History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 1, Part 57

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 974

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THE BENCH AND BAR OF MONMOUTH COUNTY.

who married Stokes J. Clark, and died in 1879; and William H., who died in infancy.

Joseph Murphy subsequently engaged in the mercantile business in company with Isaac K. Lippincott and William D. Davis, and after- wards with Richard Davis. During this latter partnership, about 1838, he purchased the farm adjoining the town of Freehold known as the "Murphy farm," and about 1850 abandoned the mercantile business and devoted his atten- tion entirely to his farm, and became one of the

connected with that church at an early age, and remained active and devoted members during their lives. Judge Murphy was the principal organizer of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Freehold in 1833, and was president of the board of trustees from the organization of the church till his decease.

Judge Murphy was a man widely known for his integrity of character and sound judgment. He was quiet and undemonstrative in his man- ners, cautious in forming Iris opinions, but having

Holmes W. Wupby

most successful practical farmers in this section. definitely fixed them in his own mind, he firmly In 1867 he sold his farm, and having acquired adhered to them. His attachments were not easily loosened, and his friendships were lasting. an ample competency, retired from business. He was for several years one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas of this county, which position he filled with dignity and credit.

Judge Murphy's father and mother were, per- haps, the oldest members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in this county, and their house was for a long time a preaching-place for that society. All of their children became

Holmes W. Murphy, the subject of this sketch, was born at Freehold, in this county, November 28, 1822. In his early school-boy days there was no school in the village, except a small one kept by Miss Sally Throckmorton, and subsequently by other ladies, which he attended. He also was a pupil for a time of Samuel Throp, well known as a school-teacher,

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

about a mile out of the village. He was one of the first pupils entered at the Freehold Academy, about 1832, under McBurney as teacher. Gen- eral Shields was for a time also a teacher in this school. He early commenced at this academy the study of the languages, and under Mr. Hobart, one of its most successful teachers, became fitted for college, and in the year 1838 entered the Wesleyan University, at Middle- town, Conn., as a freshman. In 1841 he left that institution, and entered for his senior year the senior class at the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, where hegraduated in the class of 1842, being one of the speakers at commencement, which in those days was considered one of the honors of the college. In due course he re- ceived from this college the degree of Master of Arts. After his graduation Mr. Murphy studied law with the Hon. Judge Dikeman, of

clerk's office of Kings County during the terms of County Clerks John M. Hicks and F. B Stryker. As a commissioner of deeds in the city of Brooklyn, he was also largely en- gaged in conveyancing. About the year 1854 he moved back to Freehold, his native town, and in February, 1856, was employed as assist- ant by Jehu Patterson, Esq., who had just been elected county clerk. Mr. Patterson died in the spring of 1858, and was succeeded by John W. Bartleson, who was appointed clerk by the Governor to fill the vacancy. Mr. Murphy remained with Mr. Bartleson in the office till November, 1858, at which time he became himself the clerk of the county, having been elected to that position by a very large majority of the electors. He held the office of county clerk till November, 1868, having been re- elected without opposition. During this time he was also clerk of the Board of Chosen Free- holders of the county, having held that office from May, 1858, to May, 1874. This was dur- ing the period of the stirring events of the civil war, and Mr. Murphy, by reason of his position in the above-named offices, was actively

engaged in assisting the county authorities to raise money by the sale of its bonds for furnish- ing its quota of volunteers ; and by reason also of his position and the confidence reposed in him, he was appointed to pay out the State bounty to the wives and families of the volun- teers from Freehold township. Mr. Murphy ardently espoused the cause of the Union in the pending struggle, and wrote, over his own signa- ture, and as editorials, many articles in favor of the war and its vigorous prosecution, in the Monmouth Democrat, which for a time he edited, while his brother-in-law, Major James S. Yard, was at the front with the New Jersey volunteers. -

- Mr. Murphy was also chief commissioner of the town of Freehold from the date of its | incorporation, in May, 1869, to May, 1872. During these first years of the incorporation of the town, sidewalks had to be laid, lamps Brooklyn, and was admitted an attorney-at-law erected and grades established, and as the inter- in the State of New York in 1845. He prac- ests of many were conflicting, much courage and ticed his profession in that city for about ten firmness, as well as prudence, were needed to · years, a part of which time he was also engaged harmonize conflicting interests, and carry on the as a searcher of real estate titles in the county work to a successful issue. In this work Mr. Murphy and his fellow commissioners succeeded so well that they were re-elected each year by large majorities, till the work was completed.

Mr. Murphy remained in the clerk's office after his term expired with his successor, Cap- tain Thomas V. Arrowsmith, during his first term, till November, 1873. In the year 1874 he was admitted to the bar of this State, and formed a partnership with the Hon. George C. Beekman. As a law firm they had an exten- sive practice, and were engaged in many im- portant cases. Mr. Murphy was also elected a member of the General Assembly of this State in the fall of 1880, having been elected as a Democrat by a majority of five hundred and ninety-three in the First Legislative District, which the year before had returned a Repub- lican. He served during the year 1881, and declined a re-election. He was a member of the Committee on Revision of Laws and other important committees, and was selected by the Speaker and Governor as a member of the Constitutional Commission, which embraced some of the leading lawyers and most eminent citizens of the State.

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THE BENCH AND BAR OF MONMOUTH COUNTY.

At present Mr. Murphy is deputy county clerk of this county, having been appointed to that position by the present county clerk, Dr. James H. Patterson.

Mr. Murphy was married, in the year 1861, to Lavinia C. Swift, of Lancaster County, Pa. She is a daughter of Daniel D. Swift and Lavinia C. Clark, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. Swift was descended from one of the oldest families in Pennsylvania, his ancestors . having been prominent in business and political life in the city of Philadelphia at a very early period in its history, and members of the same family are still prominent in its business and social circles. The first ancestor of Daniel D. Swift in this country was Joseph Swift, who married Margaret McCall, in Philadelphia, February 3, 1759. Mr. Swift was born June 24, 1731, and received a good education, partly in this country and partly in England. He was a successful merchant, becoming quite wealthy, a member of the Common Council, and subsequently alderman of the city. He died December 24, 1806. His wife died Decem- ber 19, 1804. They were both buried in Christ Church burial-ground, Philadelphia, of which church they had long been prominent members. They had fourteen children, one of whom was Joseph Swift, the father of Daniel D. Swift. He was born in Philadelphia, December 14, 1765, and was engaged in mer cantile pursuits in that city, and resided for some time on a farm in Little Britain (now Fulton) township, in Lancaster County, Pa, which was the birth-place of Robert Fulton, and is still called Fulton House, and is in pos- session of the Swift family. He had quite a large family, of which Daniel D. was the youngest. His wife, Lavinia Clark, was the daughter of Judge Thomas Clark, of the same county, and at one time proprietor of the large iron-works about five miles from Fulton House.

There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Murphy eight children,-M. Louise, Alice H., Emma S., Joseph, Lavinia S., Adaline S., Holmes W., Jr., and a son who lived but a few hours after his birth. Four of these children are still living, viz. : M. Louise, Lavinia S., Addie S. and Holmes W., Jr.

Mr. Murphy has also been, and is yet, a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, having been made a Mason in Fortitude Lodge, No. 19, Brooklyn, N. Y., about 1844, and having filled the offices of Grand Junior War- den and Deputy Grand Master in the Grand Lodge of New Jersey. The latter office he filled from 1865 for several years.

He has also been a member of the Indepen- dent Order of Odd-Fellows from about 1844 to the present time, and has filled the office of District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey.

Mr. Murphy adhered to the faith of his fathers, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Freehold, and president of its board of trustees. He has also been closely identified with the shore interests of the county, and has been a member of the Ocean Grove Camp-Meeting Association of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church from 1874 to the present time, and has been for most of that time and is yet a member of its executive committee. . He has also been a director of the Atlantic Highlands Association from its organization to the present time.

ACTON CIVIL HARTSHORNE, a prominent member of the Monmouth bar, and a resident of Freehold, was born October 12, 1843, on the old Hartshorne homestead farm (which he now owns), adjoining West Freehold, and about two miles west of Freehold village. He re- ceived his primary education in the district school until the fall of 1857, from which time until the spring of 1859 he attended William W. Woodhull's private school, in Freehold. In April of that year he entered the employ of Holmes W. Murphy, Esq. (then clerk of Mon- mouth County), as a copyist, and remained in his employ until the spring of 1866, during ! the last five years of that time acting as deputy clerk and attending chiefly to searching and preparing abstraets of title.

In 1866, Mr. Hartshorne entered the office of the Hon. Joel Parker, where he served a regu- lar clerkship as student-at-law, and at the Feb- ruary term of 1870 was admitted to practice in the courts of the State as an attorney-at-law and solicitor in Chancery. At the February term

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

of 1876 he was admitted as a counselor-at-law. On the 1st of May, 1875, he formed a law partnership with the Hon. Chilion Robbins, ex-judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Monmouth County, under the name and style of Robbins & Hartshorne. Since that time the firm have had an extensive practice in all the courts of the State, and have been engaged in a large number of the most important cases. Mr. Hartshorne has been entrusted and honored with

of ex-Governor and ex-United States Senator Bibb, of Alabama. After that time his southern trips were frequent, and on November 28, 1877, he was married to Georgie E. Bibb, daughter of the late George B. Bibb and his wife, Cath- arine Bibb, at Carlowville, Alabama. In the fall of 1871 he went abroad with Dr. D. McLean Forman, and remained nearly six months, traveling through England, France, Italy and Egypt, the Island of Sicily and Malta,

all'the appointments conferred by the respective ; passing through the Suez Canal and climbing courts on members of the legal profession, in cluding that of special master and examiner in the Court of Chancery and that of Supreme Court commissioner.

the Pyramid of Cheops. In the spring of 1863 he again went abroad in company with the Hon. Henry S. Little, Aaron Rhea Throckmorton, Dr. John Vought, Jonathan Longstreet, James Laird and Henry C. Pitney, remaining nearly four months visiting England, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland. He attended the World's Exposition at Vienna

In his earlier years Mr. Hartshorne was a somewhat extensive traveler. Hespent the win- ter of 1868-69 in traveling through all the Southern States, and while on that trip first met the lady who became his wife,-a granddaughter "as a commissioner from New Jersey, appointed

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THE BENCH AND BAR OF MONMOUTH COUNTY.

by the Governor, under an act of the Legis- lature.

He is an active member of St. Peter's P. E. Church, Freehold, and has been one of its ves- trymen for several years past.

out his business at the Point and again took charge of his farm and mill, and continued to live there until his death.

Richard Saltar Hartshorne, Jr., son of the above-mentioned Richard S., and father of Ac-

Mr. Hartshorne's marked success as a lawyer ; ton C. Hartshorne, was born at the place now is largely due to his unfailing energy, his love known as Matawan, January 6, 1814. He of hard work and careful attention to all the | was married, November 22, 1837, to Eleanor details of his business, but more than all to his Gavwood Morris, daughter of Isaac Morris, a steadfastness, fidelity and unwavering zeal for ; prominent contractor and builder of New York . the interests of his clients.

City. He was then engaged in the oil business in New York with E. W. Van Voorhees, trad- ing under the name of Van Voorhees & Harts- horne, until the spring of 1842, when he sold his interest in the business and purchased a farm

Acton C. Hartshorne is a descendant of Rich- ard Hartshorne, who came from England to New Jersey before the year 1670, and settled at the Highlands, in Middletown township. He was the first attorney in the county, and one of its about two miles west of Freehold. To that most prominent men. Without tracing the sev- farm he removed with his family, and remained there until April 1, 1871, when he removed to Freehold, still carrying on his farming busi- ness. About July 1, 1872, while stowing away hay in his barn, he slipped and fell to the floor, a distance of nearly twenty feet, receiving very severe injuries, from the effects of which he never fully recovered, and he died July 29, 1872, leaving his widow and the following- named children surviving him : (1) Richard Morris Hartshorne, died March 24, 1885; (2) James Theodore Hartshorne, now a sales- man in New York City ; (3) Acton C. Harts- horne, the subject of this biographical notice ; (4) George Sykes Hartshorne, farmer at Black's Mills; (5) Susie Ella Hartshorne, now the wife of William S. Throckmorton, attorney and coun- sellor-at-law, Freehold. eral links in the chain of descent, it is sufficient to mention that some five or six generations down from Richard, the first American ances- tor, we find the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Richard Saltar Hartshorne, who was born on the Highlands estate of the family. He kept a general country store at Middletown vil- lage, and afterwards purchased a farm, store and mills about one mile north of Freehold. On that farm he resided for several years prior to 1808. In that year he removed to Middletown Point (now Matawan), and remained there ten years, during which time he carried on a gen- eral country store, in partnership with Holmes Van Mater, under the name of Van Mater & Hartshorne. They were also engaged in run- ning small sailing-vessels between the Point and New York City, carrying passengers and freights, the regularity of their trips depending entirely upon wind and tide. This was then the most direct route of communication with New York for the people of Monmouth and a part of Middlesex County. While living at Middletown Point, Mr. Hartshorne still re-

HENRY M. NEVIUS, a member of the Mon- mouth bar of twelve years' practice, and now a resident of Red Bank, is a grandson of David Nevius, a brother of Judge James S. Nevius, who for years presided in the courts of the Monmouth Circuit. James S. Nevius, nephew of the judge of the same name, and son of Da- mained the owner of the property near Free- , vid Nevius, married Hannah Bowne, daughter

- hold, and in 1816 he rebuilt the mill on that property. In digging the new foundation, the workmen struck a deposit of marl, the first that was discovered in this section of the county. Soon afterwards "Hartshorne's Marl Pits " were opened (as also others in the vicinity), and proved very remunerative. In 1818 he sold

of James Bowne, of Manalapan township, and they were the parents of Henry M. Nevius, the subject of this biography. The other sons of David Nevius were John S., now living in Kansas City, Mo .; Martin, living in Somerset County, N. J. ; and William, now a resident of California. James S. Nevius the younger, died

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

in Princeton at the age of sixty-four years ; his then breaking out, he soon after (in July of that wife, the mother of Henry M. Nevius, is now year) enlisted as a private soldier in a company living at Freehold. The children of James S. then being raised in Grand Rapids, and which and Hannah (Bowne) Nevius were (1) Henry afterwards became Company K of the First M., to whom this sketch has especial reference; New York Cavalry (otherwise known in its or- (2) James B., now living at Princeton, N. J .; (3) Margaret (married John J. Woodhull, son of Dr. John T. Woodhull, of Freehold), now liv- ing at Newark ; (4) Mary A .; (5) Julia ; (6)

ganization as the "Lincoln Cavalry "). He served in that regiment until January, 1863, when he was promoted to second lieutenant of Company D Seventh Michigan Cavalry, which

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Ellen ; (7) Kate T. ; (8) Frank, who died in | regiment, with the First, Fifth and Sixth Michi- childhood.

gan Cavalry, formed the renowned cavalry bri-

Henry M. Nevius was born January 30, 'gade which fought under the leadership of Gen- 1841. He studied in the Freehold Institute, ; eral George A. Custer through the campaigns of under Professor O. R. Willis, and in 1859 he removed to Grand Rapids, Mich., where he completed his education in the High School of |

the Army of the Potomac. In the winter of 1863-64 he resigned his commission and re- turned home, but in the following spring he en- that place. In April, 1861, he commenced the listed as a private in the Twenty-fifth New study of law in the office of E. Smith, Jr., of York Cavalry, in which he was soon promoted Grand Rapids, but the War of the Rebellion ! to the grade of first lieutenant. In the en-

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THE BENCH AND BAR OF MONMOUTH COUNTY.

gagement of July 11, 1864, in front of Fort Stevens, on the investing lines at Petersburg, Va., he lost his left arm (this being the third or fourth time he was wounded in the service). On the same day he was promoted to the grade of major. The loss of his arm disabled him for active service in the field, but during the long time he was under treatment at the hospital in Washington, D. C., he was also serving on de- tached duty at that place, and so remained until July, 1865, when he was mustered out of the service. He was obliged to submit to sev- eral surgical operations on the remaining part of his arm, which continued to give him serious trouble until the winter of 1868-69, when it finally healed.

In 1866, Mr. Nevius was appointed assessor of internal revenue for the district embracing Monmouth County, and he was also at the same time engaged in the insurance business at Marl- borough. In 1868, having resigned the asses- sorship (but still continuing the insurance business), he entered the office of General Charles Haight as a law student, and continued until February, 1873, when he was admitted to prac- tice as an attorney. In February, 1876, he became a counselor-at-law. He first located in practice at Freehold, where he remained until May, 1875, when he removed to Red Bank, and formed a law partnership with the Hon. John S. Applegate. This continued for four years, after which time it was dissolved, and he com- menced a separate practice, in which he has re- mained and prosecuted successfully to the pres- ent time. As a lawyer, he is zealous and ear- nest in promoting the interests of his clients, an indefatigable worker, and one of the most eloquent of the members of the Monmouth bar. He held the position of corporation counsel of Red Bank for three years, and during all his residence there has taken a very deep and ac- tive interest in everything tending to promote the growth, prosperity and good order of the town.

der of the Department of New Jersey, in which office he displayed such marked ability and en- ergy that in 1885 he was re-elected by accla- mation,-a thing unknown until that time.

In politics, he is an earnest and uncompromi- sing Republican, but not an aspirant to office, as is evidenced by his refusal several times to accept the party nomination for member of the General Assembly, and once for that of Senator. In the Presidential campaigns of 1880 and 1884 he was very active, and being an eloquent and convincing orator (though never abusive or of- fensive towards his political opponents), he was engaged nearly every night during the heat of the canvass in speaking at political or Grand Army meetings, making, in 1884 more than sixty G. A. R. speeches. It has been said of him that he is the best public speaker in the Grand Army Department of New Jersey.

Mr. Nevius was married, December 27, 1871, to Matilda H. Herbert, daughter of the late William W. Herbert, of Marlborough, and his wife, Gertrude (Schenck) Herbert. They have one child, Kate T. Nevius, born December 27, 1874.

HENRY SIMMONS WHITE, son of Isaac P. and Adaline .White, was born at Red Bank, Monmouth County, N. J., on the 13th of July, 1844, and is of the fifth generation born there. Receiving an academic education, he began the study of medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the city of New York, and graduated from that institution in due course with the degree of M.D. After graduating, Mr. White began practicing medicine at his native place, Red Bank, and continued there for a period of about two years, when he quit his practice, went to the war and became an assistant surgeon in the army of the United States during the War of the Rebellion.

Upon his return from the army he concluded that the study of law led to a wider field for his activities, as well as to a life more congenial to his tastes and habits, and at once entered Co- lumbia Law School, in the city of New York, as a law student, whence he graduated, and was admitted to the bar of that State in June. 1870. In that year he removed to Jersey City, and

In 1871 " Arrowsmith Post, No. 61," G. A. R., was formed at Red Bank, chiefly through the influence and efforts of Mr. Nevius, who was elected its commander. This position he · held until 1884, when he was elected comman- I was admitted to the bar of the State of New

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Jersey as an attorney in November, 1872, and as a counselor of the Supreme Court at the November term, 1875.

Upon his admission to the bar of this State he opened an office in Jersey City. Soon after- wards he formed a partnership with John A. Blair, Esq., of that city, which lasted for some years, when he again opened an office by him- · self, which continued until May, 1884, when he gave up his office in Jersey City and took an office in the city of New York, where he now practices, as well as in New Jersey.

President Hayes appointed Mr. White assist- ant collector of the port of New York, which office he held for the term of four years.

As one of the younger members of the bar of this State, Mr. White has taken a good position, and his genial manners and energy are rewarded by an increasing clientage.

The case that brought him into the greatest notice was the suit of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company vs. The Hudson Tunnel Railroad Company. The latter com- pany was organized for the purpose of con- structing a tunnel under the Hudson River, between Jersey City and New York, through which tunnel railroad tracks were to be laid, so that trains could pass through to New York with their freight and passengers without stop- ping in Jersey City. It was contended that, under the provisions of the General Railroad Law, the company could not be legally organ- ized to make a tunnel, because, in that case, the tunnel would be the primary object, and the railroad would be only incidental thereto. It was also opposed on the ground that a company organized for the purpose of constructing a tunnel could not exercise the right of eminent domain in the acquisition of the required prop- erty for its use. These novel questions took various forms of litigation before they were finally determined in the Court of Chancery, in the Supreme Court and in the Court of Errors and Appeals, as well as in the United States Court, and lasted in all several years. Mr. White was successful in all the courts. Under the favorable decisions of the courts the Hudson Tunnel Company was enabled to go forward with its work, and about ten thousand

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History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 1, Part 57

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co. Number of Pages: 974

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 974