USA > New Jersey > Mercer County > Genealogical and personal memorial of Mercer County, New Jersey > Part 9
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(IX) Cyrus Fogg Brackett, son of John (8) and Jemima (Lord) Brackett, was born June 25, 1833. He was prepared for college at the common schools of his native town, Parsons- field. He attended the academy at Parsonsfield and later graduated from Bowdoin College with the class of 1859. Subsequently he studied medicine at the medical school at Bowdoin Col- lege, graduating in 1863. He was appointed to a chair in Bowdoin College in 1863 and continued there until 1873. At the commencement of the academic year in 1873 he accepted the Henry Professorship of Physics at Princeton, which po- sition he still holds acceptably and well. In poli- tics Professor Brackett is a Republican.
Professor Brackett was married in 1864 to Alice A. Briggs, born December 9. 1839, daugh- ter of Richard and (Roberts) Briggs, both natives of Lancashire, England. Mrs. Alice A. (Briggs) Brackett died at Princeton, July 14, 1885.
FRANK S. BIRD, D. D. S., of Trenton, son of John J. and Mary (Coxon) Bird, was born at Trenton, New Jersey. December 23, 1875. This family is of English ancestry.
The father, John J. Bird, was born in Man- chester, England, where he was an expert pat- tern maker in a pottery. At the age of eighteen years he came to America and became a glass manufacturer in Pittsburg. Pennsylvania. He died March 17, 1886, and is buried in Greenwood cemetery in Trenton. New Jersey, to which city he had removed with his family in 1884. During
the Civil war he enlisted in Company B. Four- teenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, going in as lieuten- ant and being honorably discharged as holding the rank of major. He was captured and im- prisoned in Andersonville, Georgia, and Libby prisons. His father was a veterinary surgeon in Dublin, Ireland. John J. Bird married Mary Coxon, a native of England, the daughter of Charles Coxon and wife. Her father was born in England and came to America in his youth and later established the Coxon Potteries at Trenton, New Jersey. He was first engaged in this busi- ness at Baltimore, Maryland. Before coming to New Jersey he married Mary Hanley.
Dr. Bird was educated at the Trenton, New Jersey, schools and later at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating from the Philadelphia Dental College in 1900. After his graduation he came to his native city and established the Bird Dental Parlors at No. 209 East Main street, where he has built up a large and successful prac- tice in dental surgery. Politically he is a Re- publican. He is a member of the Clinton Avenue Church, and is a member of the Masonic fratern- ity, Lodge No. 139, F. and A. M., and the Scot- tish Rite.
His brother, Dr. Fred E. Bird, is his partner. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey. August 23, 1876; educated at the State Model School of Trenton. Rider Business College, Trenton ; grad- uated from the Philadelphia Dental College in 1901, when he formed a partnership with Dr. Frank S. Bird.
Dr. Frank S. Bird was united in marriage to Belinda McGill, born in Trenton, New Jersey, December 12, 1878, daughter of William and Rebecca (Ashmore) McGill. Her father is an ex-chief of the Trenton fire department.
JOSEPH HOLMES BRUERE, an old and highly esteemed resident of Princeton, Mercer county. New Jersey, who has not alone been closely identified with the social and financial in- terests of the county, but with its political in- terests as well, having held several positions of public trust and responsibility, represents an old family of the state of New Jersey, who came to this country from France, toward the close of the seventeenth century.
(I) Pierre Bruere, the American ancestor of this family, was a native of France, and came to America in 1690, with his mother, who was a widow. They took up their residence in Allen-
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town, Monmouth county, New Jersey, and in March, 1744, Pierre Bruere took out his natural- ization papers. Later in the same year he mar- ried Eleanor Price and had children : I. A daughter, born 1745, died 1766, married a Mr. Blackwell. 2. A daughter, born 1749, died 1788, married a Mr. Baker. 3. James, see forward.
(II) James Bruere, only son of Pierre (1) and Eleanor (Price) Bruere, was born Febru- ary 9, 1751, died July 2, 1807. He took an active part during the war of the Revolution as a member of the Continental army, serving as first lieutenant in 1776 under the command of Colonel Elias Lawrence, in the Second Regiment, Monmouth County Militia, and was subsequent- ly promoted to a captaincy in the same regiment for gallant and meritorious service. He married Sarah Horsefell, and they had eight children, al of whom were born in Allentown, Monmouth county, New Jersey.
(III) Peter Bruere, son of James (2) and Sarah (Horsefell) Bruere, was born February 15, 1776, and lived in his native town until he had attained manhood. He married Ann Han- kins, daughter of John Hankins, and among their children were: I. Hannah, born December 27, 1798, married, May 9, 1822, Josiah Worth, of Stony Brook, Princeton, New Jersey. 2. John Hankins.
(IV) John Hankins Bruere, son of Peter (3) and Anna (Hankins) Bruere, was born Septem- ber 15, 1800. He married, March 8, 1826, Sarah Earle Holmes, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Bruere) Holmes, and they had children: I. Peter, who married Elizabeth Howard and had children : Sarah, John, Howard and Alice. 2. Joseph Holmes, see forward. John Hankins Bruere died in 1861, surviving his wife by thirty years.
(V) Joseph Holmes Bruere, second and youngest son and child of John Hankins (4) and Sarah Earle (Holmes) Bruere, was born in Al- lentown, Monmouth county, New Jersey, Novem- ber 3, 1830. His mother died when he was but six months old and he was placed in the care of his Aunt Hannah, a sister of his father, who resided on the old Worth homestead at Stony Brook, near Princeton. There he lived until he had attained manhood, receiving his education in the schools of Princeton, where he was also pre- pared for entrance to college. In due course of time he matriculated at Princeton University, and was graduated from that institution in the class
of 1850. He did not, however, take up any of the professions commerce and finance appealing more to him, and at the same time he was greatly in- terested in the political affairs of both his coun- ty and the country at large. After some years engaged in business Mr. Bruere was elected, in 1867, on the Republican ticket, to membership in the state legislature, and during this term was a member of the joint committee on the state prison, and also of the joint committee on print- ing. He was re-elected in 1871 by his former constituents, and again took an important part in the legislative proceedings. He was appointed chairman of the standing committee on banks and insurance, served on the standing committee on stationery, and on the joint committee on the state prison. When he retired from a political career Mr. Bruere again became immersed in bus- iness affairs, which he took up with his custom- ary energy. He was one of the organizers of the Princeton Savings Bank and was elected its first president, a position he held for a considerable number of years. He was for many years a mem- ber of the board of directors of the Princeton Bank, and the success which attended all his un- dertakings in the financial and general business world soon attracted the attention of other finan- cial institutions. His counsel was widely and frequently sought, and he became a member of the board of directors of the Trenton Banking Company of Trenton, New Jersey, an institution which enjoyed a large Quaker clientele. He was elected to the presidency of this corporation in 1873, resigning for it his directorship in the Princeton Bank, and held the office for a period of twenty consecutive years. At the end of this time he resigned the presidency, and retired to his home in Stony Brook, near Princeton, to a well earned rest from the responsibilities of bus- iness life. He has always had the best inter- ests of Mercer county at heart, and has given both time and attention to further any project that was for the welfare or improvement of the county. He has been a consistent member of the Episcopal church and Trinity parish at Princeton, and rendered valuable assistance to, the building committee in 1868, during the erection of the present church edifice. He has served as vestry- man or warden for many years, and has been senior warden of the parish for the past ten years.
Mr. Bruere married, October 29, 1856, Mary Russell Smyth, born May 31, 1837, in Alexandria,
1
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Virginia, daughter of William and Mary (Hewes) Smyth. Mrs. Bruere was a lady of cultured and refined tastes, and possessed of many fine qualities of mind and heart. She died Octo- ber 24, 1871, leaving one child, Mary Hewes, born October 27, 1858, who married, May 22, 1884, Professor Frederick Newton Willson, of Princeton University. Mrs. Willson died March 28, 1893, leaving four children: Mary Louise. born July 12, 1885; Grace Bruere, born May 26, 1887, died July 22, 1894; Edith Evarts, born January 1, 1890; Alice Holmes, born February 15, 1893, died July 26, 1893.
ARTHUR LINCOLN FROTHINGHAM, a distinguished citizen of Princeton, New Jersey, represents a family which has been domiciled in the United States for a number of generations, and which traces its ancestry to Scotland and Yorkshire, England. One of its members was among the founders of the city of Boston, Massa- chusetts, and a signer of its first charter. Its family home in Boston was the first stone house built in the town, and always went by the name of "the Boston Stone." Though now widely dispersed, the family centre is still Boston.
William Frothingham, of Holderness in York- shire, the founder of the family in America, came to New England with Governor Winth- rop in 1630, settling first in Charlestown and later in Boston. In the original membership roll of the First Church in Boston his name is the seventy-fourth thereon, and that of his wife, whose Christian name was Anna, is the seventy- fifth. His application for the privileges of a free- man was made October 19, 1630, but he was not admitted as such until March 16, 1632. In the religious controversy of 1637 he appears to have supported for a time the Rev. John Wheelwright, brother of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, but saw fit to renounce his allegiance to that faction, thereby retaining his good standing in the First Church, of which he subsequently became a deacon. Will- iam Frothingham died October 10, 1651, and his widow died July 28, 1674. Their children were: Bethia, born February 7, 1631. John, born Au- gust 10, 1633. Elizabeth, born March 15, 1635. Peter, born April 15, 1636. Mary, born April I, 1638, married, November 17, 1663, Thomas White. Nathaniel, born April 16, 1640. Stephen, born November 1I, 1641. Hannah, born Jan- uary 29, 1643. married Joseph Kettle, July 5,
Vol. II-4
1665. Joseph, born December 1, 1645, died in in- fancy. Samuel and "perhaps William."
Ebenezer Frothingham, grandfather of Arthur Lincoln Frothingham, was born in Boston, Massa- chusetts.
Ephraim Lincoln Frothingham, son of Eben- ezer Frothingham, was born in the Boston Stone House in 1796, died in 1883, and is buried in the Forest Hill cemetery of that city. He was for many years cashier of the Boston Custom House. His principal interests, however, were literary and philosophical, and his studies in the field of philosophic inquiry culminated in 1866 in a volume on "Christian Science," in which the sub- ject of "Ontology," or Pure Being was treated, and of which his son was the associate author. He married Eunice Swain, of Nantucket, daugh- ter of Captain Swain, and among their children was a son, Arthur Lincoln.
Arthur Lincoln Frothingham, youngest son of Ephraim L. and Eunice (Swain) Frothingham, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, November 4, 1830. He entered business pursuits at a very early age, but his business always remained sec- ondary in his thoughts and energies, which were directed toward philosophy and art. In phil- osophy he was at first in the closest harmony with the views of his father, with whom he studied, but from whom he diverged as the years passed. While his prodigious reading and rare insight made him master of the past systems of phil- osophic thought, his chief characteristic was ab- solute originality and consistency. His work soon became strongly tinged with theological thought, and his principal object the creation of a truly Christian system of philosophy in opposition to the rising tide of pantheism.
At the same time the absence in current thought of any adequate explanation of the psychology of man, the necessary pre-requisite to an illum- inating presentation of either the nature of the Divine (ontology) or its relation to the human sphere (theology) led to his study and definition of the human faculties (psychology) on the ba- sis of the autonomy of man's mentality as op- posed to the conception of the mind as a mere nervous function of the body. The principle un- derlying all the phases of his thought was that of original dualisin, which he considered the only salvation from pantheism, and from making God the cause of all the evil in the universe.
This complete exposition of the field of phil- ^sophic inquiry was supplemented, especially in
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luis later years, by constant study of current thought of any importance in such subjects as political, economic and social science and the va- rious branches of pure science, because he felt that in the present generation, so prevalently scientific, philosophy, in order to have its right influence, should be able to provide or explain the principles of all sciences.
In his endeavor to make clear the most fun- damental of these principles, he published in 1888 and 1890 two small volumes on "Christian Phil- osophy." In this connection he entered into rela- tions with almost every man of note in Europe and America whose interest lay in the same or similar fields. His belief in and understanding of the hidden forces of the universe, which cause and determine the things we see, was so intense as to make them for him the sole realities, in striking contrast to the prevailing materialism which regards only visible and tangible things as real. and all else as unproven.
In 1866 he left Boston and went to Europe with his family, taking up his residence in Italy, first in Florence and then in Rome, where he lived for seventeen years. His love for art then had opportunity for expansion, and the small col- lection which he had begun as a young man in Boston proved the prelude to a many-sided one. When, in 1883, he returned to America and settled in Baltimore, he brought with him a con- siderable collection of engravings and etchings, drawings by the old masters, paintings and works of ancient art. In 1893 he moved to Princeton, where he built a house which is next to that now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Grover Cleveland.
He married, November 8, 1854, in Concord, New Hampshire, Jessie Bolles Peabody, daugh- ter of Stephen and Jerusha (Bolles) Peabody ; the former was graduated from Harvard Univer- sity in 1803, and was one of the foremost law- vers of Amherst, New Hampshire; the latter was a daughter of Rev. Mathew and Annie ( Hib- bard) Bolles. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Frothingham are Arthur Lincoln, Jr., and Jessie Peabody.
Arthur Lincoln Frothingham, Jr., only son and eldest child of Arthur Lincoln and Jessie Bolles (Peabody) Frothingham, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, June 21, 1859. His early educa- tion was acquired in the Academy of the Chris- tian Brothers in Rome, Italy, remaining in that institution from 1868 until 1873. He then took
special courses in the oriental languages in the Catholic Seminary of S. Apollinare and in the Royal University at Rome from 1875 to 1881. The University of Leipsic, Germany, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in 1883, for studies in the Arabic and Syriac lan- guages and in Christian archaeology. He was a Fellow of Semitic languages and lecturer upon Archaeology at the Johns Hopkins University from 1882 to 1886, and was then called to Prince- ton University, where he became professor of archaeology and the history of art, in 1887, the chair being enlarged by the addition of ancient history in 1898. He was secretary of the Archae- ological Institute of America in 1884; founded the American Journal of Archaeology in 1885, and was its editor and owner until 1896; found- ed the Princeton College Bulletin; was associate director of the American School for Classical Studies, in Rome, Italy, 1895-96 ; is a member of the German Archaeological Institute, the Soci- été des Antiquaires de France, and many other societies. He is an author of European reputa- tion, and is a recognized authority, especially in the fields of Roman, early Christian and medi- eval art. Following is a list of some of his writ- ings: "History of Sculpture" ( Macmillan) : "In- ventories of the Vatican:" various monographs in the field of Syriac Language and Literature; historic sketches of sculpture and painting in the "Iconographic Encyclopaedia ; numerous con- tributions to the "Dictionaries of Architecture" by Longfellow and Russell Sturges; nearly all the articles on architecture, art and archaeology in the "New International Encyclopaedia," and many contributions to English, French and Ital- ian periodicals.
He married, January 27, 1897, Helen Bulkley Post, of Brooklyn, New York.
ALEXANDER THOMAS ORMOND, PH. D., LL. D., who ranks liigh in the world of sci- ence, and who at present (1907) holds the Mc- Cosh professorship of philosophy in Princeton University, Princeton, New York, is of Scotch- Irish and Huguenot ancestry.
The pioneer ancestor of the family was Thom- as Ormond, a resident of county Down, Ire- land, from whence he and his wife, Margaret (Poe) Ormond, emigrated to the United States, in 1785, settling in eastern Pennsylvania. They spent the latter years of their life in Washing- ton county, Pennsylvania, and the supposition is
Charles B Robison
Isabella G. Robinson.
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that their remains were buried there. Two sons were the issue of their marriage, namely: Alex- ander and John.
Alexander Ormond, eldest son of Thomas and Margaret (Poe) Ormond, during the active years of his life followed the tilling of the soil. He mar- ried Jane Kelso, daughter of John Kelso, who served in the Continental army during the revo- lution and took part in the storming of Stony Point under General Anthony Wayne. Seven sons and six daughters were the issue of this marriage, namely: Thomas, John Kelso, see forward; George, David, Alexander, Benjamin, Marcus, Mary Ann, Margaret, Jane, Susan, Nan- cy and Martha.
Jolin Kelso Ormond, second son of Alexander and Jane ( Kelso) Ormond, was born in Wash- ington county, Pennsylvania, August, 1814. His elementary educational training was in the dis- trict schools, after which he pursued higher courses of studies in Jefferson College, Cannons- burg, Pennsylvania. His first occupation was that of school teacher. in which capacity he served for some time; later he engaged in the lumber trade, and subsequently turned his at- tention to agricultural pursuits. He married, in 1840, Mary Ann Findley, born in 1822, in Arm- strong county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Abel Findley. Of this marriage were born seven children, as follows: Mary Catherine, died aged five years. Jane Amelia ( Mrs. Charles Wasson ), died in 1897. Alexander Thomas, see forward. Abel Findley, died aged about thirteen years. Margaret Elizabeth, died aged ten years. George Fleetwood, lost his life by accident at age of sixteen years. Otto Alvin, resides in the family homestead in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania ; he is unmarried. John Kelso Ormond died at the family homestead, November, 1904; his wife, Mary Ann (Findley) Ormond, died August, 1 890.
Alexander Thomas Ormond, eldest son of John Kelso and Mary Ann (Findley) Ormond, was born in Punxsutawney, Jefferson county, Penn- sylvania, April 26, 1847. He received his pre- paratory education for the university at the acad- emies of Glade Run and Elderton in western Pennsylvania, and in the preparatory department of Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. He en- tered Princeton University in 1873, and was graduated from that institution with honor in the class of 1877. He then devoted three years to a post graduate course of study at the same
university, and was a fellow in mental science. The degree of Doctor of Philosophy was con- ferred upon him at Princeton in 1880, and he was called to occupy the chair of philosophy and his- tory in the University of Minnesota. This he filled very ably until 1883, when he was called to the professorship of mental science and logic at Princeton, which he held with great benefit to that institution for a period of fifteen years. He was appointed to the McCosh professorship of philosophy in 1898, and is still worthily occupy- ing that eminent position. He has been active in the literary world, contributing many articles to the "Princeton Review" and other periodicals, and has published three works, entitled: "Basal Concepts in Philosophy," "Foundations of Knowl- edge" and "Concepts of Philosophy."
Alexander T. Ormond married, June 18, 1884, Mary Huston, born March 13, 1855, daughter of John P. and Elizabeth (Hindman) Huston, of Appleby Manor, Pennsylvania, and they have children : John Kelso, Archibald Huston, Harold Huston, Alexander Thomas, Margaret and Roger.
CHARLES BOWERS ROBISON, deceased, whose widow is still residing in South Bruns- wick township, Middlesex county, New Jersey. was a man prominent and influential in the finan- cial, political and manufacturing circles of his place of residence, and was descended from an old English family. The pioneer ancestor of the Robison family in this country was William Robison, who with two of his brothers-Rich- ard and another-came to America some time prior to the war of the American revolution. His brothers settled in Baltimore, Maryland, Rich- ard joining the army under Washington, and be- ing present at the final surrender of the British troops at Yorktown in 1781.
Charles Bowers Robison was born July 22, 1822, and died at his home at the old Aqueduct Mill, near Princeton. His education was a fair- ly good one, taking into consideration the time and opportunities. At the age of fifteen years he was apprenticed to learn the trade of milling, with Samuel Brealey, near Rocky Hill, New Jer- sey, remaining with him until he was twenty- one years of age. He then settled in Bridge Point, Somerset county, remained there for some years, removed to New York and lived in that city for seven years. At the expiration of this time he purchased a farm in Hightstown, Mercer
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county, New Jersey, cultivated it for six years, and in the spring of 1866 established a flour and milling business in Kingston, which he con- ducted very successfully until 1882. He erect- ed the fine residence opposite the mill property in 1877, where he resided till 1891, when he took up his residence at Aqueduct Mills, where he re- sided until his death, which occurred October 14, 1898. He was interested in a number of business undertakings beside that of milling. Was direct- or of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company, treas- urer of the Kingston Building and Loan Associ- ation, and treasurer of the Kingston Land Asso- ciation. He was also active in political matters, held a number of public offices, and was a lead- ing spirit in promoting any project that had for its object the advancement of the township or county. He was one of the board of deacons of the Princeton Baptist Church at Penns Neck. His political affiliations were with the Democratic party and he served four terms as a member of the board of chosen freeholders of Mercer coun- ty; was candidate for his district in 1881 for membership in the state legislature, and was sheriff of Mercer county for two terms.
Mr. Robison married (first), October 26. 1842, Emeline Applegate, born July 17, 1819, daugh- ter of Abraham Applegate, of Kingston, and had children : I. Martin V., born August 16, 1843, enlisted at the age of eighteen vears in Company H. Fourteenth New Jersey Volunteers, and was killed in the battle of the Wilderness, May 10, 1864. 2. William A., born September 15, 1844, married Mary Pierce, and had children, viz. : Charles, William, Howard and Frank Robison. Charles B. Robison married (second), June 15, 1893, Isabella Gray, born February 26, 1848, daughter of Alexander and Jane (Russell) Gray. Alexander Gray was born in Huntley, Aberdeen- shire, Scotland, February 7, 1805. died April 6, 1873: Jane (Russell) Gray was born in the same town as her husband, January 16, 1807, died Sep- tember 6, 1886. Alexander Gray emigrated to America from Scotland in 1832. The sailing ves- sel on which he had taken passage was wrecked on the island of St. Thomas, one of the West Indies, and the following year he came to Bal- timore, Maryland. One year later he removed to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he re- sided for forty years. He was engaged as a coal mine operator from 1834 until 1873, having charge of the Baltimore and Hollenbeck mines. He became a man of distinction and prominence
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