Genealogical and memorial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume II, Part 44

Author: Lee, Francis Bazley, 1869- ed
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Lewis Historical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 618

USA > New Jersey > Genealogical and memorial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 44

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dred and fifty acres near what now is Wenonah, and out of which several fine farms have been made, the Clark farm, the William C. Sparks farm, the Stevenson farm, and others. Ran- dall Sparks was buried at Bethel. Although known as Randall his correct name was Alex- ander Randall Sparks. His will was written by Joseph Saunders. He married twice and had six children. His first wife died March 18 or 19, 18II, aged twenty-five years. His children, born of his first marriage: I. Ruth, 1805. 2. William, 1805; died young. 3. John, C., 1807. 4. Mary, 1808. 5. William C., 1809; see forward. 6. Annie, 1810.

(III) William C., son of Randall Sparks by his first wife, was born at Woodbury, New Jersey, 1809; died September 16, 1872. He was a farmer, member of the Methodist Epis- copal church, and in politics a Republican. He married Mary P. Steen and by her had four children : William Francis, see forward; John Wesley, George W. and Sarah.

(IV) William Francis, son of William C. and Mary P. (Steen) Sparks, was born at Dilk's Mill (now Wenonah), New Jersey, May 4, 1842 ; died May 27, 1875. During the earlier years of his business life he was a farmer and school teacher and afterward a railroad bag- gage master. He was a soldier of the war of 1861-65 and enlisted as William C. Sparks, private Company I, Ninth New Jersey Volun- teer Infantry. In religious preference he was a Methodist and in politics a Republican. He married, November 23, 1865, Elizabeth Evans, daughter of Richard Evans, a native of Llanidloes, Wales, and who by wife, Elizabeth (Humphries) Evans, had a son, Richard, and daughters, Anna and Elizabeth Evans. Will- iam Francis and Elizabeth (Evans) Sparks had only one child, John W. Sparks, see forward.

(V) John Wesley, son of William Francis and Elizabeth (Evans) Sparks, was born at Cross Keys, Gloucester county, New Jersey, September 22, 1866. He received his earlier education in public schools in his native town. He afterwards was a student at and graduated from the Pierce School, Philadelphia, later attended the Pennsylvania Polytechnic School, still later was a student at Temple College, and also took a course at Palmer's Shorthand Col- lege, Philadelphia, where also he was graduated. His business career was begun in the capacity of clerk in the office of the West Jersey Rail- road Company, at Wenonah, where he remain- ed for two years, and then for the next six months was telegraph operator for that com- pany at Atlantic City, New Jersey. After-

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ward for about ten years he was telegrapher for S. Morris Pryor & Company, stock brokers, of Philadelphia, and during the following three years for Harris, Fuller & Hurley, stock brokers, also of Philadelphia. On January I, 1892, Mr. Sparks became junior member of the firm of William H. Hurley, Jr., & Com- pany, stock and bond brokers, a relation which was maintained until December 30, 1899, when the partnership was dissolved, and was suc- ceeded on January 1, 1900, by the new firm of J. W. Sparks & Company, as now known in business circles in that city. Mr. Sparks is a business man, living in Philadelphia, a Repub- lican in politics but not active in public affairs. He is a member of the New York Stock Ex- change, Philadelphia Stock Exchange and a governor of the latter, and is also a member of the Chicago Board of Trade, the American Bankers Association, and the Pennsylvania Bankers Association. He holds membership in Williamstown Lodge, No. 166, Free and Accepted Masons, of Williamstown, New Jersey ; Siloam Chapter, No. 19, Royal Arch Masons, of Camden; the Scottish Rite bodies of the craft in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Historical Society, the Art, Raquet and Down Town clubs, of Philadelphia, and of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. He married, at Turnersville, New Jersey, June 7, 1894, Charlesanna Sickler, who was born at Chew's Landing, New Jersey, October 11, 1866, daugh- ter and only child of Benjamin Franklin and Mary Elizabeth Sickler.

The Bishops are an English

BISHOP family and their surname is one of the most ancient in all the kingdom. The name was transplanted on this side of the Atlantic during the early years of the colonial period and its representatives have ranked with the foremost men of the country in all generations to the present time. There are various traditions regarding the immigra- tion of the particular family here treated, and that which seems most stable has it that several immigrant brothers came from England and settled either on Long Island or in the colony of Connecticut. There were Bishops on Long Island at an early period and in Connecticut the name appears soon after the first planters made their way into that part of New England. The earliest known ancestor of the family here treated is understood to have come to West Jersey from either Long Island or Connecticut, but whether he was born in England or Amer- ica does not appear. His name is not found

in any of the genealogical references extant, hence the place of his nativity cannot be given. The following account of the early life of the family in New Jersey is taken largely from the reminiscences of John Bishop, 2d, written by him about thirty years ago.

(I) Robert Bishop, earliest ancestor of the family of whom there appears to be any account, was living near Lumberton, Burling- ton county, New Jersey, previous to the revolu- tionary war. In speaking of the first settlers in that locality the "History of Burlington and Mercer Counties" says that six brothers of the Bishop surname came from England and located along Rancocas creek from Bridge- boro to Vincentown, one at each of these places and the other four at or near Lumber- ton.' In a way this account is substantially in accord with the previous statement that sev- eral brothers came from England and settled either on Long Island or in Connecticut. But, however this may have been, Robert Bishop was living near Lumberton in Burlington county previous to the revolution, and in 1778 at and about the time of the battle of Mon- mouth General Knyphausen's division (Hes- sians) of the British army in its march through that region overran and ransacked Robert Bishop's house from cellar to garret, excepting only the room in which lay his sick wife and her new born child, John Bishop, and it was only with difficulty that the common soldiers were restrained by their officers from entering and pillaging that room of the house. They also removed all live stock and forage from the farm, with the exception of a colt, which proved so fractious that it could not be taken away. Of Robert Bishop's family, says Mr. Bishop in his reminiscences, "I know at pres- ent comparatively little save that there were several brothers who emigrated either from Long Island or Connecticut. The baptismal name of his wife was Jane and among their children was a son John."

(II) John, son of Robert and Jane Bishop, was born near Lumberton, Burlington county, New Jersey, the 17th day of 6th month, 1778. a few days prior to the battle of Monmouth. "On his mother's side," says Mr. Bishop's narrative, "he was of the third generation in lineal descent of a full-blooded Indian girl of the Lenni Lenappe tribe, and who previous to her marriage assumed the English name of Mary Carlisle and married Richard Haines, who with several of his brothers emigrated from Northamptonshire, England, and were the original settlers of Burlington county, at

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that time a part of the province of West Jersey. John Bishop's mother, who married Robert Bishop, and who was a granddaughter of the Indian maiden, Mary Carlisle, was of course a quarter blood Indian, and what is singular, it is said by those who remember her that she was of light complexion, a blonde, although some of her children with their bright, pier- cing, black eyes and swarthy complexions, gave unmistakable evidence of their Indian origin. She is represented to have been a woman of sweet disposition and possessed of the most estimable traits of character. When John Bishop was about six years old his parents removed to the north side of Rancocas creek, where it empties into the Delaware, and on a part of which the town of Delanco is now built. Here on account of the proximity to the water, John became an adept as a swimmer, skater and trapper, the country at that time abounding in foxes and other game and the creeks with otter, mink and muskrats, many times going and breaking the ice with his bare feet to re- move the game from his traps; and one of his greatest pastimes at certain seasons of the year was to swim over to the island at the junction of the river and creek and bring geese home to his mother. Soon after removing to this new home John got his first start in life in the ownership of a hen, which was given to him by an Indian squaw who had come to make his parents a visit ; and it was not long before nearly all the chickens on the farm were claim- ed by himself as sole owner. It is related that one day his mother wanting a chicken to make a potpie for dinner, sent one of the family to get one, when John seeing them called out 'that's my chicken,' and so with the second and third attempts, until it was found that they were all 'his chickens.' Then his father pro- posed that he exchange some of his chickens for sheep, which was agreed to and in the course of a year or two, his sheep beginning to multiply pretty fast, his father, having the chicken experience in mind, limited John's to two, and divided the others among the neigh- bors to raise on shares.

"When John Bishop was about ten or twelve years old his father died. All the education the boy had was obtained in a log schoolhouse in the pine woods. At the age of sixteen he taught school on what is now (1879) the Moorestown and Camden turnpike, and at the end of one winter's teaching he saved sufficient to 'gave him an outfit to get to Philadelphia." After the death of his father he made his home with an elder married brother, whom he helped

with the work of the farm ; and the latter hear- ing John talk of going to Philadelphia, made the remark 'you'll come to nothing,' to which the young fellow replied with his characteristic spirit, 'I might as well come to nothing as to stay with you and work for nothing.' How- ever, they remained the best of friends during the entire period of their lives. He went to Philadelphia and being a young man of fine personal appearance and possessed of good business ability, it was not long before he secured a good position as clerk in the counting house of Harry Moliere, a Frenchman, who had an extensive rope walk up in Kensington. Soon afterward he formed the acquaintance of a Scotchman named Couslan, a practical plumber, and formed a partnership with him for carrying on the business, besides which the firm rented the first three wharves below Wal- nut street, and there their plumbing shops were located. Their principal business at that time was work aboard vessels, but as the shipyards were in Kensington the partners in their work were compelled to walk back and forth be- tween that place and the shops; and it is said that never but once did John Bishop find a man who could outwalk him in traveling this dis- tance.'

After several years of profitable partnership relation Mr. Couslan died and soon afterward John Bishop purchased his former partner's interest in the business. Among their appren- tices in the shop were Thomas and Richard Sparks, brothers, the former being an energetic, industrious young man, well skilled in his trade, and he became Mr. Bishop's partner. Soon after this, however, difficulty arose be- tween our country and England and France regarding maratime rights of neutrals, which culminated in the war of 1812 and also in the ultimate ruin of the plumbing business carried on by Bishop & Sparks. In this emergency the firm turned to the manufacture of shot, and for that purpose built a small cupola above the old plumbing shop, put in a furnace for melting lead and began a series of experiments in shotmaking, each of which resulted in fail- ure ; but instead of being discouraged by de- feat the members of the firm renewed their work with commendable courage and by for- tunate chance happened to hear of an English shctmaker up in Kensington who understood the art of shotmaking. They at once secured his services. although with some difficulty and at considerable expense. and then began mak- ing shot with most excellent success. From that time, says Mr. Bishop's narrative, "money

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began to flow in rapidly and in less than a year the shot tower in Southwark was planned and built under the direction of John Bishop, senior member of the firm in 1858." In speaking of this pioneer industry of its kind in this country a comparatively recent issue of a Philadelphia paper had this to say of the old shot tower and its ultimate removal: "The river wards be- tween Market street and Washington avenue were never a great manufacturing centre and the few establishments of this kind they con- tained have steadily decreased until all the older ones are gone. One of the latest to go was the historic shot tower on Montrose street. west of Front street, built in 1858, and which continued in operation until a few years ago, when it was purchased and closed up perma- nently. Its tall tower, standing sentinel like 150 feet high, reminds the passerby of Thomas Moore's 'Round Towers of Other Days,' and calls attention to the fact that beneath its shadow scores of workmen found employment at turning out buck and bird shot. During the Mexican war balls for musket cartridges were manufactured by it by the thousand daily and forwarded to the scene of battle."

The manufacture of shot and bullets con- tinued to be a thriving business with John Bishop for several years and thereby he accumulated a comfortable fortune. But event- ually he sold out his interests in the city and purchased the Ogston farm near Columbus, New Jersey, being the same property now owned by Anna R. Bishop and on which his grandson, John I. Bishop, now maintains his residence. John Bishop went there to live in 1813 and spent the remainder of his life in that locality. He always possessed in his later years an interesting fund of anecdote, and never tired of narrating his experiences with Stephen Girard, with whom he first met while serving as clerk for Harry Moliere, and still later becoming more intimately acquainted with that famous Philadelphia merchant and phil- anthropist while doing work on his ships in the old yards at Kensington. When about twenty-one years old, John Bishop married (first) Mary, daughter of Joseph and Hannah Ridgway, who lived near Mullica Hill, Salem county, New Jersey. He married (second) Ann Black.

(III) John (2), son of John (I) and Ann (Black) Bishop, was born at Ogston, near Columbus, Burlington county, New Jersey, March 15, 1820. He married, February 5, 1845, Rebecca Field Biddle, born at the Biddle homestead at Mount Hope, Kinkora, Burling-

ton county, New Jersey, January 16, 1826. died April 4, 1893, daughter of Israel and Sarah T. (Field) Biddle (see Biddle, V).

(IV) John I., son of John (2) and Re- becca Field (Biddle) Bishop, was born at Ogston, near Columbus, Burlington county, New Jersey, July 4, 1849. He received his early education in the public schools in his native town, attended the Friends' Academy at Westtown, and graduated at the Poly- technic College of Pennsylvania, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Civil Engineering in June, 1868, and the master's degree three years later. He was continuously employed in engi- neering work by the following railroad com- panies respectively : The Camden & Amboy, the West Jersey, the Tuckerton, the Columbus, Kinkora & Springfield, and the Pennsylvania, until 1875, when he was called to examine coal lands in western Pennsylvania, and later to develop the Redstone Oil, Coal & Coke Com- pany . and Ridgway-Bishop Coal Company properties, absorbed during 1899 by the Pitts- burgh Coal Company, of which he is a director and a member of the executive committee. For twenty years he has been manager of the sev- eral interests owned or controlled by Jacob E. Ridgway. He is a member of the Union League of Philadelphia, the Duquesne Club of Pittsburgh, the American Jersey Cattle Club of New York, and the New Jersey Soci- ety of Philadelphia. He resides at Ogston during the summer, and in Philadelphia during the winter months.

Mr. Bishop married, November 9, 1871, Anna Ridgway, born in Philadelphia, August 24, 1850, daughter of Jacob E. and Sarah Shreve Ridgway. Children: I. John, born December 20, 1875; died March 28, 1884. 2. Emily. October 24, 1878; married, October 8, 1901, John S. C. Harvey ; children: i. Anna Bishop Harvey, born September 16, 1902; ii. John S. C. Harvey, Jr., August 14, 1904 ; 111. Thomas Biddle Harvey, August 16, 1908. 3. John V., July 2, 1886; married, January 6, 1909, Helen Bailey.

(The Biddle Line).

The original immigrant of the Biddle family came from London to America about the year 1681 and settled in West Jersey. He was an active man in public affairs from the time of his arrival in New Jersey until his death, in 1712. He held many offices of trust and honor and appears to have devoted much of his time to public service. In his will he gave five hun- dred acres of land to his cousin, Thomas Bid-

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dle, concerning whom a recent chronicler of the family history says: "Of Thomas Biddle. the 'cousin,' we know absolutely nothing save that he left descendants. He appears as a wit- ness on William Biddle's marriage certificate in 1665, and a Thomas Biddle signs as a wit- ness to the will of William Righton, mariner, in Jamaica, February 5, 1701-02 ; and the mar- riage of Thomas Biddle and Rachel Grusbeck is recorded in the records of the First Pres- byterian Church, Philadelphia. Whether this Thomas Biddle was the cousin mentioned, or the son of the cousin, is not positively known ; but doubtless he was the ancestor of that line of the family."

(I) Thomas Biddle, who is presumed to have been a son of the Thomas Biddle men- tioned in his will by William Biddle as his "cousin," married at the First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, November 8, 1704, Rachel Groesbeck. Children : Thomas, Sarah, Rachel.

(II) Thomas (2), son of Thomas (I) and Rachel (Groesbeck) Biddle, married, October 28, 1728, Mary, daughter of James and Mary" (Hance) Antrim, of East Jersey. They lived in the old family homestead at Mount Hope (now Kinkora), New Jersey, which formerly was owned by William Biddle, the first. Chil- dren : 1. Sarah, born August 8, 1729, died Sep- tember, 1810. 2. Thomas, October 17, 1734, see forward. 3. Rachel, married, December 5, 1772, Jonathan Izard.

(III) Thomas (3), son of Thomas (2) and Mary ( Antrim) Biddle, was born October 17, 1734, died September, 1793. He married. April 17. 1760, Abigail Scull, died September 10, 1783, daughter of Nicholas Scull. Chil- dren: I. Thomas, born September 13, 1761, see forward. 2. Abigail, September 13, 1763; married John Harvey. 3. Mary, March 20. 1766; married Caleb Foster. 4. Sarah, June 7, 1769, died August 6, 1775.

(IV) Thomas (4), son of Thomas (3) and Abigail (Scull) Biddle, was born September 13, 1761, died in April, 1807. He became owner of a part of Biddle's island in the Dela- ware river, opposite Kinkora, New Jersey. His real property was divided among his chil- dren in 1813. He married Charlotte Butler. Children: I. Thomas, born November 28. 1786; married Charlotte Harvey. 2. Israel, October 6, 1788, see forward. 3. Abigail. January 31, 1791, died single. 4. Mary, March 17, 1793 ; married (first) James Bates, (second) Isaac Field. 5. John, October 2. 1795, died single. 6. Charlotte, July 27, 1798;

married, October, 1816, Samuel Black. 7. Achsa, January 26, 1801; married Joseph Haines. 8. William, May 23, 1804; married Elizabeth Rockhill.

(V) Israel, son of Thomas (4) and Char- lotte (Butler) Biddle, was born October 6, 1788. He married (first) Sarah Tallman; married (second) Sarah T. Filed, who died near Mansfield, New Jersey, September 12, 1885, aged eighty-two years. Children: I. Charles (by first wife), married Sarah Ann Lee and had three children. 2. Martha F. (by second wife), married, 1845, Thomas Newbold Black. 3. Israel, died young. 4. Rebecca Field, born January 16, 1826; mar- ried, February 5, 1845, John Bishop (see Bishop, III, above). 5. Sarah, died young. 6. Israel, married Charlotte B. Harvey. 7. Mary T., married Franklin Black. 8. Abigail, died young. 9. Charlotte, married George B. Wills. 10. Joseph W., married Charlotte, daughter of William J. and Charlotte Black. II. Caroline Elizabeth, died young.

There is a tradition which runs BISHOP to the effect that the Bishops of New Jersey are descended from seven brothers of Quaker origin who came from England about the middle of the eight- eenth century and settled in various parts of that then province. But however this may have been it is certain that for more than one hundred and fifty years the surname Bishop has been found among the leading families of this state and always has stood for the best elements of citizenship, loyalty to established institutions of government, and enterprise and progressiveness in all of varied pursuits of business activity.

(I) Isaac Bishop, earliest known ancestor of the family of his surname purposed to be treated in this place, was living at Mt. Holly, Burlington county, about the year 1760 and afterward until he met death by lightning a short time after his marriage. Little else ap- pears to be known of him, there being no reli- able account of his marriage or of the name of his wife, but about six months after his death his only son was born.

(II) Job, son of Isaac Bishop, was born in 1769 in Burlington county, and was a me- chanic. His life was spent at Mt. Holly, and he died there in February, 1852. He mar- ried (first) Sarah Jones, of Haddonfield, who died in 1806, having borne him four children. He afterward married a second wife and by her had one son. Children: I. Isaac, died

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young. 2. William, born July 17, 1798, see forward. 3. Mary, died unmarried. 4. Ed- ward, died unmarried. 5. John R., who be- came a merchant tailor and lived in Phila- delphia.

(III) William, son of Job and Sarah (Jones) Bishop, was born at Mt. Holly, New Jersey, July 17, 1798, and was a boy of seven years at the time of the death of his mother. After that he spent the next several years on a farm, where he was brought up under the care of relatives, and then returned home. In May, 1814, he went to Burlington, where, dependent upon his own resources for his support, he found employment in a store kept by William Ridgway, with whom he remained until 1833, when Mr. Ridgway died. Then in partnership with Robert Thomas, a stepson of his former employer, Mr. Bishop continued the business until 1850. when he retired from mercantile pursuits. He died in 1887, after a long, hon- orable and successful business career. through- out the entire period of which he held the respect and confidence of the people of the region in which the scene of his life was laid. He was one of the organizers of the Burling -- ton Savings Institution and its president for thirty-five years, until the time of his death. On its organization in 1857 he was elected its vice-president and three months later became president, succeeding Ira B. Underhill. He also was a director of the Merchants' National Bank of Burlington for thirty-one years, a di- rector of the Burlington board of education for fifteen years, and for many years a director of the Burlington Library. Probably no man connected with the financial and business in- terests of Burlington was more painstaking or more scrupulously upright than Mr. Bishop. Like his ancestors, he was a member of the Society of Friends and always led a quiet and unostentatious life. He married ( first ) Eliza, daughter of William Ridgway, of Burlington. She died in 1843, leaving one son, William Ridgway Bishop. He married (second) Mrs. Mary M .. widow of Thomas Booth.

(IV) William Ridgway, son of William and Eliza (Ridgway) Bishop, was born in Burl- ington. New Jersey, in the house in which he now lives. July 3, 1836, and received his edu- cation at the Friends' School in Burlington and the Friends' School at Westtown, Pennsyl- vania. After leaving school he worked for about two years as clerk in the general store kept in Burlington by Samuel Taylor and af- terward taught school two years at White Hill in Burlington county. This was before he had

attained the age of twenty years. In business life he has been a dealer in coal, fertilizers and seeds. He started in active pursuits in 1864 and after many years of successful effort he discontinued the handling of fertilizers and coal and since that time has dealt only in field and garden seeds. In this direction his opera- tions have been somewhat extensive, and he ships seeds to Texas and California, to Havana, and also to various European coun- tries. Mr. Bishop is a careful and straight- forward business man, a Republican in political preference and for two years was a member of the Burlington city council. He also is a member of the Society of Friends and clerk of the Burlington Meeting. He married, in February, 1860, Mary Louisa, daughter of Samuel and Jane (Wright) Lee, of Reading, Pennsylvania. Children: I. Louisa Horner, born Burlington, September 1, 1861, died 1883. 2. Eliza Ridgway, born in Burlington, lives at home with her parents.

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Genealogical and memorial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume II, Part 44

Author: Lee, Francis Bazley, 1869- ed Publication date: 1910 Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Lewis Historical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 618

Author: Lee, Francis Bazley, 1869- ed
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Lewis Historical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 618