USA > New Jersey > Biographical, genealogical and descriptive history of the first congressional district of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 46
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Mr. Lawrence, whose name heads this notice, attended the common country schools of the locality where he resided when a lad, and a little later in life settled on the farm-the old homestead. He now has one hundred and thirty-three acres of land and a fine herd of registered Jersey cattle,- twenty-seven head in all. The milk from these cows is in great demand and for the past five years has gone to the hotel at Atlantic City, New Jersey. Mr. Lawrence is a public-spirited man and has held various local offices, including that of a county trustee of the almshouse, in 1881-2-3. He belongs to the Methodist church, in which he has been a steward for eighteen years. He is also a worthy member of the Masonic and Red Men's civic orders. He has passed all the chairs in Red Men's lodge.
Of his domestic relations it may be said that he married, October 3, 1877, Rachael Creamer, the daughter of Jacob Creamer, of this vicinity, belonging to a well known family. To our respected subject and his wife have been born the following children: Minnie A., Irene M., Edgar A., Ada M., Bessie L.
JOHN M. KROM.
John M. Krom, one of the old residents of Upper Pittsgrove township, Salem county, comes from one of the honored pioneer families of this sec- tion of the state. His great grandfather, John Krom, died while a soldier in the Continental army, in 1776, and he and most of his descendants followed farming for a livelihood. He and his posterity, in the direct line of descent to our subject, and including the latter, were born on the same fine old homestead in this township, about a mile from the present home of John M. Krom. Harman, a son of the Revolutionary hero, was born in 1773, and Samuel D., a son of Harman and the father of our subject, was born in 1802 and died in 1862. He was very prominent in the work of the Presbyterian
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denomination, being a member and a deacon in the church at Daretown. He made a success of life, in every respect, and enjoyed the esteem and gen- uine regard of all who knew him. His wife Sarah was a daughter of John Mayhew, of the same locality. She departed this life in 1834, leaving one child, the subject of this sketch. An interesting fact in regard to the family relates to the name, the tradition which has been handed down from one to another being that the name was originally spelled Crumb; but owing to the prejudice or notion of a teacher and the foolish ridicule of schoolmates, the children of one generation, many years ago, changed the orthography to the present form.
John M. Krom was born August 14, 1831, as previously stated, on the old family homestead, and has spent his entire life in this immediate locality, his interests being thoroughly identified with Salem county. Being an only child, he had unusually good advantages for his day and acquired a liberal education. True, he was deprived of a loving mother's care when he was very young, but his noble father was the more kind and attentive to the lad's needs and desires, as he grew to maturity. He remained on the farm, be- coming a practical agriculturist, and in 1859 he came to Daretown and for the following five years kept a store. Under the administration of President Buchanan he held the office of postmaster, to the complete satisfaction of everyone concerned, and for five years he served as collector of his home township. He now owns sixty acres of excellent farm land, and gives his whole time and efforts to its cultivation.
In 1853 Mr. Krom married Achsah Richman, a daughter of Elijah Rich- man, and to them two children were born, namely: Sarah and Ella, the latter the wife of Israel F. Newkirk, of Upper Pittsgrove. The family are highly esteemed and their place in this community could not easily be filled.
FREDERICK FOX.
This well know and most highly respected citizen of Centerton, New Jersey, comes of an old pioneer family, and by reason of a long and eventful life very naturally finds a place in this connection. He was born near Friend- ship, Cumberland county, New Jersey, June 26, 1824. The name Frederick seems to be a favorite family name. Our subject's father's name was Fred- erick. He was born in 1802, near the birthplace of our subject, was a farmer by occupation, and his father (our subject's grandfather) also was named Frederick. He was born near Malaga, Gloucester county, New Jersey, and his father, Frederick, came from Germany and was a cooper by trade. He
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was beyond doubt the first man to make tar from pine knots. Our subject's great grandfather was in the Revolutionary war. The father of the subject of this sketch was a member of the Lutheran church, and lived and died in the vicinity of Friendship, departing this life in 1858. He was a large land-owner and farmed on an extensive scale for the state in which he lived. His wife, Lidia, was the daughter of Nathan Coombs, of Friendship, and of a noted family. She died in 1894, aged eighty-nine years. They reared eight chil- dren, of whom the following still survive: Our subject; Mary, wife of John DuBois; George M .; Nathan, who lives on the old homestead at Friendship; and Elizabeth, widow of John Redfield, of Bridgeton.
He of whom we write this notice, received a common-school education and very early in life began to cultivate the soil. In 1848 he purchased his farm and the following year moved to the same, which at that time con- tained one hundred and eighteen acres; but he now has two hundred and ten acres. November 31, 1846, he married Berlinda DuBois, a daughter of Robert DuBois. Their eight children are: Robert, residing at Centerton; Benjamin, at Willow Grove; Frederick, at Bridgeton; Franklin, at Friend- ship; Charles, at Daretown; Thomas, at Willow Grove; and William T. and Lizzie, at home.
Mr. Fox is a devout man, who in 1860 united with the Protestant Metho- dist church at Friendship, and has served as one of the trustees ever since, or for more than thirty-nine years. He became a member of the Odd Fellows lodge June 16, 1849, a half century ago, and has been the treasurer of his lodge since 1880. He has held every office in the lodge except that of sec- retary.
In tracing out the goings and comings of this gentleman the reader can- not fail to be impressed with the one fact that this man has held many im- portant positions, in lodge and church, for so long a term of years as to prove that such places were filled ably and well from the very first. He is a man of method and stability; hence his life has been fraught with more than the ordinary success.
J. T. MAYHEW.
J. T. Mayhew, a well known dairyman of Pittsgrove township and the collector of the township for the past seven years, is one of the substantial and influential men of Salem county, New Jersey. He was born November II, 1850, in Elmer, this county, and is a son of John and Maria (Johnson) Mayhew. John Mayhew was a son of Isaac Mayhew and was a favorite black- smith of Elmer about 1850. From there he moved to Cedarville, where he
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kept a hotel for a number of years. In 1865 he moved to the farm now oc- cupied by our subject, upon which he resided until his death, in 1896. He was prominent in his locality and greatly esteemed. His wife was Maria, daughter of David Johnson, of this county. She passed to her reward in 1893, three years before her husband, leaving seven children, namely: George, who keeps a shoe store of Bridgeton; William A., a merchant of Cedarville; Emma, Mrs. L. B. Mayhew, of Atlantic City; J. T., our subject; Elmer, of Camden, New Jersey; Matilda (Mrs. Isaac Johnson), of Pittsgrove; and Sally (Mrs. Damon Hitchner), of Atlantic City.
J. T. Mayhew was reared on his father's farm and early learned the prin- ciples underlying successful farming, at the same time attending the dis- trict schools of his neighborhood. After reaching manhood he took charge of his father's land, which consists of thirty-six acres, and turned it into a dairy farm. He has one of the best regulated and well-cared-for dairies in this part of the state, while his fine herd of fifteen registered cattle furnish a sup- ply of milk equal to any herd in this country; and it is in constant demand by those who have used it and know the pure article. It would be impossible for Mr. Mayhew to keep a sufficiently large herd of cows to meet the demands made upon him for milk.
He was married February 5, 1880, to Miss Dell Keeley, a daughter of William Keeley, of this section. They have two bright children,-Raymond L., and Elmer C.,-both living at their parental home. Mr. Mayhew is a stanch Republican and was elected to the office of town collector ten years ago. He is one of the genial, whole-souled men for which southern New Jersey is noted.
JAMES D. KELLEY.
This gentleman, who is well and favorably known in Gloucester county, has his place of business in Philadelphia, but makes his summer home at Pitman's Grove, New Jersey. He was born at Glassboro, March 17, 1861, and is the son of William and Margaret (McClearen) Kelley. His father, a native of Dublin, Ireland, came to the United States early in the '50s and in 1860 located at Glassboro. In 1856 he married Margaret, a daughter of John McClearen, of Camden, New Jersey, and they had three children, of whom two are living, James D., and Kate, the wife of D. R. Sparks, of Cam- den. Mr. Kelley was a highly respected citizen, a member of the Episcopal church and of the Masonic order. He died in 1866. His wife is still living. Our subject was a mere child when his father died, and from seven to twelve years of age he attended school, then began work in the Whitney Glass
James &Kelley.
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Works in his native town. In 1883 he went into business for himself, start- ing a grocery store at Woodbury. The following year, however, he entered the employ of Ensline & Zurn, manufacturers of and dealers in lubricating oils. For five years he was a traveling salesman for this company, at the end of which time O. F. Zurn, the head of the concern, bought out his part- ner and admitted ;Mr. Kelley as one of the firm. In 1894 the company became a close stock corporation, in which Mr. Kelley is a large stockholder and also is its secretary. They do an extensive business, their products being sold all over the United States and in the West Indies.
Mr. Kelley's success in life is due entirely to his own efforts. He is emphatically a self-made man, and while still young in years has made for himself a fine reputation in the commercial world and is already enjoying the results of his industry and faithfulness to duty. He is a prominent mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to W. C. Hamilton Lodge, No. 500, F. & A. M .; T. B. Freeman Chapter, No. 242, R. A. M .; Kadosh Com- mandery, No. 29, in which he is junior warden, and Lu Lu Temple, Mystic Shrine.
Mr. Kelley was married June 14, 1891, to Miss Eva Holeton, of Phila- delphia, and four children have blessed their union: Edith H., James W., Jean G. and John Raymond. The family spend their summers in a beautiful home at Pitman Grove, making their residence during the winter at 1715 Wallace street, in Philadelphia.
JOSEPH POWERS.
Joseph Powers is a contractor and builder of Salem, whose perseverance and industry have placed him high in the ranks of skilled workmen. He was born at Salem, this county, and is a son of Thomas and Mary (Mattick) Powers. The name is of German origin. John Powers, the grandfather, lived at Penn's Neck, where he was engaged in husbandry. He was a Whig and a devout member of the early Methodist Episcopal church, in which his death, in his seventy-third year, was accounted a great loss. He married Margaret McKasson, who died in her fiftieth year, leaving him fourteen children. They were Elizabeth, Mrs. John Casperson; Michael, a farmer who married Rebecca Dunn; Sarah, Mrs. William Dunn; Catherine, the widow of Israel Brown, a broommaker; Samuel, who married Rebecca Hancock; Ellen, Mrs. Thomas Dunn; Judith, Mrs. Ephraim Shaw; Mary, Mrs. John Ellwell; John, who married Mary Fenton; Joseph, a wheelwright, who mar- ried Elizabeth Fowler; William, who married three times,-Ann J. Lippin- cott, Mary Wren and Rachel Hancock; Thomas, the father of our subject;
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Lot R., a carpenter, who married Ruth Swing and resided in Salem; and Edward, a farmer who married Mary Patterson. But two of the family are now living,-Judith, who is upwards of eighty-four years old, and Thomas.
Thomas Powers attended school at Penn's Neck township when a lad, and his summers were employed in work about the farm. While still a boy he came to Salem and was apprenticed to George W. Filer, with whom he learned the trade of carpenter and builder. Then, with his brother Lot, as Powers Brothers, he engaged in contracting for himself and continued up to the death of his brother, when our subject was taken in as a partner. He was a quiet, unostentatious man, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a Republican in politics. He was married to Miss Mary Mat- lack, who was born in 1832, and died March 17, 1876. The ceremony was celebrated December 16, 1856, and twenty years of happy married life was their portion. Two children blessed their home: Joseph, our subject; and Georgianna, who was born March 1, 1861, and died November 23, 1883.
Joseph Powers received the benefit of instruction in the public schools of Salem until he was seventeen years old, when he left school and learned the trade of carpenter and builder of his father. Later he took private les- sons in architecture under Norris H. Stratton. He took pains with his work and furnished many of the plans from which he builded. Among the buildings constructed by himself and father may be named the R. M. Acton school, Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, at Pennsville, City National Bank, Schaffer Hotel, annex to the Y. M. C. A. building at Salem, Walnut Street Methodist church, canning-house for the Star Brothers, at the foot of Penn and Delaware streets, and many private residences. They employ as many as fifty men and turn out only the best workmanship. He was married February 14, 1883 to Miss Emma Hires, a daughter of Jarvis Hires, a stock- dealer of this city. They have been blessed with three children: Mary, de- ceased; Thomas, born July 17, 1886; and Paul H., born January 26, 1894. He is a Republican in politics, but is not an aspirant for political preferment. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, Knights of the Golden Eagle and the Improved Order of Hepta- sophs.
CHARLES H. SIMMERMAN.
"Life is meaningless unless it is universal and coherent." It is in a helpful relation to our time, a sympathetic union with the surrounding current of thought, feeling and purpose that we can realize the worth of our own iden- tity. To consciously ally one's self with any of the mighty movements that
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are shaping the future is to invest life with new dignity and power. The pres- ent is a time of combinations for varied aims, for man sees more and more clearly his weakness as an individual as compared with his strength in union with others. Mr. Simmerman has realized most fully the importance and need of organized effort in securing for the laboring classes recognition of their true worth and position in the world, and has been an active worker in the mighty movements which have demanded and secured, in a large meas- ure, this recognition. He has given the question his most earnest attention, has studied it from its various standpoints and his efforts have been most effective and far-reaching in their influence.
Charles H. Simmerman was born July 31, 1836, near Glassboro, Glou- cester county, New Jersey, and is a son of John and Rachel (Fisler) Simmer- man. The ancestry are Swedish and Swiss, but for many years have been connected with this state. John Simmerman, the grandfather of our sub- ject, resided in Glassboro and had three sons and four daughters, the former being Daniel, John and Abram. John Simmerman, the father of our subject, was born in Glassboro about 1800, acquired a common-school education and became a master shearer in a glass manufactory. Subsequently he engaged in farming in Gloucester county. He was a member of the Methodist Protest- ant church and a man of sterling worth. His death occurred in 1842, at the age of forty-two years, and his wife long survived him, passing away in 1870, at the age of sixty-seven years. This worthy couple were the parents of eight children, Esther became the wife of Samuel Madara, a farmer, and they have two sons,- John and Samuel. Julia is the wife of George Shields, a shoemaker, and their children are Esther, Henry and George. William mar- ried a Miss Crane, by whom he had two sons,-John and Wilmer,-and after the death of his first wife he was again married, and had four children by the second union. He was a wood turner by occupation and resided in Franklin- ville, New Jersey. Joseph was married and had one daughter, Anna. Cath- erine, twin sister of Joseph, became the wife of Richard Dempsey, and their children are Emma, deceased; Ida; Mrs. Lulu Skinner, of Clayton, Kate and Richard. Charles is the next of the family. John, a glass-blower of Swedes- boro, married Lydia Stone, and their children were Edward, Sherman, Ida, Harry and Zady. Lorenzo, a glass-blower living in Millville, married Kate McCurdy, and their children are Frank; Lincoln, deceased; Bruce; Andy; Burt and Rachel.
Mr. Simmerman, whose name introduces this review, received his educa- tion in the common schools, but was only six years of age when his father died and his privileges were necessarily limited, for his mother put him to live with a farmer at the age of eight years. For six years he lived with Rob-
II-BB
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ert Hewitt at the Cross Roads, in Salem county, and it is a matter of self pride with him that from the time he was eight years old he has always gained his own living; and to this early experience he attributes much of that inde- pendence of character that has characterized his subsequent life.
In 1850, at the age of fourteen, he entered the Whitney Glass Works at Glassboro as tending boy, becoming an apprentice and serving a five-year term at the glass-blower's trade. He followed that occupation for twenty- five years, during which time he became deeply interested in the labor ques- tions. He joined the first Glass Blowers' Union ever organized in New Jersey, in 1856, and became one of the most zealous and energetic workers in its behalf. In the spring of 1858 he went to Crowleyville, New Jersey, where he instituted a union of the glass-blowers and then attended the second. general convention at Millville. He was then only twenty-two years of age, but he made a close study of this branch of labor and was well fitted for lead- ership. Because of his aggressive attitude in the interests of labor, however, he was black-listed by the manufacturers, and for a period of more than twenty years he on different occasions was deprived of employment at the trade because of the part he took in its affairs.
Mr. Simmerman subsequently became a salesman for the firm of Bodine, Thomas & Company, with whom he remained for a year, and in that po- sition he was enabled to study the labor questions from a different standpoint. In 1870 he was the president of the Improved Glass-Blowers' League, since which time three other organizations have been instituted among the glass- workers, under different names. In 1874 he began the agitation of the idea of a bureau of labor statistics, and in 1878, by act of the legislature, a depart- ment was organized. He was made secretary of the bureau in 1881 and held the position for twelve years, while in 1893 he was appointed chief of the bureau by governor Wurtz, continuing in that position till 1898. Prior to 1877 labor had received no recognition from the public or from legislation, but in that year Mr. Simmerman was a delegate from Camden county to the Democratic convention, where he first introduced the idea of a bureau of labor statistics. After hard labor he succeeded in getting a resolution for the institution of such a bureau inserted in the platform of the party, and during the campaign wrote and worked for its success. A majority of both houses of the legislature were of that party, he prepared the act and went to Trenton every week until it finally became a law. The importance of this measure to the labor interests of the country is inestimable. He has always been most earnest in his efforts to benefit the laboring classes and has been a close student of social and economic problems.
Mr. Simmerman has several times been elected to local offices. He was
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chosen as a member of the board of school trustees of Salem, New Jersey, in 1867, and was one of the stanch advocates of the free-school system. He was elected the assessor of Camden in 1875 by a majority of two hundred and fifty-six, serving a three-year term, and in 1876 was a candidate for congress on the Democratic ticket, receiving eight hundred more votes than were given Tilden, in the district. He resided in Trenton from 1881 until 1898, when he came to Wildwood, where in 1893 he had erected the Trenton Hotel, which is supplied with thirty sleeping-rooms and all first-class ac- commodations. He does not conduct the hotel himself, but is again working at his trade. For nineteen years he was a member of the Knights of Labor and was very active in that organization. He is now a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
On the 9th of June, 1857, Mr. Simmerman was united in marriage to Miss Anna Foster, a daughter of William Foster, and to them were born six chil- dren. Horace married Rhoda Bates, and they have a daughter, named Effie. At the age of sixteen years he left home and spent six years in the silver mines in the west, and subsequently he engaged in the grocery business in Woodbury, and afterward spent one year in the Klondike. George, the second child, died at the age of twenty-two months. Charles, who is engaged in the printing business in New York city, married Ida Kean, and has one child, Viola. Emma and William died in childhood. Lizzie married Theo- dore Struble, who died. She then married Henry Davis and has one child, Jennie. After his death she married Benjamin Shuster. She is now the proprietor of the Hotel Trenton, owned by her father.
It is a well attested maxim that the greatness of a state lies not in its machinery of government, nor even in its institutions, but in the sterling qualities of its individual citizens, in their capacity for high and unselfish effort and their devotion to the public good. Mr. Simmerman has probably done more for the mass of the people of New Jersey than any other represen- tative of labor interests, and by ameliorating their condition by obtaining them just recognition of their worth he has certainly in a large measure con- tributed to the well being of the state.
JOHN D. HAMILTON.
Almost every city of any size has at least one manufactory of which it is proud, and Salem, New Jersey, has one of which she is justly proud. This is one of the largest and best equipped carriage-manufacturing plants in the state, and the energy and perseverance manifested by the gentleman who has brought it to its present state of perfection is worthy the commendation
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he receives, and has been the means of placing the city among the front ranks of manufacturing towns. Such a man is John D. Hamilton, one of Salem's most esteemed and reputable citizens. He is a native of Medford, Vermont, was born July 13, 1858, and is a son of Joseph and Margaret (Rafter) Hamilton. The grandfather, Lewis Hamilton, was a farmer of Vermont and was of English parentage. He had thirteen children, among whom was the father of our subject. Joseph was a mason by trade, an indus- trious, hard-working man. He married Margaret Rafter, who bore him five children and whose death they were called upon to mourn in July, 1880. She had reached her fifty-sixth or fifty-eighth year when death came to her. The father died May 29, 1898, in Connecticut. He was a Democrat, but took little part in politics. His children were John D., our subject; Joseph, a foreman with the Goodyear Rubber Company of Connecticut; Helen; Thomas, overseer for the Goodyear Rubber Company; and Alvina.
John D. Hamilton was a student in the Springfield public schools when a lad, and it was little thought that he would make the brilliant record in the business world that he has. When fourteen years of age he entered a blacksmith and carriage-making shop to learn the business and served an apprenticeship of nine years, becoming familiar with every detail of the work. The following seven years were spent as a journeyman in the coach shop at Bridgeton, whence he went to Naugatuck in the capacity of superintendent for a large carriage factory at that place, and remained five years. Fitz- Gibbon & Crisp then secured his services as foreman of their blacksmith department at Trenton, one of the largest shops in the state.
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