USA > New Jersey > Cyclopedia of New Jersey Biography > Part 34
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lin township, Philadelphia county, and be- came the owner of a farm in that township, part of the estate of his father-in-law, James Ayres. Abraham Parsons died in December, 1768, his widow surviving him to February, 1779.
Isaac, son of Abraham and Joanna (Ayres) Parsons, was born in Lower Dub- lin township, Philadelphia county, Novem- ber 12, 1748, died September 26, 1818. Soon after arriving at man's estate he lo- cated in Bristol township, Bucks county, in 1781 moving to Falls township, in the same county, and in the latter place passing the remaining years of his life. He was a member of St. James Protestant Episco- pal Church, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, and he and his second wife are buried under the present church edifice. Isaac Parsons married (first) in 1777, Anstrus Shadow- ell, who bore him five children; (second) about 1791, Elizabeth Brodnax, born May 20, 1755, died June 15, 1827, who bore him two children. Elizabeth was a daughter of Robert Brodnax, born about 1700, a scriv- ener who did considerable public work in Lower Bucks county, writing many wills and deeds and other documents. Robert Brodnax is said to have come to Bucks county from Henrico county, Virginia, where John Brodnax had settled in 1686 and where he died in 1719, leaving a will of which his son Robert, a minor slightly under legal age, was named executor. From this John Brodnax, of Virginia, the family line is traced nine generations in an unbrok- en line to Robert Brodnax and his wife, Alicia Scappe, of Burmarsh and Godmer- sheim, County Kent, England, in the first quarter of the fifteenth century. Robert Brodnax married, October 9, 1734, Christ- iana Keen, daughter of Jonas and Frances (Walker) Keen, and resided in Bensalem township, Bucks county, where he died about 1784. Christiana Keen was a lineal descendant of Jöran Kyn, who came to Pennsylvania with Governor John Printz
in the ship "Fama," which sailed from Stockholm, Sweden, August 16, 1642.
Isaac (2), son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Brodnax) Parsons, was born in Falls township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1794, and died there August 21, 1851. He inherited the old homestead and lived thereon during the greater part of his life, engaging for a brief period in mercan- tile trade. He married, April 5, 1821, Lydia Ann Anderson, who was born near Trenton, New Jersey, July 18, 1801, died July 19, 1901, having attained the great age of one hunderd years and one day, daugh- ter of Joseph Anderson and Sarah (Nor- ton) Anderson, and a descendant of Joch- em Andriessen, who was a son of Andries Jochemsen Van Albade, one of the earliest settlers of New Amsterdam (New York). Enoch Anderson, son of Jochem and great- great-grandfather of Lydia Ann (Ander- son) Parsons, was born in New York in 1676 and was one of the chief founders of Trenton, New Jersey. He was a justice of the peace and of the courts of Burlington county as early as 1709, was named in 1698 as trustee for the church and school grounds at Maidenhead, and was later trustee of both the Lawrenceville and Ewing Presbyterian churches, and was ac- tive in the founding of these two.places of worship. He lived on the Assaupuk creek, within the present limits of the city of Trenton, and on April 20, 1827, gave a portion of his land, one hundred and fifty feet square, in "Trent-town," to the trus- tees of the Presbyterian congregation, oth- ers contributing logs, mortar, and labor toward the church building, which was long known as "The Anderson Meeting House," now the First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, New Jersey. His wife was Trintje Op Dyke, of Newtown, Long Is- land, a granddaughter of Jansen Op Dyke, who came from Holland to the New Neth- erlands prior to 1653. The Norton family, to which belonged the wife of Joseph An-
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derson, had members among the earliest English settlers in New Jersey.
Ellwood Parsons, son of Isaac and Lydia Ann (Anderson) Parsons, and member of the seventh American generation of his family, was born in Falls township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, April 5, 1822. He obtained his education in the Friends School at Fallsington and in a boarding school at Poughkeepsie, New York, and from the time he left school until his mar- riage made agriculture his occupation. Be- fore his marriage, which occurred when he was a young man of twenty-nine years, he purchased a farm in Falls township, and he afterward bought another of two hundred and seventeen acres on the New Jersey side of the Delaware, two miles below Bor- dentown, where he resided for nine years. Then returning to Bucks county, he was for three years engaged in the lumber bus- iness at Morrisville, in partnership with his brothers-in-law, Joseph C. and David Taylor. After retiring from his lumber operations Mr. Parsons purchased a coun- try seat near Morrisville, which he made his home until his death.
He held several important positions in connection with financial and industrial in- stitutions, and from 1876 until his death was a member of the board of directors of the Bucks County Contributionship for In- suring Homes and Other Buildings from Loss by Fire, the oldest fire insurance com- pany in the county. Elected a director of the First National Bank of Trenton, New Jersey, in January, 1868, he "rendered a most faithful and untiring service there until his death," a period of nearly a quar- ter of a century, being elected to the pres- idency of the institution June 3, 1891. He was for many years a director of the Tren- ton City Bridge Company, and in addition to his official duties discharged the obliga- tions of numerous private positions of trust.
Ellwood Parsons died October 13, 1891, and is buried beside his wife, in the family plot in the Morrisville Cemetery.
He married, March 26, 1851, Mercy Ann Taylor, born July 14, 1824, died October II, 1890, daughter of William and Mary (Crozer) Taylor, the former a descendant of Robert Taylor, mariner, a native of County Wicklow, who retired from the pursuit of the sea, settled in Philadelphia, and there died in 1798. Mary Crozer was a descendant of the Crozer family, who occupied for several generations the old Pennsbury Manor house and plantation which had been the home of William Penn. Through the Crozer line, Mercy Ann (Tay- lor) Parsons was descended from Duncan Williamson, one of the earliest settlers on the Delaware at Dunk's Ferry, which took its name from him, and also was descended from George Brown, who was commission- ed a justice at the Falls by Governor An- dros in 1680, as well as from John Sotcher and his wife, Mary Lofty, who came from England with William Penn in 1699 and were long his stewards at Pennsbury Man- or. Children of Ellwood and Mercy Ann (Taylor) Parsons: William Taylor, born April 1, 1852, died June 24, 1875; Annie Crozer, born September 18, 1853, died Feb- ruary 9, 1895, married, September 3, 1891, Edward C. Williamson, of Falls township, Bucks county : Mary Taylor, born June 2, 1856, died April 25, 1909; Lydia Ander- son, born April 14, 1858, died August 16, 1914, married, February 17, 1869, Henry W. Comfort ; George Taylor, born May 14, 1861, met his death by drowning, Decem- ber 13, 1869: Rose, born June 13, 1864, died September 20, 1864; Ella, born No- vember 8, 1866, a resident of Philadelphia and a member of the Pennsylvania Socie- ty, Colonial Dames of America, the Gene- alogical Society of Pennsylvania, and the Swedish Colonial Society.
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GRAHAM, James A.,
Enterprising Man of Affairs.
The death of James A. Graham, which occurred at his home in Pompton Plains, New Jersey, March 25, 1909, after an illness of several weeks, removed from that neigh- borhood one of its most highly esteemed and public-spirited citizens, and from the city of Paterson one of its well-known and successful business men. He was a man of wide acquaintanceship and many friends, his rugged character, quiet and un- assuming manner, and his high sense of personal integrity in all dealings with his fellow-men, winning for him a place in the hearts of those with whom he was brought in contact in the commercial and country life in which he played so prominent a part.
Archibald Graham, grandfather of James A. Graham, was a resident of Pat- erson, New Jersey, where he was held in high regard by a wide circle of friends. He was the father of two sons and a daughter, the names of his sons James and Archibald, the latter named having passed his entire life in Paterson, following there the occu- pation of brewer, in which he was highly successful.
James Graham, father of James A. Gra- ham, was born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1828, died on his farm at Pompton Plains, New Jersey, in 1902. He was reared, edu- cated and married in the city of Paterson, removing from there to Pompton Plains, in 1862, there purchasing a large farm west of the Pequanac river, which was known as the old Squire Berry farm, upon which he resided for about five years, then sold the same and purchased the Schuyler farm, located on the east side of the river, where he erected a commodious and comfortable house, in which his widow and daughters are residing at the present time (1915). He was a progressive and prosperous farm- er, realizing a goodly income from his well directed efforts. He was quiet and unas. suming, particularly devoted to his home
and family, and his demise was sincerely mourned by all who had the honor of his acquaintance. His wife, Eliza (Kidd) Gra- ham, is a native of Ireland, from which country she emigrated to the United States at the age of fourteen years, and sixty years later, when seventy-four years of age, she returned to her native land, accom- panied by her daughter Sarah, and visited the scene of her birth, from which she de- rived considerable pleasure. Mr. and Mrs. Graham were the parents of eight children : Annie, resides with her mother; James A., of whom further ; Hannah, died at the age of twenty-six years; Maggie, died at the age of twenty-four years; Isabelle, resides with her mother; Sarah L., resides with her mother ; Mattie, died at the age of thir- teen years; Andrew, resides on a farm in the vicinity of the homestead, married Louise Muller, now deceased, who bore him one child, James R., born in June, 1903, now residing with his grandmother, Mrs. Graham.
James A. Graham was born on Broad- way, near Summer street, Paterson, New Jersey, September 3, 1856. He attended the local public school, and the New Jersey Business College in Newark, graduating from the latter in the year 1874. His first employment was with his uncle, Archibald Graham, who conducted a brewery, and up- on the death of the uncle, James A. was placed in charge of the Hamburg Avenue Brewery, in Paterson, and he managed the business so successfully that in a short time it was a thriving enterprise and he received a third interest in the concern. He later disposed of it to the Consolidated Malting and Brewing Company of Paterson, in which company he had an interest at the time of his death. Although circumstances brought about his line of business, his tastes were along entirely different lines of activity, he being particularly fond of ag- ricultural pursuits, devoting considerable time to the cultivation and improvement of the homestead farm, upon which he resid-
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ed with his mother and sisters. He pur- chased two hundred acres adjoining his father's property of one hundred and fifty acres, and after the death of the elder Mr. Graham he managed it all under one head, erected an extensive barn and fine cream- ery, purchased a herd of one hundred and twenty-five Holstein cattle, which included the old world champion "Pauline Paul," one-time champion butter maker of the world. He was also a lover of horse flesh, being at one time a breeder of fine horses, a number of his horses having come from Lexington, Kentucky, a section famous for its thoroughbreds, several being now in the possession of his sisters on the farm. He attended the races at Lexington, which he thoroughly enjoyed. The water on the farm came from natural springs on the ridge, Mr. Graham installing a model wa- ter system. He displayed great ability in the management of his varied business af- fairs, accomplishing the ambition which he had in view when he set out to make his own way in the world. He was a Demo- crat in politics, active in the councils of his party, and was at one time a candidate for the office of sheriff, but was defeated. He held membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Paterson.
He possessed many lovable traits of character and disposition which won for him comrades who enjoyed his society, and being a man of rare good judgment, his aid and counsel were widely sought, and he never failed to meet any demand made up- on his friendship or good will. He was extremely charitable, never turning a deaf ear to any worthy appeal for aid, always considerate of old people, there being a number whom he looked after, calling on them frequently and administering in a substantial manner to their comfort, and he was extremely fond of children, lavishing great affection on his nephew. His mother and sisters, especially the former, always received from him the greatest considera-
tion, reverence and love, he always proving himself an ideal son and brother.
The funeral services of Mr. Graham were largely attended, people coming from far and near to express their respects to his memory. The services were conducted by the Rev. Mr. Sigalfoss, of the Pompton Re- formed Church, and the Rev. J. S. Hogan, of the Reformed Church of Jersey City. Both clergymen spoke from personal knowledge of the kindly traits and upright character of Mr. Graham. Interment was in Cedar Lawn Cemetery. Prominent among the more than one hundred floral pieces, many of which were magnificent, was one large vacant chair of flowers which stood nine feet high; the back and seat were composed of lilies-of-the-valley, gar- denias and Easter lilies, the arms and legs of violets. This was the tribute from the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company. In his will he remembered his relatives, a number of men who had been in his employ for a number of years, and several hos- pitals.
MANNERS, David Stout,
Financier, Public Official.
David Stout Manners, often chosen may- or of Jersey City, must be prominently named among those honored and revered by the best citizens as champions of the in- terests and rights of the community, those with faith in their city's future, unwearied in her service, vigilant, and dauntless in her defense.
David Stout Manners was born at East Amwell, Hunterdon county, New Jersey, January 12, 1808, son of Captain David and Mary (Schenck) Manners, the former by occupation both a farmer and surveyor, who served with distinction in several im- portant engagements of the War of 1812. On the paternal side he is descended from John Manners, the first known ancestor in America, who came from Yorkshire, Eng-
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land, about the year 1700. Soon after his arrival he married Rebecca Stout, and set- tled in Hunterdon county, New Jersey. Mary (Schenck) Manners was a daughter of Captain John Schenck, a gallant officer of the Revolution, who, having been con- spicuous in previous struggles, especially distinguished himself by his intrepidity and important services in the battles of Mon- mouth and Princeton.
The boyhood and youth of Mr. Manners were spent on his father's farm, where his educational advantages were mainly those afforded by the short winter terms of the village school. His parents were people of intelligence and culture. His father died in 1840, and after the sale of the home- stead, David S. Manners came to New York and there engaged in the wholesale grocery business. In 1848 he removed to Jersey City, New Jersey, and at once be- came prominent in politics. In 1851 he was elected alderman, and also became a mem- ber of the board of water commissioners. In 1852 he was elected mayor of Jersey City by a handsome majority, and his ser- vices gave widespread satisfaction, as he had the confidence of all his constituents, and was retained in office for five consec- utive terms, declining further honors in this capacity. Mayor Manners was far-see- ing and enthusiastic; he proposed many improvements in Jersey City and achieved them, as far as the progress of the times would permit. He was a stockholder in various banking institutions. In 1856 he became a member of the American Geo- graphical and Statistical Society. His char- ities were numerous and unostentatious.
Mayor Manners married, in 1843, De- borah Philips Johnes, a daughter of David Johnes, granddaughter of Major David Johnes, an able officer of the Army of the Revolution, and a descendant of Edward and Anne (Griggs) Johnes, natives of Din- der, Somerset, England, who landed at Sa- lem, but soon settled at Charlestown, Mas- sachusetts, in 1630. In the summer of 1884.
Mayor Manners was stricken with the disease which proved fatal, and on August 19, 1884, he passed away, highly respected, and a conspicuous figure in the community and in Hudson county, New Jersey.
DE CAMP, John,
Distinguished Naval Officer.
Rear Admiral John De Camp, United States Navy, late of Burlington, was born at Morristown, New Jersey, in 1812. On October 1, 1827, he received the appoint- ment of midshipman in the navy, from the State of Florida, and was first put on ac- tive service in the sloop "Vandalia," of the Brazilian Squadron, in 1829-30. He was promoted to passed midshipman on June 10, 1833. In 1837 he was on duty on the frigate "Constellation," of the West India Squadron, and on February 28, 1838, was appointed lieutenant. He was again on the Brazilian station in 1840, being attached to the sloop "Peacock," and to the sloop "Boston," of the same squadron, during 1845-46. In the war with Mexico in 1846- 47, he distinguished himself at the battle of Vera Cruz. In 1850 he was ordered to the Pacific Squadron on the sloop "Fal- mouth," and in 1854 to the coast of Africa, attached to the frigate "Constitution," re- ceiving his commission as commander on September 14, 1855. Subsequently he was appointed lighthouse inspector, and was at- tached to the Brooklyn navyyard in that capacity and was next appointed to the storeship "Relief."
In 1861, on the outbreak of the Rebel- lion, he was ordered to the command of the steam-sloop "Iroquois," on the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. The "Iroquois," which was one of the fleet of Flag-Officer Farragut, which made the passage of Forts Jackson and Philip on April 24, 1862, had been placed on picket duty about a mile in advance of the main squadron on the night of the 23rd. In the passage of the forts she was in the second division, under Cap-
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tain Bell. Early in the morning of April 24th the "Iroquois" hotly engaged the forts, and shortly after four o'clock a rebel ram, and a gunboat which had run astern of her, poured into her a destructive fire of grape- shot and langrage, the latter being compos- ed mostly of copper slugs. Driving off the gunboat with an eleven-inch shell and a stand of canister, the "Iroquois" proceed- ed, and in a little while, still under a terri- bly severe fire from Fort St. Philip, as she was passing that fort, she was attacked by five or six rebel steamers, but giving each a broadside of shell as she passed, succeeded in completely destroying them. Four miles farther down the river she captured forty rebel soldiers and a well-equipped gunboat. The "Iroquois" during the fight was badly injured in her hull, besides having eight of her men killed and twenty-four wounded. From this time forward Commander De Camp took active part in all the engage- ments on the Mississippi up to and includ- ing the capture of Vicksburg. He was commissioned captain July 16, 1862, for gallantry at New Orleans. In 1863-64 he commanded the frigate "Wabash," of the South Atlantic Squadron, and was commis- sioned commodore September 28, 1866. He was placed in charge of the "Potomac" store-ship, during 1866-67 at Pensacola, and performed his last active duty as com- mander of the same vessel while she was stationed at Philadelphia as receiving ship in 1868-69. He was made rear-admiral on the retired list on July 13, 1870. Eighteen of the forty-three years he was in the ser- vice he passed in active duties at sea, being known during that time as one of the brav- est and ablest of the old school of naval officers. An illustration of his bravery is given in the fact that, on one occasion, while ill, he caused himself to be fastened in the chains of his vessel during an en- gagement, and lost part of one of his ears by a piece of shell from a rebel mortar.
In 1871 Admiral De Camp took up his residence in Burlington, and, as regularly
as his impaired health would permit, attend- ed the service there of St. Mary's Episco- pal Church, having during the closing years of his life given serious attention to relig- ious matters. A day was fixed for his pub- lic baptism in that church, but the event had to be postponed by reason of an attack of illness. He was, however, baptized by the Rev. Dr. Hills, rector of St. Mary's, while lying on his sick bed, on June 14, 1875. He died ten days after, aged sixty- three years, and was buried at Morristown, New Jersey.
RANSOM, Stephen Billings,
Prominent Lawyer.
Stephen Billings Ransom, one of the most eminent and successful lawyers of Jersey City, and a recognized factor in political circles in the State of New Jersey, was born at Salem, Connecticut, October 12, 1814, son of Amasa Ransom, a farmer, long resident in that place.
Stephen B. Ransom was educated at Ba- con Academy, Colchester, Connecticut, con- tinuing his studies there until 1835, after which he was engaged in teaching, which vocation he followed for one year at Mend- ham and in other towns, removing to the State of New Jersey in 1836. In 1841 he began the study of law, under the direction of Phineas B. Kennedy, then county clerk of Belvidere, and completed his course un- der the supervision of William Thompson, of Somerville. He was admitted to the bar of New Jersey, September 5, 1844. For three years he practiced his profession at New Germantown, Hunterdon county, and in April, 1848, he removed to Somerville, where he resided and practiced law until 1856. Two years previously, in 1854, he also opened an office in Jersey City, to which city he subsequently removed his residence, and was looked upon as a shrewd practitioner, true to his convictions, yet just to those who differed, positive, yet kind. In politics he was originally a Dem-
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ocrat, and supported Van Buren for presi- dent in 1848. Four years later, he became a Republican and voted for Franklin Pierce. He supported Horace Greeley for the presidency against the re-election of Ulysses S. Grant. In 1845 and 1846 he commanded a company of militia at New Germantown. Mr. Ransom was a man of strong physique, was as careful of his health as of his law cases, in their success- ful results, and left a heritage in an honest name, appreciated by his contemporaries, a man of abundant labors, and truly Chris- tian character, so that his appearance, as well as his memory, will be cherished.
Mr. Ransom married (first) May 14, 1845, in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, Maria C. Apgar, daughter of Jacob Apgar, who went to California, on the discovery of gold, and died there in 1849. The fol- lowing year Mrs. Ransom died. Mr. Ran- som married (second) in July, 1856, Eliza W. Hunt, daughter of Stephen R. Hunt, a lawyer of Somerville, New Jersey. Mr. Ransom died December 3, 1893, leaving a widow, five sons and two daughters.
BORCHERLING, Charles G. A.,
Oldest Member of Essex County Bar.
To live long is a distinction, to live long and well is an honor. To walk the earth for eighty-five years has been a distinction borne by many, but to few has been the signal honor given to carry that weight of years so honorably as did the eminent law- yer, Charles G. A. Borcherling, of New- ark, New Jersey, who at his death was the oldest member of the Essex county bar, and was no whit less able, clearminded, and effective as an advocate than his most em- inent contemporaries, all of them many years his juniors. For half a century he was a commanding figure at the bar, passing from youth to middle age to full maturity and then to the rewards of respect and po- sition due his attainments, his honorable life, and his weight of years. With the
years he grew in knowledge, in legal acu- men, and in power, in the love and respect of his associates and in the confidence of influential as well as humble clients. He loved the law but he loved justice more, and his greatest joy was not that he had won a cause but that justice had been done. Although deeply concerned in the civic and temporal welfare of his city, he never sought nor accepted public office. As he re- tained true affection for the land of his birth, so did he glory in the freedom, op- portunity, and life of his adopted country, and no truer citizen breathed the air of freedom than Charles Gustav Adoph Bor- cherling.
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