USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Biographical and genealogical history of the city of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, V. 2 > Part 61
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GEORGE SPOTTISWOODE
is the only representative of this family who can claim the honor of being classed among the builders of the Oranges. His record as a builder covers a wider range and extends over a longer period than most of those now living within the present boundaries of the city of Orange, and while it may be said of him that he has fulfilled the injunction of the famous Bard of Avon, "Put money in thy purse," he has certainly helped hun- dreds of others to do the same thing, and the well paved streets and other improve- ments bear witness to his enterprise and public spirit. The name of Spottiswoode
or Spottswood is a familiar one both in this country and in Europe. Spottswood Court House, in Virginia, and Spottswood, New Jersey, are both named in honor of worthy representatives of this family .. Of its origin, Burke, in his "Landed Gentry," says: "The surname of Spottiswoode was assumed by the proprietors of the lands and barony of Spottiswoode, in the parish of Gordon, county Berwick, as soon as sur- names became hereditary in Scotland. They are frequently mentioned in dona- tions to the monasteries of Melross and Kelso, upwards of five centuries ago. The immediate ancestor of the family was Rob- ert de Spottiswood, Lord of Spottiswood, who was born in the reign of King Alex- ander III, and died in that of Robert Bruce. The family adhered to the fortunes of Kings James II, III and IV; and William Spottiswood, a descendant of Robert, fell at the battle of Flodden, in 1513, with King James IV."
John Spottiswood, archbishop of St. An- drews and lord high chancellor of Scotland, inherited the barony of Spottiswood in 1620. A brother of his was given the bish- opric of Cloghee, in Ireland, and from him the Irish branch of the family is descended. Robert Spottiswood, a direct descendant of Robert de Spottiswood, lord of Spottis- wood, was appointed governor of Virginia in 1710.
In the county of Tipperary, Ireland, where George Spottiswoode was born, the 2d of November, 1832, the hatting industry was carried on by several families the same as it was many years ago in Orange, and the father of George was a skilled workman in this line. The young man acquired some knowledge of the business from con- stant association with his father and broth-
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ers. He was sent to an excellent school in the parish, where he made good use of his opportunities. Thus equipped he left his home at the beginning of the '50s to make his fortune in America. He arrived in Orange in 1851 and soon after became an apprentice in Stetson's hat factory. He continued to work at his trade until the breaking out of the war, when he opened a small place for the sale of newspapers and periodicals. Prompt, honest, energetic and always reliable, he made many friends among his patrons and laid the foundation for his subsequent success. Always on the alert, he was quick to grasp any new oppor- tunities for improving his prospects. In 1866 the Morris & Essex Railroad Com- pany established direct connection with the coal fields and were enabled to deliver coal at their own depot in Orange. Mr. Spot- tiswoode had accumulated sufficient capital to make a beginning. He started in the coal business in a moderate way and did a good business from the start. His trade continued to increase from year to year. He handled both the Lehigh and Scranton coal until 1876, when the Delaware, Lacka- wanna & Western Railroad refused to sup- ply him with the Scranton and raised the rates on the Lehigh coal so that he was compelled to seek other sources of supply. He then made arrangements with the Wat- chung branch of the Erie Railroad Com- pany to deliver him the Lehigh coal. He bought a piece of property on the corner of Washington and Day streets, near the ter- minus of that road, and erected a large and commodious building. During the first four months he received from the Erie Rail- road Company, by this road, some four thousand tons, and his receipts from the same source amounted the next year to ten
thousand tons. The amount of freight paid this company was an important item and helped it through a serious crisis. The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Com- pany soon found it to their interest to re- sume their former relations with Mr. Spot- tiswoode and place him on an equal footing with others, and since then he has kept both yards running.
Mr. Spottiswoode continued business in his own name until 1881, when he took his cousin, Thomas M. Cusack, into partner- ship with him and the firm name was changed to Spottiswoode & Company. The lumber business was added to it in the spring of 1887, which has since constantly increased. About 1872 Mr. Spottiswoode, in connection with Daniel Brennan, Jr., or- ganized the Telford Pavement Company, with the latter as president and himself as secretary and treasurer. With the same push and energy which have characterized all his other operations Mr. Spottiswoode began laying this pavement in the Oranges and soon after extended his operations to other points. He opened quarries and erected stone crushers and other machinery in Passaic county at the Great Notch, on the canal at Acquackanock, at South Or- ange and at Plainfield. He had frequently in his employ as high as five hundred men and his semi-monthly pay roll amounted to $10,000. Between fifty and one hundred miles of road was laid in these different places, and this improvement alone has doubtless added more to the wealth and prosperity of the Oranges than any enter- prise ever before or since attempted. The company wound up its affairs in 1876 and the entire plant reverted to Mr. Spottis- woode, who subsequently sold out the other places, retaining only the property at
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West Orange, and the business in this local- ity is still conducted by Mr. Spottiswoode on a paying basis. The entire business un- der the management of Mr. Spottiswoode will probably exceed a quarter of a million dollars annually. The benefit which others have derived from his operations can hardly be estimated.
With all his business cares and responsi- bilities, Mr. Spottiswoode has found time to devote to the public interests of his adopted city. He has been a public officer for more than thirty years, beginning as collecter of taxes for the third ward. Before the board of education was organized he served for some years as a trustee of the Girard school district and worked incessantly and persist- ently for better school facilities and the means for higher education for the masses. Under the new regime as a member of the board of education, he advocated liberal ap- propriations and was always in touch with the most progressive of his associates. He was a member of the common council when the very best men, without regard to party affiliations, were selected. He served un- der the administrations of Mayors Ensign, Ferry and Austin. He was one of the early advocates and hardest workers in behalf of an improved water supply and sewerage system for the city, and when the general plans were finally adopted he was made a member of the citizens' committee and de- voted much time to carry forward these im- portant projects. With no ambition for the honors attached to public office, Mr. Spottiswoode has never hesitated to accept a position where he could advance the in- terests of the whole community, and this has often been done at great personal sacri- fice. He helped to organize the Half-Dime Savings Bank and is now its vice-president.
He has long been a director of the Orange Bank. He has always taken a deep inter- est in Union Lodge, F. & A. M., where he was first inducted into the mysteries of speculative Masonry, and has been treas- urer of the corporate board of this lodge since 1868. He was one of the principal movers of the enterprise for the erection of the Masonic building. His religious con- nections have been and are still with the Orange Valley Congregational church.
Mr. Spottiswoode's success in life is due to his early habits of economy, his untiring industry, his high sense of honor, and his strict regard for the rights of others. Blessed with a strong, robust constitution and a supply of vital energy which age has not impaired, he is still able to attend to all the details of his extensive business and to discharge all other duties which are daily pressed upon him.
Mr. Spottiswoode married Elizabeth Jones, daughter of Phineas and Sally (Pier- son) Jones, a descendant of one of the old families of Hanover, New Jersey. His first wife died in 1875, and in 1882 he married Sarah J., her sister. Their mother, Sally Pierson, was a daughter of Joseph Pierson, a direct descendant of Thomas Pierson, Sr., brother of Rev. Abraham, and one of the original settlers of Newark. Mr. Spottis- woode's children were all by his first wife. Out of eight, only three are living. These are Sara C., a successful homeopathic phy- sician in Orange, Emma Elizabeth, and George, the youngest, who is associated with him in business.
AARON CARTER
was among the first of the new comers who settled in that part of Orange known as Tremont avenue. His ancestor was one
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of the founders of Elizabeth contemporane- ous with the settlement of Newark. The coat of arms of the English branch of the family indicates the origin of the name. They bore Arms-Argent a chevron be- tween three cartwheels vert. Crest-On a mount vert, a greyhound sejant argent sus- taining a shield of the last charged with a cartwheel vert.
Nicholas Carter, the ancestor of the New Jersey branch of the family, settled in Stam- ford, Connecticut, before 1652. He re- moved that year to Newtown, Long Island, and was among the purchasers of that place from the natives April 12, 1656. His allot- ment there was twenty acres. He is re- peatedly mentioned in the Newtown Rec- ords among the leading men of the town until 1665, when he removed to Elizabeth- town, where he was among the most promi- nent of the associates. He acquired large tracts of land and was evidently a man of considerable means. His "Home Lott" of twenty acres of upland at Watson's Point, adjacent to Edward Case, he sold, in 1675, to Bingham Wade for £30, payable in pipe staves. He sold most of his lands May 18, 1681, to Samuel Wilson, and died shortly after. Samuel, who was probably his eld- est son, was one of the Elizabethtown Asso- ciates. Nicholas, born in 1658, was no doubt the youngest. Elizabeth, the daugh- ter of Nicholas, Sr., married John Ratcliff, August 6, 1681. Not one of the name ap- pears on the headstones in the Elizabeth- town cemetery. Either Nicholas or Samuel are supposed to have removed to Morris county, as the Carters are mentioned among the early settlers of the township of Whippanong, constituted in 1700. The church at Bottle Hill, now Madison, was organized in 1749 and the records state that
Luke Carter, son of Benjamin Carter, de- clared that if the congregation would not complete the meeting-house he would. Captain Benjamin Carter and Jeremiah Carter, of the township of Chatham, were both prominent in the war of the Revolu- tion. Six other Carters served in the war from Morris county, among these being Aaron, the grandfather of the present Aaron Carter, Jr.
Aaron Carter, who lived at Union Hill, Morris county, was born about 1750 and was probably a grandson of Benjamin, the first of the name mentioned in connection with Morris county. He married Eliza- beth Davis, daughter of Caleb Davis (who married Ruth, daughter of Joseph Bruen), son of Caleb, of Jonathan, of Thomas, born 1660, son of Stephen Davis, who was of Hartford, 1646, freeman of Connecticut, 1648, had for second wife widow of John Ward, Jr. The children of Aaron and Elizabeth (Davis) Carter were Lewis, Ca- leb, Hannah, Sarah, Mary or Polly, married Samuel Condit, who kept a hotel in Chat- ham.
Caleb Carter, second child of Aaron and Elizabeth (Davis) Carter, was born at Union Hill, Morris county, in 1782. He went to Newark about 1800 and learned the business of carriage-painting, and was one of the pioneers in the carriage manufactur- ing business. He did an extensive trade with the south. On the muster roll of Cap- tain Baldwin's company in 1802 appears the name of Caleb Carter. Mr. Carter was identified with the Whig party and was somewhat of a politician. He was ap- pointed a magistrate of Newark by Gover- nor W. S. Pennington. Mr. Carter mar- ried Phoebe Johnson, daughter of Jotham Johnson, son of David (who married
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Eunice Crane, great-granddaughter of Robert Treat, the first governor of Connec- ticut under the charter; was governor for thirty years), son of Nathaniel (married Sarah Ogden), son of Eliphalet, Esq., born 1658, son of Thomas Johnson, one of the committee of eleven who represented the towns of Milford, Guilford and Branford in arranging for the settlement of "our Town upon Passaick River, in the Province of New Jersey." Thomas Johnson was one of the signers of the Fundamental Agree- ment. The Town Records of Newark state that "the Town agreed that Mr. Thomas Johnson shall have Eight shillings for his Son's beating the drum this Year and Repairing the remainder of the Year." The town "Agreed with him and Thomas Lud- dington to raise the Meeting-house for five Pounds." Thomas Johnson was the son of Robert, who came to New Haven from Hull, England. The children of Caleb and Phoebe (Johnson) Carter were Eliza- beth, Harriet, Mary, James, Horace, Aaron, Catharine, Almira, Anna, Phoebe.
Aaron Carter, sixth child and youngest son of Caleb and Phoebe (Johnson) Carter, was born in Newark, January 17, 1817. He attended one of the best schools in the state-Fairchild's boarding school, at Mendham, the board and tuition being at that time one hundred dollars a year. He returned home and entered the service of Taylor & Baldwin, manufacturing jewelers, of whom it was said they were "entitled to the credit of first winning extended fame for Newark handiwork in the jewelry busi- ness. Mr. Carter, in his connection with the several succeeding firms, fully main- tained the reputation established by his old employers. Three years after attaining his majority Mr. Carter formed a copartnership
with a nephew of Governor W. S. Penning- ton and a Mr. Doremus under the firm name of Pennington, Carter & Doremus; later it became Carter & Doremus, and after the withdrawal of Mr. Doremus, Mr. Car- ter carried on the business alone for some years under the name of Aaron Carter, Jr. It was during this period that he met with his greatest success, and established the reputation that has made this the leading house in the jewelry trade. Other changes in the firm were made, but Mr. Carter was the leading spirit and continued through the several changes as senior member. Mr. Carter is probably the oldest representative of the jewelry industry in Newark, which began nearly a century ago, his own em- ployer, Taylor, being second in the line of succession from Epaphras Hinsdale, who founded the business in 1801. There are few industries which have contributed more to the commercial prosperity of Newark than this, and not one of all the old-time manufacturers has preserved a cleaner rec- ord for honor, uprightness and business probity than Mr. Carter, a name unsullied by a single act which could ever reflect ad- versely on him or his associates. Through the various financial reverses of half a cen- tury Mr. Carter has maintained the credit of his firm, and never failed to meet his busi- ness obligations. He has educated others up to the high standard of business honor which has always characterized his firm in their dealings.
Mr. Carter's influence has been equally felt in the religious interests of his native city as well as elsewhere. He was orig- inally a member of the old First Presby- terian church, of Newark, and helped to or- ganize the South Park church, of which he was one of its first elders, continuing in
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office until 1856. After his second mar- riage, that year, he moved to New York city, united with and became an elder in Dr. Adams' church, which was the leading Presbyterian church in New York city. In 1864 he came to Orange and purchased his present residence of eight acres, including the homestead. He enlarged and modern- ized the house and made many improve- ments both within and without. The house is Gothic in style and stands in the center of the large plot which is entirely enclosed by an evergreen hedge. There are suffi- cient trees to afford ample shade without in any way obscuring the sunlight. It pos- sesses all the requirements of a beautiful country seat, and there is an air of restful- ness and comfort in the surroundings that is in striking contrast to some of the more modern places.
EVERETT FRAZAR,
son of George and Ann (Little) Frazar, was born at Duxbury, Massachusetts, October 4, 1834. After a thorough preliminary course of study he completed his education at the Chauncey Hall School, of Boston, graduating in 1851. He began his mer- cantile career with the house of Enoch Train & Company, of Boston, proprietors of the Boston and Liverpool line of pack- ets. In 1858 he went to Shanghai, China, and established the firm of Frazar & Com- pany, with branches at Nagasaki, Japan, in 1860, and at Hong Kong, in 1875. The members of the firm consisted of Mr. Fra- zar, Mr. John Lindsley and Mr. W. Shep- ard Wetmore. The firm has done an im- mense business for many years with China, Japan and other countries, and is well known in nearly every part of the world.
They were appointed agents for the Boston Board of Marine Underwriters, the Atlantic Marine Insurance Company, and the Na- tional Board of Marine Underwriters. As the representatives of American firms they have introduced a number of important in- dustries and of late years have been actively engaged in the introduction of electric lighting into China and Japan. In 1886 Mr. Frazar negotiated with the Canadian Pacific Railway for the opening of the new Pacific route with China and Japan under the management of his firm, which project aided materially in the development of the oriental trade with Canada and the United States, via Vancouver, British Columbia. On his last trip to Japan and China, in 1883. he had as a fellow passenger General Lu- cius H. Foote, the first appointed United States minister to Korea, and through his recommendation, seconded by the warm approval of His Excellency Prince Min Tong, I. K., who became, five years later, Korean ambassador to the United States, Mr. Frazar was appointed consul-general for Korea in the United States, the exequa- tur being issued by President Arthur, April 3, 1884. In September, 1888, Mr. Frazar received from His Majesty special marks of appreciation and recognition for services rendered to Korea, accompanied by gold and jade decorations and conveying by spe- cial decree the honorary title of Ka Sun Tai Poo, or Korean nobleman of the second rank. On the 13th and 17th of January, 1888, His Excellency Pakchung-yang, the new Korean minister, and suite were pre- sented to Secretary Bayard and President Cleveland by Mr. Frazar and the foreign secretary, Dr. H. N. Allen. Since 1872 Mr. Frazar has been the resident partner in New York of Frazar & Company. He es-
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tablished his residence in Orange in 1878 and since that time has been actively en- gaged in promoting the social and intel- lectual development of the Oranges. It was largely through his efforts that Music Hall, which has added so much to the pleas- ure of the citizens of Orange and vicinity, became an accomplished fact. He was chairman of the construction and finance committees, and soon after the completion of the building was elected president of Music Hall Association. The New Eng- land Society, of which Mr. Frazar is one of the most active members, has a fine suite of rooms in the building. Mr. Frazar was elected president of the society in 1880 and again in 1881. By special request of the society Mr. Frazar prepared and read a comprehensive and exhaustive paper in Music Hall to a large and appreciative au- dience, on November 15, 1883, on "Korea and her relations to China, Japan and the United States." This was subsequently published and widely circulated.
The historical and geographical section of the New England Society was formed in 1880, holding nine monthly meetings in each year. Mr. Frazar was president of this section for five years, and during this time fifty lectures, papers or essays on vari- ous topics were read or delivered before the members, receiving the most hearty ap- preciation and aiding materially in the in- tellectual development of the community. In 1890 Mr. Frazar, with other New Jer- sey and New York gentlemen, established the New Jersey Postal Telegraph Com- pany, with a capital of fifty thousand dol- lars, having offices in Newark, Orange, Long Branch, Asbury Park and various other places in New Jersey, communicating with every part of the United States and
Canada, as well as foreign countries, in con- nection with the Postal Telegraph Cable Company. Mr. Frazar was president of the New Jersey Postal Telegraph Company from its formation until June, 1894, when by mutual agreement it was transferred and absorbed into the Postal Telegraph Cable Company.
Mr. Frazar has held many offices of trust and honor in his adopted city. . He is a member of the First Presbyterian church and president of its board of trustees. He is president of the Music Hall Association, chairman of the Public Welfare Commit- tee, councillor of the New England Society, of Orange, senior director of the Harvey Steel Company, of Newark, manufacturers of the Harveyized-steel armor plates for the' United States and foreign governments. Mr. Frazar married, in 1866, Annie H., daughter of Joseph C. Lindsley, born 1813, son of Benjamin and Mary Camp, son of Joseph and Abby Foster (Gibbs) Lindsley, born in Boston, resided in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The children of Everett and Annie H. (Lindsley) Frazar, are Ever- ett W., Mabel Lindsley and Abby Little.
AMOS H. VAN HORN.
To say of him whose name begins this rec- ord that he has risen unaided from compara- tive obscurity to rank among the merchant princes of the world, is a statement that seems trite to those familiar with his life, yet it is but just to say in a history that will descend to future generations that his busi- ness record has been one that any man would be proud to possess. Beginning at the very bottom round of the ladder, he has advanced steadily, step by step, until he is now occupying a position of prominence
Amos Han How
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and trust reached by few men. Through his entire business career he has been looked upon as a model of integrity and honor, never making an engagement that he has not fulfilled, and standing to-day as an ex- ample of what determination and force, combined with the highest degree of com- mercial integrity, can accomplish for a man of natural ability and strength of character. He is respected by the community at large and honored by his business associates, and his commercial career forms an important part of the business history of Newark.
Mr. Van Horn also represents one of the oldest families of New Jersey, his ancestral history being one of close connection with the early development of the state. The Van Horns were of Holland descent, and coming to New Jersey took up their resi- dence in Warren county. The first of the name to locate there was James Van Horn, who engaged in the cultivation of his land and was a respected, worthy agriculturist of the community. He had a family of four sons and two daughters, namely: George, father of the subject of this sketch; David, who married and removed to Michigan, where he carried on farming and reared his family of four children, James, John, Mary Ann and Sarah; William, who married and spent his life as a farmer of Warren county, New Jersey; Morris, who in 1859 removed to Michigan, where he devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits and reared his fam- ily of two children, Orie and Burt; Marga- ret, who became the wife of Isaac Bur- roughs and removed to Michigan, where they spent their remaining days; and Char- ity, who spent her last years in Pettysville, Michigan.
George Van Horn, the father of Amos H., was born in Warren county, New Jer-
sey, in 1816, and died July 26, 1876. His early life was quietly passed, his attention being devoted to the task assigned him in the school-room or in assisting his father in the various duties of the farm. When he had attained his majority, however, he de- termined to abandon agricultural pursuits for mercantile life and engaged in the un- dertaking and cabinet-making business in addition to conducting a general store in Danville, New Jersey. He was married in 1836 to Miss Mary Hull, a daughter of Ger- shon Hull, a native of Warren county. They had nine children. Edward, the eld- est, was married but had no children. He enlisted in the Union army during the war, as a member of Captain Bean's New Jersey Artillery Company, was assigned to Bat- tery B and served for three years, when he was honorably discharged. He returned, broken down in health, as the result of the exposure and hardships of camp life, and died in February, 1866. Amos H. is the second of the family. John, who also en- listed as a defender of the Union, becoming a member of Company K, Second New Jer- sey Infantry, under Captain Tay, was taken prisoner at the second battle of Bull Run, and after experiencing many hardships and privations at the hands of the enemy he was finally paroled at Annapolis, Maryland, but his constitution was so impaired as the re- sult of the suffering he had undergone that he died in January, 1863. James, who was a member of Company A, Thirteenth New Jersey Infantry, served throughout the war, returned home and was married. He had three children, but they and the mother have all passed away. Silas married a Miss Mulligan, and to them were born three children; Caroline and Minerva Jane did not marry. Ida and Emma, the youngest of
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