USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Biographical and genealogical history of the city of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, V. 1 > Part 49
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to serve from May, 1892, to May, 1894, and is also one of the managers of the New York Produce Exchange Building & Loan Association.
Mr. Burgess is a man of excellent busi- ness and executive ability and is a leader in the grain trade in this part of the state. His honorable business methods, his enter- prise and his industry have brought to him rich success, which he well merits. A com- munity depends upon commercial activity; its welfare is due to this, and the promoters of legitimate and extensive business enter- prises may well be termed its benefactors. For more than twenty years Mr. Burgess has been prominently connected with the business affairs of Montclair, and during that time he has seen the place grow from a small suburban village to a city of nearly twelve thousand inhabitants. As a public- spirited citizen he has done his share to- ward promoting public improvement and physical and educational development. He was one of the founders of the McVickar Military Institute, which has already at- tained high rank as a private educational institution for boys, fitting them for the practical duties of life, as well as preparing them for college. Mr. Burgess assisted in organizing the Montclair Bank, which has done so much for the business interests of the township, and is still one of its direct- ors. With the social organization of the town he is also connected, being one of the founders of the Montclair Club and the Montclair Athletic Club and a member of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, by virtue of his descent front John Wands. He is also a trustee of St. Luke's church.
Mr. Burgess was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth M. Atkins, daughter of
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Charles H. Atkins, of Jersey City, and a descendant of a family of great antiquity and prominence in England and Ireland. Burke, in his "Landed Gentry," says: "Sir Jonathan Atkins, knight of Givendale, county York, governor of Guernsey, born in 1603, died at the age of ninety-three years, leaving by his first wife, Mary 2d, daughter of Sir William Howard, of Havoerth Cas- tle, Cumberland, and sister of Sir Charles Howard, Ist Earl of Carlisle, three sons. One of these settled in Ireland about 1640 and founded that branch of the family. The other remained in England." Mr. and Mrs. Burgess became the parents of three children, Charles E., Edward G., Jr., and Herbert R. The first home of the family in Montclair was in Chestnut street, where they resided for about ten years. In 1883 Mr. Burgess purchased the property on the mountain slope fronting Mountain avenue, near Gates avenue. On this he erected a large and substantial brick villa of the Eng- lish Gothic style of architecture. Its broad verandas and spacious rooms give to it an oriental appearance and an air of comfort and restfulness, while its picturesque sur- roundings, with its beautiful shade trees, spacious lawn and magnificent view, all combine to make it a model home and de- lightful retreat.
CLARENCE A. GOLDSMITH.
Success is effect, and in ascertaining the cause which has led to success in many instances we find that there is behind it but one principal element, that of industry,- indefatigable, honorable and well directed industry. This never fails of accomplish- ment, and the effect follows the cause with the invariableness with which water seeks
its level. It has been through the inde- fatigable industry of Mr. Goldsmith that Orange has gained one of its leading in- dustries in the Ampere Brass Foundry, an enterprise which contributes not alone to the prosperity of the proprietor but also promotes the general welfare by advancing commercial activity and furnishing employ- ment to many men. Mr. Goldsmith has worked his way steadily upward to a lead- ing place in business circles, and his course has been so fair and honorable that in his success he is above envy.
A native of Southold, Suffolk county, Long Island, Mr. Goldsmith was born on the 7th of February, 1859, and is a son of Joseph Addison and Caroline (Moore) Goldsmith. His father is a descendant of an old English family to which Oliver Goldsmith, the renowned poet, also be- longed. The grandfather, Joseph Hull Goldsmith, married Maria Case and had two daughters and one son, including the father of our subject, who was born in Suffolk county, Long Island. His early education, acquired in the district schools, was supplemented by study in an academy. In 1849 he went to California, where he en- gaged in prospecting, but, not meeting with the success he anticipated, after several years spent on the Pacific slope he returned to his native county, where he followed various occupations. He married Caro- line Moore and they became the parents of seven children, three of whom died in early childhood. The surviving members of the family are: Josephine, wife of A. Conklin, of Brooklyn, New York: Addison Moore, who married Minnie Canning and resides in Brooklyn; Carrie V., wife of Charles Thatcher, of New Haven, Connecticut : and Clarence A.
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The last named, prominently identified with the business interests of Orange, is the one in whom the readers of this volume are most interested, for he has become an integral part in the industrial life of his adopted city. In the district school he obtained his preliminary education, and afterward pursued his studies in Southold Academy, in Suffolk county. He laid aside his text-books to take up life's practical duties as an active factor in business circles, and was variously employed until nineteen years of age, when he engaged in brass-molding and foundry work : he has since followed that pursuit. He acquired a thorough and practical knowledge of the business in all its branches and became so proficient that his services were sought by some of the large houses needing labor of that kind, and his advancement has been steady and rapid. In 1890 he made a con- tract to furnish the Crocker-Wheeler Elec- tric Company, at Ampere, East Orange, with the brass moldings for their extensive works. The demands made by this com- pany have been heavier and heavier until, for greater convenience in supplying the demand, Mr. Goldsmith removed his plant to Ampere station, East Orange, in 1897, erecting there the Ampere Brass Foundry, located on the Crocker-Wheeler Electric Company's grounds, where he is now ex- tensively engaged in the manufacture of the brass molding used by that company.
On the 21st of October, 1884, Mr. Gold- smith was united in marriage to Miss Emily, daughter of General William and Maria (Wilcox) DeLacy, of English an- cestry. Three children grace this union : Arthur DeLacy, William DeLacy and Clarence Earl. The family attend St. George Episcopal church, of which Mrs.
Goldsmith is a member. Mr. Goldsmith is an enterprising and progressive young man, respected by all who know him, and is a valued member of Burnside Council, No. 625, Royal Arcanum.
JOSHUA COLLINSON,
of East Orange, patentee and owner of the Collinson iron fence, was born in the city of London, England, July 20, 1849, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Dumper) Collinson, who in 1850 came to America with their family. The father hoped here to improve his business opportunities and find a broader and more profitable field for his labor. Having landed at New York with his family he came to West Orange, where he made his home for eight years, after which he returned to England, spend- ing there his remaining days. He died in 1887, at the age of ninety-two years, and his wife died in Orange in 1858, her re- mains being interred in the old Methodist Episcopal cemetery at the corner of Main and Scotland streets. The parents were both consistent Christian people, greatly respected by their friends and neighbors. Their children were: Mary, wife of Ste- phen W. Herdman, of Orange, by whom she has three children; Susan, wife of Isaac N. Travis, of Orange, and the mother of four children; and Joshua.
The subject of this sketch acquired his education in the district schools, but his privileges in that direction were meager. His mother died when he was only nine years of age, and he became the ward of Michael Mohor, of Orange, under whose direction he learned the saddler's and har- ness-making trade. After completing a regular term of apprenticeship and attain-
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ing his majority, on account of ill health, he took charge of the grounds of Daniel Heald, in Llewellyn Park, where he re- mained for five years.
In 1875 Mr. Collinson came to East Or- ange and embarked in the green-grocery business, in which he met with varying success. He continued operations along that and other lines until 1880, when he became identified with the National Iron Fence Company, of New York, acting as its representative in Essex county. Here again his industry and indefatigable energy brought to him prosperity, and in 1893 he purchased the patent rights and stock of the company, and adding some improved patented features of his own invention he has since engaged in the manufacture of the Collinson iron fence, which he sells throughout Essex and adjoining counties. This fence meets a long felt want in that line and its sale is steadily and rapidly in- creasing. The enterprise has long been established on a paying basis and is now bringing to the proprietor good returns.
Mr. Collinson was married on the 30th of July, 1870, to Miss Helena Lutz, a daugh- ter of Joseph and Mary Lutz, and by their union have been born four children, namely: Cornelia, wife of William Wag- ner, of West Orange, by whom she has two children, Helen G. and Joshua; Daniel H., who married Agnes Jenkins; Mary Helena, wife of George W. Lang, of East Orange, by whom she has one child, Marie; and William, who completes the family.
Mr. and Mrs. Collinson hold their relig ious membership in the Methodist Episco- pal church. In his political faith he is a Republican, but has never been an aspirant for political honors. He is an active mem- ber of Live Oak Lodge, No. 186, I. O. O.
F., of Orange, and Council No. 16 of the Chosen Friends, of East Orange.
Though the term "self-made" has be- come somewhat hackneyed through fre- quent use,-and often in a wrong sense, -- it applies most truly to Mr. Collinson, for all that he is and all that he has results from his own efforts. He had few advan- tages in youth, but he made the most of his opportunities and was constantly on the alert to improve himself and his finan- cial condition: His industry has sur- mounted many difficulties and by his unfal- tering resolution and honorable purpose he has steadily worked his way upward to a place among the substantial citizens of the community.
CHESTER C. HOWE,
of East Orange, was born in Palmyra, Wayne county, New York, and is a son of Harris DeWitt and Sarah Ann (Clark) Howe, the former a son of Joshua Howe, of Vermont. The father of our subject was an enterprising and successful business man of Palmyra, a member of the firm of Root & Howe, but during the last twenty- eight years of his life he was an invalid, and died in Shortsville, Ontario, in January, 1891. In his family were four children : Glenna A., wife of Frank H. DeLaney, of Geneva. New York, by whom she has six children; Harry Clark, who married Frances Van Valen, of Brooklyn, New York, and died in 1889: Chester C .; and Luther Joshua, of Shortsville, Ontario county, New York, who is married and has one son, Harry.
Chester C. Howe acquired his early edu- cation in the district schools of Wayne county, New York, and supplemented his
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preliminary training by a thorough course in the Walworth Academy in the same county. On laying aside his text-books to enter upon his business career, he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, which he followed in the county of his nativity until 1879, when, desiring a broader field of labor than was furnished on the farm, he went to New York city, where he secured a situation as cashier in one of the large restaurants. Failing health at length obliged him to return to the country, but after a time he again went to New York, where he obtained a position as clerk in the law office of Gray & Davenport. At the same time he devoted his evenings to ser- vice for the New York Bar Association. In 1890 he began learning the business of watch-case engraving with Courvoisier & Wilcox, watch-case manufacturers of Brooklyn, and in 1890 came with that firm to Newark on the removal of their plant to this place.
By industry and economy Mr. Howe at length acquired the capital which enabled him to embark in business on his own ac- count, and forming a partnership with Harvey Mott, he engaged in the livery business under the firm name of Howe & Mott. They purchased the stable of Noah M. Culberson on the 24th of April, 1891, and on the 8th of November, 1893, Mr. Howe bought out his partner's interest and has since been sole proprietor. He has made extensive improvements in the build- ings and barns and now has a capacity for forty head of horses and seventy-five ve- hicles. He is widely and popularly known and has a very extensive patronage, con- ducting his business interests with profit. Cause and effect in the success of Mr. Howe are easily determined. The former
is found in his indefatigable industry, his progressive methods and his honorable dealing, and as a result he has won pros- perity.
On the 12th of September, 1883, Mr. Howe was united in marriage to Miss Flor- ence Estella Lay, a daughter of Henry C. and Mina (Cole) Lay, of Marion, New York. Their union has been blessed with four children, one of whom, Harry Clinton, died in early life. The surviving members of the family are Charlie Chester, Carleton Henry and Harold DeWitt, the last named born July 28, 1897. The parents attend the Congregational church of East Or- ange, and Mr. Howe is a member of var- ious social and fraternal organizations. He belongs to Longfellow Council, No. 675. Royal Arcanum, of East Orange; Grand Union Lodge, K. of P., of Brook- lyn, New York, of which he is a charter member, and recently he became a member of Charity Lodge of the same order at East Orange. He is also one of the governors of the Lincoln Social Club, of East Orange, and is a member of the Essex Livery and Protective Association. In politics he is a Republican.
JACOB WILSON APGAR,
of East Orange, was born in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, September 16, 1838, and is a son of Paul and Eleanor Elizabeth (Bunn) Apgar. The ancestry of the fam- ily can be traced back to one of two brothers who came from Hungary, Ger- many, to America during the latter part of the seventeenth century and took up their residence in what is now Hunterdon county. One located near Fox Hill, the other near Little York, in the vicinity of
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the Delaware river. The latter had several sons, and it is to this branch of the family that our subject belongs. His grandfather, Frederick Apgar, married a Miss Filhauer, and they had four sons and five daughters; Frederick, John, Paul, William, Catharine, Sarah, Elizabeth and two whose names could not be secured.
Paul Apgar, the father of our subject, was born in Hunterdon county, near Little York, where he was reared to manhood and acquired his education in the common schools. In his early youth he assisted in the labors of his father's farm and through- out his life carried on agricultural pur- suits. He was true to the duties of church and state, faithful to family and friends, and both he and his wife were consistent mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. He was born in 1796 and passed away in 1874, while the mother of our subject died in 1882, at the age of seventy-eight years. Paul Apgar was twice married. He first wedded a Miss Sutphin, and they became the parents of four children: Levi, who is married and resides in Warren county, New Jersey: Ligveria, wife of John W. Queen, of Mount Pleasant, Hunterdon county; Louis, who married a Miss Sut- phin and removed to Virginia, where he died; and William, who married Jane Al- paugh and resides in Somerset county, New Jersey. The mother of this family died and Mr. Apgar afterward married Eleanor Elizabeth Bunn, by whom he had ten children: Henry, who married Jane Van Clier, and resides in Philadelphia; John, who married Sarah Smith and resides in Middlesex county, New Jersey; Ja- cob Wilson; Mary Ellen, wife of John Statts, of Morris county, New Jersey; Paul, who resides on the
old homestead in Hunterdon county; George, who married Jane Vander- bilt and is living in Hunterdon county; Margaret E., who lives with her brother Paul; Absalom, who married Mattie Ham- lin and is living in Hunterdon county; Ma- tilda, wife of Abraham Cowell, of the same county ; and Alpheus Runyon, who married Mattie Bellus, and died in 1893.
Jacob W. Apgar conned his lessons in a district school in his native county and as- sisted on his father's farm until he had attained his majority. In 1862 he re- sponded to the call of his country and as a loyal defender of the Union he went to the front with Company F, Thirtieth New Jersey Infantry. After serving nine months he was honorably discharged and returned home, at which time he resumed the labors of the farm, which he continued until 1869. In that year he removed to Plainfield, New Jersey, and engaged in contracting with good success up to the present time. In 1886 he associated him- self with Joseph C. Peck, under the firm name of Peck & Apgar, and embarked in general contracting work. In 1887 Mr. Apgar came to East Orange, where he has continued the same business, and his pru- dent management, keen foresight and un- flagging industry have won him a merited degree of success. In 1890 he removed to his present residence and has made many improvements to facilitate his business and beautify his home.
Mr. Apgar was married October 12, 1864, to Miss Abigail Wyckoff, a daughter of Amos and Rachel (Randolph) Wyckoff. They have an interesting family of five children : Ella Estella; Paul Newton, who married Flora Donaldson and has one child. Mildred; Rachel Louisa, wife of
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George A. Ougheltree, by whom she has one child, Edna May; Robert Randolph, and Cornelius Van Horn. The parents are members of the First Baptist church, of East Orange.
CHARLES R. BISHOP.
The history of a state as well as that of a nation is chiefly the chronicle of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dignity upon society. The world judges the character of a community by that of its representative citizens, and yields its tributes of admiration and re- spect for the genius, learning or virtues of those whose works and actions constitute the record of a state's prosperity and pride; and it is in their character, as exemplified in probity and benevolence, kindly virtues and integrity in the affairs of life, that there are ever afforded examples worthy of emula- tion and lessons valuable in their incentive. He whose name forms the caption of this article holds distinctive prestige as one of the honored citizens of Essex county, and he has been an important factor in pro- moting its interests,-material, moral, ed- ucational and æsthetic.
Mr. Bishop is now living in his native city of Glen Ridge, which, however, at the time of his birth was known as East Bloomfield. He was born on the 19th of January, 1835, being the son of James and Elizabeth (Sims) Bishop, both of whom were natives of England, the father having been born in Birmingham and the mother in Reading, near the city of London. Both came to America in the year 1832, and soon after their arrival they were married. After residing for brief intervals in Brooklyn and New York city they re-
moved to East Bloomfield, New Jersey, where he engaged in the business of die sinking, which enterprise he soon aban- doned, and established the Bishop Steel Works in the city of Newark, about the year 1848, the products of the establish- ment including steel specialties for pocket- books, portmonnies, and leather ornaments and steel clasps of all kinds. He con- structed a large and perfectly equipped plant, which was operated by steam power and afforded employment to about two hundred workmen. His business steadily increased in proportions until its ramifica- tions were very extensive, yielding him a fortune. He possessed the energy, perse- verance, discretion and sound judgment which are the essential attributes of the suc- cessful business man, and in all the rela- tions of life he was dominated by the highest principles of integrity and honor. He continued in active business until with- in a short time of his death, which occurred in 1872, at which time he had attained the age of sixty-six years. He left a large es- tate, representing the results of his own efforts, and besides this he left that price- less heritage, a good name,-one never tarnished by injustice or marred by sus- picion of evil. The mother of our sub- ject lived to attain the age of seventy-seven years.
Charles R. Bishop, the immediate sub- ject of this review, acquired his educational discipline in the schools of Bloomfield and Newark, and at the age of sixteen years he came into touch with the practical duties and activities of life, becoming his father's assistant and able coadjutor in business. A branch office having been established in New York city, he assumed the manage- ment of the same, as salesman and buyer in
Ch ARB is hop
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the metropolis, ably conducting operations there for about ten years, after which he returned to Newark to assist in the work at the headquarters of the enterprise, gradu- ally relieving his father more and more of the active management of the business. After the death of his father the estate was settled up by Hon. Amzi Dodd, and the manufacturing plant was sold. Mr. Bishop continued to reside in Newark until 1892, when he removed to his present home, on the Douglas Road, in Glen Ridge, which was then known as East Bloomfield.
In the year 1856 was celebrated the mar- riage of Mr. Bishop and Miss Eliza C. Gar- side, of Newark, the wedding ceremony being performed by Bishop Doane, of the Protestant Episcopal church. Mrs. Bish- op is the youngest and surviving daugh- ter of John and Catharine S. (Connell) Garside, and she was born and reared in the city of Newark. She received her pre- liminary educational discipline in her na- tive city, where she prepared for college, after which she became a student in St. Mary's Hall, an Episcopal school for young ladies, at Burlington, New Jersey. The in- stitution was at that time presided over by Bishop Germaine and has stood as one of the leading church schools of this section of the Union. Mrs. Bishop is a woman of distinctive culture and refinement, and the graces of education, as combined with a gracious charm of manner, make her a most delightful hostess and companion. Her father was a native of England and was a manufacturer of steel and copper plates for bank notes. He made many of the plates and dies from which were printed the government bank notes. He did much fine work of that character and exhibited a number of his best plates and
specimens at the Paris exposition, having been appointed by the president to repre- sent the United States in that department of engraving at the exposition. He was also a manufacturer of fine cutlery, and was presented with a solid gold medal by King Victor, grand duke of Tuscany. He was born in England in 1804, emigrated to America in 1832, and his death occurred in Newark in 1862.
Mr. and Mrs. Bishop have crossed the Atlantic and made an extended trip through Great Britain and the principal countries of the continent. They have also passed five winters in the West Indies and Bahama Islands, and they have a fine collection of rare shells and curios accumu- lated by them on their visits to foreign lands. Their palatial home, erected in 1892, is one of the finest in Glen Ridge. Its architectural beauty is enhanced by the ar- tistic grounds surrounding the house, the same having been laid out according to the most approved plans of landscape garden- ing, nature and art thus vying with each other in conserving the beauties of this at- tractive home. The interior furnishings are all that comfort and refined taste could suggest and wealth procure. The home commands a fine view of the mountains and surrounding country, but though everything has been done to add to the ma- terial charms, the chief attraction of this beautiful home is the gracious hospitality which reigns supreme, the happy freedom which places a guest at his ease and makes an acquaintance feel the welcome of friend- ship and sympathy.
In personal appearance Mr. Bishop is a man of fine physique, standing six feet and one inch in height and weighing two hun- dlred and twenty pounds. Essex county
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numbers him in the front rank of her val- ued and honored representatives, a place which he has worthily won.
WILLIAM HENRY SAYRE,
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