History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. II, Part 2

Author: Shaw, William H
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: [United States :]
Number of Pages: 830

USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. II > Part 2
USA > New Jersey > Essex County > History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. II > Part 2

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The following is the list of tor pastors since that time: J 1 .. Coyne, J. Faul, Henry Hurd, W. H. Dick- erson, J. II. Vincent. R. S. AArndt. S. Oleutt. W. (. Nelson, J. C. Brown, E. Clement, I. H. Landon, C. R. Barnes, J. Scarlet, G. T. Jackson, A. II. Brown, Jacob P. Ford, Anos H. Bellis, Gilbert H. Winans and T. Il. Jacobus, -.

The church property consists of between five and six neres of ground, upon which is a c metery, a par- sonage an la tenement house, thetotal valueof which is estimatel at ten thousand dollars. In 15-3 several improvement- were made in the interior of the church. The seating capacity . three hundred and fifty.

The officers of the church in October, fast were: Trustee, John M. Risby, Anthony S. Brown, Joseph A Pollock, T. & Brown, Cornelius Mandeville, Augus tus W. Pingree, William Lambert ; Stewards, A. W. Pingrec, T. S. Brown, John C. Cronham, Moses .A.

Civil Organization .- The pioneer election for township officers for Franklin township was held Apri 14, 1874, at which time the following officer- were elected : Township Committee, C. F. Underhill, Iliram Van Winkle, Jacob Kierstead, William E. Smith and Henry B. Duncan ; Town Clerk. Theodore Mallaby; Assessor, S. Dailey, M.D. ; Collector, James H. Osborn ; Overseer of the Poor, Abraham Tuers ; Chosen Frecholders, Silas C. Hav and Alexander Phillips; Justices of the Peace, Alexander Phillips and Henry B. Duncan; Constable, John S. Van Riper.

The following is a complete hst of the township committee, town clerks, assessors, collectors, over- socis of the poor, chosen freehollers, justices of the peace and constables from 1875 to and including 1884.

TOWNSHIP . MSITTER.

1876-"7. Cresu Entwistle, 1. P. Duncan, William J. Juyer. James W. Sarg wasnt. Will on B. stunt!

1878, Joseph Kingsland, I. B. Duncan, Henry Van Winkle, J W. Sar- geant, William II. Whit' rd

1859, J. W Sargeint, H. B Duncan, Robot Day, St, William B st ly. J .bn Litus".

Is J. W Sergeant, William B. Stanley, F hn Latuse. Le ud Rusty,

is>1, 1. war Toy, Martin Gripel, Willian) H Cmman, I B Pun- van, William B. stanley

. H. R Dan an, L. G. Hampton William H. Boardman, Witham H

ist. B. B. Iran al. William H. Ba dan Thonat . Brown, h. G. J'ait, tre ge li. Stager

Is5%. Henry (,, Pr ut. William HI R Inan, William J. Joyce, Thomas %, Brown, William II : D'0 1.

TOWN TERK4.

Jobr S. Van Riper, 19"+ "0.

R' leri W. P . - 81- 2

Robert Gnthi rion. 1x;9-M. John P. Van Winkle, 1x41. An zi 1 wyman 1 _ - 84.

TEF 015

& mel Hopper, OST4, 1x53-84. Henry A. ( nu) 18°182.

At nham Ther, 1 "1-82.

simon Thers, 18 -1->4

AV FREPH. DDERS.

- Dailey and SADARel Hallis, 12".

Nothing Dailey and Charles F. ( morbill, 1x"C +4.

147-96, John > Vat Riper, Rote rt Diy. Jr

IMT. J . . . Van Riper, Wiliam II. stager, John Jakes.

1 . William If Stan t. James Jordan 19 John S Van Riper, Robert Pas, Jr.

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.

IAM, John S. Van Riger, Abrabant Paxton Jarl, Allahum Past o, Fred . ich W. KirIn' Jak2, Witam Patton Heury Kulm 1853, Wil u 11 Banta, Man us Paulien, Homy hnalw. 1824, Aitr an Vreeland Hlenry bouler,

1876, Abraham W Van Riper

18h., A Hays, James M Pet.

COMMISSIONE OF ANETAL.

1xx .I. P. Van Winkle Il Van Winkle Warre : \ . Land. 18% , H. Van Winkle, Warren Vr and, Je hu R My

Post-Offices .- The mail facilities of Franklin date back to about 1440, prior to which time the inhabitants had to go to Belleville for the transaction of postal busines, From 1855 to 1969 a mail- our was carried from Newark to Belle ville and Franklin by James Ackerman, who made the journey once a day. The North Belleville mail was left at Il Van Winkle's are, which stood on the northwest corner of River and Quarry roads, on the sitent the store now kept by George Ward, and leviers were distrib- uted from thence. The first regularly appointed post- master at Avondale was Silas Condit, who succeeded to Van Winkle's store. In March, 1876, Mexander Phillips was . pointed postmaster, and the office was removed to his store, on the opposite corner. In January, 1883, John H. White received his appoint- mient, and the office was removed from Phillips' store to the Avondale Railroad Station, wher Mr. White performs the triple functions of postmaster. station agent and telegraph operator

The first post-office in Franklin village was located on Bridge Street, in the building now occupiel a- a residence by t'ol. L. H. Rowan, and designated of Inte as "Ilawthorn Cottage." William and Satterthwaite has hal j lans prepared for still greater Sebastian Duncan were the earliest postmasters. About 1864 the office was removed to Poimer's store, on Passaic Avenne, where it remained until 1881, when Leonard Rushy was appointed postmaster, and removed the office to his store, on Franklin Avenne, opposite William Street.

Hotels. The first hotel in the township was the old Franklin House, opened about 1850 by Richard Booth, in the place now known as Military Hall, corner of William and Ehn Streety. Mr. Booth died in 1871, and his widow continued the hotel business until her death in 1878, when it was leased by Mr. John Dooley of Newark. He conducted the house successfully until the expiration of his lease, in April, 1883, when he retired from the business, but in the fall of that your took the oldl Van Cortlandt mansion, in Belleville, where he now resides, Mr. Frederick Carlisle, the present proprietor of the Franklin House, succeeded Mr. Dooley in the fall of 1883.

A new hotel building was created by Michael Gorman in the winter of 1583, on the corner of Wash- ington and tirant Avenues, and is now kept by him, affording the necessary accommodations.

Turner's and Schwing's hotels are in the quarry region, near the North Belleville Fri lge.

Railroad Stations .- There are three railroad sta- uons within the township limits, viz. : Avondale, Stitt's and Franklin. When the road was cony leted. in Ists, there was but one depot, which stood on the she of the present one at Stitt's. This was destroyed by fire, and replaced by a neat stene building, for the construction of which the commuters, in connection with one or two public-spirited citizens of the place, subscribed the necessary mio mint of doomnes, and how bear a large share of the cost of maintaining the station.

Highways .- The river road and the old road to Newark, which passes Iv School-House No 4 and the Methodist Episcopal Church, and so on toward the Belleville reservoir, are the two original roads laid out by the first settler of the county. The road to Blomfield is also an old road, dating from the early part of the eighteenth century. Many new streets have been opened within a period of twenty years. by which much valuable property has been rule available for building purposes. Among these In provements may be briefly mentioned the extern of Washington Avenue by the county road board to the P: saiet' inty line, for any a hom ifutdrive af four miles in a dire t Mo from Mount Pleasant Com- tery, Newark, and macallumized as far as Avond le. Crossing this av nue and running east and we, have been opened on the Satterthwaite estat firent Avenue and Nutley Avenue, from the Passei River to l'assaie Avenue ; Highfield Latte, froer Washino Avenue to Passaic Avenue: Chestnet Avenue fico Passaic to Whitterl Avenue ; and Whitford Wvebue, from Grant Avenue to Stitt's station. Mr J. Li her improvements on the same tract of land, which w !! open beautiful sites for elegant residences. Walunt Street, formerly Jerolamon's Lane, was opened from Nutley Avenue to Quarry Road by Mr. George R. Ilill. who has built several valuable cottages alon . it. line. The street has been legally exten led southerly lo Washington Avenue along the east side of the rail- road, but has not yet been opened to the public travel.

An appropriation of fifteen hundred dollars was made in the spring of 1884 for the purpose of maca- damizing Quarry Street from the school-house to Washington Avenue and a contract was made 10 October 1th of that year for the carrying out of this improvement.

Prominent Residences .- The handsome residences of Messrs. John W. Stitt, William HI. Whitford arod William H. Boardman are on the south side of Grant Avenue, on the crest of the hill On lhighfield Lane, from where is obtained an extensive view, reaching across the Bergen Hills, and taking in both marg . . the Passaic River from Patern \ Niwars, and on the northwest embracing the lovely rural scenery

684

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

across the valley of the Yantacaw to the Orange Mountain range, are the residences of the Rev. W R. Nairn and of L. G. Hopkins, Esqq. On Nutley Avenne are two quaint cottages of the okl English style, in one of which Col. H. G. Prout resides. Mr. George R. Hill owns a pretty cottage on the northeast corner of Washington an 1 Grant Avenues. Henry B. Duncan has a large house, with fine surroundings, fronting on Elm Street, and near the Essex Mills. L. W. Duncan has a nice property and capacious house on the north side of Franklin Avenue, near Mill Street.

The " Enclosure " is a private park of eight or ten acres in extent, lying west of Passaic Avenue and bounded by the Yantacaw River on the west and Vreeland Avenue on the north. Within it are the residences of James MI. Wheeler, James R. Hay, George W. Symonds, Miss Storey and George H. Whipple, the latter being an old stone house believed to be of ante-Revolutionary date.

Bridges .- The county maintains several bridges in this township: of which the following are the prin- cipal ones :

A wooden bridge over Third River, on Franklin Avenue, built in 1872; repaired and iron beams laid in 1883.

Iron bridge on the old road to Newark, built in 1871, to replace an old wooden one.

A new wooden bridge across Third River, on a new avenue from Franklin Avenue to the old road, intended ultimately to be laid through to Washington Ave- nue. This bridge was completed in 1883, and cost the county four thousand five hundred dollars includ- ing the approaches.

An iron bridge on Bridge Street, near Stewart's mill, the principal approach to the village of Frank- lin. built in 1870.

A stone arched bridge on Vreeland Avenne, near the obl mill site, and another over the race-way.

A wooden bridge on Passaie Avenue, near the estate of Abraham Stager, rebuilt in 1×83.

An arched bridge over the stream at the old mill- pond, foot of Povershon Hill.

The North Belleville bridge, crossing the Passaic, is spoken of in the chapter devoted to roads and bridges in Essex County

Estates and Families .- Reference has been made in this chapter to a vicinity called " Povershon Hill." By this name it is generally known by the present residents of the township, although numerous in- quiries by the writer failed to clicit from old inhabi- tants any information as to the origin of the name, many believing it to be derived from the Indians. Ultimately he received from a gentleman who spent his boyhood in the vicinity the following version of a story, which indicates rather plainly that the word is a corruption from the French language. About three- quarters of a century ago a Frenchman, whose name has dropped from his recollection, resided near the foot of the hill, and among his live stock was a favorite pig.

which he had tended with great care. One quiet Sun- day morning master piggy got astray from his domi- ciliary sty, and the Frenchman ran through the neighborhood making anxious inquiries for his missing porker, and vehemently exclaiming at frequent inter- vals, " O, mon pauvre cochon !" The risibilities of the natives were excited by the violent gesticulations and tearful cries of the unfortunate owner of the pig, and a corrupted form of the exclamation " O, mon pauvre cochon !" soon became popular in desiginating the neighborhood in which he lived.

The fine estate known as "Nutley" is situated north of Nutley Avenue, running from the banks of the Passaic River, where it has a breadth of about one- quarter of a mile, westerly to l'assaic Avenue, em- bracing an area of one hundred and forty-four aeres. It is owned by the heirs of the late Thomas W. Satter- thwaite, who purchased the property in April, 1844. The house is a square, roomy stone building, of three stories, surrounded by an extensive lawn, sloping down to the river-bank. It was built by Peter C'rary, a New York merchant, and at one time mayor of that city. He gave the property to his son-in-law, James Morris, one of the originators, and for a time presi- dent of the Paterson and Hudson River Railroad, now the main line of the Erie system in New Jersey. From him the estate was purchased by Mr. Satterthwaite, and has since remained in possession of the family, and is the home of Mrs. Satterthwaite, her son, J. Fisher, and Mrs. Condit and family.

A little north of the old homestead is another fine residence, in which the family of the late James S. Satterthwaite resides.

The great-grandfather of the present generation came from Lancashire, England, early in the eigh- teenth century, and settled in Charleston, S. C. sub- sequently he removed to New York, and engaged in mercantile business. A son, Thomas Wilkinson, born in that city, married Catherine Bache (died 1854), daughter of Theophylact Bache, one of the original members and an early president of the New York Chamber of Commerce. Her mother was a daughter of Andrew Barclay, after whom Barclay Street, New York, was named. Their son, Thomas Wilkinson Satterthwaite, was born in October, 1797; married, 1×37, Aun Fisher Sheafe, of Portsmouth, N. H., then living with her brother at No. 7 Broadway, New York, where the marriage was celebrated. He was widely known in the mercantile circles of New - York, and had been for many years prominently connected with the Board of Underwriters of that city. He died in 1879, his wife and five children surviving him.

James S. Satterthwaite was born in 1840; married, 1865, to Jeanie Lawrence Buckley, of Troy, N. Y., and later of Newark, and sister of Mrs. Robert Ruth- erturd, of Bergen County.

John Fisher, unmarried.

Thomas E .. a physician practicing and living in New York.

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.

Elizabeth Wentworth, married to Jolin S. Condit, who died in Ists, leaving two sons,- Wentworth >. andI John.

Farah F', married to Rev. W. R. Nairu, the rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Franklin.

James S. Satterthwaite died in August, 1864, and the obsequies were aser ad at " Jathey' on the 9th ot that month, where many sorrowing friends and a large concours of people paid their last respects to thor beloved friend and neighbor Services were conducted by Rev. -- Abbott, of t'hrist Church, Belleville, assisted by Rev. W. R. Nairn, of Grace Church, Franklin, after which the remains were interred at Belleville. The pall bearers were N 1. B. Jeffreys of East Hampton, IL. I., V. W. S. Catlen, Clayton Platt, Ferdinand Moatz (president of the Great Western Insurance Company), Theodore Bleecker (president of New York Mutual Insurance ('ompany ), Coombs (president of the Commer- cial Insurance Company), James Lawson ( fthe U'ni- versal Insurance Company of London), Joseph Kings- land, J. R. Kingsland, J. R. Hay, aud treorge II. Whipple.

John B. 1. Robison, late proprietor of the quar- ries known by his name, was a man of considera- ble prominence in Essex County. He died Oct. 6, 1ss4, at his residence, on Grant Avenue. Mr. Robison was born in Scotland, and came to this country with his parents when he was but four years of age. For several years he was engaged in the manufacture (f fertilizers in Newark, and was also manager of a chemical and phosphate manufacturing company in Brockville, Ontario, where he spent a large portion of his time. He once represented the Eighth Ward and Belleville district in the Legislature, and was the projector of the Newark ship canal and president of that company. Mr. Robison was fifty-three years of age at the time of his death. He left a wife and two daughters.

The Medical Profession of Franklin .- The only permanent physician the township has ever had is Dr. Setfrine Dailey, who is a native of the western part of New York State. (See medical chapter in this work.)

as the fine gray stone, which is now being extensively quarried at Avondale. The cost of quarry ing great y increases with the distance below the natural surface, and few excavations lyeve been made in this state which exceed seventy-five feet in depth, akhough they are pushed further forward at angles with the dip of the rock, while millions of rubic fot of fine rock lie under the feet of the workmen

The earliest opening of which any positive Infor- mation can be obtained was on the property of John King, whose two sons came into the inheritance jointly, The estate then included all the land new or lately owned by Capt. Hanrox, Edwin Cadnu-, Dr Witham HI. Conover and Alexander Haya, and ran from the river-front back to the old road leading from Franklin village to Newark. On the death of their father the brothers, John anl Abra- han, divided the property between them, the onvision I'ne being a small brook which now forms the bound- ary between Belleville and Franklin. During the Revolutionary war Abraham King had a tannery and a shoe factory on the northern part of the property. and supplied shoes to Washington's army. Mr. Edwin Cadmus, whose wife is a grand-daughter of Abraham King, has a small house in the rear of his residence which is constructed entirely of material tak i from the old shoe factory. About the beginning of the present century the two brothers opened a quarry on the line of the brook above referred to and from it excavated the stone of which the principal walls of the city Hall in New York were built. Vor habı found the shoe business more remunerative than stone-quarrying, and relinquished the excavation of his side of the line, where, there is no doubt, a hit. quahty of brown stone lies awaiting capital ted velop it. John also tired of the quarrying business, and all that is now discernible of the original quarry is a deep ravine, overrun with brushwood and trees of over half a century's growth. Abraham H. King dieal about 1854, at the advanced age of ninety years. His brother preceded him to the grave The only Alving representative of the family 18 Mrs. Edwin Cadiuns. The old house was a substantial stone building, twenty-six feet square, with a frame addition on the south side. It has been the property of Dr William H. Conover, of Newark, for twenty-five years, and was occupied by him as a summer residence. One night in the early part of August, 1884, the okl land- mark was destroyed by fire, presumably by tramps, as the house had been closed for two or three weeks.

The Sandstone Quarries .- The largest industry in the township is that of quarrying and cutting stone, in the village of Avondale, of which it may be said it is a " village of derricks." Its quality and superior value as a building material has been appreciated for more than a century, and there is scarcely a square mile of territory throughout the whole region that is BELLEVILLE STONE COMPANY .- Deep in the bw hills, lying a few hundred met from the river, ar of ur of the most important stene quarries in the State. The newest is the property of the Belleville Some Com- pany, and was opened in Iss1. Since the time a very large quantity of superior gray ste ich been taken out and shipped to market. This quarry is sunk to a depth of about sixty feet, and a ledge of available or in the slightest degree promising upon which a prospecting hole or quarry has not been Munk. The building-stone from this region present- many shades of color, ranging from a rich reddish- brown, with well defined markings, to a flat gray of uniform color. The red, of which the court-house in Newark and many other buildings in the county are fair examples, is not so highly esteemed by builders | hard rock about ten feet thick is being rapidly cut out

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

and sent to the dock, which skirts the edge of the The stone is slightly darker than that which comes quarry. from the quarries near the river, and it is much more dense. The owners have built a good road running from their property to their new dock on the Passaic River, and have also erected a twenty-ton derrick to supplement the small one at the quarry.

The litting apparatus in each case is a large der- rick, upon which mens . compound wire-rope tackle is used, the rope passing through inclosed boxes to a pair of drums, which are attended by a boy and geared to a hoisting-engine. Obedient to the signals of the men at work almost an eighth of a mile away, the boy stops and starts his engine and moves the immense loads up the : brupt walls of the quarry.

A pump with an outlet of four inches serves to rid the quarry of water in a few hours each morning. The rock is cut to required dimensions on the spot and shipped by boat to its destination.

The officers of the Belleville Stone Company are Robert Ellin, president . Joseph Spurr, vice-president; William Kitson, secretary and treasurer. Mr. An- drew Barr is the superintendent of the work, and he has about seventy-five men employed.

THE PHILLIPS QUARRY .-- The Jerolamen property became divided among the young branches of the family, and Abraham came into possession of the por- tion lying south of the Quarry Road. He opened the quarry in Is10 and worked it until 1840. The stone of which Fort Lafayette, at the New York Narrows, is built was taken from this quarry and furnished by him It was subsequently worked by William H. Harris and a partner. In 1846-17 the property was purchased by Alexander Phillips, and has since been worked by him and his sons. They saw and cut their own stone, their yard being the only one in the district furnished with a steam saw for stone- cutting.

JOYCE QUARRY. - VIjoining Robison's quarry on the south is the more recent excavation of W. J. Joyce The work is going on in the same ledge of rock, and the formation at this point seems to peculiarly favor the getting out of long square stones, which are in William Duncan married Catherine, daughter of William and Mary Benson, of Belleville, and had two sons,-Livingston W .. born Aug. 4, 1828, in Bloomfick, N. J., and Henry B., whose birth occurred Jan. 15, 1640. Mr. Duncan, in 1835, in connection with his brothers and a partner, erected print-works at Frank- great demand. This quarry was opened about 1804 by the Passaic Quarry Company costing one hundred and thirty thousand dollars. The company worked it for a few years, when it went into the hands of William Joyce and John Wright The latter with- drew and the firm became William Joyce & Son. In |lin, N. J., and two years later started a woolen mill 1878 the elder Joyce retired, and his son, William J., . at the same point. In 1455 he built the mill which is has since worked the quarry.

HIOCHER BROTHERS' QUARRY. - A new quarry was opened near Stitt's Station in the fall of 1883. Messrs. Hocher & Brother of Newark, being of liged to abandon their quarry on Rider Street, in that city, owing to the refusal of a neighbor to sell his property, went to Avondale, and after prospecting considerably, bought a large piece of property west of Washington Avenue and north of Stitt's Sta- tion.

They broke ground immediately, and found chose to the surface a ledge of fine-grained sandstone, which they have since developed into a promising quarry.

Manufactures. - Next in importance to the st me industry is that of the woolen manufacture, which a few years ago was much more extensively engaged in than at present.

THE ESSEX WORKS, of which L. W. and Henry B. Duncan are the proprietors, were started in 1852 by William Duncan and his son. L. W. Duncan. A part of the extensive brick buildings occupied by the firm were erected in that year, and the remainder in 1864, at a cost of seventy-five thousand dollars. The ma- chinery consists of five sets of cards, sixteen hundred spindles and twenty-eight looms, all driven by steam- power, and giving employment to one hundred hands. The chief products of the works are fancy flannel goods and woolen blankets.

HENRY B. DUNCAN .- Henry Dunean, the grand- father of the subject of this biography, was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, and in the year 1:35 emigrated to the United States. lle was united in marriage to Mary Livingston, whose children were Lawrence, Isabella, Sebastian, William, Robert, John, Jane, Elizabeth, Magdalene and one who died in childhood. William, of this number, was born Jan, 25, 1804, in Dunfermline, and when a lad of ten years rerioved to Ramsbottom, England. In 1826 he emigrated to America, and settling at Belleville, engaged in the trade of block-printing at the Belleville Print-Works, which trade he had previously acquired at the Grant Print-Works, in England. At a later date he removed to Fall River, Mass,, and from there to Staten Island, where he accepted an engagement as foreman of the Staten Island Print-Works.

ar present operated by his sons in Franklin. ITis death occurred Jan. 22. 1877. His wife survives and reside- at Franklin. Henry B. Duncan received a substantial education in Franklin, and at the Seymour Classical Institute, in Bloomfield. He subsequently entered his father's mill, and on becoming familiar with the various departments of the business, was ad- mitted, at the age of twenty-two, to a partnership. In connection with his brother, he is now proprietor of the business. IFe was, in September, 1864, married to Annie M., daughter of Silas Young, of Sussex County, N. J., and hastwochildren, a daughter, -Millie Living- ston, and a son, William Livingston. Mr. Duncan has

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History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. II, Part 2

Author: Shaw, William H Publication date: 1884 Publisher: [United States :] Number of Pages: 830

Author: Shaw, William H
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: [United States :]
Number of Pages: 830