USA > New Jersey > Cyclopedia of New Jersey Biography > Part 26
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
(X) William MacIlvaine, son of Wil-
II-11
161
CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
liam and Anne (Emerson) MacIlvaine, was born in Philadelphia, July 8, 1750, and died at his home in Burlington, New Jer- sey, September 16, 1806. In 1766 he went to Scotland, where he entered the Univer- sity of Edinburgh, and received his degree of Doctor of Medicine from this institu- tion. He returned to America in 1773, and resided in the family homes in Philadel- phia and Bristol. He took an active part in the Revolution from its very beginning, and was captain of the Light Infantry As- sociated Company, in Bristol, of which his brother was major. July 4, 1776, it was ordered by the Committee of Safety at Philadelphia "That Captain Davis and Captain MacIlvaine be empowered and di- rected to take up six shallops to transport a battalion of troops from this city to Bor- dentown, to sail tomorrow." William Mac- Ilvaine was surgeon in Captain Read's reg- iment in 1776. He was commissioned a justice of the peace for Bucks county, Sep- tember 7, 1784, and as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, September 10, 1784. Af- ter his second marriage he removed to Phil- adelphia, where he practiced his profession until 1793. In that year of the yellow fever epidemic he sent his family to Burlington, New Jersey, for refuge from the scourge. He remained in Philadelphia, true to his calling, contracted the fever, and was nurs- ed back to health by an old black servant. He succeeded in keeping the fact of his ill- ness from his family, but upon his restor- ation to health, he joined them in Burling- ton, and was a resident practitioner there until his death. While living in Philadel- phia he was a regular attendant at the First Presbyterian Church, but in Bristol and Burlington he attended the Episcopal church, and his children were baptized in it.
Dr. MacIlvaine married (first) Novem- ber 6, 1773, Margaret Rodman, born Sep- tember 20, 1752, died February 22, 1881, a daughter of Judge William and Mary (Reeve) Rodman, of "Flushing," Bucks
county, Pennsylvania, and a granddaugh- ter of John Reeve, of Burlington, New Jer- sey. He married (second) Rebecca Cox, born February 3, 1760, died September 13, 1783, daughter of William Cox, Esq. He married (third) Mary Shippen, born August 15, 1757, died March 14. 1831, a daughter of Edward Shippen, chief justice of Pennsylvania, and his wife, Margaret (Francis) Shippen. Dr. MacIlvaine and his second and third wives were buried in St. Mary's churchyard, Burlington. By the first marriage there were children : I. Mary Anne, born August 10, 1774, died May 30, 1814; married, December 7, 18II, General Jonathan Rhea. 2. Rachel, died November 16, 1720; married Dr. John 4 Ruan. 3. Hannah, died in infancy. Elizabeth, died in infancy. Children by third marriage: 5. William, born May 2, 1786, died August 9, 1854. 6. Edward Shippen, of further mention. 7. Marga- ret, born November 25, 1788, died January 14, 1864. 8. Joseph B., born January 15, 1790, died July 14, 1847; married Mary Anne Murray. 9. Mary, died unmarried, December 7, 1869.
Edward Shippen, great-great-grandfath- er of Mary (Shippen) MacIlvaine, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1639. He was president of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania. He married Elizabeth Ly- brand.
Joseph, son of Edward Shippen, of Phil- adelphia, was born in Boston, February 28. 1678-9. "He was among the men of science of his day, and in 1727, he joined Dr. Franklin in founding the Junto, 'for mutual information and public good.'" He died in Germantown, Philadelphia, in June, 1741. He married (first) July 28, 1702, Abigail Grosse, and (second) Rose Budd, widow of John McWilliams and of Charles Plumley.
Judge Edward Shippen, "of Lancaster," son of Joseph and Abigail (Grosse) Ship- pen, was born in Boston, July 9, 1703. He was brought up as a merchant by James ..
I62
CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
Logan, and was associated in business with him in 1732, under the style of Logan & Shippen. In 1749 he was associated with Thomas Lawrence, in the fur trade, the firm doing business under the name of Shippen & Lawrence. For many years he served in the City Council, was mayor of Philadelphia in 1744, and judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in 1749 and 1750. He removed to Lancaster in May, 1752, was there appointed pro- thonotary, and filled this office until 1778. He had large transactions as paymaster for supplies for the British and Provincial for- ces, when commanded by General Forves, General Stanwix and Colonel Bouquet, and managed them with so much integrity as to receive public thanks in 1760. He served as county judge under the Provin- cial and State governments. In early life he laid out Shippensburg. In 1748-49 he was one of the founders of the College of New Jersey, and was a member of the first board of trustees, holding this position un- til his resignation in 1767. He was a fine French scholar, and was one of the sub- scribers to the Philadelphia Academy, later the University of Pennsylvania. His death occurred in Lancaster, September 25, 1781. Judge Shippen married (first) September 20, 1725, Sarah Plumley, born November 8, 1706, died April 28, 1735, a daughter of Charles and Rose (Budd) Plumley. He married (second) in August, 1747, Mary, widow of John Nowland.
Chief Justice Edward Shippen, son of Judge Edward and Sarah (Plumley) Ship- pen, was born in Philadelphia, February 16, 1728-9, and died in that city, April 16, I806. He was admitted to the Middle Temple, London, in 1749, and was admit- ted to practice as a barrister in 1750. No- vember 22, 1752, he was appointed judge of the Admiralty Court in Philadelphia ; in 1765 he was appointed prothonotary of the Supreme Court; December 12, 1770, ap- pointed a member of the Governor's Coun- cil; May I, 1784, appointed judge of the her poems, have great literary merit. Mr.
Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia ; September 16, 1784, judge of the High Court of Errors and Appeals; in 1785, elected a justice of the Dock Ward; Octo- ber 4, 1785, appointed president of the Court of Quarter Sessions and General Jail Delivery ; January 29, 1791, appointed an associate judge of the Supreme Court, an office he filled until 1799, when he was appointed Chief Justice, and held this of- fice until his death, April 16, 1806. Judge Shippen married, in Christ Church, Phila- delphia, November 29, 1753, Margaret, born in Talbot county, Maryland, August 17, 1735, died in Philadelphia, May 28, 1794, a daughter of Tench Francis, attor- ney-general of Pennsylvania, and Eliza- beth (Turbett) Francis.
(XI) Edward Shippen MacIlvaine, son of Dr. William and Mary (Shippen) Mac- Ilvaine, was born in Philadelphia, October I, 1787, and died September 13, 1843. In young manhood he became a resident of Hunterdon county, New Jersey, and was a representative for the county in the Gen- eral Assembly from 1830 to 1835. For some years prior to his death he was de- barred from taking an active part in pub- lic life by gout, from which he was a great sufferer. He was commissioned first lieu- tenant of the First Battalion of Cavalry, First Regiment of Hunterdon county, New Jersey, militia, May 13, 1815. In 1824, while an aide-de-camp to his uncle, Gover- nor Bloomfield, he escorted General La Fayette from Princeton to Trenton, dur- ing the latter's visit to America. Mr. Mac- Ilvaine married, October 21, 1812, Esther Rodman, born June 29, 1791, died Octo- ber 17, 1860, a daughter of William and Esther (West) Rodman. She was widely known for her beauty and brilliant mind, was with her brother-in-law, J. Clancy Jones, while he was envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Austria, and was present at the coronation of Fran- cis Joseph. Her letters of that time, and
163 . .
CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
and Mrs. MacIlvaine had one child: Wil- liam Rodman, of further mention.
William Rodman, father of Esther (Rodman) MacIlvaine, was born at "Flushing," Bensalem township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in October, 1757, and died there, July 27, 1824. He was a son of William and Mary (Reeve) Rod- man, and a grandson of Dr. John and Mary (Willett) Rodman, of Burlington, New Jersey. May 23, 1778, William Rod- man took the affirmation of allegiance and fidelity to the State of Pennsylvania, di- rected by the Act of 1777, and for this he was "disowned" by the Society of Friends. October 4, 1781, he was appointed brigade quartermaster of the militia, under Briga- dier-General Lacey, stationed at New- town, Pennsylvania, and served until the militia was disbanded shortly prior to the close of the Revolutionary War. He was a justice of the peace for Bucks county from 1791 to 1800, when he resigned his commission to take his seat in the Senate of Pennsylvania. There his career was a prominent one, as chairman of a number of important committees, and twice he receiv- ed a large vote for the speakership. After four years' service in the Senate he de- clined re-election. He was elected to Con- gress in 1810, taking his seat at the extra session, November 4, 1811, and his service ended with the Twelfth Congress, March 3, 1813, which was the Congress which de- clared war against Great Britain. In 1799 he served as captain of dragoons in the service of the United States for the sup- pression of the "Fries" insurrection in Northampton county, Pennsylvania; was a presidential elector in 1809, and cast his vote for James Madison.
(XII) William Rodman MacIlvaine, son of Edward Shippen and Esther (Rod- man) MacIlvaine, was born in Ewing township, Hunterdon (now Mercer) coun- ty, New Jersey, December 10, 1820. He lived on the homestead during the early part of his life, and later in Trenton, New
Jersey. He was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Mercer county by a joint meeting of the Legislature in 1853; re-elected in 1858 and in 1863, serving fif- teen years. He was a senior warden of St. Michael's Episcopal Church, in Tren- ton. His career was one of great useful- ness, and he was always known as a pure- minded, honest and upright citizen. He married, May 1I, 1842, Christina Reeder Scudder, born October 26, 1823, died at Trenton, February 18, 1894. Children : I. Edward Shippen, of further mention. 2. Jasper Scudder, born May 20, 1844, was graduated with first honors at Princeton. He became a Presbyterian minister, and died while a missionary in China, Febru- ary 2, 1881. 3. Maria, born February 12, 1849, died unmarried, October 12, 1868. 4. Francis Rodman, born July 12, 1855, died August 7, 1856.
Jasper Smith Scudder, father of Chris- tina Reeder (Scudder) MacIlvaine, was born in 1797, died October 20, 1877. His ancestors came to New Jersey from Long Island in 1709. He was paying teller of the Trenton Bank for about thirty years; treasurer of the State Hospital from the time it was built until shortly before his death; and was the first president of the Mechanics' Bank of Trenton.
(XIII) Edward Shippen MacIlvaine, son of William Rodman and Christina Reeder (Scudder) MacIlvaine, was born in Ewing township, Mercer county, New Jersey, March 28, 1843, and died in Tren- ton, New Jersey, January 8, 1910. He was graduated from the Lawrenceville School in 1858, and entered Princeton College as a sophmore and a member of the class of 1861. Ill health obliged him to interrupt his studies, and he was traveling abroad when the news of the outbreak of the Civil War reached him. He at once returned to this country and accepted a position under Captain James F. Armstrong, commanding the United States sloop-of-war "Jacinto," and later served on the "De Soto." He
164
CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
was one of the first volunteers in Company A, Mercer Brigade, National Guard, during the Civil War. He was the owner of a fine plantation in North Carolina, and at the close of the war spent five years on it. Returning to the MacIlvaine homestead in 1870, he lived there until 1883, then re- moved to Trenton, where the remainder of his life was spent. From 1887 to 1910 he was treasurer of the Lawrenceville School; was treasurer of the Alumni Association for many years; treasurer of the Ameri- can Bible Society and the Session of the First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, 1886 to 1908; and was a director of the Trenton Banking Company from 1900 to 1910, having been a charter stockholder of this corporation. Following is a copy from the records of this institution: "The di- rectors of the Trenton Banking Company desire to place on record the high appreci- ation of the character and faithful services of Mr. Edward Shippen MacIlvaine whose recent death has brought sincere grief to all who were in any way associated with him. Mr. MacIlvaine was connected with the Trenton Banking Company for ten years, having been elected a director in 1900, and served the bank with unremit- ting zeal and the utmost integrity from that time until the day of his death. His lov- able nature and fine character endeared him to all with whom he came in contact."
Mr. MacIlvaine married, March 28, 1866, Anne Belleville Hunt, daughter of Captain William Edgar Hunt, United States Navy. Children: 1. Margaret Ship- pen, married, June 12, 1889, John A. Roeb- ling, civil engineer, son of Washington A. Roebling and Emily (Warren) Roebling. Washington A. Roebling was the builder of the Brooklyn Bridge. Children: Sieg- fried, Paul and Donald. 2. Anne, unmar- ried, lives in Trenton. 3. Maria, married Henry Van Kleeck Gillmore, son of Gen- eral Quincy and Margaret Hardenburgh (Van Kleeck) Gillmore. 4. Francis Ship-
pen, civil engineer, was graduated from Princeton University in the class of 1904.
Commander William Edgar Hunt, United States Navy, father of Mrs. Anne Belleville (Hunt) MacIlvaine, was born at Lamberton, New Jersey, July 18, 1806, a son of Peter and Maria (Furman) Hunt, and a nephew of William Edgar, of New York. He was an orphan at the age of ten years, and a relative, Admiral Leroy, was appointed his guardian. Six years later Admiral Leroy secured his appoint- ment as a midshipman from New Jersey in the United States Navy. In 1831 he was appointed acting master of the "John Adams." June 21, 1832, he was commis- sioned lieutenant, and in 1841, was appoint- ed to special duty with Captain (later Com- modore) Stockton, and was with him when the gun exploded on the "Princeton," when many lives were lost. Although Lieutenant Hunt was standing near Cap- tain Stockton when the latter fired the gun, he received no serious hurt. During the Mexican War he was actively engaged in the transportation of troops and ammuni- tion to the coast of Mexico. In August, 1855, he was commissioned commander, and in 1859 was appointed to command the "Levant" in the Pacific Ocean. In Septem- ber, 1860, he was heard from, when the "Levant" was at Honolulu, but as nothing was heard of the vessel or of those on her after that time, it is supposed that a severe typhoon which occurred in that section about that time, caused the destruction of the ship and all on her.
Commander Hunt married (first) in Trenton, May 29, 1833, Susan Elizabeth Clarke, born June 21, 1810, died April 16, 1848, a daughter of Dr. James and Mary (Belleville) Clarke. He married (second) May 30, 1849, Annie Belleville Clarke, a sister of his first wife. Children, all by the first marriage: Moore Furman: Annie, died young: Sue, died young; James Clarke; Virginia Higbee; William, died
165
t
a
CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
young ; Aubselue ; Anne Belleville, mar- ried Edward Shippen MacIlvaine, as above stated.
Dr. James Clarke was born about 1787, died February 20, 1847. He was a distin- guished physician, his large practice lying on both sides of the Delaware river. The first American ancestor of his family was a founder of Princeton University, and a large landowner near there. He was de- scended from the families of Middleton, Johns, Fitzrandolph and Blossom.
RANSOM, Charles Archibald,
Lawyer, Prominent Journalist.
Journalism has ever called into the circle of her followers the brightest minds and the most gifted sons of the nation. The naturally keen intellect is sharpened by its contact with others as brilliant and gains thereby an added strength and power. The most careful analysis, closest reasoning and logical thought processes are brought into play, and the journalist of ability, by reason of his strong intellectuality, rises above the ranks of the many to become a leader in thought and action, his influence extending throughout the world. The late Charles Archibald Ransom, of East Orange, New Jersey, was a man of this stamp. Called away in the very prime of life, he has left a record as a man of marked ability in everything he undertook, and of sweetness and force of character.
(I) Amasa Ransom, his grandfather, was a farmer in Colchester, Connecticut, in which place he resided many years.
(II) Stephen Billings, son of Amasa Ransom, and the father of Charles Archi- bald Ransom, was born in Colchester, Con- necticut, October 12, 1814, and died De- cember 10, 1893. His early life was the usual one of a farmer's son. He prepared himself to teach, and from seventeen until the age of twenty-one he taught during the winter months, and spent the summers
helping his father. While teaching, he studied the classics and the sciences. He went to Virginia in the fall of 1835, with the idea of engaging in teaching there, but being unsuccessful in this endeavor, he em- ployed most of the winter in traveling about Virginia and Maryland, meanwhile spending two months in the city of Wash- ington, where he heard many debates in Congress. In the autumn of 1836 he enter- ed upon an engagement as teacher in the old academy at Mendham, Morris county, New Jersey, leaving there at the end of two years to engage in a similar occupation at Belvidere, Warren county, in the same State. The profession of law always had a peculiar fascination for Mr. Ransom, and he took up the study of law while in Belvidere, under the preceptorship of the Hon. Phineas B. Kenney, at the time coun- ty clerk. His next place of residence was Hope, Warren county, New Jersey, where he taught the village school for the period of one year. His last experience as a teacher covered a period of six months, in 1841, which he spent in teaching in New Ger- mantown, Hunterdon county, New Jersey. He then registered as a law student in the office of Colonel William Thompson, of Somerville, finishing his legal studies under his supervision. He was admitted to the bar of New Jersey as an attorney, Septem- ber 5, 1844, and as a counsellor, in Octo- ber, 1847. He established himself in the practice of his profession at New German- town, and combined this with land survey- ing. The following spring he removed to Somerville, Somerset county, New Jersey, and was actively engaged there until the removal of his office to Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1854. Two years later he took up his residence in the same city.
From the time he cast his first vote at Mendham in 1838, he had been an ardent supporter of the Democratic party, and he remained an adherent of it until he joined the Free Soil party in 1848, and supported
166
6. A. Pavone
CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
Martin Van Buren. He was one of the most active organizers of the National Prohibition party in 1869, never wavered in his allegiance to it, and was the nominee of that party for Governor of New Jersey in 1880. In 1884 he was a delegate to its National Convention. From the time Mr. Ransom opened his office for professional work he was engaged in many important cases. He was primarily an advocate. Thoroughly patriotic, Mr. Ransom com- manded a company of militia in New Ger- mantown, 1845-46.
Mr. Ransom married (first) May 14, 1845, Maria C., daughter of Jacob Apgar, a merchant of Hunterdon county, who went to California upon the discovery of gold there, and died in that State in 1849. He married (second) July, 1856, Eliza Woodhull, daughter of Stephen R. Hunt, a lawyer of Somerville.
(III) Charles Archibald, son of Stephen Billings and Eliza Woodhull (Hunt) Ran- som, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, June 22, 1857. Having passed successfully through the public schools of his native city, in 1872 he became a student at the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Massa- chusetts. He next matriculated at Wesley- an University in Middletown, Connecticut, entering in September, 1875. In the of- fice of his talented father, Mr. Ransom read law under his preceptorship and was admitted as an attorney to the bar of New Jersey in January 1881. Shortly after this event he became a member of the staff of the "New York Tribune," and when the "New York Press" was organized by the late Postmaster Frank Hatton and Robert Porter, he became associated with them in the same capacity and remained with them until 1889. He was one of the leading spirits in the organization of the "Jersey City News." He was a legislative corre- spondent at Trenton for more than twenty years, and for the same length of time was a member of the Correspondents' Club of ยท
Trenton. Upon the election of Governor (now President) Wilson, Mr. Ransom was reappointed. He represented as legislative correspondent the "Newark News," the "Jersey City News," "Hudson Observer," "New York Press," "New York Herald" and "New York Evening Post." Mr. Ran- som was appointed by Governor Fort, of New Jersey, executive clerk to the Gover- nor, and also was made clerk of the Court of Pardons. When Woodrow Wilson suc- ceeded Governor Fort, Mr. Ransom was reappointed to both positions. His social membership was with the New England Society of Orange and the Sons of the American Revolution.
Mr. Ransom was much interested in the Naval Reserve, and was actively associated with it for many years. He became a sea- man in the First Division, Battalion of the East, May 20, 1895, equipment yeoman September 21, 1896, and chief yeoman of battalions, March 23, 1900. At the expira- tion of his time of service, he received his discharge, afterwards becoming junior lieutenant, Naval Reserve, under the re-or- ganization on October 2, 1908.
Mr. Ransom married, December 17, 1907, Ann Baldwin, the daughter of Fer- dinand and Ann L. (Baldwin) Passano, of Baltimore, Maryland. The death of Mr. Ransom occurred suddenly at his home in East Orange, New Jersey, February 15, 1913. This sad occurrence was deeply de- plored. The State and community had ben- efited through his presence. His career had been one of marked success, and his public spirit and his efforts in behalf of the upbuilding of many worthy enterprises were widely recognized. The energy which he threw into all he undertook, stimulated others to like efforts. His reputation for culture was well deserved, and he sustain- ed intimate relations with the leading men of his time. Mr. Ransom is buried in Rosedale Cemetery, Orange.
167
CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
LANNING, Hon. William Mershon,
Lawyer, Jurist, Financier, Author.
Men of marked ability, forceful charac- ter and culture, leave their impress upon the world, written in such indelible char- acters, that time is powerless to obliterate their memory or sweep it away from the minds of men. To this class belonged the Hon. William Mershon Lanning, of the State of New Jersey. He had inherited in rich measure the sterling virtues character - istic of many generations of the Lanning family, and greatly added to the family prestige.
Robert Lanning, the American progeni- tor of the family, was supposed to have come to this country from Wales, and was a resident of Maidenhead (now Lawrence- ville), in 1698, and was one of the trustees to whom was conveyed the land for the Maidenhead (now Lawrenceville) Presby- terian church. He married, and had chil- dren, of whom one or more were baptized at Maidenhead, July 13, 1715, Stephen, Richard, John, Daniel, Robert and Frances.
Stephen Lanning, son of Robert Lan- ning, died in 1780. He married Abigail Hart, and had children: Ralph, Robert, Elijah, Stephen and Sarah.
Elijah Lanning, son of Stephen and Abi- gail (Hart) Lanning, was born in 1753, died in 1793, and he and his wife are buried in the old Ewing graveyard. He married Sarah Mershon, who died December II, 1831, and they had children: Mary, Eunice, Elijah, Nathaniel, Jemima, Abigail, Angeline, Sarah, Julia, Rachel and Han- nah.
Nathaniel Lanning, son of Elijah and Sarah (Mershon) Lanning, was born June 2, 1775, died January 25, 1845. He mar- ried, May 25, 1820, Mary Howell, born February 8, 1788, died May 25, 1840. Chil- dren : Elijah Webster, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Nathaniel, James, John and Sarah.
Elijah Webster Lanning, son of Nathan- iel and Mary (Howell) Lanning, was born
in Ewing township, Mercer county, New Jersey, May 23, 1821, and died November 3, 1906. He was a farmer by occupation, and an elder in the Presbyterian church for more than a half a century. He married (first) Cornelia Ann Mershon, (second) Sarah Coleman. Children by first mar- riage: William Mershon, whose name heads this sketch, and Wallace. Children by second marriage: Alfred M., Cornelia Jane, Herbert, and Harry Webster.
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.