USA > New Jersey > Genealogical and memorial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 56
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He married, November 29, 1887, Emma, born February 28, 1868, daughter of William and Margaretta (Rogers) Clark, of Paterson. One child, Harold Edward, born July 4, 1896.
The life career of William Mil- BROCK ton Brock, an accomplished elec- trician of the day, now superin- tendent of the electric department of the Pub- lic Service Corporation for the district of Passaic and Paterson, New Jersey, presents a forceful illustration of the achievements possi- ble in this age to the industrious and ambitious.
Samuel Gowan Brock, father of William Milton Brock, was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he was educated. He became a shipwright and worked at his trade until about the beginning of the civil war, when he enlist- ed in the army, went to the front and was never afterward heard of-probably one of those heroes who rest in southern graves mark- ed "Unknown." He married Elizabeth Dough- erty, of New Egypt, New Jersey. Of their four children the first born died in extreme infancy. Those coming to maturity were : William Milton, see forward; Beulah, mar- ried William Force, of Clifton, New Jersey; Ella, married Henry Holbert, now of Pater- son, New Jersey.
William Milton, son of Samuel Gowan and
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Elizabeth (Dougherty) Brock, was born in Brooklyn, New York, November 3, 1856, and was only about eight years old when his father entered the army, never to rejoin his family. The mother soon removed with her children to Dover, Illinois, where she resided until the summer of 1863, when she went to Pennsyl- vania. There William M. at the age of eleven years began to aid his mother in caring for the family, a task which he performed with self-sacrificing devotion until she and her chil- dren were comfortably established in life. He first found employment as breaker boy in a coal mine. In the course of three years the mother returned to Brooklyn, New York, where William M. engaged in various labors -with a watchmaker and jeweler, and later as a helper in a blacksmith shop. In 1869 the family removed to Shamokin, Pennsylvania, where the lad passed two years more of coal- breaking life. He then found more congenial employment as a telegraph messenger for the Mineral Railroad and Mining Company, in which he continued for nearly three years. While thus occupied he made a study of teleg- raphy, and in a short time became an expert operator, besides acquiring a considerable knowledge of the principles and science of electricity, and had no lack of constant em- ployment which brought to him steady ad- vancement. In 1879 he was employed by the Central Pennsylvania Telephone Company in the important work of opening a new field for its lines in the region in which he was then living, carrying on this work during his em- ployment as a telegraph operator. In 1882 the Edison Electric Illuminating Company, of Shamokin, was incorporated and one of the first Edison "three wire" plants was installed for commercial lighting in that town under the personal supervision of Mr. Edison. During the work of construction Mr. Brock was- after a personal examination by Mr. Edison- engaged as manager, which position, as well as manager of the local telephone company, he held until 1885, when he resigned both posi- tions to accept a more lucrative engagement as manager of the Edison Electric Illumina- ting Company, of Lawrence, Massachusetts. He continued in the management of this com- pany until early in 1889, when he resigned his position to accept that of secretary and general manager of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company, of Paterson, New Jersey, his pres- ent home. At that time there were two elec- tric lighting companies, the Edison Electric Illuminating Company, which had been in
operation a little over one year, and the Pater- son Electric Lighting Company, a much older enterprise. At the end of two or three years of unprofitable competition (about 1891) the two companies were consolidated under one management, under the name of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company, of Paterson. The rapid development of the electric business in a few years taxed the capacity of the two plants to their utmost capacity, and in 1895 it was decided to seek a new location for a more modern plant. The conditions leading to and the execution of the work is best described by the following extracts from the Electrical Engineer, of New York, dated December 9, 1896:
"Linked with the history of Paterson, New Jersey, is the name of Alexander Hamilton, who realized immediately after the Revolution that manufacturing industries were necessary to utilize our raw products, and supply those manufactured articles which had been previ- ously shipped to us by England. He selected Paterson as a natural manufacturing center, it having the advantages of water power and close proximity to the metropolis of the coun- try. Under his guidance, the water power was improved and made valuable; the factories soon outgrew the capacity of the water power, and the city of Paterson became dotted with factories of all kinds, the silk industry taking the lead. There are over one hundred silk mills in Paterson now, and it has been called "The Lyons of America." Among the other prominent products at the present time are locomotives structural iron and flax thread.
"Early in the art, Paterson was supplied by electric light from the Hochhausen system. In the year 1888, this system was bought by the Paterson Electric Light Company, who install- ed the Thomson-Houston arc and series system for municipal lighting, and also a dupli- cate of the Edison three-wire system for power and domestic lighting.
"Later in the same year, the Edison Elec- tric Illuminating Company of Paterson, was formed in competition with the Paterson Elec- tric Light Company, and they installed a three- wire plant, operating under the Edison patents. They located their station on Paterson street, near Market, and it was constructed accord- ing to the best engineering practice of that date, and has always proved a very profitable investment. To compare the station of 1888 with the station of 1896 has a historical value and shows great progress of lighting and power stations.
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"A fierce competition was carried on be- tween these two companies, which resulted in the Edison company absorbing its rival in April, 1890. Since that time both stations have been operated by the Edison Electric Illumi- nating Company, using the old Paterson Elec- tric Light Company's Station only as an arc light plant, and the Edison Company's as a combined lighting and power plant.
"With the advent of electric railways, the Edison Company made a bid and succeeded in securing all contracts to supply, with power, the railways in Paterson and its vicinity. Under conservative management, the business increased so rapidly that at a meeting of directors, in the latter part of the year 1894, it was decided that Mr. William Brock, general Manager of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company, of Paterson, made a report on the best method of meeting the increasing demand for power and light, which was taxing the two stations to their utmost capacity. As a result of this report, it was decided on account of abundant water for condensing, and be- cause the site was nearer the center of distribu- tion of the Paterson system. to locate the plant near the Passaic River and on one of the raceways from the Passaic Falls. The loca- tion secured was at the corner of Van Houten and Prospect streets, where one of the largest plants of its kind in the United States is now located.
"The new station building of selected Haverstraw brick with blue stone trimmings, has a total length of 384 feet and a width of 92 feet. The arrangement of this edifice, the station and raceways around the building, as well as location of the engines, dynamos, and boilers, was laid out by Mr. William Brock, and the building details were developed with the assistance of Mr. J. W. Ferguson, of Paterson, New Jersey."
The officers of the aforementioned company were: William T. Ryle, president and the financier of the company; William Strange, vice-president ; Arthur Ryle, treasurer, and William M. Brock, secretary and general man- ager, to whom great credit is due for the con- ception and erection of this plant, assisted by Mr. J. W. Ferguson, builder and general con- tractor, and Messrs. Herrick and Burke, con- sulting and designing electrical engineers. As may be seen from the foregoing, under the personal supervision and management of Mr. Brock, the lighting plant of Paterson not only has been placed on a sound and profitable financial basis, but is said by electrical experts
to be one of the most satisfactory and com- plete systems of its kind in the country. The great measure of success achieved by Mr. Brock has been wholly the result of his own personal effort and energy. It is worth while to remember that his life work was begun as a breaker boy in a coal mine ; that later he be- came a telegraph messenger boy, then a prac- tical telegrapher, and still later an experienced electrician, capable of performing any work assigned to his charge, also of corporate em- ployers ; and finally to assume the responsi- bilities of a managerial position, and direct the operations of large corporate enterprises in profitable channels. All of these things Mr. Brock has done and has done them well. As a boy, when he should have been in school but could not afford such a luxury, he was industrious, patient and of good habits; as a young man he applied himself diligently to whatever tasks were set for him to perform, and when not at work employed his leisure hours in useful reading and study ; and as a man he developed capable business qualities and a straightforward, rugged honesty which gained for him the confidence of those by whom he was employed, and also gained for him an enviable place among those who are known as selfmade and successful business men. Mr. Brock is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He takes little active part in public affairs, yet is count- ed among the progressive and public spirited citizens of the city of Paterson.
He married, May 7, 1885, Florence Vin- cent, daughter of Lyman and Anna (Vincent) Wilson, of Milton, Pennsylvania, and by whom he has three children living: Elizabeth V., born May 5, 1887; Florence, May 16, 1892; Mildred, March 25, 1898.
FROMMELT
Nearly three-fifths of the population of Saxony,
Germany, which includes the circles of Dresden, Leipsic, Zwickan and Bantzen, are engaged in manufacturing. Linen leads in the manufacturing industry and sixteen thousand looms were employed in 1850. Since then the manufacture of goods for cotton has been the most important branch of Saxon industry. Wool from Saxon sheep has kept close pace with cotton goods and broadcloth, merinos, silk-mixed mouslin de laines and found excellent markets in England and France.
The early history of the Saxons and their exploits for the time they invaded the Roman
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territory, through their piratical decents on the coasts of Britain and Gaul, their possession of Normandy, their wars with the Franks and final subjugation by the arms of Charlemagne, were evidences of the spirit of conquest and attendant prosperity that this people planted in the early days and out of which the great Anglo-Saxon race has evolved.
(1) Melchior Herman Frommelt was born in Saxony, August 30, 1827, and was brought up as a weaver in the mills of that great manu- facturing center of Europe. He emigrated to the United States, landing in New York City, January 6, 1868, after a tedious voyage of sixty-four days. He came to Paterson, New Jersey, the same year and worked as a weaver in the Hamil mill; after earning and saving money he engaged in the grocery business, which he continued up to the time of his death in Paterson, May 14, 1888. He mar- ried Henrietta Ernst, born November 14, 1825, died in Paterson, March 29, 1907. Chil- dren, born in Saxony: I. Clemens, born De- cember 8, 1848. 2. Edward, February 28, 1852. 3. Ehrgott, August 6, 1854. 4. Her- man Emil, see forward.
(II) Herman Emil, son of Melchior Her- man and Henrietta (Ernst) Frommelt, was born in Saxony, Germany, November 26, 1858. When nine years of age he was brought to America with his three brothers by their par- ents and settled in a home in Paterson, New Jersey, where the boys attended the public school and soon acquired the language and ways of American boys. Herman Emil was apprenticed to the trade of cigar making and he engaged in that business up to 1888, when he established himself as an undertaker on Market street, in which business he was emi- nently successful, largely on account of his sympathetic nature and gentlemanly deport- ment. He became associated with Beethoven Lodge, No. 154, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Paterson, New Jersey, as a mem- ber and he was rapidly advanced in the suc- cessive degrees of the order. He also affiliated with Paterson Lodge, No. 188, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and stood high in the esteem of the members of his lodge.
He married, April 19, 1883, Lucy B., born August 25, 1859, daughter of James and Sarah (Mckeever) Stott, of Paterson, New Jersey.
Jean Baptiste Lober and his son, LOBER Victor Hipolite Lober, were natives of France and came to the United States early in the nineteenth cen-
tury, settling Camden, New Jersey. In France there is a family that may have been ancestors of these two immigrants; one de Lobel or Lobel, represented in history by Matthias Lobel (1538-1616). 'He was born in Lille, France, educated as a physician; travelled through Europe and was at one time physician to William, of Orange, and James I. made him botanist of the Kingdom, owing to his knowledge of vegetable physiology through which, by means of evident analogues of growth, he was enabled to make new classifica- tions. He had great skill in botanical research, especially with a poisonous plant common to all sections of the vegetable world, now known as Lobelia, which was named in compliment to him. He was the author of botanical refer- ence books still held in high esteem and pub- lished in 1570, 1575 and 1581.
(I) Victor Hipolite Lobel, or Lober, son of Jean Baptiste Lober, appears in Camden, New Jersey, about 1800, having emigrated from France in company with his father, and there married Angeline, daughter of Pamela Gant, born in Camden, New Jersey, about 1825. Victor Hipolite and Angeline (Gant) Lober, had three children: John Baptiste, see for- ward; William Hawke, retired, living in Cali- fornia; Julia Madeline, married Ashbrook Lincoln, retired, living in Ardmore, Pennsyl- vania.
(II) John Baptiste, son of Victor Hipolite and Angeline (Gant) Lober, was born in Camden, New Jersey, April 11, 1848. He was educated in the public schools of Camden, New Jersey, and in more advanced schools in Philadelphia. He was baptized in the faith of the Roman Catholic church of which his parents were members, but when he arrived at manhood he became independent of church creeds and religious forms. He affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his professional affiliations as a civil engineer include : The American Society of Civil Engi- neers; the Engineers Club, of Philadelphia, and the Railroad Club, of New York City. His social home club is the Union League, of Philadelphia, and his business responsibilities include the presidency of the Vulcanite Port- land Cement Company with offices in the Land Title Building, Broad street, Philadelphia. He married, May, 1875, Clara, daughter of Will- iam V. Diehl, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and their only child, William Diehl, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September [I, 1877, was educated in the Friends' schools of Philadelphia, and was graduated at the Uni-
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versity of Pennsylvania, M. E., class of 1899, and he at once took a place as secretary and treas- urer of the Vulcanite Portland Cement Com- pany, of which organization his father was president. He married. November 7. 1901. Margaret, daughter of John Price and Eliza- beth (Warder) Crozer, of Upland, Delaware county, Pennsylvania.
The Buttler family has been BUTTLER resident in the state of New Jersey for three generations. In the line here considered this family de- scends from George Buttler, commander in the British navy, whose son, Jeremiah Buttler (born in Portsmouth, England), came to America in 1820, married Elizabeth Hull, of Monmouth county, New Jersey, and lived at Prospect Plains, near Dayton, Middlesex county, New Jersey. A brother of Jeremiah Buttler was George Buttler, of the British navy, who commanded the "Wasp" in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Jeremiah Buttler was the father of the late well known George Buttler, of New Bruns- wick, New Jersey (elsewhere referred to), who was born in 1828 and died in New Bruns- wich, May 1I, 1901, having married Harriet Ann Voorhees (died May 5, 1905), daughter of Barrant Voorhees and Eliza Haviland (who was the daughter of Caleb Haviland, of New Brunswick). The Haviland family came from Haviland, England, and the ancestors of Eliza Haviland were among the founders of the First Reformed Church of New Bruns- wick. Mrs. Harriet Ann ( Voorhees ) Buttler was a member of the well known Voorhees family of New Jersey, whose immigrant an- cestor, Steven Coerte van Voorhees, came to America from the province of Drenthe, Hol- land, in the ship "Bonte Cou" or "Spotted Cow" in April, 1660. George and Harriet Ann (Voorhees) Buttler had ten children. of whom eight now survive.
Charles Voorhees Buttler, youngest son of George and Harriet Ann ( Voorhees) Buttler. was born in the city of New Brunswick, New Jersey, January 18, 1869. He received his early education in the public schools of that community, graduating from the high school in 1885, and then was for two years in attend- ance at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. Deciding upon the medical profession, he entered the office of Frank M. Donahue, M. D., of New Bruns- wick (1888), took a special course in chem- istry at Rutgers College, and in 1893 was
graduated as Doctor of Medicine from the New York University. He is now associated in practice with Dr. Donahue. Dr. Buttler is visiting surgeon of Saint Peter's General Hos- pital and the Wells Memorial Hospital, visit- ing physician of the Day Nursery and St. Mary's Orphan Asylum, second examiner of the New York Life and Mutual Life Insur- ance Companies ; special examiner of the Trav- ellers' Life Insurance Company, of Hartford, Connecticut, and assistant examiner of the Northwestern Life Insurance Company. He is eligible for membership in the Sons of the Revolution.
He married. June 20, 1894, Louise Johnson Gardiner, of Mystic, Connecticut, a descend- ant of the original Lion Gardiner, of Gardi- ner's Island. She died January 17, 1903. Of this marriage there is one surviving child, Gardiner Haviland Buttler. born November 5. 1896.
STODDARD
The late William Craig Stoddard, a conspicuous merchant and honored citi-
zen of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was the only son of James Stoddard, who was born in Connecticut, came to Princeton, New Jersey, and died at the early age of thirty-four. James Stoddard married Ann Craig, of an original Scottish family, which settled at Freehold. New Jersey, in 1685. In addition to their only son, James and Ann (Craig) Stoddard had four daughters, of whom three died young, and the other, Phebe Stoddard, married John Bogart and had two children.
(II) William Craig Stoddard, son of James and Ann ( Craig ) Stoddard, was born in Prince- ton, New Jersey, April 28, 1821. When about fourteen or fifteen years old he came to New Brunswick and engaged in business employ- ment, subsequently becoming a member of the firm of Dayton, Stoddard & Smith, in the dry goods business. This firm was dissolved after the destruction of its store by fire, and Mr. Stoddard then organized the copartnership of Stoddard. Duncan & Van Pelt. His active business career covered a period of forty years, and he was one of the foremost men in the mercantile community of New Brunswick. Personally he was a man of the highest integ- rity, benevolent, and a valued friend and ad- viser, especially in times of financial distrub- ance. He was a director of the Bank of New Jersey and the United States Rubber Com- pany. A prominent member of the First Pres- byterian Church. he served as one of its trus-
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tees for many years. Mr. Stoddard died July 19, 1890.
He married Sarah Jewell, daughter of Ken- neth and Elizabeth Jewell, of Princeton, New Jersey. Children : I. Emily Stoddard. 2. William Stoddard (deceased). 3. Elizabeth Jewell Stoddard. 4. Sarah Jewell Stoddard. 5. Anna Craig Stoddard. Mr. Stoddard's daughters reside in New Brunswick.
In its native country, the SCHUREMAN Netherlands, the name of this family was usually
written Schuerman. It was known from an early period for staunch Protestantism, and in the old country, as afterward in America, its rep- resentatives were conspicuous for scholarship and literary ability. A famous member of the Hollandish family was Anna Maria Schuer- man (1607-1678), who is described as "a mar- vel of precocity, and for the depth, bredth, and variety of her attainments," excelling in "the faculties of attention, apprehension, and mem- ory, in drawing, painting, sculpture, modelling, embroidery, poetry, and music."
The New Jersey line descends from
(I) Jacobus Schureman, who was born in Holland, coming to this country in 1719 with the Rev. Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen on the ship "King George." Accompanying Frelinghuysen to Somerset county, New Jer- sey, he was associated with him in his minis- terial labors, serving as chorister and "voor- leezer" (reader), and as one of his "helpers." According to a chronicler of those times, he was "respectable for his literary acquirements as well as for his piety." He was the author of verses in the Dutch language, and con- ducted a school in the same tongue. His resi- dence was at Three Mile Run. He married Antje Terhune, daughter of Albert Terhune, of Flatbush, Long Island, and sister of Eva Terhune, who was the wife of Rev. Mr. Frelinghuysen.
(II) John, son of Jacobus Schureman, was born about 1729. Removing to New Bruns- wick, Middlesex county, New Jersey, he en- gaged in mercantile pursuits and became a very prominent member of that community. He was frequently elected to the legislature, served as one of the judges of the county court, and was a member of the committee of safety, appointed by the provincial congress of New Jersey to exercise the powers of the con- gress during the recess of that body from Au- gust 5 to September 20, 1775. In the church he was a deacon and elder, also acting as
chairman of the building committee, and he was "conspicuous for unaffected piety, fervid zeal, and fruitful benevolence." He died July 6, 1795. He married Antje de Remere, widow of Peter Stryker; she died May 25. 1800, in her seventy-ninth year.
(III) James, son of John Schureman, was born February 12, 1756. In 1775 he was grad- uated from Queen's College (now Rutgers), and during the same year was the first to enlist when volunteers were called for. On that occasion he delivered a forcible address, with the result that a company was . immedi- ately formed. Being chosen captain of this organization, he served with it in the early military movements, and participated in the battle of Long Island. Returning to New Jersey he was captured, with a cousin, Mr. Thompson, by a detachment of British horse, and the two were sent to the notorious Sugar House in New York City. Effecting their escape, they crossed the Hudson river in a small boat with one oar, and made their way to the headquarters of the patriot army at Morristown. Continuing in the service, he had the distinction of making prisoner the noted Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe of the Queen's Rangers, after saving his life from a militiaman who was about to bayonet him.
His public career was highly distinguished. From 1786 to 1788 he was a member of the continental congress from New Jersey, and he also served in the New Jersey provincial con- gress. He was elected as a federalist to the first congress of the United States under the constitution, sitting in that body from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1791, and he was a mem- ber of the fifth congress, May 15, 1797, to March 3, 1799. Upon the retirement of John Ruther furd from the United States senate Mr. Schureman was chosen to succeed him, repre- senting New Jersey from December 3, 1799, to February 26, 1801, when he resigned. Sub- sequently he was mayor of the city of New Brunswick, and again was member of con- gress ( 1813-1815). He was president of a bank in New Brunswick and a successful mer- chant, "his house and store being upon Burnet street convenient to the wharf." Like his father he was active in the Dutch church, holding the office of elder, and in his personal character he was known for the highest in- tegrity and worth. He died January 22, 1824. He married, January 28, 1776, Eleanor Williamson, who died July 15, 1823, daughter of David and Eleanor ( Schuyler ) Williamson, granddaughter of William Williamson, elder
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