USA > New Jersey > Biographical, genealogical and descriptive history of the first congressional district of New Jersey, Volume I > Part 27
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GEORGE H. REEVES.
. Everywhere in our land are found men who have worked their own way from humble and lowly beginnings to places of leadership in the commerce, the great productive industries and the management of the veins and arteries of the traffic and exchanges of the country. Obstacles and difficulties in their path seem but to serve as an impetus for renewed effort on their part, and they find that labor is the key that unlocks the portals of success. Such has been the career of Mr. Reeves, who now occupies a leading position in the industrial circles of Cape May county, being now at the head of an extensive gold-beating concern in Cape May.
A native of West Cape May, he was born January 29, 1849, and is a son of Joshua and Eleanor (Woolson) Reeves. His father was a shoemaker and farmer in West Cape May and a representative man of that town. He was a great Bible student and particularly prominent in church work. He served for many years as ruling elder in the Presbyterian church at Cold Spring and took an active part in the work of the Sunday-school. He was a strong op- ponent of the liquor traffic, belonged to the Sons of Temperance, and gave his aid and influence to all measures which he believed would uplift humanity. His death occurred in the forty-seventh year of his age, and his wife died in August, 1898, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. This worthy couple were the parents of eleven children, two of whom died young,-Charles W. and Anna E. The other nine are as follows: David, a gold-leaf manufacturer of Cincinnati, Ohio, married Lizzie A. McWilliams, and had one son, Lewis F. Swain S., a farmer at Cape May Point, in Lower township, married Syl- vina Church, and their children are George H., Edward S. and Elmer. Andrew H., a gold-leaf manufacturer, of Chicago, Illinois, married Carrie Bright, of Illinois, and had four children,-Eleanor, Harry, Carrie and Charles Fowler. John W., a farmer of West Cape May, who has several times
Georges Reeves.
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served as freeholder and is now sheriff of Cape May county, married Emma L. Nott, and their children are Andrew H., David Leroy, A. Carl and Samuel WV. Joshua H., a lighthouse-keeper at Seal Isle City, married Josephine Ross, and their children are Bertha and John W. Mary E. is the deceased wife of Charles Schellenger, and their children were Jennie, Taylor and Wash- ington. George H. is the next of the family. Eliza W. is at home; and Anna E. is the wife of Fred Neal, a farmer in Rio Grande, and their children are Lydia and Warren.
Mr. Reeves, whose name introduces this review, was educated in the old Cape school-house, and at the age of fourteen began to earn his own liveli- hood. He learned the gold-beating trade in Philadelphia and for four years was indentured to his brother, Andrew H., in Chicago. He became foreman of the shop in 1866 and thus continued until the great Chicago fire of Oc- tober, 1871, when his brother's plant was destroyed and he then returned to the east, being employed in a gold-beating establishment in Philadelphia, in 1871-2. He then returned to Chicago and again became foreman for his brother, who had resumed business, and with whom he remained until 1878, when owing to failing health he again came to the east. Here he worked on a railroad with a section gang for a dollar a day and had a hard struggle for some time. He applied for a position in a large factory, but did not obtain it because he would not comply with the conditions of the labor organization. He was afterward sought by the firm of Hastings & Company to establish a business at Cape May, and he began operations on a small scale, his force of employes consisting of two boys and two girls. After two years he was sought to manage a factory which the firm desired to establish at Cape May, in 1879. The factory was opened with six employes, but under his manage- ment the business steadily increased until employment is now furnished to eighty operatives, and the output is large and the business profitable. Mr. Reeves superintended the building of the factory, which is forty by forty feet and two stories in height. There are now three departments,-a beating, a filling and a cutting department. When Mr. Reeves opened the factory he employed untrained workmen, taught them the business and thus secured competent employes. He is ever just and considerate in his treatment of them and they know that faithfulness on their part will win promotion as opportunity offers. This is now one of the paying business concerns of the city, a fact which is due to the competent management of Mr. Reeves.
On the 19th of January, 1871, Mr. Reeves married Miss Georgiana H. Bancroft, a daughter of Reuben F. Bancroft, of Philadelphia. Their children are as follows: Theodore W., who married Mary Hughes, by whom he has a son, Orien W., is foreman in the gold-beating establishment, is a member
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of the school-board of West Cape May, is superintendent of the Presbyterian Sunday-school there, is the archon of his local society in the Order of Hep- tasophs, and was a delegate to the national convention of that order in Buf- falo, in 1899; Reuben B., the younger son, is now a student of music in the South Jersey Institute, where he has spent three years.
In political affairs Mr. Reeves is a Republican and a recognized leader in the ranks of the party. He was the mayor of West Cape May from 1893 until 1897, and his administration was progressive and beneficial. He is now serving as a justice of the peace and has been a notary public, com- missioner of deeds, collector and a member of the school-board several terms. He is also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and belongs to the First Methodist Episcopal church in Cape May, in which he has held various offices. He has been a member of the board of trustees ten years, was the Sunday-school superintendent three years, and for ten or fifteen years has been a local preacher. His life has ever been an upright and honorable one and over the record of his public and private career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. He is thoroughly honorable in all business deal- ings and at all times commands and deserves the confidence of his fellow men.
MARTIN WELLS.
This gentleman is an extensive dealer in ice at Sea Isle City and is ac- counted one of the representative business men of the town. He was born at Waterford, Atlantic county, April 4. 1846, and is a son of Jacob and Han- nah (Sack) Wells. The father was of German lineage, and during a period of forty-eight years resided in the three towns of Waterford, Millville and Den- nisville. He was a glass-blower by trade and followed that occupation for a number of years, but afterward engaged in building vessels and was also proprietor of the hotel in Dennisville. He also engaged in the manufac- ture and sale of cedar lumber. In religious belief he was a Baptist and so- cially he was connected with the Masonic fraternity and the Odd Fellows' order. His political support was given to the Democracy, and his last days were spent in Dennisville. He had four children: Socrates Townsend, who married Amy McLean, of Estelville, and had four children,-George, Jacob, Agnes and Laura,-and after her death wedded Ruth Craig; Martin, of this article; Edward, a real-estate dealer of Philadelphia, who married Hester Walters, by whom he has three children,-Edward, Lula and Fred; and Leonora, the wife of Jacob Miller, by whom she has two children, Harry and Leonora. Jacob Wells, the father of our subject, died December 23, 1891,
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at the age of seventy-three years; and the mother also passed away at seventy- three years of age.
Mr. Wells of this sketch was educated in the public schools of Dennis- ville, but put aside his text-books at the age of sixteen in order to give his undivided attention to the cultivation of his father's farm. He pursued the labors of the field and homestead until twenty-three years of age, when he started out for himself by learning the butcher's trade. He drove a meat wagon for thirteen years, selling throughout the neighborhood, and then came to Sea Isle City, when there were but six business houses in the town. Here he opened a grocery, meat and provision business, also extended his field of operations by dealing in coal and ice. In 1896 he purchased his present ice plant. He also has a fish pond, in which he catches fish for the market in this section of the state. From time to time he has invested his capital in real estate and is now the owner of much valuable property at Sea Isle City and at Avalon. He also owns the Dennisville Hotel, which is situ- ated in the midst of a six-acre tract of land. Of the Dennisville Building & Loan Association he is a member; also of the Sea Isle City Association and the New Jersey Building & Loan Bank.
On the 24th of December, 1874, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Wells and Miss Eliza Ludlum, and in the city where they make their home they have many warm friends. He is a stanch advocate of Democratic principles, yet at local elections votes for the man rather than the party. He served as a member of a company of home guards, of Dennisville, in 1861, has been a member of the city council, and was also the first mayor of Sea Isle City. He gives his support freely and generously to all measures calculated to prove a public benefit and has been a prominent factor in the progress of the town in which he makes his home. Earnest and well directed labor, com- bined with clear discernment in placing his investments, has brought to Mr. Wells a very gratifying and desirable success, and though he started out in life empty-handed he steadily worked his way upward, having long since left the ranks of the many to stand among the successful few.
ADAM KANDLE.
The efficient postmaster of Elmer was born in Mannington township. Salem county, October 18, 1850, and is of German lineage. His father. Mathias Kandle, a son of Adam Kandle, was born in Pittsgrove, Salem county, and was a farmer throughout life. He served as a freeholder, and for a number of years was a leading and active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of Olivet, New Jersey. His death occurred in 1893. His
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wife, Amelia, was a daughter of John Anderson, who is a native of Scotland and is still living, at the age of seventy-nine years. In their family were thirteen children, of whom the following reached years of maturity, namely: Mrs. Margaret Ayers, of Deerfield; Mrs. Susanah F. Ogden, of North Vine- land; Mrs. Amelia Johnson, of Centerline; Joshua R., of the same place; and Adam.
Mr. Kandle, of this review, attended the public schools in his youth and entered upon his business career as an apprentice at the carpenter and build- er's trade. He followed that vocation for twenty-one years at this place and was therefore active in promoting the interests of the town. Many of the good buildings stand as monuments to his thrift and enterprise and indicate the liberal patronage which he received in the line of his trade. He is now serving as postmaster, to which position he was appointed by President Mc- Kinley on the 9th of August, 1897.
In his political views Mr. Kandle is a stanch Republican and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. In 1888 he was appointed census enumerator in the lower part of the first congressional district. He has been a delegate to the various conventions of his party and is a recog- nized leader in its ranks. He has long been a faithful member of the Presby- terian church, for eleven years served in its board of trustees, and has also been superintendent of the Sunday-school for a number of years. Thus in various ways he has aided in the progress of the community in material, political, social and moral lines, and is one of the most valued citizens of Elmer.
On the 25th of March, 1874, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Kandle and Miss Anna Langley, daughter of William Langley, who was a represen- tative of one of the old families of the township. They became the parents of ten children, six of whom are living, as follows: Sarah E., a resident of Atlantic City; Mathias M., of Philadelphia; William L., who is serving as assistant postmaster in Elmer; and Harry O., Ada C. and Carrie C., all at home. Such in brief is the history of one of the well known and highly esteemed citizens of Elmer, whose devotion to the public welfare and fidelity to the duties of business and private life have won him the regard of all with whom he has associated.
DR. THOMAS F. GIFFORD.
The history of this popular young dentist of Woodbury, Gloucester county, is well worth recording in a work of this nature, not only because it is a credit to the man himself, but also because it may serve as an example
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and incentive to the young men who are determined to conquer all ob- stacles in their way to success in life. Dr. Gifford was born in Glassboro, New Jersey, October 22, 1875. the son of D. L. Gifford. The latter was of English descent and was born in Atlantic county, New Jersey. When quite a lad he went to Glassboro and there learned the trade of glass-blower, in which occupation he is still engaged. He is a man of much force of char- acter and has taken an active part in the improvement of the town, particu- larly in the widening of the streets. He is liberal in his contributions to all good causes, is a leading Odd Fellow, was for many years the treasurer of the Glass-blowers' Union, and is now its president. He has represented it at several national conventions of the union. He was married in Cam- den, in 1872, to Miss Harriet Smith, of Glassboro. Of their four children only two are living, the subject of this sketch and a daughter named Eva Alenda.
During his early boyhood Dr. Gifford attended the common school and laid the foundation of a good education. At the age of fourteen, however, it became necessary for him to enter the ranks of the wage-earners, and for several years he was employed in the Whitney Glass Works. At first he made molds and then learned the trade of machinist and faithfully performed all the duties required of him. But this career did not satisfy his ambition or desire for knowledge, and he determined to fit himself for another sphere in life. Throughout the last three years of his work at his trade he attended the night school of the Young Men's Christian Association and the Spen- cerian Business College at Philadelphia. To do this he was obliged to take a train every night at Philadelphia, a distance of eighteen miles, and return so as to be at his place of work in the morning. One can imagine at what a sacrifice of ease and rest this was accomplished.
. In 1894 this persistent young man became a student in the Pennsyl- vania College of Dental Surgery, at which he was graduated in 1897. As a further proof of his energy and courage it may be stated that during the summer vacation of 1894 he worked as a conductor on an Atlantic City trolley car and probably made himself as popular in this capacity as in other places, as his car was credited with turning in more money than any other car on the line. During a part of his time in college he took charge of the practice of one of the professors. He was in the offices of Dr. S. T. Beale, Jr., and Dr. Rupert Beale, 1116 Girard street, Philadelphia, two years. Dr. Rupert Beale lectures and demonstrates in the Penn College of Dental Surgery. Dr. S. T. Beale, Jr., is a son of Dr. S. T. Beale, Sr., deceased, who was one of the number to start the first dental college in Philadelphia, the second dental college in the world. Dr. Rupert Beale is a son of Dr. S. T.
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Beale, Jr., two of the best known practitioners in Philadelphia. While in college Dr. Gifford was a member of the C. N. Pierce Dental Society and was one of the organizers of the college branch of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association and of the College Glee Club. He was the first student "marked off" in the college work of the last year at college. He belongs to the State Dental Society, the South Jersey Dental Society, the Gloucester County Medical Society, the State Medical Society and the Odd Fellows, and is active in all public enterprises, a most genial and companionable young gentleman and a great favorite in society.
In his profession Dr. Gifford has attained a rare degree of excellence and commands one of the best practices in South Jersey. With a continua- tion of the industry, energy and perseverance he has hitherto shown he can- not fail of success in whatever he may undertake.
HON. THOMAS M. FERRELL.
Hon. Thomas M. Ferrell, ex-congressman, of Glassboro, New Jersey, by reason of his long and faithful public service, is justly entitled to more than a passing notice in this connection. In recording the biography of men it becomes a pleasure, as well as a duty, to chronicle the things performed by the subject for others, as well as for his own personal benefit.
Mr. Ferrell was born in Glassboro, New Jersey, June 20, 1844. His father was James Ferrell, a native of Port Elizabeth, Cumberland county, New Jer- sey. The grandfather also was James Ferrell, and he was born in England, and had both Scotch and English blood in his veins. He settled in Mon- mouth county, New Jersey, and followed mercantile business. He was. a captain in the time of the Revolutionary war and a prominent figure in that fierce struggle for liberty. James Ferrell, the father of our subject, moved at an early day to Gloucester county, settling at Fislerville, now Clayton. He made pots for the annealing furnaces then in operation and later in life followed farming. He was for a long time the supervisor of highways. A man of excellent judgment and full of generous, good deeds, he was an ardent Methodist and for many years was one of the church officers. He married Emeline Durr, the daughter of Alexander Durr, of Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania. Our subject now resides on the very spot where was built the resi- dence of the first glass-makers of America, and his father was an expert at making the peculiar pots in which glass is melted. Mr. James Ferrell. Jr., died January 10. 1894. The good wife still survives, aged eighty years. Of
Thorn Fsmall
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their seven children, three are living: Joseph, our subject and Benjamin T., all living at Glassboro.
Bearing more directly on the career of our subject, let it be said that he had quite a struggle to gain an education. He went to the common schools, and at a very early age had to work in the glass factory. He began to work at glass-making when only sixteen years of age and continued at it as an apprentice until he was twenty-one, by this time knowing the business thor- oughly. In 1878 he was elected president of the Hollow-ware Glass Workers' Association of the United States, holding that office until 1883. Politically Thomas M. Ferrell affiliates with the Democratic party. He served as a township committeeman for three years. In 1879 he went to the legislature. receiving a large majority of the votes cast in a very strong Republican dis- trict. He was bitterly opposed all over the country by the manufacturers, on account of his having been president of the above named association. They put up a glass-blower to beat him, but failed. It was Mr. Ferrell who organized and put on a permanent basis the Druggistware Glass-blowers' Union of the United States and Canada, which has two hundred branches.
He was also the author of the weight list, providing that the size shall not control but the weight, and this principle established by him now governs the trade and fixes the rate of sale as well as the price paid the blowers. Mr. Fer- rell was re-elected to the legislature in 1880. In 1881 he was sent to the senate, where he championed many important measures and introduced many bills for the benefit of the workingmen, and his influence was felt in both the upper and lower houses. Having served well in the capacity of a legislator. he was nominated and elected in 1882 to a seat in congress, where he served one term. The first clause of the present law restricting foreign labor brought to this country under contract was introduced by him. In 1885 he was appointed the collector of internal revenue for the first district of New Jersey, and held this office for four and one half years, after which he had charge for four years of the sinking fund of the state of New Jersey. In the state con- vention of 1900 he was elected one of the delegates at large to the Kansas City National convention by a unanimous vote, every county in the state placing him in nomination.
In business he is now connected with the Woodbury Glass Works. He has been a member of the Glassboro board of education for many years, and has been its president, as well as very active in its affairs and in its reorganiza- tion. He has been a busy man of affairs, but never neglected the higher things-those which pertain to religious life and duty. He has been a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church since he was fourteen years of age, and has been an active worker, a class-leader and recording steward.
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Greatly interested in Sunday-school work, he has served actively here, has been the superintendent and filled other offices in this sphere. In lodge connections he stands high. He belongs to the Masonic and Odd Fellows orders; has been the master of his Masonic lodge and noble grand of the New Jersey state grand lodge of the Odd Fellows.
Like most sensible men, our worthy subject believes in the value of a good home, presided over by a truly good wife. He was married on August 23, 1873, to Miss Emma T. Stanger, the daughter of Richard G. Stanger, of an old and highly respected pioneer family of this section. Their home is blessed with one child, Emma.
In reviewing this busy man's life one hardly knows where to award the most praise. His life from very boyhood has been crowded full of labor of hand and head and heart, for the betterment of the toiling masses, all of whom are his firm friends. It should here be said to his credit that it was by his influence that the legislature of his commonwealth enacted the law doing away with the "store-order," "shin-plaster" and "pass-book" systems. One of his crowning works is the establishment of a National Labor Bureau. In 1881 he represented Assembly No. 799, Knights of Labor, at their general assembly at Detroit, Michigan, and has ever worked for the good of this order. It matters not where one finds this gentleman, he is the same thor- ough, thoughtful, painstaking man, ever ready to befriend the poor and op- pressed. Indeed, the world has by far too few of such royal characters among the rank and file of its busy workers. He stands in the front rank of the "plain people" of the land. Where selfishness abounds, no such generous type of manhood can be found shining forth in glorious brilliancy.
SAMUEL SCHURCH.
This gentleman is serving as the tax collector at Ocean City, where for some years he has occupied positions of public trust, always discharging his duties in a capable and prompt manner, thus winning the approval of all his fellow townsmen. He has also been an active factor in business affairs, and is ranked among the representative citizens of Cape May county.
He was born in Philadelphia, December 6, 1845, his parents being Samuel and Sarah (Pennick) Schurch. Back to Switzerland the ancestry of the fam- ily is traced. John Schurch, the paternal grandfather, was a resident of canton Berne, Switzerland, and on crossing the Atlantic in 1806, accom- panied by his wife and children, he located in Germantown, Pennsylvania, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was a bleacher by trade, and
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followed that business for many years. During the Swiss-French war he entered the service and acted as one of Napoleon's body guards, having saved the general's life during a sortie in that war. He held a membership in the Lutheran church, and in that faith reared his family of four children, -Christian, Peter, Fannie and Samuel. His death occurred at the age of ninety years, and his wife passed away at the advanced age of ninety-five years. The family is noted for longevity.
Samuel Schurch, the father of our subject, was born in canton Berne, in 1804, and therefore was very young when brought by his parents to the New World. He became a quill and ink manufacturer, and was one of the last to engage in making quills, closing out that business because it was super- seded by the manufacture of steel pens. He was reared in Germantown and learned the baker's trade. For many years he resided in Philadelphia, where he carried on business, but his death occurred in Bridgeboro, New Jersey. By his ballot he supported the Republican party. A faithful member of the German Reformed church, he took a very active part in its work, was treas- urer and Sunday-school superintendent for thirty years, and at the same time acted as treasurer of another church. He had a membership relation with the United Beneficial Society, of which he was the treasurer and secretary, and at all times he was a friend to the poor and needy, withholding his support from none whom he believed to be worthy of assistance. At his death his pastor said of him that he was one of the most honest of men and faithfully exemplified the teachings of the church in that respect. He had acted as a member of the home guards, and was very enthusiastic in regard to military matters, attempting to join the army during the civil war, but as he had passed the regulation age his services were rejected. He married Miss Sarah Pinnick, and they became the parents of eleven children, six of whom are living: Adeline, wife of Bernard Nieweg; John, who married Henrietta Nie- weg; George N., Martha, Charles and Frances. The father of these children died in April, 1880, at the age of seventy-six years, and the mother, who was born in 1803, died in 1895, at the age of ninety-three years.
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