USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Biographical and genealogical history of the city of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, V. 2 > Part 30
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J. C. Williams was reared upon his father's farm and attended the district schools, supplementing his early education- al privileges by a commercial course in Bry- ant & Stratton's business college, of New- ark. He entered upon his business career as a merchant, in Orange, but after carry- ing on operations along that line for eigh- teen months he sold out and returned to the farm. Soon afterward he entered into partnership with his brother Edmund, un- der the firm name of E. & J. C. Williams, proprietors of the Chestnut Hill Nurseries, at Montclair. They engaged in a general nursery business and stood at the head of their line of trade in this part of the state. The senior member of the firm was one of the most prominent and honored horti- culturists that the state has produced, and the younger brother, whose name heads this sketch, has fully sustained the high reputation which is attached to the name of Williams in connection with horticulture.
He not only understands the best meth-
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ods of raising fruits, but is also a practical business man in trade transactions, and thoroughly reliable at all times.
MORGAN WILLCOX AYRES, M. D.,
residing at Lorraine avenue and Park, Up- per Montclair, has been a resident since 1876, when he came from Brooklyn, New York, the city of his birth, being the son of Dr. Daniel and Charlotte Augusta (Rus- sell) Ayres, of that city.
GEORGE ARNOLD,
is one of the worthy citizens that the Fath- erland has furnished to New Jersey. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, on the IIth of October, 1856, a son of Conrad and Eliz- abeth (Toffer) Arnold. His father died in 1858, leaving the mother with two chil- dren, George and Margaret, the latter now the wife of Fred Zigler, of South Orange. Mrs. Arnold afterward married again, be- coming the wife of a Mr. Koab, and in lier native land she still resides.
To the public schools of Germany George Arnold is indebted for the educational ad- vantages which he received. He served a three years' apprenticeship to the shoe- maker's trade and afterward worked as a journeyman for seven years, but wages were low and opportunities for advancement meager in the old world and he resolved to test the advantages offered to young men in the American republic. Accordingly he sailed for the United States in 1872 and learned the barber's trade, which he fol- lowed in New York city until 1878. In that year he entered the military service of his adopted country. He had inherited from his father, who was a proficient musi-
cian, much of his love for and talent in that art, and as a member of the band of the Twentieth Regiment of the United States troops he joined the army, serving in that capacity in Texas for four years and in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for one year, when his term having expired, he was honorably discharged.
Locating in Orange, Mr. Arnold opened a barber shop, which he conducted for three years, when he came to South Orange and followed his trade for a time. His industry, economy, perseverance and straightforward dealing brought to him some capital, which he invested in the old Hixon property, a farm situated on Valley street. This he divided into town lots and has sold a large number at a good profit. For some years he has been extensively engaged in the real- estate business and his progressiveness in this direction has contributed not a little to the upbuilding and substantial improve- ment of the town. He also represents a number of the old, reliable insurance com- panies and his business in this direction has added not a little to his income. His suc- cess is the outgrowth of his own well di- rected efforts, the result of his honorable dealing and industry, and has been so worthily achieved that it places him above all envy.
Mr. Arnold has been twice married. In 1883 he was joined in wedlock to Miss Eliz- abeth Bruner, a native of Switzerland, who died in 1884. In 1886 he married Miss Caroline F. Werner, a native of Newark and a daughter of Charles F. Werner, now a hardware dealer of Orange. Their family numbers five children: Irene, Louise, Ruth, Margaret and Werner. Mr. Arnold is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, the Royal Arcanum and the An-
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cient Order of United Workmen. He also belongs to the Markwith band, the oldest organization of the kind in the state, and has done much to promote a love and taste for music in this locality.
AARON B. DENMAN
follows farming in his native township of Millburn. He was born on the old family homestead March 19, 1815, and is a son of John Denman, whose birth also occurred there. The grandfather, Thomas Denman, was also a native of the same locality. Tra- dition says that the ancestors of the Den- man family in America were three brothers who came from England in early colonial days, by name Stephen, Jacob and John; and that all reared families in the vicinity of Millburn and Springfield, New Jersey. Thomas Denman was a large land-owner and received much of his land in its primi- tive condition from the English govern- ment. The district was then thickly set- tled with Indians, who occasioned much trouble to the white people. Throughout the war of the Revolution the grandfather served as a gallant soldier of the colonies and was several times wounded, carrying the British lead with him to his grave. He married Hannah Chandler, of Elizabeth, who belonged to one of the first families of this state.
John Denman, father of our subject, was reared and educated under his father's di- rection, and on account of his father's health took charge of the old homestead. Upon the latter's death he came into pos- session of a portion of it and continued to conduct the farm in connection with shoe- making in company with his eldest son, Ed- win. They manufactured shoes and sold
to the New York trade, and thus added not a little to his income. He was united in marriage to Miss Deideme Dean, a daugh- ter of Jacob Dean, who was a large land- holder and belonged to an old New Jersey family. To this union were born the fol- lowing children: Edwin, Aaron, Isaac, Lewis, Bethuel, Thomas, Electa (widow of Daniel Dean), and Henrietta, wife of George Littell, of Livingston township. The family were acceptable members of the Presbyterian church. The parents are both now deceased.
Aaron B. Denman was reared under the parental roof and acquired his education in the public schools of the neighborhood. After attaining his majority he continued to follow the occupation which had claimed much of his attention in boyhood and has throughout his life been identified with the agricultural interests of Millburn township. He also assisted his father at shoemaking in his younger years, and after his marriage purchased forty acres of the old homestead, whereon he has since made his home. He has added many substantial improvements to the place and now has one of the finest farms in Essex, supplied with all modern accessories and conveniences.
In 1838 Mr. Denman was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary Ross, a daughter of Aaron and Hannah (Drew) Ross, natives of Millburn township and early settlers of this section of the county. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Denman are Henrietta, wife of William Browning, a resident of East Madison; Elizabeth, now deceased; Anna, who married George Denman, and is living in Millburn. The mother of this family de- parted this life on the 2d of April, 1855, and for his second wife Mr. Denman chose Mrs. James Howell, a widow. They have one
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child, Elmer, who married Lottie Brokaw, a daughter of Leander and Charlotte Bro- kaw, and now resides in Millburn township.
Mr. Denman votes with the Democracy, but has never been an aspirant for political honors. He is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and his well spent life has won him uniform regard. He is now living retired, being the owner of several valuable farms and other property which yields him a good income and en- ables him to lay aside the heavier burdens of business life.
H. MESSENGER AYRES, M. D.,
resides at Park street and Inwood avenue, Upper Montclair. He removed in 1895 from Brooklyn, New York, his birthplace, being a son of Dr. Daniel and Charlotte Augusta (Russell) Ayres, of that city.
F. W. WOLFE.
A man's reputation is the property of the world. The laws of nature have forbidden isolation. Every human being submits to the controlling influence of others, or, as a master spirit, wields a power either for good or evil on the masses of mankind. There can be no impropriety in justly scanning the acts of any man as they affect his public and business relations. If he is honest and eminent in his chosen field of labor, investi- gation will brighten his fame and point the path that others may follow with like suc- cess. From among the ranks of quiet, per- severing yet prominent citizens-promi- nent on account of what he has done in commercial circles-there is no one more deserving of mention in a volume of this character than Mr. Wolfe.
He was born in New York city in 1849,
and removed with his parents to Pleas- antdale, Essex county, New Jersey, when only two years old. He is a son of John and Margaretta (Pomer) Wolfe, well-to-do farming people, who owned considerable property in Pleasantdale. The father died in 1889, but the mother is still living. Their family numbered the following named : George, who married Esta Williams; F. W., of this review; John F., who wedded Caro- line Sippel and is living in Pleasantdale; and Margaretta, wife of George Noll, a res- ident of New York.
F. W. Wolfe was reared to manhood in Pleasantdale, and after attaining his ma- jority was united in marriage to Miss Mary Werner, a native of Millbach, Germany, and a daughter of J. Baptiste and Helen Werner. Her father died in 1891, and her mother passed away on the 29th of April, 1897.
Mr. Wolfe is a thoroughgoing, enterpris- ing and up-to-date business man, and his efforts have been crowned with success. In 1880 he embarked in merchandizing in Pleasantdale and three years later erected his present residence and store building, in which he has since conducted a general store. He carries a large stock of goods and from the surrounding country re- ceives a liberal patronage. His straightfor- ward business methods and his earnest de- sire to please his patrons secure him a con- tinuance of their support and bring to him a good income. He is the owner of a con- siderable extent of desirable real estate. hav- ing ten acres of land surrounding his store and twenty-six acres on the Pleasant Valley way, which is rapidly increasing in value as population extends in that direction. He also owns three residences in West Orange, which he rents.
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Mr. Wolfe was appointed postmaster of Pleasantdale under President Cleveland's administration and has held the office for the past ten years, with credit to himself and satisfaction to the patrons of the office. He and his wife are active members of the Pres- byterian church, in which he is now serving as treasurer and trustee. He contributes liberally to its support and does all in his power for the promotion of the cause. Al- ways social and genial, he possesses a social disposition that well fits him for his official duties and his mercantile life.
HEZEKIAH DARE,
one of the representative citizens of South Orange township, Essex county, New Jer- sey, is an Englishman by birth and early as- sociation, having been born in England in 1823, a son of English parents.
Samuel Dare, his father, emigrated to this country with his family in 1842 and located first in Montgomery county, New York, where he followed his occupation, that of farming. In 1855 he left New York and went west to Kankakee, Illinois, where he spent the rest of his life. Both he and his wife died at Kankakee a number of years ago. She was before her marriage Miss Anna Biggs, her native place being near Wrinton. Both were devoted Christians, members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and enjoyed the high esteem of all who knew them. Following are the names of their children: Hezekiah, whose name heads this sketch; Elizabeth, deceased; John, who married Antonette Howard; Mary, matron of the House of Shelter at Albany, New York; Mark, who married Miss Florence Howard, and is a school
teacher in Illinois; Hannah, widow of a Mr. Koon, resides with her children at Kanka- kee, Illinois; Mrs. Anna Kolgon, of Kansas.
Hezekiah Dare was reared to farm life, his boyhood days being spent in assisting his father in the farm work, and shortly after their settlement in America he learned the carpenter's trade. This trade he has followed through life.
Mr. Dare has been married three times. His first wife, nee Sarah Staley, he wedded in December, 1849. She was a native of Scotchbush, New York, and a daughter of Harmonious Staley, a New Yorker and a representative of one of the first families that settled in the Empire state. Their union was blessed in the birth of two chil- dren, namely: Eveline and Anna, the for- mer a resident of South Orange township, Essex county, New Jersey, and the latter of Amsterdam, New York. For his second wife Mr. Dare married Frances Irene Reeves, a native of this township and a daughter of Thomas A. Reeves, a repre- sentative of one of the first families of Essex county. Of their children, we record that Samuel Allen is an engineer at Long Branch, New Jersey; Raymond Scott mar- ried Miss Susan Baker, lives at Maplewood, New Jersey, and is a painter by trade; Jo- sephine is deceased; Emery, who married Charlotte Gardiner, and Walter Edward are at home. The mother of these children died in 1876. The present Mrs. Dare was formerly Miss Agnes Campbell. She is a native of Millburn township, Essex county, New Jersey, her people having long been residents of this county.
At the outbreak of the Mexican war in 1846 the patriotism of Mr. Dare was aroused and in the fall of that year he en- listed in the United States army and went
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to the front, where he saw much hard fight- ing. Among the prominent engagements in which he participated were those of Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Churubusco, Chapulte- pec, Mexico city, and Molino del Rey. Faithfully he served his adopted country and at the close of the war was honorably discharged and was mustered out of the service at Fort Hamilton, New York.
Mr. Dare and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in his political views he is inde- pendent, supporting men and measures rather than holding to party lines.
IRA C. BALDWIN,
a retired citizen of South Orange, New Jer- sey, resides in one of the pleasant homes on Valley street. He dates his nativity in East Orange, this state, and traces his ancestry back through several generations to an Englishman who emigrated to this country and settled, it is thought, in Connecticut.
The record of the Baldwin family shows them to be a patriotic and liberty-loving people, participating in the wars of this country and in times of peace ranking with its representative citizens. Israel Baldwin, the grandfather of Ira C., was a Revolu- tionary soldier, and his son John, our sub- ject's father, was in the war of 1812. The former was a native of Bloomfield, New Jersey, and lived to a ripe old age, and his wife lived to be ninety years of age. John Baldwin, also a native of the same place, was reared to farm life, in early life making his home with Abial Dodd. He learned the trade of shoemaker, which, however, he followed but a short time. As already stated, he served in the war of 1812. Ira C. Baldwin has in his possession his father's
honorable discharge, which bears the date of 1815. Politically, John Baldwin was a supporter of the old Whig party during his younger days, but later allied himself with the Republican party, to which he re- mained attached during the remainder of his life. He died December 6, 1884. at the age of nearly ninety years. His wife, whose maiden name was Anna B. Munn, was a daughter of Joseph Munn, a representa- tive of one of the first families that settled in East Orange. She died in 1859.
Ira C. Baldwin enjoyed the advantages of a good common-school education, and after reaching his majority engaged in various occupations; for several years he was in the hatting business,-for Agins & Com- pany for a year. Then he went west and gave his attention to agricultural pursuits, farm- ing successively in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. After an absence of some years he returned to New Jersey and settled in East Orange and engaged in hatting and subsequently came to South Orange, where he owns and occupies a valuable home on Valley street. In politics he is a Repub- lican.
Mr. Baldwin was married May 1, 1850, to Miss Abby Ann Baldwin, a daughter of Cyrus Baldwin, of Bloomfield township, Es- sex county, New Jersey. They have three children .- Mary G., Orrin M. and Lucy.
ISAAC NEWTON REEVES,
son of Abner and Elizabeth (Baldwin) Reeves, was born in Millburn township, Es- sex county, New Jersey, on the 28th of November, 1857. His father was also born in this township and was a son of Isaac Reeves, who settled in Northfield at an early day and there followed the vocation
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of farming. By his first marriage Isaac Reeves had three children, Parker, Hitie, and Phœbe, and after the death of his wife he married Miss Rebecca Edwards, of Northfield, and of this union the following were born: Abner, Oliver, Rachel, Juli -. ette and Moses. Isaac Reeves lived to a venerable age, his wife dying when sixty- five years old.
Abner Reeves, father of our subject, fol- lowed the trade of shoemaking in his early life, but subsequently he purchased a farm in Millburn township and devoted the rest of his life to agricultural pursuits. On the 6th of March, 1836, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Elizabeth Baldwin, daughter of Ezekiel Baldwin, who was a member of one of the prominent families of Essex county. To this couple were born eleven children, the following record of whom is herewith given: Sarah J., born November 22, 1836; Rachel, March 1, 1839; Emily, February 26, 1841 ; Mary, January 15, 1843; Rebecca, October 4, 1845; Melvina, Au- gust 18, 1848; Ann Eliza, August 20, 1850; Odessa, September 7, 1852; Corinthia, Sep- tember 22, 1855; Isaac Newton, November 28, 1857; Minetta, January 8, 1861. Emily died August 9, 1849: Minetta died May 25, 1889. Politically Mr. Reeves was an old- line Whig and later a Republican, and he and his wife were members of the West Livingston Methodist Episcopal church. He departed this life on the 27th of August, 1881, and was survived by his wife until December 22, 1884, when she, too, passed away.
Isaac Newton Reeves, the immediate subject of this review, was reared on the old homestead, residing with his parents until his marriage, which was celebrated on the 27th of December, 1880, when he was
united to Miss Alida E. Tyson, of Morris county, New Jersey, a daughter of George and Mary Ann (Douglas) Tyson, also na- tives of Morris county. After their mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Reeves lived one year on an adjacent farm and then moved to the old homestead, where he has thirty-nine acres of improved land. In connection with managing this, he conducts a black- smith shop. In his political belief Mr. Reeves is a stanch Republican and votes for the principles and policies of that party. His wife is an adherent. of the Methodist Episcopal church. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Reeves, namely: Abner, Erdman, Voorhees, Minnie and Rhoda.
GEORGE H. LAMBERT,
judge of the first criminal court of Newark and a distinguished member of the Essex county bar, was born April 12, 1853, in the Clove Valley, near Deckertown, Sus- sex county, New Jersey. Both his grand- fathers were heroes who fought in the war of the Revolution for the independence of the colonies. His father was Jesse Lam- bert, who for many years carried on black- smithing at the old homestead, following that pursuit until his death in 1869.
Judge Lambert of this review attended the public schools near his home until thir- teen years of age, when he was sent as a day pupil to Mt. Retirement Seminary, about two miles from his home, pursuing his studies under the direction of Edward A. Stiles, a well known educator, then prin- cipal of the school. Through the winter months he was a student in that institu- tion, and in the summer season assisted in the labors of the farm or in working upon
GEORGE H. LAMBERT.
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neighboring farms in order to aid in the support of the family. When seventeen years of age he passed an examination be- fore the county superintendent of schools of Sussex county and was given a teacher's certificate. In the following winter he was employed as teacher of the school at Flat- brookville, on the Delaware river, but in the summer accepted a school near his home, in order to be with his mother, who was in poor health. The following winter he again taught at Flatbrookville, but in the succeeding summer took charge of the Clove school, owing to his desire to be near his mother, whose ill health continued. His mother died in 1873, and in April, 1874, he became a student in the school of William Rankin, in Mendham, Morris county, New Jersey, and in order to pursue this course worked at gardening and other duties around the home of a neighbor for his board. In the autumn of that year he was appointed male assistant in the school and continued to occupy that position until Mr. Rankin's death in May, 1876. Mrs. Rankin had for many years had charge of the female department of the school, and she and Mr. Lambert, together continued the school until the fall of 1876, at which date the latter removed to Newark.
For a year before his arrival in this city Judge. Lambert had been studying law and spent Saturday of each week in the office of Burtis McGee, at Dover, nine miles from Mendham. On coming to Newark he en- tered the office of Elwood C. Harris, where he occupied a clerical position until Feb- ruary, 1880, when he was admitted to the bar. He then entered upon his career as a legal practitioner and soon won a posi- tion of prominence among the representa- tives of the profession in this city. With
a keenly analytical mind and habits of close investigation he allows no point to escape him which will strengthen his posi- tion in the trial of a case, and at the same time he never loses sight of an assailable point in an opponent's position. His prep- aration is thorough and exhaustive, his reasoning clear, his deductions sound and his logic almost incontrovertible. For some years past he has been associated in the practice with Judge Howard W. Hayes, and the firm of Hayes & Lambert stands among the most prominent at the Newark bar. On the 27th of May, 1897, he was ap- pointed judge of the first criminal court of Newark by Mayor James M. Seymour. His course on the bench has already indi- cated his freedom from judicial bias and his comprehensive knowledge of jurisprudence, and has won him an enviable reputation.
Judge Lambert is widely recognized as one of the leading representatives of the Democracy of Newark, and has taken a deep interest in political affairs since cast- ing his first vote, at Deckertown, in the spring of 1874. In 1877 he aided in the or- ganization of the Jeffersonian Club, served as its president for two terms, and is now a member of the executive council. He was one of the organizers of the National Asso- ciation of Democratic Clubs, and was chosen treasurer at the first convention, held in Baltimore, July 4, 1888, while from the beginning he has been a member of its executive committee. He attended the sec- ond quadrennial convention of the associa- tion at St. Louis in 1896, and in 1897 was chosen president of the New Jersey Demo- cratic Society. In October. 1896. he was unanimously nominated by the Democratic county convention for the position of state senator, and the enthusiasm with which the
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action was received by the convention and the party in general shows that a more popular man could not have been selected, and the honor came entirely unsolicited. His political record is without a blemish, his methods are open and above board, and his uniform courtesy and fairness have won the respect of all classes of people. In addition to his other political connections he is president of the Eleventh Ward Democratic Association, and in 1897 was vice-president and chairman of the commit- tee on speakers of the Essex county Democratic committee.
Socially Judge Lambert is a valued mem- ber of several organizations, including the Joel Parker Association, the Knights of Honor, the Royal Arcanum, the Independ- ent Order of Heptasophs, the Roseville Athletic Association and the Masonic fra- ternity, in the last of which he has taken the thirty-second degree and is a Noble of Mecca Temple, Mystic Shrine.
He was married in 1886 to Miss Ida F. Peck, and they have two children,-Ethel May and Howard W. They enjoy the hos- pitality of Newark's best homes, and their own home is the center of a cultured so- ciety circle.
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