USA > New Jersey > Biographical, genealogical and descriptive history of the first congressional district of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 19
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On the 27th of November, 1875, Mr. Bennett was married to Miss Re- becca Wiltsee, a daughter of John Wiltsee, of Logan township. They have six children: Idella L., the wife of Joseph Hewes, of Repaupo; Hannah, the wife of Tillman Frantum of Bridgeport, by whom she has one child, Emma; George Warner; J. Morgan; Kate H., and Charles W. Mr. Bennett takes an active interest in public affairs and is specially active in support of all meas- ures calculated to prove of general good. He was for three years a trustee of the Repaupo public schools, and he does all in his power to promote progress along social, material, educational and moral lines.
HENRY JONES.
Henry Jones, who is engaged in farming in Logan township, in Glou- cester county, was born on the old family homestead, which he yet occupies, first opening his eyes to the light of day on the 24th of June, 1852. He is a son of William V. and Mary (Sack) Jones, who were natives of Logan township, and were of Swedish lineage. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Merbeth Jones. There were six children in the family of Wil- liam Jones, namely: Ruth, who became the wife of Richard Batten, of Clay- ton, New Jersey, and died on the 4th of May, 1900; Abram, a farmer of Cumberland county, this state; Levi, who is engaged in the lumber busi- ness in Camden; Henry; Charles, a farmer of Berkley, New Jersey; and Wil- liam, who died at the age of eight years.
Henry Jones, whose name introduces the initial paragraph of this review, was educated in the public schools of his native town, was reared to the occu- pation of farming and has followed that pursuit throughout his entire life, meeting with creditable success. He now owns eighty acres of rich land, which was purchased by his father in 1830, and became the property of the present owner in 1878. It is divided into fields of convenient size, and the thorough understanding of the owner concerning the best methods of pro-
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ducing good crops has secured to him a fair return from the spring planting.
On the 14th of October, 1874, occurred the marriage of Mr. Jones and Miss Julia A. Zane, a daughter of William P. Zane, of Woolwich township. They now have eight children: Levi who married Annie Lampson and has a daughter, Ethel, is engaged in farming in Woolwich township, Gloucester county ; Mila, the wife of William Brown, a miller. Mary is the wife of Charles Lampson, a farmer of Gibbstown, New Jersey, and has two chil- dren, Ellen and William; Lizzie, Walter, Clark, Emma and Clinton are all with their parents. Mr. Jones has been very careful to provide his children with such educational advantages as would fit them for the practical and responsible duties of life, and has cultivated in them habits of industry and economy that would prove of great benefit to them in later life. Since 1873 he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is an exemplary follower of the beneficent and ennobling teachings of that fra- ternity. He has also been a member of the Ancient Order of United Work- men. Having always lived in Logan township, he has a wide acquaintance here and his upright life has gained to him the esteem of his fellow men in an unusual degree.
NATHAN COZENS PRICE.
For many years Mr. Price has been an active factor in the business inter- ests of Cape May, where he has carried on contracting, building and survey- ing. He was born in Tuckahoe, New Jersey, March 23, 1828, a son of William and Mary Clement (Abell) Price. The first of the name of whom we have record was John Price, who in colonial days came from England to the New World, taking up his abode in Good Luck, Ocean county, New Jersey. He was afterward married and had two sons, John and William, both of whom were members of the militia in the war of the Revolution, the former serving with the rank of major and the latter as a captain. They raised a company and attacked a company of British refugees who came ashore in Ocean county, sending them as prisoners to Trenton before the arrival of the troops from Washington who had been sent to Ocean county for that purpose. Captain William Price was a direct ancestor of our subject. After the establishment of peace he located on Morris river, in Cumberland county, New Jersey, where he followed his vocation of ship-building. He owned property in Cape May county, and was a very successful business man, accumulating a handsome com- petence. In 1813 he purchased the property now owned by the subject of this review. He married a Miss Gibbs, and to them were born two sons.
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Edward and Joseph. The former was the grandfather of our subject. A native of Cumberland county, he learned the blacksmith's trade in early life, and came to Cape May county, settling on the farm at Town Bank, which is now owned by Nathan C. Price. There he carried on farming and blacksmithing, his life being one of marked industry and enterprise. His political support was given the Whig party, and in religious faith he was a Baptist. He had six children, the eldest being John, a farmer and blacksmith of Swainton, Cape May county, who married Keziah Swain. Deborah, also married. Rebecca died at the age of nineteen years. William ivas the next of the family. Edward became a shoemaker and married Sarah Barker. Sarah became the wife of Richard Thompson, a capitalist and extensive land-owner, and after his death she wedded Cornelius Conard. The grandfather of our subject died at the age of fifty-seven years.
William Price, the father of Nathan C. Price, was born in Cape May county in 1797, and for fourteen years he sailed the sea as captain of a trading vessel. He then engaged in farming at Town Bank. Cape May county, where he has passed the remainder of his days. He took consider- able interest in political affairs, voting first with the Whig and afterward with the Republican party, but he never sought political office. An active and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, he filled the offices of trustee and steward, and did all in his power to promote the cause of Christianity among men. He contributed liberally to the building of Tabernacle church and to the First Methodist church in Cape May city. His death occurred in 1858, and the community lost one of its most valued residents.
Nathan C. Price, his only son, obtained his primary education in the district schools and afterward attended Remmington Seminary, where he pursued his studies until twenty years of age. He remained with his father upon the farm through the years of his minority, and between the ages of seventeen and twenty-six years he managed the old home property. On reaching man's estate he took up surveying, which he has since followed. While in school he had charge of the practical surveying work, and also took care of the instruments required in the department. His principal fre- quently complimented him upon his skill and progress in surveying, and he is now regarded as the best authority in Cape May county on boundary surveys and property lines. He did all of the surveying work for the trolley and short-line railroads in Cape May county, and has also again and again been employed in the line of his profession by the village and borough cor- porations. In early life he also studied civil engineering, pursuing a home course in plane surveying, geometry, algebra and trigonometry. In addi-
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tion to his other business interests he is engaged in contracting and build- ing, and has erected a number of houses and barns in this locality in addition to his work as a boat and yacht builder. He carried on agricul- tural pursuits until 1869, but has since devoted his entire energies to other departments of his business, although he is still the owner of two farms. comprising three hundred acres of rich and arable land, which yields to him an excellent income. In 1898 he served as city engineer of Cape May.
Mr. Price has been twice married. In 1854 he wedded Abigail Hand, who died in 1856. Later Mr. Price wedded Roxanna H. Edmunds (who died October 18, 1899), and to them were born two sons. William C., a graduate of Princeton College, is now a practicing attorney and the asso- ciate editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He married Miss Caroline M. Holliday, and they have one child, Marion, who is with them in their pleasant home in Philadelphia. Luther Cummings, the younger son, is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania of the class of 1888, is also a legal practitioner, and now assistant editor of the New York Herald.
In his political views Mr. Price is a Republican, and his fellow towns- men, appreciating his worth and ability, have frequently called him to public office. He has served as a member of the city council, was a mem- ber of the township committee of Lower township, and for two years was the superintendent of schools in Cape May county. He holds a member- ship in the Methodist Episcopal church, has filled all of its offices, and takes an active interest in its work. He is a man of marked diligence and enterprise, and his well directed labors have brought him success in his business affairs.
OLIVER GRIMSHAW, M. D.
Among the younger professional men of Gloucester county none has attained a higher standard of excellence or a greater degree of success than the physician who is the subject of this review, and who has been a resident of Swedesboro ever since he entered upon his professional career.
Dr. Grimshaw was born in Woodstown, New Jersey, December 18, 1860, and is a son of Hugh and Rebecca (Pierson) Grimshaw, both natives of Gloucester county and of English descent. At an early period in the his- tory of this country his ancestors engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods in Birmingham, England, whence the grandfather of our subject removed to Gloucester county in the beginning of the nineteenth century, locating at Mullica Hill, but soon afterward removing to Harrisonville.
When the Doctor was a year old his parents took up their residence in
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Mullica Hill, where he acquired a good common-school education. In 1878 he began teaching and for several years followed that calling, in which so many of the prominent business and professional men of this land have begun their career. He subsequently matriculated in Hahnemann Medical Col- lege, of Philadelphia, at which he was graduated in 1890. On the comple- tion of his professional course of study he located in Swedesboro.
Dr. Grimshaw was married November 17, 1892, to Miss Mary Miller Ford, a daughter of George T. Ford, of Swedesboro. They have two beauti- ful children, Marion and Edith, and have a charming home, in the central part of the town,-one of the finest residences in the place. In politics the Doctor is a Republican, and while not a politician he takes an active interest in the success of his party. He is a member of the board of education of the Swedesboro district, and believes in securing the very best talent available to train the youthful mind.
JACOB HITCHNER, SR.
Jacob Hitchner, Sr., of Palatine, New Jersey, is among the prosperous farmers of Salem county and is a representative man of his community. Mr. Hitchner is a native of this county and was born on the same farm upon which he now lives. The date of his birth was January 22, 1829. His father's name was Jacob, and he was born only a half mile distant from this farm home. Our subject is a cousin of Judge R. M. Hitchner, whose bio- graphy appears elsewhere in this work. Our subject's father, Jacob Hitch- ner, was a farmer, and served two terms in the New Jersey legislature. He was a stanch, old-time Democrat. He frequently held local public positions, such as school and township offices. He was a devoted Christian and an acceptable member of the Methodist church. He served the church of his choice as trustee and steward nearly all of his manhood's days. At the time of the war of 1812 he started to repel the British forces, going with his com- pany to Billington, but they found the enemy had not landed. He was a good farmer and highly successful in his business operations, leaving a large estate. He had many friends, but some of these, whom he befriended by endorsing, betrayed him and he lost heavily. He lived to the extreme old age of ninety-six years. His wife's maiden name was Upham Du Bois, the family being one of more than common note. They had ten children, three of whom still survive: Mary, the wife of William Marshall, who is living retired at Elmer; Ann, the widow of William Johnson, of this county; and our subject.
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Jacob Hitchner received his education at the common schools, and when very young began to work at tilling the soil for his livelihood. He has never aspired to office-holding, but has on several occasions consented to serve as township committeeman, supervisor of roads, etc. He has been a consistent member of the Methodist church for forty-five years, during which long period he has held most of the offices of his church to which a layman was eligible, and is at this time a class-leader and steward. He possesses a fine, valuable farm of one hundred acres and keeps a fine grade of stock.
For his estimable companion he married Amy Cook, the daughter of Joseph Cook, of Burlington. Of his four children three are still living: Damon, of Atlantic City, New Jersey; Everett, at home; and Ralph, residing in the vicinity of his paternal home. With a good farm, well stocked, also a competency for old age, and the assurance that he has lived a devoted as well as a useful life, he for whom we record this notice may well look back over the years of his life and count them well spent, for he has made the world better for his having lived; and now, as he faces life's sunset, he looks with renewed assurance to the life that is to come, for the good fear not to die.
JONATHAN HOUSE.
Jonathan House belongs to an old and respected family of Salem, Salem county, and is one of the substantial and influential business men of this community. He is a son of Jonathan and Frances (Blackwood) House and was born May 10, 1843, in the little brick house which had been in the family for generations and which stands within a stone's throw of his present resi- dence. This brick house was the home of his great-grandfather, Jacob House, and has been in the family ever since, being now owned by a brother of our subject, Jacob House. The great-grandfather died in this house December 21, 1786, after a life of usefulness and honor. He came here as an expert glass-worker and followed that trade for many years, first being employed in the factory built by Mr. Wistar, the first one to operate in Salem. His name was originally Houseman, but was contracted to House by com- mon usage until it was eventually used no other way. He also engaged in farming and with his brother, Jonathan, fought in the war of the Revolution. His wife was Mary Oakford, who was born August 5, 1740, and was a daughter of William Oakford, who owned a large tract of land in Alloway township, which he purchased of the Fenwick Colony. The children of Jacob House and his wife were Anna, born April 8, 1765; Margaret, born January 27, 1768; William, born July 18, 1770; and William, born November 27, 1771.
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CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
William House, the grandfather, was born January 27, 1771, in the little brick house which has become almost historic from long association. He was a farmer by vocation and owned two or three thousand acres of land in Upper Alloway Creek township. He held many local offices and a prominent place in his neighborhood. He was married on May 29, 1796, to Miss Sarah Wood, who was born July 14, 1772, and bore him two children: Mary, who was born January 2, 1801, and is the wife of William Sherron; and Jonathan, the father of our subject. Both parents died early in life, and about the same time, in 1802, the mother, at the age of thirty, and the father at the age of thirty-three years. Their property was left to the two children, who were brought up by an uncle, James Woods, of Jericho, this county.
Jonathan House, the father, was born September 25, 1798, on the old homestead and was but a child of four years when his parents died. He grew to manhood under the kind care of his uncle and engaged in farming and sawmilling. He built a number of ships and owned a large farm, where he spent his last days. He was a Democrat and served on township commit- tees for many years, was a lay-judge of Salem county and in religion was a member of the Society of Friends. He was a man who was devoted to his own fireside and was happiest in the midst of his own family. He paid close attention to the details of business and was one of the most prosperous men in this section, and was a godly, Christian man. He married Miss Frances Blackwood and reared five children, three sons and two daughters, viz: William, who was born in 1822, was a merchant at Alloway, where he died in his fifty-eighth year. He married Elizabeth Carll and had one child, John, now deceased. He was a surveyor and probably did more work in this line than any other man in Salem county. He was college-bred, possessed excel- lent judgment and held a number of offices, as freeholder, town clerk, county collector, and was a very public spirited man. The second child, Mary H., married David Ewen, of Alloway. Ann was born in 1832 and married Edward White, deceased, a surrogate of Cumberland county and a resident of Bridgeton, this state. They had two children, Fannie and Mary. Jacob was the fourth child; and Jonathan, the fifth, is our subject. The mother died in January, 1881.
Jonathan House attended the public schools of Alloway township and Eldridge Hill, and later entered a private school at Shiloh. At the age of nineteen years he left school and engaged in farming on the homestead farm. He owns forty acres of good farm land and one hundred and sixty acres of woodland. He has a fine orchard and a cider press on the place, where he makes large quantities of cider, and also a still for making apple jack. He is a Democrat, but has not been an aspirant for office, although
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he served as a freeholder one term. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias of Alloway and was at one time a member of the Home Guards.
He was married November 22, 1864, to Miss Elmira Ayres, by whom he has two children: George, who married Rebecca Fowler, and has one child, Ferron; he is engaged in the canning business; and Frances, wife of J. W. Acton. Mrs. House died August 10, 1889, at the age of forty-five years. Her father was Elmer Ayers, a son of Ezekiel and Margaret Ayers. He was born August 6, 1821, and married Clementia Payne, who bore him one child, Elmira, December 15, 1854, and she married Mr. House. Mr. Ayers was a resident of Shiloh, Cumberland county, this state, where he owned several farms, which he cultivated and where he died, in his twenty-ninth year.
WILLIAM SYKES.
William Sykes, a prosperous farmer of Monroe township, Gloucester county, is a self-made man, one who has hewed out a competence by hard, honest toil. From his early manhood he has been interested in the develop- ment of this county, and certainly has performed his full share of the labors which have changed it from a wilderness to a flourishing, fruitful country. He has just cause to be proud of the success which he has achieved and his neighbors and associates speak of him in the highest terms.
The father of the above named gentleman was Joseph Sykes, a native of Yorkshire, England. Unlike his ancestors, who were farmers, he learned the weavers' trade, and in the year 1827 crossed the Atlantic, and worked at his calling in Franklin, Pennsylvania, and at other towns. In 1845 he bought a farm near the one now owned by his son, our subject, and here he spent the declining years of his life. He was noted for his honesty and industry, and to his children he left the heritage of an unblemished name. By his marriage to Sarah Grace, of England, he had ten children, of whom the following named are living: William M .; Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Wills, of Williamstown; Henry, of California; Sarah, wife of David Clinger, of Kansas; and Joseph, of Colorado.
The birth of William Sykes occurred in Yorkshire, England. May 13, 1826. In his youth his educational advantages were limited, but by read- ing and observation he has become well informed. He accompanied the . family upon their removal to the United States, and in 1852 bought the farm which he still carries on. The place, which is well improved and de- sirable in every respect, comprises one hundred and seventy acres, and
William Sykes
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in addition to owning this place Mr. Sykes has several other small tracts of land and a house and lot in Williamstown. He makes a specialty of raising hay, his land being well adapted for this crop, and a ready market, at good prices, always being convenient. Financially, he is an excellent manager, investing his funds with rare foresight and sagacity, and usually has met with success in his ventures. When the First National Bank of Glassboro was being organized he became one of the charter members, and paid over the first one thousand dollars toward that enterprise, now so well known and substantial among the banking institutions of the county.
In 1848 the marriage of William Sykes and Eliza Barger, daughter of Jacob Barger, of Philadelphia, was solemnized. After almost half a cen- tury of happy wedded life, she was called to the better land, her death occurring in 1895. Of their eight children two are deceased, and those surviving are John; Thirza, wife of Ziba Brown; William; Mary, wife of William Miller; Joseph, who is a resident of this locality; and George, who is living in Camden county, New Jersey. The four eldest children are residing in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Without exception, they are pros- pering and are sterling citizens of their respective communities.
CHARLES H. TIMBERMAN. :
Charles H. Timberman is the popular proprietor of the pleasant country home at Alloway, Salem county, where so many summer boarders congre- gate each year to spend the heated term, and he is also one of the most suc- cessful farmers of the locality. He is a son of Zaccheus and Margaret (Peterson) Timberman and has been a lifelong resident of the community in which he was born August 3, 1844.
The family have lived at Alloway for generations and have been among the most prominent and influential farmers in that vicinity. Benjamin Tim- berman, the grandfather, was a son of William Timberman, and like his father, was a farmer. He was married to Polly Budd and reared three child- ren to years of maturity. They were Ann, who married Richard Nickle; Zaccheus, the father of our subject; and Sarah. Zaccheus Timberman was born in Alloway January 24,: 1816, was reared on the farm and became an ex- tensive land owner, having at his death some three hundred acres of fine land, part of which was covered by a splendid growth of timber. As a farmer he was most successful and in the care of stock was unexcelled. He castrated more colts than any other man in the state of New Jersey and trav- eled through this state and Delaware for that purpose. He became widely
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known as a skillful operator. He was a Democrat and aided in raising the quota of soldiers from his township, also served as township committee and was a freeholder. He was blessed with a strong, rugged constitution, and was a man of powerful frame, weighing three hundred pounds, notwith- standing which he was remarkably active. His outdoor life and temperate habits enabled him to round out eighty-two years of life, and he passed quietly away on February 8, 1898, regretted by the many who had known and esteemed him. His wife, Margaret (Peterson) Timberman, died in 1871, leaving three children: Charles H .; Elizabeth, wife of Charles Hitchner, of Daretown; and Margaret. the wife of Robert Diamond. Mr. and Mrs. Hitchner have four children,-Maggie, Birdie, John and Geneva.
Charles H. Timberman received a good common-school education in the township schools and continued to help his father on the farm in Upper Creek until he was twenty-six years old, when he conducted a farm for him- self. He followed agriculture for five years and then bought a farm upon which he resided three years, when he purchased the property known as the Reeves Hotel, where he now resides. Here he also gives considerable attention to farming and during the summer months his house is filled with boarders who appreciate the care and attention given to secure their comfort in the minutest detail. The cool, comfortable rooms, beautiful scenery and whole- some, well prepared food have made this one of the favorite spots in southern New Jersey, in which to pass a quiet, pleasant summer. He also does a great deal of castrating, having become proficient in the work under his father's eye and does most of that kind of work in this section of the state. He is a Dem- ocrat, but has never had the desire to dabble in politics to any extent. In 1869 his nuptials with Miss Sarah Smith were solemnized. She was a daughter of David Smith, of Quinton. They have two children: Zaccheus and Frank. Mr. Timberman is a member of the Newark Building & Loan Association.
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