USA > New Jersey > Biographical, genealogical and descriptive history of the first congressional district of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 28
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history of the Kaighn Avenue Methodist Episcopal church, marking as it did the close of the pastoral work of Rev. J. L. Surtees, which has extended over a period of four and one-half years. In point of success his work is almost unparalleled in the history of Methodism in this city, if not in the New Jersey conference. The membership of the church has been increased from a score of wavering, disheartened people to two hundred earnest, faithful and energetic men and women, who have taken a firm stand for Christ and are determined that this church shall become a great power for good in South Camden. * * * On Monday evening a band of well-wishers gathered to say good-bye. The parsonage proved too small for the occasion, and all repaired to the church, filling the prayer- meeting room to overflowing. Appropriate speeches were made and a general ovation was tendered the pastor and his wife." Mr. Surtees has been at his present charge at Elmer one year, and here, as elsewhere, his earnest efforts have met with signal success.
Three years previous to his coming to America, May 29, 1885, Mr. Surtees married Miss Martha Elliott, of Blanchland, Northumberland county, England, and they have had six children, five of whom are living: Nora, Elliott, Winefred, Oscar and Vincent. Mr. Surtees is a member of the K. of P. and the A. O. U. W.
HARVEY E. BOWLES, M. D.
In the study of so eminently a practical and useful life as that of the honored subject of this memoir we find an opulence of incentive, and are irresistibly moved to the according of respect, admiration and veneration. He has passed the seventy-sixth mile stone on the journey of life, and his career has been an honorable, active and useful one; and now in the sunset hours he can look back over the past without regret, for he has accomplished much, making the most of all his opportunities and making marked advance- ment in fields of intellectual research as well as in professional life. As a journalist and physician he won distinction and in all relations commanded the respect and esteem of his fellow men.
Dr. Harvey E. Bowles was born in Chelsea, Vermont, May 8, 1823, his parents being Clapp and Rhoda (Harper) Bowles, both representatives of old New England families, the former a native of Massachusetts, and the latter of Vermont. In his second year the Doctor was taken by his parents to Amherst, Massachusetts, where he was reared, completing his literary education in the high school at Northampton. At the age of sixteen years
Henry Schwand Banken. Mr.
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he entered the printing office and learned the trade, which he followed for a number of years. He afterward owned and conducted a paper in Brattleboro, Vermont, known as the Semi-Weekly Eagle. He had pre- viously published a paper in Cabotville, now Chicopee, Massachusetts, called The Chronicle, and while working as a journeyman printer he was employed on the Emancipator, published in Boston. In 1846 he met with reverses in his journalistic career, owing to the mismanagement of the editor, and was forced to suspend. He then went south in search of em- ployment and after meeting with many hardships and difficulties he at length succeeded in securing a school in South Carolina, where he was engaged in teaching for three years.
While conducting his paper in Brattleboro, Vermont, he began the study of medicine, which he pursued under rather peculiar circumstances, being able to devote to study only the time in which he went to and from his meals. For a year, however, he continued his studies in that manner and then entered the Central Medical College of New York, at Rochester, where he was graduated in 1852. In 1860 he was graduated in the Eclectic Medical College at Philadelphia, and thus well equipped for his chosen profession he began practice near Rochester, New York, where he remained for a little more than a year. At the expiration of that period he removed to Colburn, Canada, later resided in Pictou, Canada, spending twelve years in the British possessions. In 1864 he returned to the United States and entered the army as a contract surgeon, serving until the close of the Rebellion, during which time he had charge of the Grosvenor Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, and of Fort Whipple.
After the close of the war, Dr. Bowles came to Hammonton, where he has since resided, and is the oldest physician in the town. For many years he had a large patronage, but in 1871 he retired from practice on account of ill health, and in 1872 he purchased the South Jersey Republican, which he published for eight years. He made it one of the best journals in this section of the state, through its columns strongly endorsing the principles of the Republican party and largely promoting its interests by his incon- trovertible statements. On the 16th of August, 1886, he was appointed one of the pension examiners, holding the office during one year of the Cleveland administration, when he was retired; but when the Republicans again came into power he was once more appointed, serving through the second administration of Cleveland. Since that time he has not been actively connected with any public duties or private business affairs, the evening of his life being spent in quiet and honorable retirement. He has labored earnestly in the development of the section of the state in which he resides
II-Q
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and his support has been given to the many measures for the public good whereby the general welfare has been greatly enhanced.
On the 12th of May, 1845, Dr. Bowles was united in marriage to Miss Priscilla West Eaton, a granddaughter of Major Isaiah Eaton, of Revolu- tionary fame, and a second cousin of the distinguished painter, Benjamin West. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts, August 16, 1823, and died August 21, 1896. In their family were four children, Edward Lyvere, who resides in Jersey City and is engaged in merchandising in New York city; Frederick Theodore, who makes his home in Elmira, New York, and is a representative of the Florence Silk Company; Frank Isaiah, who makes his home in Detroit, Michigan, and is a traveling salesman for the Potter Silk Manufacturing Company; and Carrie Grace, the deceased wife of Alfred H. Whitmore, of Hammonton. The Doctor also has seven grandchildren. He is a member of the Universalist church, of the Masonic fraternity, and of the General D. A. Russell Post, No. 68, G. A. R., of which he has been the sur- geon since its organization. He is a man of marked individuality and strong force of character, of scholarly attainments, and in the best and truest sense of the word is a gentleman. The qualities of mind and heart which win admiration and respect are his and have gained him prominence in business, political and social circles. At the close of an honorable and well spent life he is held in veneration by young and old, rich and poor, and his many friends are desirous that his days may yet be long upon the earth.
JEREDIAH DU BOIS.
Jerediah Du Bois was born in Upper Pitts Grove township, Salem county, New Jersey, December 6, 1869, and is a son of Wilford O. and Sabil- lah P. (Newkirk) Du Bois. His paternal grandfather, Jerediah Du Bois, was also a native of the same township and by occupation was a farmer, and for many years was a justice of the peace. However, he devoted part of his time and energies to merchandising in Alloway, but died in his native township. In politics he was a Republican, and in religious belief a Presbyterian. He married Ann H. Adcock, and to them were born three children: Isaac A .. a miller and farmer who married Harriet Hitchner; Wilford; and Charles S., who is living in the west. The grandfather died at the age of fifty years, and the grandmother was seventy-eight years of age when called to the home beyond.
Wilford Du Bois was born in Upper Pitts Grove township, attended the public schools there and is now identified with the agricultural interests of
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that community. He married Miss Newkirk, and to them were born five children, but their eldest died in infancy. Jerediah is the next of the family. Mills Newkirk died at the age of eight years; Lewis Brantley also is an exhorter in the Methodist Episcopal church and is assistant Sunday-school superintendent; Charles, the youngest of the family, is deceased. Mr. Du Bois, the father, also holds a membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, and in his political views is a Republican, exercising his right of franchise in the support of the men and measures best calculated to serve the interests of the party. Both he and his wife are still living, the former at the age of fifty-five and the latter at the age of fifty-four years.
The elementary education which Jerediah Du Bois obtained in the com- mon schools was supplemented by a course in Peirce's Business College, and thus well equipped for the practical duties of life he became connected with journalism, being for six years an employe in the office of the Elmer Times. On the expiration of that period he purchased the Five Mile Beech Journal of his former employer, Samuel P. Foster, and is now editing that journal, which is independent in politics and is devoted to the interests of the town. It is issued weekly and is a four-column sheet of eight pages, having a circulation of four hundred. Mr. Du Bois also conducts a job printing- office and is doing a good business in that line. He is deeply interested in all that pertains to the welfare and upbuilding of his town, and is serving as boro clerk of Wildwood-by-the-Sea. He is also a member of the board of health, and in his political affiliations is a Republican. He holds a member- ship in the Methodist Episcopal church at Elmer and is a representative of Aeolian Council, No. 42, J. O. U. A. M., and Friendship Lodge, No. 45, A. O. U. W. He is a young man of marked industry and enterprise and a successful future undoubtedly awaits him.
B. W. ANDREWS.
To this gentleman is due that tribute of respect and admiration which is always given-and justly so-to those men who have worked their way upward to positions of prominence through their own efforts, who have achieved wealth through their own labors, and by their honorable, straight- forward dealing commanded the esteem and trust of those with whom they have been thrown in contact. He is numbered among the representative men of Philadelphia, where he is successfully and extensively engaged in the wholesale grocery business, and it would be difficult to find one who more fully and ably typifies the American spirit of enterprise, progress and un-
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faltering persistence. A man of great natural ability, his success in business has been uniform and rapid, and the material prosperity of the city has been largely promoted through his efforts.
Mr. Andrews maintains his residence in New Jersey, his birth having occurred November 30, 1838, on a farm near Woodbury. He now makes his home in Woodbury. The family is of English lineage, and many generations have resided in Gloucester county, their energies being devoted to agricul- tural pursuits. Josiah R. Andrews, the father of our subject, was born on the farm where occurred the birth of B. W. Andrews, and throughout his life he engaged in the tilling of the soil. He was very enterprising and progres- sive in his farming methods and was very fond of good horses, always owning some fine animals. He married Achsah Cooper, a daughter of David Cooper, of Gloucester county, and they became the parents of six children, two of whom are living: D. Cooper, a resident of Woodbury; and B. W., of this sketch. The father was a member of the Society of Friends. He died in 1842, and his wife, long surviving him, passed away in 1879.
B. W. Andrews spent his boyhood on the home farm, and few were the advantages which he enjoyed. He worked in the fields through seven months of the year, and during the remaining five months he pursued his education in the district school of the neighborhood. In 1850 he also drove the first milk wagon that delivered milk to the residents of Woodbury, per- forming that task before going to school in the morning. At the age of seventeen he left the farm, and as early as 1856 he worked for the wholesale grocery firm of George Ogden & Company, of Philadelphia. In September of the same year he entered the employ of B. S. Janney & Company, at No. 605 Market street, and continued with that house, being promoted from time to time as he mastered the different tasks assigned him and thus indicated his fitness for greater responsibility. On the Ist of February, 1862, he was admitted to a partnership in the business, under the firm name of Janney & Andrews, which relation was maintained until July 1, 1891, when the firm was dissolved and that of B. W. Andrews & Company was formed.
The large wholesale house of this firm is located at Nos. 10 and 12 North Front street. They do an extensive business in groceries and as commis- sion merchants, handling canned goods. Besides the large force in the house they employ twenty traveling salesmen, who cover thoroughly New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland and also sell to other states. Their output has become very large and their business has assumed mammoth proportions, giving them a prominent position among the leading whole- sale merchants of the state. For forty-three years Mr. Andrews has been connected with the house, and his efforts have contributed in a very large
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measure to its success. He has been twice president of the Grocers and Im- porters' Exchange of Philadelphia, serving in 1885 and again in 1893. He is now the president of the Wholesale Grocers' Association of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
Mr. Andrews is a man of resourceful business ability, and his efforts have by no means been confined to one line of endeavor. He is a director of the Western National Bank of Philadelphia, and has been the promoter of other enterprises, while at all times he gives his support to those measures and movements which are calculated to prove of public benefit.
Mr. Andrews has been twice married. His first wife was Mary S., daugh- ter of John C. Smallwood, of Woodbury. She was of the sixth generation from Letitia Penn, a daughter of William Penn, whose second husband was a Smallwood. She died January 4, 1881, leaving a daughter, Lucille. For his second wife Mr. Andrews chose Jennie B. Evans, a daughter of the late Owen Evans, of Philadelphia, their marriage being celebrated April 29, 1884. They also have a daughter, Bertha. Theirs is one of the palatial homes of Woodbury, celebrated as a place of gracious hospitality. It is adorned with all the luxuries, furnishings and works of art that wealth, guided by a refined taste, could suggest, and is one of the most beautiful residences in this sec- tion of New Jersey. A deed for eighteen hundred and fifty acres of land in and around Woodbury, given by the sons of William Penn to the great- grandfather of Mr. Andrews, is now in his possession, which fact indicates that he belongs to one of the oldest families of the state. For twenty years he has been a trustee of the Presbyterian church of Woodbury, and his lib- eral contributions to the organization have materially advanced its labors and influence. He is one of the board of managers of the State Insane Asylum, at Trenton, and is the vice president of the Woodbury Country Club. He finds great pleasure and needed recreation in fishing and driving, and is the owner of some fine horses. He is a man of fine personal appear- ance, of genial manner and courteous deportment, and wherever he goes wins friends. His success has been remarkable, yet has been achieved along legitimate business lines. It is doubtful whether in any country the con- ditions exist which render possible such achievements as America has wit- nessed, and the lives of such men as Mr. Andrews should serve as a stimulus to the youth of our land, as illustrating what may be accomplished under even the most adverse condition. He had no special advantages or influen- tial friends to aid him, but from the first his ambition was an honorable and lofty one, and his life history proves conclusively that where there is a will a way may be found. He stands to-day as one of the leading and most respected wholesale merchants of Philadelphia, and what he has done others
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can do if they will but exercise the same qualities and determination that he has shown.
SAMUEL B. SAMPSON.
It is astonishing with what rapidity the towns along the New Jersey coast have been established and developed. Each year many hundreds of people, tired of the hurry and bustle of city life, seek quiet and rest by the sea, where they can enjoy the cool ocean breezes and the ever varying beauty of the Atlantic. In consequence attractive towns have been builded by the seaside, and with one of these beautiful and attractive municipal cor- porations Mr. Sampson is now prominently identified. He came to Ocean City almost two decades ago, and since his arrival has been actively asso- ciated with its building interests and some of the most beautiful homes and pleasing cottages have been erected under his super- vision. They are, therefore, an enduring testimonial of his ability, and well indicate that he is worthy of the liberal patronage which he receives in the line of his business.
At Smith's Landing, on the 7th of Oc- tober, 1850, Samuel Sampson was born, his parents being Samuel and Thama (Price) Sampson. The family name is of Scotch origin, but little is known concerning the early history of its representatives in the New World. The father of our subject re- sided at Smith's Landing, Atlantic county, RESIDENCE OF S. B. SAMPSON. for many years, after which he removed to Steelmanville and there died. A well-known merchant, he engaged in the grocery and dry-goods business and also devoted his energies to some extent to the raising and shipping of oysters. He married Miss Price and they became the parents of a large family, numbering eleven children. Neven, the eldest, died in childhood. Lydia married Charles Stetser, a sea captain, and their children were William, Samuel, Charles and Mary, the last named the wife of George Anderson. Alice married John Hockman, a ship carpenter, and they had two daughters, Kate and Sally, but the latter died in childhood. Hasadiah, a seafaring man, was three times married, his first union being with Charlotte Woolbert, his second with Isabel Steel- man, by whom he had two children, Lottie and Howard, and his third union
S. B. Sampon
1
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was with Emily Robinson, their children being Hasadiah, Arthur, Emma, Horace and John. Rachel became the wife of Brazier Penn, a seafaring man, and they had four children: Anna Nettie; Lizzie; Vrilla, who became Mrs. Rose; and Sarah, who died at the age of fourteen years. Samuel B. is the next of the family. Charles, who was a tinsmith and dealer in stoves in Woodbury, New Jersey, married Lizzie Stewart, and their children are Roy, John and Lizzie, the last named now deceased. Daniel, a tinsmith and hard- ware merchant of Ocean City, married Ella Parks, who died leaving two children, Charles and Bertha, and after her death he married Annie E. Doughty. Lizzie died in childhood. Annie, the youngest of the family, is the wife of Charles Powell, a wheelwright at Linwood, New Jersey, by whom she has five children,-Nelda, Mollie, Milard, Earl and Lizzie. The parents of this family were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church and took an active part in its work, Mr. Sampson serving as church steward. His political support was given to the Democracy. He died in 1895, at the age of eighty-five years.
Samuel B. Sampson was educated in the public schools of Atlantic county, and at the age of eighteen he put aside his text-books to learn the more difficult lessons of life from the school of experience. His first under- taking was in connection with the oyster business at Steelmanville, where he engaged in the raising and shipping of oysters. For six years he carried on business there, meeting with a fair degree of success, and then learned the carpenter's trade, which he has followed continuously since. In the spring of 1880 he came to Ocean City, purchased the first land sold by an association, which was located at the corner of Fourth and West streets, and he erected there two residences, one of which he still owns. He also owns a fine property on Ninth street and Asbury avenue, built by him in the year 1888. He was the first contractor and builder at Ocean City and has ever occupied a place among the leading representatives of this enter- prise. The first house of any considerable size here, the Bellevue, was built by him for I. B. Smith. He was for a time a member of the firm of Sampson, Steelman & English, but subsequently withdrew and is now carrying on business alone. He has a thorough, practical knowledge of his trade and has secured a liberal patronage. He has erected altogether about sixty cottages at this place, and in 1896 he built a handsome residence for himself on Wesley avenue, at a cost of forty-six hundred dollars. He is his own drafts- man and architect. In connection with his brother Daniel he is also the owner of a farm in Atlantic county, and its substantial improvements, verdant meadows and oyster beds make it a valuable property. In addition to the residence which he owns in Ocean City he has a boathouse at Fourth street
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and Bay avenue where can be found some of the finest sail and row boats that plow the waters of the great Egg harbor bay. During the summer months he makes it his business to conduct sailing and fishing parties. He is also a director of the Ocean City Building & Loan Association, of which he was one of the organizers.
On the 12th of March, 1887, Mr. Sampson was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie English, a daughter of Elmer English, a sea captain residing at Somers Point, Atlantic county. In political circles Mr. Sampson is a Republican and has served as a member of the city council for two terms, being now a member of the board of education. He is also a member and the treasurer of the Ocean City volunteer fire company. He takes an active part in church work, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has served both as a steward and a trustee. He is also a member of the order of Knights of Pythias. It will thus be seen that he has been a prominent factor not only in its material development but also in fraternal and political circles, and as a public-spirited citizen advocates everything which is intended for the public good. Such men well deserve mention among the represent- ative citizens of this commonwealth.
A. G. SILVER.
Not a man of local repute alone in business, but known also in commer- cial circles throughout a wide section of country, Mr. Silver's name is synon- ymous with honorable dealing. His life has been one of untiring activity and has been crowned with a degree of success attained by comparatively few. He is of the highest type of business men, and none more than he deserves a fitting recognition among the men whose hardy genius and splendid abili- ties have achieved results that are the wonder and admiration of all. In his financial success, unblemished business record and steadily expanding field of usefulness in life's pursuits, Clayton and southern New Jersey may well feel a personal pride and interest. He is in the best sense of the word a representative American citizen, progressive in commercial circles, and at all times loyal to the interests of the state and nation.
Mr. Silver belongs to one of the old families of New Jersey of English lineage, his ancestry being traced back to Samuel Silver, who came from the mother country to the New World in colonial days. His son, David Silver, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Port Elizabeth, Cum- berland county; and Samuel Silver, the father, was born in that place, July 9, 1835. Having arrived at years of maturity he was married, in 1856, to
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Sidney McCoy, and they became the parents of three children: A. G., of this sketch; Emma, wife of M. F. DuBois, surrogate of Clayton; and Sam, who is successfully engaged in the clothing business in Clayton and is now serving his second term as the assessor of his township, being elected on the Repub- lican ticket. He has also been a member of the board of registracy for seven years. The father, Samuel Silver, Sr., came to Port Elizabeth in 1862, learned the glass business and became a glass finisher. For many years he followed that business, but is now living retired, enjoying a well earned rest. He is a member of the Methodist church, and is a valued representative of the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities. In 1864 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, but he is still living,-an esteemed citizen of Clayton.
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