USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume I > Part 27
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In 1866, James E. Berry commenced the publication of the weekly "Woodbridge Gazette," and continued it for about two years, at the end of which time he engaged in mercantile business in New York, and dis- continued the publication. In the spring of 1876, Colonel Alfred W. Jones, of Virginia, who had formerly been interested with Henry Farmer in the publication of the "Middlesex County Democrat," at Perth Amboy, established the weekly "Independent Hour" at Woodbridge, and con- tinued its publication until 1879, when he removed to Virginia, and Peter K. Edgar, who had been the local editor, purchased the paper and published it until 1900, when he disposed of the property and the plant was removed to Gloucester county.
Henry B. Rollinson, of the "Rahway Advocate," commenced the publication of the "Woodbridge Register" in 1896, which was finally merged in the "Woodbridge Leader," a weekly, owned by a syndicate, and which is still published. Maxwell W. Logan, who had been oper- ating a printing office for several years, issued the "Weekly Independent" in 1919, and is still publishing it in connection with "The Mosquito," which he purchased from H. E. Pickersgill, of Perth Amboy.
The first newspaper published in New Brunswick, of which there is any record, was the "Political Intelligencer and New Jersey Adver- tiser," edited by Shepard Kollock, of Delaware, in 1783. In 1779, Kol-
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lock, a lieutenant in Colonel John Lamb's artillery regiment, of the Revolutionary army, started the "New Jersey Journal" at Chatham, Morris county. Like many of his successors, Kollock had much trouble in collecting from his subscribers, and offered to take in payment any- thing from firewood to needles, and fresh country produce of every description. He carried on a general store at Chatham, selling tea and negro boys and girls, Bibles and rum, calicoes and hoes, "chocolat" and turnips. At the close of the war in 1783, he removed to New Brunswick, where until 1785 he published the above-mentioned paper in one of the buildings belonging to Queen's (now Rutgers) College. He died in Elizabeth in 1839, aged eighty-eight, after having acceptably filled many offices of profit and trust in Union county. The paper was succeeded in 1792 by "The Guardian and New Brunswick Advertiser," published by Abraham Blauvelt, of Tappan, New York, and circulated for many years in Middlesex, Somerset and Monmouth counties.
The "New Brunswick Fredonian" was established April 10, 1811, by James and David F. Randolph, brothers, of Piscataway township. They were experienced printers, having served an apprenticeship in the office of the "Alexandria (Virginia) Gazette." They were active in all social, religious and political movements in the city, county and State. From 1828 to 1832 James was a member of Congress and was the father of Governor and United States Senator Theodore F. Randolph. In 1854, John F. Babcock, of New York, who had been foreman of the paper for two years, purchased the plant and added a daily edition. Mr. Babcock was probably the most aggressive and influential editor the county has ever known. A forcible and interesting writer, absolutely fearless and progressive, his editorials always commanded respect and caused comment, and were of the greatest value to his party. From the first he became a prominent leader of the Republican party, was for years secretary of the State Senate, and was one of the founders and successively secretary and president of the State Editorial Association. He disposed of the paper in 1886 to a syndicate, who renamed it "The Press." After retiring from the editorship of "The Fredonian," Mr. Babcock was for several years manager and instructor in the printing office connected with the State School for Boys at Jamesburg.
The "New Brunswick Times and General Advertiser" was estab- lished June 1, 1815, by Deare & Myer, and a number of years later pur- chased by Albert Speer, a prominent Democrat, and conducted by him until his death in 1869. For a brief period, subsequent to 1846, he advo- cated the Free-Soil principles, which induced Alphonso E. Gordon, of Philadelphia, to start the "New Jersey Union" as a regular Democratic organ in 1847, and the "Daily News" in 1851. In 1855, Mr. Speer returned to the Democratic fold, and Mr. Gordon sold him his daily and weekly and removed to Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1871 Mr. Gordon
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purchased "The Times" and published it until 1890, when it passed into the hands of a syndicate composed of Millard F. Ross, Judge J. Kearney Rice, William H. Price, Oliver Kelly, W. Parker Runyon and Edwin W. Furman.
In 1880, Hugh Boyd, a native of Bangor, Ireland, who for a number of years was a compositor, reporter and city editor of "The Times," purchased from Albert L. Blue and Joseph Fischer, the "Home News," which had been established by them a few months before. Mr. Boyd's success was rapid, and has been continuous. A man of untiring energy and a born journalist, he soon built up a flourishing printing business in addition to the increased circulation of his daily and weekly papers. He now publishes the daily and weekly "Home News," and the daily (on Sundays) "Times." He also acquired the plants of both "The Free- donian" and "Times." His career is a bright example to all ambitious editors and printers.
Other publications which had an ephemeral existence in New Bruns- wick were, with their editors and publishers, as follows: "The Mail," William H. Fiske; "The Mosquito," J. Morgan Macom; "Catholic Rec- ord," E. J. McMurtry and Eugene A. Morris; "Watkin's Weekly," Charles A. Banks ; and the "Jeffersonian Magazine."
The "Perth Amboy Times" was published in 1858-59 by Augustus Watters, of Newark, a poet of considerable reputation, who is still living. This was antedated by "The Mirror," which existed for about one year. In 1868 Colonel Alfred W. Jones and Henry Farmer, of Orange, founded the "Middlesex County Democrat," which, after several changes, passed about 1884 into the control of St. George Kempson, who also in 1892 began the publication of the "Middlesex County Herald," the first daily published in the city.
In 1879, James L. and William H. Tooker, of Port Jefferson, New York, issued the first number of the "Perth Amboy Republican," and published it for many years until it passed into the control of Misses Louise and Georgia Boynton, of Sewaren, and eventually was disposed of to the present owners, Messrs. Runyon, Olmstead and Clevenger, who changed the name to the "Evening News," and have recently erected a large and handsome brick building on the corner of Madison avenue and Jefferson street. Cortlandt L. Parker published "The Gazette," and Wilbur La Roe and the late James L. Wight "The Chronicle," both weeklies, for several years. Recorder H. E. Pickersgill, among his multi- farious duties, still finds time to publish "The Jersey Mosquito."
George W. Burroughs began the publication of the "Cranbury Press" in 1885. He has had much newspaper experience, and for several years managed the "New Brunswick Fredonian." He publishes a neat and interesting weekly, and has established a good printing business.
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J. Fraser Kempson, a brother of St. George, published the "Metuchen Inquirer" for a number of years, and was succeeded by "The Recorder," still published by Charles A. Prickitt.
Other journals published in the county are: The "Roosevelt News," Thomas Yorke ; the "South Amboy Citizen," M. N. Roll, and the "Dunel- len Call," Publishing Company.
In preparing this brief sketch of "The Fourth Estate" in Middlesex county, much of the data has been very difficult, and in some cases almost impossible, to obtain, and we are much indebted in this regard to Recorder H. E. Pickersgill and Mr. James L. Tooker, of Perth Amboy, and Mr. John P. Wall, and Librarians Osborne and Graham, of the Rut- gers College Library, New Brunswick. P. K. E.
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COURT HOUSE, NEW BRUNSWICK. Showing the "Maine" Monument.
MAASONIC TEMPLE, NEW BRUNSWICK
SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS MONUMENT, NEW BRUNSWICK
CHAPTER XXII. THE BENCH AND BAR.
Lawyers were in regular practice in this county at an earlier period than in any other county in East Jersey, except Bergen. This may be due to the fact that Perth Amboy, being intended as the capital of the county, drew thither soon after its founding many men who had studied law and politics in the schools of England and Scotland.
The first records of counselors being called in the county courts was at the General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, held in Perth Amboy in September, 1708, when the names of Francis Sites, John Lofton and Corse Froam, "counselors," were called. Thomas Gordon, of Pitlurg, Scotland, who came to Perth Amboy with the first settlers in 1684, was Chief Justice of the Province in 1709, Attorney-General in 1719, and became a very prominent and useful citizen. In 1692 he was made Judge of Probate, and in 1694 an officer of the customs, Perth Amboy having been made a port of entry. He was the representative of the county in the General Assembly from 1703 to 1709, and a portion of the time speaker of the House. From 1710 to 1719 he was Receiver-General and Treasurer of the Province.
Thomas Farmer came to Perth Amboy from Staten Island in 1711, and was made Chief Justice in 1728. Philip Kearny, born in Monmouth county, settled in Perth Amboy in 1716, and was made secretary of the Province, clerk of the Assembly and of the Court of Common Pleas in 1720. He practiced law in this and other counties for thirty-four years. Cortlandt Skinner, of Perth Amboy, practiced in this and other counties from 1742 until he left the country at the commencement of the Revolu- tion. He was Attorney-General of the Province and speaker of the General Assembly under the Crown, which position he continued to occupy until 1775. He was a strong loyalist; but disapproved of the arbitrary measures of the British ministry toward the Colonies, as calculated to force them into an effort to secure their independence. In consequence of a letter written to his brother in January, 1776, the latter being an officer in the British army, the Continental Congress ordered that he be arrested and kept in safe custody. He had, however, taken refuge on an English man-of-war, and after the war went to Eng- land, where he remained until the end of his life.
The first county court was held in Piscataway, June 19, 1683, by act of the General Assembly, and by virtue of a commission published under the seal of the Province and signed, by order of the Council, by Governor Thomas Rudyard, dated March 28, 1683, the officers being as follows: Samuel Dennis, president, or judge; assistants-Edward Slater, James
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Giles, Captain John Bishop, Samuel Hall and Benjamin Hull. John Pike, Jr., of Woodbridge, was made clerk, and Geoffrey Manning, mar- shal, or crier. A single case was tried at the session, in which Slater, one of the assistant judges, acted as bail for the defendant. We wonder what our lawyers would say now if one of our judges should attempt to follow the example of his predecessor in 1683.
The second court was held at Woodbridge on September 18 of the same year ; and thereafter it continued to be held alternately at Piscata- way and Woodbridge until June 28, 1688, when it is recorded to have been held for the first time at Perth Amboy. From that time until 1699 the courts were held alternately at the three above-mentioned places.
There is a break in the records from 1699 till 1708, when it appears that a "Court of Sessions for the County Middlesex and Somerset" was held at Perth Amboy. For a long time after this date, courts were held at Perth Amboy only, and the now separate counties were always named conjointly in the record as one county, as in the above instance. The above record is taken from a venerable parchment-bound manu- script in the county clerk's office, containing the minutes of the county court from its first session, June 19, 1683, to February 22, 1720. It is in the original handwriting of the several county clerks-John Pike, Edward Slater and others. The last eleven pages of the book is an original record of the acts of the road commissioners appointed by the General Assembly in 1704, and comprises a period from June 14, 1705, to July 13, 1713.
New Brunswick is first mentioned in the records of our county courts April 7, 1724, when two surveyors of roads and two constables were appointed for it. Courts of Common Pleas for the county were first held in New Brunswick in January, 1778, and a courthouse is first mentioned in connection with the city on July 2, 1778, when "the Bar- racks," on George street, near Paterson, where the soldiers of the Revolution were quartered, were granted by the Legislature, to be used until a suitable building could be erected. Prior to this, and as early as May 21, 1717, there was a courthouse and jail at Perth Amboy. In 1794 the Barracks were burned, and the "Union," or Old City Hall, was built and used as a courthouse until about 1840, when the present build- ing was erected at a cost of about $30,000, with money obtained from the State.
Lewis Morris, whose name appears as a lawyer at the county bar in 1742, was at that time Governor of the Province and resided in the gubernatorial mansion at Perth Amboy. He was an eminent jurist, and the first Governor appointed who was a native of the Province, and was very popular with the people. He was also the first Governor who was not also Governor of New York. In 1738 a royal commission arrived from England for him as Governor of New Jersey, separate from New York; he served until his death in 1746.
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Richard Stockton, of Princeton, then a part of this county, was a judge of the Supreme Court before the Revolution, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was the ancestor of the famous family of that name in the State. Robert Hunter Morris was Chief Justice from 1738 until his death in 1764. His son Robert also resided in New Brunswick, and was the first Chief Justice under the Constitution, having been elected by the joint meeting of the Legislature in 1777. In 1790 President Washington appointed him judge of the United States District Court for New Jersey, a position he occupied until his death in 1815.
Governor Joseph Bloomfield was born at Woodbridge, in 1755, read law with Cortlandt Skinner, and was admitted to the bar in 1776. In 1783 he was elected by the joint meeting Attorney-General, in 1801 was elected Governor and for eight years thereafter reelected without oppo- sition. He was also a gallant soldier in the Revolution.
Andrew Kirkpatrick was born in Somerset county, in 1756, but spent the greater part of his life in New Brunswick. He studied law with Governor William Paterson, and was admitted in 1785. In 1803 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and served for twenty-seven years, a longer period than any other judge except Isaac Smith. James S. Nevius was born in Somerset county, but practiced his profession in New Brunswick. He served as a justice of the Supreme Court for fourteen years, and at the end of his second term removed to Jersey City, where he died in 1859. George Wood was born in Bur- lington county, read law with Judge Stockton, was admitted in 1812, and commenced to practice in New Brunswick. He was probably one of the ablest lawyers at the bar ; but his reputation is not confined to this county and State. He removed to New York after a few years, and was considered the equal of the best practitioners of the metropolis. Joseph Warren Scott, son of Dr. Moses Scott, of New Brunswick, was born in 1779. He was a profound student of the law and an eloquent advocate. He served in the war of 1812, and retired with a colonel's commission. From 1844 until his death in 1871, he was president of the New Jersey Society of the Cincinnati.
George P. Molleson was born in New Brunswick in 1805, and was prosecutor for one year, and Attorney-General from 1841-44.
Cortlandt Parker, son of James Parker, was born in Perth Amboy, in 1818. He graduated at Rutgers College in 1836, read law with Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen, and was admitted to the bar in 1839. He began practice in Newark, being associated with Joseph P. Bradley, afterward justice of the United States Supreme Court, and Frederick F. Frelinghuysen, later United States Senator and Secretary of State. In 1857 Governor Newell appointed him prosecutor for Essex county, a position he filled for ten years, and was the only public office he ever accepted. He was generally acknowledged for many years to be the
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head, and at his death was the oldest and most distinguished active representative of the New Jersey bar. He declined nominations to Congress, a judgeship in a court to adjust the Alabama Claims, and the ambassadorships to Russia and Austria. In connection with Chief Justice Beasley and Judge Depue of the Supreme Court, he revised the laws of the State. He received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Princeton University and Rutgers College, and was president of the American Bar Association for several years. He was a prominent mem- ber of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and was one of their most trusted and active legal advisers. His sons are : Major-General James Parker, of the United States army ; Congressman R. Wayne Parker; Supreme Court Justice Charles W. Parker ; Chauncey and Cortlandt Parker.
William H. Leupp was born in this county, and admitted to the bar in 1827. He distinguished himself as an able advocate and lawyer, and died after a successful career of nearly a half century. Henry V. Speer was born in New Brunswick, graduated from Rutgers College, was admitted to the bar in 1834, and up to the time of his death, in 1869, was an active and brilliant advocate. He was Senator from 1856-58. Joseph F. Randolph was admitted to the bar in 1825, and made a justice of the Supreme Court in 1845. At the expiration of his term he returned to New Brunswick and formed a partnership with ex-Mayor McDowell. He died in Jersey City, in 1870.
The first trial held in the present courthouse was that of the State vs. Peter Robinson for the murder of Abraham Suydam, president of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of New Brunswick. John Van Dyke was the prosecutor, assisted by Attorney-General Molleson, a brilliant orator. Van Dyke was an eloquent and able advocate, especially in presenting a case before a jury. He was the law partner of A. V. Schenck for eight years, removed to Trenton in 1855, and later was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court. David Graham, the celebrated criminal lawyer of New York, was counsel for the defense, and moved to quash the indictment on the ground that it did not specify the degree of murder, and cited a number of cases in the courts of the Southern States. Chief Justice Hornblower overruled the motion, remarking that he did not think it necessary to go south of Mason and Dixon's line to ascertain the law to settle the degrees of murder in New Jersey.
William B. Paterson, grandson of ex-Governor Paterson, was admitted to the bar in 1806, was a member of the Constitutional Con- vention of 1844, and the father of the late William Paterson, of Perth Amboy. His son William was born in Perth Amboy in 1817, graduated from Princeton, and admitted to the bar in 1838. Between 1845 and 1878 he was mayor of Perth Amboy for twelve years. In 1882 he was a judge of the Court of Errors and Appeals and served from 1883-89. He published a number of works, among which were "Poems of Twin-
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Graduates of Princeton," which were deservedly popular. John C. Elmendorf was born near Somerville in 1814. He read law with Judge Nevius, and in 1839 removed to New Brunswick, where he resided for the remainder of his life. He was prosecutor for fifteen years, after which he became a register in bankruptcy. Robert and Garnett B. Adrain were sons of Professor Robert Adrain, a distinguished scholar and mathematician, who came from Ireland in 1798 and was connected successively with Columbia and Rutgers colleges. Robert was a suc- cessful lawyer, and served a term as surrogate. Garnett read law with his brother, was admitted to the bar in 1836, and became eminently successful both as an advocate and counselor. He was recognized by the bar as a legal light of the highest order, and a forcible, ready, witty and eloquent speaker who had few equals in the State. He was a member of Congress from 1857-61.
Abraham V. Schenck was born in New Brunswick, in 1821, read law with Henry V. Speer, was admitted to the bar in 1843 and took part in many of the most important causes in the county. He had the distinc- tion, in the case of the State vs. Hart Moore, county collector, of obtain- ing a favorable decision from the Court of Errors, reversing the action of the lower courts. In this case the question arose whether the act of the Legislature which extended the time of the prosecution of public officers in the State from two to five years was an ex post facto law. Mr. Schenck maintained that it was, and that it impaired the defendant's vested rights under the Constitution. Supreme Court Justice Scudder overruled him, and he carried the judgment of conviction, by writ of error, to the Supreme Court, where Chief Justice Beasley affirmed the judg- ment of the court below ; but the Court of Errors and Appeals reversed the judgments of the lower courts, and fully sustained Mr. Schenck. This was one of the most important decisions in the State, and attracted the attention of the leading journals of the country. The "Central Law Journal," July 29, 1881, declared that Mr. Schenck's argument before the Court of Errors was the ablest ever made in that court. He was prosecutor of the pleas from 1871 to 1877, and during that time not a single indictment was quashed, nor one of his convictions reversed, or carried to a higher court for review.
Woodbridge Strong was born in Clinton, New York, and came to New Brunswick when quite young. He graduated from Rutgers College, read law with John Van Dyke, and practiced his profession in the city during his entire life, except during 1849-1850, when he was in the West, and from 1874-1879 and 1896-1905, when he was law judge. He was an excellent lawyer, and made a very acceptable judge. A genial and cultured gentleman, he was deservedly popular with the profession and with the people. His sons, Alan H. and Theodore, became lawyers, and were partners until the former was made general counsel for the
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Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and removed to Philadelphia. Theo- dore remained in New Brunswick and succeeded his brother as local counsel to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He was Senator from 1901-3.
George Craig Ludlow, Governor from 1881-84, was born in Milford, Hunterdon county, in 1830. At the age of five years his parents removed to New Brunswick, where he resided until his death. He read law with William H. Leupp, and was a careful, able lawyer, and enjoyed a lucrative practice. He was Senator from 1877-79, and president in 1878. He was a Supreme Court justice from 1895-1901. James M. Chapman was born in Perth Amboy in 1822 and read law with Judge Elias Ogden. He practiced principally in New York. He was mayor of Perth Amboy in 1869-70. Willard T. Voorhees was born in New Bruns- wick in 1851, read law with Judge Strong, and had a large practice until appointed Supreme Court Justice in 1908; he died in office in 1914. Captain James Parker, a nephew of Cortlandt Parker, was born in Newark, Ohio, and graduated at the United States Naval Academy in 1852, but resigned, studied law, and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1857. In 1861 he rejoined the navy, served throughout the Civil War, and retired with the rank of lieutenant-commander. In 1891 he became a member of the county bar, made his residence in Perth Amboy, and practiced during the remainder of his life. John W. Beekman was born in Somerset county in 1846, and admitted to the bar in 1875. He was city attorney of Perth Amboy from 1877-95 and made District Court judge in 1909. He was an Assemblyman from 1891-93, and appointed United States District Attorney for New Jersey in 1894, and resigned in 1896. James H. Van Cleef was born in Somerset county in 1841, and admitted to the bar in 1867. He was for several years counsel to the Board of Freeholders, and corporation attorney for New Brunswick. From 1898-1900 he was Senator, and for several terms mayor of the city.
Charles T. Cowenhoven was born in New Brunswick, read law with A. V. Schenck, and was admitted to the bar in 1865. He was the first law judge of the Common Pleas, and was appointed in 1869 and again in 1885. His successors have been Woodbridge Strong, Andrew Cogs- well, J. Kearny Rice, Theodore B. Booraem, Adrian Lyon and Peter F. Daly. The records previous to 1862, as to the prosecutors, have been kept in such manner that it is difficult to obtain accurate information. John C. Elmendorf served from 1847 to 1857; George A. Vroom, 1857-62; and Elmendorf, 1862-67. Since then the appointees have been Charles B. Herbert, Abraham V. Schenck, C. T. Cowenhoven, J. Kearny Rice, Robert Adrain, John S. Voorhees, George Berdine, Theodore B. Boo- raem, George S. Silzer, William E. Florence and Joseph E. Stricker.
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