USA > New Jersey > Cyclopedia of New Jersey Biography > Part 30
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An estimate of the character of Mr. Dunham, and the general esteem in which he was held, may be formed from the fol- lowing extracts, which were published at the time of his death. The Presbyterian cler- gyman said in part : "Mr. Dunham was our senior elder in point of age as well as dur- ation of service. He was also, it may be said without disparagement to his younger brethren, a man well equipped to stand at the head in all councils and work of the session. Nature has done much for him. He was possessed of a fine personal pres- ence ; he had a vigorous and alert mind, of great business capacity, and unusually well
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equipped in every way to be what he assur- edly was, one of our foremost citizens. The cultured and balanced poise of his charac- ter was the fruitage, in part, of a noble family line. What he has thus received he has passed on to his children without cloud or stain."
The "Trenton Gazette" said in part : "Business was his hobby. He was devoted to it whole-heartedly, and seldom it was that he took a vacation, though he often needed one. He found nothing but extreme pleasure in attending to his mercantile af- fairs, and being the possessor of rare exe- cutive ability, built up by honest and fair dealing an enormously large business. Even of late years, when ill health troubled him, Mr. Dunham would adhere to past custom and visit the store every day. He no more thought of remaining at home on a stormy day than he did when it was sunshiny and clear. It was this close application to bus- iness, this uncommon display of interest and capacity, that made Mr. Dunham what he was when he died-what he by all means deserved to be-successful! In addition to his liking for his business, he was always fond of his many employes, all of whom held him in the highest esteem, and real- ized that their efforts to please never went unappreciated. Mr. Dunham was also be- loved by men in all walks of life, and his death cast sorrow over many circles."
On the day of his funeral, all the prin- cipal business houses in Trenton closed their doors and business stopped as a mark of the deep respect in which he was held by his fellow citizens.
BODINE, Dr. Joseph L.,
Leading Medical Practitioner and Writer.
The success Dr. Joseph L. Bodine so deservedly won in his profession never un- duly elated him nor caused him to vary from the modest simplicity of his manner. A nature of singular sweetness, openness and sincerity was his. He had a profound
knowledge of human nature, and his judg- 1, ent was sound and unerring. As a citizen, as well as in his capacity as a physician, Dr. Bodine won the confidence and esteem of all with whom he held relations.
Jean Bodine, of Cambray, is said to have removed to Medis, Province of Saintonge, France, where his son was born. He was doubtless a Huguenot, and left his native land because of religious persecution. A short stay was made in Holland and in England, prior to coming to New York, where he arrived before November 3, 1677. It is known that he settled on Staten Island before 1686, and his death occurred in 1694.
Jean Bodine, son of Jean Bodine, was born in France, May 9, 1645, and died in New Jersey, after March, 1736. With his second wife, Esther, her parents and her brother, he was naturalized in London, Eng- land, March 21, 1682, and for a time re- sided at Rye, in Sussex, where two of his children were born. Having emigrated, we find him living on Staten Island at the time of the death of his father. May 12, 1701, he purchased eighty acres of land in East Jersey, at Charles Neck, opposite Staten Island. He married (first) Maria, Janu- ary II, 1680, daughter of Jean Crocheron, also an emigrant to Staten Island ; (second) Esther, daughter of Francois and Jeanne Susanne Bridon. There were five children by each marriage.
Francis Bodine, son of Jean and Esther (Bridon) Bodine, was probably born in England, and died shortly after March, 1736. Until 1726 he was a resident of Staten Island. He married Maria, daugh- ter of James and Mary (Mulliner) Dey, of Staten Island, and they had at least three children, and probably others.
Francis Bodine, son of Francis and Maria (Dey) Bodine, was born on Staten Island. Prior to 1745 he settled at Cran- bury, on the border of Middlesex county, New Jersey. November 1, 1775, he had about thirty acres of land surveyed in Tranquility Swamp, on Wading river, Lit-
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tle Egg Harbor township, Burlington coun- ty, New Jersey, and this was in the posses- sion of his children as late as 1820. The name of his first wife, by whom he had three children, is not known, and he mar- ried (second) Rachel Wilson.
John Bodine, son of Francis Bodine and his first wife, was born at Cranbury, Mid- dlesex county, New Jersey, in 1746, and died at Wading river, March 26, 1826. Early in life he removed to Burlington county, where he became proprietor of the inn at Wading river which he conducted for forty years. He was a prosperous farmer and an extensive land owner. An ardent patriot, he served in the Continental army through- out the Revolutionary War, rising from the rank of private to that of captain. He mar- ried (first) about 1773, Mary Roundtree ; (second) September 16, 1790, Ann Taylor, who survived him. He had five children by the first marriage, and ten by the second.
Stacy Bodine, son of John and Mary (Roundtree) Bodine, was born October 21, 1783, and died June 26, 1867. He married Elizabeth Budd.
Daniel B. Bodine, son of Stacy and Eliza- beth (Budd) Bodine, was born near Mount Holly, New Jersey, April 16, 1814, and died in August, 1881. At an early age he engaged in business in Middletown, Mon- mouth county, New Jersey, and was very successful in this enterprise. He became identified with various financial enterprises, and at the time of his death was a member of the Board of directors of the Trenton Banking Company and the Trenton Savings Fund Society. The public affairs of the community received his earnest and consist- ent attention, and he became prominent in them after his removal to Trenton. From 1851 to 1856 he was clerk in the Court of Chancery, and later was mayor of Trenton for two terms. His mother was a lineal descendant of William Budd, a brother of Thomas Budd, surveyor-general of West Jersey, and owner of a share proprietary. Mr. Bodine married Elizabeth Lamb.
Dr. Joseph L. Bodine, son of Daniel B. and Elizabeth (Lamb) Bodine, was born at Pemberton, Burlington county, New Jer- sey, June 26, 1839, and died January 2, 1889. His elementary education was ac- quired in his native town, and upon his removal with his parents to Trenton, New Jersey, in 1851, he became a student at Trenton Academy, in preparation for en- trance to Princeton College. He and his brother, the Rev. William B. Bodine, of Philadelphia, were graduated from this in- stitution in the class of 1860, both being among the first five of this class. Having decided upon the medical profession as his life work, Dr. Bodine took up the study of medicine with his uncle, the former Gor- ernor George Franklin Fort, and also ma- triculated at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in the class of 1865 with the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. An interneship of one year was spent at the Episcopal Hospital of Philadelphia, and he then commenced the active practice of his profession in Trenton, with which he was prominently identified until his death in the very prime of life. From the outset of his practice he made his mark in his chosen profession, and at the time of his death had an unusually extensive and lucra- tive practice, although the latter quality was the one he least regarded, the alleviation of the sufferings of humanity being his chief aim. He was especially successful in the treatment of mental afflictions, to which he gave much of his time. He was frequently called into consultation by his colleagues, and was for many years chief of the staff at St. Francis' Hospital, and consulting phy- sician to the New Jersey State Prison. His skill in the diagnosis of disease was so well recognized that he became an authority in this field. His discussion of medical sub- jects was always eagerly looked forward to by the State and Mercer county medical Societies, and he delivered numerous ad- dresses before the American Social Science Association. He was well known as a pro-
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fessional writer, being a prolific contribu- tor, on the subjects of insanity and the care of the insane, to medical journals here and abroad. In spite of the manifold de- mands made upon his time by his profes- sional labors, Dr. Bodine was not neglectful of the public affairs of the community, but gave them to a considerable extent his per- sonal attention. Appointed by Governor Ludlow as a member of the State Sinking Fund Commission, his services to the State were of inestimable value, and he succeeded in placing the fund on a sound financial basis. His religious affiliation was with St. Michael's Episcopal Church, in which he served as a vestryman for a considerable number of years. Outside of his profes- sional and public service, Dr. Bodine, was of that modest, retiring disposition which is sometimes met with in combination with qualities of the highest order of excellence. He was charitable to a degree, but in a most quiet and unostentatious manner, and none but the recipients of his bounty will ever known the extent of his gifts.
Dr. Bodine married, October 7, 1874, Frances P. Davis, and is survived by two children: Elizabeth D .; and Joseph L., as- sistant district attorney, and member of the law firm of Vroom, Dickinson & Bodine.
HOPPER, Abram G.,
Leading Building Contractor.
The late Abram G. Hopper, whose career was such as to warrant the trust and confi- dence of the business world and the regard of all with whom he was brought in con- tact, by reason of the fact that he ever con- ducted all transactions on the strictest prin- ciples of honor and integrity, was a de- scendant of a family which has been well and prominently known in the region of New Amsterdam and the New Netherlands for more than two and half centuries. There are in America three distinct Hop- per families. One is of Irish descent, an- other came from the county of Durham,
England, and the third, by far the most numerous, is of Dutch ancestry.
Abram G. Hopper was born November 29, 1855, in New York City, son of Gar- rett and Sarah (Hopper) Hopper. When he was about two years of age his parents removed to Oakland, settling on a farm, and there he was reared, attending the county school and acquiring a practical ed- ucation, which thoroughly prepared him for the activities of life. At the age of eighteen years he placed himself under the preceptorship of his uncle, Samuel Hopper, at Franklin, now Nutley, New Jersey, in order to learn the trade of mason, and af- ter mastering all the details of the same, in company with his brother, John, who was a carpenter by trade, went to Avon, Illinois, where his uncle, Samuel Yeomans, was then living. In that city Abram G. Hopper engaged in business on his own ac- count, contracting for mason work, this en- terprise proving successful and remunera- tive, and he continued along the same line there until the year 1879, when he came to Paterson, New Jersey, on a visit, and while there formed a partnership with his cousin, Jacob Steel, engaging in a contracting bus- iness. Both of the partners being thorough business men, well grounded in their par- ticular line, expert and enterprising, thor- oughly competent to cope with every ob- stacle in their path, the undertaking met with a large degree of success, in course of time becoming the largest in its line in the city of Paterson, having the contract for the erection of the majority of the prin- cipal buildings in and about Paterson, as well as many in other cities and States. The following is a list of the most noted : The Carnegie Laboratory of Engineering at Stevens Institute, Hoboken, New Jer- sey ; Hopper Building in Paterson; Dan- forth Public Library; Arnold building ; Citizens' Trust Company building; Cohen building; the News Printing and Publish- ing Company building; Schwarzschild & Sulzberger Company building; Ball build-
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ing; Nathan building; Albert Tint build- ing; Williams building; Kinsella building ; Ulrich building; Simon building; many of the public school and other public build- ings; Isaac A. Hall's mills; F. Harding & Sons' factory ; Paterson Gas Office; Young Men's Christian Association building ; Mo- saic Hall; Park Avenue Baptist Church ; Western Methodist Episcopal Church ; Riv- erside Reformed Church; and the resi- dences of Dr. O'Donnell, J. Leville Greggs, J. H. Steel and Abram G. Hopper. These buildings, which rank among the best in Paterson, stand as a monument to the skill and ability of the firm of which Mr. Hop- per was a member. The plant and lumber yards were located at Nos. 46-48 North Second street, Paterson, and the name of Mr. Hopper was well and favorably known in business circles for three decades. He was a man capable of managing extensive business interests, conducted his affairs on terms that were fair alike to employer and employee, and thus avoided troubles so common in these days. He was systematic and methodical in the conduct of his busi- ness, and this orderly precision was one of the features in the prosperity that attended his well-directed efforts. As the years pass- ed the business grew to mammoth propor- tions, and ranked among the leading and representative industries of Paterson. For many years he also operated a brick yard, being the proprietor of the same at the time of his death, which was a remunera- tive source of income.
Mr. Hopper was courteous, genial and obliging, and these qualities rendered him very popular, so that his circle of friends was very extensive. He took a keen inter- est in local affairs, and was elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of freehold- er, in which capacity he served for one term, performing his duties satisfactorily. He was a director of the Paterson Sanitary Company, organized for the purpose of re- moving the garbage of Paterson, and for per.
about five years Mr. Hopper served as su- perintendent of the same, his tenure of of- fice being noted for efficiency and capabili- ty. He was a member of the Paterson Bus- iness Men's Association, in which he took an active interest. He was a constant at- tendant of the Second Reformed Church, for thirty years and finally became a mem- ber; a member of the Order of Free and Accepted Masons, Mason's Union, and the Royal Arcanum. He was a great lover of horses, of which he was an excellent judge, being considered an authority on the sub- ject, and he was the possessor of fine driv- ing teams which were often seen in Pater- son and vicinity.
Mr. Hopper married, April 28, 1880, Sarah Ann Pulis, of Ramsey, New Jersey, a daughter of William and Maria (Mow- erson) Pulis. Children: Maria L., who became the wife of Edward Kuhl Conine, of Trenton, New Jersey; Sarah, deceased ; Anna May, deceased; Garrett, deceased ; Serena Beatrice ; Annetta Roseland ; Abram G. Jr .; Emerald Jacob. Mr. Hop- per took an unusual interest in his home and family, spending all his leisure time there, and was ever a loving husband, af- fectionate father, ever thoughtful and con- siderate of the comfort of those dependent upon him. Mr. Hopper died at his home in Paterson, January 5, 1910, and later his widow sold his business interest to his partner, Mr. Steel.
Such is the brief review of the career of one who achieved not only honorable suc- cess and high standing among men, but whose entire life was irreproachably cor- rect, so that his character was blameless. His life record demonstrated the fact that success depends not upon circumstances or environment, but upon the man, and the prosperous citizens are those who are able to recognize and improve their opportuni- ties, as was the case with the late Mr. Hop-
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BENNETT, David Horton,
Manufacturer, Enterprising Citizen.
From the beginning of his active life un- til his death, David Horton Bennett was associated with glass manufacture, the last thirty years of his life being passed as senior member of the firm of G. S. Bennett Com- pany, manufacturers of window glass and paints, located at No. 112 and 114 North Ninth street. He was a native of New Jersey, and Collingswood, Camden county, was his home at the time of his death, al- though Philadelphia had long been the scene of his business activity. Business associates of Philadelphia and intimates in social and civic life in Collingswood remember him as a Christian gentleman of high ideals and worthy life, a man who lived for the best and in whom there was no intentional fault. David Horton Bennett was a son of Wil- liam and Eliza ( Pheifer ) Bennett ; his uncle, Levi Pheifer, a former sheriff of Camden county, and, with Isaac Collings and Mr. Gibbs, one of the founders of the Collings- wood Methodist Episcopal Church.
David Horton Bennett was born in Cum- berland, Cumberland county, New Jersey, February 5, 1848, and when he was five years old was taken by his parents to Wins- low, New Jersey, where he attended the public schools. At the completion of his studies he became a glass blower, learning this trade under Andrew K. Hay, and from this time he was interested in the manu- facture and marketing of glass. About 1883 Mr. Bennett and his eldest son George founded the G. S. Bennett Company, manu- facturers of window glass and paints and dealers in painters' supplies, their place of business at No. 112 and 114 North Ninth street. After a number of years George Bennett retired from this line, his place in the firm being taken by Mr. Bennett's youngest son Frank, who was associated with his father until the latter's death and who now continues the business. Mr. Ben- nett, in connection with his Philadelphia
interests, operated a glass manufacturing plant at Millville, New Jersey, also head- ing a third enterprise at Spring City, New Jersey, the last organized as a stock com- pany, of which he was president. Upright integrity and unswerving devotion to fair dealing were the leading characteristics of his daily business transactions, and in his long career he achieved a reputation which only honor and the strictest of probity can gain. His responsibilities were borne faith- fully and capably, and in any enterprise with which he was connected his was a leading mind and a willing hand.
Mr. Bennett was a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, and supported the Republican party with his vote, although never a candidate for or an occupant of official position. He was allied with every progressive and uplifting movement in his town, and with constructive public spirit worked for its advancement and improve- ment.
He married Anna M. Abel, of Hammon- ton, New Jersey, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Wells) Abel, and had chil- dren: George S., married Annie Ber- ger ; Laura G., married Robert Pond; Harry, married Margaret Simpler ; Frank, married Clara McNelly; and Lillian K., unmarried. Mrs. Bennett survives her hus- band and resides in Collingswood, New Jer- sey.
DELP, James A. H.,
Manufacturer, Public Official.
A man of action, of business talents and untiring energy, of actual achievements that have advanced the wealth and prosper- ity of the community, of undoubted public spirit, is a very fair description of the late James A. H. Delp, for many years of Trenton, New Jersey. He was prominent among the business men of Trenton who contributed energy and ability of a high order to the development of the city, and his manufacturing transactions showed that
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faculty of business imagination which is at the back of all large operations of a business nature. Not content with the humdrum methods of the conservative man- ufacturer, he organized schemes that put his work on a level with business cam- paigns of the first order. The propor- tionate increase in the volume of business transacted was phenomenal. In addition to being a shrewd and successful man of busi- ness, Mr. Delp acquired an honorable repu- tation as a citizen of much public spirit, and enjoyed the esteem and confidence of all with whom he had relations. While his family was a comparatively new one in the State of New Jersey, it had long been resident in America.
The pioneer ancestor of the family was George Delp, who came to this country from Rotterdam, in the ship "Thistle," and arrived at Philadelphia, October 28, 1738. He located in Franconia township, now Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, became a large land owner there, and also acquired much property in Hilltown township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He and a number of his descendants lie buried in an old bury- ing ground known as "Delp's Grave Yard," in the northwestern part of Franconia township. George Delp, son of the pioneer, located in Hilltown township. George Delp, son of the second George Delp, was born in Hilltown township, removed to Bedminster Township in 1806, and died there, January 1, 1830. He married Mar- garet Eydem and had five children. George Delp, in all probability a nephew of the third George Delp, and a descendant in the fourth generation from the pioneer, George Delp, was of Bucks county, Penn- sylvania, where he married Elizabeth Spece.
James A. H. Delp, son of George and Elizabeth (Spece) Delp, was born at Chal- font, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, Decem- ber 16, 1845, and died at his home in Tren- ton, New Jersey, suddenly, February 9, 1915. He acquired a sound, practical edu- cation in his native town, and then removed
to Trenton with his parents, with which city his interests were identified until his death. There he learned his trade under the auspices of the late Cornelius Vansant, whose place of business was located on the present site of Kolb's bakery. Beginning the manufacture of farming implements on a small scale, Mr. Delp gradually enlarged his business operations, until his concern was one of the most important in this line in the section, and added to it the business of a contractor, in which he was equally successful. For a period of more than forty years he manufactured farming implements and pumps, during the greater part of this time being located at No. 335 Pennington avenue. But it was not alone in the busi- ness world that Mr. Delp established a reputation for himself. The public affairs of the community were given his deep and serious attention, greatly to the benefit of those living in it. As a consistent member of the Republican party, he served three terms in the common council of the city, his election being practically unanimous, as the Democratic party would nominate no candidate to oppose him, ample testimony to the esteem in which he was held by all. During his second term he served as a mem- ber of the committees on the poor, city hall, board of trade and parks. Many years ago he was a member of the county com- mittee, and was largely instrumental in hav- ing a part of Ewing township annexed to Trenton, thus adding to the area and im- portance of the city. He was appointed delegate to the National Rivers and Har- bors Congress held in Washington, District of Columbia, December 3-4-5, 1913, but business reasons prevented his participa- tion in these meetings. Philanthropic and charitable to a degree, Mr. Delp did not confine his liberal donations to charitable institutions, but his private generosity was of so unostentatious a nature, that it was but rarely that any save the recipients of his bounty, knew of it. Only the large number of mourners of the poorer class
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who attended his funeral services spoke eloquently of his charity. The Lutheran church is greatly indebted to the liberality of Mr. Delp. For many years he was a member of Christ Church, and was active in its interests. Later, when Grace Church, at Hillcrest, a suburb of Trenton, was or- ganized, in which proceeding Mr. Delp was an important factor, Mr. Delp affiliated with that, for a long time gave his services in the responsible office of superintendent of the Sunday school. Every pastor who came to Trenton found in him a liberal supporter and a friend on whom he could rely in every way. While Mr. Delp was a well known figure in the social life of the city, as befitted a man of his means and in- fluence, he found his chief source of pleas- ure in the home circle, and in the society of a few chosen friends. Rarely was any of his leisure time spent away from home.
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