USA > New Jersey > Cyclopedia of New Jersey Biography > Part 12
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TALMAGE, Thomas DeWitt,
Noted Divine and Lecturer.
Rev. Thomas De Witt Talmage was born at Bound Brook, Somerset county, New Jersey, January 7, 1832, the youngest of twelve children-five girls and seven boys. His father, David T. Talmage, was a farm- er, whose predominant traits were geni- ality, firmness and decision of character. His mother was a woman of marked ami- ability, gentleness, and keen wit. In the son's character these traits appeared to be very nearly united. For more than a quar- ter of a century the Talmage ancestry were members of the Reformed Dutch Church, in which David T. Talmage was a leading official.
Thomas De Witt Talmage's preliminary studies were made in the grammar school at New Brunswick, New Jersey, under Pro- fessor Thompson. In his early life he showed the possession of acute powers of observation and a retentive memory. En- dowed with great bodily vigor, he was en- thusiastic in all that he undertook. His
entrance into the church was undoubtedly on account of the fact that two of his uncles, one brother-in-law, and three brothers had become ministers of the gospel. At the age of eighteen he joined the church, and the following year entered the -University of the City of New York. Here he did not exhibit any great brilliancy, but displayed a talent in oratory and dramatic capacity which made him notable and attracted at- tention on exhibition days. It is said of him, also, that as a scholar in belles-lettres he was without a rival among all the stil- dents of his period in the university. He was graduated in May, 1853, the exercises being held in Niblo's Garden, New York City, and his oration aroused the audience to a high pitch of enthusiasm. Its subject was, "The Moral Effects of Sculpture and Ar- chitecture," and it was published in full in one of the New York daily papers, being the first literary article of Mr. Talmage's ever printed. At the close of his college studies De Witt imagined himself interest- ed in the law, and became a student in a law office, where he remained for three years. He then conceived that he had made a mistake, and prepared himself for the ministry at the Reformed Dutch Church Theological Seminary in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and was ordained by the Reformed Dutch Classis of Bergen.
Just after his ordination, the young min- ister received two calls-one from Pier- mont, New York, the other from Belleville, New Jersey. He accepted the latter, filled that charge for three years, and was then called to Syracuse, New York, where his talents for preaching frequently crowded the church, and began to be noted. About this time Mr. Talmage married Miss Avery, of Brooklyn, by whom he had two children, a girl and a boy. Afterward he became pastor of the Second Reforme.1 Dutch Church of Philadelphia, where his sermons were first published, and gained almost immediate recognition and populari- ty. Here Mr. Talmage had the misfortune
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to lose his wife by a drowning accident on the Schuykill river. Two years later he married his second wife, Susan C. Whitte- more, of Brooklyn, by whom he had several children.
Mr. Talmage remained in Philadelphia seven years, during which period he first entered upon the lecture platform, and laid the foundation for his future reputation At the end of this time he received calls from Chicago, from San Francisco, and from the Central Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn. The latter church comprised only nineteen members, with a congrega- tion of about thirty-five. He was offered a salary of $7000, and accepted the call. He went to Brooklyn in March, 1869, and his congregation increased from the first Sun- day. After preaching for fifteen months in the old church, he induced the trustees to sell the property and erect a new edifice, to be known as the Brooklyn Tabernacle, of- fering to give up his salary until the new plan proved a success. Work upon the church was begun in 1870, and, while it was being erected, Mr. Talmage made a visit to Europe, staying chiefly in England, Scot- land, and Ireland. The tabernacle was com. pleted the same year, the ground site re- sembling a horseshoe, large enough to en- close within its sides half an acre of ground. On the morning of Sunday, December 22, 1872, the building was burned to the ground. Prompt sympathy and general liberality, however, soon gave promise of a new church, and meanwhile Mr. Talmage preached to vast audiences in the Academy of Music. The cornerstone of the new tab- ernacle in Schermerhorn street was laid on Sunday, June 7, 1873, and it was formally opened in February of the follow- ing year. It contained seats for 4,650, but when the church was crowded, nearly 7,000 persons could be accommodated within its walls. Mr. Talmage had previously intro- duced the innovation of abolishing the choir, and establishing congregational sing- ing, with a precentor leading, and the en-
tire congregation joining in the hymns. In this new tabernacle Mr. Talmage's individ- uality most prominently manifested itself, his dramatic capacities and peculiar meth- ods of driving home the forcible words of his sermons, giving rather a theatrical char- acter to his preaching. Nevertheless, he succeeded in holding a large body of earn- est persons together, and interesting them in practical religion. Meanwhile the church was in debt to the amount of $72,000, and was obliged to call upon an individual known as the "great church debt raiser." With his assistance, Mr. Talmage putting his name down for $5,000, the congregation pledged themselves to raise $42,000, and the remainder was soon after secured from private subscription. In October, 1878, the pastor's salary was raised from $7,000 to $12,000. In the autumn of 1889 the sec- ond tabernacle was destroyed by fire. It was just at the time when Dr. Talmage was about starting on a trip to Palestine and the East. At first he announced his de- termination of giving up his tour on ac- count of this misfortune. This, however, the trustees and the congregation would not listen to, and, as it became evident that the disaster would only be of a temporary char- acter, Dr. Talmage started at the time he originally designed, and went first to Lon- don, where he had a very flattering recep- tion, thence to Greece and to the Holy Land, becoming enthusiastic as he traversed the memorable places, and send- ing home brilliant descriptions of what he saw and the thoughts inspired. After his return home in 1890, while the new struc- ture was in process of erection, Dr. Tal- mage divided his time on Sundays between New York and Brooklyn, preaching in the Academies of Music of those two cities. The new tabernacle was completed in time for the Easter service, 1891.
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The University of New York conferred the degree of A.M. upon him in 1862, and he received that of D.D. from the Univer- sity of Tennessee in 1884. Dr. Talmage
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Aaron P. Condit
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published numerous lectures and addresses in the magazines, and was the author of "Crumbs Swept Up," (1870) ; "Sermons," (4 vols., New York, 1872-75) ; "Abomin- ations of Modern Society," (New York, 1872 ; 2d ed., 1876) ; "Old Wells Dug Out,' (1874) ; "Sports That Kill," (New York, 1875) ; "Night Sides of City Life," (1878) ; "The Brooklyn Tabernacle ; a Collection of 104 Sermons," (1884), and "The Marriage Ring," (1886). Dr. Talmage also supple- mented his clerical duties by editing "The Christian at Work" (1873-76) ; "The Ad- vance" (Chicago, 1877-78), and "Frank Leslie's Sunday Magazine.
SEWELL, William Joyce,
Civil War Veteran, Statesman.
William Joyce Sewell was born at Castlc- bar, Ireland, December 6, 1835. Losing his parents at an early age, he came to America in 1851 and obtained employment in New York City. Subsequently he made two voyages to Australia and China, before the mast, and upon his return he first set- tled in Chicago, Illinois, and later removed to Camden, New Jersey.
At the beginning of the Civil War he entered the service as a captain in the Fifth New Jersey Infantry. He partici- pated in nearly all the battles of the Army of the Potomac; and in the desperate battle of Chancellorsville, while leading a brilli- ant charge in command of the Second New Jersey Brigade, he captured eight stands of the enemy's colors, and recaptured the flag of a New York regiment. At the close of the war he was mustered out as brigadier- general, and by special act of Legislature was given the same rank in the National Guard of New Jersey. He was brevetted major-general by the President, and receiv- ed from Congress a medal of honor.
After the war he became actively inter- ested in railroads, and was vice-president of the West New Jersey line and a director of the Pennsylvania road. In 1872 he was
elected to the State Senate as a representa- tive from Camden county, and by reelec- tions served until 1881, being president of that body in 1876, 1879 and 1880. He se- cured the passage of the municipal railroad tax law, which added large revenues to the State. In 1881 he was chosen United States Senator, and served by re-election until his death. General Sewell was a mem- ber of the National Republican Conventions of 1876, 1880, 1888, 1892, and 1896. At the time of his death he was president of the Camden & Philadelphia Ferry Co .; a director in the American and Red Star lines of steamships, in the Camden Safe Deposit & Trust Co .; in the Farmers & Mechanics National Bank of Woodbury, in the Sec- ond National Bank of Bridgeton, in the Chicago Junction railways, and in the Union Stockyards Companies ; a trustee of the New York Mutual Life Insurance Company ; a member of the Union League Club of Philadelphia, of the Camden Re- publican Club, and of many charitable or- ganizations.
He was twice married. His first wife died in 1861, and after the Civil War he was married to Helen L. Heyl. He died at Camden, New Jersey, December 27, 1901, survived by two sons and three daughters.
CONDIT, Aaron Peck,
Merchant, Man of Affairs.
Aaron Peck Condit, late of Madison, New Jersey, was born December 17, 1839, at Orange, Essex county, New Jersey, son of Samuel and Phoebe (Peck) Condit, and a lineal descendant of John Cunditt (or Condit) who was first of record in this country in 1678. The family was in all probability of Norman descent, but the an- cestor came to this country from Wales. They were people of distinction in England, even at that early day, and in America the family is one of the largest, best known and most respected in the country. It has given to the republic statesmen, judges, lawyers,
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divines and business men of high standing in the communities where they have located. The main characteristics of these people are a sturdy independence, excellent judgment, sound common sense, downright integrity and adherence to truth and righteousness. These characteristics have descended from father to son and are as pronounced among those bearing the name to-day as they were among the earlier generations.
Aaron Peck Condit was the sixth in lineal descent from John Cunditt, the immigrant ancestor, the line being as follows: Samuel Condit (5), born March 22, 1798, died October 22, 1864, and Phoebe Peck, his wife, daughter of James Peck. Samuel Condit (4), born August 16, 1761, died August 31, 1822, and Hannah Harrison, his wife, daughter of Ichabod Harrison. Daniel Condit (3), born December 27, 1723, died November II, 1785, and Ruth, daugh- ter of Gershom Williams. Samuel Condit (2), born December 6, 1696, died July 18, 1777, and Mary Dodd, born November 8,
1698, died May 25, 1755. Peter Condit (1) died in 1714, and Mary, daughter of Samuel Harrison. Peter Condit (1) or Cunditt was a son of the original John Cun- ditt. Two of these ancestors were patriot soldiers in the Revolution.
Until he was fifteen years of age Mr. Condit attended the public schools of East Orange, afterward continuing his studies under the tuition of Rev. David H. Pierson, a distinguished teacher who for many years conducted a seminary at Elizabeth, New Jer- sey. Mrs. Pierson was a cousin of Mr. Condit. For four years after leaving school he remained with his father on the farm, but a business life appealed to him and he went to Fremont, Ohio, and entered into partnership with his brother, Samuel D. Condit, carrying on a dry goods business under the firm name of Condit Brothers. Later, William W. Brant, of Belleville, New Jersey, was admitted to the firm and shortly after this Mr. Condit returned to
New Jersey on account of ill health, re- taining his connection with the store, how- ever, as resident buyer, his brother having retired from the business. Mr. Condit was. also interested in a dry goods business at Mansfield, Ohio, under the name of A. P. Condit & Company, this store being in charge of Captain A. H. Condit, formerly of Morristown, New Jersey. In 1875 he retired from the dry goods trade and until his death, February II, 1912, was a dealer and broker in real estate, in which he was rewarded with rare success.
Mr. Condit was connected with the Re- publican party from its organization. For eight years he was a member of the Com- mon Council of the borough of Florham Park, which was a part of Chatham town- ship, Morris county, and was also on the Republican Committee of that borough. In 1881 he transferred his membership to the First Presbyterian Church of Madison, where he became a faithful attendant. For seven- teen years he was a member of the board of trustees and part of that time acted as presi- dent of that body. He was made a Master Mason in Brainard Lodge, No. 336, Fre- mont, Ohio, and became a Royal Arch Ma- son in Fremont Chapter, No. 64, of Fre- mont ; he was made a Knight Templar in Toledo Commandery, No. 7, of Toledo, Ohio. Mr. Condit also held membership in the New Jersey Historical Society, and the Sons of the American Revolution of New Jersey.
On December 17, 1861, at Hanover, Mor- ris county, New Jersey, Mr. Condit was married to Sarah Antoinette Ward, born September 2, 1839, daughter of Joseph C. and Eliza (Camp) Ward, who survives him with the following children: Grace, born October 14, 1862, married Chester C. Brown; Henrietta W., born October 15, 1864; Charles B., born December 21, 1865; two others, Rowland, born in 1868, and Mortimer B., born in 1870, died in infancy ..
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THOMAS N. McCARTER, SR.
CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
McCARTER, Thomas Nesbitt,
Prominent Lawyer and Jurist.
Thomas Nesbitt McCarter was for a per- iod of more than a half century one of the most distinguished members of the legal profession in New Jersey, and filled with distinction many highly responsible and im- portant offices both by election by the peo- ple and by choice of corporations and offi- cials. In his college days he became noted for his brilliancy in debate, and this gift of oratory brought him remarkable success in after years.
Mr. McCarter's lineage was of the best. His earliest known ancestor, Robert Mc- Carter, resided in County Donegal, Ireland, and his son John came to Philadelphia in 1774, and at once found a prominent place in the budding republic. Governor Bloomfield appointed him surrogate of Mor- ris county, and later a Master in Chancery ; subsequently he became clerk of Morris county, a position he held until his death in 1807. This John McCarter was not only noted for his honesty and business ability, but also for his intellect, as his literary ability had been displayed in frequent con- tributions to the press both in Ireland and America.
Robert Harris McCarter, son of John McCarter, was born March 16, 1793, and died March 8, 1851. He was appointed as- sistant to the county clerk, and began the study of law so that he was able to receive appointment to that position when not quite twenty-one years of age. Later he became judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and a justice of the peace, presiding for a long time in Sussex county, and also serving in the Court of General Quarter Sessions. Af- ter acting as Supreme Court Commissioner, in 1840 he was made deputy sheriff. Gov- ernor Haines appointed him a member of the Court of Errors and Appeals. He was a Democrat, and was a delegate to many State, congressional and county conven- tions of his party, and was a presidential
elector on the Jackson ticket in 1828. He had also a large commercial business, and was a director of the Morris Turnpike Company. This remarkable instance of con- tinued success was repeated in the next generation.
With such an inheritance of the qualities which make assured the accomplishment of legal work-force of character, scholarly instincts, unusual mental capacity, oratorical gifts and keenness of wit, the profession of his son, Thomas Nesbitt McCarter, was de- termined beforehand. He was born Janu- ary 31, 1824, in Morristown, New Jersey, and died in Newark, January II, 1901. After attending the Newton Academy he was prepared for college by the Rev. Clark- son Dunn, and entered the junior class of Princeton at the age of sixteen. Here he was a prominent member of the debating society known as the Whig Society, and at the same time took high rank as a student. In September, 1842, he was graduated with honors, was one of the commencement ora- tors, and five years later received the de- gree of Master of Arts. His study of law began in the office of Martin Ryerson, at Newton, New Jersey, and his admission to the bar was in October, 1845, as attorney, and in the following January as a counsellor. From 1845 to 1853 he was a partner of his distinguished preceptor, and until the re- moval of the latter to Trenton, when Mr. McCarter continued practicing independent- ly in Newton. Here his industry, integrity and peculiar fitness rapidly made for him a large practice. The smallest problem of litigation was carefully studied, and he gave closest attention to the minutest detail of every case. He was made collector of Sussex county in 1854, and was continued in that office for three years. In 1862, by a fortunate union of two political parties, he was sent to the Assembly, and in that body was chairman of the committee on ways and means, prepared a new tax law, and was in all respects an active and influential legislator.
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In 1860, Governor Olden, recognizing Mr. McCarter's abilities, tendered him a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court, and in 1866 the offer was renewed by Governor Ward. On both occasions he declined the honor, preferring to continue in his practice. In 1865 he removed to Newark, and met with continued success. In 1868 he enter- ed into partnership with Oscar Keen, which connection continued until 1882. He after- ward became senior member of the firm of McCarter, Williamson & McCarter, in which the junior partners were his sons Robert H. and Thomas N., and his son-in- law, Edwin B. Williamson. The leading member of the firm possessed such a high reputation in both Sussex and Essex coun- ties that this soon became known as one of the strongest law firms in the State, dealing particularly with corporation law. Mr. McCarter had a commanding presence, dignified, and the personification of nobility and justice. His arguments were conducted with sound and convincing logic. His deep learning, both with regard to jurisprudence and literature, his grasp of difficult legal questions, and his wit and repartee, were almost unequalled in any of the courts of the State.
Before the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. McCarter was nominated as a presi- dential elector on the Douglas ticket. The following year he renounced the party, whose sentiments as to the war he did not approve, and in 1864 he advocated the elec- tion of Lincoln. Since that stormy period, his sympathies and support were entirely given to the Republicans, and he was a pres- idential elector on the Hayes and Wheeler ticket in 1876. Governor Bedle appointed him one of the commissioners to determine the boundary between New York and New Jersey, other members being Professor Cook, of Rutgers College, and Hon. Abram Browning, of Camden. He became a di- rector of and counsel for the Sussex Rail- road Company, while living in Newton, and for several years held similar relations with
the Morris Canal and Banking Company, and he was also a director of the Sussex bank. Various corporations were glad to entrust their legal business to him, among them the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company ; the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Rail- road Company, the Morris & Essex Rail- road Company, the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company, the East Jer- sey Water Company, the New Jersey Zinc and Iron Company. He was also a director of the Peoples' Mutual Insurance Company of Newark, and the Easton & Amboy Rail- road Company. He was a trustee of Evelyn College, and also of Princeton College for many years. He delivered the annual com- mencement address in 1868 before the Whig and Clio societies at Princeton, and in 1875 the institution conferred upon him the hon- orary degree of Doctor of Laws. He was also an incorporator of the Dickinson Law School at Carlisle, Pennsylvania ; fellow of the American Geographical Society; vice- president of the Scotch-Irish 'Society of America ; and a inember of the Washington Association of Morristown, New Jersey, and the Princeton Club of New York. He was an organizer and the only president of the old Citizens' Law and Order League of Newark. In religious connections he was a Presbyterian, and in his nature and life dis- played the purest Christian principles.
He married Mary Louise, daughter of Uzal C. Haggerty, of Newton; she died June 28, 1896, five years before her husband passed away. Of their six children, Robert Harris is a practicing lawyer; Uzal H. is a financier, in Newark; Thomas N. Jr., a lawyer, is president of the Public Service Corporation.
STRONG, Woodbridge,
Member of Prominent Legal Family.
Judge Woodbridge Strong traced his de- scent from several of the earliest settlers of the American colonies. Among the di- rect ancestors were: John Eliot, the
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WOODBRIDGE STRONG
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Horace . number
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"Apostle to the Indians;" Governors Dud- ley, of Massachusetts ; Leete, of Connecti- cut; and Brenton, of Rhode Island. Elder John Strong, the first of the name of Strong, came from England in 1630, and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts. From him the descent is as follows: (I) Thomas Strong married Rachel Holton (second wife). (II) Justice Joseph Strong mar- ried Sarah Allen. (III) Captain Joseph Strong married Elizabeth Strong. (IV) Rev. Joseph Strong married Jane Gelston. (V) Rev. Joseph Strong married Sophia Woodbridge.
(VI) Professor Theodore Strong, son ot Rev. Joseph and Sophia (Woodbridge) Strong, was born in South Hadley, Massa- chusetts, July 26, 1790. He was graduated from Yale College in 1812 with the first prize in mathematics. He was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Hamilton College from 1816 until 1827, and at Rutgers College from 1827 until 1863, and was one of the most distinguish- ed mathematicians in the country. He died at New Brunswick, New Jersey, February I, 1869. He married, September 23, 1818, Lucy, who died November, 1875, daughter of Rev. John Dix, of Littleton, Massachu- setts.
(VII) Woodbridge Strong, son of Professor Theodore and Lucy (Dix) Strong, was born in Clinton, Oneida coun- ty, New York, February 21, 1827. He came to New Brunswick, New Jersey, with his parents, and has resided there since that time. He was christened Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge Strong, but dropped the first two names. He entered Rutgers College in 1847, then commenced the study of law with his brother-in-law, Hon. John Van Dyke, of New Brunswick, afterward a jus- tice of the Supreme Court. During the gold fever of 1849 he went to California and was one of the first to discover the gold in Oregon. Returning to New Jersey in 1851 he resumed his studies and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1852. He was admitted
as counselor in November, 1872, and was judge of Middlesex County Court of Com- mon Pleas from 1874 to 1879, and again from 1896 to 1906.
He married Harriet A., daughter of Hon. Jonathan Hartwell, of Littleton, Massachu- setts, and a direct descendant of Willianı Hartwell, who settled in Concord, Massa- chusetts, in 1636, and of Anthony Dix, who came to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1623. Another of her ancestors was John Hart- well, who served as a minute-man and was a private in the company of Captain Brooks, in a Massachusetts regiment. Another an- cestor was Seth Walker, who served with distinction during the Revolutionary War as a captain of marines, and afterward rose to the rank of colonel in the militia. Among the children of Woodbridge and Harriet A. (Hartwell) Strong were two sons who em- braced the legal profession-Alan H., grad- uate of Rutgers College, solicitor of Penn- sylvania Railroad Company, etc .; and Ed- ward W., of Cincinnati, Ohio, formerly counsel for the Baltimore & Ohio, and other railroad companies.
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