USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Biographical and genealogical history of the city of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, V. 1 > Part 9
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Mrs. Elizabeth Ricord, wife of Dr. Ricord, was a pioneer in the higher educa- tion of women, the friend and associate of Mary Lyon, Emma Willard and other early educators. Bereft of husband and left with four sons to educate, she returned from the West Indies to America to give to her boys the advantages of a Christian land and civilization. In that day it was not custo- mary for women to face the world, as now may be done, without call for special effort or courage. Delicately reared, the daugh- ter of a clergyman, Rev. Peter Stryker, ac- customed throughout married life abroad to the dependent life of the wife of a large slaveholder, Mrs. Ricord came to America
to fight her way with an entire change of environment. At once she decided upon the life of a teacher as that which, while supporting herself, would also be a life of help to others. To this end she opened a school in Woodbridge, New Jersey, where her youngest son died. As her worldly goods increased she was enabled to realize, in larger degree, the idea which had long been uppermost in her mind, in engaging in the work of teaching, which was that of establishing a school where young women might have educational advantages of- fered to them, greater than any given by the schools of her own girlhood. To this end she opened, in 1829, in Geneva, New York, her seminary for young women, in which institution an education was made possible for women that was upon a par with that offered by the higher schools for young men. She was eminently successful in her undertaking; her seminary took first rank, and its pupils were numbered by thousands during the many years of its existence.
As an immediate outcome of her under- taking, Mrs. Ricord was enabled to send all of her three remaining sons through col- lege and give to two of them a legal, and to the other, a medical, education. Fred- erick W., the youngest of the three, the subject of this sketch, graduated at both Hobart and Rutgers Colleges, completed his .law studies, and was admitted to the bar of the state of New York. In 1843 he married Sophia, daughter of William Brad- ley, whose family represented one of the best of New England. Upon her mother's side, Sophia Bradley was a descendant of Governor .William Bradford, of the Ply- mouth Colony, and also of Governor John Webster, of the Connecticut Colony.
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Mr. Ricord did not follow his legal pro- fession, but, shortly after marriage, having taken up his residence in Newark, New Jersey, he began teaching, and occupied his spare time with literary pursuits, as a writer for papers, magazines and later as the author and editor of many works. His life is too well known by those among whom it was spent to need mention in de- tail. As a public officer he is known as one above bribe or corruption, jealous in his adherence to right, the tool of no man. His attitude on the wood-pavement ques- tion is too well known in the city of New- ark to need rehearsal. Through his action hundreds of thousands of dollars were saved to the city and to its citizens as indi- viduals. As state superintendent, Mr. Ricord did much to systematize the educa- tional affairs of the state. During the sev- enteen years of his connection with the Board of Education of Newark he did also important work for city educational mat- ters. Although offered chairs in various well known colleges and universities, Mr. Ricord preferred to live in the city of his choice, and therefore accepted none of these offered positions, although he was not insensible to their honor. Nor did he ever accept the honor of representing his constituents in the state legislature or United States legislative bodies, although he was asked to accept nominations for both.
From boyhood Mr. Ricord belonged to the church of his Holland ancestors, but was, for the last forty years of his life, a member of the Presbyterian church. For many years he was superintendent of one of the first colored Sunday schools in the city.
During the fifty-four years of his resi- dence in Newark Mr. Ricord occupied the various positions and offices of librarian of the Newark Library Association, member and president of the board of education, state superintendent of public schools, sheriff of Essex county, mayor of the city of Newark, judge of various courts, and librarian and treasurer of the New Jersey Historical Society. He was a member and Master of St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M., and connected with many literary and edu- cational societies and bodies, both in his own and other states. He was the author of many works and the translator of many more. His Youth's Grammar and His- tories of Rome were, for many years, lead- ing text-books in the schools of the land. He was emphatically a linguist, being mas- ter of fourteen languages and dialects, and was, during his long life of literary work, editor of many magazines, papers and bio- graphical works.
The political record of Mr. Ricord is without stain. In his social life he was known and loved as a man of pure life and noble thought, of warm heart and courte- ous bearing, a man to whom the pomps and vanities of life had little value, and the approval of his own conscience was the best reward. He was a tireless worker and a man of rare simplicity of character. Of the possessions and treasures of a long life, none were so dear to this man of unworldly thought, as the friendships he made and held as the best gifts of the God he wor- shiped.
[A portrait of Judge Ricord appears in connection with the introductory article of this volume .- The Publishers. ]
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JOHN W. DE BAUN,
a progressive agriculturist of Caldwell township, was born in Schuyler county, New York, on the 25th of October, 1858, and is a son of John and Lettie (Folley) De Baun. His father was born in Bergen county, New Jersey, in 1813, and in his early life he worked as a carpenter in that locality and in New York city, locating about the year 1847 in Schuyler county, whence he came to his late residence in Essex county in 1866, purchasing a farm near Clinton, and there resided until his death, which occurred on the 24th of Jan- uary, 1895. His father was an American by birth, although his ancestors were of French origin. Mrs. De Baun was the daughter of William Folley, of Bergen county, New Jersey, was born July 9, 1818, and died December 3, 1897, and to her and her husband were born the following named children : . Abram, of Paterson, New Jersey; Maria, wife of Charles C. Harvey, of Schuyler county, New York; Catherine, wife of Adonile King; Jeremiah R., who was a member of Company G, One Hun- dred and Ninth New York Volunteer In- fantry, and who died in the service near the close of the war; Peter, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Ella O., wife of John H. Pier; Emma O., wife of Edward P. Bush; and John W. and Amos.
John W. De Baun acquired a limited amount of schooling while growing up on his father's farm, and at the age of twenty- four he left the old homestead and removed to a small farm he had previously secured, and there engaged in the business of mar- ket gardening. Fifty dollars was all the money he possessed with which to make the first payment on the farm, from which it
may be inferred that his initial movements. were indeed but primitive. His industry and unfaltering perseverance brought their own reward, and in time his improvements were all made, his farm paid for and he had accumulated a surplus to be used in any possible emergency. His was the first truck wagon to make a trip from the vi- cinity of Fairfield to the Newark market, ---- a fact that establishes him as the pioneer truck farmer of Fairfield. In his political belief Mr. De Baun is a stanch advocate of Republican principles and he is a member of the school board in his district.
The marriage of Mr. De Baun was cele- brated at Boston, Massachusetts, on the 25th of December, 1883, when he was united to Miss Abbie M. Kimball, a daugh- ter of Washington Kimball, of Bucksport, Maine, and their children are: Inez W., Roscoe W., Ruth E., John W., Jr., and Sadie A.
EDWARD P. BUSH.
The Bush family is one of the oldest and most honored in Essex county, the found- ing of it having occurred during colonial times. "Governor" Bush, the grandfather of our subject, was born in the neighbor- hood of Clinton, as was his son William, the father of Edward P., the birth of whom occurred about the year 1812. A few years of his early married life were passed in To- ledo, Ohio, but he returned to his native county before the war and was one of the prominent Democratic leaders for many years, serving as justice of the peace of his. township, collector of the same, a member of the Essex county road board, was county collector for two or three terms, and about the year 1872 he was elected sheriff of Essex county. He was united in marriage.
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to Miss Charlotte Pierce, a daughter of Edward Pierce, and she died in 1884, sur- vived by the following children: Ezra, of Brooklyn, New York; Antoinette, the wife of Charles Demorest; Charles, of South- ampton, Long Island; James K .; Cyn- thia, who married W. H. Barton; Sarah, the wife of John R. Jacobus; and Edward P., the immediate subject of this sketch.
Edward P. Bush, one of the representa- tive farmers of Essex county, was born on the homestead which is now in his posses- sion on the 10th of June, 1852, and received such literary education as was afforded by the district schools of that vicinity. He subsequently adopted the calling which his ancestors had followed for several genera- tions before him, that of farming, and has continued to successfully devote his efforts in the pursuit of that line of industry.
On the 31st of December, 1876, Mr. Bush was united in marriage to Miss Emma O. De Baun, and they are the parents of five children : Ada, Norman C., Grover, Florence and Elsie.
JOHN H. PIER,
of Caldwell, one of the progressive and thrifty farmers and gardeners of Caldwell township, was born on the farm which he now owns, February 27, 1855. Through- out the century the Pier family has been represented in Essex county, the grandfa- ther of our subject, John Pier, having been born within its borders, while his residence throughout life was maintained in Pier Lane. His son, Simon D. Pier, the father, was born in Fairfield, in 1815, and followed the carpenter's trade in connection with agricultural pursuits. He married Caro- line Cole, a daughter of Richard Cole, a representative of one of the early families
of the county, and they became the parents of four children, namely: Richard; Abbie, wife of Henry Bird; Hattie, wife of Charles Garrabrant; and John H.
John H. Pier has spent his entire life at the place of his birth. He obtained his ed- ucation in the common schools, and no event of special importance occurred dur- ing his youth, which was spent in the school-room, on the farm, or enjoying boy- ish sports with the lads of the neighbor- hood. In his younger years he learned the carpenter's trade, serving an appren- ticeship to Nicholas Bond, of Caldwell, and after mastering the business he followed it as a means of livelihood for twelve years. Out of his wages he managed to save enough capital to purchase his present farm, and has since engaged in raising veg- etables for the city market. His land is sys- tematically laid out, being divided into beds of convenient size, and his thorough under- standing of his business enables him to util- ize his ground to the best advantage. He raises an excellent quality of vegetables and finds a good market for his products. He is now enjoying a good and profitable busi- ness and is certainly deserving the success which is attending his efforts.
In 1878 Mr. Pier was united in marriage, the lady of his choice being Miss Ella O. a daughter of John De Baun, and they have two children,-Hazel and Charles.
WILLIAM L. JOHNSON,
of Bloomfield, township clerk and secretary of the board of health, was born in Bloom- field township, Essex county, on the 13th of July, 1866. For a century both his pa- ternal and maternal ancestors have been residents of this section of the state. His grandfather, Thomas V. Johnson, was
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born in New Jersey and made his home in Newark during the great part of his life. The maternal grandfather was Simeon Riggs Hayes, also a native of the state. His parents, J. Cory and Sally W. (Hayes) Johnson, were born and reared in Essex county and for many years he has been the special agent for the Mutual Benefit Insur- ance Company, of Newark, New Jersey, and agent for the Mutual Life Insurance Company, of New York, with office in Newark.
The gentleman whose name begins this review spent the greater part of his youth in Bloomfield, where he attended the pub- lic schools. Later he pursued a commer- cial course in the business academy in Newark and on its completion entered upon his business career as a salesman in the wholesale and retail store of William Whitty, of Newark, in whose employ he remained for three years. He then ac- cepted a position as salesman for S. S. Pe- loubet, of New York city, with whom he continued for two years, after which he dealt in law books in New York city and carried on business with good success for four years. On the expiration of that pe- riod he disposed of his business in order to assume the duties of township clerk, to which position he had been elected in the spring of 1892. So acceptably and faith- fully has he served in that capacity that he has been twice re-elected without opposi- tion.
Mr. Johnson was married in 1890, the lady of his choice being Miss Arvilla G. Dancer, of Bloomfield, a daughter of Thomas L. and Anna (Kent) Dancer. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are well known and have the warm regard of a large circle of friends in Bloomfield.
Mr. Johnson has taken a very active part in the affairs of the city and lends his sup- port to every movement calculated to bene- fit the community, materially, socially or morally. He was for nine years a member of the Bloomfield Hook & Ladder Com- pany, and for four years has been foreman, still occupying this position. He is a val- ued and prominent member of various be- nevolent and social organizations, is past regent of the Bloomfield Council of the Royal Arcanum; also a member of the Im- proved Order of Heptasophs, which was organized in June, 1893; of the Loyal Additional Benefit Association, of which he is treasurer; treasurer of the Exempt Firemen's Association, and a member of Bloomfield Lodge, No. 40, F. & A. M. In politics he is a stalwart Republican and be- longs to the Lincoln Republican Club. Al- ways courteous and genial, he possesses a social disposition that well fits him for the important part which he has taken in pub- lic affairs. His life record will bear the closest scrutiny and commends him to the good will and respect of all.
FREDERICK T. FRELINGHUYSEN.
True biography has a nobler purpose than mere fulsome eulogy. The historic spirit faithful to the record, the discerning judgment unmoved by prejudice and un- colored by enthusiasm are as essential in giving the life of the individual as in writ- ing the history of a people. Indeed, the ingenuousness of the former picture is even more vital, because the individual is the national unit, and if the unit be justly estimated the complex organism will be- come correspondingly intelligible. The world to-day is what the leading men of the
Fred." J. Feelinghung sur ~
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last generation have made it. From the past has come the legacy of the present. Art, science, statesmanship, government are accumulations. They constitute an in- heritance upon which the present genera- tion have entered, and the advantages secured from so vast a bequeathment de- pend entirely upon the fidelity with which is conducted the study of the lives of the principal actors who have transmitted the legacy. This is especially true of those whose influence has passed beyond the con- fines of locality and permeated the national character. To such a careful study are the life, character and services of the late Fred- erick T. Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, pre- eminently entitled, not only on the part of the student of biography but of every citi- zen who, guided by the past, would in the present wisely build for the future.
Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen, who rose to the distinction of being secretary of state in President Arthur's cabinet, was born in the village of Millstone, in the county of Somerset, state of New Jersey, on the 4th day of August, 1817. His hon- ored ancestry, distinguished for piety, elo- quence and patriotism, traces back, in direct line, to the Rev. Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, who was born in Holland and there educated and ordained to the ministry in the Reformed Dutch church. In the year 1720 this pious ancestor emi- grated to America, in obedience to a call from the Dutch churches of America to the classis of Amsterdam. In his ministry in this country he occupied almost the en- tire county of Somerset, with parts of Middlesex and Hunterdon, as the field of his missionary labors. He was laborious, devoted, successful. His motto, found in- scribed upon a small collection of his ser-
mons printed in 1733, was "Laudem non quero; Culpam non timeo,"-"I ask not praise; I fear not blame." In a successful ministry of more than a quarter of a cen- tury he stamped upon the religious faith and character of the Holland inhabitants of Somerset county an impress which is trace- able down the generations to the present day. His undaunted attitude toward the colonial courts of magistracy in the en- croachments of the Church of England upon the Reformed Dutch faith and polity was characteristic of the deep spirit of religious freedom with which he was in- spired and which he transmitted to his descendants. He had five sons ordained to the ministry and two daughters who married ministers.
The second of the five sons was Rev. John Frelinghuysen, who was educated and ordained in Holland and succeeded to the labors of his father in 1750, with his residence in Somerville. Here he estab- lished a preparatory and divinity school, which became the nucleus of a college, and from which, through one of his pupils, the Rev. Dr. Hardenburg, was evolved Queen's College, now Rutgers, of which Dr. Hardenburg became the first president. The Rev. John Frelinghuysen was a man of brilliant gifts, and was popular and suc- cessful as a preacher. He died suddenly in 1754, leaving a wife, who was tlie daughter of a wealthy and distinguished East India merchant residing at Amster- dam. Her name was Dinah Van Berg. She was a very remarkable and highly gifted Christian woman, and subsequently. as the wife of Dr. Hardenburg, was known in all the Dutch churches in Holland and America.
The son of Rev. John Frelinghuysen and
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Dinah Van Berg was General Frederick Frelinghuysen, of Revolutionary fame, who was born in Somerville, April 13, 1753. He is, in this sketch, the central representa- tive, being the grandson of the ancestor and the grandfather of the late secretary of state. He graduated at Princeton in the class of 1770 and was a classmate of Presi- dent James Madison and S. Stanhope Smith, D. D., LL. D., who later became president of Princeton. He was admitted to the bar of New Jersey, became a member of the provincial congress of New Jersey, of the committee of safety, and was a member of the continental congress at different times. He was captain of a corps of artillery in the Revolutionary war and took part in the battles of Trenton and Monmouth. He was afterward made ma- jor-general of the militia in the Whisky rebellion, and was a member of the United States senate, from New Jersey, from 1793 to 1796. He died in 1804, highly hon- ored and eulogized. He left three sons, General John Frelinghuysen, Theodore Frelinghuysen, and Frederick Frelinghuy- sen,-all men of public distinction and rep- utation.
General John Frelinghuysen was a grad- uate of Queen's College, was frequently a member of the state council, and under the old constitution was popular in politics. Military in tastes, he commanded a regi- ment at Sandy Hook, in the war of 1812, and in the absence of the chaplain officiated as such himself. He was for years surro- gate of the county of Somerset and held numerous private and public trusts.
Theodore Frelinghuysen, the second son, who achieved high distinction as an educator, as well as a jurist and statesman, was the uncle of the distinguished secre-
tary, whom he had adopted as a son. He graduated at Princeton. It has been said of him: "His name was enshrined in the popular heart. He was the Christian's model man, an eloquent senator, an emi- nent jurist, a patriotic statesman and, in his later years, an educator of young men in college." At the time of his death he was president of Rutgers College and was revered for his greatness and goodness combined.
Frederick Frelinghuysen, the youngest of the three sons of General Frederick and the father of the late Secretary, was born in Millstone November 7, 1788. He, too, was educated at Princeton, and being ad- mitted to the bar commenced practice in his native town of Millstone, where he rapidly acquired a lucrative practice and brilliant reputation. Though suddenly stricken down by death in his thirty-second year, he is remembered as a natural orator, with a fervid imagination, a buoyant tem- perament, and as possessing great power over juries. He died suddenly in 1820, leaving surviving him his young widow, daughter of Peter B. Dumont, Esq., who owned a valuable plantation on the south bank of the Raritan, near Somerville; and also leaving three daughters and two sons, the younger son being Frederick Theo- dore Frelinghuysen, the late secretary of state in President Arthur's cabinet.
Young Frederick was only three years of age when his father died, and immedi- ately thereafter he was adopted by his uncle Theodore and taken to live with him in Newark. It is especially satisfactory to record that, inheriting his father's natural gifts, his eloquent speech and fervid emo- tions, and partaking of the refinement and comeliness of his mother, whose heart was
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ever filled with ambitious aspirations for the honorable career of her son, the loss of his father could not have been more fully compensated than it was, by the care and custody of the little boy in the guardian- ship of his distinguished uncle, who, hav- ing no children of his own, lavished upon him all the means that could be employed in his training and culture. His prepara- tory education alternated between the academy at Newark and the academy at Somerville. He entered Rutgers College as a sophomore and graduated in the class of 1836, a class conspicuous for names that subsequently became eminent. While a student in college Mr. Frelinghuysen's prepossessing personal appearance, his tall, slender figure, neatly attired, his hand- some, glowing face, together with a dig- nified and manly bearing, gave him a sin- gularly attractive and impressive presence. John F. Hageman, a classmate, speaking of him at this time says: "His natural talents were of a high order, but he had no specialties in his studies, no genius for the higher mathematics, no special fond- ness for the physical sciences. While his standing was good in the classics and in the general studies prescribed, it was evi- dent that he enjoyed most the branches of mental and moral philosophy, logic and rhetoric. Oratory had a charm for him. He seemed to have a prescience of the path in life he was destined to pursue, and all his studies were subordinated to that end."
Upon graduation Mr. Frelinghuysen en- tered at once upon the study of law in the office of his uncle Theodore, at Newark. The advantages and training which he re- ceived here were of exceptional value. His uncle was a lawyer of the highest rank, learned in his profession and a most per-
suasive and powerful advocate, his legal ability having won for him the eminent distinction of the attorney-generalship of his native state. After three years of study the subject of this memoir was ad- mitted to the bar as attorney, and three years later, in 1842, he was admitted as counselor.
At this juncture two important events in his history were to be recorded,-the public profession of his religious faith, by which he formed ecclesiastical relations with the church of his ancestors, the Re- formed Dutch church, and secondly, his marriage to Miss Matilda Griswold, the accomplished daughter of George A. Gris- wold, a wealthy and conspicuous merchant of New York city. These two relations, the church and the home, ever afterward held the heart of Mr. Frelinghuysen, and were his chief joy to the day of his death.
Mr. Frelinghuysen stood on high vant- age ground at the very start of his pro- fessional career in Newark. Succeeding to the office and library of his uncle, whither the old clients of the elder Fre- linghuysen were accustomed to resort for professional services, now that his uncle had become chancellor of the University of New York, the young attorney was wel- comed as the representative successor of the venerable jurist and senator, loved and revered for so many years; and he received the sympathy and support of the business men,-the merchants and the manufactur- ers of Newark. A host of influential friends gathered around him. The relig- ious classes cherished an affection for his name; the Newark bar took him into their special favor, and the whole community bestowed upon him their plaudits and good will. Besides, the helping hand and warin
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