Genealogical and memorial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume III, Part 35

Author: Lee, Francis Bazley, 1869- ed
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Lewis Historical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 650

USA > New Jersey > Genealogical and memorial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume III > Part 35

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

(VIII) John Jacob, eldest child of John and Abbie Ann (Terwilliger) Hopper, was born in Wyckoff, Bergen county, New Jersey, May 8, 1850. He was a carpenter and builder in Ruth- erford, New Jersey, and later a livery stable keeper in Paterson, from whch business he re- tired with a competence, and was residing with his son in East Rutherford in 1909. He mar- ried, 1875, Susan Randolph, daughter of Ed- win F. and Hannah (Goetschious) Randolph, the former a descendant of the Fitz Randolphs, of Virginia. Child, Edmund C.

(IX) Edmund C., only child of John Jacob and Susan (Randolph) Hopper, was born in Rutherford, Bergen county, New Jersey, June 14, 1876. He was a pupil in the public schools of Paterson, and from his father, a master carpenter, learned the trade and followed the vocation for three years, when he accepted the position of bookkeeper for P. S. Van Kirk, carpenter and contractor at Paterson, and he continued with this concern for twelve years. Late in 1906 he began the lumber business on

his own account at East Rutherford and his trade increased rapidly, and in 1909 he was the proprietor of a large and well established busi- ness. He affiliates with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, an immensely popu- lar organization founded in 1868, which in 1905 had a membership of over two hundred thousand in the United States, comprising the best class of professional and business men. Mr. Hopper acquired his membership through Rutherford Lodge, No. 547, in 1907.

He married, June 15, 1899, Maud J., daugh- ter of William and Eliza J. ( Albert ) Ketcham ; children, born in East Rutherford, New Jer- sey : I. Edmund R., August 25, 1900. 2. Winfield K., February 23, 1904. 3. Randolph T., September 5, 1906

TAYLOR The families of this name in New Jersey are numerous and all of English origin. Like many others it is derived from an occupation, and was doubtless associated with the bap- tismal name of its bearer when he assumed it as a surname about five hundred years ago. Many of the best citizens of this common- wealth have borne the patronymic, and it is still well known in leading circles.

(I) Samuel Taylor is the first of this family now known by baptismal name. His father came from England and settled at Hempstead, Rockland county, New York. Samuel Taylor was born May 14, 1779, in England, and was an adult when he accompanied his father (or was accompanied by the latter) to America. He settled in Pompton, New Jersey, and was a farmer and tanner. He served as a drummer in the war of 1812. Later in life he removed to the present site of Westwood, Washington township, Bergen county, New Jersey, where he died December 11, 1857. He married, July 10, 1802, Sarah Doremus, of Preakness, Pas- saic county, New Jersey, born September 7, 1783, died August 7, 1843. They were the parents of eight children, among whom was Cornelius D., see forward.

(II) Cornelius D., son of Samuel and Sarah (Doremus) Taylor, was born about 1810-14, at what is now Westwood, Bergen county, New Jersey. Early in life he became identi- fied with the cotton mills at Lodi, New Jersey, where he became expert in dying fabrics. In 1842, after sveral years connection with the former employment, he built a hotel at Paramus, Bergen county, New Jersey, which he conducted some thirteen years. Having come into possession of the Mansion House

*See footnote on preceding page.

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at Hackensack, New Jersey, he conducted it as a hotel until 1860, when he returned to Paramus and continued to conduct his hotel there for about six years. For thirty years previous to his death, which occurred at Hack- ensack, August 24, 1876, he was greatly af- flicted with rheumatism and was compelled to live in enforced retirement for several years. In addition to his business interests Mr. Tay- lor devoted considerable time to the welfare and improvement of his adopted city, and served in the capacity of assessor of the town of Midland, which covered a large district at the time. His nature was genial and sym- pathetic, and he was honored and esteemed by his fellow citizens. He was a member of the Dutch Reformed church, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and an adherent of the Democratic party. He married Hannah Wald- ron, born August 15, 1815, died April 11, 1901, daughter of Captain Barney and Matilda ( Van Dien ) Waldron, of New York. Children : I. Matilda, born 1834, became wife of William Cronkright, of Hackensack, New Jersey, where she died July 23, 1906. 2. Samuel, referred to below. 3. Richard, born 1842; is a resident of Hackensack, New Jersey.

(III) Samuel (2), elder son of Cornelius D. and Hannah (Waldron) Taylor, was born at Arcola, Bergen county, New Jersey, Janu- ary 24, 1838. He was reared in Hackensack and there attended the public schools. At the age of fourteen years he went to work in the general store of Henry A. Berry, dealer in all sorts of merchandise, also proprietor of a coal and lumber yard. Samuel Taylor in this man- ner became thoroughly proficient along various lines of mercantile pursuits, and the informa- tion and experience thus gained proved of great value to him in his subsequent career. He continued in the employ of Mr. Berry two and one-half years, after which he was em- ployed in the New York brokerage office of Louis Becker, where his knowledge of busi- ness affairs was greatly enhanced. In 1857 Mr. Becker established the Bergen County Bank at Hackensack, and Samuel Taylor was assigned to the position of cashier, thus demonstrating the trust reposed in him by his employer, and was probably one of the youngest men who ever occupied such a responsible position. The panic of 1857 ruined the bank, and Mr. Taylor was then compelled to turn his attention to other pursuits, but his spirit and love for active commercial life did not desert him. For a number of years he was manager of the Mansion House at Hackensack, which was

then his father's property and is now his own, and in 1866 he established a bottling business which he actively conducted for ten years and in which he still has an interest. Mr. Taylor has always taken an active interest in local affairs, and by his progress and enterprise has contributed materially to the growth and ad- vancement of Hackensack. His political alle- giance has been given to the Democratic party ; in 1877-78 he acted as collector of New Bar- badoes township, and in 1880 was elected coun- ty clerk, serving in this important position fif- teen years, a sufficient testimonial to his ability and integrity. He has been employed as re- ceiver of large properties and has conserved them with remarkable success. He is a di- rector of the Hackensack National Bank and member of the board of directors of the Hack- ensack Trust Company. Mr. Taylor is a man of genial nature, kind-hearted and hospitable, and is esteemed and respected in the com- munity in which he resides. He is liberal in religious views, and subscribes to the broad fraternal principles of the Masonic fraternity, being an early member of Hackensack Lodge, No. 70.

Mr. Taylor married, August 10, 1859, Sarah E. Lovett, born July 10, 1839, died January 26, 1905, daughter of John and Jane W. (Weaver) Lovett, of Hackensack, New Jersey. Children : I. John L., born June 9, 1862, died March 20, 1866. 2. Fannie, born December 27, 1864; married, November 26, 1884, Abra- ham J. Demarest, born February 14, 1858, son of John A. and Elizabeth ( Vanderbeek) Dema- rest ; superintendent of schools of Hoboken, New Jersey ; one child, Stanley Taylor Dema- rest, born November 25, 1890. 3. Mamie E. L., born January 9, 1868; married, December 2, 1891, John Wakeman Holberton, of Hacken- sack, New Jersey ; children : Taylor Wakeman, born September 16, 1891, and Thomas Seir Cummings, born July 24,1894.

SOOY This is one of the early names of New Jersey of Dutch origin, and has had numerous worthy repre- sentatives in Burlington county. One of the leading scions of the family is now clerk of that county.

(I) Yoos Sooy was a Hollander by birth, who came to New Jersey at a very early date. The English equivalent of his christian name is Joseph. His grave is located at Lower Bank, New Jersey. He had three sons-Nicholas, Joseph and Luke.

(II). Nicholas, eldest son of Yoos Sooy, re-

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Sauil Taylor

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sided at Pleasant Mills. He was a well-to-do farmer. He married Sarah Sears and they had children : Nicholas, Noah, William, Arche- laus, Sears, Elizabeth, Hannah, Sarah, Jemima and Parnell.

(III) Nicholas (2), eldest child of Nicholas (I) and Sarah (Sears) Sooy, was born at Green Bank, New Jersey, where he resided on the paternal homestead. He was a well-to-do farmer, and gave land to the Methodist Epis- copal Church at Green Bank for a cemetery and also built the church of that denomination. He married Esther Weeks. Children : Samuel, William, Ephraim, Josephus, Nicholas, Eliza- beth, Mary, Sarah, Sophia and Esther.

(IV) William, second son of Nicholas (2) and Esther ( Weeks) Sooy, was born in 1815, at Green Bank, where he died October 2, 1896, aged eighty-one years. He married Mary, daughter of Thomas Haywood. She was born about 1811-12, and died April 1, 1901, at the age of eighty-nine years. Both were active members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Sooy was a Democrat in early life, but was later an enthusiastic Republican. He was an esteemed and respected citizen, and served three terms as a member of the New Jersey legislature. During and after the civil war he was internal revenue assessor, while that office was maintained by the United States govern- ment. He served as town clerk and was for many years a freeholder. He kept a general store and also dealt in lumber at Green Bank. His children: I. Joel H., resided at Bristol, Pennsylvania, and has been for many years engaged in the oyster business in South Jersey. 2. Anna M., became wife of Edward Johnson, and now resides at Atlantic City. 3. Watson T., mentioned below. 4. Franklin W., is an artist, residing at Asbury Park, New Jersey. (V) Watson Thomas, second son of Will- iam and Mary (Haywood) Sooy, was born February 14, 1849, at Green Bank, and was educated at the Providence Conference Semi- nary, now known as Greenwich Academy, at Greenwich, Rhode Island, from which insti- tution he graduated. For one year he taught music in that school, and then went to Ran- dolph and was several years a teacher in a school at that place. He subsequently served in the same capacity for a period of two years at Bristol, Pennsylvania. He then returned to his native place and was busily engaged for five years in the menhaden fisheries. He suc- ceeded his father in the conduct of the general store at Green Bank, which he continued until 1904, when he was elected to the office of

county clerk for a period of five years. He is an active supporter of the Republican party and exercises considerable influence in its councils in his county. For several years he served as freeholder. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Green Bank, and of . Tuckerton Lodge No. 4, A. F. and A. M., and of Green Bank Lodge, I. O. O. F. Mr. Sooy married, in 1883, Harriet W. Lane, who was born at Lower Bank, a daughter of Peter and Rebecca (Van Zant) Lane.

HAMILTON is known to be of English This great historical family

origin, but when or how it

took root in Scotland has not been ascertained as easily. The name is obviously territorial, taken from one of the many English manors called Hamilton, especially in Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Lancashire, Rutlandshire, Yorkshire and Leicestershire. Several persons of the name of Hamilton appear in English and Scottish records about the middle of the thir- teenth century, and one of these seems to have held the Yorkshire Manor of Hamilton, to- gether with the lands in the parish of Oxnam in Scotland. But the pedigree of the family cannot be carried beyond (I) "Walter Fitz- Gilbert (or Gilbertson) of Hamilton," who in 1296 held lands in Lanarkshire, Scotland, and sworn fealty to King Edward I. of England as overlord of Scotland. He early surrendered this strong fortress, and of the English knights and nobles who had fled to it from the field of Bannockburn, was rewarded by King Robert Bruce by grant of the land and baronies for- feited by Cumyns and other adherents of Eng- land. He attained the rank of knighthood, and married Mary, daughter of Sir Adam of Gor- don of Hurtly, by whom he left two sons. The elder son was Sir David Fitz-Walter Fitz Gil- bert (2), or as he was sometimes more shortly called Sir David Fitz Walter, or Sir David of Hamilton. His eldest son (3), Sir David of Hamilton of Cadyow, died before 1392, leav- ing by his wife Janet of Keith five sons and a daughter. The eldest son (4) Sir John of Hamilton of Cadyow, married Janet, daughter of Sir James of Douglas of Dalkeith, by whom he was the father of (5) Sir James of Hamil- ton of Cadyow, who about 1422 married Janet, daughter of Alexander of Livingston of Cal- lander, by whom he had (6) Sir James of Hamilton of Cadyow, and four other sons. Sir James was in 1445 created Lord Hamilton by a charter which erected his manor place of "the Orchard" to the barony of Cadyow, and

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gave to it the name of Hamilton, which it still bears. His second son (7) James, second Lord Hamilton, was in 1503 made Earl of Orran, and he wrote his name "James by the Grace of God, earl of Orran and lord Hamilton, gov- ernor and prince of Scotland." He resigned his high office in 1554 in favor of Mary of Guise, receiving in return from Henry II. of France a grant of the duchy of Chatelherault. His nearness to the throne, his following and large possessions were so large that his eldest son, the Earl of Arran, as he was called, was proposed as the husband of Mary, Queen of Scotland, and at another time as the husband of Queen Elizabeth of England, but he was afflicted with madness in 1562 and never re- covered his reason. His father, the first Duke of Chatelherault, dying in 1575, the second son (8) Lord John Hamilton, became the head of the house, and in 1599 was created Marquis of Hamilton. He died in 1604 and his son (9) James, second marquis, was created Earl of Cambridge in England in 1619, and died in 1625. He was succeeded by his eldest son ( 10) James, the third marquis, who for his military services to the king was created Duke of Ham- ilton. In 1648 he led the Scottish army into England for the king's relief, but was defeated by Cromwell at Preston in Lancashire, and be- headed at Westminster, March, 1649. His brother William succeeded him and was cre- ated Earl of Lanark, and died in 1651 from wounds received in the battle of Worcester. The Duchy of Hamilton, by the terms of the patent of creation of Henry II. of France in 1554 to Lord Hamilton, now devolved on the daughter of the first duke, Lady Anne, whose husband, Lord William Douglas, Earl of Sel- kirk, was in 1660 created duke of Hamilton for life. He died in 1694 and the ducess Anne, who survived him, in 1698 resigned her title in the king's hands in favor of her eldest son (II) James, Earl of Arran, who was anew created Duke of Hamilton, with the precedency of 1643. In 17II he was created Duke of Bran- don in England, but the House of Lords re- fused him a seat or vote in Parliament on the ground that the crown was disabled by the act of union for granting a peerage of Great Brit- ain to any person who was a peer of Scotland before the Union. He was killed in a duel in Hyde Park with Lord Mohun in 1712, and his eldest son (12) James succeeded him as Earl of Arran. John Hamilton of Lanark, who came to America early in the eighteenth cen- tury and married in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1730, Sarah Manning, may have been a

brother of James of the twelfth generation, Duke of Hamilton.

The two municipal and parliamentary bor- oughs of Hamilton and Lanark, market towns of Scotland, are both located in the county of Lanark, on the left bank of the Clyde, are ad- jacent boroughs, and unite with four other boroughs in sending a member to parliament.

(I) John Hamilton, of Lanark, Scotland, came to New Jersey, where he was married in 1730 to Sarah, daughter of Ephraim and Eliz- abeth (Fitz-Randolph) Manning, born in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1708. She was a granddaughter of Benjamin and Sarah (Den- nis) Fitz Randolph; sister of Nathaniel Fitz Randolph, who gave land on which to build Princeton College, now Princeton University ; and great-granddaughter of Edward Fitz Ran- dolph ( 1614-1674-5) the Pilgrim, and Eliza- beth Blossom, his wife. Edward Fitz Ran- dolph immigrated to Barnstable, Plymouth Colony, New England, about 1630, and built the thirty-sixth house in Scituate, after the bounds of the town were established, March 7, 1643, o. s. John Hamilton and Sarah (Man- ning) Hamilton settled in Princeton, New Jer- sey, and had children, of whom John (q. v.) was probably the eldest.

(II) John (2), son of John (I) and Sarah (Manning) Hamilton, was born in Princeton, New Jersey, May 19, 1764, and died in that town June 24, 1824. He married, in 1787, Thebe, daughter of Captain John and Rhoda (Joline) Ross, of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Cap- tain John Ross was captain in the colonial militia, and died before the outbreak of the American revolution, the date of his death being July, 1774. In his will he leaves his "silver hilted sword" to his eldest son John Ross (2). His widow did not marry again, al- though the will of her husband provided that her share of his estate should be paid her even if she did remarry. She died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. John Hamilton, Jr., in Princeton, and her tombstone reads: "Rhoda, widow of John Ross, born October 7, 1738, died March 21, 1821, late of the borough of Elizabeth, New Jersey." The children of John Hamilton and Phebe (Ross) Hamilton, were born in Princeton, New Jersey.

(III) Samuel Fitz Randolph, son of John (2) and Phebe Ross Hamilton, was born in Princeton, New Jersey, June 7, 1790, and died in Trenton, New Jersey, August 13, 1856. He was educated in Princeton, graduating at the College of New Jersey, A. B., 1808, and stud- ied law in the office of Chancellor Williamson,

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In Trenton, and was admitted to the bar as an attorney at law in 1812, and as a counsellor in 1815. He was a legal adviser of Joseph Bona- parte during the residence of that distinguished personage at Bordentown, New Jersey, and he was mayor of the city of Trenton for one term. He was prosecutor of pleas for Mercer county, New Jersey ; his political affiliations was Dem- ocratic, and his religious faith Presbyterian. His fraternal affiliation was with the Masonic order, in which he attained by his work a high degree. He was known as a friend and sup- porter of public schools, and always took a lively interest in his alma mater and in the other educational institutions conducted under the patronage of the Presbyterian church. His interest in the New Jersey state militia gained his title of general by holding the office of quartermaster-general of the state, which office he resigned one year before his death by rea- son of continued ill health. While holding the office of quartermaster-general he instituted the practice sham battles between brigades of the state militia on successive anniversaries of the battle of Trenton. He was buried with military honors, and the public press of Au- gust 18, 1856 gave full accounts of the cere- monies attending the funeral and burial. He was married at Oxford Furnace, the home of David Morris and Tacy (Paul) Robeson. to their daughter, Eliza Robeson, May 20, 1818, David Morris Robeson was born at "Forest of Deane," New York, in 1759, and died at Ox- ford Furnace, New Jersey, 1823, where he had engaged in the iron industry. He was a son of Maurice (1724-61) and Anne (Rockhill) Robe- son, who were married in 1750. Maurice Robe- son built "Forest of Deane Furnace," one of the first iron furnaces in the state of New York. Maurice Robeson was the son of Jona- than Robeson, born in Gloucester county, New Jersey, about 1686, married, in 1721, Elizabeth Phillipine Morris, daughter of David and Mary ( Phillipine) Morris, and grandson of Philip Phillipine, of Radnor, Pennsylvania, and his wife, Phebe Evans, Welsh Friends, who were married in 1685. Jonathan lived the latter part of his life near Oxford, New Jer- sey, where he built the first iron furnace and forge in 1742. He died in Pennsylvania in 1766. Jonathan Robeson was the son of Chief Jus- tice Andrew Robeson, born in Scotland in 1653, and died near Douglasville, Pennsylvania, in 1719. He married, about 1684, and served as chief justice of the commonwealth of Penn- sylvania from 1693 to 1699.

Tacy Paul, the wife of David Morris Robe-

son, was the daughter of John Paul, who mar- ried, in 1758, Mary, daughter of his first cousin Jonathan and Deborah (Kenton) Paul, who were married in January, 1739, and grand- daughter of John and Mary (Livezey ) Paul, who settled in Abingdon, Pennsylvania, in 1650, and of Jonathan and Rachel (Taylor) Livezey, who were married in 1686, and great- granddaughter of Thomas Livezey, who settled in Pennsylvania about 1680 and owned land on Pennypack creek, and also a lot at Fourth and Chestnut streets in the city of Philadelphia, on which he built a house in which he resided about 1683. Anne Rockhill, wife of Maurice Robeson, was descended from the families of Ward, Clayton, Parnell and Taunt, and the Rockhill ancestry is traced back to Robert Rockhill, born in England, January 4, 1614, son of Robert Rockhill. This Rockhill record is from an old family Bible, published in 1607, The children of Samuel Fitz-Randolph and Eliza (Robeson) Hamilton were: I. Morris Robeson. 2. John Randolph. 3. Samuel Alex- ander (q. v.). 4. Frances Maria, married Samuel Sherrerd .*

(IV) Samuel Alexander, third son of Sam- uel Fitz-Randolph and Eliza ( Robeson) Ham- ilton, was born in Princeton, Mercer county, New Jersey, July 31, 1824. He was in the real estate business ; a Presbyterian in religious faith ; a Democrat in politics and a soldier in the civil war, 1861-65, holding the rank of Cap- tain of cavalry. He married Phebe Maria, daughter of Isaac and Susan (Wiley) Baker of Princeton, New Jersey, and widow of Will- iam Penn Ely, who was born in Princeton, New Jersey, August 23, 1833. Her mother, Susan Wiley Baker, was a native of Georgetown, D. C. The children of Samuel Alexander and Phoebe Maria (Baker) Ely Hamilton, were born in Princeton, New Jersey, as follows: I. Charles Ross (q. v.). 2. Morris Stroud, October 23, 1866. 3. Susie Baker, March 31, 1868. 4. Eliza Robeson, February 12, 1872.

(V) Charles Ross, eldest son of Samuel Alexander and Phoebe Maria (Baker) Ely Hamilton, was born in Princeton, New Jersey, February 27, 1865. He was educated in pri- vate schools and by tutors. Instead of going to Princeton as originally intended, he entered the business field and entered the employ of the stationery house of Louis Dreka, Philadel- phia, which afterwards grew into The Dreka Company, of which corporation he afterwards

*The above on the ancestry of the Hamilton and Robeson families are from advance sheets of the "History and Genealogy of the Descendants of Chief Justice Andrew Robeson of Penna."

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became president. His political faith has been allied with the Republican party, and he has taken an active interest. He was identified with the Young Republicans of Philadelphia and The Lincoln Club. Among social clubs, he was a member of the Art Club of Philadel- phia, the Merion Cricket Club, the Sons of the Revolution, the Undine Barge Club, the Ches- ter Valley Hunt Club, the Bryn Mawr Polo Club, and the Devon Polo Club. His church affiliation has been with the Presbyterian de- nomination. He was married, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 18, 1894, to Florence, daughter of John P. and Emily M. Woolver- ton. Her father was a lumber merchant of Philadelphia, and her mother a daughter of Charles Harmstead, a merchant of Philadel- phia. John P. and Emily M. Woolverton had two children, Runyon and Florence.

The first child born to Charles Ross and Florence ( Woolverton) Hamilton was Charles Ross Jr., in Philadelphia, March 8, 1898. In 1905 he entered the Blight School and became a member of the class of 1915, and has taken an active interest in athletics and horses. He is the sixth generation from John Hamilton, the Scotch immigrant to New Jersey, who was married in 1730 to Sarah Manning, and in the ninth generation from Edward Fitz Randolph, Plymouth Colony, New England, 1630, through Benjamin, Ephraim and Sarah, wife of John Hamilton, his Scotch ancestors.

CASLER John Casler, of Monmouth county, New Jersey, the first member of the family of whom we have definite information, was born Octo- ber 8, 1770, and died March 2, 1862. He is buried in the old Hartshorne burying-ground at Middletown, New Jersey. It is possible he may have been a son of George Cassler of that place, who was granted a license September IO, 1760, to marry Ann Van Schaick, of Freehold. I'or many years John Casler held the post of lighthouse keeper at Sandy Hook. He married Margaret Clayton. Children: Hannah, born September 15, 1794; Peter, referred to below ; Joseph, born February 12, 1800; John, July 3, 1802, died October 1, 1877; Rebecca Clayton, born May 9, 1805 ; Adelia A., March 21, 1808; Robert F., January II, 1811, died in infancy ; Robert, born June 21, 1814; George, June 9, 1817.

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Genealogical and memorial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume III, Part 35

Author: Lee, Francis Bazley, 1869- ed Publication date: 1910 Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Lewis Historical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 650

Author: Lee, Francis Bazley, 1869- ed
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Lewis Historical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 650