent of I. W. Apgar directly to this ancestor, as through various causes early records have been lost and destroyed, but there seems no reason to doubt that all the bearers of the name in America now, had their ancestors in Lombardy.
Benjamin Apgar, father of I. W. Apgar, was born in Morris county, in 1844, and has lived in Hunterdon county since 1872. There he owns and cultivates a farm of fifty acres. During the Civil War he volunteered his services in defence of the rights of his country, and was an active partici- pant at the battle of Gettysburg. He married Annie Sutton, who was born in 1850, and they have had children ; Mrs. L. Hull, of Rockaway; Mrs. Jennie Rally, of Gladstone; Mrs. Sadie Farley, of Hunterdon county ; George B., of Hunterdon county ; Grover Cleveland, of Hunterdon county ; Elizabeth, residing with her parents; I. W.
I. W. Apgar was born in Morris county, New Jersey, March 15, 1871. The following year his parents removed to Hunterdon county, and it was in the public schools of that county that he obtained his educational ad- vantages. As he grew older and stronger he assisted his father in the cult :- vation of the latter's orchard farm of 108 acres, and was engaged in farm- ing all his life until he purchased his present hotel, in 1913. This building was erected in 1801, and is in an excellent state of preservation. It contains seventeen rooms and is the oldest hotel in that section of the country. Mr. Apgar has made numerous improvements in the place since he became the owner, and it is considered a model for its size. The service is prompt and up-to-date, the appointments are of the best and the cuisine leaves nothing to be desired. Added to this is the personality of mine host himself, which is not one of the least attractions of the place. He is a Democrat in political matters, and a member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. Mr. Apgar married Myrtle, a daughter of James Lutz, of Hunterdon county, and they have had children : Lulu, who married Oliver Philhower, Hunterdon county ; Annie, who assists her mother in the management of the home; and Marion E., who is still at school.
JOHN E. D. NAUGHRIGHT
The Naughright family is one which has been of note since its advent in this country some generations ago, and the various members of the family have always borne their full share of the burdens which have fallen on the communities in which they have resided. Representing it in this generation is John E. D. Naughright, a farmer in the town of Naughright, which was named in honor of his family in Morris county, New Jersey.
John E. D. Naughright was born on the farm on which he is living at was born on the family homestead in Naughright, where he was a farmer. For some years he was engaged in business in the city of New York, subse- quently a teacher in local schools, and principal of the Dover schools. He was one of the best known men of Morris county, and died March 31, 1913. He married (first) Sarah K. Davis, and had children: John E. D. ; and two who died in infancy. He married (second) Clara I. Divine, of
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Elizabeth, New Jersey, who is still living. There were no children by this second marriage.
John E. D. Naughright, was born on the farm on which he is living at the present time, in November, 1882. Having completed his preparatory education in the public schools of the county, he was a student for a period of two years at the Wesleyan College, also a graduate of C. C. I. of Hackettstown. He then gave his attention to farming, being located after his marriage on a farm of eighty-five acres, which he has sold recently. After the death of his father he removed to the farm on which he is located at the present time, where he is engaged in general farming and dairy farm- ing. It consists of 180 acres, all of which is carefully looked after in the most systematic manner. In political affairs Mr. Naughright is a Democrat, and has served several years as a member of the board of election. He is postmaster of the town of Naughright, and has displayed considerable executive ability in the control of this office. His religious membership is with Union Chapei, of Naughright, and he is superintendent of the Sunday school. He married Marietta L. Read, of Flanders, and has one child : John E. D. Jr.
JOHN H. DIVINE
With qualifications such as insure success in any line of industry, John H. Divine, of Naughright, Morris county, New Jersey, to-day holds a place among the representative farmers of his township. He is of a broadminded and kindly nature, and his interest in those less fortunate than himself is deep and sincere. He enjoys the respect and confidence of his fellow men in a large degree. M. W. Divine, his father, was born on the ocean, and spent all his life in the United States. He was a lawyer of ability, and while he practiced in the city of New York, had his residence in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he died at the age of sixty-four years. He married Angelina Elizabeth Donne, and had eleven children.
John H. Divine was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1864, and re- ceived his education in the public schools and at the Newark Academy. One year was then spent in the reading of law in his father's office, but an out- door life had far greater attraction for the ambitious young man, and he went west, where he spent some time on a ranch. This glimpse of the outer world but whetted his appetite, and he travelled for a greater length of time, visiting almost all the civilized portions of the world. After his marriage he settled at Naughright, on the farm of 100 acres on which he is now liv- ing, and has since that time been engaged in its cultivation, an enterprise If1 which he has been very successful. Politically he is a Republican, and gives his earnest attention to all matters which concern the public welfare. Mr. Divine married Carrie B. Stephens, born in Succasunna, and they have one child: Elizabeth Caroline. About four years ago, all the buildings on the farm were destroyed by fire, and Mr. Divine has erected new ones, and made numerous improvements on the place.
JACOB KARN
In the early days of this Republic the eastern states were largely settled by an earnest, thoughtful, intelligent and able people, many of whom fled from religious persecution in their own lands to seek personal safety and freedom, and liberty to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. Many of their descendants have inherited their fine qualities, and while the form of the family name has changed in many cases, the char-
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acteristics have remained the same. Jacob Karn, of Naughright, Morris county, New Jersey, is a descendant of one of these sturdy emigrants. His father, David A. Karn, was born in Morris county, where he died at the age of fifty-six years. He was a farmer all his life. He married Ruth Castner, and had children: Philip and Jacob.
Jacob Karn was born in Morris county, New Jersey, in 1844, and until now his entire life has been spent there. Having acquired his education in the public schools of his native county, he entered upon the business career in which he has been active. At first he turned his attention to a variety of occupations, none of which appeared to be just what appealed to him, but he has now for many years been superintendent of the Naughright ceme- tery, and the care and faithfulness with which he discharges the duties of this often trying position is duly appreciated by the community. He has displayed excellent business ability, and now owns a house in the township. In political affairs he gives his support to the Democratic party, and he is now a member of the Democratic county committee. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Karn married Clarisa Rearick, who died in 1913, and they have had children: Asa, Ella and Louis.
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