USA > New Jersey > Biographical, genealogical and descriptive history of the first congressional district of New Jersey, Volume I > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
26
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FIRST
HENRY M. RUMSEY.
Mr. Rumsey is the well known cashier of the Salem National Banking Company. Banking institutions are the heart of the commercial body indi- cating the healthfulness of trade, and the bank that follows a safe, conserva- tive business policy does more to establish public confidence in times of wide- spread financial depression than anything else. Sitch a course has the Salem National Banking Company followed under the able management of Mr. Rumsey and his associates, who direct its affairs. For many years he has been associated with the financial interests of the city, and at all times he has commanded the public confidence by his reliable business methods and his fidelity to the trust reposed in him.
Mr. Rumsey has spent his entire life in Salem county, his birth having occurred August 24, 1838, his parents being George C. and Margaret (Can- arroe) Rumsey. Through many generations the ancestry of the family can be traced, and the history embraces the records of men of sterling worth who in the various walks of life have won success. The founder of the family in America was Charles Rumsey, who emigrated from Wales to America in 1665, landing at Charleston, South Carolina, whence he went to New York and Philadelphia, locating finally at the head of Bohemia river, in Cecil county, Maryland. He had eight children, and to two of them, Charles and William, he left three hundred acres of land, the home plantation, and to a third son, Edward, he left one hundred acres. One of the sons of the latter, James Rumsey, was born on the farm at the head of Bohemia river. He in- vented a steamboat, propelled by the reaction of a stream of water, which by the agency of steam was forced out of the stern through a cylinder parallel to the keel. This invention was a decided success and was largely used in navigation until more modern methods supplanted it. He was born in 1743 and moved to the state of Virginia, where he was living at the time he per- fected his invention. In 1792 he went to London and while delivering a lec- ture explaining the methods he had employed he was stricken with apoplexy and died before medical help could reach him.
William Rumsey, the son of Charles Rumsey, the Welsh emigrant, was born April 21, 1698, and became a surveyor of note. He assisted in locating the state line between Pennsylvania and Maryland in 1739 and performed other important surveying service. He also acted as a collector of customs, and became one of the most extensive land-owners of Cecil county, leaving about thirty-five thousand acres of land to his heirs. The old Rumsey man- sion was a magnificent specimen of colonial architecture, picturesquely situ-
3
The Lewis Publishing Co Chicago
27
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
ated on an eminence commanding a wide expanse of beautiful country in Middle Neck, Cecil county ; but the processes of time have long since reduced it to a state of decay and ruin, while the name, once so honored and promi- nent in the history of Cecil county, is now almost unknown there, the de- scendants having disposed of their inheritance and moved northward to Phil- adelphia, New Jersey and Illinois. In those places, however, the name is now no less honored, for its representatives have become important factors in the various localities where they reside. William Rumsey, of Cecil county, married Sabina Blankinburg, and left three sons and two daughters at his death in 1742.
Colonel Charles Rumsey, one of his children, was born in 1736 and took an active part in the struggle for independence in the war of the Revolution. He was a member of the Maryland council in 1775. the Maryland council of safety in the following year, and was the colonel of the Elk Battalion, Cecil county militia, in the same year. He married Abigail Jane Caner, who was born in 1746, and died in February, 1827. She was a daughter of Rev. Richard and Emma (Oxen) Caner, her father a minister of the Episcopal church, residing in Cecil county, Maryland. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Rumsey were born ten children, among whom was Benjamin, the grandfather of Henry M. Rumsey. He was born January 26, 1772, in that county, and be- came very wealthy, having extensive landed possessions. He married Miss Mary Clark, a daughter of George Clark, of Delaware. Their children were Charles, who married Hannah Mulford; Ann Jane, wife of Bacon Ware; George C., the father of our subject; and Eliza B., who died in 1805. The father of these children was called to his final rest April 1, 1803.
George C. Rumsey was a native of Middletown, Delaware, and was born November 24, 1798. He removed to Salem, where for many years he was engaged in general merchandising, following that pursuit until about the year 1841. In 1835 he was elected a director of the Salem Banking Com- pany and continued to hold that office until his death, in 1851. In 1842 he was made the cashier of the bank and was one of the most efficient officers that has ever been connected with the institution. He was also interested in various other business enterprises and owned several tracts of land in the county. His political support was given the Democratic party in his early life, but subsequently he joined the ranks of the Whig party. He was an honored member of the First Presbyterian church of Salem, served as one of its elders and took an active part in its work. He died December 28, 1851, at the age of fifty-two years, and his wife passed away April 9, 1883. at the advanced age of eighty-six years.
Henry M. Rumsey, their only child, has spent his entire life in Salem
28
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FIRST
county. He was provided with good educational privileges, pursuing his studies in Salem, in Mount Holly and in Princeton. It fell to his lot to assume charge of extensive business interests at an age when most lads are thinking only of amusements, for his father died when he was only thirteen years of age, and it became necessary for him to assume an early control of his inheritance. As soon as his education was completed he began the culti- vation of the farm and carried on agricultural pursuits until 1867, meeting with creditable success in his undertakings. Four years prior to this time he was elected to the office of director in the Salem Banking Company, a position formerly held by his father, and in 1866 he accepted a clerkship in the Salem National Banking Company's establishment. In 1871 he was promoted to the position of assistant cashier, and after serving in that ca- pacity for ten years he was elected cashier. For eighteen years he has dis- charged the duties of that place, and the success of the bank is attributable in no small measure to his enterprise, keen discernment and systematic busi- ness methods. His efforts have by no means been limited to this line of endeavor, for he is a man of resourceful ability and his wise counsel has proved an important factor in the successful conduct of many other business interests. He is a member of the board of trade.
Mr. Rumsey was married November 24, 1859, to Miss Maria Elliott, a daughter of Benjamin Bassett, a prominent farmer of Mannington township and a director in the Salem National Bank. She was one of four children. namely: Sarah, the wife of Barkley Griscon, an agriculturist of Mannington township; Rachel, the wife of Collins Allen, a farmer; Richard, who married Ann Grier and is a retired farmer of Salem; and Maria, the wife of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Rumsey have three children: Margaret C., who was born in April, 1861, and is now the wife of Thomas Tatnail, a real-estate dealer of Wilmington, Delaware, by whom she has three children,-Marjery, Henry R., Thomas, Jr .; George Benjamin, who was born in June, 1865. and has held several official positions; and Mary Acton, now the wife of R. Wyatt Wistar. George B. has been a member of the board of education and has efficiently served as the city treasurer. He is also one of the trustees of the Presbyterian church. The family is one of prominence in the community, holding a high position in social circles, and their home is celebrated for its hospitality.
In all the affairs which concern the welfare of the city Mr. Rumsey takes a deep and practical interest, withholding his support from no measure or movement which is calculated to advance the public prosperity. He is one of the charter members of the New Jersey branch of the Sons of the Revolu- tion, is a member of the Presbyterian church and one of its elders. He does
29
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
all in his power to promote the growth of the church and contributes very liberally to its support. He is courteous, genial, well informed, alert and en- terprising.
THE SALEM NATIONAL BANKING COMPANY.
The Salem National Banking Company, of Salem, New Jersey, has had a long and prosperous career. It was first established in 1823, as the Salem Steam Mill & Banking Company, of which William N. Jeffers was president and William Mulford cashier. Among the incorporators of the company were Samuel Clement, Richard Craven, Daniel Garrison, Benjamin Griscom, Morris Hancock, William N. Jeffers, Joseph Kille, William Mulford, James Newell, Jonathan Richman, Jere- miah Stull, John Tuft and Daniel Vanneman, who were elected the first directors.
At a meeting of the board of di- rectors, held July 25, 1825, the steam mill was ordered sold, which was subsequently done, and the banking business continued under successive presidents and cashiers as follows: Presidents, John G. Mason, Morris Hancock and Calvin Belden; cashiers, William Mulford, Louis P. Smith, John Elwell and George C. Rumsey. The Salem National Banking Company was or- ganized in July, 1865, under the acts of legislature governing such institutions, and it is the successor of the old bank, which declared a dividend, at its closing out, of one hundred per cent payable in the stock of the new organization, making an increase of capital from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Among the incorporators of the present bank were George W. Garrison, Henry B. Ware, Jonathan Woodnut, Benjamin Acton, Joseph Kille, O. B. Stoughton, Joseph Bassett, Henry M. Rumsey, John C. Belden, Jonathan House, Isaac Johnson, Edwin A. Vanneman, James Woolman and Charles Wood, all now dead except Messrs. Rumsey and Belden. George W. Garrison
30
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FIRST
died November 26, 1875, and was succeeded by Charles Wood, who died in October, 1877, and was succeeded by C. M. Eakin. He died in 1887 and was succeeded by ex-Senator Wyatt W. Miller, the present incumbent. In 1871 Mr. Ware resigned the cashiership, on account of failing health, and was suc- ceeded by Benjamin Acton, Henry M. Rumsey being elected assistant cash- ier. At the death of Mr. Acton, in September, 1881, Mr. Rumsey was elected cashier and F. M. Acton was made assistant.
It has had a prosperous career and enjoys the confidence of the general public, occupying a well merited position in the banking circles of the coun- try. It is in charge of efficient and obliging officers, who are men of integ- rity and well calculated to take charge of a business of that proportion. The directors elected at the last annual meeting were Robert S. Bunting, John M. Carpenter, George Hires, Jacob House, L. A. D. Allen, Wyatt W. Miller, Henry M. Rumsey, Thomas Sinnickson, Jr., and Josiah Summerill; presi- dent, Wyatt WV. Miller, and cashier Henry M. Rumsey, who has been officially connected with the institution since 1866 and proved himself a capable and efficient man. The capital stock of the company is one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It has individual deposits ranging from three hundred and fifty thousand to over a half million dollars, while its real estate is worth over fifty thousand dollars. The par value of the stock is fifty dollars but now sells for more than one hundred, while the regular annual dividends range from ten to twelve per cent.
The building occupied by the Salem National Banking Company is one of the finest in southern New Jersey and was erected in 1888. It is command- ing in appearance, conveniently located on Broadway near the head of Mar- ket street, and is both convenient and ornamental. It is a two-story brick structure with stone trimming, a compromise between plain and ornamental, that gives a pleasing appearance, the front being of a turret style of architec- ture. Heavy open-work iron doors, with glass in the inside, guard the en- trance, which is through a vaulted vestibule, the inner doors of heavy oak and glass admitting to the banking room, which is very commodious, open to the roof and well lighted, the ceiling being beautifully finished and frescoed. Back of these is the vault, massive and both burglar and fire proof in appear- ance as well as fact. It is of the Diebold pattern, with all the improvements. The door is secured by time and combination locks, and in the vault are the cash box, also guarded by a time lock, and deposit boxes for the accommoda- tion of the public. In the rear of the vault is a large room for the use of those having deposit boxes, and is furnished with a large hardwood table, stationary washstand and other conveniences. To the right are the presi- dent's and cashier's rooms, which are handsomely furnished. with hardwood
3I
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
corner mantels and open fire-places, the floor being covered with a handsome velvet carpet. Above these are the directors', the watchman's and the toilet rooms, all furnished in the same general manner. The partitions are partly of heavy plate glass, so that the front of the building is always within easy view. The entire inside finish is of quartered oak, there being ample space in the banking room for the accommodation of the public. There is a small room on each side of the entrance, which is supplied with tables and chairs, for the convenience of the bank's patrons, and there are ample seat and desk accommodations to render the transaction of business both inviting and pleasant. The building is heated throughout by hot air, indirect, from a boiler in the basement. This part has a cement floor and is constructed with the same thoroughness that characterizes the entire building. It can be lighted either by gas or electricity, and is supplied with burglar alarms, the entire building being thoroughly ventilated by an automatic arrangement. Over the entrance is the profile, cut in stone, of the late Major Benjamin Acton, so long connected with the bank, and who was the cashier at the time of his death. The building was erected under the supervision of the archi- tect, David Evans, of Philadelphia, and is a credit to his skill and the enter- prise of the directors under whom it was erected.
THE VAN METER FAMILY.
Ancestral notes relating to the Van Meter family of Salem county, New Jersey, and their connections, are presented in this compilation.
Some centuries ago a part of the province of Gelderland, in the Nether- lands, was called Meteren. It is thought the people who went from that town came to be called by it "van," indicating "from." However that may be, the name, in various spellings, has been borne by people who have dis- tinguished themselves in religious and literary labors. Jacob van Meteren. of Antwerp, caused the first complete edition of the Bible to be printed in the English language. This book was published at Zurich, in 1536, and was a great and expensive work. It is supposed that Van Meteren made the translations himself, employing an English scholar, Miles Coverdale, to supervise the printing, to guard against errors in the translation. Joost van Meter wrote a History of Holland in 1597. In 1875 Van Meters were living there, respected, educated and wealthy.
A well known American name is that of the Rev. William C. Van Meter, connected at one time with the Five Points' Mission in New York city, after- ward the organizer of numerous schools for Italian children in Rome; also
32
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FIRST
Miss Martha Van Marter, who was for years the associate editor of the "Sun- day School Advocate," a children's paper, published in New York city.
History attests the fact that the seventeenth century was marked by numerous expeditions of settlers from many lands to this country. Their homes, their marriages, the births and subsequent scatterings of their chil- dren are in evidence, here and there, by such records of ancient religious and civic organizations as have been preserved. The baptismal and mar- riage registers of the old Dutch church of Kingston, Ulster county, New York (formerly named Wiltwych, and familiarly called Esopus or Sopus), for one hundred and fifty years from their commencement, in 1660, have been transcribed and edited by Roswell Randall Hoos. They give glimpses of the families which had a part in its history. Van Meteres, Van Maitres and Van Meterens are found in connection with two of those great epochs of the human race: birth and marriage. The names Delameter, De Lametre, etc., in Kingston, as early as 1739, seem to indicate a French branch of the family.
In 1682 Joost Janz (also written Jansen), j. m. (young man), of Meteren, in Gelderland, Holland, living then in what is now known as Marbletown, Ulster county, New York, was married to Sara Du Bois, j. d. (young woman), of Kingston, in the same county. The first publication of the banns was the 18th of November. Sara Du Bois was a daughter of Louis Du Bois and Katryn (also written Catryn and Catharine) Blanshan, who in turn was the daughter of Matthys Blanshan and Madeline Jorisen, of Artois, France. Katryn Blanshan married Louis Du Bois (another French Huguenot) at Mannheim, Germany, October 10, 1655. The Blanshans, with three of their children, came to Esopus, Ulster county, New York, in 1660, in the ship Gilded Otter. As it is stated that Louis Du Bois and his wife arrived the same year, at the same place, no doubt they came together.
Among the traditions of that pioneer period is one proving that music had charms to soothe the savage American breast. During an absence of Louis Du Bois, his wife, three of the children and others were captured by the Indians. The wood upon which Catherine Du Bois had been placed was about to be fired when she lifted up her heart in prayer to God and her voice in sacred song. Awed by the plaintive tones, her captors delayed their cruel purposes to hear more of the strange, sweet sounds. Deliverance came. Her husband and his companions, warned by a friendly Indian, rushed upon the scene, the Indians fled and the precious lives were saved. Louis and Catharine Du Bois were the parents of ten children, seven of them sons. The name is still in Ulster county and in many sections of the United States. The silver snuff-box, which had been in the family from the days of the earliest
33
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
settlers, was recently placed in the Memorial House, at New Paltz, New York. A coat of arms is engraved upon its lid.
Louis Du Bois died in 1696. His widow married a French merchant, of Kingston, Jean Cottin (or Cottyn). Under date of September 5th, 1703, an interesting entry is found in the book of the old Dutch church, referring to Rachel, their slave, aged seventeen years. She had professed her faith and received the sacrament of holy baptism; she also promised to serve her mistress and master faithfully until their death; afterward she was to be "at liberty and free." This is perhaps the first recorded instance in this country of the freeing of a slave.
It is believed there were other children of Joost J. van Meteren and Sara Du Bois, but the only birth reported, in reply to inquiries, is that of Rebecca, baptized April 26, 1686. The sponsors were Gysbert Crom and Catryn Du Bois. September 3, 1704, Rebecca Van Meteren was married to Cornelis Elting, a son of Jan Elten and Jacomyntje Slecht. A sister and brother by the name of Van Meter married a brother and sister by the name of Elting, supposed to be Rebecca's brother and the sister of Cornelis. The baptisms of three of the children of Cornelis Elting and Rebecca Van Meteren are recorded in the Registers of the old Dutch church at Kingston: Isaak, Oc- tober 24, 1708; Zara, February 6, 1715 (Jan Van Meteren one of the four sponsors); Alida (Eleanor), May 3, 1724. Sara Elting married John Hite. Eleanor Elting married Isaac Hite, and Rebecca Van Meter, daughter of Isaac Van Meter, married Abraham Hite (three of the eight children of Hans Joost Heydt and Anna Maria Du Bois). As late as 1710-II, the names of Van Meter, Elting, Du Bois and Hite-all kindred-were found in King- ston, New York. In 1899 no traditions of the Van Meters were obtainable in the county: the name was not in the Kingston directory.
Bommel, in the Netherlands, in the same province of Gelderland, from which Joost J. Van Meteren came, was the birthplace, March 10, 1650, of Kreijn, a son of Jan Gysbertsen Metrn (as he wrote his name). In 1663 Kreijn came with his father to New Amsterdam. Although the father used a different spelling, in the old records of Kings county, Long Island, and on the records of the first Dutch church of Monmouth county, New Jersey, the name is spelled Van Metra, Van Metere, Van Meteren and in several other ways. The father was well off, financially. In 1673 he was comfortably set- tled at New Utrecht, Long Island, and one of the magistrates of that town. In 1683 he was a deacon in the Dutch church. There is a tradition that "Jan Guysbertsen Metrn" refused to take the oath of allegiance in 1687, and soon after went back to his fatherland. But his son, Kreijn Janse, took the oath of allegiance to the English government in 1687. He is then mentioned as a
34
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FIRST
resident of New Utrecht, Long Island. In a census of Kings county, taken in 1698, his name is spelled "Cryn Jansen," and he has a family of four chil- dren. He was married September 9, 1683, to Neeltje (Eleanor), daughter of Jan (John) Van Cleef and Engeltje Pietersen. Jan Van Cleef had come from Holland in 1653 and settled at New Utrecht in 1659.
Kreijn Van Matre (a later spelling) and his wife are named among the first members and organizers of the Dutch church of Monmouth county, New Jersey. He is entered on the church records as "Kriin Jansen," and, in 1716, when elder, as "Kriin Van Metra." Other children were born in Mon- mouth county. The name came to be written Van Mater. Their descend- ants were very numerous; some of them are widely scattered and there is no uniform way of spelling the surname. Joseph Van Mater, the fifth and youngest son, born February 5, 1710, married Sarah Roelofse Schanck. Of their six children only three survived to grow up and marry. Joseph lived on and farmed the old homestead where Kreijn Janse first settled. The family graveyard is on these premises and reserved forever for that purpose by the will of Joseph Van Mater. To this branch of the Van Maters Monmouth county is largely indebted for the blooded stock of horses for which the county became celebrated during the first half of the present century.
The items in regard to Kreijn Janse Van Mater and his family have been gathered from the interesting papers written, under the title of "Early Dutch Settlers," by Judge George Crawford Beekman for the "Freehold Tran- script." In private letters to the writer of this article, he states his belief that the Salem county, New Jersey, and Virginia Van Meters can claim Kreijn Janse Van Mater as an ancestor.
It is not improbable that the Joost Jansen Van Meteren of Ulster county, New York, was a son of the Jan Gysbertsen Metrn found in New Utrecht, Long Island,-if not a son, a kinsman. The fact that both came from the same province, Gelderland, is a confirmation of this theory; and the "History of Kingston, New York," by Marius Schoonmaker, shows the close connec- tions between the settlers of Ulster county and Long Island. The traditions here point to Ulster county, New York, and the associations suggest Joost Jansen and Sara Du Bois for ancestors. It has always been understood that the families of Monmouth and Salem counties were related. The older gener- ations visited each other, but time, with its inevitable changes, brought newer and stronger ties.
No history of the early Van Meters in any of their branches, in any part of the United States, presents them other than quiet people, devoted to their families, obeying the Scriptural injunction in minding their own business,
35
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
lovers and organizers of religious services, believers in education, and own- ers of extensive tracts of land and fine horses. These have been characteristic traits in Salem county. The name as first recorded in the clerk's office, at Salem, in 1714, is spelled Van Meter, and, ever since, it has appeared the same way, with and without the capital M for Meter. 1162725
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.