USA > New Jersey > Biographical, genealogical and descriptive history of the first congressional district of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 11
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In February, 1900, Mr. Carr erected a steam sawmill in Ocean county for the purpose of manufacturing cedar lumber exclusively. In connection with this he employs from ten to fifteen men.
He has also met success in the conduct of Alcyon park, a most beautiful summer resort which he began to improve in 1892. He added to his first purchase of land a tract of thirty-two acres and has made the park a most charming place in which to spend the hot summer days. Excellent bicycle roads have been laid out, including the best cycle race track in the state. Boating and base ball may be enjoyed and a toboggan slide and merry-go- round are numbered among the amusements of the park. The grounds are kept in excellent condition and the place is well patronized.
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On the 22d of December, 1881, Mr. Carr was united in marriage to Miss Mary Emma Pine, a daughter of Andrew Pine, a farmer of Blackwood, Camden county. He belongs to the Independent Order of Red Men and contributes to the support of the church and to all movements and measures which are calculated to prove of public benefit. He belongs to that type of representative American citizens who promote the general welfare while at the same time advancing individual prosperity, and his name well deserves a place on the pages of the history of his native county.
RICHMAN COLES.
The Coles family, of whom Richman Coles, of Woodstown, is a sterling representative, is one of the oldest in Gloucester and Salem counties, and, moreover, it can be traced to a remote period in the history of England. In order to escape religious persecution, one of the family, who was a mem- ber of the Society of Friends, emigrated to New Jersey where he purchased a large tract of land, situated in Eversham township, Burlington county. His eldest son, Samuel Coles, married and had two or three daughters. Martha, became the wife of David Davis, a son of Judge David Davis, of Piles Grove township, Salem county, and they had three children,-Jacob, Joseph and Mary. Another daughter of Samuel Coles, Mary by name, became the wife of a Mr. Newbold. In the last will and testament of Samuel Coles, made in 1772, a large amount of real and personal property was bequeathed by him to certain of his relatives. After making a liberal provision for his widow, Mary Coles, he devised the major portion of his estate to his grandchildren,- Jacob, Joseph and Mrs. Martha Davis; to the children of Mary Newbold; fifty pounds to Mary Coles, the eldest daughter of his nephew, Thomas Coles; and, closing with a few other legacies, he directed his executors, his son-in-law, David Davis, and his friend, Abraham Allen, to pay fifty pounds to the Haddonfield Preparative Meeting of Friends.
About 1750 this nephew, Thomas Coles, left his old home in Eversham, New Jersey, and took up his residence in what was known as Coles Mills. He came into possession of the valuable mill property there, including about two thousand acres of land, and it was not until 1808 that he removed to a place now called Harrisonville, where he purchased a mill situated on Old- man's creek. He had a considerable number of children, and was influential and highly respected by all who knew him. He was always engaged in the lumber business, and died in 1826, at the age of about seventy years. Sev- eral of the descendants of the gentleman mentioned above are much es-
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teemed citizens of Woodstown, and a brief review is herewith given of their lives. Richman Coles, whose name heads this sketch, was born in Piles Grove township, Salem county, in February, 1831. He was a son of William and Rebecca (Morgan) Coles, of Coles Mills. The former, who was born in 1786, located in Piles Grove township about 1820, and continued to make his home there until his death, in 1862.
Richman Coles was reared to agricultural pursuits and continued to carry on the old homestead until his marriage. Then for twenty years longer he was engaged in farming operations in his native township, but in 1882 he removed to Woodstown. Here he has held the very responsible position of superintendent and treasurer of the Piles Grove Dairy Associa- tion. He has been influential in politics, also having served his district as a member of the legislature. In 1862 he was united in marriage with Lydia Horner, daughter of Mark and Catherine Horner, of Gloucester county, and two children bless their union, namely: Ellen M. and Sue H.
William Coles, brother of Richman Coles, was born May 20, 1825, and from his early days until two years ago he was actively associated with farm life and rural occupations. He served as a committeeman of his township and in various local positions and is universally esteemed for his sterling qualities. He married Lydia Duell, March 8, 1855, prior to his twentieth anniversary, and to them were born the children named below: Ida, wife of William G. Leap; Cooper, who wedded Ida, daughter of Jacob Kirby, of Gloucester county; Ella, wife of Alfred M. Smith; Emma, wife of Walter Sylvester; and Clarkson T., whose wife, Mabel, now deceased, was a daughter of William Kirby.
Chalkley Coles, son of Bartholomew and Anna Coles, is a grandson of Thomas Coles, the Englishman, farmer, land-owner and lumber merchant. Bartholomew, who was born July 7, 1785, at Coles' Mills, New Jersey, lived to be six months over one hundred years old. He superintended his father's mills in his early manhood and later devoted his attention to farm- ing. On the 12th of January, 1809, he married Anna Whisler, and to them the following named children were born: William, deceased; Bartholomew; Chalkley; Joseph; Stacy, deceased; Thomas, deceased; Uz; Ira; and Harris. The latter married Mary Hurff and their children are Elizabeth, Anna, Martha, Clawson and George. Uz married first Hannah Balanger, by whom three children were born, Jane B., Anna and Isaac B .; and by his second wife, Mary Holdcraft, four daughters were born, namely: Mary, Sarah, Araminta and Ella. William wedded Louise Whitaker and had two chil- dren,-Nancy and William W. Bartholomew married Rebecca Horner and their children were Thomas, Anna, Charles E., Eleanora, George H., Eve-
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line, Martha Ann and Stacy. Joseph first married Sarah E. Moore, by whom he had three children: Emma, Lillie and Hannah, and secondly he chose Postrema Groff for his wife. Stacy married Lydia Duell, and their son was named John D. Ira, who married Ann Adcock, has no children.
Chalkley Coles, who was born in 1823, was reared to farming, and did not leave the homestead until he was twenty-six years of age. He then bought a farm in Gloucester county and for thirty-eight years dwelt thereon, finally removing to Woodstown, where he has since been retired from active cares. He was married in his early manhood to Martha Ann Coles and subsequently he wedded Elizabeth Horner. She is a daughter of James Horner, a native of Gloucester county and a well-to-do farmer, whose last years were spent in Woodstown, his death occurring in 1892, when he was in his seventy-third year. The only son of Chalkley Coles, Clarence, has been called to the silent land, and the only daughter, Margaret, is the wife of Charles E. Allen and mother of Elizabeth Coles, Joseph M. and Margaret Allen.
WILLIAM Z. FLITCRAFT. 1
One of the ablest financiers and leading business men of Salem county is the gentleman of whom the following is a brief life history, for a third of a century prominently associated with the First National Bank of Woods- town. His early American ancestors were numbered among the substantial, industrious and public-spirited citizens of New Jersey, and were truly worthy of being accounted founders of the state.
The father of the subject of this article, Allen Flitcraft, now of Chester county, Pennsylvania, is a native of Salem county, New Jersey. For many years he was the principal and head of the Eldridge Hill boarding school, standing among the ablest educators of his day. He had been a student at Groynedd boarding school at the time that Joseph Foulk was the prin- cipal, and won high honors, not only as a French and Latin scholar but also as a mathematician. For the past three decades or more he has been con- nected with the Provident Trust Company, of Philadelphia. Like his an- cestors, a member of the Society of Friends, he takes a leading part in the general councils of that organization, and has long been the head of the Philadelphia yearly meeting. Formerly he regularly prepared the astronom- ical calculations for the Friends' almanac.
The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Phoebe Ann Zorn. Her grandfather, Conrad Zorn, a native of Germany, came to the United States during the seventeenth century, and it is believed that he was a rela-
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tive of the distinguished Peter Zorn, one of the most learned philologists and theologians of his day. Mrs. Flitcraft's father, William Zorn, possessed strong, admirable characteristics. He was a stanch temperance man, and was the first farmer in his section of the Keystone state to harvest his grain without permitting liquor to be used by the hands employed. He was a well beloved member of the Society of Friends in Plymouth, Pennsylvania. Of an exceptionally rugged constitution, he was in the habit of walking five or six miles daily, even when he had attained the age of ninety-three years. Death came to him as the result of the carelessness of a drunken driver, who drove his team upon the old gentleman as he was crossing Broad street in the Quaker city. Allen Flitcraft and wife became the parents of four sons and a daughter, namely: William Z., the subject of this sketch; Isaiah, the cashier of the Provident Life & Trust Company of Philadelphia, at their branch in Chicago, Illinois, who died in 1897; Allen J., of Chicago; S. Ship- ley, of Woodstown; and Alvanetta, the wife of T. F. Sheppard, of Philadel- phia. Allen J. Flitcraft is the editor of the leading literature and standard works on the subject of life insurance, used by all of the companies engaged in this field of endeavor.
The birth of William Z. Flitcraft took place near Woodstown in 1846. He was educated in the public schools and at Eldridge Hill boarding school, and, being an exceptionally bright student, he obtained a certificate and com- menced teaching at the early age of fifteen years. He then was employed in the counting-house of S. A. Stern, of Philadelphia. When only twenty years old he became a clerk in the First National Bank of Woodstown, and in 1871, after having fully proved his reliability and fidelity, he was promoted to the cashiership, which office he still efficiently holds. He has reason to be proud of his record and his long connection with this solid banking in- stitution, and no one in the county is held in higher esteem by every one.
In October, 1876, Mr. Flitcraft and Anna Pancoast were united in mar- riage. Their only child, Edith, has been given superior educational advan- tages and was a member of the class of '99, of Swarthmore College, stand- ing third in scholarship in a class of twenty-nine members, and having the degree of Bachelor of Arts conferred upon her. She is now taking a post- graduate course of study at the University of Cambridge, England. Mrs. Flitcraft is a daughter of James and Charlotte (Hillman) Pancoast and a sister of J. Walter; Sarah H .; Omar, a Baltimore physician; and Hannah L., the wife of Lieutenant Commander S. P. Comly, prominent in the battle of Santiago, in the late Spanish-American war. James Pancoast was a native of Salem county, where he became one of the extensive land-holders in later years. He died in 1877, in his eighty-third year. Samuel Hillman,
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the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Flitcraft, was a leading citizen of Salem, Salem county, in his day, and it is said of him as of William Z. Flitcraft, maternal grandfather, that he was the first farmer in his county to have his harvesting all done without the use of liquor among his employees.
JOSEPH C. WALLACE.
Joseph C. Wallace, deceased, was for many years a representative citizen and leading farmer of Woolwich township, Gloucester county. He was born in Thoroughfare, New Jersey, in 1831, and died in 1883, on a farm now occupied by his son, Isaac. Throughout his life he was identified with agri- cultural pursuits and his childhood and youth were passed in a manner usual to farmer boys of that period. He followed the plow, aided in caring for the crops through the summer months and in the autumn assisted in the harvest fields. After attaining his majority he began farming on his own account, but when the civil war was inaugurated he put aside all personal considerations and in response to his country's call went to the defense of the Union, enlisting on the 10th of September, 1861, as a private of Com- pany D, Eighth Regiment of Pennsylvania Cavalry. He was afterward pro- moted to the rank of sergeant, and on the 28th of November. 1863, was injured by being thrown from a horse, near Mine Run, Virginia. This caused his discharge, but on the 30th of December, 1863, he re-enlisted and was transferred to Company D, One Hundred and Sixty-first Pennsylvania Infantry, July 24, 1865. On the IIth of August of the same year he received an honorable discharge at Richmond, for the war was over, the Union pre- served intact, and the country no longer needed his services.
Returning to his home, Mr. Wallace resumed farming and to that work devoted his energies throughout the remainder of his life. He placed his land under a high state of cultivation and his energies brought to him a com- fortable competence. He was married on the 3Ist of December, 1857, to Miss Beulah W. Black, who resided where her son Isaac now makes his home. She is a daughter of George V. and Elizabeth (Ore) Black and is a granddaughter of Samuel Black, and by her marriage she became the mother of seven children: Marietta H., who became the wife of Samuel Longacre and died leaving a son, S. Wallace: he was a commission merchant at Swedes- boro; John D., a farmer and ice dealer of Swedesboro, who married Mary A. Kesting, and has two children,-Howard K. and Ralph C .; Georgiana S., the deceased wife of Harry B. Shoch; Isaac B., who married Florence L. Hurff; Rachel L., who is the wife of Joseph J. Given, is the principal school-
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teacher at Pennsville, and has one child, J. Raymond; and Lizzie C. and Joseph B., who reside with their mother.
The family is of prominence in the community, its representatives occu- pying leading positions in business and social circles. Mr. Wallace was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and his widow belongs to the society known as the Patrons of Husbandry. He was also a valued representative of the Grand Army of the Republic and was as true to his duties of citizenship as when he followed the starry banner upon the battle- fields of the south. In business he was honorable and trustworthy and at all times commanded the respect of his fellow men, so that at his death he left to his family an untarnished name.
JOSEPH G. FRENCH.
For thirty years the subject of this article has been the owner and mana- ger of French's Hotel, at Penn Grove, one of the favorite resorts in this section of New Jersey. The picnic grounds in connection with the hotel have been in demand for about sixty years, on account of their great natural attractions, and of late have been beautified by the addition of many im- portant features, suggested by the enterprising owner, who has not spared expense in his endeavors to please his patrons.
In tracing the history of Mr. French it is found that he was born Sep- tember 6, 1835, near Harrisonville, Gloucester county. When he was young he worked on a farm, and in 1851 he commenced learning the trade of brick- layer. After having served an apprenticeship of about five years, in this county, he became associated with Richard Ballanger and Richard Miller, under the firm name of Ballanger, Miller & French. At the end of one year Mr. French retired from the firm and entered into partnership with Smith B. Sickler, and together they carried on an extensive bricklaying and con- tracting business for a number of years. During this period the firm was awarded contracts for the first bank building erected in Woodstown, the Presbyterian church at Daretown, this county, and the Gloucester county almshouse, besides numerous private residences and business blocks. In 1869 this prosperous partnership was dissolved, and Mr. French came to Penn Grove, where he has since remained. .
The first licensed hotel in this town was one now used as a private dwelling. It was used for seven years prior to the time that French's Hotel was erected in 1838, and that year it was purchased by Charles Elkinton, who closed the smaller one, and from that day to this the large building has
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afforded pleasant accommodations to the public. Soon after it was com- pleted, picnic grounds were laid out around it, and many a happy day has been passed here by people from far and near throughout this region. In the spring of 1866 the hotel passed into the possession of Job Robinson, of Wilmington, Delaware, and was managed by him for three years. In 1869 Mr. French became the owner of the hostelry, which has since then been known by his name. He has made substantial improvements at different times, putting in a sea wall along the frontage on the Delaware river, erect- ing a handsome amusement hall, arranging comfortable seats under the fine old trees, here and there, and seeing that every convenience and comfort possible for his guests is provided. In the hotel the visitor at once feels the homelike atmosphere of the place, everything being neat, clean and attract- ive, the meals substantial, well served and well cooked. The genial and popular host is ever alert to carry out suggestions of his guests, and seems to take genuine pleasure and pride in making them comfortable and thor- oughly satisfied with everything.
In all of his endeavors, Mr. French finds a willing assistant in the person of his estimable wife, formerly Miss Emma G. Trenn. Their marriage was celebrated in 1859, and their only child, Mary Elizabeth, is the wife of Arthur H. Chandler, of Hornersville, New York, and the mother of two sons: Joseph French and William Paul. Mrs. French is a daughter of the late John M. Trenn, of May's Landing, New Jersey. She is a member of St. George's Episcopal church, of this place, and is an earnest worker for the poor and needy and in all worthy benevolences. Mr. French is a member of the Heptasophs, and has a well earned place in the friendship of the people. .
WILLIAM M. CARTER.
William Mickle Carter, the city engineer of Woodbury, Gloucester county, has been so prominently connected with the public interests of this section of the state that he well deserves mention among the representative men who have assisted so materially in promoting its progress and pros- perity. He was born in Mickleton, East Greenwich township, Gloucester county, July 13, 1856, and is a son of Job and Rachel (Owen) Carter. Jona- than Carter, the great-grandfather of our subject, was born January 5. 1756, and was married April II, 1780, to Rachel Kithcart, by whom he had four children: William, Isaiah, Sarah and Jonathan. The grandfather. William Carter, was born April 29, 1782, and on the 22d of October, 1807, married Elizabeth Dawson. By her he had nine children: Restore, John. Isaiah,
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Job, George, Sarah, Aaron, Elizabeth and Rachel. After the death of the mother, William Carter married Rosanna Hendrickson, on the 22d of Janu- ary, 1842.
Job Carter, the father of our subject, was born in Greenwich township, this county, February 13. 1813, and spent his entire life there, becoming a prosperous farmer as the result of his untiring industry and perseverance. He purchased the Tonkin farm in East Greenwich township and it became the homestead of the family. This is an old, historical place, which was at one time owned and occupied by Boda Otto. Mr. Carter died February 27, 1893. and was survived by his second wife, who was Miss Rachel Owen in her maiden- hood and is now in her seventy-fourth year. His first union was with Miss Mary C. Turner, January 4, 1843, and unto them were born the following: Joseph T., born September 18, 1844; and Abbie, who was born Au- gust 5, 1847. The wife died August 1, 1849, and on January 1, 1852, Job Carter was married to Rachel Owen. She was born June 12, 1826, and her father. Joseph Owen, was the blacksmith who welded the first iron plowshare made in New Jersey. Four children were born to them, William M., our subject; Mary L., born April 19, 1858; Sarah, born March 20, 1861; and Lydia, born November 17, 1867. Joseph T. Carter, the oldest son, married Anna Frances Clark, who died December 15, 1870, leaving Samuel Mason, born January 19, 1878; Etta T., born September 20, 187 -; and Mary T., who died in infancy. He then married Emma Tonkin, on March 24, 1886. Abbie Carter married Burkitt W. Warrington and has one child, William C. Mary L. married Ellwood Roberts and has five children,-Howard, Charles, deceased, Alice, William, and Mary. Sarah Carter married Richard S. Brown and has three children, Rachel C., born January 8, 1891; Joseph Clin- ton, born September 18, 1892; and William C., born March 14, 1897. Lydia Carter died unmarried.
William M. Carter was born and grew to manhood on his father's farm, finding little time to attend the district school except during a few short months in the winter. But he made good use of the meager opportunities that came in his way, studying in each interval that could be spared from his duties, and made rapid progress, outstripping his schoolmates and laying the foundation of a scientific education, which has placed him in the im- portant position he now occupies. When he was twenty years old he was placed in entire charge of the farm and conducted it on a paying basis for seven years, when he moved to Woodbury. Having studied civil engineer- ing during his last year at school he applied himself to the study of that science during his evenings and spare hours and decided to make it his profession. In 1887 he received the appointment as city engineer of Wood-
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bury, and so faithfully and satisfactorily have the duties of the position been discharged that he is still retained in the office which he has filled with so much honor and credit. He is also engaged in the real-estate and. insurance business and settles up many estates, being a reliable and trustworthy man well qualified for that important and responsible work.
Mr. Carter was married in Camden, New Jersey, by Mayor Bradshaw, on November 9, 1882, to Miss Lizzie P. Honer, a daughter of William and Emiline Honer, of Mullica Hill, this county. Their children are Everett H., born October 21, 1886, and died in July of the next year; Job Owen, born February 4, 1890; George H., born December 21, 1893, and died in infancy ; and Ella H., born February 4, 1895.
Mr. Carter has been chosen to a number of local offices and has been untiring in looking after the public interests. In 1891 he was appointed justice of the peace of this county and still holds that office, although he does not solicit legal business. He is now serving his third term as a com- missioner of deeds, and has been a member of the board of health since its organization in 1888 and has served that body as secretary for five years. For eight years he was on the board of commissioners of appeals and de- clined renomination to that office. Fraternally he is a member of the Hep- tasophs and Knights of the Golden Eagle. He stands for the best type of American citizenship,-those who have carved their own way in the world and occupy places of responsibility and trust among their fellow men.
THOMAS W. SYNNOTT.
Thomas W. Synnott was born at Glassboro, New Jersey, in 1845, and resides at Wenonah, this state. He is a descendant of an old, representative family of Wexford, Ireland. One of his ancestors was the governor of that city and province during Oliver Cromwell's time. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Martin Synnott, after graduating at Wexford College, came to America, in 1790, and locating in Philadelphia, he engaged in the shipping business and amassed a fortune, but lost largely during the war of 1812-14 by the capture of vessels in which he was interested.
His son Miles, the father of T. W. Synnott, was born at May's Landing, New Jersey, graduated at Jefferson Medical College in 1831 and began the practice of his profession at Glassboro, which he continued until his death in 1867. His wife Harriet was a daughter of Eben Whitney and a granddaugh- ter of Colonel Thomas Heston, of Revolutionary fame.
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