USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume II > Part 23
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large circle of friends who rally to support him on election day whenever he is a candidate.
New Brunswick is Mr. Jaques' native city, he having been born there March 20, 1857, and it is also the birthplace of his father and mother, Samuel and Abbie E. (Timmins) Jaques. Samuel Jaques in his early life was a ship carpenter by trade, but after a few years spent in that line of work he became a baker and continued as such for the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1887, at the age of fifty-six years. Mrs. Abbie E. (Timmins) Jaques lived in New Brunswick all her life and died there in 1917, aged eighty-five years. She was the mother of ten children, of whom only two are now living: John L., a resident of Riverside, New Jersey ; and William Clifford, of further mention.
Attending the public schools in the city of his birth until he reached the age of thirteen years, William C. Jaques then entered the furniture store of I. S. Manning & Son on Burnett street. Remaining there for three years, he left it to assist his father in the bakery business located at the corner of Hazard and John streets. After a few years Mr. Jaques gave this up and became a fireman on board a steamboat plying between New Brunswick and New York City. For a time he followed this occu- pation, but in 1887 engaged in the liquor business on Peace street, after- ward moving to Dennis street, and this he carried on until the govern- ment prohibited the sale of alcoholic drinks.
Always active in politics, Mr. Jaques was elected an alderman on the Democratic ticket from the Third Ward in New Brunswick, holding office for eight years. He was twice elected alderman-at-large, and was also a member of the State Assembly for the years 1890 and 1891. At another time Mr. Jaques was a member of the Board of Freeholders of Middlesex county for a year and a half. In 1886 he was appointed, for two years, chief of the city's fire department. In 1919 Mr. Jaques was elected to the position of commissioner of public safety, his term of office continuing until 1923. In fraternal circles, Mr. Jaques is as active as in political affairs; he is a member of Goodwill Council, American Mechanics; the Knights of Pythias; the Order of Golden Eagles, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, all of New Brunswick.
In New Brunswick, October 12, 1873, William Clifford Jaques was married to Charlotte L. Ryno, a native of that city. She was the daughter of John and Rachael (Labone) Ryno, both lifelong residents of New Brunswick; they are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Jaques had eight children, of whom only three are now living; they are as follows : I. Samuel, deceased. 2. John L., living in New Brunswick. 3. Harvey, deceased. 4. William C., deceased. 5. Milton R., a resident of New Brunswick. 6. Edna, deceased. 7. Sarah, deceased. 8. Florantine, the wife of C. N. Myer, of Middlesex county, New Jersey.
FOUNTAIN BURLEW .- Having enjoyed many advantages in the way of education and training, Dr. Fountain Burlew is well equipped for the profession he has taken up, that of dentistry ; his offices are very Mid -- 3
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conveniently located, being in the South Amboy Trust Company build- ing at No. 116 North Broadway.
Fountain Burlew was born in Cliffwood, New Jersey, a suburb of Matawan, on October 16, 1896, and lived there until nine years of age, when his parents, Herbert H. and Louise (Meinzer) Burlew, moved to Matawan. The elder Mr. Burlew is a native of Easton, Pennsylvania, but is now a resident of Freneau, New Jersey, another suburb of Mata- wan. He is engaged in the wholesale produce commission business in New York City. To Mr. and Mrs. Herbert H. Burlew four children were born: 1. Conover H., a dentist located at 168 Smith street, Perth Amboy, New Jersey. 2. Frederick, a lawyer of Matawan. 3. Fountain, of whom further. 4. Herbert, who died in infancy.
Attending the public schools of Matawan, Fountain Burlew graduated from the Matawan High School in 1913 and at once became a student at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, remaining there for three years (1913-1916), then entering the dental school of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in the class of 1919. Going to Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Burlew started in practice, but after one year spent there he came to South Amboy, and October 1, 1920, opened his office at the present location.
During the time that our country was engaged in the World War with Germany, Dr. Burlew enlisted and was assigned to the Medical Enlisted Reserve Corps. While attending college, Dr. Burlew became a member of one of the Greek letter fraternities there Xi Psi Phi. In the way of recreation his favorite pastime is driving an automobile. Dr. Burlew is connected with the Presbyterian church of Matawan, New Jersey.
WILLIAM CHARLES WILSON .- During the thirty years Mayor William C. Wilson has resided in Perth Amboy, he has played an im- portant part in the development of the city, and has not yet completed what he believes to be his civic duty. The advancement and growth of Perth Amboy, have always meant much to him, and among his plans for municipal improvements may be cited : A new railroad station, the abolition of grade crossings, development of the sewer system; water front development, including a new city dock and additional ferry lines connecting the city with Staten Island ; extension of the present munici- pal lighting system, erection of a city ice plant, and development of social features as to tend to develop public spirit and increase interest in the city of Perth Amboy. This would include concerts in parks during the summer months; provision for skating and other sports during the winter ; beautifying the city by planting shade trees, and continuing the development of park system as fast as conditions would warrant. This is an ambitious program, but entirely feasible, and the mayor is heart and soul in the movement for a "better Perth Amboy."
William Charles Wilson of New Jersey, was born in Port Monmouth, Monmouth county, New Jersey, September 17, 1872, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Wilson. Thomas Wilson was born in 1850, was a farmer by
W.e. wilson
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occupation and prominent in the affairs of the community in which he resided, serving for a number of years on the Middletown township Board of Education, for nine years president of the board. He died in 1908. His widow still survives him. They were the parents of four children : Charlotte; Eunice, deceased ; Ethel, and William C.
William C. Wilson was educated in the public schools of Middletown township, Monmouth county, and worked on the home farm until he attained the age of seventeen years. He then came to Perth Amboy and was employed as a mason in the construction of the C. Pardee works. He worked his way up, filling various positions in the building business until 1911, when he became a contractor and builder, forming a partner- ship with J. C. Fowler. In 1916 this partnership was dissolved, Mr. Wilson continuing the business alone under firm name, W. C. Wilson, General Contractor. He has contracted for and erected many buildings in Perth Amboy, a number of which are for factory and school purposes.
Mr. Wilson is a Republican in politics and has always taken an active part in local affairs. In 1912 he was elected to the Board of Aldermen and served on the board for the next eight years; and in 1920, was elected mayor of Perth Amboy by a substantial majority, succeeding Frank Dorsey, and taking office January I, 1921. Mayor Wilson has always been the friend of the working man and has ever been to the fore when the interests of the wage-earner were at stake. During the many years he was employed as superintendent for a contracting con- cern, and later in that business for himself, he had an opportunity to work with, supervise and study men; this has given him a knowledge of conditions that few in the city possess.
In religion, Mayor Wilson is true to the Swedenborgian faith, in which he was baptized in New York City. He married, July 25, 1900, Wilhelmina Koster, daughter of William and Wilhelmina Koster, of Perth Amboy. Their children are: William, Elliott and Robert.
LESLIE PHILIP JOHNSON, one of the most prominent and influential citizens of New Brunswick, is a native of this city, his birth having occurred here February 20, 1871. Mr. Johnson has always been active in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community, her worthiest and most vital interests being inseparably associated with his name and personality.
Alfred B. Johnson, father of Leslie Philip Johnson, was born Janu- ary 16, 1841, in Wales. At the age of nine years he came to Canada with his parents, and at the age of sixteen years came to the United States and immediately located in New Brunswick, where he has continued to reside ever since. For thirty-five years previous to his retirement from active business life, he was identified with the Norfolk & New Bruns- wick Hosiery Company of New Brunswick. He married Eliza Ann Phillhower, of New Jersey, who died June 20, 1908, at the age of sixty- nine years; she was a member of one of the old Colonial families, her antecedents having fought in the War of the Revolution. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were born three children: Frederick Robert, a resident of
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New Brunswick; Katherine, who married Elmore DeWitt, residents of Jersey City ; Leslie Philip, of further mention.
The education of Leslie Philip Johnson was obtained in the public schools of his native place and at the New Jersey Business College in Newark, from which latter institution he was graduated in 1886, sub- sequently securing a position with the Ninth National Bank of New York City, where he remained until he resigned in 1901. During this time he also conducted a wholesale and retail bicycle and sundry busi- ness at No. 113 Albany street, New Brunswick, and was also secretary of the Phoenix Art Metal Company here. When he resigned from the bank he was made president of the Phoenix Art Metal Company, which was later sold to the American Can Company. Mr. Johnson then joined the New York Consolidated Stock Exchange and continued for thirteen years, and in 1914 sold his seat. In 1903 he was elected president of the Perfection Jar Closier Company, of Philadelphia, which office he held until 1906. In 1912 Mr. Johnson purchased a farm just outside of New Brunswick which he had under cultivation and where he resided for two years. During the World War he was identified with the United States government, having charge of shipping material from the Wright, Martin plant, and in January, 1920, accepted his present position in which he has charge of the property records of the International Motor Company which is located in New Brunswick.
Mr. Johnson is also keenly interested and very active in the public life of New Brunswick, and is looked upon as a factor of importance in the political life of the community. A Republican in politics, he served his party as alderman from 1899 until 1902, and was elected a member of the City Water Commission, serving from 1905 until 1908. He also served on the Board of Education for one term. In the course of his busy career he has found time to affiliate himself with some of the promi- nent fraternal organizations of the city, among them being the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics ; the Free and Accepted Masons, Union Lodge, No. 16; Scott Chapter, No. 4; Palestine Commandery, No. 18; Mecca Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of New York City. He attends the Dutch Reformed church of New Brunswick.
On August 17, 1892, Leslie Philip Johnson was united in marriage with Cathaline V. Berdine, a member of one of the old New Brunswick families. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are the parents of two children: I. Alfred B., born August 2, 1893 ; served in the United States army during the World War, and now resides in Philadelphia ; married, July, 1920, Ruth Knapp, of Carbondale, Pennsylvania. 2. George Leslie, born April I, 1904 ; member of class of 1923, New Brunswick High School.
Leslie Philip Johnson may well be called one of the most prominent business men of New Brunswick, New Jersey, for such he is in the highest sense. He is known and admired for his successes, and is much sought for in advisory capacity, his opinions being ever received with the careful attention paid those whose judgment has been vindicated by the tests of time and whose business record shows nothing but honorable achievement. He resides at No. 93 Bayard street, New Brunswick.
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HENRY GRIFFITH PARKER .- In one of the most prominent positions of trust in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and closely identified with many of the public interests of the city, is Henry Griffith Parker, president of the National Bank of New Jersey.
Mr. Parker was born in New Brunswick, on September 2, 1866, and is descended from an English family of manufacturing interests. His father, William Parker, was born in England, and came to this country in early life, settling in Connecticut ; he was connected throughout the greater part of his career with the Norfolk & New Brunswick Hosiery Company. His death occurred in 1876. He married Ann G. Griffith, who also is now deceased.
Gaining his early education in the public schools of his native city, Henry G. Parker was graduated from the New Brunswick High School, and at once plunged into the work in which he was to achieve distinction. Beginning in the great banking institutions of New York City, he remained there until 1892, then, at twenty-six years of age, he returned to New Brunswick, and entered the National Bank of New Jersey, in the capacity of paying teller. In January, 1894, less than two years later, he was made cashier of this bank, and fourteen years thereafter, in 1908, was made president, which office he still holds. During his long tenure of this position, the affairs of the institution have been administrated with the most commendable foresight and discretion. Mr. Parker now commands the sincere esteem of the people of New Bruns- wick, and also of banking circles throughout the State of New Jersey.
Outside his immediate interests in the National Bank of New Jersey, Mr. Parker has been called upon to give to many public and benevolent enterprises the benefit of his experience. His response to appeals of this character is always more than generous. Besides being identified with many of the important manufacturing corporations of the city in the capacity of director, he has served continuously on the New Bruns- wick Board of Education for the past fifteen years, for five years acting as president, but at the end of this period declined re-appointment to that office. He is on the executive committee of the New Brunswick Savings Institute. He was chairman of the executive committee on the First and Second Liberty Loan drives, which carried this city to such a high record. Mr. Parker was the first president of the New Brunswick Board of Trade. He is an ex-president of the New Jersey Bankers' Association, and has for seven years been a member of the executive committee of the American Bankers' Association.
Mr. Parker is a trustee of Rutgers College, which institution con- ferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. He is a member of the Union Club of New York City; the New Brunswick Country Club ; and a member of the Young Men's Christian Association. He is a member of Christ Episcopal Church, of which he has been vestryman for years.
On October 12, 1896, in New Brunswick, Mr. Parker married Alice Florence, daughter of John and Julia (Vick) Florence, and they have one son, Henry Griffith, Jr., who was born August 8, 1898, and is a member of the class of '21 at Rutgers.
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WILLIAM FRANK PARKER, as cashier of the National Bank of New Jersey, at New Brunswick, is well known to the business world of this city. As an individual, with many personal interests outside the responsible position which he is so ably filling, Mr. Parker's history forms a part of the hitherto unwritten annals of Middlesex county.
William F. Parker, son of William and Ann G. (Griffith) Parker (q. v.), was born in New Brunswick, September 19, 1873. He was reared in the traditions of this section, and educated in the institutions of his native State. He graduated from the New Brunswick High School in the class of 1891, and from Rutgers College in 1895.
Mr. Parker entered upon his career in the manufacturing establish- ment of his stepfather, Alfred March, this plant manufacturing a line of fine underwear. He remained in this connection for seven years. At the end of that time, his ability being recognized by the people of the city, he was elected to the responsible office of city collector of New Brunswick. This was in 1904, and at the two following elections, in 1906 and 1908, was reelected. Following three terms of service in this capacity, Mr. Parker entered the National Bank of New Jersey, in New Brunswick, as clerk. He was soon promoted to the position of assistant cashier, and finally, in 1915, was made cashier of this institution. He has since served continuously in this capacity, winning the respect and confidence of the banking world.
Mr. Parker is connected with various public activities. He is a trustee of the New Brunswick Board of Trade; trustee and treasurer of the Free Public Library, of this city; trustee of the Red Cross, and was its treasurer for two years. He is a leader in every public movement which has for its object the welfare of the public, and is a prominent member of the Young Men's Christian Association. He is a member of the Masonic order, and his college fraternity is the Chi Phi, of Rutgers.
William Frank Parker married, April 27, 1911, in Plainfield, New Jersey, Nelle Garrettson Van Zandt, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Van Zandt, of Somerville, New Jersey. Her father is deceased, and her mother is now living in Plainfield. Mr. Parker's personal tastes carry him into the great out-doors, and his particular delight is in long cross- country hikes.
JOHN EDWARD TOOLAN, one of the most energetic and suc- cessful of the younger generation of lawyers of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, where his office is located at No. 174 Smith street, is of Irish descent and parentage, his father, John Toolan, having come from that country as a young man. The elder Mr. Toolan located in South Amboy, New Jersey, where he found employment at the coal docks of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company and worked there for upwards of thirty-five years. Mr. Toolan is active today, and at present holds the responsible post of bridge tender for the county of Middlesex. John Toolan married Elizabeth McGuirk, a native of South Amboy, and they became the parents of eight children, as follows: John, deceased in infancy : Peter, also deceased; Thomas, who was killed in action at St. Mihiel, France, during the World War; Mary, who resides with her
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parents; Bernard, who resides with his parents; John Edward, with whose career we are especially concerned; Theresa, who became the wife of Joseph Hammond, of Roselle, New Jersey; and Gertrude, who resides with her parents.
John Edward Toolan was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, June 23, 1894. He attended local public schools, graduating from the high school with the class of 1912. He early conceived the ambition to follow a professional career, and with this end in view entered the Law School connected with Cornell University, from which he graduated in 1916 with the degree of LL. B. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar and immediately afterward began the practice of law in the office of Thomas Brown, of Perth Amboy. Shortly afterwards he opened an office of his own and since that time has practiced alone. He has already made an enviable reputation for himself among his professional col- leagues, both on account of his able handling of the litigation entrusted to him and because of the high sense of professional ethics and etiquette he invariably displays. He also enjoys a wide, general popularity, and his practice is rapidly growing in size and importance. Mr. Toolan has always been keenly attached to athletics of all kinds and especially to track athletics. He has also interested himself in local affairs and politics, and in 1919 was a candidate for the General Assembly of the State on the Democratic ticket. On January 25, 1921, he was appointed assistant prosecutor of Middlesex county. Mr. Toolan was quick to respond to his country's call at the time that the United States entered the great World War raging in Europe, and for eighteen months served with the 74th Regiment, United States Infantry, and won in that time his commission as second lieutenant. He was at various camps in the United States, the major portion of his time being at Camp Devens, Massachusetts. Mr. Toolan is a Roman Catholic in religious faith and attends the Church of St. Mary in Perth Amboy. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
HUGH BOYD .- A lifetime spent in journalism, during which he made his way from an apprenticeship in mechanical capacity to news- paper direction and ownership, is the record of business activity of Hugh Boyd. New Brunswick has known him for nearly half a century, and here he is widely known as president, part owner, and senior editor of the daily "Home News" and the Sunday "Times." The "Home News," with which he has been identified since 1879, occupies the daily field alone, in New Brunswick, having distanced contemporary journals (including three daily papers, the "Times," "Fredonian" and "Press"), and having increased in circulation and influence until it holds a posi- tion of uncontested supremacy. The name of Boyd has been connected with it in executive relation during the period that witnessed this sturdy development, and Mr. Boyd has constantly made it his chief interest.
Hugh Boyd was born in Bangor, Ireland, October 31, 1849, and upon the completion of his general education in the public schools of his birth- place and Belfast he entered the office of the Belfast "News-Letter,"
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where he served a seven-years apprenticeship in the printing trade. As a young man of twenty-three years he came to the United States, and after three months spent in New York City came to New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he has since made his home. This was in 1872, and he at once entered the composing room of the New Brunswick "Daily Times," remaining with that paper for eight years and in that time becoming first foreman and then city editor. One of Mr. Boyd's associates in the editorial force of the "Times" was Haley Fiske, now president of the Metropolitan Insurance Company of New York.
In 1879 Mr. Boyd purchased the "Home News," and since that time has devoted himself to its upbuilding into a modern, representative newspaper. How well he has succeeded with his associates in accom- plishing this aim, the facts show, for the "Home News" proved its superior right of entry into New Brunswick homes, survived any com- petition that arose, and is today a prosperous, vigorous enterprise, an accepted institution of the city. Its columns have always been open to clean news and to the expression of honest, sincere opinions, and it has been a strong factor in support of good government and civic morality.
Mr. Boyd is a believer in Republican principles, but has always maintained independence in political action. He has served the Young Men's Christian Association of the city as director, and the First Baptist Church as trustee. No enterprise of public improvement or progress has lacked his support, and in many such endeavors it has been his privilege to take a leading part. For many years Mr. Boyd found a large share of his exercise and out-of-door recreation in horseback riding, in which he indulged regularly at his New Brunswick home in summer and in winter in Southern California. More recently he has been a convert to automobiling, and his cars provide him with his open- air recreation. Several summers have been spent by Mr. Boyd and family in traveling in Europe, his last trip being in 1914.
Mr. Boyd married (first) May 11, 1872, Alice Hickey, who died in New Brunswick, February 6, 1914. Mr. Boyd married (second) in 1918, Emily D. Voorhees, who died June 15, 1920. Children, all of the first marriage: 1. Arthur H., associated with his father; married, in 1918, Sophie Felice Belwin. 2. William B., a broker of New York City; vice-president of the Home News Publishing Company ; married in 1912, Ruth O'Day, and they have three children : Hugh, Kathleen, and Ruth. 3. Elmer B., assistant editor and treasurer of the "Home News." 4. Alice, deceased.
Regularly at his desk, from which he has seldom been absent except at vacation periods, Mr. Boyd today shapes the policy of the journal of which he has been so long the head. He has held the confidence and regard of his fellow-citizens through observance of the strictest journal- istic ethics, and in the conduct of his paper he has been as just as he has been fearless, as considerate as he has been fair. The best interests of his city he has served faithfully and well, and to his work deserved appreciation is given.
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