USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Biographical and genealogical history of the city of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, V. 1 > Part 64
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The children of this worthy couple were as follows: John Christian, who learned his trade with his father, married Henrietta Stahl, of Newark, and died in 1892, leaving one son, John. Michael J., who was grad- uated at the Stevens Institute, of Hoboken. New Jersey, as a mechanical engineer, has since followed his profession and is now in Bath City, Montana. Hle married a lady of Chicago and they have a daughter, An- nie. George J. is the next of the family. Charles F., a graduate of the high school of Newark, is now engaged in lithograph- ing. He married Annie Stearn and they have a daughter, Annie.
Mr. Geiger, of this review, obtained his preliminary education in the Green street private school, of Newark, and was grad- uated from that institution with the class of 1874. He then entered the Newark high school, where he was graduated in 1878, on the completion of a four-years course, and thus with a broad general knowledge to serve as a foundation for . special training he took up the study of pharmacy in the College of Pharmacy in New York city, and at the same time was employed in the drug store of Max Geiger, of Newark. He was graduated in 1881 and was granted his diploma, after which he took a special course in chemistry in the School of Mines in New York. There he won his degree as a pharmaceutical chem- ist. In 1882 we find him as manager of the drug store of Dr. Tiesher, and in that position he continued until 1892, when he purchased his present store and stock located at the corner of Northfield avenue and Valley road. Here he has since con- ducted a successful business as a prescrip- tion druggist, and at the same time is a chemist of merit, his services in that line being largely in demand. He is a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of New Jer- sey and the Alumni Association of the New York College of Pharmacy.
Mr. Geiger was married on the 24th of November, 1885, to Miss Wilhelmina T., daughter of William and Theresa Heilman, of Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, born July 12, 1863. They now have one son, born August 24, 1886. Both Mr. and Mrs. Geiger are consistent members of the Ger- man Presbyterian church of Orange, and in the locality in which they make their home they are widely and favorably known. In the line of his business he has gained a
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foremost place. Being a student of his profession, he is constantly advancing on the road to perfection, and as a chemist and pharmacist he has won the recognition of those who are high in the callings.
REV. HENRY CLAY FISH, D. D., · was born in Halifax, Vermont, January 27, 1820, and was the son of Rev. Samuel Fish, who outlived him. His father was a man of great activity of mind and of more than ordinary ability as a preacher, and his mo- ther was a woman noted for her piety and her rare intellectual endowments. It is not strange that under such influences young Henry should have grown up to manhood filled with pious sentiments and governed by lofty purposes. He manifested at a very early age a desire to obtain a thorough education, and the father, while encour- aging the desire, was obliged to tell him, with a sigh, that he had not the means to gratify his wishes, but would gladly see him make an effort to educate himself. Thus set at liberty, the lad made applica- tion for admission to an academy at no great distance from his home, and by dint of laboring during the hours when out of school he managed to pay for both his board and his tuition. In this manner, from the age of sixteen until he was graduated at the Union Theological Seminary of New York, in 1845, he was indebted to his own personal efforts for his maintenance and his education. It was at times a difficult struggle, but nevertheless bravely and cheerfully sustained.
On the day following his graduation he was ordained pastor of the Baptist church at Somerville, New Jersey, and a month afterward was married to Miss Clara M.
Jones, of Shelburne, Massachusetts. His . connection with the church at Somerville continued until January, 1851, when he entered upon the pastorate of the First Baptist church of Newark, New Jersey, which at that time had a membership of three hundred and thirty-nine, and which at the close of his ministration had increased to eleven hundred and ninety-eight. Such success attended his labors that the small frame building in which his congregation assembled soon proved to be too small for the crowds who sought an entrance, and the necessity of a more spacious edifice be- came imperative. A suitable building of brown chiseled stone was accordingly erected and made ready for occupation in May, 1860. It is an ornament to Newark and a monument to the fidelity of this zealous and highly-gifted clergyman, whose labors had not only endeared him to his people, but were also winning for him respect and admiration everywhere. Two years prior to this event the Univer- sity of Rochester had conferred upon him the degree of D. D., and though at that time but thirty-eight years of age he was deemed well worthy of the honor.
His position as a clergyman did not em- barrass Dr. Fish in the expression of his convictions, no matter what might be the subject or the occasion. In all matters affecting the public welfare he took a deep and abiding interest, and if any cause de- manded. labor, he stood always ready to perform his part. On the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion he promptly took his place on the side of the Union, nor did he think his office too sacred or his pulpit too holy to be used in his country's need. His voice was loud and clear against trea- son. The nation's banner was spread upon
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his altar, and the nation's anthem was mingled with the songs of the sanctuary. Dr. Fish was a genuine patriot, and would doubtless have been a fearless and efficient soldier on the battle-field. On the Ist of June, 1864, he was drafted into the military service. It seemed to him an announce- ment from heaven. He dropped his pen that was at the moment in his hand with the full determination to replace it with a sword. The trustees and deacons of his church were notified at once of his inten- tion, and they assembled immediately to consider the pastor's request that some one be appointed to supply the pulpit during his absence. They would not, of course, listen to his demand, and it cannot be doubted by all who knew him that he re- luctantly allowed them to send a substitute in his stead.
As a pastor, Dr. Fish possessed many rare and excellent qualities. Of his im- mense congregation, there was scarcely an individual whom he could not call by name, and to whom he could not address a remark which showed something more than a passing acquaintance. His preach- ing was always attractive, and his sermons evinced not only a careful study of the Scriptures, but also a good knowledge of human nature and of everything that was transpiring about him. While his duties as a minister were even more than fulfilled, he still found time to perform his duties as a citizen, and every worthy enterprise counted him among its faithful and efficient promoters. He was a man of untiring energy and almost incredible industry. While not employed in the performance of routine labors he was in his study, pen in hand, occupied in giving expression to thoughts or experiences which the pulpit
did not afford him an opportunity to pre- sent. . Thus did he add many and valuable contributions to religious literature. Be- sides the large number of tracts and ser- mons which he wrote and published, he was the author of an essay entitled "Primitive Piety Revived," a duodecimo volume of 249 pages, 1855, which received the prize of two hundred dollars offered by the Con- . gregational Board of Publication. This work was translated into Dutch, and pub- lished in Utrecht, Holland, 1860. He was the author also of "The Price of Soul Lib- erty, and Who Paid It," a small volume of 152 pages, 1860; also of "Harry's Conver- sion," 240 pages, 1872; also "Harry's Con- flicts," 224 pages, 1872; also "Hand-Book of Revivals," duodecimo, 420 pages, 1874; also "Bible Lands Illustrated," octavo, 920 pages, 1876. His compilations, inter- spersed with annotations, are numerous and valuable, and among them are "His- tory and Repository of Pulpit Eloquence," two volumes, octavo, 1235 pages: "Pulpit Eloquence of the Nineteenth Century." octavo, 813 pages, 1857; "Select Dis- courses," translated from French, duodeci- mo, 408 pages, 1858; "Heaven in Song," quarto, 742 pages, 1874. During his last days he was engaged upon a work which he intended to entitle "The Wealth of Ages," and for which he had already col- lected a vast amount of material.
In March, 1874, Dr. Fish, finding his health somewhat impaired by incessant labor, went abroad, and during an eight- months journey visited nearly the whole of Europe, Egypt, the Holy Land, and other parts of western Asia. The journey proved beneficial, but he soon returned to his old habits of work, and the renewed strength which he had acquired by relaxation began
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gradually to give way. In July, 1877, he yielded to the remonstrances of friends, and once more sought by travel to recover his wasting energies. The trial, however, proved unavailing. He was brought home on the 25th of September following, utterly prostrated, and one week afterward, Octo- ber 2, 1877, he died.
EMIL E. GUENTHER, M. D.,
who for fourteen years has been actively connected with the medical profession in Newark, was born in New York, Septem- ber 21, 1854, and is a son of the Rev. John U. Guenther, pastor of the First German Presbyterian church, of Newark, of which congregation he has had charge for forty- five years. He is a native of the kingdom of Saxony, Germany, and came to the United States about 1850. He was edu- cated in the Moravian church in the father- land, and when he came to this country was identified with that denomination. For a time he acted as harbor missionary for that church in New York city. He came to Newark in the latter part of 1854, and has since been pastor of the Presbyterian church, laboring long, earnestly and faith- fully among the people of the city, by whom he is greatly respected and beloved. He was married in New York city to Miss Maria Buhle, a native of Germany, whose family came to America on the same vessel on which her husband took passage. Her many excellent qualities also endeared her to the people of her husband's congregation and to those of other denominations. She died September 8, 1892, aged sixty-two years and six months. Of her eight chil- dren, six are still living.
Dr. Guenther acquired his primary edu-
cation in the parochial schools connected with his father's church and in the public schools of Newark. In 1872 he began reading medicine, under the direction of Dr. P. V. P. Hewlit, of Newark, with whom he remained for a year and a half, when he entered the medical department of the Uni- versity of the City of New York, in which institution he was graduated in March, 1877. In the spring of 1876, while making a post-mortem examination, he contracted blood poisoning, and, his health failing as a result, he was forced to spend six months in Wisconsin, immediately after his gradu- ation, in rest and recuperation.
Returning then to his home, Dr. Guen- ther began the practice of his profession about January 1, 1878. During the first year he was appointed district physician and attending physician at the Newark Dis- pensary, but failing health compelled him to return to the west, and he located in Forreston, Ogle county, Illinois, where he continued the prosecution of his profession until 1883, when he again located in New- ark and has since been an active and lead- ing member of the medical fraternity here. He is attending surgeon of the German Hospital, of Newark, with which institution he has been connected for fourteen years, and is also assistant surgeon in St. Barna- bas Hospital, of New York, which position he has held since the 5th of October, 1885.
For three years, from 1884 to 1887, Dr. Guenther served as one of the coroners of Essex county, being elected on the Re- publican ticket. He is the medical exam- iner of the Order of Chosen Friends, and was formerly a member of the Essex Coun- ty Medical Society, and is now a member of the Society for the Relief of Widows and Orphans of Medical Men. He has his
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residence and office at No. 159 West Kin- ney street, and is enjoying a good practice, which he well merits, for his ability com- mends him to the confidence and support of the public ..
JOHN STEVENS DARCY
was born in Hanover township, Morris county, New Jersey, February 24, 1788. Here he grew up to manhood, and here be- came fitted for his profession under the di- rection of his father, Dr. John Darcy, an eminent and leading physician of that vicin- ity, to whose practice he ultimately suc- ceeded.
Dr. John S. Darcy was as well known by the title of General as by that of Doctor, and yet the latter title was by no means lost under the former. No member of the medical fraternity of New Jersey ever en- joyed a higher or more deserved reputation for skill and daring in his profession, which, notwithstanding his multifarious occupa- tions, he continued to exercise till nearly the day of his death.
He remained in his native place until 1832, when he removed to Newark, New Jersey, where, at that time, as in many other large towns, the Asiatic cholera was committing fearful ravages. With his characteristic bravery and greatness of heart, he went among the sick and dying, and especially among the poor, winning by his promptness of decision, his skillful treatment and generous charities, the es- teem and confidence of the whole commu- nity. It is said of him that while he never neglected the most disagreeable and profit- less call, he seldom exacted his legal fees, but oftener contributed from his own pocket the means of securing for his needy
patients the necessaries, and even the lux- uries, which their condition demanded. The peculiar circumstances under which he began the work of his profession in Newark brought to him almost immedi- ately an extensive practice, and year by year it became so large that had he col- lected all he earned he would, it is believed, have become one of the wealthiest men in his profession. His arduous labors, not- withstanding his powerful frame and vigor- ous constitution, began finally to make their impression upon him, and this, to- gether with his natural love of adventure, led him, in 1849, to project an overland journey to California. He was the leader of the party, which was composed chiefly of acquaintances, and the journey was per- formed on foot, while wagons, drawn by oxen, transported the provisions, the cloth- ing and whatever was needed on so long a march over a country inhabited only by wild beasts and Indians.
The travelers reached their destination, but the fatigue and continual hardships to which they had been for months subjected had not the desired effect upon the Doc- tor's health. He returned by the isthmus route to his friends and patients, who re- ceived him with open arms and prolonged expressions of joy and gratitude.
Although an earnest politician of the Jackson school of Democracy, Dr. Darcy was by no means a seeker after office. It is true that in early life he was a member of the state legislature, and under Presi- cents Jackson and Van Buren was United States marshal of the district of New Jer- sey; but he had a strong dislike to entering the political arena as a contestant for hon- ors. He was the first president of the New Jersey Railroad Company, and held
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that position till the time of his death,-a period of more than thirty years. In the interests of this corporation he was very active, and to it he rendered many valuable services. For many years he was a promi- nent member of the Masonic fraternity, holding for a long time the office of Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey. Distinguished for his geniality, his be- nignity and munificence, he died October 22, 1863. lamented by the whole commu- nity.
MICHAEL F. OBER,
who is now living a retired life in Orange, was born in the province of Alsace, France, in the town of Reichshofen, December 3, 1835, and is a son of Henry and Magdalena (Young) Ober. The paternal grandpar- ents were Michael and Theresa (Duetsch); Ober, also natives of Alsace, as were the maternal grandparents, George and Eisele Young. The father of our subject was born in the town of Reichshofen and during his early life followed mercantile pursuits in his native land, continuing in that line of business until 1851. Napoleon III. had then ascended the throne of France and it was a period of great financial de- pression in that country; so with the hope of bettering his condition in the New World Henry Ober sailed for America, lo- cating in Newark, where he embarked in merchandizing, carrying on his store until his death, which occurred in 1872, when he had reached the age of sixty-four years. His faithful wife passed away in 1861, at the age of fifty-three. They were members of the German Catholic church of Newark. Their family numbered five children, as fol- lows: Michael F .; Louis Philip, who
wedded Mary Leroy, a native of Alsace, France, by whom he had fourteen children, twelve yet living; Louisa, who married and returned to Europe, where she died; Hen- rietta, who married and died in Newark; and Mary, who became the wife of Frank Neigel and died in Newark, leaving two children,-Louis and Louisa.
Michael F. Ober, of this sketch, was edu- cated in the schools of his native province, and came to America when sixteen years of age, locating with the family in Newark. There he was employed at various occupa- tions up to the time when he entered the United States Navy, August 24, 1864, on board the North Carolina. Later he served on the Primrose, and after a year's active connection with the navy was hon- orably discharged.
In 1865 Mr. Ober came to Orange and in 1868 took possession of his present resi- dence, where he has remained continuously since. Having learned the barber's trade, he followed that business here for some time and conducted leading tonsorial par- lors here. His patronage was large and brought to him a comfortable competence, which now enables him to spend a retired life in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil.
On the 9th of July, 1855, Mr. Ober was united in marriage to Miss Rosalie Pferr, a daughter of Frank and Catherine (Schoe- nise) Pferr, who were natives of Bavaria, Germany. To Mr. and Mrs. Ober were born five children, one of whom died in in- fancy, while George died at the age of three and a half months, and Evangeline died at the age of two years and four months. Those who still survive are Mary, wife of Charles E. Williams, whose sketch appears in this work; and John, who was born
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March II, 1870. He married Lucy Kapp and they have three children: Charles Eckford, Arthur and John. Our subject and his wife attend the Roman Catholic church.
HON. JOSEPH P. BRADLEY, LL. D.,
was born at Berne, near Albany, New York, March 14, 1813, and is sixth in descent from Francis Bradley and Ruth (Barlow) Bradley, of Fairfield, Connecti- cut. With very limited advantages, his education was sufficient to enable him, at the age of sixteen, to obtain a position as a school-teacher, and thus to support him- self while making the necessary prepara- tion to enter college. In this he was so successful that in 1833 he entered the sophomore class of Rutgers College, and was graduated at that institution with honors in 1836. Although excelling in mathematics while a student, he was no less proficient in Latin and Greek, and his familiarity with these studies he had, throughout a busy life, found great pleas- ure in preserving. When he entered col- lege his intention was to make the ministry his profession. With such a purpose, he naturally became a student of the Bible, and, without neglecting his academic studies, managed, during his collegiate course, with his characteristic pertinacity, to wrestle with the abstrusities of theology; and even this study he kept un through- out life with the other lordly branches of human knowledge.
Why he set aside the ministry for the law is unimportant, but this he did while, after leaving college, he was presiding over the academy at Millstone, Somerset county, New Jersey. His decision in this matter having been made, he promptly removed
to Newark, New Jersey, and entered, as a student at law, the office of Archer Gifford, Esq., a lawyer at that time of considerable standing, and collector of the port. Here Mr. Bradley found not only an opportunity to study but the means of support, by act- ing as inspector of the customs under his preceptor, the collector. In Newark, too, he found his old college classmates, Cort- landt Parker and Frederick T. Freling- huysen, and in 1839, two months after them, he was admitted to the bar. He at once entered upon the practice of law, and for thirty years was constant and unwearied in the discharge of his professional duties. For a long period he was a director in, and counsel to, the Camden & Amboy Railroad Company, and was also counsel to the Delaware & Raritan Canal Company. On this account, as well as for his high standing as a lawyer, he was engaged in most of the important cases that have for many years past been before the higher courts of the state. Among them may be mentioned the Passaic bridge case, which he argued in 1860; the celebrated Meeker will case, which occupied the courts of New Jersey from 1852 to 1860; the New Jersey zinc case; the Belvidere land case; the murder case of Harden, the Methodist minister, hung for poisoning his wife, and of Don- elly, who assassinated his friend at Long Branch. In these and many other cases Mr. Bradley exhibited not only his pro- found knowledge of the law, but also his ability to place clearly and convincingly before a jury the grounds upon which their verdict should be rendered. Governed as he always was himself by force of reason, it was for him natural to avoid the senti- mental claptrap so often resorted to in the management of juries.
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Though a Whig in the days of that party, and a Republican ever after, Mr. Bradley was never an office-seeker, and when, in 1862, he was nominated to repre- sent the fifth congressional district, he knew that he had been selected as the leader of a forlorn hope, and that a dozen political place-hunters would have pre- vented his nomination had there been the smallest chance of success. His defeat was a foregone conclusion. In 1868 he headed the Grant and Colfax electoral ticket in this state.
In addition to his arduous professional duties, Mr. Bradley was, from 1851 to 1853, mathematician, or actuary, of the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, and was also a director in various financial institutions, to all of which he rendered important services. His industry and love of intellectual labor were further illus- trated in the large number of addresses and learned papers written by him, and read by him before college societies and other literary, as well as scientific, associations. He was recognized as a man of great learn- ing as early as 1859, when Lafayette Col- lege, Pennsylvania, conferred upon him the degree of LL. D.
In 1870 two vacancies on the bench of the United States supreme court existed, and President Grant nominated Mr. Brad- ley and Mr. Strong to fill them. Mr. Strong's nomination being first acted upon by the senate, was promptly confirmed, and he was assigned to the judicial circuit of which he was a resident. Some delay was occasioned in the confirmation of Mr. Bradley, by reason of his being a non- resident of the remaining vacant circuit, which comprehended the districts of Geor- gia, northern and southern Florida, north-
ern and southern Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and eastern and western Texas. All objections were, however, easily re- moved, and Mr. Bradley, being confirmed, entered upon the duties of his office. Dur- ing some months of the year it was neces- sary for him, as well as for all of the mem- bers of the court, to reside at Washington, and the result was that he made the na- tional capital his dwelling-place, an ex- ample which was soon followed by all the other judges of the supreme court.
The limits assigned to this sketch will not admit of even a list of the many impor- tant questions which Mr. Justice Bradley was called upon to decide. For none of his decisions did he receive adverse criticism, except, perhaps, from those with whose interests or political prejudices they may have collided. It was to be expected that, as a member of the electoral commis- sion, his vote, whatever it might be, would give offense to the party defeated by it; and yet his argument on that occasion was pro- nounced unanswerable by many distin- guished men who were politically his op- ponents. It is true that his appointment by the four supreme court justices gave to the Republicans a majority in the electoral tribunal in 1877, charged with determining the result of the presidential election of the preceding year; but the oath: "I, 一, do solemnly swear, that I will impartially examine and consider all questions sub- mitted to the commission of which I am a member, and a true judgment give there- on, agreeably to the constitution and the laws: so help me God," was as binding upon each one as upon him. And yet it was not so considered; for seven men of each political party were expected to ren- der judgment in accordance with the pro-
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