USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Montclair > History of Montclair township state of New Jersey; including the history of the families who have been identified with its growth and prosperity > Part 32
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Ile was a warm friend of the public school, was elected Trustee in 151, and re-elected at the expiration of his term. He owned the property on Church Street where the school-house now stands, and offered to give it for a public park provided the township of Montelair would buy the remainder from other parties. They did not accept his proposition, and it was afterward bought by the township for school purposes. Ile was a member of the Presbyterian Church and a generous contributor to its support, and was for eleven years a Trustee of the Society. Ile died in 1853.
He married. October 8, 1829. Mary W. Mingis, of Bloomfield. daughter of John Mingis. He had four children, viz .: Sergeant John M., killed at Fredericksburg. Va., while serving with the 26th New Jersey Volunteers : Charlotte D., who died in 1857: Francis A., born June 19, 1844, died in 1889 at Dayton, N. J. ; Julius Hawley.
JULIUS HAWLEY WHEELER, youngest son of Grant J. and Mary W. (Mingis) Wheeler, was born at Newark, N. J., June 19, 1>47. He was but three years of age when his parents moved to West Bloomfield ; he received his edneation under the old district school system. After leaving school he engaged in the coal business with William Sharp. at Bloomfiekl, and was afterward for a time in the plumbing business. He entered his father's employ in 1>75. and four years later he and his brother bonght ont their father's interest and continued the business under the name of Francis A. Wheeler & Co. After the removal of the manufactory to Waverly. N. J., a stock company was organized under the name of The Wheeler Manufacturing Company, of which Julius II. became President and still holds that position.
Mr. Wheeler was one of the charter members of the Montclair Fire Company, and served seven years as a fireman. Ile married, in 1-90. Alice Il. Harrison, of Ohio, a descendant of the Harrison family, of Orange.
THE HARRIS FAMILY.
COLONEL, FREDERICK HALSEY HARRIS, Oldest son of William 11. and Phebe II. (Baldwin) Harris, was born in Newark, N. J., March 7, 1-30. His immediate ancestor was Moses Harris, of Morrisania, N. Y., a descendant-probably-of Robert Harris, who came from Gloucestershire, England, before 1642, and settled in Roxbury. Mass. Descendants of this family moved first to Springfield, Mass., thence to Westchester County, N. Y. Rev. William Harris, of White Plains. N. Y., referring to Robert, the grandson of the ancestor, says : " I do not remember to have heard my father say anything of the Harris family, except that his grandfather, Robert Harris, was a very active, well built man, not large in stature, but in his old age, hale and enterprising."
The name of llarris is of Welsh origin, and means " The son of Harry," Harry being a nickname for llenry. The latter, as a eliristian name, is given by Webster as of " Old High German origin, meaning the head or chief of a house."
William II., the father of Colonel F. H. Harris, married Phebe HI. Baldwin, daughter of Robert, the son of Zadock Baldwin, who served in the New Jersey Militia in the War of the Revolution. Iler mother was Mary Gould, daughter of General William Gould, a soldier of the Revolution. General
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Gould's wife was the sister of Major Nathaniel Crane, son of Noah, son of Nathaniel, son of Azariah 20, son of Azariah 1st, who purchased, previous to 1680, the large tract of land subsequently known as Crane- town or West Bloomfield. William H. Harris was born in New York City, and removed with his father, Moses, to Newark, about 1804, when he was a few weeks old. He was an architect and builder, and carried on business for some years. About 1842 he purchased a quarry at Little Falls, N. J. He furnished the stone for the construction of Trinity Church, New York, and from this and his Newark quarries he supplied the stone for St. George's Church, and public buildings in New York, also for Boston and other places. Ile sold out his quarry in 1853, and bought one hundred acres in West Bloomfield (now Mont- clair) formerly known as Cranetown, it being a part of the original purchase of Azariah Crane and was the property left by the will of Major Nathaniel Crane to be sold and the proceeds invested in trust for the support of the ministers of the First Presbyterian Church in West Bloomfield. William II. Harris bought this property on account of his wife's early attachment to it, her grandmother, the sister of Major Crane, having been born at the homstead, which formed a part of it. The boundaries began abont 200 yards east of the Orange Road and extended to the top of the mountain. Mr. Ilarris laid out the property and eut the streets and avennes, which were run through it. He ocenpied the positions of Chosen Freeholder, U. S. Government Assessor, Director of the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad, in which he took an active part, especially the negotiation between the Morris and Essex Railroad Company and the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad Company, which resulted in the building of the latter road, and Trustee of the church for several years. Ile died in June, 1887, leaving issue : Frederick Halsey, William J., Mary C., Fanny C. and Robert B.
Col. Frederick H. Harris, the subject of this sketch, received a thorough preparatory education at private and boarding schools, intended to enter Princeton College and pursne his studies as a physician, but owing to his father's ill health was compelled to abandon his studies and assist him in the extensive quarry business in which he was then engaged. After his father had sold the Little Falls quarry he continued in the employ of the company who had purchased it, having charge of their extensive works in New Jersey. Ile moved to Montclair in 1853, and continned in that business until 1858. He had a strong desire for professional life and began that year the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1862. Shortly after this he commenced raising a company for the war, which formed a part of the Thirteenth Regiment, N. J. Vols., Company E, of which he was made Captain.
Just before he left for the war he was presented with a sword by the citizens of Montelair, the speech being made by Julins H. Pratt, Esq. It has inseribed on it the following legend: " Presented to Captain Fred. H. Harris by his friends, Montelair, N. J., August 21, 1862"; was worn by him during the whole three years of service, and it now adorns the wall of his residence and is highly prized as a memento of his service.
This is one of the most noted regiments of the war, and with the exception of the battle of Antietam, when he was on the siek list, Col. Harris was with his regiment in every engagement in which it participated. It was attached to the First Division. Twelfth Army Corps. He took part in the battle of Chancellorsville, May 1, 2 and 3, 1863, Gettysburg, July 1, 2 and 3, 1863, and in the autumn following his regiment, as a part of the Twelfth Army Corps, was sent west to join the Army of the Cumberland, and participated in the several engagements of Sherman's campaign, including his famous "march to the sea " (from Atlanta to Savannah) and his campaign through the Carolinas, with the Twentieth Corps, which was made up by a consolidation of the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps. He was commissioned Major, Angust 16, 1864, and on the 12th of October following was placed in command of the regiment as senior officer, owing to the illness of the Lieutenant-Colonel, the Colonel having been placed in command of the Brigade.
At the battle of Bentonville, fought March 9, 1865, "his regiment held the key to the situation," and he distinguished himself by his coolness, and the splendid manner in which he handled his men, under the most trying circumstances. John Y. Foster, in his " History of New Jersey Troops in the War," gives a minute description of the part taken by the Thirteenth in this battle. Referring to the
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faet that the Fourteenth Corps was being forced baek by the rebels and retreating in great confusion, he says : " At this juneture Major Harris was directed by the brigade commander to deploy and place the regiment on the other or right side of the ravine. using his judgment as to the best position, as rapidly as possible, and once in position to eonstruet such defences as could be quickly made." The order was promptly obeyed, the line being formed on the edge of the ravine as nearly on a prolongation of the brigade line as the nature of the ground would admit ; and the men at onee commeneed to construct a defence of rails and other sneh materials as were at hand. Soon after this the enemy appeared in three lines of battle, emerging from a belt of woods into a cleared field a short distance to the left of the Thir- teenth, on the opposite side of the ravine. The position of the Thirteenth up to this time was not observed by the advancing rebels. Major Harris waited until they were within 150 yards of his position before he gave the order to fire. AAt the same time the artillery from the rear opened on them with their batteries, and the enemy was driven back in confusion, and made no attempt to renew the attack at that point. AAs shown by subsequent events this was the decisive point in the battle, and was due to the evol- ness and gallantry of Major Harris, Foster in his account says : " The action in this, the last battle of the war, was, throughout, of the most gallant character. Hlad the regiment failed to hold its position, either through incapacity on the part of its officers, or want of steadiness among the men ; had the line giving way under pressure of the stragglers from the front and fallen in with the ebbing tide, the battle Innst inevitably have been lost and the final vietory over Johnston's army delayed. perhaps, for weeks." The regiment was highly complimented by corps. division and brigade commanders. Col. Hawley. com- manding the brigade, said: " You are entitled to the thanks of this whole army, for you have saved it." In reply to Lient .- Col. Harris, who asked for orders, he said : " I have no orders to give, for I know you will hold your position without." General Williams, commanding the division, remarked at the time in reference to the action of Lient .- Col. Harris : " Ile ought to be brevetted a Brigadier General for that."
Major Harris had been promoted Lientenant-Colonel previous to the battle, but his commission had not reached him. On the 26th of March following he was regularly mustered in as Lieutenant- Colonel, and continued in that capacity until mustered out of service. He was twice brevetted. once for gallant and meritorious service in Georgia and the Carolinas, and again for his gallantry at the battle of Bentonville.
At the close of the war, in 1865, Colonel Harris returned to Newark and began the practice of law, and in the spring of 1566 he was called to the Secretaryship of the American Insurance Company, of Newark, which position he held for seventeen years, until 1583, and was that year elected President as the successor of Mr. Stephen G. Gonld (a son of General Gould), deceased.
The annual income of the company when he became connected with it in 1866 was about $120,000. its total assets about $470,000, and its net surplus about $140,000, and the stock was selling at par. In 1893 the income was about $700,000, the total assets about $2.310.000, the net surplus about $1, 170,000, and the stock was selling in the market at 200 per cent. It is one of the oldest. and much the largest, fire insurance companies in the State of New Jersey.
For many years after the war, when the struggle was going on between the old and new regime, Col. Harris was among the boldest and most determined of the old residents in promoting the various publie improvements rendered necessary by the increasing population, composed largely of men of wealth and refinement from our large cities. He stood side by side with Mr. Pratt, Dr. Love and others in their efforts to improve the public school system (of which he was at one time a trustee), which has since become one of the marked features of Montelair. He was for many years the recognized leader of the republican party of this township; and while he invariably declined to accept political honors, he was one of the most earnest workers for the success of his party.
He has long been identified with the Presbyterian Church, and, as President of the Board of Trustees and Clerk of Session, he rendered important service in the management of its temporal and spiritual affairs.
He assisted in organizing the Veteran Association of the Thirteenth Regiment of Veterans in
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1886 and became its first President, in which position he continued until 1889, during which time the Gettysburg monument was built and in the success of which he took an active part and a deep interest. He is a member and was for some years commander of Phil Kearney Post No. 1, G. A. R. Ile is also a member of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and of Montelair Lodge No. 144, F. and A. M., of which he was a charter member ; he is also a director of the Montelair Library Asso- ciation, and one of the managers of Rosedale Cemetery. And it was at his suggestion and by his efforts the cemetery was enlarged in the direction of and for the accommodation of the people of Montclair; is a member of the Society of the Army of the Potomac, Society of the Army of the Cumberland, of the Board of Trade, City of Newark, and of the New England Society of Orange. By his energy and force of character he has been prominent and influential in the varions enterprises with which he has been connected, and has often been promoted to leading positions.
The homestead of Colonel Ilarris, near the corner of the Orange Road and Myrtle Avenue, ocenpies a portion of the original 100 aeres purchased by his father in 1853. Ile enlarged one of the old buildings on the place and made numerous improvements which give it an attractive and picturesque appearance. Among the numerous relies which adorn the interior is an old-fashioned upright elock of antiquated appearance, formerly the property of Major Nathaniel Crane, the woodwork of which was made from one of the apple trees which grew on the place.
Col. Harris married, in 1865, Elizabeth J. Torrey, daughter of Charles Torrey, of Bethany, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, and a granddaughter of Major Jason Torrey, one of the pioneers of that county, who came originally from Connecticut. Five children are the issue of this marriage, viz. : Ellen, who married Charles M. Dntcher, of Brooklyn: Elizabeth, Jane Howell, and Frederick Halsey (deceased in 1879) and Anna Marion.
THE PRATT FAMILY.
LINE OF DESCENT OF JULIUS HOWARD PRATT, OF MONTCLAIR, FROM LIEUT. WILLIAM PRATT, OF SAYBROOK, CONN., 1645.
The name of Pratt derives its origin from a locality, and is from the Latin Pratum, a meadow. The name appears in the roll of the Battle Abbey, A.D., 1066, as one who accompanied William the Conqueror and participated in the battle of Hastings. William de Pratellis accompanied Richard Cœur de Lion to the Holy Land, and on a certain occasion saved the King from capture by the Turks by personating the King and permitting himself to be taken instead. for which service he was knighted and highly honored.
LIEUT. WILLIAM PRATT, the American ancestor of this branch of the Pratt family, came from Hertfordshire, Eng., and as his lineage is easily traced back into the 14th century, it is highly probable that he is descended from William de Pratellis. Ile emigrated to New England and settled in Cambridge, Mass., previons to 1632, and moved thenee to Hartford. Conn., in 1636. Ile was one of the band who went from Hartford on the expedition against the Pequods in 1637, which resulted in the extermination of this tribe. In 1645 he settled in Saybrook, Conn., in that part now known as Essex. Ile represented the town of Saybrook in the General Assembly twenty-three times from 1666 to 1678, and by order of the General Court, October, 1661, he was "established Lieutenant to ye Band at Sea-Brook." He was a warm friend of the Indian Chief Uneas, and one of the executors of his will, and received from the latter large grants of land.
Julius Howard Pratt's line of deseent from Lieut. William Pratt, is through " Ensign" John Pratt, eldest son of the latter, born February 20, 1644 ; John Pratt, Jr., born September 5, 1671 ; Azariah Pratt, born 1710; " Deacon " Phineas Pratt, born June 27, 1747, who had a son Julius, the father of Julius II. Deacon Phineas Pratt, the grandfather of Julius II., was a soldier in the War of the Revolution, and assisted Bushnell in the construction of the famous torpedo boat known as the American " Turtle," which became sneh a terror to the British fleet in New York Harbor. Phineas Pratt
Visa
Julius H. Pritt
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volunteered the hazardous attempt to blow up one of the British men-of-war lying in the East River. Hle selected a cloudy night and ran within a few feet of the ship, when, owing to the sudden appearance of the moon through a rift in the clouds, he was discovered and hailed by the watch on deek. He immediately descended, and came up about half a mile distant ; he was chased and fired at by the British, but effected his escape. He was highly commended by the Commander-in-Chief and released from further active service. Julius Pratt. the father of Julius H .. was the pioneer in the ivory manufacturing business of this country, which he established in Meriden, Conn., in 1812, and laid the foundation for the immense wealth and prosperity of that town. He married Lydia De Wolfe, of Westbrook, Conn., a descendant of one of the early settlers of Lyme. They had issue, Harriet Melinda, born April 24, 1818 : Julius Howard and William McLane.
JULIUS HOWARD PRATT, second child and eldest son of Julius and Lydia (De Wolfe) Pratt, was born in Meriden, Conn., August 1. 1521. He was graduated from Yale College (which was founded in the native town of his ancestor, Lieut. William Pratt). in 1542, and soon after engaged in the ivory goods mannfacture, established by his father in Ists. He was connected with the selling department in New York City for eighteen years, during which period the sales for the firm averaged nearly half a million dollars' worth of ivory combs per annum, while their market extended all over North and South America. The product of table cutlery (mostly ivory handled) and of piano keys amounted to a still larger sun. The delicacy and perfection of the process employed was illustrated in the World's Fair at London, in 1851, by the exhibition of a single sheet of purest ivory fifty-six feet long and fourteen inches wide, which had been sawed by automatic machinery from the section of an elephant's tusk about five inches in diameter.
In 1857, Mr. Pratt removed with his family to West Bloomfield, which at his suggestion was changed to the present name of Montelair. In a paper entitled " Montelair Prior to the Organization of the Congregational Church," which he read before the Congregational Church of Montelair (of which he was one of the founders, and President of the Board of Trustees for seventeen years), in June, 1870. says : " Thirty-three years ago with my family I moved from a Connectieut home to this promised land. We brought with us our Lares and Penates, not forgetting our flowering shrubs and grafts from the lucious fruit trees which had endeared to us the place of our earlier years, that we might perpetuate for our children the sweet perfinne, the delicious flavors and the dear associations of the old New England home. The territory now occupied by Montelair was wholly agricultural land, poorly cultivated and largely covered with decaying apple trees. A few farm houses scattered here and there enlivened the landscape with their white walls and green blinds, and gave shelter to, perhaps, one thousand inhabitants throughout the entire area of the present township of Montelair. In that year (1857) the steam locomotive for the first time labored up the steep grade by which our elevated site must be reached, bringing in it> train sometimes two or three, seldom more than twenty passengers. The old stages which plied between here and Newark continued their mission for a few years later, because the railroad itself was not a formidable competitor in its rate of speed, and perhaps because the stages having to all appearance survived since the time of Noah's Ark continued to possess a charmed life."
From the period of his advent to Montelair (1557), for more than a quarter of a century Mr. Pratt was a leader in nearly every public enterprise connected with Montclair, and to his efforts probably more than to any other individual is due the present growth and prosperity of the township. He was always in advance of the times, and in his progressiveness sometimes appeared aggressive. but he foresaw what others were slow to grasp, and he could ill-brook the restraint of those who sought to handicap him in efforts for improvements. He never shrank from the controversies which the prejudices of the slow native population occasioned. The laying ont of new roads, the revolution of the public school system, and the founding of a progressive church were movements in which he took a prominent part. His most important achievement. however, was the milding of the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway, in order to provide competition with the Morris and Essex Railroad Company. This enterprise he carried through at a cost of about 84,000,000 in the face of bitter opposition, but with the result of saving to the town of Orange, Bloomfield and Montclair more than $200,000 per annum in the cost of their
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traffic and transportation. His experience was like that of many other pioneers whose private interests are made subordinate to their publie spirit. Having sacrificed the earnings of a successful business eareer in this effort for the public good. and having accomplished his work as a local reformer, he has since led a quiet life, finding satisfaction in witnessing the happiness of thousands of new comers around the foot hills of Orange Mountain, who unconsciously enjoy the fruit of his former labors. In 188S, Mr. Pratt once more displayed his progressive character by proposing a new water supply for the city of Newark and vicinity by a gravity system connecting with the Pequannoek River, distant about twenty- five miles. The plan was adopted, and his property and water rights along the river which controlled the supply were bought by the East Jersey Water Company, which seeured the contract from the Newark authorities. By this transaction and other successful enterprises, Mr. Pratt, in a measure, retrieved his fortunes and is financially comfortable in his declining years.
The only enterprise of a publie nature which he has promoted in later years has been the organizing of the Arlington Cemetery in the township of Kearny, which is recognized as one of the most beautiful and best managed rural cemeteries in New Jersey, and of which he has been continuously the chief officer.
The picturesque and attractive features of this cemetery illustrate how the sombre abode of the dead can be transformed into a garden of beanty, and the old traditional ministry of sadness can become a cheerful ocenpation.
llis occasional contributions to the press have been received with marked favor by the public. His style is graceful vet vigorons and foreible, and often poetical. His journey to and life in California in 1849, with its thrilling adventures and hairbreadth escapes, was graphically described by him in a sketch published in the Century Magazine for April. 1891.
In 1843, Mr. Pratt married Miss Adeline F. Barnes, daughter of Eli Barnes, of New Haven, Conn., and sister of Alfred S. Barnes, of Brooklyn. She died in March, 1886, greatly lamented by the community whose social and moral life she had in a great measure influenced and directed.
The Montclair Times of April 3, 1886, in referring to the death of this noble woman, said :
"No woman ever lived in this village who has exerted a wider or more beneficent infinence. In our social and religions life she has been one of the most conspicuous figures. And yet no person was ever more averse to publicity. She was prominent not so much because of her exceptional gifts as her exceptional goodness. The reputation for sociability and good feeling which has distinguished Montelair was almost created by this beautiful and indefatigable woman. Very seldom does a person in no position of prominence, with no special advantage not possessed by others, win so large a place in so many hearts. And yet the canses are not hard to find.
" She was absolutely unselfish ; she lived to do good and make others happy ; she was the friend of the poor and the friendless ; she songht no recognition for what she did. Gifted with great physical strength, she was able to do what others equally willing could not attempt. Without neglecting her own home, she had a mysterious way of bearing the griefs and sharing the anxieties of almost all the homes in the village, while it was small enough for one person to know all. Her sympathy was magnetie because it was so genuine. Wherever there was sickness or suffering she was sure to be found. 'She went abont doing good.' If she had wealth it was not used for herself but for others. If she had not money to give, she gave strength and love just the same.
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