USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Biographical and genealogical history of the city of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, V. 2 > Part 39
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His hope of securing a home and com- petence in America has been more than re- alized, for prosperity has smiled upon his earnest efforts and he is now numbered among the substantial and highly respected citizens of Newark.
Mr. Hauser has been twice married. On the 18th of June, 1868, he wedded Elizabeth Schaefer, daughter of John Schaefer, of Newark. She died December 10, 1894, leaving the following children: Lizzie, wife of Oscar Huberts; Julius, who married Tilda Clements; and Tinna. Mr. Hauser was again married August 6, 1895, his sec- ond union being with Mrs. Amelia Back- fisch, daughter of Max Geiger.
Mr. Hauser belongs to the Master Car- penters' Association and was its first presi- dent. He is treasurer of the Security Building & Loan Association, and has been treasurer of the Twelfth Ward German and English school for a number of years. He belongs to the Concordia and Harmonia musical societies and his deep love of music has led him to do much toward promoting a taste for the "art divine" in the commu- nity in which he lives. His political sup- port is given the Democracy. He belongs to the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraterni- ties and the encampment of the latter order, and has been past master in the first named and past grand in the second or- ganization.
CHARLES S. ORBEN,
of Newark, is one of the well known and progressive carpenters and builders of this city, who has, in his brief career of a few years, earned an enviable reputation as a contractor, the thoroughness of his work and his conscientious adherence to all
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agreements that may be entered into, gain- ing and retaining for him the entire confi- dence and esteem of his fellow citizens.
Mr. Orben was born in Milford, Pike county, Pennsylvania, on the 26th of June, 1872, and is the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Strichler) Orben. The father is a native of Prussia, where his birth took place in 1828, and there he was reared and educated and spent the first years of his life, emigratingto the United States in 1851, since which time he has made this country his home. Mrs. Orben was born in Pennsylvania in 1839, her demise taking place in 1896, at the age of fifty-eight years. She is survived by five sons and her husband.
Charles S. Orben received his preliminary education in the public schools of his native city, supplementing his knowledge thus gained by a course in the academy at Mil- ford, from which he was later graduated. At the age of sixteen he came to Newark and at once began to learn the carpenter's trade under the direction of his brother, J. C. Orben, completing his term of appren- ticeship in the usual time, and then entered upon the active work of his calling, his first contract being for a building on Fairmont avenue. His ability and absolute reliance were in a short time recognized and he soon built up a large and ever increasing busi- ness, until to-day he is one of the leading contractors in Newark. Among the many architectural triumphs of which he has been the author, the following may be men- tioned: Five houses in Columbus Heights; the Memorial Church chapel; two resi- dences in Forest Hill; three in Vailsburg; four in South Orange; six in Orange; the Meyer Neumann residence in Newark, and those of C. E. Schmidt and Messrs. Stengel and Rothschild.
Mr. Orben is a member of the Builders' Exchange, the Mutual Provident Insurance Company, of Jersey City, and he is identi- fied with the West End and the People's Building and Loan Associations.
In his political faith he is a stanch Repub- lican and is rather active in public affairs of a local nature. Socially he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.
The marriage of Mr. Orben was cele- brated on the 18th of December, 1895, when he was united to Miss Mabel Schales, daughter of William Schales, a representa- tive of an old family of Newark. Mr. and Mrs. Orben have a large circle of friends in their home city and are by them held in the highest esteem.
FREDERICK BERG,
a prominent hat manufacturer of Orange, has by his energy, perseverance and indom- itable force of character achieved a reputa- tion that entitles him to rank among the leading manufacturers of this section of the country, and his position is due alone to his keen foresight and honesty of purpose, while it demonstrates to the young what can be accomplished by untiring energy and attention to business. His success has been truly wonderful, and due alone to his indi- vidual efforts. One of the most active of men, never idle, and keeping his wealth in motion for the interest of the city in which he lives, his name in commercial circles is a tower of strength, and with him there is no such word as "fail" in anything he under- takes. He commands the esteem of all who know him and Orange numbers him among her most valued citizens.
L
Urielrich Berry
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Mr. Berg was born in Meberau, in the province of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, on the Ist of March, 1834, and is a son of George and Frederica (Hill) Berg. Both his paternal and maternal grandparents were natives of the province of Hesse- Darmstadt. His maternal grandfather, Mr. Hill, was a man of considerable intelligence and learning, and for many years a school teacher in the town of Meberau. Rebecca Berg, a sister of our subject, was the first of the family to come to America. Cross- ing the Atlantic about 1841 (after a tedious voyage of sixty-three days), she located in New Orleans, where she died a short time after her arrival. The father, who was the eldest of a family of seventeen children, spent his entire life in his native land, en- gaged in agricultural pursuits. In his fam- ily were the following children : Lizzie, who married and had a family of children, two of whom still survive, viz. : George and Mar- garetta-she died at the age of eighty-one years; Rebecca, who married and came to America, settling in New Orleans, Louis- iana, where she died; Margaretta, who mar- ried and resides in her native land; George, who married and spent his life in his native land, dying in the autumn of 1897, aged seventy-six years; Catharine, who married and resides in the city of Hesse-Darmstadt; Maria, who came to America and married, and resides at Newark, New Jersey; Henry, who in 1852 left the city of Vienna, in Aus- tria, and came to America and has not been heard of by the family for a number of years; Phillip, who died in the city of Vienna, aged thirty-three years, and Fred- erick, the subject of this sketch.
The last mentioned resided in the city of Dantzig, whence he sailed for America when twenty-three years of age. He was
educated in the public schools of his native land and afterward learned the trade of a hatter in Vienna, Austria. Later he re- turned home and worked at his trade in the different cities of Germany. In the autumn of 1856 he bade adieu to the father- land and sailed for America, taking up his residence in Orange, New Jersey, where he has since made his home. In 1864 he em- barked in the manufacture of hats, on a small scale, and his business has steadily increased in volume and importance. He has a splendidly equipped plant, employs an efficient corps of workmen and is ready to meet the demand of the public on short notice. His trade is extensive and profit- able, and the enterprise has been crowned with a high degree of success. In 1889 Mr. Berg established a coal and wood yard, which he still conducts. He is also a stock- holder in the Second National Bank of Orange, and is a prominent representative of the business interests of the city, his ef- forts not alone promoting his individual prosperity, but also adding to the material welfare of the community.
Mr. Berg was married in Newark to Miss Anna Nickel, on the 8th of March, 1857, a daughter of Kidon Nickel, a native of Ba- varia. Nine children have been born to them: Anna, deceased; George, who died at the age of seven and a half years; Fred- erick; Emma, wife of William Nixon; Hen- ry; Charles, Amelia, wife of Paul Wood- ruff; Mary, who died in childhood, and Christian.
Mr. Berg manifested his loyalty to his adopted land by entering the service of the Union army, enlisting in 1862 for nine months as a member of Company H, Twen- ty-sixth New Jersey Infantry. He partici- pated in the capture of Fredericksburg
ii-19
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Heights. He has always been a Republican in his political views and served as assess- ment commissioner for five years. He at- tends the Lutheran church and his wife the Roman Catholic church. They are widely known throughout Essex county and their circle of friends is very extensive.
Frederick Berg, Jr., the eldest son of Frederick and Anna Berg, and a member of the firm of F. Berg & Sons, hat manufac- turers, was born in Orange, on the 27th of December, 1860. He is indebted to the public schools of the city for literary train- ing, which was supplemented by a commer- cial course in Bryant & Stratton's Business College, of Newark. He was thus well fit- ted to enter the firm of which he is an en- terprising, progressive member. Promi- nent in the Masonic fraternity, he has at- tained the thirty-second degree of the Scot- tish rite. He also belongs to the Newark Republican Club, which indicates his polit- ical affiliations, and he is a member of the New York Yacht Club.
GEORGE D. DRAKE,
the senior member of the firm of Drake & Company, of Newark, is pre-eminently a man of affairs, and it is now the men of "affairs" who prove the most important ele- ment in the substantial growth, develop- ment and prosperity of the community. Since attaining his majority his attention has been devoted almost exclusively to his business interest, following systematic plans, carefully executed and governed by enterprise and energy. These attributes of his successful business career are strongly marked in his character and have brought to him a success in keeping with the pro- gressive spirit of the age. He is now ex-
tensively engaged in dealing in grain and feed, and the volume of his business insures him a liberal income.
Mr. Drake is a representative of one of the ancient and influential families of East Jersey, and was born in Essex county April 4, 1845, a son of Elias W. Drake. He is indebted to the public schools of Irving- ton for his educational privileges, and in his father's grist mill he received his busi- ness training, spending his youth and early manhood in that establishment. In Au- gust, 1868, he commenced the milling busi- ness on his own responsibility by taking charge of the milling property belonging to the family, at Irvington. For three years he continued its operation and then removed to Newark, where he was associated in business with his father, in Halsey street, through the succeeding three years. On the expiration of that period he bought out his father's in- terests and became sole proprietor, success- fully conducting the business until 1884, when he admitted his brother to a partner- ship in the business, under the firm name of G. D. & N. Drake. This connection was continued until 1892, when the character of the business was somewhat changed, and on the removal to Poinier street the present style of Drake & Company was assumed. The large business of this firm has grown from a small beginning, when operations were carried on entirely in the retail trade, but as the proprietors became known as men of integrity and straightforward busi- ness dealing, the volume of their trade grew rapidly, reaching out in all directions, even beyond the limits of Newark. The demand for the commodities which they handle be- came so great that in recent years, in order to meet the needs of large consumers of
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their stock, they have been forced to erect a new building, covering twelve lots and having a storage capacity of 100 carloads. The equipments of this storehouse for the handling of grain, etc., are so modern that it requires only a few minutes to unload a car of grain, whereas, under the old ar- rangement, the same work could not be performed short of many hours of tedious manual labor. The company buys exten- sively from western dealers and the volume of the business done during the year marks this as one of the strong and important en- terprises of Newark.
Mr. Drake was married June 10, 1880, the lady of his choice being Miss Emma L. Taylor, a daughter of Oliver H. Taylor, a descendant of one of the old families of Irvington. He has had neither time nor inclination for politics, his attention being given entirely to his own business inter- ests, in which he has met with signal suc- cess. His interests are conducted with the strictest regard for the ethics of commer- cial life, and the firm of which he is the head has a most enviable reputation for relia- bility.
MINARD A. KNAPP,
one of the public-spirited citizens of New- ark, and a member of the board of alder- men from the tenth ward, was born in John- ston street, Newark, on the 4th of March, 1861, a son of Charles and Sarah (Hicks) Knapp. The youth of our subject was passed in his home city, where he received his literary education in the public schools, supplementing his knowledge thus gained by attending night school.
Mr. Knapp began business on his own responsibility as a newsboy on the old New
Jersey Transportation Railroad Company (now the Pennsylvania line), and later en- tered the employ of McGregor & Company, dealers in clothes and other dry-goods, as an errand-boy, and by industry, ability and strict attention to business he worked his way up to the custom department, remain- ing with this firm for a period of ten years. On the 3d of August, 1881, he obtained a position on the Central Railroad of New Jersey as passenger brakeman, and on the 16th of May, 1888, he was promoted to the duties of passenger conductor, which in- cumbency he has since continued to occupy. He has charge of one of the best trains run- ning out of Newark, and in summer he is placed in command of one of the seashore trains. He is a member of the Order of Railroad Conductors, the National Provi- dence Union, the Mutual Benefit Associ- ation of Railroad Conductors and the Jeffer- son Club.
Since attaining his majority Mr. Knapp has been deeply interested in public affairs. In the spring of 1896 he accepted the nom- ination for alderman from the tenth ward and was elected, serving during that year on the committee on poor and alms, the health board and the election board. In 1897 he was a member of the committees on poor and alms, printing and stationery, public schools, and was chairman of the license committee.
LUCAS PETER.
German immigration has furnished to America a substantial element in her citi- zenship. From the fatherland have come those who, adapting themselves to their new surroundings and conditions, have in- fused into the new American life the reso-
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lute purpose and undaunted energy of their countrymen, and have thus worked their way upward from humble stations to po- sitions of affluence and prominence. Of this class Mr. Peter is a representative. Coming to the New World without capital, he has achieved in his chosen calling a suc- cess which is indeed enviable and has won the regard of the many with whom his business and social relations have brought him in contact. Newark claims him among her representative men.
Mr. Peter was born in Alsace, Germany, on the 16th of October, 1841, and is a son of Conrad Peter, a well-to-do farmer who was enabled to provide his son with good educational privileges. He was trained in both German and English, and when in his 'teens was apprenticed to a carpenter, com- pleting his term three years before his emi- gration to America. He applied himself diligently to his task and thus became an expert workman. Believing that the ad- vantages afforded young men engaged in mechanical pursuits were better in the New World, and desirous of benefiting his finan- cial condition, he bade adieu to home and native land and sailed for the "land of the free." It was his hope to amass here a small fortune and then return with it to Germany, there to spend his declining years; but his intentions were changed through an ac- quaintance he formed, resulting in his mar- riage. Thus establishing a home in New Jersey, he has given up all thought of re- turning to Germany; and though he has a deep love for the land of his birth, Newark can name no more loyal or devoted citizen than Mr. Peter.
He arrived in New York, October 20, 1866, with only six cents in his pocket. Having no acquaintances in Newark and
no money with which to pay for a night's lodging, he slept in a baker shop, but this condition of things did not long continue, for he at once found work at his trade and has never since been idle, his ability always enabling him to secure employment. His surplus earnings were laid aside for the next three years, and in 1869 his work as a journeyman ceased, while he began con- tracting. He purchased property at Nos. 92-96 Niagara street, located his shop thereon and announced himself as ready to take contracts for the building of houses, bridges and other structures. He has since enjoyed a large and prosperous business, and the high school of St. Mary's on High street, the St. Benedict church and school, and many factories and business blocks in Newark are monuments to his skill in the building art.
Mr. Peter is a member of the Boss Car- penters' Association. For many years he has been president of the school board of St. Benedict's parish school, takes much pride in aiding the young to acquire an education, and urges strongly the teaching of both German and English to the children of German parents. He is a member of the German societies of the city whose object is to instruct the young in the theory of music and the art of singing.
On the 16th of May, 1869, Mr. Peter was married to Miss Caroline, daughter of James Giesler, and their children are Alfred, an architect of Newark, who married Ber- tha Schultz; Clara, wife of Christian Bos- sert; Amanda, wife of Albert Holle, of New- ark; William, who is married; Bertha, Rich- ard and Adelia.
This in brief is the life record of one who has made his own way in the world from an early age and has so lived as to secure a
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good financial return for his labors and en- terprise and at the same time win uniform confidence and regard by his honorable methods.
OSCAR WIENER,
an influential business man of Irvington, and proprietor of the Wiener Manufactur- ing Company, has been identified with the manufacturing interests of Essex county for more than forty years, which time covers a period of its phenomenal growth and great- est development. To be more accurate as to time, Mr. Wiener began learning his trade in silver-plating with Albert Stackhouse in 1853, and, after completing his apprentice- ship, hewas employed as a journeyman until 1859. In this latter year he became asso- ciated with his brother Simon in the old firm of Wiener & Company, manufacturers of saddlery hardware, and although their beginning was somewhat modest, this fact was counterbalanced by their advanced knowledge and skill in their line. They did not hesitate to make advances in im- provements and inventions, in anticipation of the public needs, and by this course they placed themselves in the lead and were awarded by public opinion the enviable place of manufacturers of the finest goods in the country. During the war this was the only firm making high-class material, and as a direct consequence its volume of business was greatly increased and its prof- its were necessarily satisfactory, which fact placed it upon a doubly sure and stable financial basis. Simon Wiener died in 1892, and in the following year his estate pur- chased the interest of our subject, who then proceeded to erect his plant at Irvington, taking with him into partnership the follow-
ing three sons: Dr. William, Bernard and Leo, and these four form the present com- pany.
Oscar Wiener was born in Prussia on the 12th of March, 1841, and is a son of Gabriel H. and Amelia (Woolstein) Wiener, the father being a silver-plater in the old coun- try, who came to the United States in 1845, followed two years later by his family. He was a quiet, unassuming mechanic, possess- ing no ambition beyond the employment which gave him his livelihood, in which re- spect he differed from his sons, who were ambitious to become not only efficient mechanics, but also to come into competi- tion in the world of trade with the product of their own factory and to be leaders, in- stead of imitators. The father died in 1892, at the advanced age of eighty years.
The business education of our subject comes more from long experience in the marts of trade than from familiarity with text-books in school, but that he appre- ciates a higher education is shown by the fact that he has spared no expense in the proper training of his children for business or for professional life, as their tastes indi- cated.
On the IIth of April, 1866, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Frank, of New York, and their eldest son, Dr. Wil- liam Wiener, who is a graduate of Columbia College, with the degrees of Master of Arts, Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Physics, is a noted chemist of this city, and holds a position in the Newark high school, where his acquirements are called into application. The other sons, Bernard, Leo and Edgar, are well fitted for their work as manufac- turers; and the daughters, Miriam, Emma, Rosalind, Beatrice, Florence and Irene have all taken advanced work in the city
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schools, two of them being graduates of the high school.
In the matter of fraternities Mr. Wiener has shown an exceptional fondness. His na- ture is in full accord with human sympathy and brotherly love, and his efforts in behalf of the many societies of which he is a mem- ber, have been appreciated and partially re- warded by his being placed in many respon- sible positions in the lodges. At the age of twenty-one he became affiliated with Diog- enes Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, the Columbia Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Tabor Lodge, Independ- ent Order of B'nai B'rith. - Since then he has joined the Knights of Honor, Knights and Ladies of Honor, Royal Arcanum, Im- proved Order of Heptasophs, Fraternal Le- gion, Knights of Pythias, Golden Star Fra- ternity and the Foresters. He has been honored with official preferment in several of these bodies, and has been past supreme protector of the Knights and Ladies of Honor, being for the past fifteen years grand protector of that order for the state of New Jersey. He is past grand dictator of the Knights of Honor, past chief patri- arch of the Encampment of Odd Fellows, past senior warden of his Masonic lodge, is supreme moderator of the Golden Star Fra- ternity, and has held many prominent posi- tions in numerous other kindred orders.
Mr. Wiener's business career has been distinguished for its enlightened conserva- tive methods. His progressive nature has kept his factory apace with all the require- ments of the onward and upward tendency of the age, and his wise judgment has pre- served that equipoise essential to the con- ducting of a profitable business. He main- tains a friendly and sympathetic attitude toward his competitors for legitimate busi-
ness, and he is characterized as the soul of honor in all his transactions. His name is a synonym for honesty, industry and integ- rity, and will lose none of its luster when left in the care of those whom he has trained to succeed him.
WILLIAM R. BROUGHTON.
The tendency of the present age is to- ward specializing, and in this manner a much higher degree of perfection is at- tainable than would otherwise be reached. No longer are one's energies dissipated over a broad field of labor, but are concen- trated upon one particular department, thus bringing a combined force whose accom- plishment is ofttimes marvelous. In no pro- fession have such rapid strides been made in the last quarter of a century as in the medical. Original investigation has solved many of the mysteries of practical import- ance and flashed the clear light of modern research upon paths that were before dark and invisible. Among the leaders of thought in the medical world is Dr. Broughton, an oculist whose skill has gained him an eminent place among the specialists in his line. While making his home in Bloomfield, he has an office both in this city and in New York, where he is associated with Dr. Ambrose L. Ranney.
Dr. Broughton was born in New York city, November 3, 1866, and is a son of John G. and Eliza (Gray) Broughton. On the paternal side he is of English descent, the great-grandfather having come from the "merrie isle" to this country at an early day. The grandfather was Nicholson Broughton, one of the early settlers of Marblehead, Massachusetts. John G. Broughton, his son, was born in Marble-
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