USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume II > Part 34
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44
Mr. Peck was a man of strong character and direct action, realizing the value of personal development, for he, himself, was once a poor boy without unusual opportunities to assist him. The fine traits of his good New England ancestors he inherited, and they were of more value to him than worldly goods. By doing well everything he attempted, and striv- ing to succeed, he built up a business which was a credit to him. His integrity won for him many friends, both inside and outside of his busi- ness, and his commonwealth was glad to claim him as one of its front rank citizens. He had many friends outside of the State, and in New York City and New Brunswick, where most of his activities were, he was a leader in the business life. He stood high in Metuchen, where he made his home, and his death was a shock and a great loss to all who knew him.
Mr. Peck took a great interest in all things connected with Metuchen. His interest as a voter in local political matters was of great importance to him, for he started with his vote at home to direct the destinies of the State and country. He was a strong and influential Republican, and his advice was often sought in political matters. Fraternally he was a mem- ber of the Masonic order, and in religious faith a Presbyterian.
Mr. Peck married, October 22, 1873, in the Presbyterian church at Metuchen, New Jersey, Henrietta H. Thomas, born December 18, 1847, in Metuchen, daughter of Louis and Rachel (Clarkson) Thomas. Louis Thomas was born in Woodbury, Connecticut, and was a farmer and dealer in properties; his wife, Rachel (Clarkson) Thomas, was born at Oak Tree, Woodbridge township, New Jersey, a daughter of Joseph Clarkson, one of the old settlers near Oak Tree. Three sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Peck: Louis Thomas, born May 19, 1875; Egbert, born September 10, 1878, died May 15, 1905; Frederick Clarkson, born April 26, 1889. Mrs. Henrietta H. (Thomas) Peck yet survives her husband, and resides with her sons in the house in Metuchen, New Jersey, built by her father, Louis Thomas, in 1872.
123
BIOGRAPHICAL
GEORGE BROWN RULE .- The name of Rule is one of the earliest of English names in America. The immigrant ancestor of this family was sent by the King of England to look after the copper interests in this territory, and was invested with military rank, as the mining projects here were under the direction of the military authorities of Great Britain.
Mr. Rule's father, George Rule, was born in New York City. When about two years of age, his mother, a widow, removed to Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, where he was bound out until he was eighteen years of age to a farmer, John Stout, and rebound at eighteen to a man by the name of Steadman, of Princeton, New Jersey, to learn the carpen- ter's trade. At about twenty-five years of age he came to New Bruns- wick, where he established the business which he left in the hands of his son upon his death in 1894. The location, No. 71 John street, has always been the same. George Rule married Rachel A. Smith, who was born in New Brunswick, and died in 1912. They were the parents of four chil- dren : George Brown, whose name heads this review ; Howard C., who is now secretary of the New Brunswick Savings Institution; John Stout, who died at the age of seven years; and Sarah Janet, who makes her home with her brother, George B. Rule.
George Brown Rule was born in New Brunswick, March 26, 1861. He received a practical education in the public schools of this city, con- tinuing his attendance until he was sixteen years of age. He then began as an apprentice in carpenter work, serving for five years, thereafter working as a journeyman for his father in the same factory which he now owns. Taking over the business upon his father's death, he added to the structure which his father erected, and now has the largest plant of its kind in Middlesex county. In his mill department he manufactures sash, doors, etc., for his own use in connection with his extensive con- struction operations. Thus he has been identified all his life with the building interests of New Brunswick, and has erected many of the struc- tures which line the streets of the city. Mr. Rule is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Union Club. He has been a director of Middlesex General Hospital for the past twenty-five years, member of executive committee and member of house and grounds committee, chairman of the latter for some twenty-five years. He spends his leisure time largely in motoring, taking an occasional fishing excur- sion.
HARVEY IREDELL, D. D. S., one of the most successful dentists of New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he has been active since 1880, is a native of Horsham, Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred September 25, 1856. He is a direct descendant of the emigrant, Thomas Iredell, who located at Horsham in the early part of the seventeenth century, having come from England.
Harvey Iredell is the son of John Barnes and Sarah Ann Iredell. John Barnes Iredell was born in Horsham, July 16, 1832, and died from the result of an accident, in Philadelphia, at the age of sixty-five years.
124
MIDDLESEX
For twelve years he was a school teacher, and later became a shoe manu- facturer, which latter occupation he followed for the remainder of his life. To Mr. and Mrs. Iredell were born two children: Harvey, mentioned below; Mary Ella, wife of Dr. William T. Wyckoff, of Philadelphia.
The childhood of Harvey Iredell until his twelfth year was passed in his native place, after which he moved with his parents to Philadelphia, where he continued his studies in the schools of the latter place. He was associated with his father in the shoe manufacturing for three or four years. Having a desire for a professional career, he entered the Phila- delphia Dental College and was graduated from this institution in 1880. He then went to Trenton, New Jersey, where he practiced his profession, but remained here for six months only, subsequently coming to New Brunswick, where he associated himself with Drs. Hull and Palmer as an operative dentist, and filled this position for eight years. Then, having purchased Dr. Palmer's interest in the firm, he formed a co-partnership with Dr. Henry A. Hull and continued in the same relationship for about eight years, when he purchased his partner's interest and continued the practice alone for several years at the old location, afterwards remov- ing to the National Bank of New Jersey's new building when it was fin- ished for occupancy. Dr. Iredell is the successor to the old practice which was formed in the fifties by A. D. Newell, who associated with him Dr. Edward W. Robbins. Here he has developed a large and high- class practice, and is regarded as among the leaders of his profession in the county.
In politics he is a Republican. He is also prominent in the Masonic organization, having attained all of the degrees excepting the thirty- third, and affiliated with the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. He holds membership in the Gun Club of New Brunswick. As may be judged by the nature of this club, Dr. Iredell is exceedingly fond of open- air life and to all pastimes associated with out-of-doors. He greatly enjoys hunting and fishing, and spends much of his spare time thus em- ployed, but his chief relaxation is gardening and to this he devotes some time each day.
Dr. Iredell married (first) June 29, 1882, Mary Emma Williams, who died in New Brunswick, in 1898, and to them were born three children: Alma Hull, wife of Clarence H. Bruce, of New Brunswick ; Russell Wal- ton, an artist of New York City ; Albert Williams, a mechanical dentist of Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Iredell married (second) Bessie Young. No issue.
WALTER PARKER RUNYON .- It is the fate of the cities of New Jersey, fortunate or otherwise, that the gigantic size and financial impor- tance of their great neighbor in the adjacent State inevitably over- shadows them and gives to them something of the character of suburbs, yet a number of them contain industrial interests equal or superior to those that have given a national prominence to other communities some- what further removed from the metropolitan giant of the New World. Several concerns located in one or the other of these busy and prosper-
125
BIOGRAPHICAL
ous cities, have arisen to such size and importance as to emerge from the general class of local enterprises into a more individual distinction, and have become, either from their mere dimensions or because of their re- sponse to the particular needs of the time, the subjects of a wider and more univeral attention. More than one such concern is to be found in the city of Perth Amboy and of these, perhaps the most notable, is the Perth Amboy Dry Dock Company, the present importance of which is largely the result of the practical genius of Walter Parker Runyon, whose qualities as a business man and citizen have won him the respect and admiration of his associates and the community-at-large.
Walter Parker Runyon is a member of one of the oldest families of New Jersey which has played a conspicuous part in its affairs for a num- ber of generations, and comes of French Huguenot stock, which has con- tributed one of the most substantial and capable elements to the citizen- ship of the country. The family was founded in the New World by Vin- cent Rognion, who left his native land to search for the religious and political freedom denied the Huguenots in France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. This Vincent Rognion settled in the vicinity of New Brunswick, New Jersey, and from him is sprung the numerous family which has made the name in its anglicized form so generally known in the State and elsewhere. One of his descendants, another Vin- cent Runyon, as the name had then come to be spelled, was the grand- father of Walter P. Runyon, and the founder of the business that has since grown to such importance. He was assisted in his venture by his son, John Runyon, who afterwards carried it on, and who married Anne Beck, of New Brunswick. They were the parents of Walter Parker Run- yon.
Walter P. Runyon was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Decem- ber 3, 1861, and his childhood was passed in his native city. As a lad he attended the public schools of New Brunswick, and later the Rutgers Preparatory School, from which he was graduated in 1878. During his school days he had spent much of his time in the old shipyard founded by his grandfather, and as he grew to man's estate became ambitious of a business career, so that upon completing his general studies he entered the New Jersey Business College in order to prepare himself. He was graduated from the lastnamed institution in 1880, and promptly secured a clerical position with the firm of Fairbanks, Martin & Company, woolen commission merchants, of New York City. Four years were spent by him in the employ of this concern, during which time he became thor- oughly familiar with general business methods and further fitted himself for the part he was to play in the business world. The two years follow- ing found him with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of New York, but his ambition ever urged him to become independent, and accordingly he severed his connection with that enormous institution and entered into partnership with the firm of Vliet & Dalmer, manufacturing clothiers of his native New Brunswick. It was during this time that he first became associated with Charles D. Snedeker, who has since con- tinued his partner in the great enterprises that he has headed. These
I26
MIDDLESEX
two gentlemen were instrumental in organizing a new company which absorbed the old firm of Vliet & Dalmer soon after his connection with it, and which met with a high degree of success from the outset. It thus became possible, in 1894, for Mr. Runyon and Mr. Snedeker to purchase the interest of the John Runyon estate in the Perth Amboy Dry Dock Company, and shortly afterwards a close corporation was formed with Mr. Runyon at the head, which took over the entire stock of the old con- cern. The Perth Amboy Dry Dock Company was at that time a com- paratively small business, but since then it has steadily grown under the capable management of Mr. Runyon to its present position of promi- nence. The yard and its equipment have been continually increased to keep pace with the growing business and now possesses five balance dry docks of 10,000, 2,500, 2,000, 1,000 and 500 tons capacity, respectively. These are equipped with patent adjustable keel blocks, while a twenty- five ton derrick is in operation to lift and transport the heavy steel struc- tural work in use in marine construction. All needed supplies are kept constantly on hand, and the great water frontage of more than a thou- sand feet, extending over four blocks, affords ample pier space for new vessels and those seeking repairs. Machine shops of the most modern type are maintained, and the large boiler works are in constant operation. This great enterprise is still undergoing a steady expansion and is already one of the best known of its kind along the Atlantic coast. Mr. Runyon is president of the concern, and Mr. Snedeker its treasurer.
In addition to his own great business, Mr. Runyon is associated with many other financial and business interests of this region and is vice- president of the Raritan Trust Company and a director of the New Bruns- wick Fire Insurance Company, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and the Perth Amboy Trust Company, of Perth Amboy. His activities extend into other fields besides business and connect him with many depart- ments of the communities affairs, and he is a member of many important organizations and clubs here and elsewhere. He is vice-president of the Perth Amboy Hospital Association, and a member of the National Secur- ity League, the New Jersey Historical Society, the United States Cham- ber of Commerce, the Maritime Association of the Port of New York, the Manufacturers' Association, the Perth Amboy Chamber of Com- merce, the Young Men's Christian Association of Perth Amboy, of which he is also a trustee; vice-president of the Raritan Terminal and Water- ways Association, and member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. He is prominent in social, club and fraternal circles, and is a member of the Royal Arcanum, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Lake Placid Club, the East Jersey Club, the Raritan Yacht Club, and the Union Club of New Brunswick. He is a life mem- ber of the National Marine League of the United States of America, and a member of its board of trustees. Mr. Runyon has always taken keen pleasure in outdoor life of all kinds, and at present spends his leisure time at the Lake Placid Club in the Adirondack Mountains and motors a great deal through that picturesque region. He is also fond of moun- tain climbing and fishing and engages in these sports to a considerable extent.
PU:
TILF
Cau le le Trus tement
127
BIOGRAPHICAL
The participation of Mr. Runyon in public affairs in his home region has been notable, and he is one of the most influential members of the Democratic party in the State. He has served as a member of the Demo- cratic executive committee of New Brunswick and the Democratic execu- tive committee of Middlesex county. He was alternate delegate to the National Democratic Convention in 1908, and delegate to the party con- vention four years later, and has served on numerous State conventions during the past. Mr. Runyon has also served the community in several official capacities, and as a member of the New Brunswick Water Board and the Perth Amboy Water Department Commission was instrumental in developing the fine water supply now enjoyed by both cities. In 1913 he was appointed by Governor Fielder, of New Jersey, a member of the New Jersey State Harbor Commission, and the following year, when the Board of Commerce and Navigation succeeded to the older body, became a member thereof. His services on these bodies was of such value that when Governor Edge was elected he reappointed him. Mr. Runyon has also represented New Jersey for some years at the annual meetings of the Atlantic Deeper Waterways Conventions. In 1916 he was the president of the New Jersey Wilson Business Men's League.
Walter Parker Runyon was united in marriage, January 10, 1895, with Katherine Engle Hancock, a daughter of the Rev. Ezekiel Cooper and Emma Jean (Githens) Hancock, of Burlington county, New Jersey. Mrs. Runyon's death occurred on Christmas Day, December 25, 1919. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Runyon, as follows: Cooper Hancock, born September 3, 1896, died October 26, 1919; and Walter Parker, Jr.
CARL CHRISTIAN CHRISTENSEN .- The record of a life begun on Old World soil bears peculiar interest. Coming to this country when a young man, overcoming all the obstacles which meet one unfamiliar with the language and customs, Carl Christian Christensen has made a place for himself, founded a home for his family, and won a good measure of material success through his own unaided efforts.
Christian Christensen, his father, was an industrious farmer in Den- mark, and died when Carl C. was six years old. He married Anna Han- sen, who was also born in Denmark and died there. They were the par- ents of five children, of whom three are living: John and Mary, who are still in Denmark, and Carl Christian, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, who has built some of the representative structures which beautify the streets of that city.
Carl Christian Christensen was born in Denmark, October 21, 1871, on his father's farm. There he learned the homely duties about the place to help his mother in her struggle with the world, attending school until he was fourteen years of age. He then learned the trade of mason and carpenter, working steadily and saving all he could to make his real start in life. At eighteen years of age he crossed the sea and came to America. He came alone, and located at once in Perth Amboy. Soon he found work at his trade and threw himself into the task of establishing his
128
MIDDLESEX
future success. He realized the advantage in the hands of the man who is working for himself, and at the age of twenty-five cut all his business ties and went into business on his own responsibility. The principles of industry and thrift which he learned as a lad had become a habit, and he was quickly seen to be forging ahead. Thirteen years ago he built for himself a fine residence at No. 139 State street, where he still resides. He has erected many of the important edifices of Perth Amboy, including the Danish Lutheran church, the Penn Street Catholic church, and the Danish Methodist church.
Mr. Christensen has not confined his progressive activities to the business world. He has entered with the keenest zest into every public interest, ably filling for five years a position on the local Board of Edu- cation. He is director of the Perth Amboy Savings Institution, and Citi- zens' Building and Loan Association, and vice-president of the Perth Amboy Building and Loan Association. He is a member of the Danish Lutheran church, and active in all its work. Motoring is his favorite recreation at the close of the day's business, and whenever he can find time to spare for relaxation. He is a member of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, and of the Dana Society.
Mr. Christensen married, October 21, 1906, in Perth Amboy, Anna Hansen, daughter of Nels Hansen. She was born in Perth Amboy, her father being a pioneer among the Danish population of this vicinity. Mr. and Mrs. Christensen had seven children and have lost two. They are as follows: Nels, who is associated with his father in all his building operations ; Walter, who holds the position of assistant treasurer of the Perth Amboy Savings Bank; Arnold, manager of the C. & S. Company, of Perth Amboy; Carl, who died at the age of two years; Annette, who died at the age of fourteen years ; Kathryn ; and Eleanor.
JACOB MORTIMER KLEIN, one of the most successful of the younger members of the bar of Middlesex county, New Jersey, and an influential citizen of Perth Amboy, was born February 1, 1889, in New York City, a son of Max and Leah (Berman) Klein, the former a native of Bohemia and the latter of London, England. The elder Mr. Klein was born December 16, 1864, and came to the United States when but six- teen years of age, locating in New York City, where he later was engaged in business as a diamond merchant for twelve years. In 1900 he came to New Jersey and since that time has made his home in Perth Amboy, where he is still engaged in the diamond business. Max Klein and his wife became the parents of two children: Jacob Mortimer, of further mention ; and William H., who also resides in Perth Amboy, but is en- gaged in business as a manufacturer in New York City.
Jacob Mortimer Klein passed the first eleven years of his life in New York City and while there attended the local public schools. He was then brought by his parents to live in Perth Amboy, continuing to attend the public schools, and graduating from the grammar grades in 1903, and from the Perth Amboy High School in 1907, being president of his class. In the meantime he had determined upon a professional career, and with
129
BIOGRAPHICAL
this end in view matriculated in the New York Law School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1910, taking the degree of LL. B., later reading law in the office of Joseph E. Tucker, prosecuting attorney of Middlesex county. The following year he was admitted to the bar of New Jersey, and in 1912 began his law practice in Perth Amboy. Since that time he has continued in active practice there and is to-day generally recognized as one of the most able members of the local bar and handles much important litigation in and about Perth Amboy. Mr. Klein is a Democrat in politics and has interested himself actively in public affairs, though his participation in this line was interrupted somewhat by his war service. In 1916 he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the recordership of Perth Amboy. He ran for the recordership in 1920, but went down to defeat in the Republican landslide with the rest of his ticket. On December 13, 1917, he enlisted in the national army at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. He was quickly promoted from the ranks to be a corporal and from that again to be a sergeant and then sergeant of the first class. He won his commission as second lieutenant, July 26, 1918, and as first lieutenant three months later. He was an officer in Field Remount Squadron, No. 324, located at Camp Johnston, Jacksonville, Florida, preparing for overseas service when the armistice was signed. He was honorably discharged from the service, March 3, 1918, returning immediately to civil life and the practice of his profession. Prominent in social and fraternal circles in Perth Amboy, Mr. Klein is a member of a number of clubs and other organizations, among which should be men- tioned the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Young Men's Christian Association, the Young Men's Hebrew Asso- ciation, the Raritan Yacht Club, the Perth Amboy Gun Club, American Legion, Perth Amboy Post, No. 45, Raritan Terminal and Waterways Association, and the Perth Amboy Democratic Club.
Jacob Mortimer Klein was united in marriage, December, 1917, with Agnes Sayler, a native of Huntington, Indiana, and a daughter of John M. and Jennie (Wampler) Sayler, highly respected residents of that place, where Mr. Sayler is now a prominent attorney. Mr. Sayler's father was judge of Huntington County Court for several terms, and was also a member of Congress from his district. Mr. and Mrs. Klein are the par- ents of two children: Jacob Mortimer, Jr., born October 7, 1918, and Jane, born November 8, 1920.
CHARLES HENRY DUNHAM, D. D. S .- For nearly two decades, Dr. Dunham has practiced his profession in New Brunswick, New Jersey, locating in that, the chief city of his native county about three years after his graduation from dental college. He is of an old Middlesex county family, founded in New England by John Dunham, and in Mid- dlesex county, New Jersey, by Benajah Dunham, about 1671. Benajah Dunham, born in 1640, married Elizabeth Tilson, and came from East- ham, on Cape Cod. He had but one son, Edmund Dunham, but through him was founded a very large and influential New Jersey family.
Mid-9
130
MIDDLESEX
Edmund Dunham, born July 25, 1661, in Massachusetts, is best known as the distinguished founder in New Jersey of the religious sect known as "The Seventh Day Baptist Church." Dr. Charles H. Dunham de- scends from Benajah and Edmund Dunham in direct line. His father, Joseph T. Dunham, died in 1917, his mother, Cornelia A. Dunham, in 1915. Joseph T. Dunham was a carpenter and farmer of Raritan town- ship, Middlesex county, New Jersey, and was township committeeman for a number of years. With the exception of a son, Martin, deceased, and a son in Montana, his six children reside in Middlesex county, a sec- tion which has been the abode of Dunhams for two and one-half cen- turies.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.