USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Biographical and genealogical history of the city of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, V. 2 > Part 50
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ESSEX COUNTY.
Order of Heptasophs. Politically he is allied with the Republican forces.
An important event in the life of Mr. Day occurred on the 25th of May, 1881, when was celebrated his marriage to Miss Sarah Ann King, a daughter of Walter King. They have an adopted son, Paul, whom they took to their home in 1896. Both Mr. and Mrs. Day are faithful mem- bers of the Baptist church of Bloomfield, and in the town have many friends, who es- teem them highly for their sterling worth.
WARREN VREELAND,
of Franklin, is a representative of some of the oldest and most honored families of New Jersey. Ever since Colonial days his ancestors have been prominently connect- ed with public affairs and with the business life of this community. The Vreelands, the Spears and the Masons were all leading citizens, active in the development and up- building of all the good interests of their section of the county, and their names are inseparably connected with the growth and progress of the town.
One of the great-grandfathers of our sub- ject was John Spear, who, from the old church steeple in Belleville, shot a British refugee on the other side of the river. The watch found in his pocket was given to John Spear, Sr., who was the great-grand- father of Mrs. Tucker, of Belleville, as a reward for being a good marksman. On a certain occasion a number of horses had been stolen and Captain John Spear, Jr., who was in charge of the guard house in Belleville and being notified of the theft, undertook to follow the thieves and bring back the horses. Accordingly, after tell- ing his men confidentially what he intended to do, he said, "I want four good men
whom I can trust to go with me;" and, turning to Hank Vreeland, he said, "You will do; are there three more who will vol- unteer?"
He soon obtained his men and they fol- lowed the track of the fugitives to the Hackensack river, reaching that point in the early dawn of the morning, when Cap- tain Spear said, "We must spread apart, so that if the refugees shoot we shall not all be shot. Hank Vreeland saw one of the men get a horse into the river and mount him in order to swim across with him. Mr. Vreeland fired at him, but without hav- ing the desired effect. Directly he fired again, this second shot freeing the horse from his rider. Just at that moment one of the horses on shore whinnied and the horse in the river turned back. Then said Mr. Vreeland to Captain Spear, "I believe that man had a watch; and I have a mind to dive and bring him up and get it." The Captain replied, "If you bring him up you'll have to bury him." Then said Hank, "I guess I'll let him go; but then his hat,-I'll get that;" and in he went and secured it. It was found to have two bullet holes: the first shot was too high; the second was the" fatal one. The horses were secured and brought home.
Warren Vreeland, our subject, was born in the west end of the old stone house near the bridge on Chestnut street in Franklin, and the first twenty years of his life and the last twenty of his grandmother's were spent under the same roof; hence it is easy to understand how he came to hear of many things that happened in the days of the Revolution. She was a sister of Captain John Spear and a daughter of the John Spear who shot the British refugee men- tioned.
Warren Vreeland
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ESSEX COUNTY.
Captain John Spear participated in many engagements and passed the hard winter at Valley Forge. His granddaughter, Mrs. Tucker, whose maiden name was Spear, has in her possession the sword which he car- ried in the war, his commission from Gov- ernor Livingston, of New Jersey, also his book of accounts, and the watch referred to above. Among the relics kept by Mr. Vreeland may be mentioned a pistol that was used by his grandfather, John Vree- land, in the Revolution.
When the Hessians, whom Washington afterward took prisoners at Trenton, passed through Belleville, several of the number entered Mr. Spear's blacksmith shop. Mrs. Spear was the only one at home, but courageously she went to the back door of the shop and demanded what was wanted. About the same time the of- ficer in charge of the men arrived and asked the same question. The men replied that they were only getting the ramrod out of the gun; but he ordered them to leave, and then waited beside the old lady until the soldiers had all passed; then he very politely bade the old lady farewell.
It was a common custom for the original Dutch settlers to locate near a spring or brook; and in pursuance of this custom John Spear, the great-grandfather, located some two hundred yards north of the Belle- ville bridge on the east side of the street. The old house is still standing there, -- a landmark of the early days which has viewed the wonderful changes that have oc- curred since the valiant American soldiers fought so gallantly for liberty. John Spear owned considerable real estate in Belle- ville, and the Dutch church and the resi- dence of Mrs. Tucker, his great-grand- daughter, stand upon the land which was
formerly in his possession. Other members of the family, including Captain Abraham, Thomas and James Spear, also had large property interests in Belleville and Frank- lin.
The Vreeland family were no less prom- inent as property-holders and leading citi- zens, the original Vreeland estate covering considerable territory. The old homestead owned by Michael Vreeland bears the date 1702, and is still standing on the west bank of the Passaic river about half a mile north of the Avondale bridge and now known as "The Bend View House." He had one son and three daughters, the latter being Mrs. John H. Van Riper, Mrs. Jacob Riker and Mrs. John de Vausney. The children all inherited land from their fath- er's estate, and the son, John Vreeland, grandfather of our subject, added to his property a tract comprising about one-half of the land between Chestnut street and Vreeland avenue, which he purchased in 1792. His estate was bounded on the south by Chestnut street, west by Prospect street, north by Vreeland avenue and east by Third river. On it stood the old stone house which still overlooks the brook and in which the grandfather made his home for many years, passing away there in 1821. He had four sons and two daughters; and three sons,-Michael, John and Abraham, -- and the daughters, Ann, wife of Daniel Van Winkle, and Magdalene, wife of John Oldham, inherited the homestead property; while the other son, Ralph, inherited a tract of land on the Kingsland road. Thus the Vreelands became owners of much of the property in the town, and in all its af- fairs were prominent and active, aiding in the promotion of all interests for the public good and advancing the material welfare.
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ESSEX COUNTY.
Abraham Vreeland was born in 1791 and married Elizabeth Mason in 1817. His six children are Mary, Martha, Warren, Har- riet, Elizabeth and Rosa. Abraham in- herited half of the old stone house which had been his father's residence and lived there until 1838, when he built the house which is now the home of our subject, mak- ing in his abode throughout the remainder of his life. His death occurred March 3, 1860. He married a daughter of John Mason, who purchased a part of the Vree- land estate in April, 1811, and the mort- gage then given is now in possession of Warren Vreeland. The tract comprised thirty-five acres, and on the mill site he es- tablished a cotton-mill, fitting it up with machinery of his own manufacture. This was the beginning of the manufacturing in- terests of the town, which have since be- come the principal industry of the people. John Mason also built the stone house now occupied by James R. Hay and which is covered with a slate roof that was laid in 1812.
Warren Vreeland, the subject proper of this sketch, is one of the honored citizens whose entire life has been spent in this lo- cality. He was born April 15, 1822, and passed his boyhood days here. March 18, 1847, he was united in marriage with Jane E. Lloyd, who was born July 10, 1819, a daughter of John W. Lloyd, who was a resident of Morristown, New Jersey. He has three children, namely: Virginia, who married William McFarland, and their chil- dren are Eva, Harvey and Grace; Everett is not married; and Laura M. is now Mrs. W. J. Tuers, of Jersey City, and they have one child, named Russell. John I. Vree- land, cousin of our subject, was the builder of the bridge and guard walls on the east
end of Vreeland avenue. They are dry walls and have stood half a century, the size of the stones being such that he could handle them. One of the best civil en- gineers of the county says that he never had found any one who could equal John I. Vreeland in laying a dry wall.
William T. Roylance married Harriet Vreeland, the sister of our subject, and his father, Thomas Roylance, was one of the leading citizens of Belleville. He was a master builder: evidences of his skill are still seen there in the fine columns on the front of a house standing about a hundred yards north of the Belleville bridge, built about 1840. These columns were made by hand, no machinery being used except a lathe, driven by a band wheel, which was operated by two men or one man as the case might require; for there was then no machinery for doing such kind of work. Mr. Roylance turned the bases, fluted the staves and glued them, and carved the cap- itals. It is a remarkable piece of workman- ship, and probably not five men in all the county to-day could duplicate the work.
ALBERT HEDING,
foreman of the pattern department of the Crocker-Wheeler Electrical Works of East Orange, was born in Newark, July 8, 1866, and is a son of Gustav and Ernestine (Proehl) Heding. The maternal grand- parents, Gottlieb and Ernestine Proehl, both of German birth, came to America about 1850 and took up their residence in Newark, where the former died in 1887, at the age of eighty-nine years, while the latter died in Newark in 1890, at the age of ninety-three years. The remains of both are interred in the Woodlawn cemetery.
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ESSEX COUNTY.
Gustav Heding, the father of our subject, was born in the city of Berlin, Prussia, where he acquired his early education and learned the machinist's trade, which has been his life occupation. In 1852 he crossed the briny deep to the New World and land- ing in New York made his way to Newark, where he secured a situation with the Hughes & Philips Iron Company, being connected with that house for over thirty- years. He was not only an expert ma- chinist, but was regarded as one of the most faithful and reliable employes of the com- pany. He was married in his native city in 1850 and was accompanied by his wife on his emigration to America. They became the parents of six sons and three daughters, namely: Adolph, who died in 1874 and left one son, his namesake; Henry, who married Louisa Miller, and has four chil- dren: William, George, Henry and Ernesti- na; Amelia, who died at the age of sixteen years; Adelaide, wife of William Wanger, who served as a member of the board of aldermen of Newark from 1890 until 1892, and by whom she has four children: Philip, William, Victor and Florence; George, who wedded Mary Pickel and had five sons: William and Victor, now deceased; George, Augustus and William, living; William, who resides at home with his parents; Clara, who died in 1870, at the age of four years; Albert; and Katie, who died at the age of four years.
Albert Heding is indebted to the public schools of Newark for his educational train- ing. At the age of sixteen years he entered upon his business career as an apprentice at the pattern-making tradein theshops of the Hughes & Philips Iron Company, and after serving a five-years term, in which he thoroughly mastered the business in all its
details, he began working as a journeyman and was thus employed until 1894. In that year he entered the service of the Crocker-Wheeler Electrical Company, and after two years was promoted to the posi- tion of foreman of the pattern department. He is especially capable in this capacity and his management of the department has proved both satisfactory and profitable to the company.
On the 3d of June, 1888, in Newark, Mr. Heding was married to Miss Margaret Fox, a daughter of John and Margaret (Reichen- berger) Fox. They have had three chil- dren, Frederick W .; Clara, who died June 3, 1891, and Albert. The parents are worthy members of the German Lutheran church, of Newark.
R. S. FRANCISCO
is the senior member of the well known firm of W. H. and R. S. Francisco, leading dairymen of Caldwell township. Our sub- ject was born in that township, on the farm which was occupied by his grandparents and his parents, Jacob C. and Elizabeth (Francisco) Francisco. In the schools of Caldwell he acquired his education, and at the early age of fourteen years started out on his business career by driving a milk wagon for his father. He continued that labor until the death of his father, in 1890, when in connection with his brother he succeeded to the extensive dairy business which the father had established, and which they have conducted with steadily increas- ing success. In 1894 they established a large distributing depot in Montclair, and, while W. H. Francisco attends to the man- agement of the large farm and extensive dairy interests in Caldwell township, R. S.
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ESSEX COUNTY.
Francisco superintends the distribution and sale of milk in the city. He is a very pro- gressive, enterprising and wide-awake young business man. Industry is one of his marked characteristics, and sound judg- ment in matters of commercial concern has been a marked factor in his prosperity.
Mr. Francisco exercises his right of fran- chise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, and does all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of that political organization. He is also a member of the society of the Shield of Honor, of Newark, and is a popu- lar gentleman, whose genial manner has gained him a host of warm friends.
LEWIS GROVER LOCKWARD
was born July 14, 1839, at Caldwell, New Jersey, the son of Dr. John T. and Char- lotte (Personette) Lockward. Dr. Lock- ward was born in New York city in 1808, graduated at the Maryland State Medical College in 1833, and in 1835 located at Caldwell, where he followed his profession until his death, which occurred in 1843. He was a skillful physician and surgeon and had an extensive practice. His wife was a daughter of Abram Personette, of Cald- well, whose family was of Huguenot de- scent. Lewis G. acquired his education in the schools of Caldwell and vicinity.
In 1867 he engaged in the manufacture of tobacco and cigars at Caldwell, as a member of the firm of Campbell, Lane & Company. He withdrew from the business in 1874 but returned in 1879, and is still en- gaged in it, the present style of the firm being Lane & Lockward. The business, which is a large and profitable one, has been carried on continuously at the present loca-
tion since 1806; it extends through north- ern and central New Jersey and the adjoin- ing sections of New York and Pennsylvania, and the firm enjoys a most enviable reputa- tion in the trade. Mr. Lockward takes an active interest in local affairs and in the pub- lic schools.
He has been prominently identified with the Democratic party and honored with a number of offices, which he has filled with a fidelity that has won him a high com- mendation. He was a member of the town- ship committee of Caldwell (before the township of Verona and the borough of Caldwell were set off from it) in 1872 and again in 1886, collector 1877-79, and mem- ber of the board of freeholders of Essex county 1874-76. He was also elected the first mayor of the borough of Caldwell, Feb- ruary 9, 1892, and filled that position until May, 1894, declining a re-election. For sixteen years, from 1882 to 1898, he has been a member of the board of education of Caldwell and for the past nine years has been its president. He was president of the Caldwell Building & Loan Association 1891-3.
Mr. Lockward is a leading member of the Masonic fraternity, having been elected a member of Caldwell Lodge, No. 59, F. & A. M., February 6, 1863; he served as Junior Warden in 1864 and filled the posi- tion of Worshipful Master in 1865, 1867, 1878, 1879 and 1890. He joined Union Chapter, No. 7, R. A. M., of Newark, Octo- ber 8, 1866; Damascus Commandery, K. T., of Newark, September 1, 1870, and the Masonic Veterans' Association of New Jer- sey, January 2, 1891.
On the 5th of October, 1871, Mr. Lock- ward was married to Miss Anna M., daugh- ter of Zenas C. and Mary (Harrison) Crane.
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Gubelman Prote Gravure Cg.
ark
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ESSEX COUNTY.
The Crane and Harrison families are among the oldest in this part of New Jersey. They came originally from Connecticut and lo- cated in Newark and vicinity in 1666, pur- chasing their lands from the Indians. Mr. and Mrs. Lockward have had three chil- dren, namely: Lewis Gibson, was born August 7, 1872, and died December 28, 1875; Robert Crane, born June 19, 1874; and Lynn Grover, born June 15, 1878. They are members of the Caldwell Presby- terian church and prominent in religious and social matters. Mr. Lockward has been president of the church board of trus- tees since 1896.
He is a gentleman of refined tastes and culture, public-spirited, liberal, and popular with his many friends and associates, whose confidence he enjoys to a marked degree.
JOSEPH W. PLUME.
There is perhaps no citizen of Essex county more clearly entitled to definite rep- resentation in this compilation than is he whose name initiates this paragraph, the elements making this representation pe- culiarly compatible being determined not through one source but several. His line- age traces down through the past to touch intimately the ancestral honors of those who were prominent in the settlement of the New World, conspicuous in colonial an- nals, stalwart patriots when the struggling colonies strove to throw off the unjust yoke imposed by the British throne; those whose names stand illustrious on the pages of civic and public history through the many suc- cessive generations, and in whose deeds and lives a sterling worth reposed. He himself, to whom this brief review is directed, has gained distinctive prestige as a man of
affairs, has shown that it was his to inherit the deepest patriotism and to manifest it by valorous deeds when the cataclysm of civil war deluged the imperiled country with hu- man blood, shed in internecene tumult, and all these are points which call for recogni- tion in any work purporting to touch upon the history of Essex county or the state of New Jersey.
In agnatic ancestry Major General Jo- seph W. Plume is a lineal descendant of Samuel Plume, a member of the colony from Branford, Connecticut, who settled in Newark in 1666, and through his grand- father he is descended from Captain Bastian Visscher, a Dutch navigator, who with Hendrick Hudson, in 1609, explored the upper Hudson, and subsequently organ- ized the "colonie of Renssalaerwyck," where the city of Albany now stands.
The grandfather of our subject on the ma- ternal side was Dr. William Turk, of the United States navy, a descendant of An- tonie Janssen Salers, a wealthy Hollander, who settled at Gravesend, Long Island, in 1631. Dr. Turk married a daughter of Cap- tain John Livingston, of New York, she being of the fourth generation in descent from Robert Livingston, grandfather of William Livingston, governor of New Jer- sey during the entire Revolutionary period. Robert Livingston emigrated from Scot- land to America in 1674, and subsequently became the original grantee of the cele- brated baronial manor of that name on the Hudson.
Joseph W. Plume, the immediate sub- ject of this sketch, was born in Troy, New York, on the 23d of August, 1839. In 1843 Joseph W. accompanied his parents upon their return to Newark, and this city has continued to be his home during all the in-
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tervening years. He received his educa- tional discipline in the best private schools of the place and period, and in his early youth turned his attention to practical busi- ness life, becoming associated with banking enterprises, with which important line of business he has ever since been intimately identified, having held the exacting and re- sponsible position as cashier of the Manu- facturers' National Bank of Newark from the time of its organization in 1871.
On May 1, 1897, General Plume gained the distinguished honor of being presented with a medal in recognition of the fact that he had seen forty years of service in connec- tion with the military organizations of the state. That this represents an exceptional honor may be inferred from the fact that he was the first one ever eligible for such a medal in the state. In 1857 he enlisted as a private in the ranks of Company C, of the City Battalion of Newark, an organization which enjoyed a high prestige during its existence, by reason of its fine personnel and tactical proficiency. He remained a private in this battalion for four years, and on May 29, 1861, was commissioned first lieutenant and adjutant of the Second New Jersey Volunteers, retaining this incum- bency until February 15, 1862, when he was appointed aide-de-camp on the staff of Brigadier General William H. French, the commander of the third brigade of Sum- ner's division. On the Ist of June, 1862, he received the appointment as acting assist- ant adjutant general of the third division of the second corps. He resigned this office December 19, 1862, with a view of accept- ing the position of assistant adjutant gen- eral. The resignation was accepted on the 30th of January, 1863, and when, thirteen days later, General Plume was offered a
commission as captain, and the office of as- sistant adjutant general, he declined them and retired from the service, as he believed that he was justly entitled to at least the rank of major. His service was one of act- ive and arduous nature, and he showed himself never less than the valiant soldier and the true and loyal patriot. While with the army of the Potomac he participated in the following important engagements: The battles of First Bull Run, Yorktown, Fair Oaks, Seven Pines, Gaines' Mills, Peach Orchard, Savage Station, White Oaks Bridge, Malvern Hill, Second Bull Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg.
On the 4th of November, 1863, General Plume received the appointment as major and brigade inspector of the National Guard of the state of New Jersey, and with- in the following year, on the recommenda- tion of United States Senator William Wright, he was appointed a first lieutenant in the regular army, but declined the honor. In the organization of the Thirty- seventh Regiment of New Jersey Volun- teer Infantry he was elected its colonel, but felt constrained to refuse the compliment thus accorded him, by reason of the fact that the regiment had enlisted for one hun- dred days' service only. July 6, 1865, he was commissioned colonel of the Second Regiment. New Jersey Rifle Corps, and on April 26, 1869, was elected colonel of the Second Regiment of the New Jersey Na- tional Guard. On May 8th of the same year a still higher preferment was granted him, since he was then commissioned briga- dier general of the First Brigade of the Na- tional Guard of New Jersey, and on the tenth anniversary of that day received, through General McClellan, who was then governor, the commission as brevet major
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general of the National Guard of the state. April 4, 1885, General Plume, whose con- stant and lively interest and marked mili- tary ability well entitled him to this recog- nition, was commissioned major general of the National Guard, to succeed General Gershom Mott, whose sudden death had caused the position to be vacant. General Plume is not only honored by, but retains the affectionate regard of the military body over which he. is placed in charge, and his long service makes him a conspicuous fig- ure in the military history of the state.
JAMES BOOTH,
deceased, was for many years an integral part of the industrial life of Newark, and the measure of his usefulness in business circles was very large. He was born in England in 1812 and was a son of George and Rachel (Greenhalch) Booth, also natives of the same country. Both spent their last years in Newark, where the father died, at the age of seventy-five, and the mother also de- parted this life. They had six children, namely: Joseph, who was the first of the family to come to America and settled in Newark; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Daniel Walsh, of Newark, and the mother of five children; James, of this sketch; George, who married Nancy Prest, of New London, Connecticut, and had five chil- dren; William, who married a Miss Duck- worth, of New York city, and had two chil- dren; and Edward, who married Helma Halloran, of New Orleans, Louisiana, and had five children.
James Booth spent the days of his boy- hood and youth in the land of his nativity, acquiring a good common-school educa- tion and while still in his 'teens learned the
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