USA > New Jersey > Bergen County > History of Bergen county, New Jersey > Part 53
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THE BOROUGH OF LEONIA
The borough of Leonia was incorporated December 5, 1894. The first officers were: Mayor, Cornelius Christie; Councilmen, Lorenzo Gis- inond, William P. De Graw, D. G. Beeching, J. Vreeland Moore, Edward Grinslade, C. J. Terhune; Collector, R. J. G. Wood; Assessor, C. D. Schor; Borough Clerk, H. F. Ahrens.
Officers elected March 20, 1899, were: Mayor, Cornelius Christie; Councilmen, Edward Stagg, Morell M. Fullarton, Frank I. Barrett, Benj. H. Belknap, Robert Duncan, Edward Stagg, Lorenzo Gismond; Collector, James Christie; Assessor, Julius H. Clark; Borough Clerk, H. F. Ahrens.
The assessed valuation of the borough in 1899 was $579,930.
H. P. Hurd is President of the Board of Healthi.
LEONIA COUNCIL ROYAL ARCANUM NO. 956.
Leonia Council Royal Arcanum No. 956 was instituted on July 29th, 1896. Brother J. Day Otis, Grand Regent of New Jersey was the instal- ling officer, assisted by Past Grand Regent Frank T. Griffeth, F. S. Petter, R. H. Alberts, S. J. Kallam, W. Lounsbury. The officers for the term were as follows: Regent, O. O. Clark; Vice-Regent, B. H. Belknap; Past Regent, Abram Whitley; Orator, P. S. Saitta; Secretary, E. D. Mckown; Collector, J. H. Clark; Treasurer, J. Randolph Appleby; Chaplain, Edward Stagg; Guide, G. W. Peters; Warden, H. D. Van Zaut; Sentry, I. W. Pope. The number of charter members was twenty- one, and the number on roll July 1st, 1899, was fifty-eight.
The present officers of the Council are as follows :--- Regent, H. D. Van Zaut; Vice-Regent, Robert Duncan; Orator, B. H. Belknap; Past Regent, J. H. Clark; Secretary, C, Harry Eaton; Collector, E. T. Swayer; Treasurer, E. G. Gismond; Chaplain, H. F. Ahrens; Guide, E. B. Williams; Warden, William S. Iserman; Sentry, Charles E. Goebel.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
The borough maintains four churches, an excellent school of three teachers, a fire department, and has one flourishing beneficiary organi- zation.
Protection against loss by fire has been assured by the incorporation of a well organized fire department, of Hose Company No. 1, July 9, 1898, and shortly after of Hook and Ladder Company No. 2, consisting of thirty-two members with George W. Mabie, Chief; A. D. Bogart, and H. E. Oakley, Foremen of the respective companies. The building
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was erected in 1898. The department have hose cart, hook and ladder, truck, and one thousand feet of hose.
THE TRUE REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH AT LEONIA.
Probably the actual history of this church, as a separate body, dates from February 20, 1824, at which time the consistory issued their signed protest against the Classis of Bergen. This protest was signed by 49 persons, male and female. The Rev. C. T. Demarest was Presi- dent of the consistory at this time and preached for the new congrega- tion. On March 11, 1824, the consistory met at the parsonage and John W. Banta and John Edsall were made a committee to wait upon the Rev. James G. Brinkerhoff to procure his services for the two succeed- ing Sabbaths, and afterwards issued a regular call to him, "offering him $250.00 per annum in half yearly payments, together with the use of the parsonage so long as it remains in the possession of this consis- tory, for the whole of his services, except six free Sabbaths." During the succeeding months there appears to have been some legal disturb- ances in the church, but they were happily settled.
On June 3, 1824, at a meeting of the consistory at the house of Richard Scott, in Hackensack, at which the Rev. Solomon Froeligh presided, by request, the Rev. C. T. Demarest stated to the meeting that he had received a call from the True Reformed Dutch Church in New York city, and had accepted the same, and desired to be dismissed from his then charge. The request was granted. "During the minis- trations of Mr. Demarest the church community was especially looked after by him in church dicipline, and the teaching of the church was ever on his lips." Still it was not all harmony, and finally the General Synod was appealed to, to assist in the settlement of internal disorders. He was succeeded by the Rev. Peter D. Froeligh of Ackquackanonk. He was called June 21st, 1825, and died February 19, 1828. Irregular preaching followed, the Rev. C. T. Demarest occasionally officiating until November 4, 1839, when he was duly installed.
" The society first held service in a barn," then attached to the old parsonage, afterwards the property of Mrs. James Cronkwright, and later still in the parlor of the parsonage until the erection of their pres- ent church. It is recorded that "in the year of our Lord 1831, the new meeting house of the True Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of the English Neighborhood was built." The record states that " the church was built on the west side of the English Neighborhood road, a little distance below where the road from Hackensack to Fort Lee crosses it. on ground given by Garret Meyer and John Cole; and to this David Christie, who bought G. Meyer's farm, and John Cole, afterward made handsome additions on each side." Then comes the information that the church was dedicated. Rev. C. T. Demarest preached a. m., from Zach, 13:7, the last clause, and C. Z. Paulison. p. m., from Eph. 2:21. The church building was paid for by subscription, and cost about $1500. and a final settlement was made April 3, 1832." Some of the pews in the completed edifice were sold at public auction December 6, 1831 ;
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another sale was held July 23, 1832, and still another afterward, and the final settlement on sales was made December 10, 1832.
In 1850 the finances of the church received a very welcome addition. On March 27, 1850, the Consistory Elders and Deacons met at the house of James P. Brinkerhoff to receive the one thousand dollars from the executors of the late John Lydecker which he willed to the church.
Mr. Demarest's pastorate closed in 1852 and he was succeeded by Rev. Cornelius J. Blauvelt, who was installed on the fourth Sabbath of 1853. About this time Mr. Abraham Huyler left a beqeust of some four hundred dollars to the church, but some trouble was experienced because the church was not incorporated. Articles of incorporation were again filed October 12, 1854 and the money was paid over to the church not- withstanding it had been incorporated during the ministry of the Rev. Polhemus of the old church in 1809.
Dominie Blauvelt commenced his administration with great energy and success, but failing health soon told on his efforts. In September 1859 the lower part of his body was paralyzed and a little later the Rev. John Y. DeBaun assumed charge of both congregations. He was installed May 6, 1860. He was eloquent and earnest and a successful pastor. On April 18, 1875 he preached his farewell serinon, the Rev. A. Van Houten succeeded by installation May 14, 1876. To the regret and loss to the church Mr. Van Houten handed in his call to the Consis- tory in September 1884, and he was succeeded by the Rev. Harvey Iser- man May 24, 1885. He was a student under the Rev. Mr. DeBaun, and ranked high as a Latin, Greek and Hebrew scholar. He was succeeded by the Rev. James Wyckoff, the last pastor of the church, who took charge May 1, 1896, remaining until December 1898 when the church voted itself out. There is no pastor at the present time. Samuel DeGroot and James Christie are the elders and Cornelius Shaw is the deacon.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The Presbyterian Church was organized February 1st, 1899, with fifty-eight members from the Christian Reformed Church of Leonia, when ten others were subsequently added to the number. The elders are John Eiserman, John W. Christie, David Talmadge. The Society now worship in Lyceum Hall, but are intending to build very soon. Rev. James Wyckoff, the pastor, is a native of Lodi, Seneca county, N. Y., and was born in 1839. He took his degree of A. B. from Rutgers Col- lege in 1861, graduating from the Seminary at New Brunswick in 1864. He took charge of the Christian Reformed Church May 1, 1896. On December 18, 1898, the church voted itself out of the Reformed Church and formed the above organization.
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The Episcopalians built their house of worship in Leonia in 1898. They have a membership of forty persons, under the pastoral care of the Rev. C. Malcolm Douglas, and are in a prosperous condition. Rev. Walter H. Sherwood was their first rector. F. Ahrens is senior warden.
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THE METHODIST CHURCH.
The Methodists also have a place of worship in the village, which they built about three years ago. Their present pastor is the Rev. John Burton.
CORNELIUS CHRISTIE.
Cornelius Christie, a highly esteemed citizen of Leonia, is of Scotch and Flemish ancestry. The earliest paternal emigrant in the Christie family was James, who was born in Scotland, and died at Schraalenburgh, April 16, 1768, at the advanced age of ninety-six or ninety-eight years, and was the great-great-grandfather of Cornelius. William, the son of James was born August 9, 1720, married Catalynthe Demarest, September 22, 1743, and died September 13, 1809. Of their twelve children James, the eldest, was born August 20, 1744. He mar- ried Maria Banta in 1772, and died July 3, 1817. David the son of James and Maria Christie, was born December 1, 1789, married Anna Brinkerhoff March 12, 1814, and died April 8, 1848. David and Anna were the parents of Cornelius. Mr. Christie's mother was a descendant of Joris Derickson Brinkerhoff, of Flemish extraction, who with his wife Susannah Dubbels, emigrated to this country from the United Provinces, in 1638, and settled in Brooklyn, N. Y., where he died January 16, 1661. Hendrick, son of Joris married Clansie Boomgaert and in 1685, bought a tract of land on the east bank of the Hackensack. now known as Ridgefield Park, and in the township of Ridgefield. Soon after removing his family to his new home Mr. Brinkerhoff died, leav- ing three sons. Two of the sons, Jacobus and Derrick, took the land at old Hackensack, while Cornelius removed to Bergen.
The line descends through Jacobus, whose wife was Agnetic. Their son Jacob had seven children, one being Albert who was born March 21, 1763, married Kezia Voorhis in 1766, and died December 8, 1844. Albert and Kezia Brinkerhoff had three children, Anna, the eldest, born May 12, 1797, becoming the wife of David Christie.
The ancestors of Mr. Christie were people of decided character, and deep convictions concerning the aims and duties of life. In their relig- ions life they were Calvinistic in doctrine, adhering strictly to the Reformed Dutch Church. They were also intensely patriotic, rendering valuable service to the cause of their adopted country. James Christie. grandfather of Cornelius bore a Captain's commission in the Revolu- tionary war and did good service, but the royalist as zealous in their cause, burned the homestead of William the father of James, while John, a brother of James, and Lucas, a brother of Albert Brinkerhoff. were imprisoned in the old Sugar House.
John, a brother of David Christie, was minister of the Reformed Dutch Church and settled at Warwick, Orange County, N. J., where he died after a long pastorate. Peter Christie, another brother, was for a long period, a surgeon in the United States Navy and died at Erie. Pennsylvania.
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Although they were all engaged in agricultural pursuits, it was usually in connection with some other trade or profession. Soon after his marriage to Anna Brinkerhoff, David removed to New York city, and engaged in the business of stone cutting in which he prospered until in 1835 he purchased the farm of Garrett Meyer at English Neighborhood, (now Leonia) and removed there with his family to spend his remaining days. It was here that Cornelius was born, December 6, 1835. His preparatory studies were under the supervison of the Rev. John Mabon in his well known classical school at Hacken- sack. after which he entered Yale College taking the full course, and was graduated in 1855. After spending one year at the Harvard Law School, he finished his studies with Chancellor Abram O. Zabriskie in 1860 and almost immediately opened an office in Jersey City. In 1867 he was elected Member of Assembly of the State on the Democratic ticket and the following year was re-elected on the same ticket. In 1871, he started the "New Jersey Citizen," a weekly paper at Hacken- sack, of which he was editor and proprietor. The publication was Democratic, devoted to local interests and the improvement of journalism in the county. This was continued six years, the last three as a semi- weekly. In 1879 he resumed the practice of law at Jersey city. Mr. Christie resides at Leonia, and is now serving his second term as Mayor of the Borough.
JAMES VREELAND MOORE.
The first official record of Samuel Moore ( the emigrant ancestor of the Moore family, of English Neighborhood, Bergen county, N. J.) is dated July 20, 1669, on which date a "Patent was granted by Governor Philip Carteret to Mark Noble and Samuel Moore, of Barbadoes, Mer- chants, for sundry Parcels of Land lying in and about the Town of Bergen."*
These tracts of land they had purchased July 15, 1669, of Samuel Edsall, who was then a prominent member of Governor Carteret's Council, the first being a large lot or plot in the north part of the town.
In the second described tract of land, one of the corner boundaries is designated as a "stake," standing in the road that leads from the town to the English Neighborhood, showing that it had been so named prior to that date.
The third tract comprehended five lots of upland and five lots of meadow, and extended from what is now West Side Avenue to the Hack- ensack River. All these tracts are now within the corporate limits of Jersey City.
Mark Noble seems to have remained in the Island of Barbadoes, and is included in the census of the town of St. Michaells in 1680.+
Samuel and Naomy Moore, his wife, emigrated to Boston, Mass., from the English island of Barbadoes in the West Indies, about the year 1671-2, and removed to New York in 1674 or 5; following them in direct line are Samuel, ( the youngest son of said Samuel Moore, the
*Winfield's Land Titles of Hudson County, N. J., 76.
+Original Lists of Emigrants, etc. published in London, 1871 . 445-182.
RESIDENCE OF GEN. J. V. AND MAJOR S. H. V. MOORE
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emigrant, ) who married on September 14, 1705, Sarah Smith, a grand- daughter of Major John Berry of Hackensack; who was Deputy Gov- ernor of East Jersey in 1672-3, and Deputy Governor of East Jer- sey in 1680; Samuel (who was one of the Justices of Bergen county in 1753-54) who married Hester Lozier February 26, 1736; Samuel James Moore who married Sarah Day, December, 1776, and next in line come the grandparents of General James Vreeland Moore, our subject, James and Sarah Moore, who were married September 17, 1796. His parents, Samuel J. Moore and Clarrissa Vreeland were married November 11, 1823.
The maternal ancestors were Hollanders being first represented by Michael Jansen who emigrated from Broeckhuysen, North Brabant, with his wife, Fytje Hartman, and their two children in the ship Rensselaerwyck, October 1, 1636. After the arrival of Michael Jansen in the New Netherlands, he settled first at Greenbush, opposite Albany, and remained there for several years. In 1644 he became a resident of New Amsterdam, and in 1646 he removed to Communipaw, New Jersey. The same year he was one of the nine representatives of Pavonia ; and again in 1649 and 1650. He was one of the first Magistrates of Bergen. The farm which he had agreed to purchase of Jan Eversen Bout, for 8,000 Florins-about the time of his removal to Communipaw, or shortly, thereafter-he completed the payments therefor and obtained deed September 9, 1656. He died in 1661.
On May 12, 1668, Fytje Hartman (widow of Michael Jansen), ob- tained two patents from Governor Philip Carteret; the first being apparently to perfect title to the farm purchased of Jan Eversen Bout in 1656; and the second for land west of and adjoining that described in the first patent. These two tracts of land are now in Jersey City. Fytje Hartman died September 21, 1697.
The next in direct line were Cornelis Michielse Vreeland and Metje Dirkse Braecke, married March 12, 1681; Michael Vreeland and Jenneke Helmighse Van Houten, married October 23, 1713; Jacob Vreeland and Wintje Duryee married 1769, and the grandparents of General Moore, Michael Vreeland and Rachel DeGroot, married February 13, 1796.
General Moore was born in New York city August 18. 1824. He first attended school at the village Academy, of which Stephen Runyon Martin was the principal, and subsequently attended Chamberlain & Quinn's Classical School; at that time located on Broadway near Grand street. After leaving school his first business engagement was as a clerk in the dry goods establishment of Blauvelt & Crum; afterwards being employed by Zabriskie & Van Riper, in Greenwich street. With the onward move of business, trade necessarily gave place to industries which sought the districts nearest the great lines of transportation. Sixth Avenue and Twenty-third Street now have a large share of the dry goods business, which was then in the down town streets. In May 1852 he and his brother Stephen H. V. Moore, purchased a farm in that part of English Neighborhood now known as Leonia and removed from
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New York city to their farm; on which they have resided ever since- now more than forty-seven years.
Possessed of good judgment, high moral character and steadfast purpose Mr. Moore could not fail to succeed in his undertakings. That he commands the respect of those who know him is proven by the recognition accorded in the various walks of life in which we find him. His military record is a good index of his popularity. At the time the National Guard of New Jersey was organized he commanded Company B Second Battalion, New Jersey Rifle Corps ; which became Company A Second Battalion, National Guard, April 14, 1869. He was elected Major, Second Battalion, National Guard, New Jersey, October 8, 1872 ; Lieutenant Colonel May 4, 1885; Colonel of the Second Regiment June 18, 1892 and was retired at his own request April 25, 1893. Colonel Moore was brevetted Brigadier General upon the date of his retirement. The Second Battalion, under General Sewell, was in the service during the railroad riots of 1873. General Sewell in his report to the Adjutant General of the State makes mention among others-of the "Second Battalion under Major Moore as a credit to any command in either peace or war."
General Moore has taken an active interest in the affairs of his locality, having been a member of the Township Committee of the old township of Hackensack, for a term of three years, besides holding other local offices. He has also been Councilman of the borough of Leonia from the time of its incorporation to the last election, when he declined a unanimous renomination. He has also served two terms as President of the Borough Council.
The General is an associate member of the Military Service Institu- tion of the United States, and member of the New Jersey State Rifle Association.
He was married to Miss Caroline Palmer, eldest daughter of John and Cynthia (Swift) Palmer, of Brooklyn, N. Y., June 29, 1868. She was born in the city of New York March 26, 1830, and died at Leonia, N. J., June 20, 1884, leaving one daughter, Ida Cynthiella Moore, who was born June 14, 1869. She married Frank Irving Barrett, April 21. 1896. They have one son, Roydon Moore Barrett, born June 12, 1898.
Mrs. J. Vreeland Moore, nee Palmer, was a descendant in the sev- enth generation from William Palmer, who emigrated from New Eng- land to the town of Westchester, Westchester county, N. Y., in 1862-3.
*Of the twelve trustees of the town of Westchester in 1692. three were sons of the said William Palmer, viz: John, Joseph and Samuel. The names of all the trustees are inscribed in a full warranty deed executed by the Indian chiefs Maminepoe and Wampage, as proprietors of a large tract of land lying east of the Bronx River, and extending to Pelham Neck, "within the limits and bounds of the patent of the county town of Westchester, in the province of New York," by which
*History of the County of Westchester, N. Y., from its first settlement, by Rev. Robert Bolton. Jr. (First edition, 1848. Vol. 11. 175-6.
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the title thereto became vested in said trustees and successors, as rep- resenting said town.
STEPHEN H. V. MOORE.
Stephen H. V. Moore was born in the city of New York, June 18, 1828, where he resided until 1852, when he removed to his present home at Leonia, then known as English Neighborhood, and engaged in agri- culture.
He was educated in the English branches at the Academy of Stephen R. Martin, and in classics, mathematics and civil engineering at the High School of Isaac F. Bragg in the city of New York.
On November 9, 1852 he married Julia Frances, daughter of Alder- man William Tucker of New York city, and a descendant of the seventh generation from Henry Tucker, who emigrated about 1627 from the county of Kent, England to the Colony of Massachusetts Bay .* She was born July 15, 1833 and died March 23, 1881. Their children are Clarissa, born April 9, 1854. wife of Captain Henry R. Goesser; Josephine: born August 12, 1855; Julia Lavinia, born July 18. 1857, died June 26, 1858; Henrietta, born June 28, 1860, and James Vreeland, born February 6, 1863, who married Sarah Banta Edsall, daughter of Captain John S. Edsall. They have one child, Harry Edsall, born July 6, 1892,
Mr. Moore was trustee of Central School District No. 11, Hacken- sack township from 1858 to 1866, a period of nine years. He was one of the township committee of Hackensack township in 1861, and for Ridgefield township in 1874 and 1875, and again from 1878 to 1880. He was chosen Freeholder of Ridgefield township in 1881, holding the office continuously for nine years.
Major Moore traces his paternal ancestry in America back to 1671-2. His father Samuel J. Moore, was born in English Neighborhood, Bergen county, N. J., October 11, 1797, married Clarissa Vreeland, November 11, 1823, and died April 24, 1832. James Moore, father of Samuel J., was born October 19, 1767 and on September 17, 1796 married Sarah Moore, (his second cousin ), who was born in May 22, 1778. Samuel James Moore, father of James, was born April 19, 1739, and married in 1776, Sarah Day, who was born June 5. 1744. The parents of Samuel James Moore were Samuel Moore, baptized October 4, 1712, and his wife, Hester Lozier, baptized December 16, 1711 Samuel Moore, father of this Samuel, was born in New York in 1673-4. He married. September 14, 1705, Sarah Smith, ( third daughter of Lieut. Michael Smith ). He was the youngest son of Samuel and Naomy Moore, who emigrated from the English Island of Barbadoes in 1671-2 to Boston, where their eldest son, Francis was born.
On the maternal side, the mother, Clarissa Vreeland, was born on the west bank of the Hudson River (opposite the present Riverside
*James Tucker, a descendant of the third generation of the aforesaid Henry Tucker removed from Connecticut with his wife Leah, to the Providence of East New Jersey in 1718, and settled at Deal, where he owned a large Plantation. They were members of the Society of Friends, as were many of their descendants.
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Park), November 18, 1800, and died October 25, 1876. She was the daughter of Michael Vreeland, born October 11, 1770, and Rachel DeGroot (his second wife ) born May 25, 1775. They were married Feb- ruary 13, 1796. Michael was the son of Jacob Vreeland, born March 11, 1737, and Wyntje (Lavinia) Der Yee, the record of whose birth was lost during the Revolution. They were married in 1769. Jacob was the son of Michael Cornelise Vreeland, born September 18, 1694, and Jenneke Helmighse Van Houten, who were married October 23, 1713. The par- ents of Michael Cornelise Vreeland, were Cornelis Michaelse Vreeland, born June 3, 1660. and Metje Dirkse Braecke, who were married May 12, 1681.
LORENZO GISMOND.
Lorenzo Gismond of the firm of Tarrant & Gismond, Jewellers, New York, has been one of the leading factors in the borough history of Leonia, having been the projector of that municipal incorporation and identified with it officially, from its organization. Mr. Gismond is a grandson of George F. and Rebecca (Earle) Schor, both families early settlers of English Neighborhood; and son of Emanuel G., and Louisa (Schor) Gismond, whose lives were spent in this part of Bergen county. Mr. Gismond was born in Leonia, N. J., February 5, 1859, and here his school life began and ended. His early business connections
were with his father, who was a coal merchant. In August 1887, both his parents died leaving him administrator of the estate, after which he went into business in New York. About this time he began to take a lively interest in the affairs of his township and county. As a member of the Republican party, his services being considered invaluable, ap- pointments to positions of trust followed, the more important being his .connections with the county organization, he having served two terms as member of the Executive Committee. Being public spirited he was the first to see the importance of securing the benefits that would come to his own village under the law of 1879, and under his direction more than to any other, the incorporation of the borough of Leonia was car- ried to a successful conclusion; and largely to him as a member of the Council from the time of this organization, has been delegated the duties belonging to the more important committees.
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