USA > New Jersey > Biographical, genealogical and descriptive history of the first congressional district of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 25
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Mr. Rode was married July 15, 1875, to Miss Fannie Kesting, a daugh- ter of Christian Kesting, of Clarksboro, New Jersey. They have had nine children, namely: Wilhelmina Catherine, who married Harry T. Ford, and has one child, Helen; George A., who with his brother, Otto, is engaged in running the boats "Theresa" and "Jane Teed" on the Raccoon creek be- tween Philadelphia and Swedesboro, carrying coal, produce, etc .; Catherine Mary; Otto Christian, who married Miss Elsie Hancock, of Swedesboro, and has one child, Marvin H .; Clara Louisa; Ida Mary; Howard, who died at the age of two and a half years; William J. and Frances Kesting.
Mr. Rode and family are members of Trinity Episcopal church, of Swedesboro. Since he was twenty-one he has been a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the K. of P., and he is also identified with the A. O. U. W. and Heptasophs, all of Swedesboro. His political views are those advocated by the Republican party, and he has held the office of overseer of roads in Wool- wich township.
HOWARD V. LOCKE.
Howard V. Locke is regarded as one of the most progressive farmers of Gloucester county, New Jersey. He was born in Woolwich township, and is a son of Lawrence and Anna Mariah (Paul) Locke. His education
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was obtained in the public schools and since an early age he has been familiar with the work of the farm. Almost as soon as old enough he began to follow the plow and through the summer months performed such labors as the season demanded until after the crops were harvested in the autumn. For the past twenty years he has had charge of his father's farm, and the well tilled fields indicate his enterprise and progressive business methods. He is also general agent of the Chicopee Fertilizer Company, and during the winter months, when the work of the farm is practically over, he attends to the establishment and maintenance of agencies in southern New Jersey. In this branch of his business he has been highly successful.
Mr. Locke is one of the most prominent Masons in Gloucester county, his membership being in the Swedesboro Lodge, No. 157, F. & A. M .. in which he is a past master; Siloam Chapter, No. 19, R. A. M .; Cyrene Com- mandery, No. 7, of Camden; and Lulu Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Phila- delphia. He has also been a member of Osceola Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Swedesboro, for twenty-six years, and is a past noble grand. In his political connections Mr. Locke is an earnest Republican, believing most firmly in the principles and ultimate triumph of his party. He has served his township as committeeman for ten years and is frequently spoken of in connection with county and state offices, yet has no political aspirations, content to devote his time and energies, as he finds opportunity, to promot- ing the party's interests without official reward for his services. His entire life has been passed in this locality and his career has been an upright one, worthy of the warmest regard which is extended him by his many friends.
CHARLES ROYAL HIRES.
The bearer of this name scarcely needs an introduction to the residents of Salem county, New Jersey, as he has grown to manhood in their midst and is a member of a family that has been closely identified with the pros- perity and greatest achievements of the county. He was born February I, 1873, at Quinton, and is a son of Charles Hires, who has made a brilliant record as a business man of more than ordinary acumen, and whose life is well worthy of emulation.
Charles R. Hires attended the public schools of Quinton and then en- tered the Bryant & Stratton Business College, graduating in the class of 1891. He then entered the employment of Hires & Company and remained with them four years, until 1896. The free life of the agriculturist had
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always appealed to his fancy and shortly after being married he settled on a farm in Mannington township, which he has since made his home, ex- hibiting a taste and adaptability for the occupation he has chosen that might well be attributed to an older head. This place, now known by the name of Hiresdale Dairy Farm, has been improved and received his closest personal supervision until it is said to be the finest and best in Salem county. He pursues a general line of farming, but is also deeply interested in dairying and keeps a herd of fifty-five Jersey cows. As in other matters pertaining to farm work, he has made a study of the needs and requirements of his place and has carried on the work in an intelligent and judicious manner, and is reaping the fruits of his wisdom in handsome profits.
Mr. Hires was united in marriage with Miss Annie Frances Fogg, daughter of Robert S. Fogg, a prominent and substantial business man of this county, whose biography it is our privilege to print on another page. This ceremony was solemnized March 4, 1896, and it was at this time Mr. Hires turned his attention to rural life and the pursuits of husbandry. He is a member of the Knights of the Golden Eagle at Quinton, Puritan Castle, No. 10, and is a member of the Salem Country Club. He is a Re- publican in his politics but is not an aspirant for political honors. He is of genial, social disposition and is personally very popular, while his ability and judicious management of his business has commanded the admiration and respect of the commercial world, who have given him their hearty indorsement and praise.
JAMES J. DAVIDSON.
A man's reputation is his choicest property. The laws of nature have forbidden isolation, and communication necessitates a good reputation. Every human being submits to the controlling influence of others and also wields a power for good or evil on the masses of mankind. There can be no impropriety in justly scanning the acts of any man as they affect his public, social and business relations. If he be honest and successful in his chosen field of endeavor, investigation will brighten his fame and point the path in which others may follow. One whose record will bear the closest scrutiny and stand the test of public criticism is James Justice David- son, who is numbered among the valued residents of Swedesboro, where he is now acceptably filling the position of postmaster.
Mr. Davidson was born in Clarksboro, New Jersey. September 3, 1846, a son of John and Ann (Justice) Davidson. His paternal grandfather was
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a Methodist minister. and had seven children, namely: Thomas; John; Samuel: Isaac; Elizabeth, the wife of John Hewes; Sarah, the wife of John D. Norton; and Mary, the wife of William Norton. The father of our subject also was a local Methodist minister. He was born in 1812, on the farm near Swedesboro now occupied by Albert Heritage, and his death occurred in 1895. He married Ann Justice, who was born in 1811, and died in 1878. In their family were ten children, but five of the number died in early childhood. Those living are: Thomas, a produce shipper of Swedesboro; Elizabeth, the widow of James Layton and a resident of Penn Grove, New Jersey; Sarah, the widow of William Henry Beckett and a resident of Swedesboro; James Justice; and Mulford, a farmer of Woolwich township. Gloucester county.
In taking up the personal history of James Justice Davidson we present to our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known. He acquired his education in the Battenton public schools and the Swedes- boro Academy, and has largely added to his fund of general information by private study, reading and careful observation of current events. Upon leaving school he engaged in farming for three years, after which he began shipping produce over the West Jersey Railroad, and successfully conducted that business for five years. He was a pioneer in that line in Swedesboro and inaugurated what has come to be one of the most important industries of the town, a fact which stands in evidence of his keen business foresight. His early life having been spent upon a farm and having a strong love for agriculture, he abandoned the shipping business and again turned his at- tention to the cultivation of the soil, in which work he continued until 1885. when he erected a large stone residence on Main street in Swedesboro. He took up his abode there and has since made it his home, but he still owns two fine farms in Woolwich township. He is a progressive farmer, and through his instrumentality many innovations in the methods of sowing, transplanting, seeding, cultivating, harvesting and marketing garden prod- ucts have been introduced in southern New Jersey.
On the 3Ist of December, 1870, Mr. Davidson was united in marriage to Miss Margaret T. Rulon. a daughter of Benjamin. Rulon, of Woolwich township, Gloucester county. Two children were born unto them, but Lenora died at the age of seventeen years. James Justice, their only son, is a student in school, and remains with his parents at their pleasant home in Swedesboro.
In 1883 Mr. Davidson was appointed the postmaster of that town, serv- ing for a term of four years, and in 1893 he was reappointed. During both terms he conducted the affairs of the office in a manner highly creditable
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to himself and satisfactory to the patrons. His prominence and influence in the Democratic party imposed upon him the position of leader in its ranks, and in 1890 he was elected to the legislature, where he served so acceptably that upon the expiration of his term he was re-elected,-an honor rarely conferred upon a Democrat in his district. While a member of the legislature Mr. Davidson won for himself the warm regard not only of his own constituents but of the people in the entire state. He took an active part in the work of the house, and was instrumental in securing the passage of the stone road bill, which is also known as the Davidson bill. The im- portance of this measure cannot well be overestimated, it being in perfect accord with the spirit of rapid transit, a subject which is receiving world- wide attention, and the benefit of which cannot be secured to the rural district only through the medium of good roads. This measure has also become of more or less national importance, as the bill securing it has served as the precedent in other states. The question of state appropria- tion for county roads had been widely discussed, meeting with the approval of the people generally, but with the opposition of the professional politi- cian. The bill was finally drafted, appropriating twenty thousand dollars for such a purpose. Foreseeing that this amount would not be sufficient to give the system a proper test, Mr. Davidson succeeded in getting the amount raised to seventy-five thousand dollars, took charge of the bill in the house, also secured its passage in the senate, and a promise previously obtained from the governor made his signature to the bill certain. Thus it will be seen that the good roads in the state of New Jersey have become a lasting memorial to his honest and persistent endeavors to represent properly the interests of the people during his terms of office in the legislative body of his state. He was also largely instrumental in securing the stone road for Swedesboro, and held the office of supervisor during its construc- tion.
Of large means and influence and thoroughly acquainted with public affairs, Mr. Davidson is ever ready to inaugurate and promote the welfare of the community. Although a stanch advocate of the Democratic party, he is above all an American citizen and holds public good above partisanship and places general prosperity and progress above self-aggrandizement. He is a gentleman of marked business and executive ability, of keen foresight and discrimination, forms his plans rapidly, is determined in their execu- tion, and is rarely mistaken in a matter of business policy. He is a valued representative of the public life and political interests of Gloucester county, and with pleasure we present this record of his career to the readers of this volume.
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JOHN F. HARNED.
John F. Harned. a prominent attorney and counselor at law, having an office at 424 Market street, Camden, was born in this city, March 28, 1857, a son of Henry P. and Harriet (Parkerson) Harned. Jonathan, the father of Henry P., was born in New York city, a son of Jonathan, Sr., a soldier in the Revolutionary war, who was taken prisoner by the English at the battle of Monmouth and carried to Jamaica. While held by the British Jonathan, Sr., learned the trade of tailor, and after his return to New York opened a tailoring establishment, and did a successful business until his death. He lived to the advanced age of ninety-six years. Jonathan, Jr., was for a time a wool merchant in New York, and then removed to Phila- delphia, where he spent the rest of his life, and died at the age of thirty-five.
Henry P. Harned learned the trade of cabinet-maker in Philadelphia, worked at it for a number of years as a journeyman, and then went into business for himself. He is now about eighty years of age, and since 1885 he has lived in retirement. Harriet Harned, his wife, was born in Norwich, England, a daughter of Francis Parkerson, a blacksmith. Mr. Parkerson, who was the father of five children, spent the later years of his life in America, first settling in Charleston, South Carolina, afterward residing in Philadel- phia, and passing his last days in Camden, where he died in 1893, at the age of ninety-nine years and six months. Henry P. Harned had seven chil- dren, of whom four are living, namely: Henry B., an architect in Chicago, Illinois; Thomas B., a member of the Philadelphia and Camden bar; Frank P., a manufacturing chemist, doing business in Philadelphia while residing in Merchantville; and John F., the subject of this sketch. The mother died in 1892, at the age of three score years and ten. She was a member of the First Unitarian church of Philadelphia. The father was a vestryman of St. John's Episcopal church of Camden and one of those who assisted in pro- curing the Seamen's Chapel for use as a church.
John F. Harned received his early education in the city schools. Leaving school at the age of thirteen, he went to work as an office boy in the Chester Sugar Refinery. A short time after he obtained employment in the office of the West Jersey Press and the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he learned the trade of printer. During this time he was an evening attendant at the Franklin Institute. After working for a brief period as a journeyman printer he began the study of law with Marmaduke B. Taylor as his preceptor, with whom he remained until admitted to the bar as an attorney at the November term in 1882. Three years later he was admitted as a counselor. He began practice at 317 Market street, where he remained until 1893, when he came
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to his present fine office at 424 Market street, opposite the Masonic Temple. He makes a specialty of cases relating to titles and general real-estate mat- ters, has a large practice, and is highly esteemed by the bar. He is the so- licitor of various townships and boroughs, also of a number of trust and insurance companies, and a director in the Camden Fire Insurance Associa- tion, the Real Estate Loan & Trust Company, and several other corpora- tions and building and loan associations.
In 1888 Mr. Harned married Helen C. Burr, who was born in Camden, a daughter of Jonathan P. and Martha (Eastlake) Burr. Mr. Burr, who was the secretary of the Camden Fire Insurance Association for fifty years, was the father of five children. Mr. and Mrs. Harned have one child, John F. Harned, Jr.
In politics Mr. Harned is a Republican. He is a member of Trimble Lodge, No. 117, A. F. & A. M., of Camden; and of the Brotherhood of the Union, in which he has held office and been a representative to the Supreme Circle. Mrs. Harned is a member of the First Baptist church, and Mr. Harned of the First Unitarian church.
LEWIS T. STEVENS.
Lewis Townsend Stevens is a direct descendant through two lines of John Townsend, who removed from Long Island to Cape May in 1695. Henry Stevens and Henry Young Townsend, great-great-grandfathers of our subject on the paternal side, were captains in the Revolutionary war, serving in regiments raised in Cape May county for service in the Colonial army in the struggle for independence. Joshua Townsend, a great-grand- father, was a prominent factor in political affairs in the early part of the nineteenth century. He was a member of the general assembly of the state from 1819 to 1821, from 1822 to 1823 and from 1827 until 1830. He was also a member of the New Jersey senate from 1831 until 1834, and in the war of 1812 he served as a lieutenant of volunteers. Throughout his active business career he was a pilot on the Delaware river, and during the second war with England, while acting as pilot on the Pennsylvania, the vessel was captured. John Stevens, the paternal grandfather of our sub- ject, was also a pilot on the Delaware. William T. Stevens, the father of Lewis T. Stevens, is numbered among the legislators of New Jersey, hav- ing represented his district in the general assembly in the years 1876, 1877 and 1878. For eight years he was a member of the city council of Cape May, and at the present writing, in the fall of 1899, he is a member of the
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board of freeholders. By occupation he is a carpenter and builder, and is now actively associated with the building interests of the county. He mar- ried Almeda H., a daughter of William S. Hooper, who served as the sheriff of Cape May county from 1856 until 1859. His grandfather, John Hooper, joined the American army in the attempt to overthrow British rule in the colonies, and his brother, William Hooper, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. William Smith, another great-great-grand- father on the maternal side, was the captain of a company raised in Glou- cester county, New Jersey, to oppose British supremacy in the New World. It will thus be seen that the ancestors of Mr. Stevens were valiant warriors in the hostilities that gave rise to the greatest republic on the face of the globe. William S. Hooper, father of Mrs. Almeda Stevens, joined the Union army when hostilities were inaugurated between the north and the south, and William T. Stevens, father of our subject, also donned the blue and followed the starry banner upon the battle-fields of the south.
Lewis Townsend Stevens, whose name introduces this review, was born in Lower township, now West Cape May, August 22, 1868. He acquired his preliminary education in the public schools of Cape May, and in 1889-90 was a special student in Princeton University. In the months of vacation and when not occupied with the duties of the school-room he devoted his energies to such tasks as would bring him the means necessary to the prose- cution of an education. In his youth he manifested special love for history and literature, and his knowledge of these branches of learning is com- prehensive and accurate. While still a boy he entered a printing-office in Cape May, where he gradually worked his way upward from the position of "devil" to that of editor of a daily journal. His first journalistic venture was made in his school days, when he published a little school paper and contributed to others. In 1893 he was a student in the Metropolis Law School, of New York city, pursuing his studies in that institution in the evening, while his days were devoted to work. It was during that period that he acted as associate editor of the Clothier & Furnisher and the Cloak Review, both of New York. He also carried on an advertising and cor- respondence business, which he still conducts, having prosecuted his labors in that line for ten years. From 1897 until 1899 he was the editor of the Cape May Wave. His literary labors have been further continued by the compilation and publication of various historical works. In 1897 he com- pleted a work to which he had devoted his leisure hours through ten years, called the History of Cape May county. It is a purely historical work, of four hundred and eighty pages, and is now one of the standard authorities in New Jersey, embracing the record of important public events between the
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years 1640 and 1897. In the latter year he also compiled the Charter and Ordinances of the city of Cape May,-a volume of two hundred pages. As a parliamentarian he also enjovs a very enviable reputation, and on account of his ability in that direction he is frequently called upon to preside at public assemblages. He has maintained his residence at Cape May through- out his entire life except during the year 1893, when he resided in New York city.
Mr. Stevens has attained prominence in political circles and is a recog- nized leader in the local ranks of the Republican party, whose principles he warmly advocates. In 1892 he was elected a member of the city council of Cape May, serving for three years, and in 1894 was president of that body. In 1899 he was chosen the tax receiver for Cape May, and in 1898 he was made a referee in bankruptcy for the district of New Jersey. He has been a delegate to numerous Republican conventions, and for five years has been a member of the state executive committee of the Republican League of Clubs of New Jersey. Socially he is connected with four secret orders, but does not take an active part in the lodge-room work. He is now past master of Columbia Lodge, No. 23, Independent Order of Mechanics, and for several years served as its treasurer. Religiously he is an adherent of the Episcopal faith, and his temperance principles are mani- fest in his strict abstinence from liquor and tobacco, yet he does not pretend to dictate to others the course they should pursue in this regard.
On the IIth of October, 1894, Mr. Stevens was united in marriage, in New York, to Grace Anna Merwin, a representative of two of the most prominent families of Orange county, New York, the Thealls and the Lewises, the latter an old colonial family that furnished to the patriot army a number of its valiant soldiers. David S. Merwin, father of Mrs. Stevens, followed the starry banner upon the battlefields of the south. He is a relative of the David Merwin, whom Washington Irving immortalized in the character of Ichabod Crane in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens have one son, Hobart Merwin, who was born October 17, 1896.
GEORGE H. CRAFT.
Throughout his entire life George H. Craft has resided in Gloucester county, his birth having occurred at Mullica Hill, on the 4th of September, 1857. He is a son of William and Amanda (Aborn) Craft, the former a native of Philadelphia and the latter of Gloucester county. By their mar- riage they became the parents of eight children, of whom George is the eldest, the others being Samuel, who makes his home in Repaupo; Parker,
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a resident of Pennsylvania; Ella, the wife of Thomas Wright, a blacksmith, of Paulsboro; Anna, who died at the age of fourteen years; Harry, who died in infancy; Edward, who is in the employ of the West Jersey Seashore Railroad Company; and Howard, who is in the employ of the West Jersey Railroad Company.
There is no great difference in the way in which boys spend their time or the opportunities that are afforded them, and the history of almost all men shows that the duties of the school-room occupied the greater part of their attention in youth. Mr. Craft attended both public and private schools and acquired a good knowledge that fitted him for the practical and responsible affairs of life. In the fall of 1882 he accepted a position in the laboratory of the Gibbstown Powder Works, where he continued until the 9th of May, 1898,-a long period considering the dangers which beset one who pursues that occupation. During the past two years, however, he has devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits, and is the owner of a farm lying in the outskirts of Repaupo and another just below Repaupo Station. He is also a stockholder in the State Mutual Building & Loan Association. Marked perseverance and persistence in the pursuit of purpose have been his chief characteristics and have been the means of bringing to him the success he has acquired.
On the 3Ist of December, 1881, Mr. Craft was united in marriage to Miss Deborah Johnson, a daughter of John Johnson, of Logan township. and to them were born two children, but George H. died in infancy. The surviving child is Ella Arletta. Mr. and Mrs. Craft hold membership in the Asbury Methodist Episcopal church of Repaupo, and take a very active part in its work. He has served as steward, is now trustee and has been the president of the Epworth League. He is a past commander of Swedesboro Lodge, K. of P., and is a member of the Swedesboro Grange. His political support is given to the Democracy, and for eight years he has served on the election board, is now commissioner of appeals and a member of the county Democratic executive committee. He is a recognized leader in political circles in Gloucester county, and in church work, and does all in his power to secure progress and reform along moral, intellectual, social and material lines.
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