USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Biographical and genealogical history of the city of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, V. 1 > Part 51
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He was a genial and entertaining com- panion, a warm and reliable friend, and withal a Christian gentleman, conscientious in the discharge of every duty, mindful of the rights of his fellow men and faithful in the service of his Maker. In 1862 he mar- ried Theresa R., daughter of Homer L. Thrall, M. D., of Columbus, Ohio, by whom he had four children. He died at his home in Newark, New Jersey, February 14, 1892. The funeral sermon was delivered by Rev. David R. Frazer, D. D., pastor of the First Presbyterian church, and the inter- ment was in Mt. Pleasant cemetery.
WILLIAM DOW HOLMES,
who is engaged in the coal and lumber busi- ness in Belleville, was born in Newark, Es- sex county, on the 26th of August, 1847, and is a son of William Wilson and Eliza- beth (Van Riper) Holmes. No event of special importanceoccurred during his boy- hood and youth, his time being largely de- voted to the duties of the school-room and the pleasures of the playground. He ac- quired his education in the schools of Belle- ville and Newark, and after laying aside his text-books began to learn the more diffi- cult and practical lessons which experience teaches. He embarked in the coal and lumber business in Belleville and has since followed that pursuit, meeting with signal
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success in his enterprise. He had a large coal and lumber yard and carried every- thing needed in the building line. His en- ergy, perseverance and honorable dealing, combined with courteous treatment of his patrons, had enabled him to secure a liberal patronage and he derived therefrom a good income.
On the 29th of June, 1869, Mr. Holmes was united in marriage to Miss Sophie. T. White, born August 2, 1848, a daughter of Pardon and Mary (Young) White, resi- dents of Belleville. By this marriage were born five children, but only two are now living, namely: Mary W., born Septem- ber 23, 1870, is now the wife of Charles S. Smith, of the Eastwood Wire Manufactur- ing Company, at Belleville, and has the fol- lowing children: Eugene Holmes, born December 15, 1894; and Ralph Holmes, January 23, 1897; and the son now living is William Herbert, born December 15, 1879. A twin of the latter, Sophia Elizabeth, died August 23, 1890. Howard Osborn, born December 23, 1881, died January 17, 1882. Mortimer Udall, born December 23, 1881 (one of twins), died January 28, 1882.
Mr. Holmes has efficiently served in the position of postmaster of Belleville for the past twelve years, and his fidelity to duty won him high commendation, his adminis- tration being most satisfactory and accept- able to the people. In 1882 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the Ioth of January, 1882. She was a member of the Dutch Reformed church, and Mr. Holmes is also a communi- cant of the Christ church, Episcopal. In politics he is a Democrat, and socially he is connected with Belleville Lodge, No. 180, F. & A. M., Seth Boyden Council, No. 1356, of the Royal Arcanum, and the
Neriod Boat Club, of Belleville. His many excellent qualities and genial disposition have won him a host of friends among whom he is very popular.
ABRAHAM MANNERS,
one of the leading legal lights of Newark, was born in Mercer county, New Jersey, on the 14th of July, 1835, being a son of Jacob S. and Ann Maria (Blackwell) Manners, both of them being descendants of old New Jersey families. The father is a native of Hunterdon county, New Jersey, and his ancestors were originally English, while the mother was born in Mercer county, New Jersey, and her ancestors were of Dutch stock. The subject of this review moved with his parents when about three years of age to Hunterdon county, where his father followed farming, and there he was reared on the homestead, obtaining a fair literary education in the common schools of his dis- trict, subsequently attending the Pough- keepsie Law School, at which he was grad- uated in 1858. Determining to make the legal profession his permanent calling in life he pursued a course of reading in the office of Judge Bennett Van Sycle, and was admitted to the bar as attorney at law in 1859, and as counselor at law in 1862, en- tering upon the active work of his profes- sion at Newark, in September, 1859. That he has been prosperous in this line of en- terprise is due to his energy and faithful service rendered to his clients, combined with a strong mentality, natural ability and a profound knowledge of his calling in all its branches.
In his political faith Mr. Manners is a stanch supporter of the Republican party, and was alderman of Newark from 1895 to
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1897, having been earnestly solicited by his many friends to become a candidate, al- though he has never had any desire to enter active political life, preferring to devote his time and energies to his profession. He has been for some years and is at the present time a trustee in several large and impor- tant estates.
The marriage of Mr. Manners occurred in 1864, when he was united to Miss Mary Ann Stout, a daughter of Charles W. Stout, of Mercer county, New Jersey. One son, Fred, has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Man- ners, and he is now a clerk in the office of the Missouri & Pacific Railroad, located in New York city.
SAMUEL B. PARSIL.
The origin of this family is Scotch, the progenitor of the American branch being Captain Thomas Parsil, who came from Scotland, located in New Jersey, and here received a large tract of land, amounting to over one thousand acres, which was granted to him by Queen Anne. Here he built a home and reared a family, and a portion of the land is still in the possession of his descendants. He died on the 4th of July, 1778. The lineal ancestors, traced to the present day, are: Captain Thomas Par- sil; Thomas, who died January 18, 1836, at the age of sixty-five years; Thomas B., who was born in the house in which our subject now resides, died on the 4th of March, 1827, when thirty years old; William H., the father of our subject, who was born in Springfield, in 1819; and Samuel B.
William H. Parsil was reared by his grandfather on the old homestead and sub- sequently learned the shoemaker's trade, later engaging as a salesman for a stove
company at Newark, where he remained for several years. He was an old-line Whig and a Republican, and served as township committeeman and freeholder and in many other local offices. He was one of the principal organizers of the Sunday school located near his home, donating the ground on which the building stands, and he was an ardent worker in the cause of temper- ance. He married Miss Joan S. Burnett, and five children were born to them, four of whom survive: Samuel B .; Sophia B., the widow of William H. Sprague, of New- ark; Thomas B., of Millburn; Ella D., the wife of William Peck, of East Orange; and Thomas E., who died in infancy. The death of Mr. Parsil occurred on the 13th of October, 1877. His wife was a devout member of the Baptist church of North- field, in which faith she died, in 1885.
Samuel B. Parsil passed his youth on the farmstead, residing with his parents until the outbreak of the civil war, when, in Sep- tember, 1862, he enlisted in Company F, Twenty-seventh New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, and participated in numerous en- gagements, receiving a wound at the battle of Fredericksburg, and taking part with his regiment in the pursuit of Morgan through Kentucky. He was honorably discharged on the 3d of July, 1863, and returned to the old homestead, where he has since been engaged in farming industries, and by his integrity of character and high standard of principles, he has gained the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens.
In 1868 Mr. Parsil was married to Miss Harriet Reeve, a daughter of Abner D. Reeve, and to them was born one child, Lillie, who is the wife of Frank Vreeland, of Newark. Mrs. Parsil was called to her eternal rest in 1871, and in 1878 Mr. Parsil
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consummated his second marriage, this time being united to Miss Sarah Ross, daughter of Aaron S. Ross, of whom men- tion is made in another portion of this work. The following six children resulted from this union: Ray C., William Harold, Morton R., Helen C., Sarah L. and Elsie, the latter of whom died in infancy.
Politically considered, Mr. Parsil is a stanch Republican, and for six years he was a member of the township committee, is on the board of education, and is a trustee of the Sunday-school Association. His wife is an adherent of the Methodist Episcopal church.
GEORGE ELWOOD CLYMER.
The progenitor of the Clymer family came from Bristol, England, and settled in Bristol, Pennsylvania, at a very early day and figured conspicuously in the history of that state. A son of this ancestor was George Clymer, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who was for many years foremost in the ranks of the prominent citizens of Philadelphia, that city being the scene of his birth. He was a thoroughly public-spirited man, and estab- lished the Philadelphia Agricultural So- ciety, the Academy of Fine Arts, and the Philadelphia Bank, one of the first insti- tutions of its kind organized in this coun- try.
Edward Swaine Clymer, father of our subject, was born at Bristol, Pennsylvania, and for many years in his early life was a United States naval officer. Retiring from the navy he came to Newark in 1860, and, upon the outbreak of the civil war, he en- listed his services and became a member of the Twenty-seventh New Jersey Volunteer
Infantry. Upon first taking up his abode in this city he became connected with the fire department, and with the exception of the time he was in the army he has contin- ued his associations therein and is now su- perintendent of the supply and repair de- partment of the same. He married Miss Uretta Van Keuren, a native of Troy, New York, her ancestors being Holland Dutch who came to America from Amsterdam and settled at an early day in Kinderhook, New York. She died on the 20th of May, 1897, at the age of fifty-four years, survived by her husband and three children: Will- iam, George E. and Charles A.
George Elwood Clymer, the immediate subject of this review, was born in Newark, New Jersey, on the 7th of March, 1868, and here received his literary education in the public and high schools, graduating at the latter in 1885. He then began the study of law under the able preceptorage of Judge Cleaver, with whom he read from 1886 to 1888, in the latter year becoming head clerk in the law office of Hayes & Lambert and remaining there until 1890, when he was admitted to the bar as attorney at law, three years later being admitted as coun- .selor at law. He began the active practice of his profession in 1890, since which time his progress has been at a rapid rate, his distinct ability and extensive knowledge of the various branches of his profession giv- ing him a prestige in the fraternity and gaining for him an extensive practice. In his political adherency he is a warm advo- cate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and, taking an interest in literature, he is a member of the New Jersey Historical Society.
Mr. Clymer was united in marriage in 1892 to Miss Theodora Morrell, daughter
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of Theodore S. Morrell, of Newark, and a granddaughter of Rev. Thomas Morrell, who was a son of Major Thomas Morrell, of Revolutionary fame.
JOSIAH S. CONKLIN,
of Livingston township, is one of New Jer- sey's native sons, who first opened his eyes to the light of day, January 21, 1828. His father, Thomas Conklin, was the son of Thomas Conklin, Sr., who spent his en- tire life in New York state and died Feb- ruary 8, 1833. Tradition says that the family originated in Ireland. Thomas, the father, was born May 5, 1800, and having arrived at years of maturity married Esther Secor, whose family furnished to the Co- lonial army several loyal members during the war of the Revolution. In 1836 Mr. Conklin removed to Roseland, Essex county, and during the summer months engaged in farming while through the win- ter season he worked at his trade of wood turning. His children were: Josiah; Mary, wife of Albert McAlpin, a resident of Pennsylvania ; Daniel S., Anna and John, all deceased; Nancy, wife of B. Welter, who is living in Minnesota; Wesley R., who wedded Mary Johnson, and died from dis- ease contracted during the civil war; Asa; Stephen; and Ezra, who died while in the Union army during the war of the Rebel- lion. The father of this family died March 3, 1877, and the mother passed way June 29, 1862.
Josiah S. Conklin spent his boyhood days with his parents and no event of special importance occurred to mark that period of his life until he entered upon his busi- ness career by learning the shoemaker's trade. He continued to follow that pur-
suit until the war, when machine-made shoes took the place of hand-made and thus made the business unprofitable to those who followed the old methods. Since that time he has carried on agricultural pursuits on his farm on Eagle Rock avenue, where he has a valuable tract of land and a sub- stantial residence. The improvements upon his place are modern and tasteful and well indicate the careful supervision of the owner. From 1852 to about 1880 he also engaged more or less in the erection of lightning-rods.
Mr. Conklin was married December 12, 1852, to Miss Eliza M. Johnson, a daugh- ter of William and Silva (Fuller) Johnson. She was born in what is now Union county, New Jersey, and removed to Dundee, Monroe county, Michigan. Her mother is still living in Eaton county, Michigan. To Mr. and Mrs. Conklin were born the fol- lowing named: Ada, who was born May 16, 1854, and died August 18. 1856; Vaughn A., born March 26, 1856; Claud R., born June 5, 1858, married Nellie Briggs and is residing in Livingston town- ship; Sylvia O., who was born August 16, 1860, and is the wife of George Sigler, of Livingston township; William T., who was born on the 5th of October, 1862, married Jessie Herdman, a resident of Montclair; Francis A., who was born August 2, 1865. and is the wife of Ezra Williams, of Rose- land, Essex county; Wesley R., of Living- ston township, who was born June 26, 1868, and married Elliott Stoddard.
Mr. and Mrs. Conklin are worthy mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church and contribute liberally to its support. Our subject is an advocate of Republican prin- ciples, and by his fellow townsmen, who ap- preciate his worth and ability, has been
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called to several public offices, including that of school trustee. He has spent al- most his entire life in this locality and is widely and favorably known, his friends be- ing many who have known him from boy- hood, a fact which indicates an exemplary career.
FREDERICK H. LUM.
Ceaselessly to and fro flies the deft shut- tle which weaves the web of human destiny, and into the vast mosaic fabric enter the individuality, the effort, the accomplish- ment of each man, be his station that most lowly or one of pomp and power. Within the textile folds may be traced the line of each individuality, be it one that lends the sheen of honest worth and honest endeavor, or one that, dark and zigzag, finds its way through warp and woof, marring the com- posite beauty by its blackened threads, ever in evidence of the shadowed and unpro- lific life. Into the great aggregate each individuality is merged, and yet the essence of each is never lost, be the angle of influ- ence widespreading and grateful or narrow and baneful. He who essays biography finds much of profit and much of alluring fascination when he would follow out, in even a cursory way, the tracings of a life history, seeking to find the keynote of each respective personality, as one generation succeeds another. These efforts and their resulting transmission can not fail of value in an objective way, for in each case the lesson of life may be conned,-line upon line and precept upon precept. The sub- ject of this review stands as a representa- tive of old and honored families, not only of the state of New Jersey, but of the na- tion, and in tracing the genealogy the
record is one which bespeaks noble men and noble deeds: bespeaks the unblotted escutcheon and lives significant of honor and usefulness in the various relations of life. Not unprofitable can prove even the passing glance at the careers of those who have thus conferred dignity upon society.
The original progenitor of the Lum fam- ily, in all its branches in America, accord- ing to well authenticated record, was Sam- uel Lum, who was born in England, in the year 1619, and who died in 1703. His three sons, Jonathan, Matthew and Samuel, emigated to America in the early part of the seventeenth century, taking up their original residence in Connecticut. The di- rect line of descent to the immediate sub- ject of this review traces through the Sam- uel just mentioned, his son, Samuel (3d), who died in 1732; thence through the latter's son, Samuel (4th), father of Israel, born in 1745, died in 1835, being the father of Samuel D. (1819-1851), who was the father of Harvey M. Lum, father of Fred- erick H., whose name initiates this review.
Harvey M. Lum was born in Chatham, New Jersey, in the year 1820, and died at Chatham in 1886, having been engaged in building, and standing as one of the hon- ored and influential citizens of the com- munity. He had two brothers and four sisters, namely: Charles; Paul; Caroline, wife of Hudson Minton; Phebe Ann, wife of Harvey Muchmore and mother of Hud- son Muchmore; Rowena, who died unmar- ried; and Jane, who was the first wife of said Harvey Muchmore, father of Alfred Muchmore, and Sarah, who became the wife of Jephthah B. Munn. Two of the direct ancestors of our subject, Samuel and Israel Lum (father and son), fought side by side in the Continental army during the
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war of the Revolution, being ardent patri- ots and rendering the valiant service of loyal sons of the republic. The maternal great-grandfather of Mr. Lum participated in all the battles of the Revolutionary war; and although he was often where bullets flew thick and fast he never received a scratch and was never sick. He died on his way home, with a fever.
Harvey M. Lum was twice married, his first wife having been Margaret Sturges, who bore him a daughter, Margaret Drake, who became the wife of John A. Trow- bridge. He subsequently was united in marriage to Miss Jane S. Bruen, daughter of Ashbel and Mary (Chandler) Bruen, and they became the parents of four sons and one daughter, namely: Frederick Harvey, the immediate subject of this sketch; Mer- ritt Bruen, to whom individual reference is made elsewhere in this volume; Edward Harris; Charles Mandred; and Caroline Elizabeth, the wife of Frank M. Budd, of Chatham. The ancestor of all the Bruens in North Jersey was Obadiah, the second son of John Bruen, Esq., of Bruen, Staple- ford, Cheshire, England, and records ex- tant show that he was christened on Christ- mas day, 1606. He was a descendant of Robert Le Brun, A. D. 1230, who came from Normandy to England,-undoubt- edly with William the Conqueror,-and of whom record is made in Domesday Book.
Mary (Chandler) Bruen, the maternal grandmother of Frederick H., was born in 1803 and died in 1889, being the daughter of Jonathan Chandler, of Elizabethtown, New Jersey (1762-1836). At the age of sixteen years he entered the Continental army as a drummer boy, was captured by the British, but eventually released. The children of Ashbel and Mary (Chandler)
Bruen were: Benjamin, unmarried; Phebe Jane, mother of our subject; Elizabeth, who married Stephen Bonnel and went to Mich- igan; Theodore W .; Caroline, who became the wife of John Baldwin, of Cheapside; Merritt, unmarried; Francis Marion; and Mary Adeline, who married Joseph Ebling, of Harlem, New York.
Frederick Harvey Lum, the immediate subject of this review, was born at Chat- ham, on the 5th of October, 1848, the son of Harvey Mandred Lum and Phebe Jane Smith (Bruen) Lum. He received excel- lent advantages in the way of preliminary education and eventually entered the school of Julius D. Rose, Ph. D., of Sum- mit, New Jersey, graduating at this institu- tion in 1866. He then began the work of preparing himself for that profession which has represented his vocation in life, and in which he has attained success and prece- dence, taking up the study of law under the able preceptorship of Judge John White- head and William B. Guild, Esq., of New- ark, New Jersey, and securing admission to the bar of the state. as an attorney, at the February term of 1870, and as a counselor at the November term of court in 1873. Upon the day of his admission as an attor- ney he entered into a professional partner- ship with his former preceptor, Mr. Guild, under the firm name of Guild & Lum, and this alliance has ever since obtained, the firm retaining a representative clientage and touching much of the important legal business in their province. The office head- quarters of the firm are in the Prudential Life Insurance Company's building in the city of Newark, though Mr. Lum has re- tained his residence in Chatham, Morris county, since 1871. For twenty-five years he has been the counsel for the German
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National Bank of Newark and a director in the same; and he has also been counsel for Bishop Wigger. He is closely identified with Newark and is well known as an able lawyer.
Mr. Lum is well versed in the learning of his profession, and with a deep knowledge of human nature and of the springs of hu- man conduct, with great discrimination and tact, he has proved to be an advocate of power and influence, and a wise and con- servative counsel. He has never been an aspirant for political preferment, though a stanch advocate of the principles and poli- cies of the Republican party. Mr. Lum has a very interesting family. Sue M .. the eldest daughter, is a graduate of Wellesley College and is a very fine musician. The eldest son, Charles Harris, is a graduate of Columbia College School of Mines, and is an architect at 70 Fifth avenue, New York city. Two sons are now in college and one ready to enter Princeton College. His interest in all that touches the welfare of Chatham is constant and vigorous, and his personal popularity in the community is signalized in the fact that he served as pres- ident of the village of Chatham during its entire period of corporate existence, while upon the incorporation of Chatham as a borough he became its mayor, and has ever since been the incumbent of that office .--- his service at the head of the municipal government of the place having thus ex- tended over a period of seven years. When he was elected mayor he received every vote irrespective of party, which fact alone evidences his popularity.
On the 10th of March, 1870, Mr. Lum was united in marriage to Miss Alice Eliza- beth Harris, daughter of Edward C. and Rachel P. (Banta) Harris, of Nyack, New
York. They are the parents of six chil- dren,-Susie May, Charles Harris, Freder- ick Harvey, Jr., Ralph Emerson, Ernest Culver and Lorentha Storms. The attrac- tive family home is one in which are ever in evidence the refining amenities which con- tribute so largely to the satisfaction and pleasure of life, and here an unostentatious and gracious hospitality is extended to a large circle of friends.
CHARLES E. BREEDEN.
The name borne by the subject of this review is one which, though not at the present time largely represented in a nu- merical way, has been long and honorably identified with the annals of American his- tory. The original American progenitor, as determined by practically well authen- ticated record, was Thomas Breeden, who evidently became a resident of New Eng- land in the early Colonial epoch. In Pal- frey's History of New England specific reference is made to one Captain Thomas Breeden, of whom it is recorded that he, about the year 1650, bore back to England information in regard to certain regicides whom he had seen in Boston. In various other historical records reference is made to persons of the name. Savage speaks of Thomas Breeden, deputy governor of Nova Scotia, under Sir Thomas Temple, in the time of Cromwell: also James Bree- den, who married, in 1657, Hannah, the daughter of Joseph Ruck, or Rock, Esq., of Boston. In the New England Genea- logical and Historical Register mention is made of John Burgess, or Burge, who, in his will, mentions his grandchildren, Thomas, John and Elizabeth Breeden. From such information as was available
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one of the latter-day representatives of the family has deduced the following data, which is sufficiently exact : Captain Thomas Breeden, born about 1614, in Eng- land, became governor, by deputation, of Nova Scotia; married, about 1635, Eliza- beth Roberts, in England. He became a merchant in Boston prior to 1657. His son, James, born about 1636, married Han- nah Ruck, or Rock, as above noted, and also became a merchant in Boston. Trac- ing back the genealogy, the English branches of the family have been a people of no little distinction, and within later years there were Breedens, or Breedons, of Bere Court, Berkshire, England. Captain Thomas and James are the only ones men- tioned as having come to America.
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