USA > New Jersey > Genealogical and memorial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume I > Part 37
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Mr. Van Vinkle was one of the founders and the first vice-president of the Bar Asso- ciation, and one of its most valuable members until his health became impaired. He was for some thirty years one of the managers of the House of Refuge for Juvenile Delinquents, and rendered great service in the direction of that important establishment. In 1846 he was one of the founders of the Century Club, of which he was a cherished member, largely con- tributing to and sharing in the social and in- tellectual entertainments for which it has so long been distinguished. He was also one of the first members of the Union League Club, and took the deepest interest in its patriotic purposes and action. What contributed greatly to his success in his career was the associations he had formed in a literary club which he fre- quented while still a student. The earliest meetings of this club were held in the basement of Christ's Church, in Anthony, now Worth street, at the instance of Thomas Lyell, a son of Rev. Dr. Lyell, the pastor. As the most conspicuous object in the meeting room was a column which upheld the ceiling, to attend a meeting was equivalent to going to the Column, and the club soon adopted the Column as its name. Mr. Van Winkle became so prominent in this little association that he was chosen archon, or presiding officer, and continued to hold this dignity until the day of his death. Soon after he became a member of the Column he began, in concert with Daniel Seymour, the issue of a newspaper called The Aspirant, which was continued for some years. It over- flowed with racy humor, caustic criticisms and rollicking fun. These papers were afterwards gathered into two volumes, which were con- sumed in the conflagration of the Mirror office. The book which Mr. Van Winkle prepared for his family was confined to his poetical efforts, and did not comprise any of his prose writings. This book, which his warm affec- tions prepared privately for his immediate
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family in 1876 but which his sterner self- judgment withheld from a larger public, dem- onstrates how irresistible the poetic impulse in him was and at the same time how his im- perative will controlled any manifestations likely to interfere with his professional suc- cess. Although he enriched the newspapers with them occasionally, it was always done under the rigid shield of the anonymous. In the leisure time vouchsafed him just after his admission to the bar he published more or less in the old New York Mirror. One cannot say that he was a wit in the strictest sense of the term, despite many occasional sparks; but his humor was very lively and keen and, if graver causes had not absorbed the faculties of his mind, it might have expanded into ex- uberance. These graver causes arose from the growing responsibilities of his profession ; he had apprehended that he might not be able to make his salt in it, but he soon found that instead of wanting it he was more likely to be overwhelmed with business. He was a fluent and pleasing speaker, whose eloquence was rather that of forceable statement than of rhetorical grace. He won juries by the obvi- ous sincerity of his convictions, judges by his real learning and sobriety of judgment, and his clients by a singular uniformity of success.
Mr. Van Winkle was a power not only in the Column, but in other organizations. He was a leading member of the Historical As- sociation and a patron of those noble organi- zations for charity which reflect honor upon human nature. His religious feelings were profound and earnest, and they were expressed in an habitual attendance on the church to which he belonged. His learning was not alone that of the law. He was a belles-lettres scholar of large attainments, versed in the Latin, French and English classics, an enthusi- ast in Shakespearean lore, and familiar with modern literature generally. He dearly loved nature, and was never happier than amid the rural scenes that surrounded his pleasant and hospitable country home at Litchfield, where he passed his summer vacations, surrounded by his loving and beloved family and a few chosen friends, under the elms that shaded his house, or among the hills and dales, or in his boat on the beautiful lake.
In December, 1878, his health gave way and was never fully restored, although he was able until the year preceding his death to partici- pate in the business of his office. His mind continued clear and to the end he warmly prized and delighted in the society of his
friends. The long period of his indisposition was one of rest and of the quiet "contempla- tion" which he always desired might precede his death, and respecting which, while writing to a friend a few years before he died, he said :
"Before the fatal day, God grant it late, When thou and I must bow our heads to fate, Before our last long sleep, oh, yield it, Heaven, Some time for contemplation may be given."
His prayer was granted. During the last year he became gradually weaker and at length, without pain or agitation, surrounded by his family and friends, passed gently to his rest. Such had been his pure and useful and upright life that he approached the grave without fear. He left behind him the record of well-spent years, his good example, an honored name, and an ever-abiding place in the hearts of those who love and mourn him. Rev. Edward B. Coe, D. D., delivered an address at his funeral and said in part : "It was a singularly refined and gentle nature which was blended in him with an incisive force of thought and an en. ergy of will, combined with rare legal learning, that made his career as a lawyer one of such marked and eminent success. Not often is so much of mental vigor combined with a grace so charming and such unfailing courtesy. There was in him a high-mindedness, a thor- ough intellectual and moral honesty, which made itself felt by all with whom he came in contact. It was no skillfully assumed air of conviction which imposed upon the minds of courts and juries. But it was known that he believed what he said, and that he said what he believed ; and the force of his words was multiplied by the force of the character which was behind them. * * * Few men have ever blended talents so great as his and influ- ence so wide, with a more beautiful mod- esty."
At a meeting of the Bar Association of the City of New York, Hon. William M. Evarts announced the death of Edgar S. Van Winkle, and it was "Resolved : By the Association, that (under its rules) it be referred to its execu- tive committee to prepare and present to the Association a suitable memorial of the late Mr. Van Winkle, which (after adoption by the Association), should be transcribed into its 'Memorial Book,' to be kept among its arch- ives." At an adjourned meeting of the Asso- ciation held February 13, 1883 (in conformity with the foregoing resolution), a memorial of Mr. Van Winkle, prepared by his friend, the Hon. Benjamin D. Silliman, was presented by
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the executive committee to the Association, and adopted that day. A memorial paper, prepared by Parke Goodwin, was read before the Column, in January, 1883.
Mr. Van Winkle married, November II, 1835, Hannah Starr Beach, of Litchfield, born January 7, 1816, and died March 29, 1888. Children : Mary Du Bois, born November 3, 1836; Hannah Louisa, November 24, 1837, died October 15, 1860; Elizabeth Starr, June 5, 1840, died May 29, 1904; Edgar Beach, see forward.
(VIII) Edgar Beach, only son and young- est child of Edgar Simon and Hannah Starr (Beach) Van Winkle, was born March 4. 1842, in New York City, where he received his education in the University Grammar School of New York and the private school of George S. Parker, a noted educator of his day. He then matriculated at Union College, Schenect- ady, New York, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1860; pursued an engineering course, and received the degree of Civil Engineer in 1861. Since that time he has been engaged in the practice of civil engineering in New York City and elsewhere. He enlisted, June 3, 1862, in the Seventh Regiment, National Guard, State of New York, was later promoted to first lieu- tenant in the One Hundred and Third Infan- try, New York Volunteers, December 27, 1862, and February 2, 1865, was commissioned captain in same regiment, from which he re- signed and was honorably discharged July II, 1865. May 18, 1876, he became engineer of the First Division, . National Guard, State of New York, with the rank of colonel, and con- tinued in this position until 1884, when he re- signed. Mr. Van Winkle is a member and ex- director of the American Society of Civil En- gineers, a member of the Century Club and the Army and Navy Club of New York City. Himself and family attend the Collegiate Dutch Reformed Church of New York City.
Mr. Van Winkle married (first), June 7, 1876, Elizabeth, born October 18, 1847, died August 8, 1894, daughter of Judge William and Mary P. (Berrian) Mitchell. He mar- ried (second), June 3, 1899, Mary Flower, born September 11, 1867, daughter of William and Marion (Mckeever) Speiden. Children ; all by the first marriage: Mary Starr, born May 16, 1877 ; Elizabeth Mitchell, October 23, 1878; Edgar Beach, June 6, 1880; Grace Louisa, December 21, 1881 ; William Mitchell, December 5, 1885.
(For ancestry see preceding sketches).
(VI) Edo, second son
VAN WINKLE and child of Simeon and Annetje (Marselis) Van
Winkle, was born October 14, 1779, and died February 14, 1852. The old family homestead of the Van Winkles was situated on the pres- ent Broadway, near Carroll street. This site is still held and occupied by his descendants. Here he was reared after the customs of his forefathers. He became a prosperous well- to-do farmer, owning some forty acres from Summer street to the foot of Broadway Hill. He was a soldier during the war of 1812, and held the rank of lieutenant in the United States army. For a time he was justice of the peace in his native town, and served thirty consecu- tive years as collector of taxes for the town- ship of Acquackanonk, in which the city of Paterson is now located. He was one of the original committee of the new township upon its organization. He was an old line Whig in politics. He was religious, and both he and his wife were members of the old First Presbyterian Church, to the building of which he contributed, and was interred in the burial ground of that church on Market street, but in later years removed to the new Cedar Lawn Cemetery. His wife, maternal grandmother of the subject of this sketch, was a most ca- pable and brilliant woman, reared her family in the christian virtues, and exerted a great influence over her husband. Edo Van Winkle was known as a noble, kind-hearted man of a most liberal nature. He possessed many lifelong friends, and from his jolly good na- ture was a friend to all. He was of medium height and rather portly in appearance. He married (first) May 26, 1805, Jannetje Van- derhoff. Children: I. Antje (Ann), married John Thompson. 2. Elizabeth, married Judge David Burnett. He married (second) De- cember 1, 1811, Mrs. Jane (Van Houten) Post. Children: 3. Mary, married Frederick Treadwell Ketchum. 4. John Edo, born Feb- ruary 25, 1814, mentioned below. 5. Cather- ine, died September 6, 1877; married Henry Clark. 6. Jacob, who lost his life when three years old, by accident.
(VII) John Edo, son of Edo and Jane (Van Houten) (Post) Van Winkle, was born in Paterson, New Jersey, February 25, 1814, and died in that city December 13, 1889. He was educated in the schools of his native town, learned the machinist's trade, and made this his vocation. He established himself in busi-
Holawynika
Faltah VanWinkle
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ness in Paterson, was a thorough master of every detail connected with it, and as he found it not alone enjoyable but also profitable, he was obliged to add greatly to his producing fa- cilities, as his business steadily increased. In his business he constantly made use of the in- ventive genius with which he was largely endowed, in devising and applying various im- provements which increased the output of his shops, without adding to the cost in time and labor. He was an extensive land owned in the city, and after his death these were divided and sold to excellent advantage. He served his native town as tax collector from 1840 to 1844, and as school commissioner in 1860; was appointed by President Grant a United States commissioner to the International Exposition at Vienna, Austria, in 1873, but failing health obliged him to decline this honorable service. He was a trusted member of the Republican party, and repeatedly declined nomination to high political offices. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and as a layman in the councils of that denomination held a high place and enjoyed an enviable reputation. At the time of his death his pastor, Rev. Charles D. Shaw, paid to his memory the following tribute : "In business and social life his con- duct was beyond reproach. Great dignity of character, indomitable courage, a resolute will. large mechanical and inventive ability, pro- found and vigorous thought engaged upon the highest themes, were united with much sim- plicity of manner and kindness of heart." Mr. Van Winkle married, June 19, 1838, Rebecca, daughter of John G. and Lettie (Voorhees) Oldis, died September 27, 1890. Children: I. Catherine, born April 22, 1839; married, No- vember II, 1864, Eugene Beggs; children : Ella, born November 9, 1866, William Frank- lin, December, 1868, John E., Frederick and James. 2. Edward, of Atlanta, Georgia, born September, 1841 ; married Amelia King; chil- dren : Anna, Nellie and Edward. 3. John Albert, born December 10, 1843, mentioned below. 4. Henry, married Emma Cunning- ham ; children : Caroline, Franklin and Edgar. 5. Anne Merselis. 6. Mary, died in infancy. 7. Franklin, married Anna Shaw; child, John Shaw.
(VIII) John Albert, second son and child of John Edo and Rebecca (Oldis) Van Winkle, was born in Paterson, New Jersey, December IO, 1843. He was educated in the public schools of his native town, being graduated from the Paterson high school in 1857. He then found employment in the hardware store
of James M. Smiley, at the corner of Broad- way and Main street, Paterson, and during his four years of service here, became sales- man and manager of the business. In 1861 he removed to New York City, where he was employed in a position of trust and responsi- bility in the hardware establishment of Bliven & Mead, at that time the largest dealers in hardware in that city. He was but eighteen years of age when he accepted this position, and upon attaining his majority he was ad- mitted to partnership in the firm. He with- drew from this partnership in 1867 in order to engage in the business of importing hard- ware and had an office in New York. After two years'experience he discontinued importing and opened a general hardware store in Paterson, at No. 174 Main street. The growth of this business necessitated its removal to No. 168 Main street in 1871 ; the new quarters occupy an extensive "L" at Nos. 72-4-6 Van Houten street, and in addition Mr. Van Winkle occu- pies a storage warehouse and factory at Nos. 43-5-7 Tyler street, all of which property he owns. His business also includes steam fit- tings and mill supplies. His reputation as a public . spirited citizen is shown by the re- sponsible positions he holds and has held in the city of Paterson. These include: Presi- dent of the Business Mens' Association ; mem- ber of the board of directors of Second Na- tional Bank ; president of Merselis Land Com- pany ; member of board of managers, vice- president and chairman of the finance com- mittee of the Paterson General Hospital ; mem- ber of the New Jersey Historical Society. He served as a member of the Board of Education of Paterson in 1873-4, and in 1895 was the un- successful candidate of the Republican party for the office of mayor of Paterson. He is a member of the Hardware Club of Paterson, and of the Holland Society of the City of New York, the latter membership coming through his descent from Jacobse Van Winkle, the immigrant to New Amsterdam from Holland in 1634. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and Order of United American Mechanics, and was a member of the board of trustees of the Church of the Redeemer of Paterson, and through this organization active in religious work. Mr. Van Winkle married, September 13, 1865, Miriam, born November 2, 1845, daughter of Benjamin and Eliza Ann (Goetchicus) White, of Paterson, the former a native of New Haven, Connecticut. Chil- dren : I. Bertha, born May 21, 1866; married Frank J. Ball, of Brooklyn ; children : Infant,
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died young ; George Milton, born October 26, 1896; Lillian Van Winkle, April 26, 1901. 2. Edo, born June 1, 1868; received his early education in the schools of Paterson, and for some time attended the Stevens Institute at Hoboken, New Jersey; he then entered the employ of his father in the latter's hardware establishment, and in 1902 became a member of the corporation known as The J. A. Van Winkle Company, and is now its president. He married, February 21, 1905, Cora, born May 14, 1885, daughter of Douglas A. and Dena (Von Brunhan) LeVien; children : Camille, born October 21, 1905; John Albert, June 19, 1907 ; Edo Jr., March 19, 1909. 3. Mary, born May 25, 1870; married (first) Frank R. Walker, a successful practicing at- torney of Atlanta, Georgia, who died Septem- ber 13, 1904; children: Miriam, born Febru- ary 21, 1891, died May 8, 1905; Rebecca, born April 17, 1902. Mary married (second) Will- iam H. Smith, auditor of the Atlanta & West Point Railroad Company, and of other leading corporations of Atlanta, Georgia. 4. Henry B., born August 14, 1872; married Cora, daughter of Amzi and Fanny P. Miller, of Newark, New Jersey ; he is also an officer of the J. A. Van Winkle Co. Children: Kath- ryn, born December 22, 1899; Marjorie, May 1, 1901. 5. Albert Frank, born December 5, 1874, died August 9, 1900, at the beginning of a successful career ; he was a graduate of the University of New York, and later practiced dentistry at Baltimore, Maryland. 6. Ralph O., born June 3, 1878, died May 17, 1909. 7. Lillian W., born July 4, 1880 ; married Arthur Warren Canney, of Croton, New York, who met his death by an accident, October 3, 1908; child: Warren, born December 23, 1902. 8. Louis, born January 3. 1883, died August 8, same year. 9. Miriam Hazel, born August 19, 1887, died June 2, 1892.
At the time of the great fire in February, 1902, the buildings and stock of the J. A. Van Winkle Company were totally destroyed, and the company met with heavy loss. Mr. Van Winkle immediately proceeded to erect build- ings on the same site, buildings particularly adapted to the requirements of the business. These buildings were completed in December of that year and occupied by the company. Since then seventy-five feet immediate west of the Van Houten street building has been ac- quired, and it is the intention of the company to erect buildings thereon to meet the increased business. Mr. Van Winkle, the subject of this sketch, retired from the active management
of the business some five years ago, turning over the same to his sons, Edo and Henry B. He is still an officer of the company and di- vides his time with travel, his personal affairs and the company's office.
(For preceding generations see Jacob Waling van Hoorn (or Van Winkel) 1).
(III) Jacob Walingse, VAN WINKLE eldest son and second child of Waling Jacobse and Catherine Michielse (Vreeland) Van Winkle, was born in Acquackanonk, New Jer- sey, and baptized in the church in that town- ship, June 13, 1674. He was brought up on his father's farm, and on the death of his father in 1725 succeeded to the estate. He became an extensive operator in real estate and in making loans on farms and town prop- erty. In partnership with his only son, John Jacob Van Winkle, he purchased large tracts of land in Bergen county, and sold consider- able portions of the original Acquackanonk tract for improvement. He married, October 30, 1797, Geesbragt Brichers, and they had only one son baptized Johannis Jacobse and known legally and neighborly as John Jacob, the English having superceded the Dutch lan- guage both in preaching and teaching and the christian names becoming gradually spelled and pronounced in English.
(IV) John Jacob, only son of Jacob Wal- ingsie and Geesbragt (Brichers) Van Winkle, was born in Acquackanonk, Bergen county, New Jersey, early in the nineteenth century. He married October 24, 1747, Eva Kip, and lived in the place now familiarly known on the Santiago Place in Rutherford, Bergen county, New Jersey, where he owned considerable real estate, having purchased it in conjunction with his father and which all came to him by in- heritance and purchase. Children, born to them in Rutherford: I. Isaac, died young. 2. Catarine. E. Antje, died young. 4. Antje. 5. Isaac, see forward. 6. Waling, married Sally Garrabrant and had three children: i. Jolın ; ii. Peggy, married John Joralemon ; iii. Jennie, married Garret Janianse.
(V) Isaac, second son of John Jacob and Eva (Kip) Van Winkle, was born in Ruther- ford, Bergen county, New Jersey, December 7, 1767. He owned by purchase large tracts of land in his native county. He married (first) Salome Schoonmaker and they had one son John W., see forward ; married (second) Hes- ter, daughter of George Van Gieson, and granddaughter of John Van Gieson, who was
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a titled officer of the English army. Children : I. Helena, born May 12, 1800. 2. Elizabeth, December 10, 1801. 3. Eva, October 28, 1803. 4. Jane, December 7, 1805. 5. Catherine, Oc- tober I, 1807. 6. George, December 12, 1809. 7. Salome, September 4, 1813. 8. Isaac, see forward. 9. Daniel, see forward. Isaac Van Winkle, the father of these children and of John W. by his first wife, died September 4, 1842.
(VI) John W., only son of Isaac and Salome (Schoonmaker) Van Winkle, was born in Rutherford, New Jersey. No date for his birth appears in the records available. He married Matilda and they had one son named Isaac Schoonmaker Van Winkle.
(VI) Isaac, son of Isaac and Hester (Van Gieson) Van Winkle, was born in Rutherford, Bergen county, New Jersey, in 1814. He in- herited a considerable portion of his father's real estate and secured more by purchase. With his brother Daniel, he owned the two farms which became by purchase the property of Mr. Stetson, proprietor of the Astor House in New York City, and which farm became one of the show places of the neighborhood of North Arlington and from which he supplied his celebrated hostelry with much of the farm produce consumed in the hotel.
(VI) Daniel, son of Isaac and Hester (Van Gieson ) Van Winkle, was born in Rutherford, Bergen county, New Jersey, March 9, 1816. He married Sarah Maria, daughter of Ebe- nezer Condit, of Morristown, New Jersey. Children, born in Rutherford, New Jersey : I. Charlotte Condit, born June 28, 1849; mar- ried Peter H. Westgoard ; died April 26, 1905. 2. Arthur W., see forward. 3. Sarah Eliza- beth, September 25, 1853; married Dr. John W. Primm, September 28, 1897. 4. Isaac, July 20, 1855 ; married Mary Sievers and they had four children, Sara, Louise, Dorothy and Edward. 5. Stephen Condit, June II, 1857, died unmarried. 6. De Witt Talmage, Decem- ber 23, 1858; married Emma Zhetner and they had two children, Ruth and Helen. 7. Charles, March 31, 1863; married Susan Marie Gill and they had five children: Charlotte, Eliza- beth, Wilemincha, John and Charles.
Daniel Van Winkle, father of these children, passed his boyhood days on his father's farm in Bergen county, and he began business life as a contractor with a cash capital of two hun- dred dollars. With this he handled an exten- sive contract so successfully that he fulfilled its conditions in all respects and gained the ap- proval of the principles in the transaction and
the confidence and esteem of the men he em- ployed to accomplish his undertaking. He dis- played executive ability of a high order and application not usual in untried managers of men. He, like his father and grandfather, was largely interested in real estate transac- tions. The death of his father largely in- creased his real estate holdings, and both as a farmer and dealer he turned his property to profit. Taking advantage of the great mi- gration to the Pacific coast, during the discov- ery of gold in California, he acquainted him- self with the real condition and prospects of the new possessions of the United States on the coast by visiting the great Eldorado in 1850. He made the tour by way of the cape and was wrecked off Acapulco, Mexico. Be- ing more fortunate than many of his fellow passengers, he was enabled to continue his journey to San Francisco by the next ship and he returned overland in order to inform himself of the then almost unknown territory that was to become the invaluable heritage of the generations to follow. On returning home he took up his dealings in real estate and pur- chased the Kip property at Boiling Spring (Rutherford) and extended his purchase to over three hundred acres in a section that promised increased value as suburban homes. He gave the land for Rutherford station on the proposed New York and Erie railway. He organized a stock company to develop the property, selling stock to the amount of three hundred thousand dollars, and the enterprise resulted in the suburban village of Ruther- ford. Looking to the spiritual as well as to the financial and domestic welfare of the com- munity so rapidly gathering together, he gave land on which to erect a Sunday school build- ing and interested the people in the formation of a Sunday school to become the nucleus of future churches, and these gatherings of the children made the way for the several denom- inational churches now ministering to the spiritual as well as social and educational wants of such communities. Later in life Daniel Van Winkle settled in East Passaic, where he owned two hundred and seventy- five acres of land and he promoted the growth of that place as he had that of Rutherford, and after his death the place became known as Belmont and later Garfield. He was an old time Whig, and on the dissolution of that party helped in founding the Republican party in New Jersey in 1856. His religious affili- ation was the church of his forefathers, the Dutch Reformed, and he was prominent in the
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