USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume III > Part 10
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Raymond Robbins Anderson was united in marriage. October 12, 1915, at Ewing, New Jersey, a small town in the vicinity of Trenton, with Edith Eloise Vernam, a daughter of Sanford J. and Ada (Maguire) Vernam, old and highly respected residents of that place.
LOUIS POSNER, numbered among the successful merchants of New Brunswick, New Jersey, is the proprietor of a store at No. 55 Church street. Since 1877 he has been engaged entirely in mercantile business, his life having been an active; busy one, although ample in its rewards, all richly deserved.
Isaac Posner, father of Louis Posner, was born in Germany, and died in New Brunswick, New Jersey, November 10, 1900, at the age of sixty-nine years. He came to this country in 1848 with his parents and located in New York City, where he remained until 1872, when he came to New Brunswick and established himself in business as a dry goods merchant at No. 55 Church street, where he continued for the remainder of his lifetime, and at the time of his demise the enterprise which he had started on a small scale had proven highly successful. He married Bertha Vogel, a native of Germany ; she died April, 1918, at
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIL FRY
Conway Jifres.
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the age of seventy-seven years. They were the parents of eleven chil- dren, of whom there are but five living ; Martha, a resident of New Haven, Connecticut ; Stella, who resides at New Rochelle; David, who is asso- ciated with Louis in business; Camilla, a resident of New Brunswick ; Louis, of further mention.
Louis Posner was born May 30, 1860, in New York City, where he attended the local public schools until he had reached the age of fourteen years, when he left school and became assistant bookkeeper for his father. Here he remained until 1877, when he went to Cohoes, New York, and established himself in the dry goods business, which he continued for four years, selling out at the end of that time in order to return to New Brunswick and associate himself with his father in the latter's business. In 1882, the business had increased to such an extent that it was necessary to enlarge their building and they purchased the store next door, making over the two stores into one large one. Here they continued successfully until the elder man's death in 1900, when Louis and his brother David took over the management of the enterprise. As an able organizer and executive, Louis Posner, keenly alert to every changing phase in the business, has ever been an active factor in its development and growth. The welfare and advancement of New Bruns- wick are always in his heart, and although he has never consented to hold office he has always identified himself with notable movements which have for their aim the betterment of civic conditions. He is affili- ated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Young Men's Hebrew Association. He attends the Jewish Synagogue of New Brunswick. Mr. Posner is unmarried.
CONRAD SEBOLT, in 1896, at the age of seventeen years, entered his father's business and assumed the entire control of it, owing to the elder man's sudden death at that time. This contracting trucking busi- . ness which was founded by Mr. Sebolt, Sr., had grown extensively by this time, and it was quite a responsibility for Conrad Sebolt, who at that time was little more than a boy, but being a tireless worker and determined to do his part he has now attained the position of a successful business man.
John Sebolt, father of Conrad Sebolt, was born at Milltown, New Jersey, and was killed there in 1896, at the age of forty-eight years, his death occurring while he was riding on a flat car loaded with wire. He married Catherine Wallace, a native of New Brunswick, who still sur- vives him. To Mr. and Mrs. Sebolt were born fourteen children, of which number five are now living: Adeline, widow of Garrett Selover ; William, a farmer in New Brunswick; Conrad, of further mention ; Katherine, wife of Edwin Hornbey ; Ruth, wife of Harry D. Shea.
Conrad Sebolt was born October 24, 1879, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He obtained his education in the public schools of his native place, graduating from the New Brunswick High School in 1896, subse- quently assuming the responsibility of his father's established business, which was first located on George road. In 1910 Mr. Sebolt removed
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to Nos. 16-18 Richmond street and here he has since continued in the general contracting and trucking business. He also deals in sand, gravel, stone and cinder, and his storehouses are located at Nos. 235-239 Burnett street. He is a member of the Board of Trade.
On April 9, 1902, Conrad Sebolt was united in marriage with Nellie Rolfe, daughter of Edgar C. Rolfe, a lumberman of New Brunswick, and his wife, Mary (Ferguson) Rolfe. Mr. and Mrs. Sebolt are the par- ents of one child, Conrad, Jr., born April 9, 1903. The family attend the Fourth Reformed Church in New Brunswick.
JOHN WILLIAM KELLY is known and respected as one of the public-spirited and representative men of Perth Amboy and has been a resident of this city all his life. He takes an abiding and practical inter- est in all that concerns the welfare of the community, and as president of the firm of Kelly & McAlinden, holds a prominent place in the business circles of the city.
Edward Michael Kelly, father of John William Kelly, was born in Perth Amboy, in 1848, and died here, May 9, 1919. His entire business life was spent in his native city, he being the founder of the E. M. Kelly Realty Company, and also president of the Kelly & McAlinden Company. In addition to exceptional business talents, Mr. Kelly possessed resolute industry, purity of purpose, and integrity of conduct. and on these foundation stones the fair structure of his success was reared. Never did he allow questionable methods to enter into any transactions to which he was a party, and as a citizen with exalted ideas of good gov- ernment he stood in the front rank. A vigilant and attentive observer of men and measures, his opinions were recognized as sound and his views as broad, and his ideas therefore carried weight among those with whom he discussed public problems. In politics he was a Democrat. He served as president of the School Board for a number of years. Mr. Kelly married Ellen A. Doyle, a native of Perth Amboy, now living near Bound Brook, Middlesex county, New Jersey, at the age of seventy- three years. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly were the parents of nine children : Edward Michael, deceased ; Mary E., deceased ; Michael A., deceased ; Julia L., a resident of Bound Brook, New Jersey ; Helen A .; John Wil- liam, of further mention : James E., resides at Bound Brook, New Jer- sey ; Loretta C., wife of William J. Martin, of Bound Brook ; Joseph A., of Perth Amboy. Mr. Kelly used his talents and his opportunities to the utmost in every work which he undertook, fulfilling to the letter every trust committed to him, and was generous in his feelings and conduct toward all. He made for himself a record of noteworthy achievement and public-spirited service, and his name is inscribed in the annals of his city.
John William Kelly, son of Edward Michael and Ellen A. (Doyle) Kelly, was born May 19, 1882, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. After graduating from St. Mary's Parochial School, he spent three years in the local high school, supplementing this with a course in Wood's Busi- ness College, Newark, from which he was graduated in 1901. He then
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accepted a position as clerk with the Kelly & McAlinden Company, of which his father was the president, and in June, 1919, upon the death of the latter, John William Kelly succeeded his father and became the president, which position he still holds at the present time, and which office he fills in the same able manner as did his father. The thorough business qualifications of Mr. Kelly are in great demand, and his public- spirit has led him to accept of such trusts. He is a director of the Middlesex County Bank, and also director of the Smith Street Improve- ment Company. Mr. Kelly, like his father, is a strong Democrat in political faith, and has played a decidedly prominent part in the public life of the city of Perth Amboy, having served two terms or four years as alderman on the Democratic ticket. He affiliates with the Knights of Columbus and is past grand knight of the organization. In religion he is a Roman Catholic and is a member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. He has always been a lover of out-door sports and when a boy was captain of the Crescent baseball team, and a great lover of bicycling, and took part in many bicycle races.
Mr. Kelly was united in marriage, November 9, 1909, with Margaret J. Noone, a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the daughter of the late Timothy and Katherine Noone. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly have one child, Katherine, born December 12, 1910.
CHESTER WALKER WOOD .- Of Massachusetts Colonial family, Mr. Wood spent his youth in his native Massachusetts, the town of Mendon his birthplace, and also that of his father, William Perry Wood, a farmer and lumberman. The family moved to Upton, Massachusetts, in 1874, and there William P. Wood died, aged over seventy. His wife, Adeline Stoddard (Walker) Wood, died in Upton at about the same age. They were the parents of four children: Perry, Chester Walker, Benjamin Claflin, and Mary Josephine, the latter deceased. This review follows the fortunes of the second son, Chester W. Wood, who for thirty-one years, 1890-1921, has been connected with the great Chicago dressed meat house, Swift & Company, and for twenty-four years has been manager of the New Brunswick branch of Swift & Company.
Chester Walker Wood was born August 16, 1869, and in 1874 his parents moved from Mendon to Upton, where the lad was educated in the public schools. After graduation from high school in 1886 he became his father's assistant on the farm and in his lumbering business, remaining as such until he began his long connection with the dressed meat industry. His first position was at Jamaica Plains, and in 1800 he entered the employ of Swift & Company in New York City. He was with that company in New York City ; Trenton, New Jersey ; and Bridge- ton, New Jersey, from 1894 until 1896, coming in that year to New Bruns- wick as manager, a position he has most ably filled during the entire twenty-four years which have since intervened. Mr. Wood has entered heartily into the life of his adopted city ; he is interested in its real estate activities, is a charter member of the Board of Trade, and has served on its official board. He is a member of Palestine Lodge, No. III, Free and
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Accepted Masons; Scott Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch Masons; Temple Commandery, No. 19, Knights Templar; and Mecca Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Odd Fellow lodge, also encampment, Young Men's Christian Association, and is a popular member of the Union Club. He is an attendant of the Bap- tist church, and holds all out-of-door sports in high regard, but is par- ticularly fond of swimming.
Mr. Wood married, in Trenton, New Jersey, June 1, 1891, Emma Frances Klemmer, born in Trenton, New Jersey, where both her parents died. Mr. and Mrs. Wood are the parents of two children: Lillian Frances, born December 8, 1893 : and Walker K., born May 10, 1897, mar- ried May Elizabeth Van de Watering.
JACOB HALL WHITFIELD, present comptroller of the city of New Brunswick, was brought to that city in 1866 by his parents, Samuel and Mary (Hall) Whitfield, both of English birth. Samuel Whitfield was a tanner of leather, a trade he followed in New Brunswick until his death. They had but the one child, Jacob H., born in New London, Connecticut, December 31, 1865, he a babe in arms when the family first came to New Brunswick.
Jacob Hall Whitfield completed grammar school courses of study in 1880, then entered the employ of the Consolidated Fruit Jar Company in the machine shop, continuing with that corporation for fifteen years. He then, with two partners, organized the Phoenix Metal Company, a concern which one year later was sold to the American Can Company. Mr. Whitfield, after the sale of his company, entered the employ of the purchasing company, remaining with that company for five years. He was superintendent of the New Brunswick Water Department during the next four years, then and for five years was superintendent of the Brass Goods Manufacturing Company, Brooklyn, New York, but retained his New Brunswick residence.
During one year of the World War period he was associated with the American Can Company, manufacturing war goods for the gov- ernment, then, until the close of the war, was with the Wright Martin Aircraft Corporation. On July 15, 1919. he entered upon the duties of his pres .nt position, comptroller of the city. That is not, however, his first public position, Mr. Whitfield having served as alderman in 1892-96, and represented New Brunswick in the New Jersey House of Assembly in 1896. He is a strong and capable man, held in the highest esteem wherever well known. He is a member of Union Lodge, No. 19. Free and Accepted Masons: Scott Council, Royal and Select Masters: and Salaam Temple. Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Baptist church.
Mr. Whitfield married, in New Brunswick, April 2, 1885. Julia A. Kemp, born in New Brunswick, daughter of Thomas Kemp, deceased Mr. and Mrs. Whitfield are the parents of three children : William H .. born April 2, 1886, now a clerk in the New Brunswick Water Depart-
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ment ; Mary C., born September 29, 1887, wife of Harvey L. Hullfish, of New Brunswick ; Helen W., born September 29, 1889, died November 11, 1918.
GEORGE HILTON COATES, master mechanic for the American Smelting and Refining Company, is a man still in the prime of life, whose history thus far has been full of interesting activities.
His father, George Coates, was born in Brompton, Yorkshire, Eng- land, and was also a master mechanic in his day. He died in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1906. He married Mary Hodgson, born in Willington, England, who now lives in Los Angeles, California, spending the winters in Phoenix, Arizona. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom two died in infancy. Those now living are : George Hilton, whose name heads this review ; Thomas, David, Sarah, Lilly, William, Charles, Bertha, and Henry, all living in America.
George Hilton Coates was born in Willington, England, July 26, 1865. There he attended school until eighteen years of age, being a graduate of the High School in the class of 1879. Being interested in the line of work which his father had always followed, and naturally of a mechanical bent, he learned the machinist's trade. He worked at the machinist's trade both in England and America. In 1881 the young man came to America, going to Pueblo, Colorado, where he entered the employ of the Colorado Coal and Iron Company. He remained with these people for six years on the same basis as at the start, then became foreman of one of their shops. Later he went to work for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, at Pueblo, as assistant foreman of water service. Still later he became associated with the Guggenheim Smelting Com- pany, of Pueblo. In 1896 he came to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as foreman in the mechanical department, which became the American Smelting and Refining Company. With this firm Mr. Coates has remained since, and has been master mechanic for the past twenty years. In the social and fraternal life of the city, Mr. Coates has wide and varied connections. He was master of Raritan Lodge, No. 61, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, 1907 and 1908; was high priest of the Royal Arch Masons in 1912. He is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, of which he was worthy patron from 1912 to 1920. He is a tl, rty-second degree Mason, holding membership in the Valley of Jersey City, also a noble of Salaam Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Raritan and Craftsmen's clubs.
Mr. Coates married, December 24, 1900, in Pueblo, Colorado, Henri- etta Wilson, daughter of Henry R. and Mary (Coates) Wilson. Mrs. Coates was born in West Hartlepool, England, but was reared in Scot- land. Her father died in Scotland, but her mother died in Pueblo, Colorado. Mrs. Coates is very prominent in the social and welfare work of Perth Amboy. She organized Raritan Chapter, No. 58, Order of the Eastern Star; and was its first worthy matron from 1912 to 1914, and worthy district deputy of the Eighth District of New Jersey, 1921. She was a charter member of the Red Cross and was on the executive staff
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during the war. Mr. and Mrs. Coates are the parents of two children, both living: George Bradfield, born April 3. 1902; and Lawrence Hilton, born May II, 1906. The elder son, George B., enlisted in the regular army, 64th Infantry, and was later commissioned lieutenant and saw active service in France. He married Eva Hoyt Reynolds, of New Brunswick. The family are members of St. Peter's Episcopal Church.
ASHER FITZ RANDOLPH .- The Fitz Randolphs were concerned in the early settlement of Woodbridge, New Jersey, and there Asher Fitz Randolph was born, as was his father, Everts Fitz Randolph, who at the time of his passing, October 10, 1901, was connected with a New York City drug house.
Asher Fitz Randolph was born in Woodbridge, New Jersey, Novem- ber II, 1888. He was educated in Woodbridge, finishing as president of the high school graduating class of 1906. He began his business career with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, as a clerk in the auditor's department, but the following year, 1907, he entered the employ of J. G. Hilliard, insurance broker, No. 45 Pine street, New York City, remaining with them nearly two years. His next position was with Starkweather & Shepley, New York City, his next with Arbuckle Brothers, No. 71 Water street, New York City, in their insurance department. He is yet with the last-named company, holding a responsible position.
During the World War, 1917-18. he was a member of Company A, Woodbridge Battalion, of the New Jersey Militia Reserves. He was on duty at the time of the great explosion at Morgan, New Jersey, being then sergeant of the company. Later he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, and was holding that rank when mustered out of the service. He is a member of Anchor Council, No. 40, Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and an elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Woodbridge.
Asher Fitz Randolph married, in Woodbridge, September 10, 1915, Anna M. Pfeiffer, daughter of John Pfeiffer, who was born in Wood- bridge township. The family home is at No. 198 Rahway avenue, Woodbridge, New Jersey.
JAMES HENRY MAHER .- Successful in the business he chose when a young man, and master of its every detail, Mr. Maher may be properly classed among the leading funeral directors of New Brunswick. A graduate in embalming, he is familiar with all processes, ancient and modern, used in the undertaking business and may be classed as an expert. He is a son of Edward Maher, born in Ireland, who came to the United States with his mother when a lad of sixteen, and finally became a farmer of East Millstone, New Jersey, where he died, Novem- ber 10, 1890, at the age of fifty-two. Edward Maher married Honora Dwyer, born in Ireland, who was brought to East Millstone, New Jersey, when a girl; she died in Brooklyn, New York, April 13, 1914, aged sixty-two years. They were the parents of eleven children : Mary, wife
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of T. J. Ahern, of Bath Beach, New York ; Katherine, wife of J. O'Rourke, of Brooklyn, New York; Richard, of Baltimore, Maryland; Thomas F., of Brooklyn, New York; James Henry, of further mention ; Edward, of Brooklyn, New York; John, of Chicago, Illinois; William, of New Brunswick; Joseph, of Brooklyn, New York ; George, died in infancy ; Philip, of New York City.
James Henry Maher, fifth child of Edward and Honora (Dwyer) Maher, was born at the home farm in Somerset county, New Jersey, and attended the East Millstone schools. He spent the first nineteen years of his life at the farm, then began contracting on his own account, succeeding very well. He continued in the contracting business five years, then sold his team and outfit and entered the employ of W. J. McDede, an undertaker at No. 23 Easton avenue. In 1903 he left New Brunswick and went to New York City, there pursuing a course at Raynard College of Embalming, finishing with graduation in 1904. The next ten years he spent with the Merritt & Campbell Undertaking Com- pany, of New York City, but in 1914 he resigned, came to New Bruns- wick and bought the undertaking business of his old employer, W. J. McDede, and still continues the establishment at No. 23 Easton avenue. As a funeral director Mr. Maher has with dignity and consideration so conducted himself as to be considered more in the light of a friend, and has won public confidence in a degree most unusual. He is a mem- ber of St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is fond of out- of-door sports, particularly automobiling, and spends many vacation hours in that way.
Mr. Maher married, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, April 25, 1906. Kath- erine G. Ahern, born in Elizabeth, October 15, 1892, died October 21, 1919, daughter of James and Maria Ahern, both deceased, James Ahern dying in Elizabeth, in 1911, his wife in New Brunswick, in 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Maher are the parents of two children : Anna, born November 20, 1908; and James, born August 5, 1913.
KLEIN BROTHERS .- The capable, successful and even the most prominent men are not always those who start out with the ambition to achieve something especially great and famous, but often they are the men who at the very outset of life place just valuation upon integrity. honor, industry and determination. With these qualities only as a capital, the Klein brothers entered into the hotel business, and together they have made the name of Klein prominent in business circles in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Henry George Klein, son of Martin and Anna Maria (Krollman) Klein, was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, September 12, 1866. Martin Klein settled in New Brunswick in 1842, next door to the present Hotel Klein, and engaged in the hotel business, which he followed through life. His place was a recruiting station during the Civil War, and was headquarters for the New Brunswick Artillery Company, he holding the commission of second lieutenant. He established the first
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brewery in this section in 1861 and sold the first glass of beer in New Brunswick. His family was the sixth German family to locate in New Brunswick. Besides the brewery business, he was also engaged in the wholesale grocery business. Martin Klein married (first) Elizabeth Krollman, who bore him four sons: Alois, Martin, George and John. Martin and John served in the Civil War. He married (second) Anna Maria Krollman, by whom he had four children: Henry George, of further mention ; Kate, deceased ; Joseph, deceased ; and Peter Frank, of further mention.
Henry George Klein obtained his education in Sts. John's and Peter's Parochial schools and in the public schools of New Brunswick, after which he entered upon his business career. In 1912, together with his brother, Peter Frank Klein, they established themselves in the hotel business, and this partnership has continued to the present time, they having conducted successfully for many years the Hotel Klein, which was the outgrowth of the Raritan House, established by Martin Klein in 1872. Henry G. Klein holds a prominent place in the local fraternal organizations of the community, being affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In religion he is a Roman Catholic and attends the Church of St. John the Baptist.
On January 11, 1891, Mr. Klein married Kate W. Mauer, daughter of Anton and Wilhelmina Mauer, and they are the parents of one child, Anna M., born October 18, 1891.
Peter Frank Klein, third son of Martin and Anna Maria (Krollman) Klein, was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, May 13, 1875. He secured his education in the parochial and public schools of his native place, and upon completing his education entered upon his business ca- reer, and since boyhood, as has been previously mentioned, he has been engaged in the hotel business, meeting with the success which is the ultimate result of good executive ability. He is affiliated with New Brunswick Lodge, No. 324, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In religion he is a Roman Catholic and attends the Church of St. John the Baptist. Mr. Klein is unmarried.
JACOB SYLVESTER KARKUS, although not a native of Perth Amboy, has resided here most of his life and is today recognized as one of the promising young representatives of the legal fraternity, due to his ability, both natural and acquired.
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