USA > New Jersey > Genealogical and memorial history of the state of New Jersey, Volume IV > Part 52
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(V) Jeremiah, tenth child and seventh son of Henry and Phebe (Hedges) Baker, was born at Westfield, New Jersey, August 28, 1770, and died near Dover, New Jersey, Au- gust II, 1861. About 1792 he moved from Westfield to Morris county, where he married and later on settled finally near Dover. March 4, 1798, he married Mary, daughter of An- drew King, of Dover, who was born June 9, 1778, and died September 3, 1851. Children : I. Andrew, born April 5, 1799. 2. Henry, born April 29, 1801, died December 19, 1894; mar- ried Lydia J. Jenners. 3. Elizabeth, born Sep- tember 18, 1803; married James B. Carrol. 4. William Hedges, referred to below. 5. Nancy W., born May 24, 1808; married Will- iam H. Spencer. 6. Mary King, born August 24, 1809 or 1811, died February 1I, 1888; married Silas S. Palmer. 7. Phebe Hedges, born November 28, 1815; married John De- Hart. 8. Margaret, born October 29, 1818; married John Butterworth.
(VI) William Hedges, fourth child and third son of Jeremiah and Mary (King) Baker, was born at Mount Pleasant, near Dover, New Jersey, January 6, 1806, and died June 27, 1876. His father had laid the foun- dation of the large estate now enjoyed by the family through his business as currier and tanner. William Hedges Baker and his brother Henry, who were in partnership for the greater part of their lives, became two of the most important men in their section of the country, and were remarkably successful and popular. They owned the well-known Baker mines, and formed and for many years conducted the iron manufacturing business known by their name. June 15, 1848, William Hedges Baker married Clarissa, daughter of Thomas and Maria Dell. Children: I. Jere- miah, born July 4, 1849, died March 14, 1873. 2. William Henry, referred to below. 3. Mary King, born September 28, 1853; married S. B. Johnston, M. D. 4. Anna M., June, 1855, married Horace L. Dunham. 5. Andrew King, referred to below. 6. David, born Oc- tober 28, 1860, died October 18, 1881. 7. Phebe Hedges, born November 26, 1861, died November 1, 1881. 8. Thomas, referred to below. 9. Henrietta, twin with Thomas ; mar- ried Francis H. Tippett. 10. Lydia J., born
November 3, 1871; married William E. Jacobus.
(VII) William Henry, son of William Hedges and Clarissa (Dell) Baker, was born October 3, 1851, at Mount Pleasant, one and one-half miles north of Dover, New Jersey, at the old Baker homestead founded by his grandfather. After receiving his education in the public school he worked on his father's farm for two or three years, and in 1869 re- ceived the appointment of assistant postmaster at Dover. Here he remained for six years, and then entered into .partnership with Mr. Alpheus Beemer, for carrying on a general store. The partnership of Baker & Beemer lasted for about five years, and then Mr. Baker bought up the entire interest in the firm. After conducting it alone for some time he took in as a partner his brother-in-law, Francis H. Tippett, and the firm for two or three years was Baker & Tippett. The partnership was then dissolved, and the William H. Baker Store Company, incorporated, was formed. For three or four years Mr. Baker conducted this company personally, and in 1905 sold out his share and retired. For some time previous, Mr. Baker had been engaged in the real estate business, simply in order to have his own prop- erty handled advantageously, as he did no agency work. In 1885 his general store busi- ness was destroyed by fire, and in the fall of the same year Mr. Baker, who owned the building in which the store had been conducted, built the Baker Building in Dover, which was occupied in the following spring. He is also owner of the Hotel Dover, which was remod- eled in 1901 and finished in 1902. This hotel has sixty-eight rooms, and is one of the finest in the city. In 1906 he built the Baker The- atre, which has a seating capacity of eleven hundred, and in 1901 he built the fine mansion in Dover, which he occupies as a residence. Among the many real estate transactions which he has conducted should be mentioned his purchase and development of the old John W. Hurd farm, which he divided up into town lots, grading and making streets, etc., over about one hundred acres of land partly in Dover and partly in Waterton. Mr. Baker is manager of the Theatre, treasurer of the Park Union Lumber Company of Dover, a director in the Dover Trust Company, and chairman of that company's examining committee. In politics he is a Republican, and in 1905 was elected as a member of the common council, and when his term expired in 1907 was re- elected. January 26, 1897, Mr. Baker married
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Carrie E., daughter of Henry and Elizabeth V. Odell, of La Porte, Indiana. Child: Henry Odell, born April 28, 1899.
(VII) Andrew King, fifth child and sec- ond son of William Hedges and Clarissa (Dell) Baker, was born on the old homestead at Mount Pleasant, near Dover, New Jersey, August 13. 1858. After receiving his early education in the public schools he attended Rutgers College for two years, but returned home in order to help his father on the farm. Several years after this he started a boot and shoe business in Dover, which he ran suc- cessfully for many years, finally selling it in 1904 in order to go into a real estate business. This business, in which Mr. Baker is remark- ably successful, is along the same lines as that done by his brother, as he acts mostly for him- self and only to a very small extent as an agent. In politics Mr. Baker is a Republican. For four terms he has been an alderman of the town, for two terms a member of the board of freeholders of Dover, and chairman of the water commission. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum and of the Lozel Associ- ation. December 25, 1881, Mr. Baker married Caroline L., daughter of Amos and Helen (Johnson) Dodge. Children: Robert; Edna Ellis ; Ellene Dodge ; Harold W .; Marion C.
(VII) Thomas, eighth child and third son of William Hedges and Clarissa (Dell) Baker. was born at the old Baker homestead at Mount Pleasant, near Dover, New Jersey, February 21, 1865. After receiving his early education at the public schools of Dover he graduated from the Morristown Academy, and then until he was about twenty-eight years old he took charge of and managed the old homestead farm at Mount Pleasant, except that for three years beginning when he was twenty-two, when he went into the general store with his brother. When he was thirty years old he went into the fire insurance business in part- nership with his brother-in-law, Francis H. Tippett, in Dover, with whom he remained for five years. In 1886 he built himself a fine resi- dence on North Clinton street, Dover, on the hill commanding a fine view of Cold Spring Mountain and the surrounding country, and since retiring from the insurance business he has given up his time to looking after his real estate interests. He was one of the organ- izers of the People's National Bank of Dover, and was a director until it was sold to the Dover Trust Company, in which for a time he also acted as director. April 19, 1892, Mr. Baker married Hester M., daughter of Josiah
Hilferty, of Port Jervis, New York. Chil- dren : William Hedges and Florence Bell.
This name is of Saxon origin DUNSTER and seems to have been orig- inally written "Dunstone," and it has gone through various mutations to its present form, which would seem to indicate a dweller on a dun or down. The original spelling would rather indicate that the sur- name was taken by one who dwelt near a large rock upon a down. A castle and market town bearing the name of Dunster are prominent landmarks in Somersetshire, England. The name is found in the parish of Middletown, Lancashire, in 1543 and later. There have been several distinguished men of the name in England, including John Dunster, a Bachelor of Divinity, 1530; Robert, a London mer- chant ; John, Bachelor of Arts, Magdalen Col- lege, 1600, Master of Arts, 1604, and proctor of the college, 1611. In this country the name was very early distinguished in the first presi- dent of Harvard College, Henry Dunster, who came from Bury, Lancashire, to Massachu- setts, in 1640. Because of his determined adherence to his views on infant baptism he was finally forced to relinquish his position. Had he been disposed to temporize with the bigoted sentiment of his day or to act from motives of policy, he would probably have retained his position until his death. Among the recent emigrants from England is a family from Kent located in western New York. Another recent family is descended from Thomas Dunster who came from England and settled at Newark, New Jersey.
The family herein mentioned is an old one in New Jersey, and is descended from Charles Dunster, one of the twelve original proprietors of South Jersey. He was a large land owner in West Jersey. Some of his descendants are now located at Leesville, Ohio. A grandson of his, whose name cannot now be disclosed by his descendants, was a bridge builder, and died in Pennsylvania before he was forty years of ' age, his home being in the vicinity of Ber- nardsville, New Jersey. His wife, Mary Mar- tin, a native of New Jersey, survived him many years and died September 25, 1862, at the age of seventy-one years. Their children were James, Jefferson and Oliver. The first died at the age of fifty-four years, in 1863; the second died at the age of fourteen years.
(I) Oliver, youngest of the above named sons, was born in Bernardsville, New Jersey, July 9, 1816, and died December 31, 1892, at
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the age of seventy-six years. He had a farm of two hundred acres, including Round Top Mountain, at Bernardsville, and dealt exten- sively in tanbark and sumach, and burned charcoal for the market. He was a Methodist in religious faith, and a steadfast Democrat in politics. He married, January 17, 1835, Abigail Sanders, a native of Bernardsville, born December 7, 1815, in Bernardsville, died September 10, 1886, daughter of Cyrus and Constance (Burt) Sanders. Children : 1. John B., resided at Bernardsville. 2. Jefferson, was a ranch owner in Columbia, California, where he died at the age of forty-one years. 3. An- drew N., mentioned below. 4. Curtis O., re- sides in Somerville, New Jersey. 5. Charles P., lives in Bernardsville. 6. Mary D., wife of Jacob M. Pickle, of the same place. 7. Frank A., a resident of Somerville.
(II) Andrew Nelson, third son of Oliver and Abigail (Sanders) Dunster, was born De- cember 21, 1841, in Bernardsville, and died at Somerville, January 29, 1908. He was reared upon the paternal farm and received but little education, being very early accustomed to take up the work of the homestead. He remained with his father until of age, soon after which, having procured a team of horses, he worked with the team on the construction of the Dela- ware, Lackawanna & Western railroad through New Jersey. Subsequently, he rented a farm at what is now called Bankers' Mountain, near Bernardsville, on which he continued two years. Following this he was superintendent of the farm known as Penfield Farm at Mend- ham, where he remained several years. Going thence to Basking Ridge, he continued farm- ing until about 1877-78, when he removed to Tompkinsville, Staten Island, and there con- ducted a livery business for several years. He re- moved thence to Somerville, New Jersey, where he conducted a similar business for a period of seventeen years, after which he engaged in the undertaking business and continued until about one year before his death. Mr. Dunster was popular with the general public, and was therefore successful in his business under- takings. He was a member of the Second Re- formed Church of Somerville, and was gener- ally esteemed as an upright citizen. He was identified with numerous social and benevo- lent organizations, including the Knights of the Golden Eagle, Patriotic Order of the Sons of America, and Improved Order of Red Men, in all of which bodies he filled official sta- tions. He was also a member of the fire de- partment at Somerville. While a steadfast
Republican in political principle, he did not desire nor seek official station. As a private citizen he industriously cared for his business operations, and enjoyed the respect and con- fidence of those with whom he was brought in contact. He married (first) November, 1864, Susan C. Stevens, born February 18, 1838, at Van Dorne's Mills, New Jersey, daugh- ter of John and Anna (Doty) Stevens. She died May 22, 1871, at Bernardsville, New Jer- sey. He married (second) in 1885, Elizabeth Tillman, of Raritan, New Jersey, who survives him and now resides in that town. There were no children of the second marriage; there were two sons of the first marriage-George Jeffer- son and Charles Henry ; the former is now a resident of Newark, New Jersey.
(III) Charles Henry, junior son of Andrew N. and Susan C. (Stevens) Dunster, was born June 20, 1868, at Bernardsville, and was about ten years of age when the family removed to Staten Island. He continued in public schools until thirteen years old, after which his entire time was given to occupations in his own main- tenance. He had been very early accustomed to assist his father in business, and immediate- ly after leaving school took employment in a grocery store with his uncle Jacob M. Pickle, at Bernardsville. After one year he entered a general store conducted by Permenus C. Henry, at Basking Ridge, where he continued two years. He then assisted his father in the livery business at Somerville, and during the two summer seasons conducted a branch stable at Schooley's Mountain Springs. For one summer he and his father conducted the livery at Seeney's Hotel, Bankers' Mountain. In 1893 he went to Plainfield, New Jersey, where he was a partner of his father in a livery busi- ness conducted by A. N. Dunster & Sons. This was sold out in 1895, and soon after Mr. Dun- ster went on the road as a salesman for drug and medicine companies. He continued in this occupation until May, 1908, being suc- cessively employed by E. C. DeWitt & Com- pany and Foley & Company of Chicago, and the Dr. Schoup Medicine Company of Racine, Wisconsin. With the last two concerns he was employed as a field manager, and travelled all over the United States directing sales and otherwise serving his employers. In this man- ner he acquired a very extensive acquaintance with the druggists of the country, and was thus amply qualified for taking up the business in which he is now engaged. Since May, 1908, he has been vice-president and general man- ager of The Health Company, engaged in the
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manufacture of sanitary appliances made from rubber, with factories in Newark, New Jer- sey, and Montreal, Canada, and offices in New York City. Its trade is chiefly with druggists and hospitals, and extends from Maine to Cali- fornia. The success of the business is largely due to the business experience and ability of its vice-president. Mr. Dunster resides in Brooklyn, where he and family are associated with St. Mark's P. E. Church. He is a mem- ber of Elks Lodge, No. 22, and of the Royal Arcanum, and is a firm supporter of the prin- ciples and policies of the Republican party. Of genial nature and pleasing manners, he is most democratic in habit, and is esteemed by a large circle of acquaintances. He married, July 2, 1902, Marjorie Sebring, a native of Bound Brook, New Jersey, daughter of Peter A. and Mary (Price) Sebring. They have a daughter, Marion Sebring Dunster.
Andrew Ford, of Weymouth and
FORD Hingham, married, some time be- fore 1650, Eleanor, daughter of Robert Lovell, of Weymouth. Children : I. Andrew. 2. Joseph. 3. Mary. 4. James. 5. Samuel, born July 30, 1656. 6. Nathaniel, born March 31, 1658. 7. Ebenezer, born March 28, 1660. 8. Silence, born December 16, 1661. 9. Prudence, born December 22, 1663. IO. Jacob, born February 20, 1665. II. Elizabeth, born November 2, 1667. 12. Israel, born June 7, 1670. 13. Sarah, born May 28, 1672.
(II) Ebenezer, son of Andrew Ford, is the Ebenezer Ford who died intestate in Wood- bridge, before February 17, 1695-6. This is shown by the fact that the sixteen acres of land purchased from John Conger by Eben- ezer Ford, March 26, 1692 (see East Jersey deeds, lib. C, p. 172), was sold in 1702 by An- drew Ford, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, son of Andrew Ford, of Weymouth and Hingham, and in the deed of sale Andrew describes him- self as the "heir in law of my brother" Eben- ezer.
Now, John Ford, of Woodbridge, in his will, dated October 20, 1721, proved February 17, 1721-2, divides between his two sons, Jacob and Samuel, land in Duxbury, Massachusetts. and in Quinebog, Connecticut, "which falls to me by my father."
Andrew Ford, of Weymouth, also in his will disposes of land at Duxbury and at Quinebog, Connecticut, giving two hundred acres in the latter locality to each of his three sons, Na- thaniel, James and Samuel. Of James, there is little record save the mention of him in his
father's will, which states that he had already been provided for. Of Nathaniel, there seems to be no record of his having a son John. As to Samuel, he lived in Weymouth and Bridge- water, dying in the former place in 171I, and there is no record of his marrying or having had children that has yet come to light, and although he disposes of several pieces of land at various times, the deeds contain no refer- ence to a wife.
On the other hand, John Ford, of Wood- bridge, names his younger son Samuel, possi- bly after his father. The late Corydon L. Ford, who spent over fifty years studying the Ford records and left his mss. at his death to the New England Historical and Genealogical Society, writes in 1894: "I am firmly con- vinced after weighing all the evidence, that the New Jersey Fords are the descendants of An- drew, of Weymouth, and that John Ford, of Morristown, is the son of Samuel."
(III) John, son of James, Nathaniel or Samuel, and grandson of Andrew Ford, of Weymouth and Hingham, died in Hanover, Morris county, New Jersey in 1721. He set- tled in Woodbridge before 1700, and was dea- con there in 1709, and elder in 1710. He mar- ried, at Woodbridge, December 15, 1701, Eliz- abeth Freeman, born at Axford, England, in March, 1681, and died in Morristown, New Jersey, April 21, 1772. "She came to Phila- delphia when one year old, when there was but one house there, and removed to New Jersey at the age of eighteen months." Her father, it is said, while "landing his goods at Phila- delphia" (or rather the place where Philadel- phia was at a later date) fell from the gang- plank into the Delaware, and was drowned between the ship and the shore, leaving a family of young orphan children. After her husband's death she went to live with her son, Colonel Jacob Ford Sr., by whom she was treated, says the diary of her great-grandson, Hon. Gabriel H. Ford, "with great filial tenderness the re- maining years of her life, which were many." He also says in another place, "her short sta- ture and slender bent person I clearly recall, having lived in the same house with her." Chil- dren of John and Elizabeth (Freeman) Ford : I. Experience, born about 1702. 2. Jacob, re- ferred to below. 3. Samuel, born October II, 1710, died August II, 1752; married Sarah, daughter of Jonathan and Susanna (Mitchel) Baldwin, sister to his brother's wife.
(IV) Jacob, son of John and Elizabeth (Freeman) Ford, was born in Woodbridge, New Jersey, according to the town record,
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Washington Headquarters Morristown, N.J.
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April 12, 1705, while almost every other ac- count has it April 13, 1704. He died in Morris- town, New Jersey, January 19, 1777. Previ- ous to his marriage there seems to be almost no record of his life, but after this he becomes prominent as one of the pioneers in New Jer- sey as a landowner, merchant and iron manu- facturer. In 1738 he applied for a license to keep an inn in New Hanover, and in this tavern the first sessions of the Morris county court were held. From this time on his name is of frequent occurrence in the public records, his influence was widely felt, and he was with- out doubt the leading man in Morristown. He kept a store from which not only the commu- nity about him but the many employees in his different forges drew their supplies. He was president judge of the county court from the formation of the county in 1740 until his death, and as such presided over the stirring meet- ing in the Morris county courthouse, which ap- pointed the first committee of correspondence. March 24, 1762 he conveyed to his son, Jacob Ford Jr., a tract of two hundred acres of land surrounding his house, and in 1768 he deeded to him the Mount Hope mines and meadows where his son built the stone mansion which still stands. Colonel Jacob Ford was now becoming an old man ; for some time he had been gradu- ally transferring the responsibility of his private business to his son and namesake, who was be- gining to occupy his father's place in the confi- dence and affection of the people of Morris county, but he was too keenly alive to the exigencies of the hour to permit even the grow- ing infirmities of old age to deter him from participating to the full measure of his ability in the revolt against the long series of tyrannous aggression of the mother country upon the liberties of the American colonies, and he not only accepted his election, but became one of the prominent members of the Provincial Con- gress which declared for liberty. He died of fever, at the age of seventy-three years, and a simple inscription upon his monument pre- serves a memory which will be cherished so long as the freedom for which he toiled is appreciated. His signature to many papers and instruments was "Jacob fford." His will was recorded December 5, 1777. He married, in 1724, Hannah, born November 17, 1701, died July 31, 1777, daughter of Jonathan and Susanna (Mitchel) Baldwin. Children : I. John, born April 28, 1728, died February 14, 1767; married (first) March 20, 1748, Pene- lope Jennings ; (second) January 20, 1751, Martha Raynor. 2. Phebe, born February 20,
1729, died August 2, 1819; married (first) Oc- tober 16, 1748, Samuel Arnold; (second) De- cember 24, 1776, Jonas Phillips. 3. Sarah, born July 20, 1732-3, died November 13, 1811; married (first) August 20, 1749, John Kenny, of Hanover, ancestor of the present Kinney family of Morris and Essex counties; (sec- ond) November 3, 1751, Samuel Tuthill, M. D. 4. Mary, married, May 21, 1753, Azariah Dunham, of Piscataway. 5. Jane, born Janu- ary 29, 1736, died November 22, 1794; mar- ried, December 15, 1756, Moses Tuthill. 6. Jacob, referred to below. 7. David, born April 2, 1741, died May 13, 1760. 8. Elizabeth, born May 29, 1743, died in infancy, July 18, 1746. (V) Colonel Jacob Ford (2), son of Jacob (I) and Hannah (Baldwin) Ford, was born in Morris county, New Jersey, February 19, 1737-8, and died in Morristown, January 10, 1777. If anything, he was a man even more prominent than his honored father. Previous to the outbreak of the revolution he was more than once entrusted with difficult missions on behalf of the state, which he faithfully exe- cuted. In 1774, two years before the revolu- tionary war broke out, he built the famous "Ford Mansion" at Morristown, New Jersey, which is still standing and kept in an excel- lent state of preservation by its present owner, the Washington Association of New Jersey, who purchased the property from the heirs of Henry A. Ford Esq., deceased. It contains a great quantity of valuable Washingtoniana. It was here that Washington spent the winter of 1779-80, Colonel Jacob Ford's widow hav- ing offered him her hospitality. He occu- pied it from about December 1, 1779, to June, 1780, and soon after his arrival a log kitchen was built at the east end of the house for the use of the General's family, while another log cabin was built at the west end for a general office. The cluster of build- ings was guarded night and day by sentinels, and it is related that Washington was accus- tomed to knock every morning at the door of Timothy Ford, the eldest son of his hostess, who was at that time suffering from the effects of a wound, and inquire how the young man had spent the night. In the field southeast of the house, huts were built for Washington's life guard, and at every alarm three soldiers would rush into the house, barricade the door, and about five men would station themselves at each window, their muskets brought to a charge, loaded and cocked, ready for defense. The name of Jacob Ford is brought into spe- cial prominence for having built an important
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powder mill on the Whippany river, near Morristown, in 1776. The Provincial Con- gress had agreed to lend him £2000 in money, without interest, for one year, on his giving satisfactory security for the same, he to deliver one ton a month of "good merchantable powder" until the £2000 had been repaid. This "good merchantable powder" did excellent service in many a battle thereafter, and was one of the main reasons for the repeated but fruitless attempts of the enemy to reach Morristown. At first these attempts were made by small de- tachments, but in December, 1776, General Leslie, with a considerable force, was sent on this important errand. Intelligence of the enemy's movements having in some way reach- ed Colonel Ford, he marched with his battalion of militia to Springfield, where on December 14 a sharp engagement took place with the British forces, and the royalist commander re- ceived so convincing a demonstration of the high quality of Morristown gunpowder and the great efficiency of Morristown militia that he unceremoniously retreated towards Spank- town, now Rahway. It is said it was the con- duct of American militia at this battle which was one of the deciding arguments that led to the French giving their assistance to the strug- gling colonists.
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