USA > New Jersey > Bergen County > History of Bergen county, New Jersey > Part 56
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ENGLEWOOD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
This church is located on Palisades Avenue and is one of the most beautiful and most costly church structures in the county.
The chapel of this denomination once stood on the site of the pres- ent church. It was completed in 1860 and twice enlarged, but after ten years was found too small as a place of worship, and was removed stone by stone and re-erected within the cemetery grounds. Funeral services are now held there at the departure of the dead to their graves. Then, too, it will stand a memorial edifice of the first church ever built in Englewood. The new edifice is constructed of red and white sandstone. J. Wyman Jones and I. Smith Homans, Jr., gave the land on which the church stands. Mr. Jones prepared and circulated the subscription papers for the needed funds to build the church. A building committee consisting of Messrs. Jones, W. R. Vermilye, George S. Coe, James Van- derbeck and Jeffrey A. Humphry with Mr. Jones as chairman, was appointed June 29. 1868, The first meeting of this committee to organize, was held July 4, 1869, and a report of the building completed was made October 24, 1870, its entire cost, exclusive of bell, but inclu- sive of furniture, being forty-nine thousand, seven hundred, forty-five dollars and sixty-six cents. David Hoadley presented the organ at a cost of three thousand six hundred dollars. The bell cost fifteen hun- dred dollars and was the gift of Colonel W. R. Vermilve. After the completion of the church the chapel was removed to the cemetery by
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Mrs. Emily O. Brinkerhoff, the only daughter of Colonel Washington R. Vermilye, in memory of her father.
The eighteen persons forming this church have been members from various denominational churches, as follows: seven from the Madison Square Presbyterian Church, New York city; three from the Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn, Congregational; two from the Westminister Presbyterian Church, Utica, N. Y., two from the Reformed Dutch Church, Utica; three from the Reformed Church of English Neighborhood ; and one from Reformed Dutch Church, Hoboken. James Harrison Dwight, the first pastor was a son of the missionary to Turkey, Rev. H. G. O. Dwight, D. D., and was born on the island of Malta, October 9, 1830. He left Turkey at seventeen, was graduated at Yale College in 1852, and thence attended medical lectures in the College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Union Theological Semi- nary in the New York city. Afterwards he preached in Cherry Valley, in New York, and in 1859 in Englewood.
Mr. Dwight was possessed of great natural abilities, which were quickened and greatly aided by a most accomplished education in two professions. He was carried away by consumption, dying on the 2d of December, 1872, and sleeps in the beautiful little cemetery at Engle- wood, lamented by his own church and people of the town, who will long revere his memory.
The first pastor of this church took up his residence in the place early in 1859, and held public services on each Lord's day, with the purpose of gathering the nucleus of a congregation. In this he. was cordially sustained by the original inhabitants of the valley, who gladly opened their houses for divine worship until, towards the close of the year, a more suitable room was provided in the newly-erected school- house of Mr. James W. Deuel.
In the meantime. as the congregation enlarged and interest increased, a sum of money was raised by subscription sufficient to build a chapel, the foundations of which were laid in the fall of the year.
In March of 1860 this chapel was completed, and the first service hield on the 25th of that month, when a dedicatory sermon was preached from the text, "My name shall be there."
Thus it became the first church of Englewood, and first Presby- terian Church of Bergen county.
The following individuals were elected as first officers of the church: Elders, Charles A. Nichols, James Vanderbeck, Sheppard Homans; Deacons, John De Mott, J. Wyman Jones.
At the first worshiping in the chapel the congregation numbered from seventy to one hundred.
On the first day of May, 1867, the first pastor resigned his charge. taking leave with sorrow of a warm-hearted and affectionate people. and of an enterprise with which his affections and labors had been identified from the beginning.
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After an interval of only a few weeks the church and congrega- tion voted imanimously to extend a call to Rev. Henry M. Booth, of New York. This was prosecuted in due forin through the Fourth Pres- bytery, and accepted. Whereupon, on the 19th of September, 1867, Mr. Booth was duly ordained and installed as second pastor of the Engle- wood Presbyterian Church.
Under the pastorate of Mr. Booth, the church prospered and en- larged both in numbers and in the administration of Christian labors and charities. His excellent services as a pastor and most capable preacher closed in 1891, when he was succeeded by the Rev. James Eells, who in turn was followed March 1st. 1898. by the present pastor, the Rev. Samuel M. Hamilton.
The present officers of the church are: Elders Henry W. Banks, Elbert A. Brinkerhoff, Henry Jones, Charles F. Park. J. Hugh Peters, L. V. Davison, Frederick B. Schenck. Garry Vanderbeck, Edwin M. Bulkley.
Deacons :-- George H. Payson, John W. Pitkin, Stuart Lyman, John F. Fitschen, C. D. Kerr, Theodore L. Peters.
The West Side Presbyterian Church is a branch of the First Pres- byterian Church of Englewood, and was formed in 1897, the Rev. Paul A. Junkin pastor.
The Scientists have also recently organized a society in the city which is growing rapidly.
The Highwood Chapel service Committee organized for 1899 with the following officers : J. C. Thomson, chairman; George Baker, secre- tary; N. V. Ketchum, treasurer.
ENGLEWOOD METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
This organization took its rise in the Summer of 1859, but it was not until 1862 that a church building was erected for worship, with the Rev. Daniel Wise. D. D., as pastor. It was largely through Dr. Wise's enterprise and generosity that the tasteful edifice was constructed. The dedicatory services were conducted by the late Bishop Edmund S. Janes in December, 1863. Succeeding Dr. Wise, came the Rev. E. Hewitt, whose brief pastorate was followed by that of the Rev. Henry M. Simpson, A. M., a graduate of Wesleyan University. In 1866 the Rev. James B. Faulks became pastor; in 1869, Rev. Edson W. Burr, A. M. now a trustee of Wesleyan University. During Mr. Burr's term an addition was made to the church edifice at a cost of $5000, and the new thoroughly furnished. The Rev. John Coyle, M. D .. was his successor, remaining in charge one year. when the Rev. Sylvester Bebout was ap- pointed in 1873. He occupied the pulpit until 1876. and was succeeded by the Rev. James W. Marshall. D. D., now of Camden, N. J. The Rev. C. E. Walton followed in 1879, and his successor in 1880 was the Rev. J. G. Johnston who remained three years. From 1883 to 1886, the Rev. Joseph W. Dally ministered to the congregation, when he was succeed by the Rev. N. Walling Clark in the latter year. Mrs. Clark is
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a well known authoress, now residing in Italy, where Prof. Clark occu- pies a chair in the Methodist Theological School at Rome. Rev. E. H. Conklin was the next pastor, appointed in 1889. In 1891 the Rev. Olin B. Coit was minister, who was followed in 1893, by the Rev. E. S. Jami- son, Ph. D. In 1895 the Rev. James I Boswell, D. D., became pastor, who in turn was succeeded by the present incumbent, Joseph W. Dally, who is serving his second term in this congregation.
The present officers of the Church are Moses E. Springer, Rufus A. Gorham, Henry C. Jackson, George W. Springer, George G. Weeks, Isaiah Huson, Robert Taylor, Jacob R. Demarest, Gilbert Gregory, Adolph H. Engelke, Sherman C. Abramson, John H. Baldwin and A. L, Williams. M. E. Springer is president of the Board of Trustees; A. H. Engelke is the superintendant of the Sunday School.
THE CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH.
The Christian Reformed Church was organized in Englewood April 1st, 1875. It was the outgrowth of the work of the Rev. John Y. De Baun, of Hackensack, who started the organization by coming over to Englewood on Sundays and preaching to a circle of friends in Engle- wood Hall, Leonia. At the end of two years Henry P. Demarest and Hannah Bogert, his wife; Margaret Demarest, wife of Cornelius Wester- velt; Sarah A. Bogert, widow, and Ellen Westervelt, wife of Peter R. Christie; Rachel Cooper, widow of David J. Bogert, and a few others, organized the church, with the Rev. John Calvin Voorhis as pastor.
A. D. Bogert, Catharine M. Demarest, Lettie Westervelt, wife of Joseph E. Miller; Hester Demarest, wife of John D. Demarest, have been active members, also. The Hon. Thomas W. Demarest was the first elder; Richard Earle and Henry P. Demarest were the first deacons. The church was dedicated May 25th, 1875, the Rev. John Y. De Baun preaching the sermon. Rev. J. C. Voorhis was called August 12th, 1875, and remained twelve years, his connection ceasing August 4th, 1887, when he accepted a call to Hackensack, where he is at the present time. He was followed by Revs. Abram Van Houten, March 1st, 1888, to April 25th, 1892; C. D. De Mott from 1892 to April 2d, 1895, the present pastor, Rev. E. Van Den Berge, coming March 17th, 1896, and who preached his farewell sermon May 21st, 1899. There is a mem- bership of about one hundred and twenty-five persons. Elders, John S. Westervelt, Isaac A. Demarest; deacons, Abram Demarest, John A. Bogert.
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The Episcopal Church was organized July 11, 1865. The first war- dens were John H. Lyell, Charles T. Chester, William King, Richard K. Coole, E. W. Andrews and Herbert Turner. The first rector was Rev. O. W. Whittaker, now Bishop of Pennsylvania. He was followed by Revs. Mr. Benjamin, John H. Elliott, W. S. Langford, afterward general secretary of the Church at large-he died in 1867. - John
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William Payne, James H. Van Buren, and the Rev. Charles F. Flicht- ner, the present pastor, who took charge January 1, 1888.
The present Wardens of the church are W. E. Tillinghast, H. L. Congdon. The church has a membership of four hundred and sixty communicants. An elegant house of worship is about to be erected.
ST. CECELIA'S CHURCH.
Catholic services in Englewood were held in 1863-64 by Father Coardly, followed by Rev. D. Corrigan of St. Mary's Church, Hoboken. Then Father Brann took the pastorate and under his able direction the church building was erected .in 1856 and under Father Smits was enlarged in 1868. He was followed by A. J. Smits, T. J. McDonald. C. J. Feehan, A. E. Van Rich, A. M. Murphy. The Rev. A. J. Smits was here at different times covering a period of twenty years. The Rev. D. T. O'Malloy, O. C. C., came here the last time in 1897. He was gradua- ted in Dublin in 1873, came to America in 1874 when he was appointed to work in Kentucky. From there he went to Niagara Falls, N. Y., coming to Englewood first in 1885, leaving in 1889. Under his efficient services the church has reached a membership of about two thousand, and is well equipped in various ways through organized effort to meet the needs of young men, the education of children and the spiritual requirements of all.
Father O'Malloy is ably assisted by Fathers Fink, McDonald and Angelus. He holds three masses on Sunday and two services are held at Tenafly by the Rev. I. J. McDonald. A school of two hundred children, under the direction of the Sisters of Charity, from Madison. N. J., is ably maintained. and there is also a school of one hundred children at Tenafly. A Catholic Club with a membership of two hundred under the presidency of William Tierney, Jr., the Rev. I. J. McDonald, treasurer, and a board of governors, holds regular meetings in the Lecture Hall and gives entertainments of various kinds for the young and old. The club has a well appointed gymnasium and among other equipments has one of the best bowling alleys to be found any- where.
ENGLEWOOD LODGE, NO. 103.
Englewood Lodge. No. 103, Independent Order of Good Templars was instituted April 12th. 1870, with sixteen charter members: It is also an efficient organization having influenced during its time hun- dreds. if not thousands of persons for good.
CITY OF ENGLEWOOD.
City of Englewood March 10, 1896, the village of Englewood became a city by a vote of its citizens who favored the change, five hundred and sixteen votes being cast for the incorporation and three hundred and twenty-eight votes against it. This election was held under the act entitled, "An Act authorizing any town, township or borough or part thereof containing a population exceeding five thousand inhabitants to
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be incorporated as a 'city,' after a vote by the people, and providing the government and powers of such cities."
A special meeting of the township committee was called March 12, 1896, for the purpose of dividing the city into wards. Mr. Thomson offered the following resolution:
The Township Committee of the township of Englewood, pur- suant to the fifth section of the Act entitled "An Act authorizing any town, township or borough, or part thereof, to be incorporated as a city. after a vote of the people, and providing for the government and powers of such cities, approved March 22d, 1895," hereby divide the city of Englewood into four wards as follows. (Giving boundaries).
Mr. Oliver Drake Smith was appointed Mayor; Mr. J. Hugh Peters Councilman from the first ward; Mr. James Harris Councilman from the second ward; Mr. Joseph Thomson Councilman from the third ward; Mr. Henry Birtwhistle Councilman from the fourth ward; City Clerk, Robert Jamieson.
The following is a list of the officers of the city of Englewood to the present time. Elected April 14th, 1896, Mayor, Daniel A. Currie City Clerk, Robert Jamieson; Receiver of Taxes, Thomas O'Brien; Assessor, Hezekiah Birtwhistle; Chosen Freeholder, James C. Ander- son; Board of Excise, George S. Coe, Jr., George R. Van Brunt, James M. Gulnac; Members of City Council, Leonard E. Curtis, Edward P. Coe, Abram Tallman, William Scully; Board of Education, Huyler Bogert, Robert B. Taylor, Francis M. Demarest, Eugene M. Boeheim; Commissioners of Appeals, Jacob S. Wetmore, Rufus A. Gorham, Walter Westervelt, Ralph J. Demarest.
Elected April 13th, 1897, Councilman first ward, unexpired term, Clinton H. Blake; Board of Education, Miss Adaline W. Sterling. Robert B. Taylor, Joseph M. Cooper, Charles Huckin; Board of Excise. George H. Payson, Edward J. Irwin, Henry Booth, James M. Gulnac.
Elected April 12th, 1898, Mayor, Daniel A. Currie; City Clerk, Robert Jamieson; Receiver of Taxes, Thomas O'Brien; Assessor, James C. Thomson; Chosen Freeholder, Andrew D. Bogert; Members of City Council, Oliver Drake Smith, Abram DeRonde, James F. Cooke, Heze- kiah Birtwhistle; Board of Education, Miss Adaline W. Sterling; Board of Excise, George H. Payson, M. Frank Vanderbeek, Frank D. Cana- vello, Edward Quirk.
Elected April 11th, 1899, Mayor, Elbert A. Brinkerhoff; Council- man-at-large, John Dougherty; City Clerk, Robert Jamieson; Collector of Taxes, Thomas O'Brien; Overseer of Poor, Hugh Smith; Chosen Freeholder, William C. Davies; James M. Gulnac; Members of Com- mon Council, James C. Anderson, Robert B. B. Taylor, Frederick L. Vorhees, John M. Booth; Assessors, Moses E. Springer, Edson B. Gor- ham, James C. Thomson, Henry Birtwhistle; Commissioners of Appeals, John W. Pitkin, Garry Vanderbeek, Walter Westervelt, Edward ()'Hara.
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J. WYMAN JONES.
* It is always interesting to trace the early life of men of energy for usually there will be found those surroundings which foster a vigor- ous and independent character. This is aptly illustrated in the life of J. Wyman Jones. Born in the town of Enfield, N. H., he was subjected throughout boyhood to the hardy and healthy country life of New Eng- land; and the rugged aspect of nature, the exhilarating winter, together with a rigorous home training, combined to produce a strong and cour- ageous youth, eager for a conflict with the world. His father was a sturdy New England justice, prominent in the affairs of his locality, and several times a member of the State Legislature. His mother was a woman of genuine sweetness and refinement; a direct descendant of the famous Hannah Dustin. It was the desire of both parents to keep their only son at home, but when his school career at Meriden Academy was ended. he pressed onward to Dartmouth College, where he was ad- mitted in 1837. In his class were a son of Daniel Webster, Edward Webster, who died in the Mexican war; Rev. Dr. Leonard Swain, of Nashua, N. H., and Gardiner G. Hubbard, Esq., of Washington, D. C.
Upon graduation, in 1841, he could not be persuaded to locate at home, and although put wholly upon his own resources, he began the study of law in New York city. In 1843 he was admitted to the New York bar, and for twenty years followed his profession, the latter part of the time at Utica, N. Y. Prior to his removal there he married Harriet Dwight Dana, daughter of James Dana of Utica, and sister of Professor James D. Dana of Yale University, who survived until 1882. At Utica Mr. Jones made many warm friends in his profession, includ- ing the late Justice William J. Bacon, Senator Kernan, Joshua Spencer, and Senator Conkling. But advised by his physician that he must lead an out-of-door life, he reluctantly relinquished the practice of law to give himself to rural pursuits, although still retaining his interest and mem- bership in the New York bar. In 1858, by invation of a foriner client. then engaged in surveying the Northern Railroad of New Jersey, he made an examination of the proposed route, and being impressed by the natural beauty of the country, with characteristic daring determined to throw himself heartily into the development of the region where Englewood is now located. He spent the summer of 1858 in securing property rights from the original owners, and by the autumn of that year had control of nearly all the land now occupied by the village. He proceeded to lay out the town, to name its streets, and to procure a survey and map of its territory. By the spring of 1859 he had moved his family to the new place and had gained for it the support of several valuable friends. In this same spring at a meeting of the residents, the name Englewood, suggested and advocated by him, was adopted. Since that time Mr. Jones has been prominent in the secular and religious life of Englewood, and he still maintains a keen interest in its growth and welfare. He * From a sketch in the " Memorial History of the city of New York and the Hudson River Valley."
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has had the satisfaction of seeing it develop pursuant to the general plan formulated by himself, into a beautiful and progressive suburb of New York city. In 1865 Mr. Jones became president of the St. Joseph Lead Company, a corporation manufacturing and mining lead in the state of Missouri ; and by persistent energy he has raised the Company to its present position.as one of the largest lead producing concerns of the United States and the world. With this Lead Company are also associated a railway corporation having a road forty-eight miles in length, and a cattle and farming company transacting a large business, of both of which Mr. Jones is president. He is also president of the Doe Run Lead Company. During the thirty years of his presidency of the St. Joseph Lead Company, he has spent much of his time at the mines of Missouri, where now there is a prosperous community. During this entire period there has never been a serious strike among the men ; it having been one of the chief concerns of the company, under the leadership of Mr. Jones, not only to treat its employees fairly, but also to aid in every undertaking which promised to contribute to their pleas- ure, or their moral or physical welfare.
In politics Mr. Jones has been a Republican since the days of the Free Soil party. At the outbreak of the civil war, while deep in his work at Englewood, he was an ardent Northerner, frequently speaking at public meetings. He was many years Chairman of the Republican County Executive Committee, and was chosen a delegate-at-large from the State of New Jersey to the Presidential Convention of 1872. In 1876 he was elected a delegate to the State Convention by the Engle- wood Republicans after he had declared himself friendly to Senator Conkling, and opposed to Hon. James G. Blaine, and subsequently by the State Convention was elected a delegate to the Presidential Con- vention at Cincinnati. There, with five other New Jersey delegates, he refused to vote for Mr. Blaine, and voted on the first and every ballot for Mr. Hayes, who was nominated by the Convention. While this course was distasteful to the Blaine adherents, so far as Mr. Jones was concerned it was in accord with the declarations he had previously made, and with the decision of his Englewood constituents. In late years he has taken no active part in politics, but maintains a loval . adherence to his party, and an earnest concern for the country's pros- perity.
Personally Mr. Jones is a courtly gentleman who is thoroughly American, and he counts his friends among all classes of men. He possesses a keen insight into human nature, and judges quickly and accurately. He is reserved in manner and refined in his tastes. In 1886 he married Mrs. Salome Hanna Chapin, of Cleveland, Ohio. During the winter season they reside at Thomasville, Georgia, where they have a Southern home of rare attractiveness, and where Mr. Jones has inter- ested himself in the development both of the aesthetic and the practical sides of the town. They also have a charming summer home at Bolton Massachusetts.
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HON. JOHN VAN BRUNT.
Hon. John Van Brunt was one of the promotors of the Northern Railroad, and a resident of Englewood Township from 1834 to the time of his death June 20, 1879. He was born in Brooklyn, N. Y. February 17, 1802, and before coming to Englewood was engaged in the grocery business in West Street, New York, for eight years. In 1830 he mar- ried Margaret daughter of Peter Westervelt, Jr., of Englewood, and four years later took up his residence on the farm where he resided until his decease.
He took an especial interest in the cause of Education and the office of Town Superintendent was filled by him from 1847 to 1867, or during the whole time the provision made by that law was in existence. He was one of the organizers of the Bergen County Mutual Assurance Association; was a member of the State Senate from 1849 to 1853 and held other positions of trust.
DR. HARDY M. BANKS.
Dr. Hardy M. Banks, the youngest of five children was born on August 9, 1830 at Murfresboro, N. C. His father Hardy M. Banks, was a planter at Murfresboro, where his son was educated. He died there in 1841. In 1846 young Banks began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. James B. Gilbert of Savannah, Ga., and one and a half years afterwards entered the office of Dr. John F. Gray a leading homeo- pathic physician of New York city. He was gratuated from the Medi- cal Department of the University of the City of New York in 1849. Not being of age at the time of his graduation Dr. Banks went to Paris and attended the lectures of the " Faculty of Medicine " for two years. and attended lectures of that famous writer on medical therapeutics. Dr. Trousseau, a professed believer in the palliative treatment of Allopathy.
In 1852 Dr. Banks received his diploma from the University of the City of New York and at once entered upon the practice of his profes- sion in that city, and soon afterwards became associated with Dr. A. D. Wilson, a leading homeopath with whom he remained until 1860. In the summer of 1860 he located in Englewood. Dr. Banks is very popu- lar and was president of the Protection Society of the villiage for a number of years.
DR. D. A. CURRIE.
Dr. D. A. Currie. Mayor of Englewood, was born October 10, 1842, at Searsville, N. Y. In 1857 he entered as a student in the office of Dr. Sanford Eastman, of Buffalo, N. Y., and attended lectures at the Medical University of Buffalo, where he was graduated in 1863. He afterwards studied at Edinburg University, for two and half years and at the close of the year 1867 returned to the United States settling in Englewood in the practice of his profession in 1872. His specialties in practice are surgery, and diseases of women and children. He was
Garnit A Lydeckung
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president of the Bergen County Medical Society in 1876, and is a mem- ber of various medical societies. He enjoys wide popularity in Engle- wood and upon the organization of the city was elected its mayor. He served in the Spanish American War as Lieutenant Colonel of the Second New Jersey Regiment.
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