USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Biographical and genealogical history of the city of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, V. 1 > Part 68
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JOSEPH C. HORNBLOWER, LL. D.,
chief justice of New Jersey, born in Belle- ville, New Jersey, May 6, 1777, was the son of Hon. Josiah Hornblower. He was the youngest of twelve children, and so feeble and sickly in youth that he seemed des- tined to an early grave. After a service of
ten years in the mercantile business, he entered, as a student, the office of David B. Ogden, then a young and promising lawyer in Newark, New Jersey. In 1803 he was admitted to the bar; in 1806 he became a counselor, and in 1816 a sergeant at law. Before his admission to practice he was taken in partnership by his preceptor. His business as a lawyer soon became large and lucrative, and it was not long before he was regarded as one of the ablest and most successful lawyers of the state. On the death of Mr. Justice Ewing he was elected, by the legislature, chief justice, November I, 1832, and was re-elected in 1839, mak- ing his full term of service on the bench fourteen years. In 1844 he was a member of the convention to frame a new constitu- tion for the state. In 1841 the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, conferred upon him the degree of LL. D.
For more than fifty years he was a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian church of Newark. Of the American Bible Society he was one of the original members. To the New Jersey Historical Society he was greatly devoted, and was its president from its foundation to the time of his death, which took place January 1I, 1864.
ROBERT TREAT.
While it is not to be denied that Abra- ham Pierson was the Abraham, indeed, of the brave little band of "exiles for con- science' sake," the evidence is conclusive that the leader of the leaders, the captain of the whole company, was Robert Treat. Al- though Rev. Dr. Stearns, with natural love and reverence for his own holy profession, gives priority of consideration to Pastor Pierson, he nevertheless speaks of Treat as
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"the flower and pride of the whole com- pany." This Treat was that beyond doubt.
He was born in England, and as early as 1640 he was at Milford, Connecticut, filling the position of town clerk. Early in life he developed a decided capacity for leadership, both in civil and military matters. As we have already seen, he was the avant courier of the emigrants; the leading selecter of Newark as a place of settlement, and the guide hither of the Milford people. In es- tablishing and laying out the town he was among the most active and energetic. More than any other settler he is justly entitled to be remembered as the founder of New- ark. During its first years he served the town as clerk and magistrate, likewise its deputy in the early New Jersey assembly. To none more than to Treat is the Newark of to-day indebted for the natural beauty of its location, the order of its original plan, and the width and attractiveness of its lead- ing thoroughfares, more especially Broad street. He remained in Newark after its settlement only some six years, returning to Connecticut in 1672. It seems likely that his old New England associates in- duced his return on the ground of his abili- ty to fill a larger field of usefulness in the mother colony. Be that as it may, we find that upon his return he was chosen to the magistracy of the province, and that in 1675 "Major Treat was dismissed from the church of Christ at Newark" and commend- ed to the church at Milford. In evidence of the esteem in which he was held by his fellow settlers of Newark, the town records tell that when the town was parceled into lots he was given first choice by universal consent, and, besides, two extra acres or lots in recognition of his services in nego- tiating for the settlers. In Connecticut he
became more than ever a man of mark. Besides taking a commanding military po- sition in early colonial Indian warfare, Treat served the colony for thirty-two years as deputy-governor and governor.
It is traditionally related that at the "Bat- tle of Bloody Brook," between the Indians and the colonists, Major Treat commanded the latter, and behaved heroically. It is added that he received a bullet through his hat-brim, and was the last man to leave the field at dusk the evening of the day of bat- tle. When Sir Edmund Andros attempted to wrest from Connecticut her original charter, and the people suddenly extin- guished the lights in the assembly chamber, so that Captain Wadsworth might be en- abled to slip out and secrete the almost sacred document-as he did in the Charter Oak-Governor Treat was in the chair. As governor he was elected annually from 1683 until 1698. He died July 12, 1710, in his eighty-fifth year, full of years and hon- ors. He was esteemed, courageous, wise and pious, and was exceedingly beloved and venerated by the people in general, es- pecially by his neighbors at Milford, where he resided.
He was twice married, his first wife being Jane Tapp, a daughter of one of the "seven pillars" of the Milford church.
Governor Treat left Newark a rich leg- acy in the persons of several estimable chil- dren. His son John, who married Sarah Tichenor, was a justice of the peace under Cornbury; represented Essex county in the assembly when it was necessary that mem- bers should, along with other requirements, own one thousand acres of land or five hundred pounds in personal estate; was, in 1712, presiding judge of the local court; and in 1731 held the military title of major,
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like his distinguished father. The Govern- or's daughter Mary became the wife of Deacon Azariah Crane, who left his "silver bole" to be used by "the church in Newark forever," and who appears to have outlived all the original settlers. Governor Treat's "home-lott" was occupied by his daughter's descendants until the beginning of the pres- ent century. On a portion of it now stands a monument in honor of Robert Treat and to all the original settlers,-the First Pres- byterian church of Newark. Though the name of Treat is extinct in Newark, and al- most entirely so in the state of New Jersey, the Governor's descendants are numerous and representative of the best citizenship and highest reputation. In New England and the west the Treats number not a few distinguished men in public as well as in private life.
ADDISON W. WOODHULL, M. D.,
`youngest son of Dr. John Woodhull, a phy- sician well known and highly esteemed throughout the southern part of New Jer- sey, was born in Monmouth county, August 13, 1831. After a careful preparatory edu- cation he entered the College of New Jer- sey, at Princeton, where he was graduated in 1854. He subsequently studied medicine under his father's direction, and in 1856 re- ceived from the New York Medical Univer- sity the degree of M. D., with the highest honors. He was soon after appointed phy- sician to the penitentiary on Blackwell island, and performed the duties of that office for one year. In 1857 he removed to Newark, New Jersey, and there established himself in the practice of his profession, gaining almost immediately an enviable po- sition as a physician and a man.
Like many others of his profession throughout the land, Dr. Woodhull, at the commencement of the war of the Rebellion, responded to his country's call, and leaving an extensive and lucrative practice, accept- ed the appointment of assistant surgeon of the Fifth New Jersey Regiment, August 21, 1861. In this connection he remained until February 6, 1862, when he was promoted surgeon of the Ninth Regiment, which at that time was in the vicinity of Newbern, North Carolina. To his new post he has- tened, not reaching it, however, in time for the battle, but in season to render most efficient aid to the wounded and the suffer- ing. Here his ability as a surgeon and an officer attracted the attention of General Burnside, the commander, who at once placed him in a position of great trust and responsibility. In the fall of the same year he was appointed surgeon in charge of the Hammond General Hospital, at Beaufort, where he remained until he was again called into the field by the departure of General Heckman for South Carolina. At this time he was made surgeon of Heckman's Star Brigade, and while in the discharge of other duties, superintended, in 1863, the erection of Mansfield's General Hospital, at More- head City, for which he received the highest commendation: But to trace his splendid career throughout the war would be impos- sible in a sketch so circumscribed as this must necessarily be. It is sufficient to say that he was with Burnside and with Rose- crans, and was also with Sherman during the latter part of his memorable journey to the sea. He was a man of wonderful en- ergy and undoubted valor; in the camp or hospital, cool, collected, and quiet in the performance of every duty; and in the field ready at all times to share with his com-
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rades the toils and dangers of the conflict. On one occasion, while accompanying Heckman on a very hazardous expedition, their force was suddenly fallen upon by the enemy, and in the engagement Dr. Wood- hull received two balls in his body, one of which disabled an arm, and the other broke one of his ribs; but notwithstanding his in- injuries, as soon as the enemy had been routed, he dressed the wounds of the in- jured before leaving the field to be cared for himself.
At the close of the war Dr. Woodhull returned to Newark to resume his practice, and here he met with a hearty welcome. Professional business awaited him, and honors were heaped upon him by his med- ical brethren. He was made president of the District Medical Society of Essex County, also of the Newark Medical Asso- ciation. The appointment of physician to St. Michael's Hospital was given to him. He was made a member of the board of examiners for pensions, and at the time of his death held the position of medical ex- aminer of the Mutual Benefit Life Insur- ance Company.
Dr. Woodhull was a man of sincere piety, and greatly beloved by the South Park Presbyterian Church, of which he was a rul- ing elder. In social as well as professional life he had the confidence and esteem of every one, and for his literary attainments was highly respected. His last sickness was not regarded at first as serious; but, un- expectedly to his family while gathered about him, he called out. "I am going; good-by," and then, embracing his wife and children, sank upon his pillow, and gently died. This event occurred on the 14th of May, 1876. Meetings of the various socie- ties, religious and medical, of which Dr.
Woodhull was a member, were promptly called on the public announcement of his death, and eulogies were pronounced, and resolutions setting forth his worth, as well as the grief occasioned by his loss, were everywhere adopted. Among the many which may be found in archives of these so- cieties and associations, is the following, which is spread upon the minutes of the District Medical Society of Essex county :
"Resolved, That the Society record in profound sorrow, their sense of the loss sustained by themselves, by the profession. and by the community at large; and they deplore the removal from their midst of a genial, refined and trusted friend; from the profession, of a skillful, intelligent and suc- cessful physician; from the community at large, of a faithful, loyal and patriotic citi- zen; and from the church, of one who so un- ostentatiously and yet so worthily illus- trated the Christian character. They rec- ognize in the death of their associate the monitory exhortation to do with their might what their hands find to do."
WILLIAM RANKIN, Jr ..
was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, March 13, 1848. He received his preparatory educa- tion at the Newark Academy, and was graduated at Rutgers College, New Jersey, in 1868. In 1871 he received his degree of M. D. from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, and after spending a year in the hospitals of Vienna, began the practice of his profession in Newark, New Jersey, making, however, a specialty of diseases of the eye and ear.
Dr. Rankin is a member of the Ameri- can Ophthalmological Society, of the New Jersey Academy of Medicine, and treas-
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urer of the Essex District Medical Society. In 1876 he was a member of the Interna- tional Ophthalmological and Otological Congresses. Since the establishment of the Newark Charitable Eye and Ear Infirm- ary, in 1880, he has been secretary of its board of trustees, and an attending sur- geon.
ERNEST M. LYON, M. D.,
was born at Newark, New Jersey, June 24, 1852, and resided some time in the state of Massachusetts, where he received his early education. In 1877 he was graduated at the Medical College of Bellevue Hospital, and since then has practiced medicine in Newark, New Jersey. He is a member of the Essex District Medical Society.
JAMES M. BELDON,
manager of the Berkeley Stables, East Or- ange, New Jersey, has been identified with this place and conducting his present busi- ness during the past decade. As one of the representative business men of the town, it is fitting that his biography should be given a place among those of his fellow citizens.
James M. Beldon was born at North Branch, Somerset county, New Jersey, March 12, 1864, son of Heber C. and Mar- garet E. (Vanderveer) Beldon. Of the early history of the Beldon family but little is known, Grandfather Beldon having died when his son Heber C. was a small child. The maternal grandfather of our subject, Dr. Vanderveer, was a prominent physician and practiced at North Branch for many years. Heber C. Beldon was born near Trenton, New Jersey. In boyhood he
went with his mother to North Branch, where he lived for twenty years, thence go- ing to Clinton and later to Flemington, where he spent the residue of his life. He was an extensive dealer in stock. While a resident of Flemington he held several po- sitions of local prominence, among which were those of surrogate, sheriff and treas- urer of Hunterdon county. In politics he was prominent and active, affiliating with the Democratic party. He died in 1885, honored and respected by all who knew him. Mrs. Margaret E. Beldon, his widow, is still living and is a resident of Harrison, New Jersey. Seven children were born to them, of whom two died in childhood, those living being James M., Charles S., Dunham S., Matilda W. and Harry F.
James M. Beldon received his early edu- cation in the private schools of Clinton, New York, and Flemington, New Jersey. Then he took a preparatory course at Sing Sing, New York, and entered the military academy at West Point, where he spent one year. Resigning at the expiration of this time, he went to Newark and pursued a commercial course in Coleman's Business College. In 1883 we find him in New York city in the employ of a wholesale fur house, where he remained five years. May I, 1888, he came to East Orange and pur- chased from W. H. Smith the business he has since conducted.
Mr. Beldon was married January 30, 1885, at Flemington, to Miss Kate B. Ri- ley, daughter of William S. Riley, and to them have been given five children, name- ly : Heber C., Jennie B., William R., James M., Jr., and one that died in infancy.
Fraternally Mr. Beldon is identified with Plato Lodge, No. 122, Knights of Pythias,
JAMES M. BELDON
I-P-
ـ- مباشر
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and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, in the latter of which he has filled all the chairs and is at present officiating for the third term as Exalted Ruler. Politi- cally he supports the Democratic party and is a member of the Democratic county com- mittee. His family are attendants upon worship at the Baptist church.
HENRY L. LEIBE,
ex-president of the village of Irvington, and a progressive mechanic and inventor, was born in Newark, New Jersey, on the 10th of May, 1855, and is a son of Emil and Mary Leibe, the former being a native of Saxony who emigrated to the United States in 1840, locating in Newark, where he was for a long time engaged in the cane and stick manufacture. His death occurred in 1892, at the venerable age of seventy-two years.
Henry L. Leibe is the eldest of eight liv- ing children and in his early youth he re- ceived an excellent education, including the German and English languages, his last preceptor being Professor Haynes. At the age of fourteen years he ceased his literary studies and secured employment with the firm of Thomas G. Brown as polisher and jeweler, continuing his associations with the same for eighteen years, five of which he spent as manager of a department of that establishment, during which period his en- ergetic nature found an outlet in studying secret processes in the way of coloring, gilding and depositing. In 1887 he em- barked in business with two of his friends, under the firm name of the Alvin Manu- facturing Company, silversmiths, and he se- cured patents on his process of depositing, which had proved a great success. The com-
pany changed hands by sale in August, 1896, and in January of the following year Mr. Leibe engaged in the manufacture of bicycle specialties, on which he now holds three important patents, and is at the pres- ent time perfecting a novelty in silver of which he will begin the manufacture at an early date. He is now president of the Henry L. Leibe Manufacturing Company, engaged in the silver business. This com- pany is incorporated under the laws of New Jersey.
In 1893 Mr. Leibe became a citizen of Irvington, and his reputation as a business man of sound judgment and progressive ideas immediately brought him into prom- inence as a most suitable person with whom to intrust the affairs of the village, and his name was urged for nomination for the vil- lage presidency in the spring of 1894, not- withstanding his protest. He defeated four opponents in the nomination by a majority of three hundred and ninety-six, and se- cured the election with plenty of votes to spare. It was while he was the incumbent of that office that he defeated the attempt of the Newark authorities to locate a pest- house in Irvington, and approved the build- ing of the town hall.
Mr. Leibe has also served six years in Company G, Fifth Regiment, National Guard of New Jersey, under Captain George M. Townsend, and he was sergeant of the company for three years.
The marriage of Mr. Leibe was celebrat- ed in March, 1879, when he was united to Miss Lena Zeitler, whose demise occurred in August of that year. On the Ioth of May, 1882, he married Miss Teresa Belke, daughter of William Belke, and the children of this union are: Clara M., Henry E., Teresa M., Lydia M., and Alvin L. Mr.
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Leibe is a man whose excellent business principles and integrity of character have won for him the confidence and high re- gard of his numerous friends.
JOHN F. WARD, M. D.,
was born in Bloomfield, Essex county, New Jersey, September 28, 1815, and was edu- cated in the schools of his native place. At a suitable age he entered, as a student, the office of his uncle, Dr. Eleazar Ward, and in 1836 was graduated at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Imme- diately after receiving his license he estab- lished himself in the practice of his pro- fession in Newark, New Jersey, where it is said of him that "he sat in his office for six months without his first pay patient." However this may be, it is certainly true that eventually he obtained a very exten- sive and lucrative practice, and became known as one of the most successful physi- cians in the county of Essex. At an early period in his professional life he became a member of the Essex County District Med- ical Society, in the proceedings of which he always took a lively interest. In 1851 he was appointed by the State Medical Society one of the censors for Essex county, and from 1852 to 1860 was, at different times, a delegate to the State Society and a valu- able member of the various committees of that body upon which he was appointed.
To all the duties of his profession Dr. Ward was earnestly devoted, and nothing within his power was ever left undone which could add to its dignity or useful- ness. Quiet and even retiring in his man- ners, he was, nevertheless, brave and prompt in the performance of every pro- fessional duty, never delaying any demand
whatever for his services, even though they might be rendered at the peril of his life. While eminently qualified, by reason of his excellent judgment and common sense, for offices of trust and responsibility, he was always averse to public positions, and, with the exception of the directorship in the Firemen's Insurance Company of New- ark, he never held any secular office what- ever. Of the church to which he belonged he was a consistent member, and for many years a deacon. Every one admired and respected him, and none loved him more than those who in suffering experienced the gentleness and efficiency with which he ad- ministered to their necessities. When he died the whole community felt that a good man had been taken from the world. This sad event occurred July 11, 1873. The day before his burial the Essex County District Medical Society held a special meeting to pay honors to his memory, and among the resolutions adopted on the occasion was the following:
"Resolved, That in the death of our la- mented friend and brother, Dr. John F. Ward, we mourn the loss of one of the old- est and most honored members of our pro- fession, one of the most trusted and be- loved. The long self-sacrifice is over. There is no one, perhaps, of whom it could be more truly said, 'His life was work.' For the whole period of his thirty-seven years of service he might always be found at the post of duty. He asked no furlough. He postponed and subordinated all personal enjoyments to the claims of an unusually large practice. He was as ready to respond to the calls of the poor as of the rich, year in and year out, by night and by day, brav- ing all fatigues and all dangers. When pestilence struck terror to the hearts of
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men there was no cowardly abandonment, but assiduous watchings and untiring min- istries in cellar and garret. If such a life is not heroic and noble, what life is so? In a degree, it is the life of every conscientious physician; but there are probably few men that equaled him in the amount of toil and sacrifice, continued, with such strenu- ous self-devotion, through so long a period. As a physician he was chiefly distinguished for soundness of medical judgment, which was rarely at fault. He possessed in a marked degree common sense, which some regard as less a faculty than the equilibrium of all the faculties."
Dr. Ward was married, April 20, 1837, to Miss Jane D. Gibbs, of Bloomfield, New Jersey. This estimable lady survived her husband until November 13, of the fol- lowing year. She was noted for her deeds of charity, and that valuable institution, the Home for Aged Women, of Newark, is in- debted to no one more than to Mrs. Ward for its establishment and for its present prosperity. She was one of its founders, and at her death left to it the handsome sum of ten thousand dollars.
The surviving children of Dr. and Mrs. Ward are Edward Payson, Cyrus F., and John F. Ward.
HON. AUGUSTUS C. STUDER.
The strong, rugged sublimity of the Alps seems to have lent itself to the nature of the people who live upon their slopes or in the beautiful valleys that nestle between the mountains. For years Switzerland has fur- nished to the world some of its brightest examples of courage; its patriots have aroused the wonder and admiration of all peoples, and their fidelity to principles has
formed the theme of story and of song and furnished incentive and inspiration to the young men of all lands. It is from this race that Mr. Studer springs, the well known edi- tor of the Montclair Times, and the present United States senator from his district, and the marked characteristics of his race are evident in his life record. He was born in America, May 10, 1854, but the first words he uttered were those of the Swiss tongue. All of the other members of his family were born in Switzerland, and his grandfather was a minister of the Calvin- istic faith, who for forty years officiated as pastor of a church in Thun, Switzerland. One of his ancestors was engaged in the civil war known as the Sonderbund,-a term meaning "severing the bonds,"-the same state of affairs existing as in our re- cent civil war, when the south attempted to break in twain the Union. His ancestor remained true and loyal to the government.
The mother of our subject bore the maid- en name of Elizabeth Oertel, and was a na- tive of the Grand Duchy of Baden. Her mother took an active part in the move- ment to establish the independence of Ba- den, in 1849, by encouraging resistance to the government, and on several occasions conveyed important secret dispatches to Frederick Hecker, the patriotic leader.
In 1850 Mr. Studer's parents came to New Jersey, locating in Newark, where they resided until four years after the birth of their son Augustus, when on account of the cholera epidemic, which was then rag- ing, they returned to their native land. Thus in the country of his ancestors Mr. Studer spent the days of his early youth and attended the schools of Thun and Gen- eva. While pursuing the usual course of study he also acquired a thorough knowl-
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