USA > New Jersey > Genealogical and memorial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 68
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When but fifteen years of age, Mr. Acker- son became captain of a company of militia, and kept this rank for ten years, so that his experience in military affairs and tactics began early ; during his occupation of the office of county clerk he organized a company of Con- tinentals, taking his rank as captain of same, and later when an independent battalion was made up after a special act of the legislature, Captain Ackerson was elected lieutenant-colo- nel of same. In 1861 most of this battalion enlisted for war duty, and they made up the Twenty-second New Jersey Volunteers ; Lieu- tenant-Colonel Ackerson being at the head of this movement filled the quota of soldiers allotted to Bergen county at this time.
Colonel Ackerson was interested in most of the enterprises of his native town and county that tended to the further development of local industries, and became one of the organ-
izers of the first railroad into Hackensack, which was named the Hackensack railroad ; he was president of this road at its completion, and gave much time and money towards put- ting the venture on a paying basis, after which he relegated its management to others and turned his attention to commercial affairs. He was the second president of the Bergen County Bank, of which he was one of the organizers, and was connected with that insti- tution until its close. In the winter of 1876- 77, Colonel Ackerson was appointed judge of the court of common pleas by Governor Bedle, and filled the position with the same ability as the other ones he had filled. He was greatly respected, admired and loved by his friends and acquaintances, and was considered one of the most enterprising men of his county, as well as being a valuable citizen. He married, in 1837, Sophia, daughter of James I. and Martha (Wortendyke) Blauvelt, born July 4, 1820, died March 17, 1895, and they had two children, Garret and Martha. The latter be- came the wife of B. F. Randall, of Fall River, Massachusetts, and had a son Garret A., who died without issue.
(VIII) Garret, only son of Garret G. and Sophia (Blauvelt) Ackerson, was born Sep- tember 15, 1840, at Pascack, New Jersey, died December 23, 1886. He received his educa- tion in the town of Hackensack, and in 1859 began the study of law in the office of Jacob R. Wortendyke, of Jersey City, being admit- ted to the bar in 1863. He then opened up a practice and settled in Hackensack, which he made his permanent home. He soon began to make his influence felt in business and polit- ical circles, and became one of the county and state leaders of the Democratic party. He was appointed judge-advocate of the Bergen county battalion of militia, in 1867, and in 1872 was elected captain of Company C, Sec- ond Battalion of National Guards, which was organized at this time, holding the latter rank three years, at which time he resigned. In 1879 he was appointed judge advocate gen- eral of the state of New Jersey by Governor George B. McClellan, his rank being that of colonel, and he held this office for several years. Colonel Ackerson was interested in many commercial enterprises, and helped greatly in the progress and development of his native county and state. He was for many years president of the Hackensack railroad, held a directorship in the New Jersey and New York railroad, also of the Hackensack improvement commission, was stockholder and
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trustee of the Hackensack Academy, and was a director as well as secretary and treasurer of the Bergen County Mutual Assurance Asso- ciation for some time. He was given many political honors, but was not ambitious of office, and declined many of them, including the nomination for state senator and at another time for governor. In 1876 he was a delegate from the fourth congressional dis- trict to the National Democratic convention held at St. Louis, which nominated Samuel J. Tilden for the presidency. He served many years as chairman of the Bergen county Dem- ocratic executive committee. Colonel Acker- son was a man of engaging manners and con- versation, and though a man of striking dignity and earnest demeanor, all who had dealings with him were attracted to him and desirous of securing his friendship. He was very active in the pursuit of his duties and never shirked his responsibilities.
He married, July 9, 1863, Ann Elizabeth, daughter of John A. and Mary (Anderson) Zabriskie, who died July 27, 1900, aged sixty- three. She was a descendant of Albrecht Zabriskie, or Sobieska, who emigrated to New Amsterdam from Prussia, in 1662, in the ship "Fox," and became the progenitor of a large number of descendants. Garret and Ann Eliz- abeth Ackerson had three children: John Z., James B. and Garret G., Jr. Further mention is made of all three.
(IX) John Zabriskie, eldest son of Garret and Ann Elizabeth (Zabriskie) Ackerson, was born April 12, 1864, died unmarried, Decem- ber 15, 1900. He graduated from Columbia College in the class of 1886, and entered the law office of Hon. William M. Johnson, of Hackensack, and spent some time in study, after which he took a course in law at Colum- bia College, and returning to Hackensack entered into partnership with Mr. Johnson, which he was soon obliged to abandon on account of poor health. He was a young man of unusual promise, but was compelled to abandon his profession, and though he sought to regain his health was unable to do so and died of consumption.
(IX) James B., second son of Garret and Ann Elizabeth (Zabriskie) Ackerson, was born July 26, 1866, at Hackensack, New Jer- sey, where he received his early education, after which he took a chemical course in Co- lumbia College. In 1885 Mr. Ackerson be- came chemist in the employ of Dundee Chem- ical Works at Passaic, and after filling various positions became superintendent of their
plant. When the company was merged with the General Chemical Company, in 1899, Mr. Ackerson retained his position of superintend- ent of the Dundee plant, which he still fills. He is well informed in the line of his profes- sion, and a recognized authority on same. He takes an interest in the welfare of the com- munity, and is interested in public enterprises. He is governor of the General Hospital of Passaic, is director in the Passaic National Bank, and in his political views is Republican. He is a member of the Holland Society. He married, September 14, 1887, at Passaic, New Jersey, Mary B., daughter of John and Mary (Van Naerden) Ackerman, granddaughter of Judge Peter Ackerman, of Hackensack, New Jersey, and they have one child, a daughter, Bessie, born July 10, 1888, at Passaic.
(IX) Garret G. (2), third and youngest son of Garret and Ann Elizabeth (Zabriskie) Ackerson, was born January 10, 1876, at Hackensack, New Jersey, where he received his primary education, followed by a course at Packard's Business College, of New York City. In 1896 he entered the employ of the Dundee Chemical Works, at Passaic, by which company his brother James B. was employed, and remained three years, at which time the company was merged into the General Chem- ical Company, and he then became associated with the purchasing department of the latter, in New York City, which position is still held by him. He is an active and enterprising busi- ness man, who has the confidence of his em- ployers and the good will of all who know him. Mr. Ackerson resides in Hackensack, where he is director of the Hackensack National Bank and president of the Golf Club. He is secretary of the Hackensack Hospital Association, and a member of the Holland Society. He married, October 24, 1899, at Hackensack, New Jersey, Anna Val- burg, daughter of Gustave G. and Mary Jane (Kennedy) Beck, born August 5, 1875, and they have two children, born in Hackensack, namely : Edith Zabriskie, March 12, 1901, and Garret G., May 13, 1904.
The 'heroic, patriotic and daring STEELE Scotch Covenanters, whose move- ments in behalf of freedom for religious opinion led to the disastrous revolu- tion in Scotland that banished the covenanters, illuminated the pages of its history by their acts of unswerving devotion, even at the cost of martyrdom, to a spirit of independence that had been smouldering for generations.
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This movement had among its noble advo- cates the clan of Steel, having its home in Lesmahagow, only seventeen miles from the seat of the ancient University of Glasgow, founded in 1451 by Bishop Turnbull, that had kept alive and been unobservedly the foster- mother of the movement for many years. In 1580 the first of the name in Lanarkshire that attracted attention appears to have been Robert Steel and his two sons, David and John Steel. "Waterhead," a beautiful and fertile farm near Lesmahagow, was owned by John, and like his father and his brother David, he was a prosperous landowner, David living at Skellyhill Farm, which estate remain- ed in the possession of the family for over three hundred consecutive years.
David Steel had the proud distinction of meeting the death of a martyr and the incident is recorded in "Traditions of the Covenant- ers" written by Rev. Robert Simpson, as fol- lows: "The Steels of Lesmahagow were men of renown and faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ. The death of David Steel, who was shot at Skellyhill in 1686 in the thirty-third year of his age, is in all its circumstances equally affecting with the death of John Brown at Priesthill. He was, after a promise of quarter, murdered before his own door ; and Mary Weir, his youthful and truly chris- tian wife, who it is said cherished an uncom- mon attachment for her husband, having bound up his shattered head with a napkin and closed down his eyelids with her own hand, looked upon the manly and honest counte- nance that was now pale in death and said with a sweet and heavenly composure: 'The archers have shot at the husband, but they cannot reach the soul; it has escaped like a dove, far away and is at rest.'" David Steel was shot by one Creichton, an officer under the command of Viscount Dundee, known in history as the "Bloody Claverhouse," who devastated Scotland as a follower and sup- porter of the exiled Stuarts. David Steel was buried at Lesmahagow in the same "God's Acre" in which repose the others of the fam- ily name and at Skellyhill a monument com- memorating his martyrdom was erected.
Sir Walter Scott, Scotland's greatest novel- ist, gives an account of the event in "Chroni- cles of the Canongate," where he speaks of the victim, David Steel, as the "famous Cove- nanter" and Jonathan Swift "Dean Swift," the celebrated English author and satirist, designates him as "Steel the Covenanter."
Captain John Steel fought in the famous
battles between the Covenanters and James, the Duke of Monmouth, at Drumelog and at Bothwell Bridge, June 14 and June 22, 1679, and with the other defeated Covenanters re- ceived the kind treatment accorded his foes by the "Protestant Duke" immediately after the defeat at Bothwell Bridge and his sword is preserved among the historic relics treasured by his descendants at Skellyhill.
The Covenanters could not, however, over- come the mistake made by the Stuarts and the Presbyterians themselves could not overcome disputes and dissensions in their own ranks, and finally the union between the Scottish and English Puritans was dissolved by the ascend- ency of the Independents and then came the opportunity for Cromwell to keep Scotland under subjection to the English army, and when Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrews, their great dependence, changed from Presbyterian- ism, this movement being followed by his assassination, May 3, 1679, by a band of fanatical Covenanters, the revolution was in full force and was followed by the Covenant- ers seeking more peaceful homes in the north of Ireland. Here by intermarriage with the Irish, they built up that industrious and useful citizenship, commonly known as the Scotch- Irish people.
Among these refugees was a son of Captain John Steel, who became the pioneer of the family of Steels in Ireland, and his son, John Steel, named for his valiant grandfather, was the first of the name to claim Ireland as his birthplace. They settled in Fanet, county Donegal, on the shores of Mulroy bay. This John Steel was born in Fanet in 1735 and after his marriage removed to Crevaugh in the same county, where he died in 1804. Mem- bers of the family thus settled in Ireland found newer and more favorable homes in America before and during the period of the American revolution and immediately after. that event. Among them was the famous fighting Presbyterian patriot, the Rev. Captain John Steel, who reached the shores of Amer- ica in 1752 and settled in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. John Steel's own son Alexan- der established an iron foundry in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, and another son Will- iam, became a merchant and politician in the same county and also went as a soldier in the American revolution.
After leaving Scotland the Steel family may be classed as immigrants and the immigrant to Ireland to be of the third generation from Robert Steel, born before 1580, who had two
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sons David, born 1654, died 1686, a martyr, and Captain John Steel, whose son, name un- known, settled in the north of Ireland and became the father of John Steel, who, as being born outside of Scotland, we place as the immigrant ancestor of the Steels of Ire- land and America, but in the fourth genera- tion, placing Robert Steel as (I), Captain John Steel as (II) ; and unknown name as (III).
(IV) John, grandson of Captain John Steel for whom he was named and grandnephew of David, the martyr, and Mary (Weir) Steel, was born in Fanet, county Donegal, Ireland, 1735, died in Creevaugh, county Donegal, Ire- land, in 1804. He married Sarah Stewart and they had five children born in Ireland, as fol- lows: John, Alexander, Samuel, William, David, see forward.
(V) David, youngest son of John and Sarah (Stewart) Steel, was born in Creevaugh, coun- ty Donegal, Ireland, 1764, died in 1807. He married Sarah Gailey Mckinley (1675-1836), and they had seven children all born in Ireland as follows: 1. Andrew, 1794. 2. Samuel, 1796, died 1836; married Mary Boggs. 3. James, died in infancy. 4. James, see forward. 5. Stewart (1800-1861) ; married (first) M. Murray and (second) Myrtella Irvine. 6. David (1803-1887) ; removed to America and settled in Adams county, Ohio, where he was one of the foremost exponents of the Cove- nanters faith in the United States. 7. Sarah (1804-1895) ; married a Stevenson.
(VI) James, fourth son of David and Sarah Gailey (McKinley) Steel, was born in the north of Ireland in 1798, died in 1863. He married Eleanor Fulton, of Gortanleare, coun- ty Donegal, and they lived at Altaghaderry, near Londonderry, Ireland, where their only son David was born. He married as his sec- ond wife Jane Osborn. He was a farmer and a respected elder in the Covenanters church at Waterside, Londonderry.
(VII) David (2), only child of James and Eleanor (Fulton) Steel, was born in Atlagha- derry, near Londonderry, Ireland, October 20, 1826. His mother, who was a relative of Rob- ert Fulton, the inventor and builder of the steamboat "Claremont," that made the first voyage of any vessel propelled by steam be- tween New York and Albany on the Hudson river in 1807, died in 1828 and his father mar- ried as his second wife Jane Osborn. David Steel was brought up by his step-mother on his father's farm, and he was fortunate in having so godly a woman to care for him and a bond of affection bound the two together which was
of great benefit to the lad. His early education was under the direction of his step-mother and from her he passed to the Classical Academy at Londonderry, where he learned rapidly and where the history of his place of nativity was taught on the playgrounds of the school, the walls of which had been the defence of the Covenanters against the siege of 1688. The atmosphere of his boyhood. days was thor- oughly impreganated with the spirit of piety, filial affection, devotion to church and home worship, strict obserance of the holy Sabbath and of the days of thanksgiving and fasting.
Of his peculiar advantages his biographer writes as follows: "These favorable provi- dential surroundings were owned of God and used by His Spirit in due time to lead him to an intelligent decision in the matter of personal religion and open confession of Jesus Christ, and the solemn assumption of the obligation of his covenant relationship to God, and the par- ticipation in all the sacred responsibilities and blessed privileges of communicant membership in the church of his father. He was seven- teen years old when he made a public pro- fession of his faith in Jesus Christ and entered upon the responsibilities of church member- ship. Among the Covenanters, a newly made male member of the church was expected to conduct the devotions at the next neighborhood prayer-meeting-'to take the books' as it was termed. About the same time he became deeply interested in the Sabbath School work, serving for a time as a teacher and subsequently as superintendent. He also manifested a deep interest in the cause of Foreign Missions- prophesy of his interest in later years and which became one of the conspicuous figures of his ministerial life. The salvation of the heathen world was a matter, which bulked largely in his progress, and to which he devoted much of his means and energies. He had a clear vision and watched with intelligent inter- est the signs of the times concerning Zion. As an evidence of this, at the very beginning of his career as a communicant member of the church, he took deep interest in the controversy, which agitated the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Ireland respecting civil affairs. Hitherto all Convenanters held to the view that they were not warranted in taking an active part in civil affairs, because Jesus Christ was not recognized as He should be as the King and Head of the nation. In this controversy, Reverend John Paul and Reverend Thomas Houston were the representatives, respectively, of the new view and the old conservative posi-
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tion. Doctor Paul, by his powerful and inci- sive argument, made a deep impression upon Dr. Steele's mind, and he ever afterwards took his stand on the side of liberty of conscience, holding to the position that the question of civil duty should be no longer a subject for church discipline, but be left to the individual conscience. This decision no doubt determined him in identifying himself in his final prep- arations for the ministry, and in his subse- quent ministerial activities with the General Synod in the United States, as holding similar views in regard to civil responsibility and activ- ity. This decision was not announced until he had reached mature years, although the thought was in his heart and awaited God's providence to confirm it and to clearly open up the way before him. At fourteen years of age, not having as yet definitely decided as to his calling in life, he revealed considerable skill in agricultural pursuits. He developed special aptitude in the use of the plough, ability in this direction being the ambitions of many of the farmers' sons of the neighborhood. Ploughing matches were held from time to time and as a witness to his skill, he obtained as prizes, two beautiful silver cups, which even in his later years, he exhibited with com- mendable pride. During these days on the farm his studies were to a considerable extent kept up, and his store of knowledge increased and his power developed by systematic and ex- tensive reading. He continued his life on the farm until he was twenty-seven years of age, when he finally decided to give himself to the ministry. At this time he was in possession of one of the best farms in the neighborhood, the gift of his father, and with every promise of worldly prosperity."
In 1853, his uncle, the Rev. Dr. David Steele, who lived in Adams county, Ohio, vis- ited Ireland and induced him, much against the wishes of his father, who saw a brilliant agricultural career before him if he remained in his native land, to take up the work of the ministry in America. He overcame paternal opposition and arrived in Philadelphia, Octo- ber 1, 1853, spent his first Sabbath morning in attendance at the Second Reformed Presby- terian Church (O. S.) of which the Rev. Dr. S. O. Wylie was pastor. He continued his journey the next week to Ohio and was wel- comed to the home of his uncle, who had no children, where, he took up the study for the ministry. Dr. David Steele was a fine classical scholar and under his tuition David (2) was soon ready for matriculation at Miami Uni-
versity, Oxford, Ohio. He passed his pre- paratory examination with brilliant promise which was fulfilled when he graduated A. B. in 1857 with the classical honors in a class of thirty-six graduates. Among his classmates were Henry M. McCracken, who became pres- ident of the New York University, and Dr. John S. Billings, the present librarian of the New York Public Library; Benjamin Harri- son, who afterwards became president of the United States, and Whitelaw Reid, United States embassador to Great Britain, were un- dergraduates at the time, but not his class- mates.
He taught in Cynthiana Academy in Ken- tucky on leaving the University, 1857-58, and occupied the chair of Greek in Miami Univer- sity as a substitute for Professor Elliott, who went abroad, and at the same time had charge of an elective class in Hebrew in the Univer- . sity, 1858-59. He received his master degree from Miami University in 1859 without wait- ing the usual three years. He took his course in theology at the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Presbyterian Church (general synod) in Philadelphia, his preceptors being Doctors McLeod and Wylie. He was licensed to preach in 1860 and graduated B. D. in March, 1861. He received his first call to a pastorate from the Fifteenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, followed by one from the Reformed Presbyterian Church at Cedar- ville, Ohio, and one from the Third .Reformed Presbyterian Church in Belfast, Ireland. All of these calls he declined to accept a call from a new organization of eighty-nine members, most of whom had withdrawn from the Fif- teenth Street Church in Philadelphia and were worshiping in a hall. He was ordained and installed pastor of this new flock organized on June 6, 1861, and in 1862 the church consoli- dated with the Fourth Reformed Presbyterian Church, which latter name was retained by the two united congregations. Dr. Steele became pastor of the re-enforced Fourth Reformed Presbyterian Church, and in October, 1890, the congregation removed to their commodious and beautiful church edifice, where the labors of the eminent pastor were abundantly suc- cess ful, but were terminated by his death, June 15, 1906, after a continuous charge of forty- five years, the only pastoral charge ever held by him. During his pastorate he held the chair of Hebrew, Greek, and pastoral theology in the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 1863-1875, and of doctrinal the- ology. 1875-1906.
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During the civil war he served in the United States christian commission in ministering to the wants of the soldiers in camp in 1862. He was moderator of the general synod of the Reformed Presbyterian church, 1868-86, and president of the board of missions, 1883-1906. He attended the Presbyterian Alliance Coun- cil as a delegate at Philadelphia in 1880 and at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1896. He visited the missions of the church in northern India in 1896, having previously made tours of the old world, 1873-1884, and 1892 .. His scholastic honors were: D. D. from Rutgers College in 1866 and LL. D. from Miami University in 1900. He served as editor of the Reformed Presbyterian Advocate, 1867-77, and is the author of "Times in Which We Live and the Ministry They Require" (1871) ; "Endless Life and the Inheritance of the Righteous" (1873); "Elements of Ministerial Success" (1884) ; "The Two Witnesses" ( 1887) ; "A Na . tion in Tears" ( 1881) ; "The House of God's Glory" (1893) ; "The Wants of the Pulpit" (1894) ; "Christ's Coronation" (1897) ; "His- tory of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America" ( 1898) ; "Personal Religion" (1898) ; "On Reading the Scriptures" ( 1901) ; "Our Martyred Chief" (1901). He served as a member of the executive council of the Pres- byterian Historical Society; of the Archæo- logical Society of the University of Pennsyl- vania, and was elected a life member of the Pennsylvania Bible Society and Sabbath Asso- ciation of Philadelphia.
He married, January 19, 1864, Elizabeth J., second daughter of Samuel and Martha (Mc- Millan) Dallas, of Greene county, Ohio; granddaughter of Judge James Dallas, of Champagne county, Ohio, and of Daniel and Janet (Chestnut ) McMillan, and great-grand- daughter of Captain James Chestnut, of Ches- ter county, South Carolina, who fought in the American revolution under General Washing- ton. The children of Rev. Dr. David and Elizabeth J. (Dallas) Steele were born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as follows: I. James Dallas, see forward. 2. Martha Elea- nor, who in 1909 was residing with her wid- owed mother in Philadelphia, unmarried.
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