USA > New Jersey > Biographical, genealogical and descriptive history of the first congressional district of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 35
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
The Hon. E. Milford Applegate acquired his education in the public schools of Bridgeton, graduating at the high school in the class of 1874. He then applied himself to the marble business in the shops of his father,
II-U
322
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FIRST
and by actual experience, mounting the ladder round by round, obtained a thorough understanding of the various stages of that industry. In all he engaged in that business nearly twenty years, a part of the time as a member of the firm, from which he withdrew in 1893.
Beginning at the time he attained his majority, Mr. Applegate has participated very actively in the local politics. He entered the political arena as clerk, being elected from ward I. Though that ward was strongly Democratic until 1892, and he was a Republican, he was elected from it to the office of city clerk five times. He was next elected city assessor, which office he filled for four years. In 1891 he was appointed justice of the peace for a term of five years. He has since been called upon to per- form most of the justice trial work in the city of Bridgeton. In 1894 he was the Republican candidate for the mayoralty of Bridgeton, and he was elected to that office, for a term of three years. His administration has given general satisfaction. On May 10, 1882, Mr. Applegate was united in matrimony with Miss Elizabeth Lawrence, a daughter of George Law- rence, of Bridgeton. Three children have come of this union, namely,- Sara L., Maskel and Fredrick. Mr. Applegate belongs to the order of Masons, being a member of Evening Star Lodge, of Bridgeton, in which he filled several offices. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Malta. In religious faith and sympathy he is Methodist Epis- copal, having his membership in the Central church, of Bridgeton. Mr. Applegate and his family occupy a pleasant residence at 72 Washington street.
DANIEL P. DORRELL.
Daniel P. Dorrell, one of the leading agriculturists of Alloway, Salem county, has been a lifelong resident here, having first seen the light of day January 1, 1826, in Lower Alloway Creek township, this county. He is a son of Annas and Rhoda (Penn) Dorrell, who were well known residents of this vicinity, as were several former generations of the name. The family were of French antecedents, and the great-grandfather, William Dorrell, lived in a brick house near Alloway, which is still standing and is the property of Jacob House. He was a farmer and an industrious, hard-working man. One of his sons belonged to the navy and fought in the Revolution in the ship Hornet. Another son was John, the grandfather of Daniel P. Dorrell, who was born in Alloway Creek township and purchased a farm in Lower Allo- way Creek township. His residence was in Harmersville and he also fol- lowed the business of spoke-getter. He lived to the age of sixty-one years
Daniel Gorilla
323
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
and was a Republican all his life. He was twice married, the first wife being the grandmother of our subject. Her children were Annas, Joseph, John, and Mary. The second union was with Judith Beuch, by whom she had one child, named Hannah, who married William S. Wood, of Cumberland county.
Annas Dorrell was a self-educated man in the true sense of that word. He was a great reader, a student of Bible and history and a man of more than ordinary intelligence, who was well posted on most topics of import- ance. His mind was a storehouse of varied and useful information that could only be secured by keen observation and careful and comprehensive reading. Like his father he was a Republican and took a leading part in local politics. He resided at Harmony at the time of his death and was engaged in the butcher business for a short time with his brother, Joseph. The wife of his youth was Rhoda Penn, who bore him three daughters and one son: Sarah, the eldest, died at the age of twenty years; Daniel P. is our subject; Hannah married 'Squire Ferguson, now retired; and Mary married Jacob Danley, a carpenter of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Two other children, Joseph and John, were twins and died in infancy. For his second wife he chose Rebecca Perry, who had been married twice previously. Their children were Rhoda, Rebecca, Susan, Joseph, Sallie and an infant, all of whom are dead, with the exception of Joseph and Daniel P. The mother died at the age of thirty- three years and the father when in his forty-seventh year.
Daniel P. Dorrell received but a limited education from the text-books, having the privilege of attending school only about two years. Being ambi- tious to learn, he applied himself to the task of self-education and laid up a considerable store of useful knowledge, to which he adds from day to day and which is of more real value to him than any amount of theoretical edu- cation. His early life was spent in work about the farm and few idle moments fell to his share, as he was reared in an atmosphere of thrift and industry. He clerked in a store at Hancock's Bridge for a short time and then returned to the farm to take the management of it after the death of his father. He continued as manager of this land, which was in Upper Alloway Creek town- ship, and thrived in his business in all he undertook, his crops being planted and attended in a careful manner that insured a bountiful harvest. He has added to his acreage from time to time until he now owns three farms,- one in Upper Alloway of one hundred and fifteen acres, another of ninety, and one in Quinton township of one hundred and fifty-four acres. He also was interested in ship-building at one time and ran a sawmill.
Mr. Dorrell was married November 23, 1848, to Miss Mary Rebecca McIlvain, by whom he had eight children. Abbie Keziah, the eldest, married
324
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FIRST
Clinton Cheesman, who died from the effects of a wound received in the civil war, leaving two children,-Clarence and Harold. Daniel P., who married Mary L. Patterson and has two children,-Bertie and Maud-is a trustee of the county almshouse and resides in Alloway, where he is a veterinarian and keeps an exchange stable and buys and sells horses. John, a farmer, married Amanda Wentzel and has three children,-Bertha, Stella, and Elvina. George W. married Sallie Fox and has one child. Charles married Mamie Trickett, a daughter of the Rev. James Trickett, a Baptist clergyman of Allo- way. Winifred married Raymond W. Batten, the postmaster of this village, and they have one child, Jesse. Maunch May and Robert are at home.
Mr. Dorrell was a Republican and represented that party in the legisla- ture two terms,-in 1872-3. He was elected to the office of justice of the peace nineteen years ago and has held that office since, for the last four terms having been elected on the Democratic ticket. He has ably discharged his duties, being both impartial and just in all his decisions, and has never had a case appealed to a higher court. He is a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church and has filled all the offices in that organization. He is also a member of several of the secret orders, having united with the Grange, Red Men and other benevolent orders, and is a man whose presence adds to the stability of any community.
JOHN G. AYARS.
John G. Ayars, a prominent business man of Bridgeton, New Jersey, was born in Upper Pittsgrove township, Salem county, New Jersey, Sep- tember 8, 1833, the son of Thomas and Rachel (Harding) Ayars. His paternal grandfather, John G. Ayars, came to Upper Pittsgrove township, where he was an extensive farmer. a Whig in politics, and an influential member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His children were Bergen, Susan, John and Thomas, the father of the subject of this sketch. His father, Thomas, born in Pittsgrove township, Salem county, New Jersey, was a farmer there, an old-line Whig and later a Republican, a steward and trustee in the Methodist Episcopal church, and took an active part in church, social and public affairs. His three children were John G., Lydia, and Mary.
John G. Ayars was educated in the common schools of his native town- ship, leaving school at eighteen years of age, remained thereafter with his father on the farm until 1857, and worked a farm independently up to 1868, when he came to Bridgeton, New Jersey, and engaged in the flour
325
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
and feed business, soon acquiring prominence in business and political cir- cles. He has served as a justice of the peace fourteen years, was continu- ously elected constable from the Third ward for nineteen years, and has served as the overseer of the poor from his ward for thirty-one years. He is also a commissioner of deeds, notary public, and has been a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a member, for six years. He has also served as a delegate to various political conventions,-county, state and congressional.
Early in life he was married to Maria Taylor Hod, and they have four children,-Martha, Thomas, John and Harry.
JOHN R. SICKLER, M. D.
The late Dr. Sickler was a representative of that rare element in modern life which, although an invaluable part of it, yet rests upon a basis of some- thing ideal and philosophical. In the worldly sense he certainly made his mark, becoming a prominent physician and serving most creditably in his native state as one of the ablest judges of Gloucester county and being recognized as an able, astute politician and medical practitioner. When- ever he came in contact with men of note, not only was he valued as an equal of practical strength and resources, but also as one whose integrity was beyond question. Judge Sickler was not only practical, drawing to himself the strong minds of his profession, but was imbued with the best scientific and philosophical thought of the day, and was at the same time a gentleman of broad humanitarian principles. He came of a family whose ancestry could be traced back through several generations to 1662, when Joshua Sickler took up his abode at Chew's Landing, in what was then Gloucester county, but is now a part of Camden county. His father, Christopher Sickler, was born at Chew's Landing and there reared six chil- dren, namely: Elizabeth, John R., Jason, Joshua, Rebecca and Mary.
Dr. Sickler of this review was born September 25, 1800, at Chew's Land- ing, and, determining to make the practice of medicine his life work, he completed his studies by graduation in the Jefferson Medical College, on the 18th of March, 1829. He took up his residence at Mantua, formerly called Carpenter's Landing, and almost immediately won prominence as a success- ful medical practitioner. The success which attended his efforts was but in natural sequence, for his position was assured as an able physician, a man of sterling integrity and one devoted to his profession and to the in- terests and welfare of those to whom he ministered. He possessed marked
326
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FIRST
judgment and discernment in the diagnosing of diseases, and was peculiarly successful in anticipating the issues of complications. His professional brethren accorded him a high place in their ranks. He became a member of the County Medical Society June 16, 1846, was elected its president and in 1859 was elected to the presidency of the State Medical Society. He represented the county society in both the state and national medical so- cieties, and was very popular among the medical fraternities, whose members he often entertained at his hospitable home.
Dr. Sickler was a man of strong mind and gave close and earnest study. and investigation to the questions of the day affecting the public welfare. He had the mental grasp of the statesman, and in 1840 he was chosen to represent his district in the state constitutional convention, where he proved an active factor in promoting the organic law of New Jersey. He was for many years a member of the board of freeholders and in 1844 was appointed judge, reappointed in 1852, in 1857 and 1862, serving altogether for twenty- three years. His judgments were seldom reversed and were the embodi- ments of judicious soundness and wisdom. He was often spoken of in connection with the candidacy for governor, and was well fitted by native talent and acquired ability for that high office. Although identified with the Democracy, his personal friends were as numerous among the Repub- licans as in his own party.
Dr. Sickler was united in marriage to Eliza Thornburh, a daughter of John and Hannah (Ferth) Thornburh, whose children were Eliza, Jane, Margaret and Joseph. Mrs. Sickler was a native of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, and died in 1876, at the age of fifty-two years. She held member- ship in the Episcopal church, was greatly interested in its work and was a charitable friend to the poor and needy. By her marriage she became the mother of seven children: Kate, wife of Charles Shoemaker, of Mantua; Joseph T .; John R., deceased; John R., the proprietor of a hotel at Berkley, Gloucester county; Frank, who died at the age of eight years; Eliza, who died in infancy; and Idy, who died at the age of two years. In the death of Dr. Sickler Gloucester county lost one of its most prominent citizens. He was an honor to the state in which he resided and he left a strong impress for good upon New Jersey along many lines. His qualities were such as commended him to the confidence and respect of his fellow men, while his splendid abilities commanded their admiration. He also possessed those characteristics which won to him warm friendships. He was by nature endowed with the greatest of all human faculties, integrity, which wealth cannot purchase, power could not intimidate or dying men bequeath, and which is stamped upon those natures, whether born in a palace or a
327
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
manger, the impress of God's nobility, for "an honest man is the noblest work of God."
DR. SAMUEL DICK.
Among the patriotic men of the last century who took an active part in the troublous times of our country was Dr. Samuel Dick, of Salem, New Jersey. He was of Scotch-Irish descent. His paternal grandfather was a Presbyterian minister who resided in the north of Ireland, and the Doctor's father was John Dick, who married Isabella Stewart, a Scotch lady of superior mind and character. It is supposed that John Dick and his wife came to America between the years 1730 and 1740. Samuel, their third child, was born on the 14th of November, 1740, at Nottingham, Prince George's county, Maryland. In 1746 the Rev. John Dick was stationed in New Castle, Delaware, as a minister in the Presbyterian church and con- tinued his pastoral labors in that vicinity until his death in 1748. His son Samuel was a child of uncommon promise and commenced the study of the Latin language when but five years of age. He was educated by Samuel Finley, afterward the president of Princeton College, Governor Thomas McKean, of Delaware, and the Rev. Dr. McWhorter, of New Jersey, and under their preceptorage laid the foundation of a classical knowledge which few in our country have surpassed.
His medical education, according to the State Medical Report, was "acquired at one of the medical schools of Scotland." Dr. Dick served in Canada as assistant surgeon in the colonial army in the war between the English and French, which was terminated in 1760 by the conquest of that province by the English, and was present at the surrender of Quebec. In 1770 he came with his mother to Salem, New Jersey, and in that place practiced his profession until his death. On the 5th of October, 1773, in Philadelphia, he married Sarah Sinnickson, a daughter of Andrew Sinnickson, a gentleman of wealth and prominence in the county.
In 1776 Dr. Dick was a member of the provincial congress of New Jersey, and was one of the committee of ten, composed of Green, Ogden, Cooper, Sergeant, Elmer, Hawkes, Covenhoven, Symmes, Condit and Dick, appointed to prepare a draft of the constitution of that state. By that congress he was given a commission as colonel of the militia, in the Western Battalion, of Salem county, dated June 20, 1776, in which capacity he was an active and zealous officer in the Revolutionary war. In 1780 Dr. Dick was appointed surrogate of Salem county, by Governor Livingston, by whom he was highly esteemed as an officer and as a man. This office he
328
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FIRST
held for twenty-two years. On the 6th of November, 1783, the Doctor was elected by the state of New Jersey to congress, and was a member of the law-making body of the nation when the treaty was ratified by which Great Britain acknowledged the independence of the United States. In the years 1783, 1784 and 1785, he was a member of the continental con- gress held in Annapolis, New York and Philadelphia, respectively, and was selected, with others, to transact important business. He was made one of the "Grand Committee of 1784," consisting of Messrs. Jefferson, Blanch- ard, Gerry, Howell, Sherman, De Witt, Dick, Hand, Stone, Williamson and Read, to revise the institution of the treasury department and report upon such alterations as they might think proper (Journal of Congress, volume IX). He was also one of the committee elected to sit during the recess of congress for transacting the business of the United States, con- sisting of Messrs. Blanchard, Dana, Ellery, Sherman, De Witt, Dick, Hand, Chase, Hardy, Spraight and Read (Journal of Congress, volume IX). With some of these gentlemen Dr. Dick formed friendships which continued through life. He was from early manhood intimately acquainted with Dr. Benjamin Rush and Dr. James Craik, a Scotchman who settled in Virginia, held a position in the army in the Revolutionary war and was the family physician of General Washington. In 1789 Dr. Dick was again nominated as a candidate for congress, but declined to accept the proffered honor. The following letter from Governor Livingston on the subject shows the estimation in which Dr. Dick was held by the distinguished gentleman of that time:
Elizabethtown, January 25, 1789.
Dear Sir :- Be persuaded that it is not through wilful neglect that I have not until now acknowledged the receipt of your letter of the 7th inst. I make it a rule to answer every letter from the meanest creature in human shape as soon as I have leisure to do it; and I cannot therefore be supposed inattentive to those gentlemen of distinction and gentlemen who are en- deared to me by old acquaintance and the amiableness of their characters. But the conjunction of bodily indisposition and a greater variety of public indispensable business than I have for a considerable time past met with, made it impossible for me to do myself the pleasure of discharging so agree- able an office as that of answering your letter sooner than I now do.
But my dear sir, I wish you had given me a more agreeable commission to execute than what I find I must according to the tenor of your letter carry into execution. Your requests it is true, shall always with me from real volition carry with them the nature of a command. But I am sorry that your present one must "aut volens, aut nolens" be considered mandatory. For it seems you have left me no other choice than the alternative of eras- ing your name from the list of nominations, or to write against it. "Dr.
329
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
Dick declines to serve." I had a particular reason to wish you to stand as a candidate, and finally appear to be one of the four elected. Because (without compliment I dare say it) though we have had many in congress who in other respects were possessed of such qualifications as men in that station ought to be endowed with, a great part of them have been totally destitute of the knowledge of mankind, and that certain "politesse" which Lord Chesterfield calls attention, without which the greatest talents in other things will never make a man influential in such assemblies. But if it must be so, that either you cannot or will not go, I must submit.
Believe me to be with great sincerity,
Your most humble servant, William Livingston.
To Dr. Samuel Dick,
Salem, N. J.
In private life Dr. Dick was highly respected. He was a man of brilliant talents and great attainments, fine taste and polished manners, a skillful surgeon and physician, a discerning politician and zealous patriot. He died in Salem New Jersey, November 16, 1812, leaving a widow and five chil- dren, all now deceased. His only descendants now living are the children and grandchildren of his daughter, Isabella Stewart Dick, who was mar- ried in 1804 to Josiah Harrison, a member of the New Jersey bar. She left four children: Maria and Henrietta; Lydia, who married James Mecum, and had six children,-Isabella, George, Ellen, James Harrison, Maria and Charles; and Julia, wife of Robert C. Johnson, by whom she had two sons, Robert and Henry H. Johnson. The Mecum family have in their posses- sion a very beautiful silver-hilted sword which was carried by Dr. Dick in the colonial as well as the Revolutionary war. This sword has a genuine Andrea Farrara blade, which could not have been made later than 1477 or '80. this celebrated Toledo sword-maker having been invited by James III, of Scot- land, to come to his country about that time, according to "Gurthie's Geographical and Historical Grammar," published in London in 1797, page 166.
DR. RICHARD M. A. DAVIS.
One of the younger representatives of the medical profession of Salem county is Dr. Richard Miller Acton Davis, yet he has attained a reputation in professional circles that many an older practitioner might well envy and is now enjoying a liberal and lucrative patronage. He was born in the city of Salem, December 28, 1873, and is a son of David E. and Esther C. (Miller) Davis. His father was a prominent stock farmer of the county and the owner of the celebrated Green Hill stock farm in Mannington
330
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE FIRST
township, where he was extensively engaged in the raising of sheep and cattle, having a number of imported animals which kept the grade of his stock very high. His able management and untiring labors brought him a large and profitable business, but in the midst of a successful career he was cut off by death, when only thirty-three years of age. His political support was given the Republican party, and he was a member of the Society of Friends and of the Fenwick Club. He had three children: Frank, now deceased; Elizabeth W., the wife of Elmer H. Smith, a farmer, land-owner and real-estate dealer of Toano, Virginia; and the Doctor. After the death of the father, the mother of this family became the wife of Dr. Waddington.
Dr. Davis began his education in the public schools of Salem and after attending the high school here was a student in the University of Pennsyl- vania. He pursued a course of medicine in that institution and was gradu- ated in June, 1896. He also spent one year in the Cooper Hospital and gained that practical knowledge and experience which well fitted him for his professional duties. In his practice he has met with excellent success, and his skill and ability are demonstrated by the liberal patronage which the public accords him. In addition to his practice he is a valued member of the Salem Medical Society, of which he is now serving as the president. He is an assistant surgeon of the Third Regiment of the National Guards of New Jersey. He belongs to the order of Knights of Pythias, to the Fenwick Club and to the Country Club; also belongs to the Presbyterian church. In his political faith he is a Republican. He is well informed not only on matters of political importance, but on all subjects of general in- terest, and is a courteous, social gentleman, very popular in Salem, where his entire life has been passed.
JAMES J. PETTIT.
James J. Pettit, a venerable and highly honored citizen of Woodstown, Salem county, has been closely identified with the development of the agri- cultural resources of this section of the state during his entire active life. His birth occurred more than four-score years ago, on the 15th of January, 1819, on a farm in Lower Penn's Neck, Salem county. When he was but two years of age his father, Hon. Woodnut Pettit, removed with his family to the vicinity of Salem, in Ellisboro township, and five years later settled permanently in Mannington township, Salem county. He was a practical, industrious man, a stalwart member of the Society of Friends, and possessed unusual qualities of mind and heart. This fact was recognized by his friends
James & Petit
33I
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
and neighbors, who, deeming him the most suitable person to represent them in public affairs, elected him to the legislature, upon one occasion. He de- parted this life in 1858, when in his seventy-eighth year. His wife, the mother of our subject, was Sarah, daughter of James Jess.
As stated above, James J. Pettit was reared on a farm and early learned the various duties which fall to the lot of the tiller of the soil. Much of his life was spent in Mannington township, where he owned and carried on a large homestead, meeting with success. For a short period-four years, perhaps-he resided in Salem, but, with this exception, his years were all passed on a farm until he retired from arduous work, in 1893, feeling that he had justly earned a peaceful, restful old age. He has since dwelt in the pretty village of Woodstown, where he has a host of sincere friends and well-wish- ers. Following in the footsteps of his forefathers, he is an earnest member of the Society of Friends, doing everything within his power to promote peace, happiness and Godliness upon the earth.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.