USA > New Jersey > Cyclopedia of New Jersey Biography > Part 46
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When the fire had been conquered the Mayor's thoughts were not of himself and his own comfort, but of the hundreds of his people who had lost home and property. He was the leading spirit in the taking of meas- ures for the relief of the distressed. Through his instrumentality churches were thrown open as asylums and the city armory was converted into a temporary hospital for the shelter and care of many who were homeless. It was not until every needy per- son was housed and food and clothing sup- plied to meet the immediate wants of the sufferers, that Mayor Hinchliffe thought of his own needs, and then only after remain- ing on duty for nearly twenty hours, did he consent to retire to his own home to snatch a few hours' rest to fortify him for the equally trying ordeal of the morrow. Be- fore he retired, however, Mayor Hinchliffe sounded the note proclaiming to the world the spirit of patriotism and independence which was to call forth words of praise. Offers of relief from neighboring cities came to Paterson ere the conflagration was
done. The people were bereft and, in the language of their mayor himself, Paterson was transformed into a "city of poverty." But the thought of accepting the aid so kind- ly offered did not for one instant enter the mind of Mayor Hinchliffe. "Paterson has suffered grievously," said this mayor, "she is very grateful to the many who have dis- played such magnificent sympathy, but Pat- erson can and will take care of itself."
So not a dollar of money nor contribu- tions of any kind were accepted, save that which was contributed by the citizens and business men of the stricken city. The at- titude of the Mayor awakened all the spirit of pride in his people. They ratified his stoical rejection of the extended hand of charity and said with him "Paterson is grateful, but will take care of herself." It was this spirit of pride, independence and self-reliance in the very darkest hour of her history that attracted the attention of the nation to Paterson. It was a unique pic- ture and a display of fine spirit that has rarely been equalled, and it was due to the unyielding attitude of Mayor Hinchliffe that Paterson has maintained her position. That Mayor Hinchliffe undertook a most serious task when he turned away, in the name of Paterson, the thousands of dollars that were offered in contributions, none will deny. It was not believed that he could maintain this attitude, and predictions were made that he would recede and consent to accept outside aid. Even the people of Paterson appealed to the Mayor to consent to receive such con- tributions of money as were made unsolicit- ed. The request was made by a delegation sent to the Mayor from the Central Relief Committee. But even to the official plead- ers he turned an unwilling ear, and to their importunities said: "No, we will not accept a penny from abroad. Paterson can and will rehabilitate herself." All through the trying week, the most crucial period in Paterson's history, Mayor Hinchliffe proved himself to be a natural leader of his fellow men. He displayed fine judgment, ready
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wit and sound sense in coping with every emergency that arose. He seemed to de- velop in this situation more than at any previous time in an extended public career, the faculty of performing good acts in a way that fitted him in his public capacity, yet attracted all men strongly to him.
John Hinchliffe, like all men who have passed through many political battles, had gained enemies for himself, not personal foes, but those that come as a natural con- sequence of the strifes of politics. It is a part of the stock in trade of such men to belittle the influences for good exerted by the object of their enmity and hate. But in this emergency the testimony of Hinch- liffe's enemies to the magnificent manner in which he first fought to save his city from total effacement and later bravely in- augurated the work of upbuilding, has not been one whit less enthusiastic than that of his dearest friends. Those who knew John Hinchliffe from his childhood say that his achievements of the week of the fire were the inevitable consequences of the opportunity that came to him. He had always displayed a strenuous vigor and a most marked individuality. He had always been noted for his love for a fight. From the time when, as a rugged boy, the product of city life, he contended with his playmates over a game of marbles, up to the hour when he undertook his now famous defense of his city against the annihilating efforts of the elements, John Hinchliffe had been self- assertive, disputatious and vigorous in all that he undertook. As a boy he led in the wholesome sports that all boys love; as a young man he retained his love for violent exercise and excelled his fellows with the ball and bat. Later on, when he took to politics as naturally as a duck takes to water, he exemplified the spirit of his earlier days in the exciting conflicts that his po- litical affiliations engendered and he was never known to acknowledge that such an emergency as defeat could ever come to him.
DUNLOP, John,
Manufacturer, Financier.
The manufacturing interests of any city are among its most important assets, and the men who have been instrumental in in- troducing industries of this kind should be given due credit for them. The late John Dunlop, of Hackensack, New Jersey, brought with him from his native land of Scotland, those habits of thrift and industry, combined with sound, practical business methods, which are so conducive to the prosperity of a community.
John Dunlop was the son of George and Isabella (Waddell) Dunlop, and was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, July 15, 1828. His early years were spent at Partick, Scotland, where he received his education and, at the age of nineteen years, he came to America, and settled in Texas. Being of an adven- turous and ambitious nature, he was of the opinion that there were better opportunities for advancement in that comparatively un- settled state, than if he remained in the more crowded eastern section of the United States. At the time of the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Mr. Dunlop was engaged in business on the main Plaza in San An- tonio, Texas, and went over the borders into Mexico to escape being impressed as a Confederate soldier. He was obliged to leave his young wife and infant daughter and cross the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass. Later he was joined by his family at Pedras Negres, and they proceeded to Monterey and from thence to Matamoras. Mr. Pierce, the American consul at that city, made Mr. Dunlop the bearer of dispatches to Presi- dent Lincoln in Washington, District of Columbia. He had a personal interview with President Lincoln, who paid close attention to Mr. Dunlop's recital of the conditions in Texas, and, at a conference which was called, the question of sending an army down there was freely discussed. Mr. Dun- lop volunteered his services to accompany this army in case it was sent, and, while
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awaiting developments, settled in Paterson, New Jersey, and there purchased a large amount of property, a portion of which is the present site of the Paterson city sta- tion of the New York, Susquehanna & Western railroad. He did not return to Texas, as the troops were not sent there, and in 1864 he engaged in the silk busi- ness with William S. Malcolm. Both young men were novices in this line, the parents of Mr. Dunlop having been engaged in ship building in Scotland, and Mr. Malcolm hav- ing had experience only in the manufac- ture of cotton textiles. Mr. Dunlop furnish- ed two-thirds of the necessary capital, and Mr. Malcolm one-third, the firm being known as Dunlop & Malcolm, and their place of business, which was located at Straight and Morton streets, was known as the Union Silk Works. At the commence- ment of this enterprise they employed about eighty hands but this number has been rapidly and steadily increased until at the present time they have several hundreds of hands in the mills. Upon the death of Mr. Malcolm, Mr. Dunlop purchased his inter- est, and thereafter had sole control of this industry. In 1888 he started another fac- tory in Spring Valley. The Paterson mills were completely destroyed by fire in 1890 and, while they were rebuilt, Mr. Dunlop did not again operate them, but rented them to others. He retired from the heavy re- sponsibilities of business life in 1891, and his sons, George, J. Donald, and Beveridge, carry on the Spring Valley plant, known now as that of John Dunlop's Sons.
Mr. Dunlop married, May 28, 1860, Jeannie, a daughter of Thomas and Ellen (Hastie) Beveridge, of Oneida county, New York. They had children : Jean, de- ceased; George, married Miss Bacon, of Victor, New York; Agnes, married Fred- erick W. Cooke, of Paterson, New Jersey ; J. Donald, married Effie Smith, of Spring Valley ; Helen, married Rev. Albert Bacon, of Niagara Falls; Janet, married Dr. A. S. Corwin, of Rye, New York; Beveridge.
married Miss Anna Marvin; Elsie, married J. H. Longmaid, of Montana; and Jessie.
By the death of Mr. Dunlop, which oc- curred December II, 1907, business as well as social circles were deeply affected. He had been a director in many banks and a number of other institutions, and the loss of his wise counsel was a heavy blow. His chief pastimes were curling and hunting, and he was a member of the Ivanhoe Curl- ing Club of Paterson, and of the St. An- drew's Club. His charities were numerous and so unostentatiously bestowed, that their full extent is only known by the happy re- cipients of his bounty.
BROWNING, John Hull,
Financier and Manufacturer.
John Hull Browning was descended from Anglo-Saxon ancestors through a long line resident in New England, and typified those qualities of industrious application, sound judgment and energy which conquered a wilderness upon our New England coast, at the same time conquering savage foes, and established firmly a modern civilization. The oldest form of the name bears the German spelling Bruning, and it later came to be rendered in various ways. According to the poet, Robert Browning, the earliest form of the name was de Bruni, which was the Norman-French name of one of the an- cient German tribes which inhabited the shores of the Baltic Sea, in Northern Ger- many. In high German the form of the name is Brauning. The Brunings are sup- posed to have migrated from Germany to England, where the Anglo-Saxons changed the spelling to Browning, to suit their own tongue. The termination "ing" in the Ger- man language means a meadow or low pas- tureland, and hence the origin of the name as applied to inhabitants of the low mead- ows.
Nathaniel Browning, son of Mrs. Eliz- abeth Browning, was born in London about 1618, and died at Portsmouth, Rhode Is-
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land, when about fifty-two years old. Mrs. Browning and her husband appear to have been non-conformists, and the persecution that followed them was probably the cause which led Nathaniel Browning to embark for America soon after he came of age, in the year 1640. Landing at Boston, he pro- ceeded to Portsmouth, where he was made a freeman in 1654. This means that he was of good standing in the church, and that he was eligible to participate in the councils and government of the colony. He married, about 1650, Sarah, second daughter of Wil- liam and Mary Freeborn, who sailed from Ipswich, England, in 1634.
Their son, William Browning, born about 1651, at Portsmouth, lived to be nearly eighty years of age, a farmer at North Kingston, Rhode Island. He was made freeman in 1684, and was twice married (first) in 1687 to Rebecca, daughter of Sam- uel and Hannah (Porter) Wilbur, grand- daughter of Samuel Wilbur and John Por- ter, both of whom were original settlers at Portsmouth. His second wife's name was Sarah.
John Browning, youngest son of William and Rebecca (Wilbur) Browning, was born March 4, 1696, at South Kingston, Rhode Island, and died in 1777, at Exeter, same State, in his eighty-first year. He was made a freeman in 1744, and was a farmer, resid- ing near the coast in South Kingston, where he had large landed possessions. He mar- ried, April 21, 1721, Ann, daughter of Jer- emiah and Sarah (Smith) Hazard, grand- daughter of Thomas Hazard, the immigrant progenitor of a notable American family.
Thomas Browning, the eldest son of the above marriage, born in 1722, in Kingston, died there in 1770. During his active life he was a farmer in Hopkinton, Rhode Is- land, and was made a freeman in 1742. Like his parents, he was a Quaker, served as jus- tice of the peace at Little Compton, and was captain of the local militia company. His first wife, Mary, was a daughter of William and Mary (Wilkinson) Browning, and they
were the parents of William Thomas Browning, born May II, 1765, in South Kingston. He was a farmer in Preston, Connecticut, where he built a farm house, standing half in Preston and half in North Stonington, which is still standing in good preservation. He married Catherine, daugh- ter of Robert and Catherine (Guinedeau) Morey, of Newport, Rhode Island. Their fifth son, John Hazard Browning, was born 1 July 28, 1801, at the Browning homestead ! in Preston, where he was reared. He be- came a merchant in Milltown, Connecticut, and later in New London. In 1833 he mov- ed to New York City, and engaged in the dry goods business, at the corner of Fulton and Water streets, as senior member of the firm of Browning & Hull. This business was greatly extended, and in 1849 was clos- ed out, and in association with two others, Mr. Browning engaged in the general mer- chandise trade in California, his partners removing thither. Mr. Browning remained in New York, where he manufactured and purchased goods which were shipped to Cal- ifornia for sale. Three times the store was burned, without insurance, resulting in a total loss. In 1857, Mr. Browning with- drew from all activity, except as a special partner with his son, who conducted a cloth- ing store under the firm name of Hanford & Browning. This subsequently became Browning, King & Company, which now has stores in the principal cities of the United States. Mr. Browning married, September 21, 1829, Eliza Smith Hull, of Stonington, daughter of Col. John W. and Elizabeth (Smith) Hull, and they were the parents of four sons and a daughter.
The Hull family is also of ancient origin, and springs from Rev. Joseph Hull, who was born in Somersetshire, England, about 1594, and was rector of Northleigh, Devon- shire, England, about fourteen years. With his wife, Agnes, he embarked for America in 1635, and shortly became pastor of the church at Weymouth, Massachusetts. He was prominent in local affairs, and presided
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over several churches in Massachusetts, and subsequently, for nine years, at York, Maine. After ten years in Europe he be- came pastor at Dover, New Hampshire, where he died. He was the father of Capt. Tristram Hull, born in England, in 1626, who joined the Society of Friends, and resid- ed at Yarmouth and Barnstable, Massachu- setts. His son, Joseph Hull, born at Barn- stable, 1652, was governor's assistant) in Rhode Island four years, and suffered much persecution because of his affiliation with the Friends, in which society he became a minis- ter. His son, Tristram Hull, lived in Wes- terly, Rhode Island, and was the father of Stephen Hull, whose son, Latham Hull, died in North Stonington, Connecticut. His son, John W. Hull, resided in that town, and was a colonel of the local militia. He mar- ried Elizabeth Smith, of Waterford, Con- necticut, and they were the parents of Eliza Smith Hull, born May 26, 1812, died April 21, 1875. She was married, September 21, 1829, to John Hazard Browning, and be- came the mother of John Hull Browning. of further mention below.
John Hull Browning, youngest child of John Hazard and Eliza Smith (Hull) Browning, was born December 25, 1841, in Orange, New Jersey, where the family has been for some time established. After pur- suing a course in the New York Academy, he embarked upon a business career in his twentieth year, entering the wholesale cloth- ing firm of William C. Browning & Com- pany, which business was very successful, and John Hull Browning ultimately be- came interested in various financial and business enterprises. Soon after 1883 he succeeded the late Charles G. Sisson as president of the Northern Railroad of New Jersey, which position he occupied twenty- two years. He was secretary and treasurer of the East & West railroad of Alabama, and for twenty years was president of the Richmond County Gas Company, in what is now Greater New York. For some time he was treasurer of the Cherokee Iron Com-
pany of Cedartown, Georgia, and he was a director in the Citizens' National Bank of Englewood, New Jersey. Mr. Browning made his home in New York City, but main- tained an attractive summer home at Ten- afly, New Jersey. He was deeply interested in organized charitable work, both in New York and New Jersey, and in association with his wife erected a fresh air children's home at Tenafly. While he was essentially a business man, a director in many profitable enterprises, Mr. Browning always had time for a reasonable amount of recreation, and devoted much thought and care to benevo- lent work in the interest of mankind in general. He died suddenly in the Erie ferryhouse at the foot of Chambers street, New York, October 26, 1914. He married, October 19, 1871, Eva B. Sisson, daughter of Charles Grandison and Mary Elizabeth (Garrabrant) Sisson. Mr. Sisson was a projector, contractor and railroad president, one of the most useful citizens of New Jer- sey during more than a quarter of a cen- tury's residence in that state. He was a grandson of William Sisson, one of five brothers, from Soissons, in Normandy, France, all of whom settled in Rhode Island, a majority of them participating in the American Revolution. One, Nathan Sisson, endured terrible hardships on board British prison ships in New York harbor. Major Gilbert Sisson, son of William, was a native of North Stonington, Connecticut, where he was a merchant, and married Desire Maine, a woman of unusual talent, the sev- enth daughter of a large family, of French descent. They were the parents of Charles G. Sisson.
Mr. and Mrs. John Hull Browning were the parents of a son, John Hull Browning, born October 6, 1874.
OBERLY, Rev. Dr. Henry Harrison,
Clergyman, Litterateur.
The influence of a beloved and revered pastor remains longer perhaps in any com-
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munity than that of any other type of man. One of the most beneficent of these, and one whose saintliness was known to all, whether or not they were of his parish, was the Rev. Dr. Henry Harrison Oberly, rector of Christ Episcopal Church, in Elizabeth, New Jer- sey. A man of the most unaffected and beautiful piety, his sway over the people of his time was that due to the involuntary homage of the human mind towards an ideal of holiness and benevolence. The memory of such a man lingers long among those who have even indirectly known him, and leaves a strong, if mute, appeal for nobler and purer living.
Rev. Dr. Oberly was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, June 19, 1841, a son of Ben- jamin and Anne Elizabeth (Yard) Oberly, and a descendant of a Swiss family which has been resident there for almost two cen- turies. After passing through the grammar and high schools of his native town, he at- tended in succession Racine College, Ra- cine, Wisconsin; Trinity College, at Hart- ford, Connecticut ; and the Berkeley Divin- ity School, at Middletown, Connecticut. He was graduated from the two last named in- stitutions, Trinity College conferring upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1899. He was ordained deacon while at Berkeley School, and ordained to the priest- hood of the Protestant Episcopal Church by Bishop Potter, while serving his diacon- ate at Trinity Church, New York. His first rectorship was the parish of Holy Cross, Warrensburg, New York, where he remain- ed three years. For another year he was rector at Cherry Valley, New York, then for five years rector of Trinity Church at West Troy, New York. He was appointed to the rectorship of Christ Church, Eliza- beth, New Jersey, June 1, 1879, there hav- ing been but two rectors preceding him here -Rev. Stevens Parker, D. D., from 1863 to 1879, and the first rector, Rev. E. A Hoffman, D. D., from 1853 to 1863.
Dr. Oberly was an earnest worker in
whatever he undertook. He was elected deputy from this diocese to the General Triennial Conventions of 1901, 1904 and 1910, serving on several important commit- tees on both conventions. He was a mem- ber of the Clerical Union, and of the Church Congress, serving as a member of the exe- cutive committee. For many years he was the leading spirit in the Charity Organiza- tion Society in Elizabeth, having been one of the incorporators in 1903. He was a member of the executive board as well as s chairman of the case committee, but for more than a year prior to his death, he had i been obliged to abandon his activities in this direction. Many improvements were made in and around the church during his incum- bency, one of them being the erection of the parish hall in East Scott Place. He main- tained the surpliced choir for men and boys which had been organized by his predeces- sor ; and instituted the choir festival which was held once a year ; and also instituted the Guild of St. Paul.
Dr. Oberly was a Republican in his polit- ical opinions ; was a member of Beta Beta Chapter of Psi Upsilon fraternity, and of the Psi Upsilon Club of New York City. His literary ability was of a very high or- der, his published works, "Testimony of the Prayer Book to the Continuity of the Church," a "Catechism," in four parts, and many articles for newspapers and maga- zines, sacred and secular. Four years prior to his death Dr. Oberly underwent a serious operation in a hospital in New York City. Only a short time previously, while return- ing with his wife from a trip to Italy and Switzerland, they were wrecked on the voy- age, losing all their baggage, as did most of the other passengers. Dr. Oberly married, in Trinity Church, New York, October 2, 1871, Jane Averell, only daughter of Theo- dore T. S. and Jane Webb (Averell) Laid- ley, the former a colonel of ordnance, in the United States army. This article can find no better close than a few extracts from
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what was said of Dr. Oberly at the time of his death by eminent men who knew him personally.
The Rev. Lytleton E. Hubard, rector of St. John's Church, said that while he had known Dr. Oberly only a few months, he had frequently seen him, and found him to be a most helpful man. He was sympathet- ic and understanding, and was of unusual ability and refinement. He understood the mission of the church, and was a guide and a teacher. His life and works have made a lasting impression, and the community has lost a friend.
The Rev. J. Frederick Virgin, rector of Grace Church, declared that Dr. Oberly oc- cupied a position of prominence in the Epis- copal church. In the diocesan conventions his opinions always carried weight; he had great influence in the church, and he was noted for his strong personality and church- manship.
Rev. Winfield S. Baer, rector of Trinity Church, said in part: "I deeply regret the loss of my fellow worker, Dr. Oberly. His passing away is a loss to the diocese as well as to the parish and community. He was highly respected by his brethren in the clergy and was a man of influence in the councils of the diocese. His loss will be deeply felt. The members of his own parish can best testify to the work of his manhood, but no one can tell the good work he has done in the thirty-five years of faithful, devoted service as rector of Christ Church."
Howard T. Scheckler, superintendent of the Rescue Mission, declared that Dr. Ober- ly would be more missed in the future than can be realized at the present time because of his charity and kindly feeling toward the people of the city. He took a great interest in the work of the Mission.
From his brethren also comes the follow- ing extract from the minutes of the execu- tive committee of the Church Congress.
New York, May 4, 1914.
The Executive Committee of the Church Con- gress desires to place on record some expres- sion of the great sense of loss which has be-
fallen us in the death of our beloved friend and colleague, the Reverend Henry Harrison Ober- ly, D. D. In the labors which he shared with us, he was uniformly active, faithful and con- scientious as in all the other points at which he touched the life of the Church. Always stand- ing unflinchingly for the truth as he saw it, he was nevertheless one of the broadest minded and most tolerant of men. As a critic he was keen and incisive, yet always sympathetic. A man of wide reading he was able to give a reason to them that asked for the faith that was in him, but the charm of his personality, his singular urbanity and the high standard of spirituality which he exemplified in his daily walk and con- versation endeared him to those whose opinions were most widely divergent, as well as to those who saw with him, eye to eye. His great life work was his rectorship of Christ Church, Elizabeth, where for five and thirty years he had built upon the foundations of Eugene Augustus Hoff- mann and Stevens Parker. The fruitfulness of his abundant labors is manifest in the strength and vigor of the parish, as well as in the im- press of his public spirit upon the civic life of the community which could always depend upon the help of the clear head and the warm heart of Doctor Oberly. His absence leaves a wide ga? in an innermost Congress circle. We are at a loss to fill his place, for "He was a man take him all in all, I shall not look upon his like again." We shall sorely miss his counsel and his help, but we sorrow most of all, because we shall see his face no more. Singularly full of com- fort to us as to all who knew and loved him is the holy assurance. "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord for they rest from their labors."
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