USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Biographical and genealogical history of the city of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, V. 1 > Part 11
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EDWARD H. HOLMES,
acting cashier of the Bank of Montclair, of Montclair, Essex county, is an enterprising young business man who was born in the town which is still his home, in August, 1867. The ancestral history of the family from which he springs can be traced back to Captain John Holmes, a native of Eng- land, who emigrated to America in 1640, taking up his residence in the colony of Massachusetts. The grandfather of our subject, Samuel Judd Holmes, was a native of Connecticut, became a prominent busi- ness man and was a leading member of the Congregational church in Waterbury, Connecticut. The father, William B. Holmes, was born in the Nutmeg state in 1831, and having arrived at man's estate married Miss Mary H. Bull, who was born in New York city. Her father, Frederic Bull, was a native of Connecticut and for many years a prominent commission mer- chant of New York city. He married Mary H. Lanman, of Norwich, Connecti- cut, who was born in 1804, and who was a daughter of Peter and Abigail (Trumbull) Lanman. The latter was a daughter of David and Sarah (Backus) Trumbull, and a granddaughter of Jonathan Trumbull, who was governor of the state of Connec- ticut. He was a loyal American during the war of the Revolution and a warm per- sonal friend of General Washington, who frequently addressed him as "Brother Jon- athan." He married Faith Robinson, a great-granddaughter of the Rev. John Robinson, who was pastor among the Pil- grim band that settled Massachusetts.
William B. Holmes, the father of our subject, has for many years been a leading and influential citizen of Montclair, pro-
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moting its best interest by his liberal sup- port of all measures for the public good. He has taken an active part in securing the building of railroads to this point and in bringing a good class of citizens to the town, and has been the owner of a large amount of real estate here. For many years he has been a prominent member of the First Congregational church, has given largely of his means to its work and has thus aided materially in upholding the moral tone of the town.
Edward H. Holmes was reared in Mont- clair, attended the primary and grammar schools and later entered the high school, where his literary education was completed. On laying aside his text books, he went to New York city, where he entered upon his business career as a clerk in a photo- graphic-goods store, remaining there for four years. On the expiration of that pe- riod he accepted the position of teller on the opening of the Montclair Bank, June I, 1889, and has since continued his con- nection with the institution. After a time he was promoted to the position of paying teller, and on the Ist of July, 1897, was promoted to acting cashier in the same bank, to fill the vacancy caused by the res- ignation of Thomas W. Stephens. He is now holding that position, and his enter- prise, indefatigable labors and personal popularity have contributed not a little to the success of the institution.
In January, 1893, Mr. Holmes was united in marriage to Miss Frances Wood, of Montclair. Her grandfather was James Wood, of Concord, Massachusetts, whose wife bore the maiden name of Rispah Far- mer. Her parents are Daniel H. and Lydia (Hosmer) Wood. The latter, a na- tive of Concord, Massachusetts, was a
daughter of Cyrus and Lydia P. (Wheeler). Hosmer, of that place. Daniel H. Wood is a well known civil engineer and for many years was a resident of Montclair. Mrs. Holmes was born in Pennsylvania, but spent the greater part of her girlhood in Montclair. She became a student under the direction of Dr. Clarence Williard But- ler, of Montclair, and in October, 1889, en- tered the Medical College and Hospital for Women, of New York city, at which insti- tution she was graduated in April, 1892. Immediately afterward she began practice in Upper Montclair. She is a lady of cul- ture and refinement and like her husband has a host of warm friends in Montclair. Both Mr. and Dr. Holmes are members of the Christian Union Congregational church of Upper Montclair.
HENRY S. CHAPMAN.
The apprehension and subsequent devel- opment of the subjective potential must ever figure as the delineation of the maxi- mum of success and usefulness in any field of endeavor, and the failure to discover the line along which lie the greatest possibili- ties for development in any case, can not. but militate against the absolute accom- plishment of the subject. To the subject of this review has come the attainment of a distinguished position in connection with the great material industries of the nation, and his efforts have been so discerningly directed along well defined lines that he seems at any one point of the progress. which he has made through his own ef- forts, to have realized at that point the full measure of his possibilities for accomplish- ment. This is a truly successful life. A
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man of distinctive and forceful individual- ity, he has left, and is leaving, his impress upon the industrial world, while there has been no shadow of wrong or injustice to mar his pronounced success. As presi- dent of the Arlington Manufacturing Com- pany, the Metallic Cap Manufacturing Company, and treasurer of the Climax Fuse Company, he has his business head- quarters in the national metropolis, while he maintains his residence in that beautiful section of Essex county, New Jersey, 'which bears the picturesque title of Glen Ridge. As a man of wealth and influence, and standing distinctly as the artificer of his own fortunes, there is in a review of his career much of interest and incentive, and such a synopsis is altogether germane in this compilation.
A native son of the old Bay state, Henry S. Chapman was born in Huntington, Massachusetts, on the 22d of December, 1837, being the son of Hiram and Fanny (Stanton) Chapman. His mother was a daughter of Joseph Stanton, who was born in Massachusetts, as was she herself, being in direct line of descent from Thomas Stan- ton, who came to America in the year 1634, locating in Virginia, and aiding in establishing the greatest republic the world has ever known. Jedediah Chapman, the grandfather of our subject in the agnatic line, was of English extraction and was born in New England, so that on either side the ancestry has been long identified with the annals of American history. Henry S. Chapman passed the first fifteen years of his life, and within this interval was accorded the advantages of a good aca- demic educational discipline. When but a lad of fifteen years he faced the responsibil- ities of life for himself, proceeding to
Dutchess county, New York, where he se- cured employment in a drug store. He gave careful and discriminating attention to all details of the business and eventually became thoroughly familiar with the same and competent to manage an enterprise of the order. He eventually associated him- self with another gentleman in the pur- chase of the establishment in which he had been employed, and in time they built up an extensive business, both wholesale and retail.
After several years had elapsed Mr. Chapman disposed of his interests in the enterprise and became identified with the iron-mining industry in Dutchess county, associating himself with others and suc- cessfully carrying on operations for a num- ber of years. He then came to New York city, where he organized the Arlington Metallic Cap Manufacturing Company, of which he is president; while he also organ- ized the two other companies previously mentioned, being treasurer of each. The headquarters of the three concerns are in New York, and the business transacted an- nually by each is of wide scope and impor- tance, all having distinctly felt the guid- ing hand of Mr. Chapman, whose keen dis- crimination and mature judgment have to a large extent brought about the success- ful expansion of the three great enter- prises. The transition from the young lad, practically without influence or ad- vantageous circumstance, to the man con- trolling affairs of great commercial im- portance, must bear its lesson at every point.
Mr. Chapman has from time made ju- dicious investments in real estate, being at the present time the owner of valuable property at Arlington, New Jersey, and
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also in Essex county. His own beautiful residence, "Sunny Crest," at Glen Ridge, Essex county, was formerly the home of A. G. Darwin, and is located in a most pic- turesque site near the summit of the ridge. The grounds are beautifully laid out with regard to the most approved ideas of land- ยท scape gardening, and about the place are some seventy native forest trees. A mag- nificent view of the surrounding country is commanded, and the attractions of the place as a home are almost idyllic in char- acter,-it is one of the many beautiful homes for which Essex county is so cele- brated. It is worthy of note that the for- mer owner at one time refused ninety thousand dollars for the property, and af- ter his death it was purchased by Mr. Chapman, who has modernized and still further enhanced its attractions, so that its value has been appreciated and its beauties and accommodations increased."
In his political affiliations Mr. Chapman has ever been stanchly arrayed in the sup- port of the Republican party and its prin- ciples, but the demands of his private in- terests have precluded him from accepting public preferment, even had he ever had a desire for same. The only office of which he has ever been the incumbent was that as a member of the court of appeals, to regu- late assessment and taxes in the borough of Glen Ridge. He maintains a lively inter- est in all that concerns the borough, and is public-spirited in his attitude at all times.
In March, 1873, Mr. Chapman was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Brew- ster, who was a direct descendant of one of the name who was among the Puritans of the Mayflower. Mrs. Chapman died in 1883, leaving one son, Charles Brewster Chapman. In September, 1887, Mr.
Chapman consummated a second mar- riage, being then united to Emily M. Payne.
GEORGE W. SMITH.
In any compilation touching upon the life histories of those who have lived with- in the borders of Essex county and have made their lives count for good, there is signal propriety in according a memoir to the late George W. Smith, who was for many years a prominent merchant in New York city and who maintained his resi- dence in Glen Ridge. Upon his record in the business world and as a man among men there has never been the shadow of wrong or the suspicion of evil, and attain- ing success through his own efforts, it was worthily achieved, and he was never un- mindful of the obligations which success imposes nor of the higher values of life. Beginning life's duties for himself at an early age, by securing a modest clerkship, he advanced consecutively and steadily un- til he left the ranks of the many and stood among the successful few. Throughout his entire business career the subject of this memoir was looked upon as a model of in- tegrity and honor, never making an en- gagement or promise whose provisions he did not fulfill, and standing as an exempli- fication of what may be accomplished by determination and resolute force in a man of intrinsic ability and strength of charac- ter,-a character dominated by the highest principles. He was respected by'the com- munity at large and was honored by his as- sociates in commercial circles.
George W. Smith was born in New York city in the year 1821, being the son of James and Eliza (Sells) Smith, the for-
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mer of whom died when our subject was but three years of age, and he was then taken to Jamaica, Long Island, where his boyhood days were passed. As a youth he secured employment in the store of Joseph W. Greene, in New York city, and after a few years had elapsed he was admitted to a partnership in the business, under the firm name of Greene & Smith. They engaged in the manufacture of jewelry on a large scale, their manufactory being located at Providence, Rhode Island. The plant was built upon a substantial plan and a large force of competent operatives was employed. The office of the firm was lo- cated in New York, and from this point the sales were conducted, their trade terri- tory extending throughout many of the surrounding states and eventually reach- ing extensive proportions.
In 1870 Mr. Smith purchased a fine country-seat in Bloomfield, now Glen Ridge, Essex county, New Jersey, and for a number of years passed his summers here with his family. Finding that his health was greatly improved by his sojourns in the country, he at length moved his family permanently to the suburban home. He was a man of domestic tastes, and all of his interests centered in his home and fam- ily. The spacious grounds about the beau- tiful residence, on Ridgewood avenue, were beautified and adorned under his per- sonal supervision, and with a thorough ap- preciation of the most artistic effects in landscape gardening.
On the 24th of April, 1845, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Jane E. Brush, the third daughter of Conklin and Rosanna (Hoyt) Brush. She was born in New York city, but early in life accompa- nied her parents upon their removal to
Brooklyn. Her father was a retired mer- chant of New York. In 1851-2 he served as mayor of Brooklyn, and during his ad- ministration succeeded in introducing many needed reforms and in securing the establishment of Washington Park. He was also instrumental in securing to Brooklyn the control of the South Ferry, which New York made insistent efforts to obtain. He was fearless and enthusiastic in whatever he undertook and was always loyal to the interests of the people, as op- posed to corporate or selfish interests. He was an old-line Whig of pronounced views, and throughout his active life labored zeal- ously for law and order and all that con- served peace and prosperity.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith became the parents of four children .- Wessell S., who died in 1895; Warren G., who is engaged in the jewelry trade at 170 Broadway, New York, the place so long occupied by his father; Mary A., wife of Theo M. Nevius, of Glen Ridge; and Julia E., wife of Louis E. Bliss, of Glen Ridge.
After a long and honorable career, in which he won the unqualified regard of all who knew him, Mr. Smith pased away in February, 1881. Mrs. Smith still occupies the homestead, on Ridgewood avenue, Glen Ridge.
JOSEPH W. TAYLOR.
The name borne by the subject of this memoir is one which has been long and dis- tinctively identified with the annals of the great state of New Jersey, and there is man- ifest propriety in according a review of one of the sterling representatives of the line, -Joseph W. Taylor, who, during a long and useful life, did not fail to impress him-
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self upon the material prosperity and higher conditions which have conserved the ad- vancement of Essex county, where he re- sided from childhood until the hour of his demise.
It is predicated beyond reasonable doubt that the original progenitor of the Taylor family in this particular line of American descent was Nathaniel Taylor, whose an- cestors came from England and emigrated from the mother country at a very early day, taking up their residence in New Jer- sey. Here Nathaniel Taylor followed the vocation of a tanner, proving true to all the duties of citizenship and attaining a due measure of success in the temporal affairs of life. He established what is now known as the old Redmund place, in this county, and there Moses Taylor, the father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was born, in the year 1767, and there lived until he had attained man's estate. He eventually became prominently concerned in farming and shoemaking. He took unto himself a wife, in the person of Mary Brown, who was born on the 13th of November, 1767, and they became the parents of seven chil- dren. Mr. Taylor built the house in which his grandson now resides, and the tract of land which he improved in the early days is now comprised within the limits of South Orange, having naturally greatly appreciat- ed in value as the march of development and improvement has steadily advanced. He was a man of sound judgment, of in- flexible integrity and was known as one of the representative citizens of the commun- ity. In politics he was a stanch Whig of the old line, and he was called upon to serve at various times in different offices of local trust and responsibility. In religion he clung to the faith of the Presbyterian
church, and was for many years a trustee in the local body of that denomination. Mr. Taylor died on the 6th of December, 1853, having survived his wife by about two years, she having entered into eternal rest on the 29th of September, 1851.
Joseph W. Taylor, in whose honor this memoir is more particularly granted, was the fifth child in order of birth, the date of his nativity having been February 16, 1817. He was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and was accorded such educational opportunities as were afforded by the dis- trict schools. He remained at the parental home until the time of his marriage, which was celebrated on the 4th of September, 1838, when he was united to Miss Catherine Pebbles, a native of Blanford, Massachu- setts, and a daughter of Rufus Pebbles, who was born in Massachusetts. His ancestors emigrated to America in an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor located on the old home- stead, where they continued farming pur- suits and there reared their two children, . Edgar M. and Alice A., the latter of whom died at the age of forty-seven years.
In his political allegiance, Mr. Taylor was originally an old-line Whig, then the Amer- ican party, but upon the organization of that stronger candidate for popular favor and support, the Republican party, he promptly transferred his adherency to the same and ever afterward advocated its prin- ciples and policies. In the gift of his party he held several official preferments, having been a member of the board of trustees at the time the village of South Orange was organized. His was a vigorous mentality, an unwavering conscientiousness and a signal fidelity in all the relations of life. He was zealous member of the Presbyterian a church, his tenure of office as one of the
.
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trustees of his church extending until the hour when death released for him the sil- ver cord of life. He died on the 5th of Octo- ber, 1878, honored and revered by a com- munity in which he had lived and labored to so goodly ends. His venerable widow, now eighty-four years of age (December, 1897), survives him, sustained by exception- al mental and physical vigor and secure in the filial devotion of their only child. She is a devoted member of the Presbyterian church, in which she was for many years a zealous and active worker.
Edgar M. Taylor, the only son of Joseph W. and Catherine Taylor, was reared on the old homestead, hallowed by the associations of years, receiving his preliminary educa- tion in the public schools and effectively supplementing the same by courses of study at Mr. Chapman's private school and later at Fergusonville Academy, Delaware coun- ty, New York. He has been most intimate- ly identified with the industrial affairs of his locality, having not only continued opera- tions in farming,-a pursuit doubly honored by ancestral association,-but has been consecutively concerned for many years in mercantile pursuits and has been active in real-estate operations, in which line he has contributed materially to the upbuild- ing and advancement of the community. Mr. Taylor was one of the organizers of the Second National Bank of Orange and was a member of its original directorate.
At the time when the integrity of the nation was menaced by armed rebellion, Mr. Taylor tendered his services, enlisting as a member of the Twenty-sixth New Jer- sey Infantry and proving by his service his loyalty to the cause of the republic. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and his prestige in party ranks has been signally
evidenced, since, in 1891, he was elected to the lower house of the state legislature, in which capacity he labored zealously and effectively for the best interests of his con- stituents and the people of the state, regard- less of political affiliations. He was for three years a member, from South Orange, of the board of freeholders of Essex coun- ty. For the past decade he has been a member of the South Orange board of trustees. In fraternal adherency Mr. Tay- lor is a member of the Masonic order, hav- ing passed the three degrees of ancient- craft Masonry, in Century Lodge, No. 100. He is known and honored .as a worthy scion of one of the old and distinguished families of this section of the state, and his popularity in business and social circles is unmistakable.
WILLIAM H. WHITE,
a physician and surgeon of Bloomfield, is well established in his profession and takes rank with the leading practitioners of this part of the state. He was born in the vil- lage of Seneca, in Ontario county, New York, June II, 1837, and is a son of Rev. John and Eliza White. His father was a native of Scotland and a minister of the Presbyterian church, devoting the greater part of his life to that calling.
The Doctor was principally reared in Pennsylvania and acquired his education in the public schools. His professional train- ing was begun under the direction of Dr. Ohl, of Carbon county, Pennsylvania, and was continued in the Pennsylvania Medical College, in which institution he was grad- uated with the class of 1860. Thus fitted by thorough preparation for his chosen life- work he entered upon active practice, and
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has won an enviable success in his under- takings. In 1861 he offered his services to the government and was appointed as- sistant surgeon of the Seventy-ninth Penn- sylvania Volunteer Infantry, in which ca- pacity he served until 1864, when he was promoted to the rank of surgeon of the same regiment and continued to faithfully discharge the duties of that position until the close of the war, alleviating the suffer- ing of the sick and wounded and bringing comfort to many of the boys in blue.
In March, 1866, the Doctor came to Bloomfield, where he has since made his home. He carries on a general practice here and has a very liberal patronage, which attests his superior understanding of the principles of medicine and his success in applying them to the needs of suffering humanity. The Doctor is a member of the Essex County Medical Society and the Orange Mountain Medical Society, and is also visiting physician to the Mountain- side Hospital. He has a fine library and owns an elegant residence in one of the best sections of Bloomfield.
THE PARKER FAMILY.
The Parker family of New Jersey has figured prominently in the public life of that state for many generations. Elisha Parker, of Barnstable, Massachusetts, was one of the colony of Puritans who settled in Woodbridge, New Jersey, about 1666. The records of 1675 exhibit him as the proprietor of a large tract of land in Wood- bridge, while his previous social position in Massachusetts is illustrated by his mar- riage to the sister of Governor Hinckley of that colony. While Elisha Parker was
active in the early affairs of Woodbridge, his son, Elisha (second), was still more prominent. He was in 1694 high sheriff of Middlesex county; later he was deputy to the provincial assembly; in 1712 he be- came a member of Governor Hunter's council, and was appointed one of three custodians of the seal, thus inaugurating the New Jersey court of chancery.
John Parker, his son, next in the line, also became a member of the governor's council, in 1718, and continued in this honorable office until his death in 1732, serving under Governors Hunter, Burnet, Montgomerie, and Cosby. James Parker, son of the above, was no less distinguished. He served as captain in the French and Indian war of 1746; held the office of sur- veyor-general and register of the board of proprietors of East Jersey, and, like his father and grandfather, became a member of the council, under Governor Franklin, in 1764,-a dignity which he held until the Revolution changed the form of govern- ment. During that war he removed from Perth Amboy, then the capital of East Jer- sey, to Hunterdon county, for the safety of his family, but at its close returned to his old home. In 1775 he was elected a member of the provincial congress. He was also a candidate for membership of the first congress of the United States, and in 1783 was elected mayor of Perth Am- boy. He was both a leading member of the convention which organized the Prot- estant Episcopal church of the United States and largely instrumental in the com- pilation of its prayer book. While an ex- tensive land-owner, by purchase from the "proprietors" in all the counties composing East Jersey, Mr. Parker was also a pros-
James Ranke
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