USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume III > Part 21
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lumber business, being associated with Stone & Wiswall. He remained with them one year, the only period in his business career not identified with the daily life of Perth Amboy. He next joined his father in the oyster business, buying one-half of this business, and on the death of his father he continued to own the same. He was twenty-one years of age when he bought out this business, and now (1921) at the age of seventy-five years he still keeps oversight of the business, although he has been practically retired from active work since 1915.
Mr. Noe has always been deeply interested in all branches of public endeavor. He is a staunch supporter of Republican principles, and has for many years voted with this party. He was at one time elected to the Board of Education, and was made president of the board. He has also served as alderman from the First Ward. He has for many years been treasurer of the Alpine Cemetery Association, and only declined to serve longer in 1919 when advancing years made him feel that a younger man should relieve him of this charge. Since his youth, Mr. Noe has been identified with the work of the Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church. For twenty-five consecutive years he was superin- tendent of the Sunday school, for a long period had charge of the music for the church services, being chorister of the choir, and is still president of the board of trustees of the church.
Mr. Noe married, in Perth Amboy, December 19, 1866, Annie E. Valentine, daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Buck) Valentine. Mrs. Noe was born in Keasbey; Woodbridge township, New Jersey. Her father was for many years a farmer in Woodbridge. Both her parents died in Perth Amboy. Mr. and Mrs. Noe have three children, all living : Edward Valentine, of Newark, New Jersey ; Margaret E., wife of Wil- liam L. Anderson, of Dorchester, Massachusetts; and Katherine D., wife of William H. Hesser, of Perth Amboy.
Mr. Noe is a man whom it is a pleasure to meet. After a long life of constant and active usefulness, he is not content to sit idly and let the world go by, but takes the keenest interest in every phase of the life of which he has been a part, and in this very interest wields a strong and beneficent influence in the community.
GEORGE W. AINSCOW, of Stelton, Middlesex county, New Jersey, was born March 30, 1868, at Bay View, Maryland, son of Evan and Rachel (Brown) Ainscow, his parents both born in Wilmington, Dela- ware. Evan Ainscow was a contractor, a farmer, and a man of energy, and was successful in his varied business enterprises.
William Ainscow, grandfather of George W. Ainscow, was born in Bolton, England; he married in his native land, and later came to America with his wife Mary, settling in Wilmington, Delaware, where they lived and died.
George W. Ainscow was educated in the public schools, and in early life was associated with his father as his assistant. He next engaged in business as a public caterer, and for fifteen years was the proprietor of- a well patronized restaurant in the city of Wilmington, Delaware. In
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1898 he went to Jersey City, New Jersey, where he engaged in the grain and hay business for a time. He moved to Stelton, Middlesex county, two miles east of New Brunswick, in 19II, and there bought a farm, upon which he resides. In 1920 he built a new residence on his farm, and is now building a large structure for general purposes, and for the convenience of auto tourists over the Lincoln Highway. In addition to this he erected a large garage in 1916, which he conducts in connection with his other interests. His gas and oil station is one of the largest on the highway between New York and Philadelphia. He supplies the big auto truck transportation companies with fuel, and in the course of a year hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil and gas are handled through his station. He has been successful in all his undertak- ings, and highly regarded in a business and social way. He and his fam- ily attend the Methodist Episcopal church of Metuchen, and take a deep interest in the life of the community.
Mr. Ainscow married, in Elkton, Maryland, April 30, 1890, Virgie R. Lodge, born July 27, 1867, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, daughter of Richard and Jane (Hall) Lodge. Richard Lodge was born in England, and with his parents sailed for the United States in 1847. Mr. and Mrs. Ainscow are the parents of four children: Marion E., born May 19, 1891, married Arthur Van Keuren, and they have two children: Vir- ginia and Tobias, now residing in Albany, New York; Edith V., born March 24, 1893, residing at home with her parents ; A. Roy, born January 8, 1895, married Laura Boyd, and they reside near Metuchen; George W., Jr., born November 29, 1902, residing at home.
HENRY S. GARRETSON .- From a Middlesex county farm in Piscataway township, Mr. Garretson came to Dunellen, in his native county, and there entered mercantile life. For nearly a quarter of a century he has conducted a lumber and coal business in Dunellen, and is one of the substantial men of his community. He is a son of James and Gertrude E. (Staats) Garretson, his father a farmer.
Henry S. Garretson was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, October 1, 1856, and was there educated in the public schools. He grew to manhood at the home farm, and until he was about forty-five years of age engaged in farming and tilling his own acres, and he prospered. About 1898 he formed a partnership with Alvah Gray in a lumber and coal business in Dunellen, which he has successfully conducted during the twenty-three years which have since intervened. He is a man of strong business ability, and as a citizen his upright life is an example. He is president of the Home Building and Loan Association of Dunellen, and president of the Hillsborough Mutual Fire Assurance Association, and was a member of the Board of Freeholders for nine years.
In his political views, Mr. Garretson is a Republican; in his church affiliation he is a member of the First Baptist of New Market, in which he has been active. He is a member of the Masonic order, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, Patriotic Order Sons of America, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Republican Club.
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Mr. Garretson married, in New Market, New Jersey, November I, 1882, Lily E. Benward, born August 17, 1863, daughter of Peter and Phoebe L. (Dayton) Benward, her father a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Gar- retson are the parents of three children: Ethel, born June 30, 1884; J. Russell, born February 7, 1890; and Lillian, born August 4, 1892. The Garretson home is in Dunellen, New Jersey, where the family is well known.
FREDERICK B. PEINS .- For eighteen years Frederick B. Peins has been engaged in the manufacture of tile flooring with the B. H. Lage Company, first under the partnership form, and later, in 1914, under its corporate form, the B. H. Lage Company, Inc., of New York City, and Menlo Park, New Jersey. This is one of the well known tile manufacturing companies, its offices being in New York City, the plant at Menlo Park. He is a son of Henry and Margaret (Anderson) Peins, both born in Germany, where they lived and died. They were the parents of eight children: Ferdinand, Catherine, Sophia, Andrew, Marie, Hen- ricetta. Frederick B., of further mention ; and Heinrich. Four of these children came to the United States: Andrew, Catherine, Frederick B., and Marie.
Frederick B. Peins was born in Tating, Germany, January 24, 1866, and there spent the first twenty-five years of his life. He was educated in his native land, the gymnasium there furnishing training and instruc- tion on a par with the best technical high schools in this country. In 1891 he came to the United States and shortly afterward began his connection with clay manufacturing. His line has been largely the manufacture of tile flooring, and in that particular line of business he has specialized. In 1902 he became superintendent and later manager of the B. H. Lage Company, of Menlo Park, New Jersey, the well known tile manufacturing company. He has been connected with that company ever since, although in more recent years its ownership has changed and it is now the B. H. Lage Company, Inc., of New York City. Mr. Peins is one of the principal stockholders of the present company, and fills the same place in the management of the corporation as he did in the firm. He is well known in the clay products business, and the company is well established and highly regarded in the trade.
In political faith Mr. Peins is a Republican, and keenly alive to his responsibilities as a citizen, but as a citizen only, not as a seeker for office. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Rahway, and the Independent Order of Foresters, of Metuchen ; he and his family are members of the Lutheran church of Rahway.
Mr. Peins married, in Rahway, in 1891, Anna Eseman, born in Ger- many, November 3, 1866, daughter of Frederick and Marie Eseman, natives of Germany, where they always resided. Mrs. Peins has a sister, Martha, who remained with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Peins are the parents of five children : Anna, born February 22, 1893; Frederick, born April 8, 1895; Elsie, born June 17, 1897, died September 4, 1898; Rudolph, born September 7, 1899; Margaret, born January 24, 1904, died January
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29, 1904. Mr. Peins and his family are among the well known and highly respected residents of Menlo Park. The family home is one of the fine old mansions there, and the first house in which Thomas Edison installed electric lights.
GUSTAV BLAUM .- A native son of Woodbridge, Gustav Blaum has all his life been connected with the town, and from boyhood has been associated with its mercantile life. He began as a grocer's clerk, and has always been partial to that business, finally, in 1905, becoming proprietor of the Hilsdorf store in Woodbridge, and one of the leading merchants of his town. He is a son of Sebastian and Catherine (Lorch) Blaum.
Gustav Blaum was born in Woodbridge, Middlesex county, New Jersey, April 10, 1867, and there obtained a public school education. Quite early in life he clerked in different Woodbridge stores, but attended school quite regularly until about 1880, when he took a permanent position with Robert Humphrey, a long-time hardware merchant, with whom he remained until 1882. when he transferred his services to Hils- dorf & Harned, grocers, at now No. 82 Main street, Woodbridge. He remained with Hilsdorf & Harned until 1888, when he became a clerk with Burkett & Paterson, grocers, of Woodbridge, and three and one- half years later entered into a partnership with C. W. Harned and con- ducted a grocery business on Main street. Woodbridge, for three years.
This experience seems to have satisfied Mr. Blaum's ambition for a mercantile career, and for five years, 1895-1900, he was agent for the Prudential Life Insurance Company, with offices in Perth Amboy. In 1900 he reentered the grocery business, accepting a position with Hilsdorf Brothers, who were then running a chain of grocery stores, one of them, the old Hilsdorf & Harned store in Woodbridge, in which Mr. Blaum had formerly been a clerk. He was appointed manager of that store by Hilsdorf Brothers, and successfully operated it for five years, when he purchased the business from the Hilsdorfs, and since 1905 has operated it under his own name. He has been very successful, has built up a good business, and is highly esteemed by his community. He has other interests of importance, the most important being in the Woodbridge Building and Loan Association, of which he was one of the founders in 1910, and during the entire eleven years of its life he has been the efficient treasurer.
Mr. Blaum has served his town as fire commissioner, and member of the Lighting Commission; is a member of the Woodbridge Fire Department : the Junior Order of United American Mechanics; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; and the Royal Arcanum. Politically he is an Independent, and keenly alive to his responsibilities as a citizen. He is always ready to "lend a hand" in any forward movement, and displays a fine public spirit in his attitude on all questions of civic importance.
Mr. Blaum married. in Woodbridge, in 1900. Emma Ayres, daughter of John and Maria Ayres.
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CHARLES COMPTON .- The farm in Raritan township, Middlesex county, New Jersey, which Charles Compton owns and cultivates has been in the family name for over a century, and the house he occupies was built by Ephraim Compton, his grandfather, nearly one hundred years ago.
Joel Compton, son of Ephraim and Elizabeth (Carpenter) Compton, occupied the old farm, and in 1860 built an addition to the old house built by his father and now occupied by his son, Charles. The Comp- tons came from England to Monmouth county, New Jersey, in 1667, and William Compton, the original settler, became one of the original proprietors of Middlesex township, and from him sprang a large and influential family. The farm in Raritan township upon which Ephraim Compton lived and built his house adjoins the village of Metuchen, and once contained about five hundred acres, part of which is now owned and tilled by his grandson, Charles Compton.
Charles Compton, son of Joel and Louisa (Campbell) Compton, was born in Dark Lane, Middlesex county, New Jersey, May 28, 1865, and was educated in the district schools. He early became his father's farm assistant, and later inherited the old homestead upon which he now resides. He has been a farmer all his life and is rated one of the pros- perous, substantial men of his township. In religions faith, Mr. Comp- ton is a Presbyterian, and in politics exercises the greatest independence, voting for the man of principle which best appeals to his judgment.
Mr. Compton married, April 25. 1881, Phoebe (Boylan) Mettick, born October 27, 1855, daughter of John V. and Susan Terry (Newman) Boylan, and widow of Isaac Mettick. Mr. and Mrs. Compton are the parents of six children : Louisa, born August 15. 1883; Mattietha, born December 11, 1885 ; Olive, born May 11, 1888; Mary N., born September 3. 1889; William C., born April 16, 1892: and Ida May, born April 5, 1 896.
MARTIN GALBRAITH, JR., was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, March 25. 1879, the son of Martin Galbraith, Sr., who was born in Ire- land, but came to the United States about 1859. Martin Galbraith, Sr., married Julia Kilbride, and they were living in Plainfield, New Jersey, at the time of the birth of their son. Martin, Jr.
Martin Galbraith, Jr., was educated in the public schools of that city. He early became a hotel proprietor, and is now owner of the only hotel in Iselin, a village of Woodbridge township, Middlesex county, on the Pennsylvania Railroad. The hotel of which Mr. Galbraith is proprietor was built in 1864. In politics he is an independent, in religious faith a Catholic. His fraternity is the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Rahway.
Mr. Galbraith married, April 1. 1901, at Plainfield, New Jersey, Mary Geary, born November 5, 1881, daughter of Richard and Ellen (Hughes) Geary, born in Iselin. To Mr. and Mrs. Galbraith five children were born : Dorothy, born February 21, 1903; Roger, born June 9, 1905, died March 14. 1910; Eleanor, born November 16, 1909; Charles, born Novem- ber 5, 1911 ; Howard, born February 24, 1915.
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CALVIN CLETUS CUNNIUS, JR .- Coming to New Brunswick a lad just out of high school, Mr. Cunnius saw the opportunity and two years later established the business which he has since conducted- an automobile service station, his absence in the army the only interrup- tion since 1915.
Calvin C. Cunnius, Jr., was born in Freeland, Pennsylvania, March 19, 1897, the son of Calvin and Mary (Nagle) Cunnius ; his father is engaged in the automobile business. The family later moved to Long Branch, New Jersey, where Calvin C. was educated, finishing with graduation from Chattle High School. He became familiar with the automobile business and was the first to operate auto-motive electrical service in New Brunswick. Later, for two years, he was with the Willard Com- pany at their New Brunswick station. In 1915, although but eighteen years of age, he opened a service station in New Brunswick for his own account, and has successfully conducted it until the present (1921).
During the World War, Mr. Cunnius enlisted in the United States army, September 5, 1918, and spent five months at Camp Humphries, Virginia, as a private of Company K, Engineers Regiment. He was honorably discharged, January 4, 1919. He is a member of the Lions Club, and of Suydam Street Reformned Church.
On May 5. 1918, in Suydam Street Reformed Church, Mr. Cunnius married Mary Regina Deshler, daughter of John and Mary Deshler.
Mr. Cunnius is a young man of energy and ability, and has obtained a good start in the business world. His service station, at No. 257 George street, is well patronized, the service being appreciated by motorists.
ARTHUR J. HAMLEY, now cashier of the First National Bank of Dunellen, New Jersey, was born in Mount Olive, New, Jersey, December 18, 1881, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Lindberry) Hamley, his father a machinist. Arthur J. Hamley was educated in public schools and business college, and when ready to enter business life he chose banking. He came to the First National Bank of Dunellen, January 1, 1907, and since has been its efficient cashier. He is thoroughly informed in matters financial, and has the entire confidence of the public. Mr. Hamley is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Presby- terian church. Mr. Hamley married, in 1903, in Stephensburg, New Jersey, Esther M. Fleming, daughter of Albert and M. Louise (Mitchell) Fleming, her father a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Hamley are the parents of two children : J. Ronald, born January 15, 1905; S. Elizabeth, born July 22, 1909.
JOHN H. BECKER .- As a cosmopolitan nation, America is distinc- tive. From the four quarters of the globe men have come to her shores, many of whom have been men of unbounded integrity, of determined purpose, of mental vigor and endurance, men who are both builders and conservators. When one man passes another on the highway of pros- perity and high standing in a community, it is because he has the power
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to make the most of every advantage which surround the human race. It is this power which has made John H. Becker, of Milltown, New Jersey, one of the leading men of this community.
John H. Becker was born in Austria-Hungary, December 24, 1886, and came to this country at the age of sixteen. He conducts a garage at Milltown, New Jersey, where he also does a large repair business. He has won his way to success through sheer pluck and that indomit- able energy which in its last analysis is the fundamental characteristic of the successful business man. His career is one of those whose study affords fruitful conclusions for men who possess the combination of pluck and perseverance, and who take advantage of the opportunities open to young men in this country. In politics Mr. Becker is a Repub- lican. He fraternizes with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Improved Order of Red Men.
On August 4, 1907, Mr. Becker was united in marriage with Anna Mihalofsky, and they are the parents of five children : Anna, born April 4, 1908; Elizabeth, born December 11, 1910; John, born January 6, 1912; Margaret, born June 12, 1918; Catherine, born February 25, 1920. The family home is at No. 86 Riva avenue, Milltown, New Jersey.
PATRICK F. MCCUTCHEON, numbered among the representative citizens of Sayreville, New Jersey, is a native of this community, where he has always had the welfare and advancement of it uppermost in his mind and given earnest support to all movements calculated to advance its development.
Patrick F. Mccutcheon was born January 6, 1865, in Sayreville, New Jersey, the son of John and Anna (Campbell) McCutcheon. He was educated in the schools of his native place, and after completing his studies entered upon his business career. For the past thirty years he has been owner and manager of a general merchandise store and has been highly successful in this venture. Unswerving honesty and fairness has won for him the respect of his fellow-citizens. In politics Mr. Mccutcheon is a Democrat, and gives to the affairs of the organization the interest demanded of every good citizen. He is also prominent in fraternal circles, being affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Foresters of America, and the Wood- men of the World. In religion he is a Roman Catholic, and has always served the church well by personal righteousness, and his means is ever contributed to his church and its benevolences.
Patrick F. Mccutcheon was united in marriage with Catherine (Kel- ley ) Clark, February 26, 1900. Mrs. McCutcheon was born September I, 1865, in New York City, the daughter of Martin and Margaret (Gur- nan) Kelley. Mr. and Mrs. McCutcheon have no children.
WILLIAM P. WALDRON .- At Three Bridges, a village of Hun- terdon county, New Jersey, on the south branch of the Raritan river, four miles east of Flemington, Peter Waldron, and his son, William P., were born, that locality having long been the family seat. Peter Wal-
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dron, a farmer of Three Bridges, married Louise West, born in Mont- gomery, Somerset county, New Jersey, and they were the parents of William P. Waldron, now (1921) superintendent of the Middlesex County Poor Farm.
William P. Waldron was born at Three Bridges, New Jersey, Novem- ber 15, 1871, and there was educated in the public schools. He remained at home, his father's farm helper, until coming of age, then farmed for his own account until elected to superintend the County Poor Farm at Stelton. He has held that position for seven years, beginning in 1914. He is a Republican in politics, a member of Stelton Baptist Church, and of the Junior Order of American Mechanics.
Mr. Waldron married, at Bound Brook, New Jersey, March 31, 1897, Carrie Moore, born at Bound Brook, July 31, 1873, daughter of John M. and Mary (Wisner) Moore, her father a miller. Mr. and Mrs. Wal- dron have three children: Rilla, born September 2, 1901; Beulah, born January 19, 1907; Howard, born February 20, 1910.
JAMES PARKER LIDDLE .- A native son of Middlesex county, Mr. Liddle strayed far from his native heath, and for thirty years braved the storms that swept Dakota's prairies. But storms are followed by sunshine, and the Dakota storms and sunshine produced the wonderful crops which Mr. Liddle garnered year after year, until his wants were satisfied, then he met the craving he had long fought against and returned to the hills, valleys and fields of Middlesex county. On a little farm not far from Metuchen (a garden in comparison with his broad Dakota acres) he located, near enough to have city advantages, far enough away to avoid the crowded feeling, and there the veteran of seventy- three years, in the house which he rebuilt and modernized, is reaping the reward of his years of toil in a life of contented ease. He is a son of Joshua and Ann (Buck) Liddle, his father before him a Middlesex farmer.
James Parker Liddle was born in Woodbridge township, Middlesex county, New Jersey, December 15, 1847, and there spent the years of his youth and early manhood. He attended public schools, then learned the blacksmith's trade, working at his trade and farming until 1878, when he went to North Dakota, and there remained for thirty years. In the early days in North Dakota few people attempted to remain on their prairie lands during the winer, Mr. Liddle being one of the first to attempt it in his section. He built one of the first frame houses in that country, most of the houses being made of sod, which is a house partly below and partly above the surface, the walls and roof being built of thick, tough prairie sod, making a warm and comfortable home. After thirty years in the West he returned to Middlesex county and bought a little farm of nineteen acres near Metuchen, and has there created a delightful home for his declining years. In politics he is a Republican, and takes a great interest in affairs of his community.
Mr. Liddle married, at Fords Corners, New Jersey, December 15, 1873, Ellen Gaffney, born in Boston, Massachusetts, July 5, 1849, daugh- ter of John and Ellen (Lavigne) Gaffney, both born in Ireland.
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JOHN JOSEPH QUINN .- One of the responsible executive posi- tions in the business world of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, is filled by John Joseph Quinn. Born in this city, he is a son of Terence Quinn, a native of Ireland, who spent the greater part of his life in this country.
Terence Quinn was born in Tyrone, Ireland, and came here with his parents when he was a boy. The family located in Philadelphia, and remained there for a considerable period of time. In his early manhood young Terence enlisted in a Pennsylvania regiment, and served through the Civil War. Soon after his discharge, he came to Perth Amboy, and established a cigar and candy store at No. 88 Smith street. He conducted this store for many years, and the building in which it was located came to be known as the "Old Quinn Home- stead." It is still in excellent condition, and used for both residence and business purposes. Mr. Quinn's widow still resides there. Mr. Quinn died on September 29, 1893, at the age of sixty-one. He married Jane McDonnell, who was born in County Sligo, Ireland, and came to this country with her father at the age of nine years, settling in Quebec, Canada. Terence and Jane (McDonnell) Quinn were the parents of the following children : Mary ; Arthur ; Elizabeth ; Terence, deceased ; Anna ; James ; Michael, deceased ; and John Joseph.
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