USA > New Jersey > Biographical, genealogical and descriptive history of the first congressional district of New Jersey, Volume I > Part 45
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On the 6th of January, 1891, Mr. Townsend was married to Flora Ella
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Segua, and to them were born two children: Ida May, who was born Sep- tember 22, 1892, and died in September, 1899; and George Arthur, who died in early childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Townsend occupy leading positions in social circles and enjoy the warm regard of many friends. His courteous and genial manner has made him very popular, and he well deserves representa- tion in the history of his adopted county.
HARRY GUEST.
Harry Guest, one of the most popular young business men of Woods- town, is a native of Gloucester county, New Jersey, his birth having occurred December 24, 1867. His parents, Mattison and Susanna (Black) Guest, likewise were born in that county, but the paternal grandfather of our sub- ject, Owen Guest, was born, passed his entire life and died in the village of Auburn, Salem county, his death occurring when he was in his eighty-second year. In his early manhood Mattison Guest was occupied in agricultural pursuits, but later he turned his attention to building and contracting, in which line of endeavor he was very successful. He resided in Swedesboro from his youth until his death, and during all this period was an active mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church of that place. His useful and happy life was brought to a close on the 6th of December, 1889, when he was in the sixty-seventh year of his age.
Harry Guest is the twin brother of Fannie, the wife of John W. Fish, and his other brothers and sisters are: Caleb C. and Anna, who have passed away; Nicholas J .; Joseph W .; Owen L .; and Martha, the wife of Atley Shute. They were all reared upon a farm and were early taught to practice uprightness and fairness toward their fellow men, and to observe those prin- ciples of conduct which are to be found in the good citizen.
Having completed his public-school education at Swedesboro, Harry Guest began farming in earnest, remaining there engaged until 1888, when he accepted a position with C. C. Hughes, druggist, at the corner of Race and Eighth streets, Philadelphia. Later he entered the employ of Dr. Goodwin, whose place of business was at the corner of Clinton and Fifth streets, in the same city, and there he continued to perfect himself as a pharmacist. At length he was graduated in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and made a creditable showing before the Pennsylvania and New Jersey state examin- ing boards. In 1890 he came to Woodstown, where he was first employed by F. P. Harris, the druggist, who sold out about a year later to Dr. Frost. This store, well known as the East Avenue Pharmacy, passed into the hands
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of its present owner, our subject, on the 22d of March, 1891. He has not only maintained its previous reputation of being one of the leading drug stores of the county, but by adding to his large stock from time to time, and by his genial, accommodating way, has won the good will and patronage of the public.
Fraternally, Mr. Guest is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to Woodstown Lodge, No. 158. He also holds mem- bership in the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is a valued worker, being the secretary of the Sunday-school and also of the New Jersey State Sunday-school Association.
On the 21st of October, 1891, Mr. Guest wedded Amy R. Markley, of Camden, New Jersey. She is a daughter of Charles and Kate (Folwall) Markley, and by her marriage has become the mother of three promising little ones, named respectively Warren Rogers, Helen Markley and Elsie May. She, too, is a member of the Methodist church of this place, and ably seconds all of her husband's endeavors to promote peace, love and happiness upon the earth.
JOSHUA MOORE.
Joshua Moore was born in Salem county, New Jersey, October 20, 1843. a son of Allen and Sarah (Dean) Moore. Here several generations of the family had been born before him. The name Moore is said to have origin- ated as a surname in a highland clan of Scotland and to have been an expres- sion of the idea of greatness in prowess and reprisal. Down through the times of the Covenanters and the scenes in which popery was dealt telling blows, which have become historic, men of the name were prominent, always in the van of Protestantism. During the memorable difficulties of the days of James II of England, VII of Scotland. Jacob Moore, a native of the North of Ireland, had trouble in his home country, and early in the eighteenth cen- tury, not many years after the death of the king, which occurred in 1701. he emigrated to America and settled on Long Island. From there he came to New Jersey, locating in the North Cohansey precinct, within the present boundaries of Cumberland county, where he soon married Abigail Peck and in due time bought a tract of land, a part of the Wasse survey, it is believed, from Daniel Cox of Burlington. This land is at the head of Beebe run and on the north side of that stream which empties into the lower branch of Stoe creek. After the organization of Cumberland county Jacob Moore's home- stead was in Hopewell township. In 1738 he built a large log dwelling on this land.
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Jacob and Abigail (Peck) Moore had six children, named John, Azariah, Joseph, Martha, Bathsheba and Mary. The last named died young. Bath- sheba married Preston Hannah and bore him a son, the late Dr. Charles Hannah, of Salem, New Jersey. Joseph died in 1800, after having been for a number of years a ruling elder in the Deerfield church. Azariah was a weaver and by good business methods gained a substantial position financially. He was an ardent Whig and after the struggle for American independence began enlisted and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary army. He was a very methodical man, of excellent character and judgment, and served long as justice of the peace. His charity was practical and unceasing. He never married, and his home, on the west side of the Friesburg road, a mile above Shiloh, was presided over by his sister Martha. He lies in the old Presby- terian churchyard at Greenwich.
John Moore, a son of Jacob and Abigail (Peck) Moore, died February 22, 1800. He also fought for liberty in the patriot army of America. He settled half a mile east of his brother Azariah and married Rachel Moore, of a family of Moores not closely related to his own, and had eleven children, eight of whom were reared to manhood and womanhood and five of whom left descendants. Four of these descendants, all great-grandsons of John Moore, volunteered in the military service of the United States in the war of the rebellion,-one from Pennsylvania died in the service, one from Ohio, one from Iowa, and another, John Moore Tyler, from Cumberland county, New Jersey. The last mentioned also gave up his life for his country.
Lewis, a son of John and Rachel (Moore) Moore, married Susanna Shull and they had five children: Ruth, Jacob, Lydia, Elmer and Eliza. Ruth married Archibald Minch. Jacob died unmarried and when comparatively young. Lydia married Theophilus P. Davis and had three children: Ruth M., Samuel B. and Leonard W. Elmer married Kittie B. West and they have two children,-Lewis and Marietta Moore. Azariah, another son of John and Rachel (Moore) Moore, married Lydia Dare. Their children were named David, Abigail, Enoch, Josiah, Henrietta, George, Elizabeth and Robert. David married Deborah Cook and died without issue. Abigail married David Veal and had children who were named David D., Lydia M., Enoch, Henry and Francis. Enoch married Elizabeth, a daughter of Hosea Moore, who bore him the following named children: David, George and Hosea.
Robert, also a son of John and Rachel (Moore) Moore, was twice mar- ried. His first wife was Emily Bovan. They had a daughter, Caroline, who married William Riley. His second wife was Elizabeth Coke. They had children named Robert, Azariah, Richard, John, Winfield and Elizabeth.
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Robert has been a member of the New Jersey legislature two or three times and has held other important offices. John, still another son of John and Rachel (Moore) Moore, married Phoebe Moore, his cousin, and they had two children,-Mary M. and Emily. Mary M. died in young womanhood unmarried. Emily was twice married. George, a son of Samuel and Rachel Tyler, was her first husband. They had one son, John Moore Tyler, above referred to. Charles Seeley was her second husband, by whom there was no issue.
Samuel Moore, the grandfather of Joshua Moore, was a native of Salem, New Jersey, and was for many years a prosperous farmer of Gloucester county, New Jersey, where he died at the age of eighty-eight years. He had four sons and three daughters. Thomas, who was well known in Piles Grove, and Samuel, of Gloucester county, are dead. Keturah married Clement French, of Gloucester county. Rachel, now dead, was the wife of Aaron Edwards. Atlantic, the other daughter, is Mrs. Benjamin F. Dean. Samuel Moore's son, Allen Moore, the father of Joshua, was born at Salem and was a farmer in Gloucester county from 1848 to 1867. From 1867 to 1889 he lived in Piles Grove township, where he owned a large farm, and in the year last mentioned he removed to Woodstown, where he lived in retire- ment until his death in 1899, at the age of eighty-one. Notwithstanding he was of a retiring disposition and never sought prominence in any way, sev- eral important offices were thrust upon him by his fellow-citizens, who had the most implicit faith in his integrity and ability. He was a freeholder, a member of the state legislature, chairman of the board of trustees of the alms- house board, and long an influential member of the executive committee of his township; and from time to time he also fulfilled other responsible trusts. He married Sarah, the daughter of Alexander Dean, a native of Salem county and one of the prominent farmers and citizens of Piles Grove township. They had six children, only one of whom is living. Those who are dead were named Rebecca, Amelia, Sabina, Lorenz and Josephine. Sarah (Dean) Moore died in 1867, aged forty-eight years.
Joshua Moore was educated in the common schools of Gloucester county. He helped on his father's homestead until the spring of 1870, when he went to Philadelphia and learned the trade of paper-hanger. In 1874 he returned to New Jersey and located at Woodstown, where he entered upon a business as general merchant with Nathan Thorn as a partner. This enterprise was a notable success, and in 1886 Mr. Thorn retired from it, since which time Mr. Moore has been the sole proprietor. He is a popular merchant and has a large and constantly growing patronage, which extends to all of Woods- town's tributary territory.
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Mr. Moore married Marion Thorn, a daughter of Nathan and Rachel Thorn, of Woodstown, April 2, 1874. They have two daughters,-Rachel Lippincott Moore and Sarah Frances Moore,-who were educated at Bacon Academy and have taken up educational work, the former as an instructor in kindergarten methods in Bacon Academy, the latter as the principal of the Friends' school at Horsham, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Nathan and Rachel Thorn died leaving three children: Marion (Mrs. Moore); Morris Thorn, a government employee at Washington, D. C .; and Emma, who married Joseph Ballenger.
ALLEN W. MILLER.
Allen W. Miller is a son of Samuel S. and Mary E. (Madara) Miller, and is one of the best known citizens of Salem county, New Jersey. He was born near Woodstown, this county, March 1, 1858, and grew to man's estate in this vicinity. Samuel S. Miller was a native of Swedesboro, Gloucester county, this state, and devoted his life to the pursuits of agriculture until he retired from participation in the active duties of life and moved to this city several years prior to his death. He was a Republican in politics and a Friend in his religious convictions. His marriage to Mary E. Madara ivas fruitful of six sons and one daughter: Charles was born August 25, 1844, and died April 4, 1893, was a merchant and married Elizabeth Vincent; Sam- uel C. married a Miss Morton and after securing a legal separation from his first wife wedded Miss Morrison; Sallie A. is the wife of Charles N. Snitcher; Piley, born August 8, 1852, died December 13, 1882; James M. wedded a Miss Cooper; Allen W. is the subject of this review; and Theodore R. married a Miss Ale. This worthy couple were permitted to rear their children to adult years and see them established in homes of their own before they were called to the better world. The mother entered the Celestial City in 1891 and was followed by the devoted husband and father seven years later, after a long and useful life of seventy-seven years.
Allen W. Miller was educated in the public schools of Salem and then went to Philadelphia, where he thought to better his chances of work in a large city. He was with J. Q. Davis for a time and then with Robert Fogg. later entering the employ of the West Jersey Railway Company for a period of nine years. He was afterward connected with the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- road until 1894, when he accepted the agency of the Standard Oil Company for this county and has since been located in Salem. He runs a tank wagon and supplies oil to the inhabitants of the entire county.
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He was married March 11, 1881, to Miss Anna M. Rickard, by whom he had ten children, Sallie A., Louisa T., Anna Frances, Dora S., A. Edward S., who was born May 17, 1887, and died November 15, 1895; Abbie R., who was born March 24, 1889, and died August 2, 1890; Walter D .; Preston S., who was born January 21, 1893, and died October 15, 1895; Helen M .; and Allen W., Jr. His sympathies are given to Republicanism, and he is a mem- ber of several fraternal orders, namely: Shield of Honor, No. 3, of Phila- delphia; Knights of the Golden Eagle of Salem, No. 5; Senior Order of United American Mechanics, No. 21; and the Knights of Pythias, No. 7. He is popular to a high degree and has hosts of friends throughout the sur- rounding country.
J. HAMPTON FITHIAN.
The history of few families can be traced back in a more direct line or in a more correct manner than that of the Fithian family, of which our subject is a representative. Prior to the year 1640 William Fithian, a native of England, came to America, crossing the Atlantic with the colony that settled in Lynn, Massachusetts. The name was sometimes spelled Pythian, but the present orthography has always been followed by the branch of the family to which J. Hampton Fithian belongs. The original American ancestor, Wil- liam Fithian removed from Massachusetts to East Hampton, on Long Island, where he died about the year 1680. His last will and testament was dated De- cember II, 1678. His children were: Enoch, Samuel, Sarah, Hannah and Martha. The Cumberland county branch of the family is descended from Samuel Fithian, but many of the name are still found at East Hampton.
Samuel Fithian was married March 6, 1679, to Priscilla, daughter of Thomas and Mary Burnet, of South Hampton, Long Island. Their children were: John, who was born September 1, 1681; Josiah, born May 6, 1685: Samuel, born April 17, 1688; Esther, born March 6, 1691; Mathias, born February 3, 1694; and William, born March 25, 1698. Samuel Fithian, with his wife and children, removed from East Hampton, Long Island, to Fairfield. Cumberland county, New Jersey, between the years 1698 and 1702, locating at what is now called New England Roads.
The eldest son, John Fithian, there married and had a daughter, Priscilla, who was born May 1, 1702. He died prior to her birth, and in 1704 his widow married John Ogden.
Josiah Fithian, the second son of Samuel and Priscilla Fithian, located at Greenwich, Cumberland county, New Jersey, upon a farm, about 1706. He owned extensive tracts of land and carried on agricultural pursuits on a large
& Hampton Fithian
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scale. He also was called upon to settle up many estates and frequently acted as attorney in securing adjustment of troubles between people of the com- munity. He married Sarah Dennis, and their children were: John, who was born in 1709; Jeremiah, born in 1713: Samuel, born in 1715; Hannah, born in 1718; Esther, born in 1721; Joseph, born in 1724; Sarah, born in 1726; and Josiah, born in 1728. After the death of the mother the father married again, but had no children by the second union. He was a promi- nent member and an elder in the Presbyterian church, and laid the corner stone in its house of worship in Greenwich in 1735. He was recognized as a leader in public affairs in many ways, and exerted a wide influence in matters pertaining to the general progress. He served as one of the judges of the county of Salem in 1732-3 and from 1738 to 1740, inclusive. His death oc- curred April 3, 1741, and his first wife passed away in 1732.
Samuel Fithian, the great-great-great-grandfather of our subject, was born October 12, 1715, and died November 2, 1777. He was married Sep- tember 3, 1741, to Phebe Seeley, who died March 3, 1764. The same year he wedded Miss Mary Clark. The children of the first union were: Hannah, who became the wife of Nathan Leake; Rachel, wife of Daniel Clark; Amy, wife of Joseph Moore; Joel; Elizabeth, wife of Ephraim Seeley; Mary, wife of Joshua Brick; Sarah, wife of Thomas Brown; Ruth, wife of David Bowen; Seeley, who married Ruth Burgin; and Esther Hunt.
Joel Fithian, the great-great-grandfather, was born September 29, 1748, and died November 9, 1821. He was married to Rachel Holmes, whose birth occurred January 14, 1751, and who died on the 12th of February, 1779. They had one son, Josiah, who was born September 3. 1776, was mar- ried March 26, 1807, to Alice Scudder, and died July 14, 1843. The second wife of Joel Fithian was Elizabeth Beatty, whom he married November 4, 1780, and who died August 6, 1825. Their children were: Charles B., who wedded Mary Ewing; Samuel, who married Sarah Hollinshead, and after her death wedded Sarah Reeves; Philip, who married Rebecca Bacon and later wedded Sarah Reeves; Erkurries, who married Maria Stratton; and Enoch.
Charles Beatty Fithian, the great-grandfather of our subject, was born December 18, 1782, and died November 21, 1858. On the 16th of January, 1805, he wedded Mary Ewing, who died April 24, 1849. Their children were: Ann Elizabeth, who was born October 14, 1805, was married February 19, 1825, to Richard Fithian, and died January 3, 1863; Enos Ewing, who was born February 22, 1807, and died September 28, 1883; Sarah Ewing, born January 2, 1809, was married November 11, 1831, to William K. Sheppard; Erkuries, born December 20, 1810, was married September 17, 1833, to Han- nah Harding, and died April 12, 1896; Rachel Ewing, born August 16, 1813,
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was married October 24, 1833, to Robert G. Garrison, and died July 18, 1842; Samuel R., born August 30, 1815, married Amelia Bacon; Christina C., born April 23, 1817, was married March 6, 1839, to Thomas Glaspell, and died July 10, 1896; Mary Clark was born September 16, 1821; and Emily Seeley, born September 13, 1823, became the wife of Samuel F. Lawrence.
Erkuries Fithian, the grandfather, was born at Greenwich, New Jersey, December 20, 1810, and acquired his education in the public schools. In early life he engaged in farming, but afterward carried on merchandising in Philadelphia and Greenwich, making his home in the latter place. He was also the owner of a number of vessels and was president of the board of direc- tors of a steamboat company. His varied business interests brought to him a handsome competence that enabled him to spend the last thirty years of his life in retirement from labor, his income from his investments being sufficient to supply him with all the necessaries and many of the comforts of life. He held a number of local offices and gave his political support to the Republican party. He was also a member of Brearley Lodge, F. & A. M., and three of his sons were connected with the Masonic fraternity, the family zealously ad- vocating that organization. His death occurred April 12, 1896, and the community thereby lost one of its most valued representatives. He was married September 17, 1833, to Hannah Harding, who was born October 21, 18II, and died April 10, 1893. They had five children: George B., who was born February 15, 1834, married Harriet Mason; Martha Ewing, who was born March 29, 1837, became the wife of Joseph Blaine and after his death married John F. Wheaton; John Nelson, who was born December 15, 1842, married Abigail Moore; James Hampton, who was born January 16, 1845, died May 22, 1871, leaving a widow, whose maiden name was Sarah Jane Waller; and Samuel Patterson.
The last named was the father of our subject. He was born March 27, 1850, in Greenwich, Cumberland county, and obtained his education in the public schools of his native town and in Shiloh Academy. He learned the blacksmith's trade under the direction of his brother George, and followed that pursuit for twenty years, or until the fall of 1887, when he became a candidate for county clerk. He was defeated for that office, but the following year was elected surrogate by a majority of eight hundred, his term continu- ing until 1893. He was then re-elected, by a majority of two thousand, and held the office until 1898, discharging his duties in a most creditable manner, which fact was indicated by the increased vote given him at his second elec- tion. Since his retirement he has been engaged in the real-estate business, and is also connected with other business enterprises, for he is a man of re- sourceful ability and his efforts have contributed to the prosperity of several
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commercial concerns. He is now president of the Crystal Ice & Cold Storage Company and a director in the Bridgeton Gas Company. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and is now chairman of the executive committee of his party, while in former years he long served as chairman of the county board of assessors. He is past master of Brearley Lodge, F. & A. M., and a member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. In all life's relations he has commanded the respect and esteem of his fellow men, and is one of the prominent and influential residents of Bridgeton. He was married Septem- ber 30, 1870, to Margaret K. Stetser, who was born June 2, 1850, and died October 29, 1898. They had three children: Erkuries, born February 4, 1872, is assistant supervisor of the Camden & Amboy division of the Penn- sylvania Railroad; James Hampton is the next younger; George Washing- ton, born July 3, 1876, was graduated in the University of Pennsylvania in 1899, and is now a resident physician in the Cooper hospital of Camden, New Jersey; Martha W., born July 3, 1876, died on the 23d of August, that year; and Maggie L., born December 16, 1890, died on the 3d of January, 1891.
James Hampton Fithian, whose name heads this record, was born in Greenwich, Cumberland county, December 16, 1873, and in the public schools of his native town acquired his preliminary education, which was supple- mented by a course in the West Jersey Academy, in which he was graduated in 1890. In June of the following year he entered the office of the Hon. Thomas W. Trenchard, the present law judge of Cumberland county, and was admitted as an attorney in February, 1895, and as a counselor in 1898. In September, 1895, he entered into partnership with George Hampton, under the firm name of Hampton & Fithian, and this firm is now one of the strongest in the county. Their clientage is very extensive and the litigation with which they are connected is of an important character. People do not trust their legal business to unskilled hands, and the large practice which the firm enjoys is therefore an indication of their ability. Mr. Fithian is yet a young man, but has attained prestige at the bar which might well be envied by many an older practitioner. He is a close student, prepares his cases with great thoroughness and is logical and forceful in presenting his case before court and jury. In May, 1897, he was elected county counsel to the board of free holders and was re-elected in 1898 and again in 1899. In the spring of the last named year he was appointed prosecutor of the pleas of Cumberland county and is a member of the Cumberland County Bar As- sociation and the State Prosecutors Association. His advancement in the profession has been marked. He is an indefatigable and earnest worker, proficient in every department of the law and again and again has won the victorious laurels of competitors of marked ability. He is quick to note his
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opportunity and is most happy in his choice of language, so that his argu- ment is heightened by the graces of rhetoric.
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