USA > New Jersey > Biographical, genealogical and descriptive history of the first congressional district of New Jersey, Volume I > Part 26
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Dr. R. E. Buck received his primary education from the common schools. Later he received instructions from a professor and then entered Rush Medi- cal College, in 1891, graduating three years later. The same fall he received his degree of M. D. he came to this village, where he opened an office and began the practice of his profession. He has made an enviable record here and enjoys a wide and lucrative practice which necessitates him keeping two horses. His practice is not confined to this immediate vicinity, but his figure is familiar in all parts of the surrounding country, where he has been
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called to relieve the suffering. He was married October 12, 1896, to Miss Nina LeRoy, daughter of William LeRoy, of Newfield. He was for three years connected with the navy of Peru. They are earnest Christian people. members of the Baptist church, and are popular members of society.
WILLIAM COLLINS.
William Collins, the present sheriff of Gloucester county, New Jersey, is among the representative men of Woodbury, and has lived more than half a century in this county, having been born May 24, 1845, near Cross Keys, Washington township. His parents were Abijah and Patience (Pease) Collins, former well known and respected citizens. The Collins family were among the earliest settlers and have been prominently identified with the history of the county. The great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary war and reared a family, among whom was William, the grandfather of our subject. He was born in this county and spent his life in the tilling of the soil and became a prosperous and very prominent man. He married Martha Morgan and reared a number of children, of whom but one, Joseph, is now living. They were Martha, Joseph and Abijah. He died in middle life, at forty-eight years of age, and was survived many years by his wife, who attained the extreme age of ninety-three years when she was laid to sleep beside her husband in the churchyard at Hurffville, Washington county, New Jersey.
Abijah Collins was born July 12, 1820, in Gloucester county, where so many of that name were ushered into existence. He continued to make his home there and became a highly respected and prosperous farmer of that region, whose death on February 28, 1883, was regretted by the many who knew, honored and revered him. The maiden name of his wife was Patience Pease, a daughter of John and Rachel Pease, residents of Washing- ton township and among the earliest settlers of this county. She is the only surviving child of the four born to her parents. Her mother had been pre- viously married to Jonathan Kindle, by whom she had three children: Sarah (Mrs. Wilsie). Abraham and Catherine, deceased. Abijah Collins had five children: William, whose sketch we here present; George C., deceased; Charles E., Mary H. and Albert.
William Collins was reared on the ancestral acres, attended the common schools and was inured to the hardship and toil incident to farm life. When he reached his majority he purchased a farm of one hundred acres, which he placed in a high state of cultivation, improved with a modern residence
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and outbuildings, and made his home here until 1896, when he took up his residence in Woodbury. He was a progressive agriculturist who adopted the easiest and most convenient method of performing his work, and much of his success which more shiftless neighbors would attribute to "luck" was but the application of common sense to common objects.
On June 20. 1868, he was joined in wedlock with Miss Elizabeth Hurff, a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Hurff. Four daughters have blessed this marriage: Lovisa, the wife of Walton H. Chew; Ruth, Alice and Iva. Mr. Collins is a Republican and served as the collector of his township for ten years and was then elected to the office of sheriff in 1896, the position he has so creditably filled and still holds. He is a member of the Grange and of Glassboro Lodge, No. 85, F. & A. M., and a zealous worker in the Meth- odist Episcopal church, of which he is a trustee.
THOMAS DONOVAN.
An investigation of the lives of many of the leading business men of the country will show that they have started out for themselves very. young without capital and have advanced steadily as the result of their own well directed efforts. Of such a class is Mr. Donovan, who is now owner of a grocery store at Sea Isle City. He was born in county Tipperary, Ireland, in November, 1862, a son of Dennis and Alice (Slatterly) Donovan. His grandfather, James Donovan, was born in the same county and there followed the occupation of farming. In the Catholic church he was a communicant and in that faith died, at the age of eighty years. He wedded Margaret Duggan and their children were: Ellen, now deceased; Mary. Dennis, Lawrence, John, and Thomas, who came to the United States. entered the Union army during the civil war and was killed in battle. Dennis Donovan has spent his entire life in the Emerald isle and has carried on farming as a means of livelihood. He, too, is a member of the Catholic church. He married Miss Alice Slatterly, who died February 13, 1895, at the age of sixty-five years. They became the parents of seven children: James, who resides in South Amboy, New Jersey, where he is engaged in the baker's business, married Margaret Fitzgerald. Andrew is deceased. Thomas and Patrick are the next of the family. Margaret is also deceased. Catharine is the wife of an officer of the English army, now at Singapore, in the East Indies. William is in Ireland.
Thomas Donovan, whose name heads this article, was educated in the national parish schools of the Emerald isle, but at the age of twelve years
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put aside his text-books and served an apprenticeship at the grocery and liquor business in Dublin, Ireland. His term of service covered three years. but he remained with the house as an employe for seven years. Subse- quently he went to Liverpool, England, and about 1881 came to the United States, where he has since engaged in the grocery business. For a short time he was located in Philadelphia and in 1888 came to Sea Isle City. where he soon opened a small grocery. Not long afterward he purchased property and has since engaged in the grocery, feed and provision business. He has a large trade and his extensive patronage brings him a good income. He also owns a number of building sites at this place and is a member of the Sea Isle City Building & Loan Association and New Jersey Building & Loan Investment Company.
On the 22d of November, 1887, Mr. Donovan married Miss Mary McGary, and to them were born four children: William and Marie Angelo, at home, and Thomas and Joseph, who are both deceased. The parents are inembers of the Catholic church and Mr. Donovan belongs to the Clan- na-Gael of Philadelphia. His political support is given to the Democracy when questions of national importance are involved, but at local elections, where there is no political issue before the people, he casts his ballot for the man whom he thinks best qualified for office. The only position he has ever filled has been that of member of the board of health, for he prefers to devote his time and energies to his business, in which he is meeting with creditable success.
J. MORTON SHOCH.
This substantial farmer of Woolwich township, Gloucester county, was born upon the farm where he now resides, March 8, 1866, and is a son of Captain Lewis and Margaret (Morton) Shoch. At the outbreak of the Civil war the father, who also was a "tiller of the soil," raised a company which was mustered in as Company C, Twenty-eighth New Jersey Volun- teers, and of which he served as the captain for three years. The paternal family consisted of five children, namely: Robert, a commission merchant in Richmond, Virginia; Lewis M., a farmer in Woolwich township; Harry B., a farmer near Paulsboro; J. Morton; and Lizzie B., the wife of Sumner Leap, a farmer near Bridgeport, New Jersey.
While a boy Mr. Shoch attended the district schools of his native town- ship, and assisted his father on the farm. After the death of his father he remained upon the old homestead, which is a fine piece of property situated on the stone road between Swedesboro and Paulsboro, near the Logan
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township line. Here he carries on general farming, in which he has been very successful.
Mr. Shoch was married December 25, 1889, to Miss Ella Taylor, a daughter of James Taylor, of Swedesboro, and they are the parents of three children,-William H., Joseph C. and Raymond M. In politics Mr. Shoch coincides with the Republican party, and socially he is a member of the Junior O. U. A. M., the A. O. U. W. and the P. of H.
JOSEPH D. WHITAKER.
Nearly thirty-seven years ago Joseph D. Whitaker, the popular post- master of Penn's Grove, took up his permanent residence in this place, and during this period he has thoroughly identified himself with every movement calculated to benefit the town. His history is of interest, for it is the record of a self-made man,-of one who has been obliged to work out the problems of life unaided and who has vanquished each difficulty presented to him.
He is a grandson of William and Patience Whitaker, of Millville, New Jersey, and as his father, William H. Whitaker, died when the child was but five years of age, and the mother, Mrs. Patience (Sheppard) Whitaker, when he was an infant of about two years, he went to live with his grandmother Sheppard, remaining under her hospitable roof until fourteen years of age. William H. Whitaker was a native of Cumberland county, New Jersey, and at the time of his death he was in charge of a vessel engaged in the coast trade. He was a natural mechanic and sailor, and enjoyed the respect of all with whom he was associated. In the Presbyterian church of his home town he was an active member, and no one in that section was a stronger friend of the Sons of Temperance and the cause for which the association was or- ganized. He was an only son, and all of his four sisters, Susan, Rebecca, Eunice and Maria, have passed into the silent land, also.
Joseph D. Whitaker, whose birth occurred in Cedarville, Cumberland county, August 18, 1840, was only twelve years of age when he commenced working on a farm in order to earn his own livelihood, and soon afterward he became interested in the oyster fisheries, accompanying men engaged in gathering that succulent bivalve on the Delaware river. Five years passed in this pursuit, and then the youth accepted a position as mate under Cap- tain Garrison. His time was spent in this manner for four years, after which he took charge of the schooner named David E. Wolf and for two and a half years continued as its master. Having carefully husbanded his resources, he was now enabled to purchase an interest in the schooner Jane C. Patter-
J. D. Whitaker
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son, which he sailed for a period of four years, and then became a part owner of the schooner Richard Vaux. At the expiration of another four years he sold out his other shipping interests and built the schooner Jennie Middle- ton, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, which craft he sailed for some eight years, with success. Disposing of this vessel in 1879, he invested a goodly sum in the brig Ellen H. Monroe, and four years later built the schooner Lewis K. Cottingham, of which he was the master for eight years and which he still owns.
In 1863 Mr. Whitaker took up his abode in Penn's Grove. "In the autumn of 1884 he was honored by being elected to represent his district in the state legislature, and for two winter sessions he was at his post of duty. In 1887 his name was again placed upon the Republican ticket, but he was defeated by about twelve votes. On New Year's Day, 1889, the appointment of post- master of Penn's Grove was bestowed upon him, and he faithfully continued to serve in that capacity until September, 1893. At that time he embarked in the real-estate business, and among other enterprises in which he engaged was that of buying the old Clark gristmill, which he moved to its present location, remodeled and rebuilt, finally selling it March 25, 1899. His general efficiency and popularity during the period of his public service led to his sec- ond appointment to the postmastership of Penn's Grove, July 15, 1897, and this office he continues to fill with credit to himself and numerous friends, while at the same time he conducts a real-estate and private banking business. He is a member of the State Mutual Building & Loan Association of Cam- den, New Jersey, and of the Mutual Building & Loan Bank of Philadelphia. May 24, 1900, the Penn Grove National Bank was organized and Mr. Whit- aker was elected its president.
The marriage of Mr. Whitaker and Miss Mary E. Simpkins was celebrated August 12, 1868. Four children were born to them, namely: William H., Jennie A., James and Lulu, who, one by one, have been summoned to the better land. Mrs. Whitaker is a daughter of James and Mary (Biddle) Simp- kins, of Penn's Grove. The father, one of the leading citizens of this place, was a prime mover in the building of the Emanuel Methodist Episcopal church, a substantial modern brick edifice.
THE HAINES (HANES) FAMILY.
During the greater part of the nineteenth century the Haines (Hanes) family, owning and residing at Eldridge Hill, their beautiful estate near Woodstown, Salem county, have been prominently associated with local history and in consequence are justly entitled to representation in the annals
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of this region. The ancestry may be traced back through many generations to William Haines, the founder of the family in America. He came from England to Salem, Massachusetts, about 1636. He married Sarah Ingersol, and their children were as follows: John, who was baptized in 1639; James, . in 1641; Benjamin, in 1643; Mary, in 1646; James, in 1647; Jonathan, in 1648; Sarah, in 1648; and Thomas. The last named was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1651, and was married on the 15th of December, 1676, to Sarah Ray, of Salem. Their children were: John, who was born in 1678; William, in 1680; Sarah, in 1681; Joseph, in 1683; Benjamin, September 21, 1685; Daniel, who was born in 1687 and died in 1689; Hannah, born in 1689; and Thomas, born in 1691. This family all removed to Salem county, New Jersey, about 1697, and were in Mannington and Piles Grove in 1731. Ben- jamin Haines, of this family, was born September 21, 1685, and died in Salem county, New Jersey, in 1733. There is record of a "power of attorney" made by Joseph Haines, Jr., and Thomas Haines, a "plantation man;" Dan- iel Haines, a carpenter of Mannington, New Jersey; and Roger Haggins and his wife, Sarah, of Piles Grove, New Jersey, giving their brother, Ben- jamin Haines, "weaver," also of Mannington, power to sell certain lands in Salem, Massachusetts, which formerly belonged to their father, Thomas Haines, which said Thomas received by will from his father, William Haines, and the latter received by will from his father-in-law, Richard Ingersoll, this document being dated September 20, 1731. There is a copy of the will of this Benjamin Haines, to whom was given the power of attorney. The will was made January 15, 1723, and was approved June 2, 1733. In this mention is made of his wife, Ann, and the following children: Joseph, Benjamin, John, Mary, Ann and Hannah. (All the ancestors above mentioned wrote the name Haines.) Of this family John Haines (who dropped the i from the name), born about the year 1720, had by his wife, Rebecca, two sons: Jo- seph and John. The latter was born May 12, 1747, and by his wife, Mar- garet, had six children: John, born April 9, 1791; Edward, born September 24, 1792; Thomas, born June 16, 1794; Mary; Rebecca; and Catherine, who became Mrs. Eastlock and died in Wabash, Indiana.
John Haines, the father of these children, was a native of Mannington township, Salem county, and passed his entire life in that locality. He was a mechanic and was dominated by the same industrious and practical traits of character noticeable in his posterity. His son Edward was born in the same township, September 24, 1792, and on the 12th of March, 1814, married Esther Mullica. Three years later, in 1817, he came to Eldridge Hill, where his descendants have dwelt ever since. He inherited the talent for mechanics that his father had before him, and to his aid and influence was due in large
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measure the establishment of the foundry here, which has been in success- ful operation for so many decades. When the agitation pro and contra slav- ery was waxing fiercer and fiercer he became a stanch Abolitionist and took great interest in the emancipation of the slaves. A few years prior to his death he joined the Society of Friends, and was loved and highly honored in their ranks. Death released him from the toils and sorrows of this life September 23, 1880. He had one brother, John, who was born April 9, 1791. His sister, Rebecca, married Israel Eastlake, November 16, 1820, and another sister, Catherine, became the wife of Samuel Eastlake, Febru- ary II, 1824.
Of the children born to Edward and Esther Haines (Hanes) only two are now living: Thomas, to whom reference is made later; and Miss Emily. who was born at Eldridge Hill in 1824, and whose entire life has been spent in this immediate locality, where she is loved and respected by a large circle of old friends and old associates. Her brothers, Edward, William, Samuel and John, and her sisters, Margaret and Rhoda, have one by one passed to the better land. John Haines (Hanes), born August 16, 1818, at Eldridge Hill, married Abigail, a daughter of John and Sarah Brown, and had one daughter, Florence, all now deceased. John Haines (Hanes) was of a prac- tical turn of mind, and for many years was actively interested in the man- agement of the foundry here, being connected with that flourishing industry until a short time before his demise, which event occurred March 23, 1897. With the exception of a short period which he spent at Camden, New Jersey, he always made his home here and was greatly respected by every one. His genuine ability and sterling worth were recognized, although in manner he appeared rather stern and dignified. Benevolent and kindly toward his fellows, in truth, he quietly performed many a deed of charity and lent a helping hand to the poor and unfortunate on numerous occasions. In his financial undertakings he achieved success, and, being a great reader and thinker, took an active interest in the leading questions of the times. Thomas Haines (Hanes), born in 1816, in this locality, and now living on the old family estate with his sister, Miss Emily, was a resident of Vineland, New Jersey, for thirty years. When a youth he was apprenticed to the contractor and builder's trade, and, having mastered the calling, he con- tinued to follow it until his father, retiring from active business life, Thomas, who possessed all the traditional mechanical qualifications of his ancestors, succeeded him in the foundry. Under his wise management the business grew rapidly. He retired in 1862, immediately after the death of his wife. He was married to Mary, a daughter of John and Deborah Warrington, in 1841. She died in 1862, aged forty-nine. Their eldest child, Edward. died in
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1864, at the age of twenty-one. Their three daughters are Ellen; Elizabeth, the wife of William Taylor and mother of three children, Mary, Margaret and Edward, who died in infancy; and Laura, the wife of Clark Ridgway and the mother of one daughter, Helen.
Thus, as may be seen, Thomas Haines (Hanes), now in his eighty-fourth year, is the only surviving male representative of the Haines (Hanes) family. whose geneaology is perfected, without a broken link, back to England. covering a space of over two hundred and sixty years. The family name has undergone many changes. It was derived from a Saxon word signi- fying "a man that needs no help." In 1540 it was written Hayne, later on Haynes, and still later Haines. The i was dropped from the name by the grandfather of Thomas, John and Emily to distinguish the family from others of the same name. In all the records of the family, on this side of the ocean, dating from 1636 to 1791, it is written Haines; after 1791 we find it written Hanes.
A coat of arms granted the family early in 1500 bears this motto: "There is no difficulty to him that wills."
HENRY JACKSON.
Henry Jackson, M. D., county physician of Salem county and a leading member of the medical profession in the city of Salem, is a son of Joseph Garwood and Mary (Craig) Jackson, born November 30, 1849, near Mullica Hill, Gloucester county, the birthplace of several generations of the family. They are of English extraction and belong to that branch of the Jackson and Vanhorn family that settled in New York city several generations back. The great-grandfather, Joseph Jackson, was a farmer of Gloucester county, where his son Henry, the grandfather, was born and grew to manhood. Henry devoted his life to the vocation of husbandry and lived and died in that county. He married Sarah Garwood and reared five children, namely: Ann S., who married Richard Richard; Joseph G., the father; Elizabeth, who married Gabriel I. Abbott: Sarah; who married Joseph M. Stout; and Han- nah, unmarried. Both Henry and Sarah Jackson lived to pass their eightieth year.
Joseph G. Jackson was born October 3, 1812, in Gloucester county, and received a common-school education, after which he engaged in farming on the old homestead, where he remained all his life. He was a Whig and a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His marriage to Miss Mary Craig was honored in the birth of five children, namely:
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John C., who was born December 22, 1841, was a soldier in Company F, Twelfth New Jersey Volunteers, and died at his home. Charles S., who was born June 29, 1844, was in the Third New Jersey, Company A, served two years and eleven months, re-enlisted and was wounded in the first battle at Appomattox, receiving gunshot wound in the knee, from which he died in Philadelphia. Henry is our subject. Gilbert was born August 8. 1852, and resides in Oklahoma, where he is connected with the Missouri Pacific Railway. He married Sarah J. Hoagland. Joseph G. was born March 3, 1861, married Anna Rulon and resides in Glassboro, this state. The father died in August, 1860, aged forty-eight years, and the mother, who was born June 17, 1820, is still living, being now in her seventy-ninth year.
Dr. Henry Jackson was a student of the public schools of Gloucester county in his boyhood, and having decided to take up the study of medi- cine, he entered the Hahnemann Medical College, at which he graduated in 1882. He at once opened an office and began the practice of his profes- sion in Salem, where he has been located ever since and has a large and extensive practice, covering a wide territory and embracing a class of patients that speak well for his efficiency as a physician. He has been most fortunate in his practice and displays a proficiency and skill in the treatment of disease that is unsurpassed, and has brought him into prominence in the medical profession in this vicinity.
Dr. Jackson was married March 20, 1873. to Sarah Elizabeth Miller, and they have been blessed by the birth of three children: Mamie A., born March 29, 1874, died in infancy; Charles Henry, born May 8, 1876, resides at Philadelphia, and is a druggist; and William B., born December 26, 1880, is a clerk in the clothing house of Strawbridge, clothier of Philadelphia. Dr. Jackson is a member of the West Jersey Homeopathic Medical Society and examining physician for the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Masonic Aid Association of Chicago, the State Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany of New Jersey and the Masonic Association of Western New York. He is now filling his second year as the county physician. He is a mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias, the Masonic fraternity and of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is an untiring worker. In politics he gives his support to the Democratic party. William Miller, deceased, the father of Mrs. Jackson, was a merchant of Berkeley, this state, where he occupied a prominent position in the business community and has held several local offices. He is a son of William and Naomi (Fisler) Miller, residents of Swedesboro, New Jersey. They were of thrifty German stock and among the prosperous farming element of Gloucester county. They had six chil- dren, namely: Jane, the wife of William Kennard; Margaret, the wife of
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Thomas Batton; Catherine, the wife of Andrew Locke: Josiah: Mary, wife of Emor Hall; and William, the father of Mrs. Jackson. William grew to manhood in his native county and joined heart and hand with Miss Rachel Ann Gibbs. Five children blessed their home, namely: Anna G., who married Samuel H. Ward, a farmer of Westville, New Jersey; Sarah ยท Elizabeth, wife of Dr. Jackson; William Brooks, deceased, a baker of Cali- fornia, who married Kate Bowers; Laura, who married J. R. Fell, a civil engineer who also is in the real-estate and insurance business at Trenton ; and Winfield Scott, a farmer who married Miss Ella Bastedo.
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