USA > New Jersey > Biographical, genealogical and descriptive history of the first congressional district of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 55
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pany, of Salem county; and of the State Building & Loan Association, and in all these undertakings his wise counsel and sound judgment have proven important factors in their success.
In 1884 Mr. Waddington was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie, a daugh- ter of John R. and Lydia (Bassett) Zerne, of Salem, and they have three children : William, who was born in October, 1886; J. Elmer, who was born in 1888; Helen, born in 1893, and Joseph K., Jr., born in May, 1900. Mrs. Waddington is a member of the Society of Friends and is a lady of culture to whom is extended the hospitality of the best homes in Salem. Mr. Wad- dington, likewise, has a large circle of friends and is very popular in social and business circles. He is a valued member of the Country Club, of Salem, and of the Lodge of Heptasophs. In politics he is an earnest Democrat, has served as a member of the board of chosen freeholders, and is now the city recorder of Salem. He has for nearly two decades been an active factor in advancing the city of Salem, and during that entire time has so conducted all of his affairs as to command the esteem, confidence and respect of all classes. His actions have during his life been such as to distinctively entitle him to a place in this publication, and although his career has not been filled with thrilling incidents, probably no biography published in this work can serve as a better illustration to young men of the power of honesty and integrity in insuring success.
THOMAS WILLIAM MILLET.
Thomas William Millet was born in Philadelphia, October 3, 1852, and is a representative of an old English family. His father was born in Liver- pool, England, and during his early boyhood Edward G. Millet, the father of our subject, came to America, being the founder of the family in the New World. The family took up their abode in Philadelphia, where Edward, with two brothers, George and John, in 1835, established the Cen- tral spice mills. Subsequently he removed to Perkasie, Pennsylvania, where his last days were passed. Of the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows he was a valued member, and in his political affiliations he was a stalwart Republican, giving to the party his earnest support. He married Miss Anna C. Zendt, and they became the parents of seven children : George W .; Thomas W., of this review; Edward G .; Harry F .; Alfred; Abraham Lincoln; and Elizabeth, the wife of Irvin Dill, a real-estate dealer of Perkasie. The father of these children died at the age of seventy-six
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years, but the mother is still living and has attained the age of seventy-three years.
In the public schools of Philadelphia Thomas W. Millet acquired his education, but just before the time of graduation he left the school-room and entered his father's spice mill and remained there for several years. In severing that business connection he entered the employ of the Knicker- bocker Ice Company, of Philadelphia, and subsequently was sent by them to Cape May to take charge of their business there in the capacity of super- intendent. This responsible and important position he has since ably filled and now has twenty-four men in his immediate employ, while nine wagons are used in the delivery of ice and coal sold by this company. Mr. Millet . is an enterprising business man and his executive force and capable manage- ment have not only. brought prosperity to the company which he represents but have also secured to him a very excellent salary that places him among the substantial men of Cape May. He is also a director in the Cape May Building & Loan Association.
Mr. Millet was united in marriage to Miss Ida Virginia Simpson, daugh- ter of Edward Simpson, a shipbuilder of Philadelphia. They now have four children : Jennie, the wife of Harry F. Ettinger, the manager of the Western Union Telegraph Company and the Delaware & Atlantic Telephone Com- pany at Cape May; Ida V .; Sara E .; and Thomas W. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Millet is a prominent and active worker, serving at the present time as a member and treasurer of the board of trustees. He belongs to Cape May Lodge, No. 31, F. & A. M., the Ancient Order of United. Workmen and the Independent Order of Hep- tasophs. A stalwart Republican in his political affiliations, he has been called to serve in various positions of trust and responsibility. For several years he was a member of the board of education of Cape May, and during that time many improvements were made in the schools and the new public- school building was erected.
Mr. Millet always has given his support to the measures which he be- lieves would prove beneficial to the cause of education. He was elected the mayor of Cape May city on the 14th of March, 1898, defeating J. Henry Edmonds, and is therefore the chief executive of the city. His administra- tion is characterized by law and order, by progress and reform. His success in business life has come to him through energy, labor, and perseverance, directed by an equally balanced mind and by honorable business principles. In manner he is quiet and straightforward, saying exactly what he means without the employment of useless compliments, yet his social qualities
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render him a favorite with all classes of citizens, and his career commands the respect of all.
JOHN WOOD HANNOLD.
Among the leading representatives of the agricultural interests of Glou- cester county and one well worthy of the esteem which is so freely and justly accorded him by his fellow townsmen, is J. Wood Hannold, who is identified with the farming interests of Deptford township. He was born in Paulsboro, New Jersey, April 20, 1842, and is a son of Frederick and Jane A. (Hendrick- son) Hannold. His father was a leading citizen, who throughout his entire life followed the river, sailing as captain on the Delaware. He died in Phila- delphia in 1882, at the age of sixty-six years. His father, Captain Frederick Hannold, was also commander of a boat on the Delaware river for many years. The maternal parents of our subject were Job and Permelia (Lock) Hendrickson; the former was a farmer of Greenwich township, Gloucester county, where he died about 1858. He reared six children, all of whom are yet living, their ages ranging from sixty to eighty-three years. At a birthday celebration of the eldest daughter in July, 1900, there were present twenty- nine grandchildren, eighty-one great-grandchildren and seven great-great- grandchildren, four generations being represented and all hale and hearty. The Hendricksons were among the first settlers of Swedesboro and were of Swedish lineage. The Hannold family settled at Paulsboro many years ago. The parents of our subject had seven children, of whom six are now living. namely: J. Wood, Samuel, William, Mary Ella, Evaline and Spencer M.
John Wood Hannold was reared in the county of his nativity, and pur- sued his education in the schools of Paulsboro. At the age of twenty years he began farming on his own account, residing first in the neighborhood of Paulsboro, after which he spent six years in Cumberland county, moving back to Woodbury in 1878, since which time he has been a resident of that place. He now owns a farm about three miles from Woodbury, where he has one hundred acres of fine land under a high state of cultivation. His business methods are practical and progressive, and the well-tilled fields yield to him a golden tribute for the care and labor bestowed upon them.
At the time of the civil war, however, Mr. Hannold put aside all personal considerations to engage in the service of his country, enlisting in 1861 as a member of the Twenty-fourth New Jersey Volunteer Infantry. He served for nine months in the army of the Potomac, participating in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. He now belongs to General Howell Post, G. A. R., of Woodbury, and is also a member of the Knights of Pythias
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fraternity, the Heptasophs, the Knights of the Mystic Chain, and formerly affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Improved Order of Red Men. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, unswerving in his advocacy of the principles of the party. He served for six years on the board of freeholders of Gloucester county and for two years in Cumberland county during his residence there. He attends all the conventions of the party and does everything in his power to promote the growth and secure the success of the political organization to which he gives his support.
Mr. Hannold was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Curts, a daughter of Lewis and Henrietta (Catell) Curts. She was born in Deptford township, Gloucester county, May 2, 1842, and was one of a family of five daughters and one son, namely: Sarah A., Mary E., Anna M., Harriet F., Chockley C. and Henrietta. All are living with the exception of the last named. Their parents resided in Gloucester county until 1860, when they removed to a farm on the Potomac river in Virginia, twenty-eight miles below Washing- ton. There they resided through the period of the civil war, their home being in the center of the war district. Both the father and mother are now deceased. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hannold has been blessed with ten children : Harvey H., Cleretta C., Lizzie P., Permelia H., Oscar, Chockley C., Woody J., John W., Lewis C. and Ada T. Of these, Permelia H., Oscar and Woody are now deceased. John W. married Mary A. Sagers and they have one child, Gertrude. Mr. and Mrs. Hannold are enterprising and prominent people of Gloucester county. His life has been an honorable, useful and industrious one, and in all relations of life he has commanded the respect and confidence of all with whom he has been associated.
SAMUEL H. GREY.
Samuel H. Grey, attorney general, residing at Camden, New Jersey, was born in this city April 6, 1836, and is a son of Philip James Grey, for many years a leading man in this section of the state, and Sarah Woolston Ste- phens, his wife, a member of an orthodox Quaker family. He spent his entire life in Camden, where he was educated at private schools kept by Hon. Fayette Grover, afterward the governor of Oregon and a senator from that state, and his brother Talleyrand. He studied law with Hon. Abraham Browning as his preceptor, the first attorney general appointed under the new constitution, and was admitted as an attorney at the November term, 1857, and as a counselor at the February term, 1861.
The attorney general long since achieved for himself a high reputation
Samuel H. Grey
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CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
as a lawyer, a pleader and an orator. He has figured in many prominent legal battles, in nearly all of which he has come out crowned with victory. His masterly conduct of the impeachment proceedings in the case of Prison- keeper Patrick H. Laverty, in 1886, when he acted as counsel for the house of assembly, brought about conviction by the state senate sitting as a high court of impeachment, and which was presided over by John W. Griggs, since governor of New Jersey. His argument before the supreme court in 1888, in support of the constitutionality of the local-option law, won for him a favorable decision, and the statute was not disturbed. With other eminent lawyers as his associates, he distinguished himself in the famous . controversy over the organization of the state senate in 1894, when a full bench of the supreme court sustained his interpretation of the constitutional law bearing on the case. Chief Justice Beasley delivered the opinion of the court, which declared that Maurice A. Rogers, Republican, was the duly elected president of the senate.
Twice has the attorney general been a presidential elector for New Jer- sey,-in 1872, when the vote of the state was cast for Grant and Wilson, and in 1896, when it was recorded for McKinley and Hobart. He served as a member of the constitutional commission of 1873, and was president of the constitutional commission of 1894.
In 1866 Mr. Grey was appointed prosecutor of the pleas for the county of Cape May, and served seven years. He served as a member of the Republican state executive committee from 1868 to 1871. Several times he has refused judicial and political honors. He could have gone to congress in 1874, when he declined a nomination in the first congressional district. Governor Griggs offered him the office of chief justice of the supreme court in 1897, which he declined. On March I of the same year he was nominated for attorney general, to succeed John P. Stockton, and he was unanimously confirmed by the senate on the 8th of that month. His term will expire on April 5, 1902, and his salary is seven thousand dollars a year.
The attorney general has been a director of the Camden Safe Deposit and Trust Company since its organization, in 1873, and he is the president of the West Jersey Title and Guaranty Company, a position he has occupied since its formation.
JARVIS WANSER.
The well known commandant of the Soldiers and Sailors' Home at Vine- land is Colonel Jarvis Wanser, who during the civil war "donned the blue" and aided in suppressing the rebellion in the south. His pleasant manner,
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genial disposition and executive ability well qualified him for his present office, and its duties he is now ably discharging.
The Colonel is a native of New Brunswick, New Jersey, his birth having occurred on the 30th of March, 1838. The name is of Holland Dutch origin, and the family was established on Long Island at an early day. The parents of our subject were Jarvis and Phoebe (Pearsall) Wanser, and the former was born at Hempstead, Long Island, where he spent the early part of his life. For a time he engaged in business as the proprietor of the old Fulton market in New York city, and subsequently he came to New Brunswick, New Jersey, purchasing a large farm in the suburbs. Subsequently he owned and managed two farms, but afterward took up his abode in the. . village, where he conducted the Raritan Hotel until his death. He was a prominent supporter of the Republican party and did all in his power to advance its interests. Both he and his wife attained the ripe old age of eighty years. In the family of this worthy couple were eight children. William H., now deceased, was for some years engaged in the fruit business in New York city. The other members of the family now living are: Mary, Rachel, John, Eliza and Jarvis.
Colonel Wanser, of this review, obtained his education in the public schools of his native town, and after entering upon his business career dealt quite extensively in fruit, using five wagons in the sale of this commodity. He was twenty-three years of age when he enlisted, on the 26th of August, 1862, for three years' service, in the war of the Rebellion, being assigned to Company H, Fourteenth New Jersey Infantry. He joined the army as a private, but meritorious conduct soon won him promotion to the rank of orderly sergeant of Company F, and later he was promoted first sergeant, second lieutenant, first lieuteant and then commissioned captain of Company B, Fourteenth New Jersey Infantry. On the Ist of June, 1864, at Cold Harbor, he was wounded by a minie ball in the knee and confined in the hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, for three months. Later he rejoined his regiment and assumed command of his company, continuing in that position until the close of hostilities. He participated in twenty important engage- ments, including the battles of South Mountain, Monocacy, the Wilderness, Cold Harbor and Spottsylvania. After his return from the war he connected himself with Company K, of the Third Regiment, New Jersey Militia, was made its captain, major and colonel, and served with that command for eight years.
When the Confederacy had been overthrown Colonel Wanser returned to New Brunswick, but soon afterward was appointed steward of the state prison in Trenton, and held that position for five years. Later he engaged
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CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY.
in the confectionery business at Easton, Pennsylvania, and thence came to Vineland, where he has engaged in the real-estate and insurance business for twenty-two years. In 1899, upon the founding of the Soldiers and Sailors' Home at Vineland, he was appointed commandant and is now capably filling that position.
In 1857 was celebrated the marriage of Colonel Wanser and Miss Sarah E. Britton, a daughter of John Britton, of New Brunswick. They now have two children,-Albert and Frank. The former, who is the proprietor of a clothing and men's furnishing goods store in Vineland, married Sarah Stew- art, and has two children,-Maria and Alvin. The younger son was formerly in the folding department in Washington, D. C., but is now associated with his brother in business. He married Miss Walman and has a daughter, Ruth.
Colonel Wanser casts his ballot in support of the men and measures of the Republican party and is one of the prominent advocates of the organiza- tion, doing all in his power to promote its growth and insure its success, for he believes most firmly in its principles. He is also a member of Lyon Post, No. 10, G. A. R., of Vineland, of which he has served as past commander, and is a member of the Presbyterian church. His business affairs have been capably conducted, and in all transactions he is thoroughly reliable and up- right. Upon the field of battle he displayed marked loyalty, and in the days of peace has been as faithful to his duties of citizenship as when he fol- lowed the stars and stripes. His social qualities render him a favorite among all classes, and he well deserves mention among the representative citizens of southern New Jersey.
HENRY F. SICKLER.
Henry Freas Sickier is one of the most influential and well known busi- ness men of Salem, Salem county, New Jersey, where he has been engaged as a brick mason for many years and has built up an enviable reputation as a workman of skill. Several generations of the family have made their home in this county until the name has come to be associated with its growth and prosperity. Three brothers left Germany to seek a home in the broad prairies of America, one of whom located at Camden, one at Friesburg, and one at Gloucester. The brother who settled at Friesburg is the one to whom our subject owes his name and indirectly his existence.
John Sickler was the grandfather of our subject and was born at Fries- burg, where he afterward followed farming. He had a large farm of five hundred acres in Piles Grove township and was one of the most successful
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husbandmen in the community. He was a Democrat and the family were members of the Baptist church. He was married to Hannah Freas and had seven children, viz: William, a farmer, who married Catherine Van Meter and died in Alloway, leaving four children,-Isaac. John, Elizabeth, and Mary Ann; Samuel, who died young; Henry, the father of our subject; John, who married Martha Redrow and has eight children,-Nathan, Wil- liam, Charles, John, Hannah, Harriet, Sarah and Mary; Elizabeth, the fifth child, married John McEwen, a wheelwright of Salem, by whom she has five children,-John, Elizabeth, Ellen, Rebecca and Mary; Hannah, who mar- ried Enos Reeves, a farmer, and has four children,-Enos, William, Anna and Hannah; Sarah was the youngest and married Richard Ballanger, a bricklayer and a prominent politician of Salem who at one time served as the sheriff of the county. Their children are Richard, Fenwick, Clement, John and Mary. The grandfather died at the age of sixty years and was sur- vived several years by his wife who reached the age of eighty years.
Henry Sickler was born in 1810 in the same county as his father and his son. He was a blacksmith and wheelwright and carried on his trade for several years in a most successful manner. He acquired a considerable prop- erty and was considered a most successful man of business. He purchased a farm which he operated and lived on a number of years at Woodstown. He was public-spirited and took great interest in all local affairs, a prominent worker in local politics and contributed in no small way to the success of the Republican ticket. He married Miss Hannah Dickison, by whom he had three children, two sons and a daughter, namely: Smith, who was born in March, 1833, and is a brick manufacturer in Salem: he married Mary Freas and has two children; Mary, who was born in 1837 and married Josiah Medeira, a horse dealer of Woodstown: they have two children,-John and George; the second son is our subject, Henry. The father died while yet a young man, in 1838, and was survived almost a half century by his widow, who was called to her reward April 12, 1882, at the age of seventy-three years. The maternal grandfather was William Dickison, who also was a native of Piles Grove township and for the greater part of his life a farmer near Woodstown. He married Mary Hall and reared two sons and two daughters, namely : Charles, who is still living at the advanced age of ninety- two years and is a farmer at Shiloh : he married Harriet Bacon and has three children,-Charles, William, and Mary: William was in the war of the Rebellion; Edward, who married and has children, and is a farmer in McKean county, Pennsylvania; Hannah; and Achsah, who married Allen Wallace and has four sons and four daughters,-Edward, Allen, John,
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Frank, Achsah, Rachel, Sarah Hannah and Mary. The grandfather died at the age of sixty-six years.
Henry Freas Sickler, the second child of his parents, was born in Woods- town, this county, November 10, 1835. He remained on the farm with his mother for several years and then went to Salem, where he attended the public schools. After leaving school he took charge of his mother's farm and afterward followed the same occupation for a year or more in the state of Ohio. Returning to New Jersey he learned the trade of brickmason and has worked at that business continually since. He learned the trade of the firm of French & Sickler, and he afterward became a partner, with James E. Dunham and Westly Parker, and from that time the firm was known as Dunham, Parker & Sickler. Mr. Parker afterward withdrew from the firm and they continued as Dunham & Sickler for twenty years, until 1887, when the partnership was dissolved. He did work all through this state, in Dela- ware and other places, and has erected many of our finest public buildings. He employed some twenty men and did the greater part of the work in this vicinity, giving to it his personal supervision. One of the most prominent buildings erected by him is the Friends' Hotel. He still does a large business and possesses considerable property.
January 1, 1861, Mr. Sickler was united in matrimony to Miss Anna Ward, a daughter of David and Sarah Ward, farmers of Kirkswood, Dela- ware. They have four children: Hannah, born May 29, 1864, is a cashier; Margaret, born December 23, 1866, was married in 1894 to John Radcliff, who is a clerk in the Pennsylvania Railway office at Camden, but whose residence is Salem. They have one child, Henry Ratcliffe; Dora, born April 29, 1872, is a teacher in the public schools of Salem and resides at home; and Elsie, born August 8, 1878, is a Western Line operator at Salem and resides at home. Mrs. Sickler died at the age of forty-three years, in 1881, and was deeply mourned by the many friends who had been drawn to her by her charming personality and gracious manner. Mr. Sickler is a member of the board of trustees of the Baptist church, is a Knight of Pythias and served as councilman for the first ward.
JOSEPH MULFORD BACON.
Among the men who are prominently connected with the business inter- ests of Salem, Salem county, New Jersey, is the genial agent of the West Jersey Express Company whose name appears above, and whose kindly dis- position and obliging manners have made him a universal favorite. He is
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well known throughout the county, this city having been his birth place September 18, 1848. His parents are Smith and Elizabeth (Freas) Bacon, and he traces his ancestry back to Uriah Bacon, who was born probably in Long Island and was the great-grandfather of our subject. Uriah Bacon was a cooper by trade and settled in Salem county, where he plied his craft. He married a lady whose maiden name was Sarah Dare, and had four chil- dren: Joseph; Hannah, wife of Edward Davis; Elizabeth, wife of Jeremiah Davis; and Phoebe, who married Sylvanus Sheppard. Uriah Bacon died at Rhoadestown, Cumberland county, this state, at the ripe old age of ninety- four years. He had a brother, Joseph, who fought in the Revolutionary war and lost his life in the Hancock Bridge massacre.
Joseph Bacon, the eldest child of Uriah, was the grandfather of our sub- ject and was born in Rhoadestown, Cumberland county. He was a cooper, having learned the trade of his father, and followed it in his native town. He married Jane Mulford and reared six children: John; Sarah, wife of Charles Peterson; Jane, wife of Jacob Diver, a farmer; Uriah, Joseph, and Smith, the father of our subject. He was sixty-five years old at his death.
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