History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. I, Part 67

Author: Shaw, William H
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: [United States :]
Number of Pages: 840

USA > New Jersey > Essex County > History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. I > Part 67
USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. I > Part 67

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STACY G. POTTS became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, February 28, 1852, and upon the expiration of his term of seven years, he declined a reappointment in consequence of failing health. In 1828 and 1829 he was elected a member of the legisla- ture. In 1831 he was chosen elerk of the Court of Chancery, and again to the same office in 1836. He is said to have been a good judge, and popular with the bar and the public.

DANIEL HAINES was appointed an Associate Jus- tive, November 15, 1852, and was reappointed Novem- ber 15, 1859. He had been, prior to these appoint- ments, Governor and Chancellor (Sce Chancellors).

PETER VREDENBURGH was selected by Governor Price as an Associate Justice, and commissioned March 27, 1855. lle was reappointed by Governor Olden, March 24, 1862. In 1837, he was made Prosecutor of the Pleas for Monmouth County, holling the office fifteen years ; and, was prior to the adoption of the new Constitution, a member of the Legislative Coun- cil. lle died March 24, 1873.

MARTIN RYERSON received his commission as Associate Justice, March 27th, 1855, but, on account of ill-health, was obliged to resign in 1858. He had

been a member of the Assembly in 1849, and was also a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1844. Notwithstanding his feeble health, which compelled him to decline several positions of honor and trust, he was never idle whenever and wherever duty called. On the breaking out of the civil war he was among the foremost to give his support to the Union. As a lawyer he stood high in his profession, and on the Bench showed great ability as a judge. Hle died at his residence in Newton, Sussex County, June 11th, 1875.

EDWARD W. WHELPLEY was chosen Associate Justice, Vive Martin Ryerson resigned, September 9, 1858, and appointed February 22, 1859, for a full term (See Chief Justices).

WILLIAM S. CLAWSON was appointed an Associate Justice, February 23, 1859. He held his office a little more than two years, when he died, and the vacancy thus occasioned was filled by Judge Lucius Q. C. Elmer. Judge Clawson was at one time Prosecutor of the Pleas for Salem County.

JOHN VAN DYKE was appointed an Associate Justice, February 28, 1859, and served one term. He was a representative in Congress from 1847 to 1851.

GEORGE II. BROWN, on the 28th of February, 1861, succeeded, as Associate Justice, Judge Whelpley, when the latter was elevated to the Chief Justiceship, and held the office until his death in 1865. Judge Brown resided in Somerville, N. J., where he was a successful practitioner. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1844, and in 1850 was elected a member of Congress.

JOSEPH D. BEDLE received his commission as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, March 28, 1×65, when he removed from Freehold, where he had a large and valuable practice, to Jersey City. On the expiration of his term of seven years, he was, in 1872, reappointed. In 1874, he was elected Governor of the State, notwithstanding his great reluctance to accept the position. On the expiration of his term of office, he resumed the practice of his profession at Jersey City, where he now resides.

VANCLEVE DALRIMPLE was appointed an Asso- ciate Justice, February 16, 1866, and was reappointed in 1873. He was Prosecutor of the Pleas for Morris County from 1852 to 1857, and sustained a high repu- tation as a lawyer in that County and throughout the State.

GEORGE SPOFFORD WOODHULL received the ap- pointment of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1866, from Governor Ward, and was reappointed in 1873 by Governor Parker. He was born in Mon- mouth County, and for several years practiced law in Freehold. In 1855, removing to May's Landing, he was appointed Proseentor of the Pleas for Atlantic County, which office he held for fifteen years. Sub- sequently he hold the same office for ten years in Cape May County.

Dania & Dipne

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DAVID AYRES DEPUE .- A Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for many years, was born at Mount Bethel, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1826. The name is variously spelled by the writers of early American history, and first occurs as Depui, then as Depue and again as Depuis. It is one of the oldest names in Pennsylvania, prob- ably anteceding that of William Penn. Samuel Depui, one of the early progenitors of the subject of this sketch, is spoken of, in 1730, by Nicholas Scull, a surveyor, as the Venerable Sanmel Depui, and the settlement of Meenesink on the Delaware, was found- ed before William Penn made his appearance in America. Mr. Samuel Depui, when seen by Mr. Seull, was, doubtless, a man between sixty and seventy years of age, but whether he, or his progenitor, was among the original settlers of Meenesink, is not certain. He had a son named Nicholas, who was born in Meenesink about the year 1720, and who, probably, when old enough, was accustomed to accompany his father on his marketing trip to Esopus. now Kingston, N. Y. Here Mr. Nicholas Depuis, or Nicholas Depuis Esq., as he was afterwards called, settled for a short time, and then returned to Mrene- wink where, in 1787, he was found by Mr. Surveyor Seull, residing in "a spacious stone house in great plenty and affluence." Mr. Scull speaks of him as, " The Amiable Nicholas Depuis Esq."

These were among the early ancestors of the subject of this sketch. His great-grand-father was Benjamin Depue, a commissary during the American Revolution, who married Catherine, daughter of Colonel Abraham Van Camper, a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Sussex County N. J., one of whose children was Abraham, the grand-father of Judge Depne. His father, Major Benjamin Depue, resided at Mount Bethel, where he married Elizabeth, the daughter of Mr. Morris Ayers, a most estimable woman, to whose careful training and influence, Judge Depue attributes much of his success in life. She manifested a great interest in his education, and to that end, he was placed in the school of Rev. John Vanderveer, D.D., at Easton, Pa., where he received a thorough preparatory course. In 1846, he graduated from the College of New Jersey, at Prince- ton and immediately thereafter began the study of law in the office of John M. Sherrerd, Esq., of Belvidere, N. J., to which place his father and family had removed in 1840. Here he also began the practice of his profession, and with such success as to win for himself the reputation of a learned and judicious lawyer.

In 1866, he was appointed by Governor Marcus L. Ward an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and soon after removed to Newark, Essex County, which County together with Union County were em- braeed in the circuit to which he was assigned. On the expiration of his term in 1873, he was reappointed for a second term by Governor Joel Parker, and was

again reappointed in Isso by Governor George B. Mcclellan. His Jabors have at all times been very onerous, but at present his judicial district is confined to Essex County, and indeed, has been for several years past. In 1874, he was appointed, together with Chief Justice Beasley and Hon. Cortlandt Parker, to revise the laws of New Jersey, a work which was completed to the great satisfaction of the bench and bar throughout the State.

In 1874, Judge Depue received the degree of LL.D. from Rutgers College, New Jersey, and in 1880, the same degree was conferred upon him by the College of New Jersey, at Princeton. As a judge, his decisions exhibit not only a thorough knowledge of the law, a perfect understanding as well as a careful consider- ation of the matter before him, but skill, and even elegance, in his use of language.

Commanding the highest respect upon the Bench, he is still one of the most approachable and kindest hearted of men, placing every one at ease' in his presence. Sitting in the Court of Oyer and Terminer, especially in the trial of a capital offense, he impresses every one present, by his manner and tone, that he means to act simply as a judge, and that in his eyes the rights of the accused are just as precious as the rights of the aceuser. The thief or the murderer goes from his Court-room with no bitter feelings against the Judge. His name has more than once been mentioned in connection with the office of Governor of New Jersey, but it is generally understood that he would not under any circumstances, while on the bench, enter the political arena.

BENNETT VAN SYCKEL was appointed to a seat on the Bench of the Supreme Court as Associate Justice, in 1869. To this place he was reappointed in 1876, and again in 1883. Judge Van Syekel was born in Bethlehem, Hunterdon County, N. J., where he held a high reputation at the bar, and was especially dis- tinguished for his forensic abilities.

EDWARD W. SOUDDER received his appointment as an Associate Justice, March 1869. Ile was re- appointed to the same office in 1876, and a third time in 1883. Judge Seudder is a native of Mercer County, N. J., and was its representative in the State Senate in 1863-1865.

MANNING J. KNAPP was appointed one of the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court in 1875, and wals again appointed to the same office in 1882. He was born in Bergen County, N. J., and was admitted to the bar in 1846. He enjoyed, prior to his appoint- ment, a high reputation for his legal abilities.

JONATHAN DIXON was commissioned an Associate Justice April 8, 1875, and re-commissioned April 3, 1582. He is of English parentage, and was born in Liverpool, England. At an early age, he removed with his parents to America, and settled in New Brunswick, N. J. llere at the age of sixteen he entered Rutgers College, and was graduated therefrom in 1859. Soon after his admission as a Counselor at

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Law, he removed to Jersey City, where he became very successful as a practitioner. In 1883 he was nominated by the Republican State Convention for the office of Governor, but was defeated by Mr. Leon Abbett, the Democratic candidate.

ALFRED REED was appointed an associate justice of the Supreme Court April 18, 1875, and was re- appointed in 1882. Ile was born iu Mercer County, and has been most of his life a resident of Trenton. Of that city he was mayor at the age of twenty- eight, and at the age of thirty was law judge of the county. He is a man of thorough education and of great legal attainments.

WILLIAM J. MAGIE was appointed February 28, 1880, one of the associate justices of the Supreme Court. Ile is a native of Elizabeth, N. J., and son of the late David Magie. D. D., for many years pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church of that city. Judge Magie was at one time prosecutor of the pleas of Union County, and was also in 1875-7 representa- tive of that county in the State Senate. He has filled at different times various positions of honor and trust, and is highly esteemed both for his integ- rity and his learning.

JOEL PARKER received the appointment of asso- ciate justice of the Supreme Court March 11, 1880. He was born in Monmouth County, N. J., but spent his early years, up to the time of his admission to the bar, in Trenton, N. J. Here he studied law, after graduating from the College of New Jersey at Prince- ton. On being licensed to practice, he removed to Freehold, in his native county, whence, in 1847, he was sent as a member to the General Assembly, hold- ing this position until 1851, when he declined a further nomination. Soon after this he was appointed prosecutor of the pleas for Monmouth County. In 1862, he was elected Governor, and took his seat as such in January 1863. In the National Democratic Convention of 1868 he received the full vote of the New Jersey delegation for the office of President. In 1871 he was again elected Governor of New Jersey. Judge Parker is distinguished alike for his learning, his great executive ability and his great honesty.

Chancellors of New Jersey prior to the Revo- lution .- A few words have already been said in regard to the Court of Chancery, and it is only necessary to remind the reader that prior to the year 1845 the chancellors of New Jersey were, at the same time, its Governors, and held the former office by virtue of holding the latter.

ROBERT HUNTER is called the first chancellor of New Jersey, not because equity powers had never been exercised in the province or colony by any one prior to his administration, but because he was the first Gov- ernor to declare himself independent of the Council, and to assume the sole and undivided right to discharge

the duties of that exalted office. Ile was, moreover, the first of the provincial Governors who made his home in New Jersey, former Governors making New York their dwelling-place, leaving the affairs of New Jersey to be managed chiefly by a Lieutenant-Governor, or by the president of the Council. All that can be said of him as chancellor, in these brief sketches, has been already presented to the reader in our obser- vations on the Court of Chancery. It may be added that Governor Hunter was a man of great integrity, and, if not of profound learning, he was, at least, an accomplished scholar, and had among his corres- pondents such men as Swift, Addison and Steele. He was Governor and chancellor from 1710 to 1719.

WILLIAM BURNET, the successor of Hunter in the office of Governor and chancellor, took especial delight, as has been already said, in his duties as chancellor, and did much to relieve that court from the disad- vantages under which it had labored. Hle assumed the government of New Jersey in September, 1720, but in 1728 was removed and made Governor of New England, where he died, September 7, 1729. Gov- ernor Burnet was a man of considerable learning, but his display of it, in certain essays and letters, seems to have filled his friends and relatives with serious ap- prehensions as to his sanity. They regarded him as a crank, and very plainly told him so. But their fears were largely imaginary, for the Governor enjoyed the respect and friendship of some of the worthiest men of the province.

JOHN MONTGOMERIE succeeded Mr. Burnet as Gov- ernor and chancellor April 15, 1728. He had been an officer of the household of George HI., while Prince of Wales, and is commonly spoken of in history as Colonel John Montgomerie. During his adminis- tration an effort was made to separate the connection of New York and New Jersey under one Governor, but it was not successful. He died in July, 1731.

LEWIS MORRIS, president of Couneil, acted as Gov- ernor and chancellor, after the death of Montgomerie, until August I, 1732. Further and more earnest efforts were now made to secure a separate Governor for New Jersey. Acts also for the better regulation of the practice and practitioners of the law were passed by the General Assembly. He was afterwards com- missioned Governor and chancellor, as will be seen further on.

WILLIAM COSBY arrived in the province with the commission of governor in August, 1732. During his administration all the efforts made for the better regu- lating of the courts and tho practice of the law were failures, not meeting with the King's approval.

JOHN ANDERSON, president of Council, succeeded to the office of Governor and chancellor on the death of Cosby, March 19, 1736; but he also died a few days after, on the 28th of the same month.

JOHN HAMILTON, a member of Council, assumed the office of Governor and chancellor immediately after the death of Mr. Anderson, and remained in office un-

I He in Inadvertently called Andrew Hunter in the list of Chancellors published in "Stewart's New Jersey Digeel."

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til the appointment of his successor, in 1738, On the death of his successor, in 1746, he again became Giov- ernor and chancellor, and continued to be such until his death, June 17, 1747.

LEWIS MORRIS, who, as has been seen, was acting Governor and chancellor in 1731, received in 1738, after a long delay, his commission as Governor, and was the first whose jurisdiction as such was confined to New Jersey. The oft-repeated prayers of the people finally received a gracious unswer from the King; and their joy at having a Governor appointed from among them- selves, and entirely to themselves, was very great. But, alas. they were greatly disappointed in the end, for Governor Morris, throughout all his administration showed a desire to sustain the arbitrary pretensions of the crown rather than to protect the rights and look after the interests of his people. He was a man of considerable knowledge, acquired, however, more from observation than from study, and had been, at one time, chief justice of New York. Ilis conflicts with the General Assembly were constant and bitter until the time of his death, which occurred May 21, 1746.

JOHN READING was not the immediate successor of Governor Morris, but of John Hamilton, as has been seen above. Mr. Reading, like Mr. Hamilton, was the temporary predecessor, as well as successor, of a regularly appointed Governor. On the death, in 1747, of Mr. Hamilton, the immediate successor of Governor Morris, Mr. Reading, president of Council, assumed the reins of government, and held them from June 17, 1747, till the arrival of Governor Belcher about the middle of August following. And again, on the death of Governor Belcher, Mr. Reading, still president of the Council, took the place, very much against his wishes, being old and infirm. But between him, and Thomas Pownall, who held a commission as Lieutenant-Governor, it is difficult to say which of them was regarded as the head of the Provinces. Neither of them probably acted as chancellor, for the president of the Council was sick, and confined most of the time to his house, and the Lieutenant- Governor resided in Boston.

JONATHAN BELCHER entered upon the duties of Governor and chancellor August 10, 1747. Prior to his advent to New Jersey he had been Governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The events of his administration are interesting and important. Ilis death occurred August 31, 1757, when he was succeeded, as is said above, by John Reading, presi- dent of Council.

FRANCIS BERNARD arrived at Perth Amboy June 14, 1758, and immediately assumed the duties of Governor and chancellor. He performed important services in effecting a pacifieation with the Indians. In 1760, he was transferred to the government of Massachusetts.

THOMAS BOONE took the oath of office as Governor and chancellor, July 4, 1760, and retired therefrom July 7, 1761, having been transferred to the govern-

ment of South Carolina. He is said to have been a man of excellent qualities, both of heart and head, and much admired by everybody.

JOSIAH HARDY entered upon his duties as tiover- nor October 22, 1761, but retained his office less than a year, in consequence of some ditheulties be- tween himself and the home government in relation to the appointments of judges. He was subsequently made consul at Cadiz.

WILLIAM FRANKLIN, Son of Benjamin Franklin, was the last colonial Governor of New Jersey. Hle was born in Pennsylvania, where he passed his early youth, much in the company and under the instruc- tions of his father. He subsequently went to England, where he studied law, and was admitted to practice in 1758. In 1762 he received from the University of Oxford the degree of Master of Arts, while, at the same time, his father received that of Doctor of Laws, In August of that year he was appointed Governor of New Jersey through the influence of Lord Bute.

He did not reach his seat of government until February 25, 1763. After a short residence in Bur- lington, he finally made his home in Perth Amboy, where he remained until the close of his long adminis- tration, which became one of the most interesting in American history by reason of the conspicuous part which he took in the war of the Revolution. He gave great attention to the duties of his office, and showed a strong desire to promote the welfare of the people over whom he had been placed. It was not on- til the latter part of 1775 that any difficulty occurred between him and his Council. The people of New Jersey still manifested a loyal spirit, and of the strong allegiance of Governor Franklin to the King, there could not be the slightest doubt. But in September of that year a hostile feeling began to break out against the mother country. Lord Stirling, one of the truest of American patriots, and a member of the Governor's Council, accepted a military commission under the Provincial Congress, and the Governor felt called upon to suspend him. This was a blow to the harmony which had hitherto existed between him and his Council, and thereafter the Governor was looked upon as an enemy to the country. His situation, of course, became very embarrassing, and a suspicion arising that he intended to escape, a guard was placed at his gate. lle was induced, however, to give his parole, and for several months continued his residence at Amboy, exercising nominally the duties of his oflice. Dispatches from England made it necessary to convene the Assembly, and he issued his proclama- tion to that end. The Provincial Congress declared that the order should not be obeyed, and that all fur- ther payments to the Governor on account of salary should cease. Three days after this he was arrested, und, on refusing to give his parole, was taken under a strong guard to Burlington. Refusing to be inter- rogated by the Provincial Congress there in session, his cuse was referred to the Continental Congress, by

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

which body he was ordered to be removed to the cus- tody of Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, and he was tinally placed in close confinement and deprived of the use of pen, ink and paper. After an imprison- ment of two years and four months, he was released November 1, 177. He went immediately to New York, where he remained tour years. In August, 1752, he sailed for England, where, in consideration of his losses. he received eighteen-hundred pounds in addi- tion to a pension of eight-hundred pounds per annum. He died November 17, 113, aged eighty-two.

Chancellors of New Jersey during and after the Revolution .- WILLIAM LIVINGSTON was the first Governor and chancellor under the Constitution of 1776. and continued to hold the office until the time of his death, July 25, 1790. He was a lawyer, a man of learning, and withal a poet. In the first Congress of 1774 he took an active and prominent.part, and was also delegate to the convention which formed the Constitution of the United States.

WILLIAM PATERSON was elected Governor and chancellor on the death of Mr. Livingston, in 1790, and resigned his seat as a Senator in Congress to ac- cept the appointment. . At the end of the first year he was re-elected. In November, 1792, he was ap- pointed by the Legislature to collect in a proper form all the statutes of England which before the Revolution were in force, and which, by the Consti- tution, extended to this State. In 1793, Governor Paterson was nominated by President Washington a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. an office which he held the remainder of his life. Ile died September 9. 1806.

RICHARD HOWELL was chosen Governor by the Legislature in 1793, and was re-elected from year to year until 1801. On leaving the gubernatorial chair he resumed the practice of law in Trenton, where he died May 5, 1803.

JOSEPH BLOOMFIELD was elected Governor and chancellor in 1501, and, with the exception of the year 1802, remained in that office until 1812. Soon after his admission to the bar, he received a commis- sion in the army, and served until 1778, when he resigned, and was appointed clerk of the General Assembly. In 1783 he was made Attorney-General of the State. During the war of 1812 he was ap- pointed a brigadier-general by President Madison for the invasion of Canada. In 1816 he was elected a member of Congress, and remained in that body until 1821. He died September 17, 1826.

had been an officer in the Continental army, and on several occasions had distinguished himself for his gallantry. In 1783, at the age of twenty-seven, he began the study of law, and in September, 1784, was admitted to the bar. In 1801 he was elected United States Senator to fill a vacancy in that body. Al- though a prosperous man during most of his life, he became very poor in his old age, by reason of an enterprise which brought him into lengthy and expensive lawsuits, in all of which he suffered defeat. and ended finally in his arrest and imprisonment for debt. He died April 19, 1839, at the age of eighty - three.

WILLIAM S. PENNINGTON, Governor and chancel- lor during the years 1\13 and 1×14, was born in Newark, Essex Co., N. J. Ile was the great-grand- son of Ephraim Pennington, one of the original settlers of Newark from New Haven, Conn. In his early youth he is said to have been appren- ticed to his mother's brother, Mr. Sandford, after whom he was named, and from whom it was expected that he would receive some property. On the break- ing out of the Revolutionary war young Penning- ton, though but a lad, desired to enter the Continental army, but his uncle, who was a loyalist, objected, and threatened to change the will made in his favor if he did. Theyoung man, however, persisted, and, the indentures being cancelled, he joined the Revolu- tionists.

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History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. I, Part 67

Author: Shaw, William H Publication date: 1884 Publisher: [United States :] Number of Pages: 840

Author: Shaw, William H
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: [United States :]
Number of Pages: 840