USA > New Jersey > Genealogical and memorial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume I > Part 67
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79
(IV) Jacob I., son of John I. and Maria (Terhune) Hopper, was born on the family homestead in Hackensack, December 21, 1810, and spent his whole life there, engaged in agri- cultural pursuits and to a large extent in mar- ket gardening and raising small fruits. So early as 1840 he began growing strawberries on an extensive scale for the New York mar- ket, and in this business he was very success- ful and continued it for many years. So great indeed was the yield of his fields that his daily shipments are said to have averaged more than
334
STATE OF NEW JERSEY.
three thousand baskets. This of course would not be regarded as an extraordinary yield for the present time, but it must be remembered that Mr. Hopper grew market berries nearly three-quarters of a century ago, when even a single trip to the market required a half day's time in going and returning, and when the plough, the harrow and the hoe were the only implements used in preparing the land and cultivating the crops. But notwithstanding all this he was a very successful man in his busi- ness life and a man very highly respected for his sturdy integrity and upright life. In 1835 Mr. Hopper married Ann, daughter of Garret Mercelis, whose wife was Lenah de Gray, of Preakness, Passaic county, New Jersey. She was born December 13, 1812, died in June, 1868. They had two children : I. John, see forward. 2. Ellen M.
(IV) Judge John, son of John I. and Maria (Terhune) Hopper, was born on the home- stead farm in what now is the township of Lodi, Bergen county, New Jersey, March 2, 1814; died in Paterson, October 15, 1897. He acquired his earlier literary education at Wash- ington and Lafayette academies in Hackensack, and prepared for college under the tutorship of the Rev. John Croes, at whose classical school in Paterson he was a student for some time, and also under the special instruction of Mr. Thomas McGahagan, the once famous master of the old academy in Bergen Town, now Hudson City, New Jersey. In 1830 he matriculated at Rutgers College, entering the sophomore class, completed the academic course of that institution and was graduated A. B. in 1833, cum laude, dividing second honors with Robert H. Pruyn, afterward minister pleni- potentiary from the United States to Japan After leaving college Mr. Hopper took up the study of law under the preceptorship of Gov- ernor Peter D. Vroom, of Somerville, New Jersey, remaining with him about two years, and afterward continued his studies for another year in the office of Elias B. D. Ogden, of Pat- erson. At a term of the supreme court held at Trenton, September 8, 1836, he was licensed to practice as an attorney at law and solicitor in chancery in all of the courts of this state, and on February 27, 1840, he became a counselor at law.
Having come to the bar Judge Hopper began his professional career in partnership with his former preceptor, Judge Ogden, under the firm style of Ogden & Hopper, which relation was maintained until 1848, when the senior partner was elevated to the bench of the su-
preme court of the state. From that time he practiced alone until 1869, when he took as partner his own son, Robert Imlay Hopper, then recently admitted to the bar ; and thereafter this partnership relation was continued so long as Judge Hopper was engaged in active practice, until he assumed judicial office which neces- sitated the laying aside of private professional employments. During the long period of his professional career as an attorney and coun- selor at law, Judge Hopper was recognized as one of the ablest lawyers of the Paterson bar ; a man of the highest character, a lawyer of distinguished ability, a ripe scholar, and an advocate with whom principles always pre- vailed over expedients. His practice was largely on the civil side of the courts, and his clientage was such and the character and mind of the man were such, that he was able to accept or decline cases without danger of pecuniary loss to himself ; but he would not refuse a case in which he was not sure of ultimate success to his client, although at the same time he would not allow himself to be drawn into an action in behalf of a client whose personal integrity he had reasonable ground to question. His methods always were careful, but they were not laborious, and it was his policy to discour- age rather than to promote litigation; a safe and prudent counselor in the office, he never- theless was a power in the trial courts, and with him it was a cardinal principle never to go half prepared into the trial of an important case ; petty actions he preferred to be turned over to the younger members of the profession. In the trial of a case he always was properly deferential to the court, but never more than that, and never obsequious in his manner be- fore any tribunal. In presenting a case to the jury it was noticeable that he approached the subject in hand with dignity and in the light of principle and common sense, addressing him- self to the understanding of his hearers and never appealing to their passions. And what may have been true of him as a lawyer, whether in private practice or in the capacity of prose- cutor for the people, also was true of him as a magistrate on the bench of the court, for there too he was ever dignified and courteous, always considerate of the rights of attorneys representing litigant parties, and especially con- siderate and for bearing in his treatment of the younger members of the profession, fre- quently encouraging them with fatherly assist- ance and advice.
Throughout the period of his professional life Judge Hopper was much of the time an
335
STATE OF NEW JERSEY.
incumbent of office in connection with the oper- ation of the courts and the administration of the law; town counsel of Paterson from 1843 to 1847; surrogate of Passaic county for two terms, 1845 to 1855; counsel to the board of chosen freeholders of Paterson from 1855 to 1864; prosecutor of the pleas from 1863 to 1868 and from 1871 to 1874. From 1868 to 1871 and again from 1874 to 1877 he was sen- ator from Passaic county in the legislature of the state. In March, 1877, he was appointed by Governor Bedle judge of the district court of Paterson, serving in that capacity until Janu- ary 8, 1887, when he resigned to accept Gov- ernor Abbett's appointment as president judge of the court of common pleas, orphans' court and quarter sessions of the peace for the un- expired term of Judge Absalom B. Woodruff, deceased. He was reappointed by Governor Green, March 15, 1887, and again on April I, 1887, for a term of five years; and on April I, 1892, he was reappointed by Governor Ab- bett. In 1879 he was appointed by Chancellor Runyon one of the advisory masters in chan- cery. In political adherence Judge Hopper was a firm Democrat, and while he was looked upon as one of the leading men of the state in the councils of his party his democracy was of the type which was calculated to draw strength to the party and not to engender bitter antag- onisms in the opposition party. From 1851 until the time of his death he was a member of the board of trustees of his alma mater, Rutgers College, and also was a member of the New Jersey Historical Society, a director of the Paterson & Ramapo Railroad Company, its first secretary in 1844 and was elected its treasurer in 1851.
On June 16, 1840, Judge Hopper married Mary A., daughter of Robert Imlay, at one time a prominent merchant of Philadelphia; and June 16, 1890, Judge Hopper and his wife celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their mar- riage. They had six children who grew to maturity : 1. John H., silk manufacturer, mem- ber of the firm of Hopper & Scott, Paterson. 2. Robert Imlay, lawyer, Paterson. 3. Mary A., wife of Frank W. Potter, late United States consul to Marseilles. 4. James, removed to Texas. 5. Caroline. 6. Margaret Imlay, wife of John T. Boyd, of Brookline, Massachusetts.
(V) Major Robert Imlay, son of Judge John and Mary A. (Imlay) Hopper, was born in Paterson, New Jersey, May 28, 1845, and received his elementary and secondary educa- tion in the public schools of that city, and his higher education at Rutgers College, grad-
uating from the latter with the degree of A. B. in 1866. He read law in his father's office, and in 1869 was admitted to practice in the courts of this state. Since that time he has engaged in general law practice, for many years in partnership with his father and after- wards alone; and in connection with pro- fessional employments he has been somewhat prominently identified in various ways with several of the institutions and interests of the city of Paterson and also of the state. For many years he has taken an active interest in military affairs in connection with the national guard of New Jersey, having been appointed in 1891 judge advocate with the rank of major on the staff of General Steele, reappointed under General Wanser and also under General Campbell. He is a member of the Army and Navy Club, of New York City, the North Jer- sey Country Club and the Hamilton Club, of Paterson ; member of Joppa Lodge, No. 29, Free and Accepted Masons, of Paterson ; 3x3 Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons, of Trenton; Melita Commandery, Knights Templar, of Paterson, and of Mecca Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of New York City. In 1878 he was elected counsel for the board of chosen freeholders of the city of Pat -- erson and held that office for several years.
Major Hopper married Ida E. Hughes, of Paterson, daughter of Robert S. Hughes, who for many years was president of the Rogers Locomotive Works, of Paterson. Only one child was born of this marriage-Ida F. Hop- per, April 22, 1878. Ida E. (Hughes) Hopper died April 24, 1878.
HOPPER It is claimed that the surname Hopper is of French origin and was originally spelled Hoppe. There are in America three distinct Hopper families. One is of Irish descent, another came from the county of Durham, England, and the third, by far the most numerous, is of Dutch ancestry. The immigrant ancestor of the Holland Hoppers was Andries Hopper, and the New Jersey Hoppers are descended from him. Members of the family have represented Bergen county in both houses of the legisla- ture, others have worn the judicial ermine with dignity and respectability, still others have held from time to time county and township offices, and have become famous as physicians, clergymen, lawyers, mayors of cities, publicists. mechanics, sailors, soldiers and agriculturists.
(I) Andries Hopper came from Amster- dam, Holland, in 1652. accompanied by his
336
STATE OF NEW JERSEY.
wife and two or three children, and settled in in New Amsterdam (now New York City). l11 1657 lie was granted the privileges of a small burgher. He acquired considerable prop- erty but did not live long to enjoy it, as he died in 1659. He had entered into an agree- inent with one Jacob Stol to purchase the Bronx lands, but owing to the death of both, the transaction was not completed. The maiden name of his wife was Giertie Hendricks, and she bore him several children. Those born in America were : I. William, born 1654; see sketch. 2. Hendrick, born 1656; settled at Hackensack, 1687; married Mary Johns Van Blarkum ; seven children. 3. Matthew Adolphus. (N. B. The Hoppers .of Saddle River, Ridg- wood and Midland townships, Bergen county, are all descended from these brothers). In 1660 Andries Hopper's widow married (sec- ond) Dirck Gerritsen Van Tricht, thereby securing to each of her three children the sum of two hundred gilders.
(II) Mathias (Matthew), son of Andries and Giertie (Hendricks) Hopper, was born in New Amsterdam, in 1658. He first settled in Bergen (Jersey City) New Jersey, but re- moved to Hackensack in 1687, and shortly afterward purchased of Captain John Berry a farm of about three hundred acres located be- tween the Hackensack and Saddle rivers. He became a very prominent resident of Hacken- sack, and a deacon of the "Church on the Green." He married Anna Jurckes Paulus, or Anetje Peterse. Children : I. Andrew, who will be again referred to. 2. Christine. born 1686; married John Huysman. 3. Lea. born 1695; married John Vanderhoff, of Al- bany, New York. 4. Rachel, born 1703; twice married. 5. John, born 1705; married Eliza- beth Kipp. All were born in Hackensack ex- cept Andrew.
(III) Andries (Andrew), eldest child of Matthew and Anna Hopper, was born in Ber- gen (now Jersey City) in 1684, and died in 1719. He resided in Hackensack. He mar- ried there, August 12, 1710, Elizabeth Bross.
(IV) Peter, son of Andrew and Elizabeth ( Bross) Hopper, was born in Hackensack, but the date of his birth does not appear in the records examined. He settled as a pioneer in Saddle River township, Bergen county, where he acquired possession of a large farm con- taining three hundred acres, and became a very successful tiller of the soil. In more recent years a portion of this estate came into the possession of Henry A. Hopper, formerly sheriff of Bergen county. Peter Hopper was
an unusually active and industrious farmer, upright in his dealings with his fellow men, and retiring in his habits. His death occurred in 1818, at an advanced age. He married Anne (Doremus), and she died at the age of eighty- eight years. Children: I. Keziah, married Jacob Demorest. 2. Mrs. Voorhis. 3. Garret P. 4. Andrew P. 5. Henry P.
(V) Garret P., son of Peter and Anne (Doremus) Hopper, resided at Lodi, in Sad- dle River township, and was a prosperous farmer. In all probability he was the Garret Hopper who married Rachel Paulus, and had, according to information at hand, two sons- Jacob G. and David.
(VI) Jacob G., son of Garret P. and Rachel (Paulus ) Hopper, was reared at the homestead in Lodi, and devoted the active period of his life to agricultural pursuits. He married Gertrude Vreeland; children: I. Ann, married Jasper Yerance. 2. Margaret, married Henry Yer- ance. 3. Eliza, married Peter Cadmus. 4. Adrian, married Eliza Ann Post; resided in Passaic, New Jersey. 5. Garret J.
(VII) Garret J., son of Jacob G. and Ger- trude (\'reeland) Hopper, was born in Lodi. August 31, 1821. He was an apt scholar, and being desirous of fitting himself for educa- tional work he studied diligently with that end in view. Having completed his preparations in a most thorough manner, he inaugurated his career as a pedagogue at Dundee, New Jer- sey, and soon became recognized as an un- usually able and succesful educator. He finally became principal of a private school in Pater -. son, New Jersey, where he taught with grati- fying success for many years, and in 1895 re- linquished his useful calling, retiring perma- nently from professional work. His character was fully in keeping with the lofty ideals which he imparted to his pupils. He was upright, just and manly, and in his business affairs was the soul of honor. These commendable qualities, together with his long and honorable career as an educator, naturally gained for him a wide circle of warm personal friends, and his death which occurred at his home in River street, Paterson, February 3, 1900, was the cause of sincere regret. March 4, 1845, Mr. Hopper married Rachel A. Snyder, born in Paterson, December II, 1824, daughter of An- drew and Sarah (Bogert) Snyder. Children : I. Sarah Bogert, born August 11, 1847; died January 14, 1848. 2. Lidia, born December 21, 1848; married, September 15, 1874, Edward Van Houten, born January 17, 1840, son of Edward and Ellen (Lake) Van Houten.
Rachel A(Snyder) Hoffer
G. J. Hopper
337
STATE OF NEW JERSEY.
(For ancestry see preceding sketch).
(VI) Henry Peter, son of Peter
HOPPER and Ann Hopper, was born in Saddle River township, in the Hoppe homestead, Bergen county, New Jer- sey, in 1779. He married - -, and his chil- dren were born in Saddle River, Bergen coun- ty, New Jersey, as follows: I. John A., see forward. 2. Benjamin. 3. Andrew.
(VII) John A., son of Henry Hopper, was born in Bergen county, New Jersey, October II, 1804; died in Newark, New Jersey, Decem- ber 18, 1896. He married, in 1826, Keziah Westervelt, of Hackensack, New Jersey, born November 5, 1808. They lived first at Hack- ensack and then at Oak Ridge, Newfoundland, Morris county, New Jersey, where with his two brothers, Benjamin and Andrew, he clear- ed up a large tract of land, which they divided into three adjoining farms, and he worked the farm, brought up a large family and late in life removed to Newark, New Jersey, where his children resided. The eleven children of John A. and Keziah ( Westervelt) Hopper, the first six born in Hackensack, New Jersey, and the others on the homestead farm at Oak Ridge, Morris county, New Jersey, as follows : I. Abram J., January 26, 1828 ; married Margaret Jane Mandeville. 2. John W., August 5, 1830; died February 28, 1906 ; married (first) March 21, 1855, Elizabeth ( Bedell) Hocker, born Feb- ruary 27, 1834, died December 26, 1870, and they had four children: Mary, May 1, 1859; William, February 23, 1861, married Emma Contes, of Newark; Abraham, January 9, 1867, died young; Edward C., May 3, 1869, died young; he married (second), April 10, 1881, Emma Barrow, born March 14, 1858; child-Elmer F., born June 12, 1883. 3. Eliza, December 24, 1832; died young. 4. Thomas B., January 22, 1834; died unmarried. 5. Eliza, January 20, 1836; died young. 6. Ben- jamin W., May 15, 1839; see forward. 7. Mary, June 29, 1841 ; died unmarried. 8. Henry, August 30, 1843; see forward. 9. William A., May 18, 1846; married Anna Fredericks. 10. Jacob, July 1, 1848; see for- ward. II. Levi J., September 30, 1852; see forward.
(VIII) Benjamin W., fourth son and sixth child of John A. and Keziah (Westervelt) Hopper, was born in Bergen county, New Jer- sey, near Hackensack, May 15, 1839. He was brought up in Newfoundland, Morris county, 1840-55, where he received his school training. He was apprenticed to the trade of carpenter in Newark in 1856, and in the spring of 1861
arranged to go to Macon, Georgia, as a master mechanic in carpentering and building, he hav- ing accepted a flattering offer for a master builder in that southern city. The outbreak of the civil war, however, changed the plan and the whole current of his future life. He went south as a soldier instead of as a master car- penter, and on September 1, 1861, was in the ranks of the Union army as a private in the Ninth New Jersey Volunteer Regiment, Lieu- tenant Colonel Charles A. Hickman. He was assigned to Company E, and in December, 1861, was promoted to sergeant. He went with the regiment to North Carolina in the Burn- side expedition, and at Roanoke Island his regiment was second in line of battle in the Second Brigade under command of General Jesse L. Reno, the army being under command of Major General Ambrose E. Burnside. Ser- geant Hopper distinguished himself at Roanoke Island when the troops were landed under cover of the gunboats, and as General Foster in command of the First Brigade had awaited the arrival of General Reno with the Second Brigade no fighting occurred between the two assembled armies until Reno's arrival to take his place on the left with the Twenty-first Massachusetts, which had the right of the line, followed by the Ninth New Jersey and the Twenty-first New York, and the three regi- ments began an effective attack, turning the Confederate right by marching through a thicket of briers, shrubs and swamp land, al- most impenetrable. This was February 8, 1862. and after the capture of the fort, Foster and Reno pursued the enemy to the northern ex- tremity of the island, where an unconditional surrender of the entire Confederate force was effected. After a well-earned rest the army proceeded to the attack on New Berne, which place was reached by transports under guard of the gunboats. Here again Reno had the extreme left and made his favorite swing to the rear of the Confederate right, and the enemy found themselves between two effective fires and broke and fled to the town, burning the bridges as they retreated, and in that way escaped capture. The town of New Berne, North Carolina, was occupied by Burnside and his army in the afternoon of March 14, 1862. Burnside sums up the victory as follows : "The Burnside Expedition has passed into history ; its records we can be proud of. No body of troops ever had more difficulties to overcome in the same space of time. Its perils were both by land and water. Defeat never befell it. Its experience was a succession of honorable vic-
i-22
338
STATE OF NEW JERSEY.
tories." The gallantry of Sergeant Hopper attracted the attention of Colonel Hickman, who promptly promoted him to a lieutenancy and subsequently made him captain of the com- pany. He followed the fortunes of his regi- ment through the entire war. His sword hand was disabled while leading an advance on the abattis protecting Fort Darling, May 14, 1864; at the terrific combat at Drury's Bluff, May 16. 1864, he was wounded in the breast and arm and was ordered to the rear by Regimental Surgeon Gillette. He persisted in remaining with his command, his bleeding arm supported by a sling which the surgeon extemporized, and he sought the aid and comfort of the hos- pital only after he had secured for his dec- imated command a position of comparative safety. Such a commander could not fail to secure the universal respect and love of every member of the company and the esteem of every member of the regiment. In the final campaign of the Carolinas after the fall of Wilmington, North Carolina, and near the close of the war, his regiment was, with a divi- sion of the Twenty-third Army Corps under command of Major General Cox, placed in command of the Beaufort district. The Ninth New Jersey was in the Second Brigade under Colonel James Stewart, the regiment being commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Hufby. The duties of this column was to open the railway from New Berne to Goldsboro. Sergeant Hopper had fought with his regiment at New Berne early in the war, and now at its close the fortunes of war carried him back to familiar places, and after the successful battle of New Berne, March 8-10, 1865, the Union army occupied Kinston, North Carolina, March 14, and reached Goldsboro on the 21st. He led his company into Goldsboro, North Caro- lina, March 21, 1865, and secured the capitula- tion of the citizens and few troops who had not fled. The commander of the Ninth New Jer- sey in recognition of his valor and daring in capturing the city, detailed his company as pro- vost guard, and Captain Hopper was made in- spector general of the Twenty-third Army Corps, the onerous duties of which position were so well performed that he received special commendation from General Sherman and Generals Cox and Schofield.
Upon his return home, Captain Hopper, through the kind offices of his old commander, now General Hickman, was appointed a con- ductor on the Central Railroad of New Jersey, and he held that responsible position together with that of general freight agent of the road
for over forty years, becoming personally known to every regular patron of the road. He died in Newark, New Jersey, April 18, 1906.
He married, after his return home from the army, Mary, daughter of Edward and Ros- anna (Froxell) Keller, of Pennsylvania, and had four children, born in Newark, New Jer- sey : I. Edward Kellar, May 1, 1871 ; married, October 19, 1892, Mary, daughter of Malcom, of Connecticut. 2. Herbert W. 3. Emilie Seitz, married Oakley W. Cooke. 4. Clarence R.
(VIII) Henry, fifth son and eighth child of John A. and Keziah ( Westervelt) Hopper, was born in Newfoundland, Morris county, New Jersey, August 30, 1843. He was brought up on his father's farm and attended the public schools. On the outbreak of the civil war he was eighteen years of age and he left the plow in the furrow and hastened to join his brother, Benjamin W., who was recruiting volunteers to fill up Company E of the Ninth New Jer- sey Volunteers. He followed the fortunes of his brother and the Ninth New Jersey at Hat- teras, when he was detailed to serve on the gun- boat fleet that bombarded the fort on Roanoke Island. In the afternoon before the eventful day on which the forts were captured, he urged strongly to be allowed to go ashore with the launch carrying howitzers to the scene of the attack, and thus became temporarily attached to his regiment and took part in both the battles of Roanoke Island and New Berne. His brother, then a private, assisted in dragging and firing the howitzers, the only artillery ashore at Roanoke Island, until after the vic- tory had been won. After New Berne had capitulated, and seeing ahead no more gun- boat fighting, he procured his discharge from the naval service, and from that time until the end of the war was with his regiment and his brother who so gallantly commanded Company E. He was mustered out with the regiment in July, 1865, and again took his place at the plow and he continued on the farm until 1873, when he went to Newark and obtained employ- ment there. In 1878 he was appointed on the police force as patrolman. He soon made his services to the city and the department so valu- able that he was promoted through the grades to captain of the precinct and thence to chief of the police force of the city of Newark, from which honorable position, especially honored by his unimpeachable character and service, he resigned.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.