USA > New Jersey > Genealogical and memorial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 74
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MASON This surname comes from Eng- land and is found among our eld- est family names, but it cannot be claimed that the immigrant heads of the several families were in any manner related to each other. In New England the name appears in the earliest times of the colony and those bearing it took a prominent part in the estab- lishment of government and the defense of the plantations against the Indians. In New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey the Masons were early settlers, and the family proposed to be treated in this place dates its history in the latter state from the early years of the last century.
(1) John Mason, with whom our present narrative begins, was born in Nottingham, Derbyshire, England, in 1772, and his wife, whose name before marriage was Martha Wharton, was born in the same town and shire, and also in the same year. She died in Nutley, New Jersey, in 1830, and her husband died there two years later, in 1832. In old Notting- ham in England John Mason was a cotton spinner and carried on a shop of his own, as is shown by his old account books, several of which are yet in possession of his descendants. He came with his family to this country in 1810 and settled in New Jersey, at the place then called Franklin, Essex county. There he built a cotton mill and established himself in business, also erected a stone dwelling house near his mill, which is still standing and is yet a very substantial structure. Besides the mill and his residence John Mason also built a num- ber of smaller houses for the use of his em- ployees, and the tradition is that he was a very energetic and prosperous man in his business affairs. The thriving little village of Nutley. near Passaic, is built up around the site where pioneer John Mason set up his cotton spinning establishment something like a century ago.
His children were: John, William, Thomas, Charles, Martha, married John Parks, and Betsey, married Abraham Vreeland.
(II) Thomas, son of John and Martha ( Wharton) Mason, was born in Nottingham, Derbyshire, England, in 1808, and died in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1878. He was a child of two years when his parents came to America and settled in Essex county, New Jersey, and there he attended the district school and later learned the trade of cotton spinning in his father's mill. He worked for his father a number of years and then went to Bristol, Rhode Island, where he had charge of an oakum factory, and lived there for many years. In 1855 he came back to New Jersey and after- ward was employed as manager of the bobbin factory in Paterson of which Peter V. H. Van Riper was owner and proprietor. He remain- ed there until 1870 and then set up in business for himself as a manufacturer of belting, con- tinued his works about three years and then retired from active pursuits. Thomas Mason was an industrious man and capable manager and his endeavors in business life were reward- ed with success ; he was a straightforward and honest man, an upright citizen and one who gained the respect of all who knew him. He married Elizabeth Odell, of Parsippany, New Jersey, and had four children, two of whom are still living: George Clay and Martha E .. the latter the widow of Pierson Van Houten. formerly of Paterson, and veteran of the civil war.
(III) George Clay, son of Thomas and Eliz- abeth (Odell) Mason, was born in Paterson, August 10, 1845. He received his education in the public schools of that city and East- man's Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York, where he was graduated on the comple- tion of a thorough business course. In 1862, at the age of seventeen years, he began his business career as clerk in a grocery store in Paterson, and three years later started in the same business on his own account, and from that time until 1907 he was without interrup- tion closely identified with the mercantile life of the city. On February 7, 1902, having been in successful business for forty years, his en- tire establishment was burned to the ground, his store, residence, barns, and several dwell- ings closely adjoining, of all of which he was the owner. On the morning of the following day he was established in a new location in a small building which he leased for his imme- diate purposes, and from which his customers were supplied as before and without any par-
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ticular inconvenience to themselves. This disaster occasioned serious loss to Mr. Mason, but did not cause financial ruin or even serious discouragement, for he is a man not easily dis- heartened and is possessed of the fortunate qualities of determination and energy in an abundant degree. Had it been otherwise it is doubtful whether his business life would have been as successful as it has been. However, after the fire he soon became re-established on a basis more substantial than before and was proprietor of one of the leading retail grocery and provision stores in the city until 1907, when he retired and was succeeded by his son, Francis K. Since that time he has been en- gaged in a general real estate and insurance business, besides devoting personal attention to the management of the several land and im- provement companies of which he is a member and in each of which he has considerable financial investments. He is president of the Eighteenth Street Land Company, treasurer of the Laurel Grove Cemetery Company, director of the Cedar Cliff Land Company and the Citi- zens' Land Company, and a director and ex- treasurer of the Broadway Land and Build- ing Company. He is one of the founders of the Paterson Grocers' Association, its treasurer since it was organized and still holds honorary membership in the association. For many years he has been counted among the promi- nent and successful business men of the city, and in many ways has shown himself "a good man for Paterson" and the interests of that constantly growing municipality.
George Clay Mason married, November 15, 1870, Rocena, born May 25, 1844, daughter of William and Catherine (Sigler) McCully. Children: 1. Francis K., born August 28, 1872; married Anna Mae Smith, born April 15, 1873; children : George Clayton, born De- cember II, 1897, died June 24, 1899 ; Carolyn, born October 5, 1901. 2. Elizabeth Odell, born January, 1874, died May, 1874. 3. Florence Mae, born May, 1876, died March, 1877. 4. Charles W., born June 26, 1881.
This family is probably of HUGHES Welch origin, but is first found as far as connection with this family is known in northern Ireland, whither it was undoubtedly transported from Scotland. (I) Thomas Hughes, immigrant progenitor, was born and reared in Bambridge, a suburb of Belfast, Ireland. He came to America in 1844, with his wife and children, and made his home at Northeast, Cecil county, Mary-
land, where he died in 1868, at the age of sixty-three years. He was a linen manu- facturer. He married, in Ireland, Mary Craig, of undoubted Scotch ancestry. Children: I. John, mentioned below. 2. George, married Annie Franklin. 3. Thomas, married Mar- garet Malden. 4. Arthur, died young. 5. Sarah, wife of Moses Thompson. 6. Martha, died young. 7. Margaret, died unmarried. 8. Elizabeth, died unmarried.
( II) John, son of Thomas and Mary (Craig) Hughes, was born December 21, 1825, at Bam- bridge, and came with the family to America in 1844. He settled at Northeast and secured a position with the wholesale house of Lums- den & Company in Baltimore, and within two years was taken into partnership. At the be- ginning of the civil war, when General Butler took possession of the city, he was one of its leading merchants controlling the sale of pro- vision markets and having contracts with the British government for supplying its army and navy. On account of his southern sympathies, he was obliged to leave Baltimore and went to New York, where he became a prominent shipper and one of the leading speculators on the produce exchange. Having been trained to the linen business in Belfast in connection with his brother, George, he established the firm of George Hughes & Company in 1862, subsequently located at 198 and 200 Church street, New York, dealers in linen goods. This firm was the largest in the business up to the year 1872. The conditions imposed by the civil war, however, broke up the business of John Hughes, who operated his own vessels in trade with England. These vessels were destroyed during the war and the companies insuring them became bankrupt. By this and other complications, he was forced to discon- tinue business and assign his claims against the United States government in the Geneva Award. In 1868 Mr. John Hughes relinquish- ed mercantile business and removed to Plain- field, New Jersey, where he dealt largely in real estate. He was induced to purchase a large tract of land at Athenia, two miles from Passaic, and this he improved at an expense of $200,000. This, coupled with a loss of $125,000, through endorsements on his brother's paper, followed by the panic of 1873, caused his financial ruin. In consequence of these reverses, in 1876, the family retired to the farm on Chesapeake Bay, formerly used as their summer home. Here they resided until 1883, when the son Frank brought the family to Passaic. John Hughes died in August, 1889.
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He married, March 8, 1853, Mary A., born December 19, 1832, in Cecil county, daughter of Robert and Richarda ( Hopkins) Dawson (see Dawson, VI). The last named was a daughter of Dr. Richard Hopkins and a niece of Dr. Johns Hopkins, for whom the Univer- sity is named ( see Hopkins, IV). Children of John and Mary A. Hughes: I. Elizabeth, born March 14, 1858, in Baltimore, Maryland. 2. Frank, mentioned below. 3. John, October 5, 1862. 4. Mary, August 10, 1864. 5. Thomas, June 16, 1870; married, October 7, 1897, Carrie Newman and has son, William Bayard, born March 28, 1904. 6. Arthur S., June 15, 1873. The first three were born in Baltimore, Mary- land, the fourth in Brooklyn, the fifth in Plainfield, New Jersey, and the sixth in Clif- ton, same state.
(III) Frank, second son of John and Mary A. (Dawson) Hughes, was born November 28, 1860, in Baltimore, and has been for nearly a quarter of a century one of the most promi- nent citizens of Passaic, New Jersey. He is a self-made man whose activities and broad smypathies have had much to do with the steady and healthy growth of the community. His career furnishes profitable study as that of a notably successful business man. Al- though of a delicate physical organization and having been deprived of many school advan- tages by family reverses in his boyhood, yet by a rare combination of natural mental en- dowment, sheer force of will and a higher ambition toward the best ideals, he has wrought his own advancement against what would have proven in many lives unsurmountable obstacles. He has fought his way to a position of acknowl- edged leadership in local affairs. His prompt, almost intuitive, judgment of real estate values, and his peculiar faculty for handling invest- ments, have made him an expert authority in matters pertaining to real estate, and his repu- tation is extended far beyond the limits of his immediate business. His counsel is frequently sought in important municipal problems, and every legitimate enterprise finds in him a cordial and able champion. Nearly all of the important manufacturing industries located in Passaic during his residence there have been the direct result of his efforts. At the age of twenty years, having wearied of the quiet of the farm whither his parents had retired, he determined to strike out in the world for him- self. He became interested in the Block system of telegraphy then in use on the Penn- sylvania railroad running through the farm, and resolved to study telegraphy. He left home
in 1882 and after a brief course in a Philadel- phia technical school, secured a position as operator at the Clifton station on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, in New Jer- sey. Here, amid the scenes of his father's losses, his ambition to recuperate them by real estate operations was kindled, and his first successful deal was the location of the Clifton Rubber Company at that place. He decided to enter the real estate business and went to Passaic early in 1886 and opened a small office on Bloomfield avenue. This field was already occupied by older local dealers and to one of less resolute nature than Mr. Hughes, the out- look would have seemed hopeless. Without means or even acquaintance, and in the face of strong prejudice, Mr. Hughes has made his way step by step, until he occupies a position at the head of his line of business in the county, if not in the state. Much of his business is transacted in New York where he ranks among the leading brokers. In 1889-90 he was em- ployed by the boards of trade in several large towns in the Indiana natural gas field and spent some time in aiding the development of that section. Some of his transactions have reach- ed as far west as California. The following list of industries will attest his activities in the upbuilding of Passaic, as he organized all of them and is either secretary or president and manager of all save one: The Passaic Park Company, Passaic Bridge Land Company, Hill- side Land Company, Main Avenue Improve -. ment Company, Minerva Land Company, Pas- saic City Land Company, Passaic Homestead Company, J. L. Hutchinson Land Company, Cooley Land Company, Crescent Real Estate Company, Henle Land Company, Park Heights Land & Water Company, Clifton Development Company, Saddle River Land Company and Lakeview Heights Association.
Mr. Hughes was one of the organizers of the People's Building & Loan Association and of the Hobart Trust Company, of which he is one of its vice-presidents. He also organized the Newton Gas & Electric Company, consoli- dating the gas and electric interests of that town, of which company he is now managing director. He is a director in and treasurer of the Montross Bond & Realty Company, the 44 West Seventy-seventh Street Company, and the Allied Underwriters of New York City. He is also president of the Dundee Tex- tile Company and the Passaic Investment Com- pany, and is largely interested in several other banks and trust companies. In connection with his real estate business Mr. Hughes con-
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ducts a fire insurance agency, representing some of the largest insurance companies in the world. On January 1, 1900, his business was incorporated under the title of Frank Hughes, (Incorporated), with himself as president and treasurer, his brother, Arthur S. Hughes, vice- president, and George F. Allen, secretary. He has devoted himself unsparingly to the develop- ment and building up of Passaic and has never hesitated to give his time, energies or money to any project looking towards its advance- ment and to him more than all others is due the remarkable growth of the city of Passaic during the last quarter of a century. He was at one time president of the local Board of Trade, and is a member of numerous clubs, in- cluding the Maryland Society and the City Club of New York.
He married, May 23, 1889, Inez M. Thurs- ton, of Passaic, born February 10, 1864, in New York City, daughter of Jonathan Hub- bard and Maria Louisa ( Whittemore) Thurs- ton (see Thurston, IX). Children, born in Passaic: I. Gladys M., August 1, 1890. 2. Frank R., August 23, 1891. 3. Grace L., Sep- tember 6, 1892.
Dawson is a good old English DAWSON surname. In Maryland and vicinity it is a well-known family name and the family is scattered throughout the southern states. Judging from the records that have been collected the pro- genitors of the Maryland family came from England among the pioneers. We find two of the family in Talbot county among the first settlers. Francis Dawson, a member of the Society of Friends, had the following children recorded in the Third Haven Monthly Meet- ing: I. Obadiah, born June 13, 1672, died 1694. 2. Richard, December 13, 1674; mar- ried, 1698, Susannah Foster. 3. Elizabeth, January 11, 1677-78. 4. John, November 2, 1678. 5. Anthony, June 13, 1683. Many of the Talbot county families may be traced to this ancestor.
(I) Ralph Dawson, the other immigrant, of Talbot county, may have been a brother. Of his history we know little. He died July 31, 1710, and is mentioned in the will of his son John. Children: I. John, mentioned below. 2. James, executor of his will. 3. Richard. 4. Robert. 5. Rachel.
(II) John, son of Ralph Dawson, was born about 1660-70. When he died in 1710, he left five minor children. According to family tra- dition he came to this country in 1685. He
must have come with his father, and as the other Dawson family was here earlier, the date 1685 may be later than that of his emi- gration from England. He lived on the west side of St. Michael's river. He had lands on the east side of the Chesapeake granted under the proprietary government of Lord Calvert. He was designated as a gentleman, indicating high social position at that time. His will, dated 1710, mentions his wife, his father, his children, brothers Richard, Robert, and sister Rachel to whom he bequeathed land on St. Michael's river. Children : I. John Jr. 2. William, had land at Bachelor's Range, Gall- away and Hilton's Hope. 3. Ralph, mentioned below. 4. Susanna. 5. Elizabeth.
(III) Ralph (2), son.of John Dawson, was born about 1700. He was a minor and prob- ably quite young when his father and grand- father died. According to one family tradi- tion he came from England, but the evidence is plain that he was born in Talbot county, Maryland, after his father and grandfather came there. Children: I. Thomas. 2. Joseph, married Hadaway; had six children. 3. Impy (peculiar name that has survived for generations in the family-one of this name was living in Maryland in the same county in 1790). 4. James. 5. Nicholas, born about 1754, died 1838; married Mary Cook. (The order of birth of these children is unknown). 6. Elizabeth, mentioned below.
(IV) Elizabeth, daughter of Ralph (2) Dawson, was born in Talbot countv. She married Basil Sewell, father of General James Sewell, of Cecil county, Maryland. General Sewell commanded Fort McHenry in the War of 1812 at the time "The Star Spangled Ban- ner" was written there. Children: James Sewell, Clement, Basil Jr., Elizabeth Sewell, Mary, mentioned below, Thomas Sewell, Basil Sewell, lived at Bayside, Talbot county.
(V) Mary Sewell, daughter of Basil and Elizabeth (Dawson) Sewell, was born in Talbot county. She married Robert Dawson (5) as his second wife. Robert Dawson (5), son of Robert Dawson (4), married (first) Cooper. Robert Dawson (4) was doubtless a grandson or nephew of Robert Dawson (2), mentioned above among the sons of Ralph Dawson. The records are not avail- able for a search. Children of Robert and Mary (Sewell) Dawson: Maria and Robert.
(VI) Robert, son of Robert Dawson, was born in Talbot county, died July, 1894, aged ninety-eight years. He married Richarda Hopkins, daughter of Dr. Richard and Han-
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nah (Hammond) Hopkins (see Hopkins IV). Child, Mary A., born December 19, 1832, mar- ried John Hughes, (see Hughes II).
HOPKINS Garret Hopkins, immigrant ancestor, came to America about 1661. On January 24, 1661, John Burrage demanded land for his own transportation, and Margaret Burrage his wife, and Margaret and Elizabeth, his daugh- ters ; John Willson, Garret Hopkins, and Mary Thomas, and further desired that his warrant be for six hundred and fifty acres, he having already three hundred entered in 1658. The land was in Anne Arundel county, Mary- land, where Garret Hopkins lived when he arrived. On April 7, 1683, Garret was a wit- ness to the will of Francis Holland Sr., of that county. He was also an appraiser of that estate. The family of Hopkins in Coventry, county Warwick, England, bore the same coat-of-arms as the family of Garret Hop- kins: Sable, a chevron argent charged with three roses gules between these three match- locks or. Crest : A tower per bend indented argent and gules from the battlements flames issuant proper. Motto: Inter Primos. In the town hall of Coventry there is a portrait of Ezekiel Hopkins which bears a strong family resemblance to the descendants of Garret Hopkins, and as Ezekiel is a common name in the American family, it seems quite possible that Garret Hopkins came originally from Warwickshire, although it is not known defi- nitely. At the time of his death he lived at Peake plantation, not far from West river, about a mile from the present town of Owens- ville. The plantation was inherited by his son and grandson, and is now or was lately owned by the heirs of Dr. Martin Fenwick. Garret Hopkins was a planter and shipped crops to England, having money there to his credit. He was evidently comfortably well off. His will was dated October 12, 1691, and proved in June or July, 1692. The inventory of his estate was filed July 23, 1692. He married Thomson -, probably Eard. Children, order of birth uncertain: I. Gerard, men- tioned below. 2. Ann, married at St. James parish, December 10, 1699, Henry Roberts. 3. Thomson or Thomasin, died about 1715: married at All Hallows Parish, March 13, 1700, John Welsh. 4. Mary, died 1758; mar- ried at St. James' Parish, August 9, 1705, Thomas Wells.
(II) Gerard, son of Garret Hopkins, re- sided on his father's plantation. He became a
Quaker, took a prominent part in their meet- ings, and served on important committees in the church. In 1706 he accounted for tobacco taken as taxes, and in 1732 was appointed one of a committee to welcome Lord Baltimore. His name appears as a witness on many mar- riage certificates. He served often on com- mittees to settle differences between the mem- bers of the church. In addition to the Peake plantation, he owned several tracts of land in Anne Arundel county. His will was dated January 1, 1741-42, and proved February 2, 1743-44, administration being granted to his widow. He married, intentions dated January II, 1700-01, Margaret Johnes. Children : I. Elizabeth, born March 13, 1703, died April 27, 1772; married, January 10, 1722-23, Levin Hill. 2. Joseph, November 2, 1706; married, August 17, 1727, Ann Chew. 3. Gerard, March 7, 1709, died September 3, 1777 ; mar- ried, May 7, 1730, Mary Hall. 4. Philip, March 9, 1711, died 1757 ; married, 1736, Eliz- abeth Hall. 5. Samuel, January 16, 1713 ; said to have married Sarah Giles. 6. Richard, De- cember 15, 1715 ; said to have married Kathe- rine Todd. 7. William, August 8, 1718; mar- ried Rachel Orrick. 8. Johns, mentioned below.
(III) Johns, son of Gerard Hopkins, was born October 30, 1720, died November 4, 1783. He was also a prominent Quaker, serv- ing on various committees and as "visitor." His farm, which he had inherited from his father, adjoined that of his brother Gerard. His will was dated August 7, 1783, and proved July 30, 1784. He died November 4, 1783. He was a man of great strength of body and mind. He died of consumption, of many years duration. Before his death he freed his slaves. He married (first) Mary Gilliss. Mar- ried (second) about 1747, Mary Crockett, widow of John Crockett 2nd, and daughter of Joseph and Rebecca (Johns) Richardson. Married (third) Elizabeth Thomas, who died in 1804. She was born March 10, 1736-37, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Snowden) Thomas. She was "modest and retiring, yet communicative and intelligent, with a retentive inemory, well stored with a variety of pleasing and ever interesting tales, sketches and anec- dotes from history, poetry, and passing events. Her house was large and she was fond of soci- ety. It was a place of resort for Friends, and many were pleasantly entertained there. All her children married, with the exception of her youngest son, and it was a pleasant sight, when they met at her house with their chil-
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dren, to behold the happiness expressed in her countenance, which seemed to be communi- cated from one to another. She was the doc- tress of the neighborhood poor. She was remarkably healthv for one of her age and her mind was unimpaired when she died after a few days illness, of bilious fever, in the autumn of 1804." Child of first wife: Ezekiel, born May II, 1747. Child of second wife: Johns, born July 8, 1751 ; married (first) May 30, 1775, Elizabeth Harris; (second) April 13, 1779, Catherine Howell. Children of third wife: I. Samuel, born February 3, 1759, died February 9, 1814; married Hannah Janney ; was father of Johns Hopkins, for whom the university is named. 2. Philip, September 24, 1760; married, March 21, 1787, Mary Boone. 3. Richard, March 2, 1762, mentioned below. 4. Mary, January 7, 1764; married, 1787, Samuel Peach. 5. Margaret, February 20, 1766; married Jesse Tyson. 6. Gerard, Octo- ber 24, 1769; married, 1796, Dorothy Brooke. 7. Elizabeth, April 26, 1771 ; married, March 26, 1795, John Janney. 8. Evan, November 30, 1772 ; married, January 25, 1810, Elizabeth Hopkins. 9. Ann, February 26, 1775 ; mar- ried, November 5, 1801, Thomas Shrieves. IO. Racliel, September 7, 1777; married March 29, 1804, Robert Hough. II. William, Janu- ary 28, 1781 ; died unmarried.
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