USA > New Jersey > Bergen County > History of Bergen county, New Jersey > Part 34
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In 1895 Mr. Cole received the appointment to his present position, his amiable disposition, equable temper. together with his experience. making him a valuable man for the place, and in which he has given entire satisfaction to the public.
He was married in 1890 to Miss Elnora S. Traver, daughter of Ephraim Traver of Brooklyn, N. Y. In politics Mr. Cole is independent, giving his support to the best man. He and his wife are Congregation- alists.
JUDGE HENRY H. VOORHIS.
Judge Henry H. Voorhis became a prominent citizen of Midland township and spent his life on the homestead where his father Henry N .. and grandfather Nicholas both resided. For fifty years he was active as an executor and administrator of estates. He was an active sup- porter of Stephen A. Douglas for the presidency and when the war broke out in 1861, he became a warm supporter of the Union Cause.
In 1835 he was commissioned by Governor Peter D. Vroom a justice, of the peace, and after serving for five years, he was again commis- sioned a justice of the peace by Governor Daniel Haines in 1843, and served three years, when. by the change in the constitution of the State requiring that office to be filled by election by the people, he was elected to the same office and served for two years. Judge Voorhis was elected and served in the State Legislature for the years 1848-49; was appointed master in chancery in 1853, and 1857 he was appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Bergan County, and served one term of five years. In 1874 he was elected freeholder of Midland township. which position he creditably filled for five years. Upon the construction of the Midland Railroad he was appointed one of the commissioners for appraising damages to land passed through by the road in forty-five cases, and was one of the incorporators of the Bergen County Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which he was Secretary.
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
JOHN H. VOORHIS.
John H. Voorhis, son of Andrew A .. was born October 1, 1802, and belongs to another branch of this same family. He married Mariah Saloma Schoonmaker, March 23, 1826. The result of this union was three children,-Euphemia, wife of Thomas Voorhis, Elizabeth ( de- ceased ), and John H. Mr. Voorhis was a member of the First Presby- terian Church of Hackensack, as was also his wife. She died March 5. 1874.
John H. Voorhis was born March 5, 1836. He was married Nov- ember 23, 1858, to Anna Mariah daughter of Anna and Samuel Dema- rest. They have had three children, -- Anna, Salome, and Andrew, Jr.
CORNELIUS BOARD.
Cornelius Board emigrated to America with his wife, Elizabeth and two sons, David and James, and settled in Ringwood afterward called Boardville, where he became a large real estate owner. His son David succeeded to a large part of his father's estate. His son Nathaniel born September 27, 1775, died December 31, 1842. He was a participant in what was known as the "Whiskey War", serving as Lieutenant in that ferocious escapade against the Whiskey Boys of Kentucky. He was also in the war of 1812 being stationed for six months at Sandy Hook. He served in both branches of the New Jersey Legislature and was a man of good judgment and ability.
He was frequently sought after as counsellor among his neighbors and townsmen, and often selected as executor and administrator of es- tates. His wife, Mary Kingsland, a native of Morris county, bore him the following children, who grew to manhood and womanhood: Edmund K., John F .. Mary A., wife of Daniel H. Bull, of Orange county. N. Y., Peter, Eleanor, (deceased ), was the wife of James H. Bull, Harriet. wife of O. E. Maltby, of New Haven, Sarah J., wife of John C. Zabriskie, and David J. Board.
Peter; son of Nathaniel Board, was born August 19, 1809, on the Board homestead in Pompton township, where he spent his early life and acquired an education, being prepared for college in the Pompton Academy.
Turning his attention to business for eight years he was a clerk in general merchandise stores in the vicinity of his birth He married. May 30, 1833, Matilda B. Zabriskie, of Midland township, who has borne him two children, - Cornelius Z. and Mary C., wife of John J. Zabriskie, of Ridgeway.
Mr. Board spent most of his active business life as a farmer; was a man of strong force of character, decided in his opinions, and of correct habits. He was honored by his townsmen with positions of trust.
CHAPTER XXV. LODI
GENERAL DESCRIPTION -- EARLY SETTLEMENTS -- SCHOOLS- EARLY HIGH- WAYS-ORGANIZATION-CIVIL LIST-SOCIETIES, ORDERS, ASSOCIA-
TIONS-FIRE DEPARTMENT -MANUFACTURING INTERESTS- CHURCHES-BURIAL PLACES-HISTORICAL INCIDENTS AND
REMINISCENCES-BOROUGHS OF CARLSTADT, WALL-
INGTON, WOODRIDGE. . HASBROUCK HEIGHTS. LIT-
TLE FERRY- LODI VILLAGE AND BERGEN
TOWNSHIP-BIOGRAPHICAL.
The township of Lodi was organized in 1825, and at that time con- tained about 22,000 acres of land, but many changes have been made since then, the first being the setting off of the township of Union in 1852. Lodi was named from a flourishing town of Italy, founded by the Bois, and colonized by the father of Pompeii the Great. Hence the name of Laus Pompeia, which was corrupted gradually into the cogno- men it bears at the present time. Lodi is celebrated for the victory of the French, under Bonaparte, over the Austrians, in 1796. It is said that when Lafayette was at Hackensack, in 1825, that he suggested this name for the town of Lodi that his own might not again be brought into such common use.
The Polifly road, so named from the bog meadow along which it passes, is a fine thoroughfare, built over two hundred years ago, and runs through the whole length of the township. At the time of its settlement, the eastern part of Lodi township was covered with a fine growth of cedar timber, where now it is overgrown with a coarse grass. which is cut and stacked in the summer, but cannot be removed until the ground is frozen in the winter, so as to admit of horses and wagons being taken out for this purpose.
The early settlers of Lodi township were principally Dutch, many of them coming directly from Holland, while others were descendants of various families located in different parts of New Jersey and New York. Captain John Berry is said to have been the original owner of all the land in Lodi. This land was obtained by grant from Governor Carteret in 1669. The Kipps or De Kypes, as they then spelled the name, came originally from France, but immediately from Holland in 1635, coming about 1685 to the township of Lodi, where Hendrick in time bought a farm of two hundred acres on the Polifly road. The Van Bussum family is known to have lived on the old homestead as early as Revolutionary times, but it is not certain at what date they located there. Theodore Van Idestine who was the first of the name to emigrate to America, came from Holland in 1700, his son Peter some time later coming to Lodi, where he purchased a farin of one hundred acres on the Passaic river. The Romaines came from New Barbadoes about the time of the close of the Revolution, and purchased about one
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
hundred acres of land, with mill site and water privileges on the Saddle River. The Demarest family came to Lodi township in the last century, although they had been in New Jersey since about 1676. Upon coming here, the first of the name, Stephen Demarest, purchased a homestead of about one hundred acres on the Polifly road.
The island of Moonachie was purchased by three men, one of whom was Thomas Francis Outwater, who came here in the latter part of the seventeenth century, where his descendants still remain. The Terhune family is a prominent one, but it is not known at what time they located here. George Brinkerhoff the first of this family in Lodi township. came from Holland in the latter part of the seventeenth century. He purchased a farm of two hundred acres, where the village of Woodridge now stands. Walling Van Winkle, a Hollander, was the owner of a farm of five hundred acres, near the city of Passaic. His deed granting him the land, is signed in Holland script, dated 1734. Jacob Hopper also bought a farm of five hundred acres, extending from the Polifly road to the Saddle River.
The people of Lodi have shown their thrift and enterprise in the building of good roads, the Polifly being the first and also the longest. The other roads leading into this from Passaic, Saddle River and other adjoining territory, were built at an early date and afforded an outlet to the settlers of this township. The road from Passaic through Carlstadt to Moonachie was completed in or about 1816, while the Paterson and Jersey City Plank road, was finished about four years later and the Hackensack and Paterson road in 1826. In 1850, the road from the vil- lage of Lodi to the Polifly road was opened. The New Jersey & New York railroad now runs through, connecting it with Jersey City and other parts of the State. The trolley road from Arlington to Carlstadt through Rutherford was opened in 1897, and connects Lodi with New- ark. The Paterson and Hoboken trolley also touches Carlstadt, thus giving Lodi the benefit of traffic with important points in all directions.
Schools have been organized and utilized in accordance with the times. The various districts have been more or less changed from time to time to keep pace with the growth and demands of the localities in which they are situated. As late as 1840, the township had but two schools and about fifty scholars. Since that time a great change has been effected both in buildings and the number of pupils as well as in the efficiency of the schools. Woodridge District erected its first building as early as 1801 on land owned by John W. Berry. This house was built of stone, one story high and twenty-five by twenty feet, in extent. The first teacher was Patrick Dillon. The district was about four and one- half miles long by three miles broad. A new house was needed in 1845. when ground was purchased from Philip Berry, Jr., and a large building erected. This was accomplished under the supervision of the " Mount Pleasant New School Association," the district comprising Rutherford Park, Carlstadt, Woodridge, Corona, Hasbrouck Heights, Moonachie and East Passaic. In 1873 this building gave place to a more modern and
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
commodious structure. From time to time, it became necessary to divide the districts in order to accommodate the growing number. What became known as the Moonachie District opened its first school in the kitchen of Peter Allen, where it was conducted during the winter months only, the first teacher being Thomas Stephenson. The first building was erected in 1832, and had long desks and slab seats. This house did service forty years, when it was replaced by a fine modern structure.
The school in the village of Lodi, had a small beginning of only twelve scholars, in a little house seventeen feet by twenty, and furnished with long desks and slab seats. Nicholas Terhune was the first teacher. In 1853, a new house became necessary. The first house was on the farm of Jacob H. Hopper, but the last one was on land donated by Robert Rennie. Mr. Merritt was the first teacher.
When Carlstadt was organized in 1853, it contained a part of the most southerly district of the township, and in 1865, it became necessary to secure more commodious quarters when they purchased four lots and erected a two story building with a frontage of twenty-five feet and thirty-two feet deep, adding a hall sixteen by ten feet. In 1874 they built an annex to this, sixty-two by thirty-two feet, at a cost of over eight thousand dollars. This serves to show how rapidly the township developed in substantial directions.
The Little Ferry District was formed in 1875, when they secured ground and built a brick building at a cost of twenty-five hundred dol- lars. The school was opened on November 29, with Miss Brinkerhoff of Hackensack as teacher and an enrollment of thirty-two pupils recorded.
*HISTORICAL INCIDENTS AND REMINISCENCES.
Early in the history of New Jersey Captain John Berry, gentleman; received a grant of all the land lying between the Boiling Spring at Rutherford, the Passaic River. Saddle River, Cherry Hill, and the Hackensack River. This grant included the land within the present township of Lodi. It is probable that Captain Berry built the Poli- fly road, the oldest in the township, expecting to sell the land ad- joining it for farms and building lots. He parceled out his land on the west side of this road into sections, extending back to the Passaic River and Saddle River. The buyers of these were the ancestors of many of the present leading citizens of Lodi township.
The proximity of Lodi township to the camping-ground of the Hessians during the Revolution rendered the inhabitants subject to many depredations on the part of the latter. The district of Moonachie was nearly depopulated on account of the ravages of bands of Hes- sians from New York. There is scarcely a representative of an old family in Lodi township who cannot relate harrowing tales of hun- ger, flight by night, burying of valuables in the earth, told him by his grandsire from personal experience during the struggle for independence one hundred years ago.
At the old Hopper homestead on the Polifly road a division of sol- "From History of Bergen and Passaic Counties.
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
diers made themselves at home for a number of weeks, the officers sleep- ing in the house, and the common soldiers under the trees in the orchard immediately back of the house. One night Mrs. Hopper was awakened from her slumbers by a noise among the pigs in the pig-pens. Mrs. Hopper at once aroused the officers and requested them to investigate the causes of the disturbance. They thereupon ran out into the dark- ness in the direction of the sounds and discovered one of their own men in the act of carrying off a struggling pig. Considering the miscreant as a poacher on their own preserves, the officers flogged him so severely that neither he nor any of his comrades ever afterwards repeated the experiment. It is not related whether Mrs. Hopper's pleasure at the rescue was of long duration, but it is probable that His Majesty's officers had as keen an appetite for pork as their subordinates, and that the pigs were soon a thing of the past.
The Hessians made many expeditions into Moonachie, and on such occasions were accustomed to fire into dwelling houses regardless of the danger to the lives of women and children. On one of their raids they stabbed in the back and killed old Abraham Allen as he was trying to escape from them. A single incident worthy of note occurred here in the Revolution. A party of Hessians had stolen all the cows for miles around, and were driving them to their boat on the Hackensack, followed by a band of angry farmers. Arriving there they found to their dismay the tide low and their boat, on which they intended to embark, high and dry. The cattle were at once abandoned. Many of the Hessians were killed by shots from their pursuers, or drowned in attempting to swim the river. The ammunition of the farmers gave ont after a few shots, or not one of the plunderers would have escaped.
William Berry a descendant of John Berry settled near the village of Carlstadt, where he owned considerable real estate, and settled a homestead, which has been in the family since, a period of about one hundred and fifty years.
His children were John, born in 1756; Albert, born in 1759; Mary. born in 1761; Jane, born in 1763; Albert (2), born in 1766; Elizabeth, born in 1770; John W., born in 1772; Sarah, born in 1775: and Eleanor. born in 1776.
Of these children. John W. Berry, of Moonachie, resided upon the homestead during his life, dying February 9, 1859. He lived in the old house by the low lands until 1825, when he built on or near its site a stone house, which was burned in 1873. His wife, whom he married February 23, 1794, was Elizabeth Terhune, who was born October 19. 1773, and died May 31, 1857. The children of this union were Eliza- beth, wife of Cornelius Banta, William, Stephen, Albert, Sarah, wife of Nicholas Terhune, Stephen (2), Letitia, wife of John H. Ackerman. Mary, wife of Enoch Brinkerhoff, and John 1.
Originally the area of the township of Lodi was large but within recent years one township and six boroughs have been formed from its territory leaving but a remnant that formerly belonged to it. Like that
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
of the township of Bergen it has been almost contracted to death. Con- tinual secessions have finally forced its area within a small compass. The Moonachie road on the south and that of Calico or Turkey Neck on the north together with the Hackensack plank road, and line running parallel with the old Polifly road about one thousand feet east of the railroad stand for its east and west boundary lines, with the Little Ferry borough left out, is all that remains of this once large and important township. In justice, however, it must be stated, that Lodi township with its Philippine Colony of "Lodi Park", in the vicinity of Garfield, is one of the townships in existence. that has use for a foreign policy. Its official vote of November, 1898, was seventy-one.
CIVIL LIST.
There are no records of elections previous to 1862, with the excep- tion of freeholders, which are given since the organization of the town- ship.
1827, Henry W. Kingsland, Joseph Budd; '28. William C. Kings- land; '28-29, Samuel H. Berry; '29-30, Henry P. Kipp; '30 Abraham I. Berry; '31-32, Cornelius G. Brinkerhoff; '31-32, '37, Michael Van Winkle; '33-34, '38-39, George Kingsland, Peter H. Kipp; '35, John A. Berry; '35-36, Richard Outwater; '36, Martin Romeyn; '37, Peter A. Kipp; '40-43, David E. Van Bussum; '40-42; Jacob J. Brinkerhoff; '43-45 '54-56, Richard Berdan; '44-46, Jacob H. Hopper; '46-48, Enoch I Vree- land; '47-49, '52-53, John Huyler; '49-51, '56-58, David Ackerman; '50-51, James L. Van Winkle; '52-54, Enoch Hopper; '57-59, James J. Brink- erlioff; '59-61-64, Daniel Romaine; '60-62, Abraham K. Ackerman; '62, 63, Abraham Kipp; '63, John P. Outwater; '64-66, Geo. W. Conklin; '66, Richard Terhune; '67, Walling Kipp; 68, John Richard Vreeland; '68-69, Isaac H. Schoonmaker; '69-74, John Van Bussam; '70 Henry Kipp; '75-77, Theodore F. Muehling; '78-83, John Feitner; '83-87, Max Mathe; '87-93; John H. Outwater; '93-99, John Van Bussam; '99, James W. Mercer.
MOONACHIE.
To a district of excellent farming land, about one mile southeast of Little Ferry, and two miles to the west of Carlstadt, is given the name of Moonachie. It was so named in memory of Moonachie, the chief of a tribe of Indians, a branch of the Six Nations, who occupied this region. Over two hundred years ago Thomas Francis Outwater, a Mr. Brinkerhoff, and a Mr. Kipp bought the so-called island of Moon- achie of Captain John Berry, paying seven hundred pounds for it. This "island" was located between Berry's Creek, Indian Path, Losing Creek, and the Hackensack River. The Indians who peopled it at that time were said to be very friendly to the whites. The land was covered with valuable cedar timber till within a few years. Moonachie was for a time known as Peach Island, on account of the large quantities of peaches produced here. This name is no longer applicable, as scarcely a peach-tree can now be found in this region. Just at the junction of Moonachie with the township of Union is located a hotel, known as
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
the Half-Way House. It has long marked the point of bisection of the Paterson plank-road from Paterson to Jersey City. The people of Moon- achie are generally farmers, their principal production being garden products, which they sell in the markets of New York and Jersey City.
A Baptist chapel was built here in 1871 at a cost of about one thousand dollars. This was during the pastorate of Rev. John A. Mc- Kean, in the church at Rutherford Park. After a few years this was abandoned by the Baptists and at present the Presbyterians and Luther- ans are occupying the house.
THE VILLAGE OF LITTLE FERRY.
The village of Little Ferry occupies the northeastern portion of the old township of Lodi. It has always been an isolated part of that township, aside from its legislative restrictions and naturally sought independence through the formation of a borough. Brickmaking is the only industry and the facilities for the shipping of this product by water are excellent. The borough has a population of about fifteen hundred people. Its official vote for November 1898 was one hundred and fifty. James Pickens one of the promotors of the village came there a. few years before the civil war, and under his influence the private school system was changed into the public one. They now have a commodious school building and employ five teachers. The house was erected about 1878, Mr. Pickens also fostered the religious influences of the place, establishing a flourishing Sabbath school which resulted in the building of a house of worship, the corner stone of which was laid on Easter day April 2, 1899. Mr. Pickens kept the tollgate and had the post office from 1873 until his death in 1896.
The first brick yards in Little Ferry were owned by Shower & Cole in 1872. This enterprise, however, did not prove successful, and the business soon passed into the hands of John Thume. He in turn was succeeded in a short time by the Mehrhofs in 1877. Since then this in- dustry has thriven. The buildings in which the bricks are burned, have been enlarged, and new appliances have been added until to-day the industry is next to the largest of its kind in the United States.
For a term of years the business was carried on under the name of Mehrhof Brothers Manufacturing Company, the officers being Nicholas Mehrhof, president; Peter Mehrhof, treasurer; Philip Mehrhof, secretary. The plant went into the hands of a receiver in 1895, but the property was leased from the Hackensack Bank and operated since, under the name of Mehrhof Brick Company. Last year they manufactured two million two hundred thousand brick, and employed about two hundred 111e 11.
The impetus given this industry in Little Ferry by the Mehrhof Brothers brought other manufacturers to the place. James W. Gillies, The Gardner Brothers, Charles Walsh, Edward Smulto, I. & W. Felter, each of which companies have established plants, the total output being about one hundred million bricks annually.
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
Philip Mehrhof started business in 1896 with a ten years lease on a plant formerly owned by B. L. W. Hanfeld. He employs thirty-five men, and his yard has a capacity of five million annually. N. Mehrhof & Son have a capacity of ten million and employ seventy-five men. They organized in 1881.
I. & W. Felter organized in 1886. Walsh, Gardner Brother and James W. Gillies cach started their yards in 1884-'85.
The Borough of Little Ferry was organized in the summer of 1894, the first election of officers having been held in November of that year. The first officers were : James Pickens, Mayor; Samuel Hanson, Charles Kiel, George D. Mehrhof, Louis Bausbach, J. Adams Eckel, Jacob Vogt, Council; E. M. Mehrhof, Clerk; Silas B. Gardner, Assessor; J. Irvin Pickens, Collector. Irvin Felter was the second mayor and was follow- ed in March 1899 by the present officers : J. Adam Eckel, Mayor; Wil- liam Kingsley, Clerk; Samuel Hanson, Charles Kiel, Abram Derunde, Jacob Vogt, Louis Bausbach, Hugh H. Eckel, Council; Abram Woods. Assessor; August Werkhaus, Collector.
THE MEHRHOF BROTHERS.
The Mehrhof Brothers were the founders of the brick making indus- try of Little Ferry. Broad minded, comprehensive men, filled with pub- lic spirited motives, it became a matter of easy solution for them to inaugurate the business they have so successfully carried on in that part of the county.
Philip, the father of this family, left Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, in 1841, for America, locating at Croton Point where he continued business for some years as an architect. He finally moved to a farm in Oneida county, New York, where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1869. The three sons, Nicholas, Peter and Philip, were all born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, the oldest in 1830, Peter in 1836 and Philip in 1839. At the age of fourteen years, Nicholas and his two brothers in company with their sister and mother, sailed for America. This was in 1844, and almost immediately the brothers began their career, the brick making industry, working for A. Underhill. In 1856 Nicholas Mehrhof became superintendent of Mr. Underhill's yard and remained in that capacity until 1877, when he came here. He married Hester Ann Oakley. of Croton Point, and lives in Hackensack.
Peter Mehrhof was the first to come to Little Ferry. While in New York state he spent part of the time with his father on the farm, and upon his arrival here in 1871 purchased one hundred and twenty acres of of land which was the beginning of their business at this place. Mr. Peter Mehrhof has filled several offices in his town, having held that of town committeeman nine years, and township treasurer seven years. He has been married twice. His first wife was Miss Eveline Dodd. His present wife was a Miss Dick.
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