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 36
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W. Iming Arany
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and of the Society of Amateur Photographers of New York, and an honorary member of at least half a dozen other photographie and scientific associations. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Good Government Club, recently organized. Mr. Adams recently built the handsome Colonial residence on Orange Road. where he now resides. He married. November 21. 1589, Miss Daisy Grace Wilson, daughter of the late James Wilson, Esq., of Georgetown, Ohio, a descendant of James Wilson, of Pennsylvania, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, whose ancestry dates back to the time of Edward I. The children of W. I. Lincoln and Daisy (Wilson) Adams are Wilson Irving, born Angust 9. 1-90, Marian Elizabeth, born November 12. 1591. and Briggs Kilburn, born May 6, 1893.
MARY WILSON ADAMS, youngest child of Washington Irving and Marion Lydia (Briggs) Adams, was born in Montelair, N. J., Inly 5. 1569, married October 31, 1592. William Palmer Brigden, of Norwich, Conn. Their child, George Irving, was born November S. 1893.
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VIEW FROM "IRVINGCROFT."
Chapter XV.
THE FAMILIES OF BRAUTIGAM, SWEET, HOLMES, PORTER, VAN VLECK, JOHNSON, NOYES, BENEDICT, SULLIVAN, BALDWIN (W. D.), CAREY. RUSSELL, RAND, WILSON, UNDERHILL, MILLER, BURGESS, BRADLEY, FARMER, ESHBAUGH, HOWARD, GRAHAM, WHEELER (F. MERRIAM).
MONG the last of the old New York settlers who began the development of the present township, some thirty years ago, is J. CASTOR BRAUTIGAM. Mr. Brautigam has ontlived most of his contemporaries. and old " Father Time" has dealt kindly with him, he having passed the allotted time of " three score and ten " years. Ile has witnessed the little village of a few hundred inhab- itants grow to a flourishing township of over ten thousand.
The great-grandfather of Mr. Brau- tigam came from Germany, in 1755, and settled in Philadelphia. His ancestors were prominent in the Reformation, and one of them, a Catholic Bishop, after a careful study of a Lutheran catechism, renounced his faith, with all that it implied, and became an ardent " reformer."
J. C. Brautigam was born in Northumberland, Pa., April 29, 1821. When he was but six years of age, his father died, and he was placed in charge of his grandparents in Philadelphia. lle attended the best private school, and mastered all the ordinary branches of education by the time he had reached the age of twelve. He then entered the employ of Edward C. Biddle, one of the largest publishers in the country. A strong friendship was formed between employer and employed, which continued uninterrupted for a period of sixty years, until 1893, when his old employer died J. C. BRAUTIGAM. at an advanced age. Mr. Brautigam remained in his employ for eleven years, and in 1844 he went to Chicago, and there established what was then the second book concern in Northern Illinois. The population of Chicago was then smaller than Montelair is at the present time. In 1847 he sold out to his partner, and removed to New York City, where he became a member of the firm of White, Sheffield & Company, one of the largest paper houses in the country. He continued this connection until 1869, when he bought out his partners and organized the firm of Brantigam & Watson. Abont 1876 he sold out to his partner and retired from business.
Mr. Brautigam's first visit to this part of the country was by stage from Newark. He was favor- ably impressed with its healthfulness and beauty, and in 1864 he purchased twenty acres at the south end
Edward Ducat.
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HISTORY OF MONTCLAIR TOWNSHIP.
of the town. He opened what is now Cedar Avenue, and gave it the name on account of the large number of cedars in that locality. Ile also opened High Street, south of Cedar Avenue, some 1,500 feet through his property. He was a member of the first Township Committee after the erection of Mont- clair as a separate township, and was Chairman in 1875-6. He was also a member of the first Board of Road Commissioners. continuing for two years. Although a Republican he is non-partisan in politics and received alternately the nomination of the republicans and democrats and was the first town officer elected on the democratic ticket.
Mr. Brantigam, in 1872. bonght a large plot on Mountain Avenue, where he ereeted an elegant residence which he sold some six years ago to Dexter N. Force, of the firm of 11. B. Claflin & Company. He built a number of houses in the town at different periods.
Mr. Brautigam is the oldest living member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church. He became a member when services were held in the little frame building on Pine Street. near the D. L. & W. R. R. depot. Hle was for many years one or its most active supporters ; he served as Warden and Treasurer for a number of years.
Mr. Brautigam married, in 1545, Miss Mary J. Nicholls, a native of England. Eight children were born to them, four of whom are still living. His only daughter, Josephine, was married to Samnel 1. Ilolmes. His son. Frederick A., is a resident of Montelair : James C., another son, resides in Orange, and John D., a third, resides in Philadelphia.
EDWARD SWEET.
The name of Sweet is variously spelled. Sweet, Swete, Swett and Swaite. According to Burke, the Swete, or Swett, family, bearing arms, gules two chevrons between as many mullets in chief and a rose in base argent seeded or. C'rest : On the top of a tower, issuing ppr. an eagle, with wings endorsed or, in the beak an oak branch vert; was formerly of Trayne, in Edward VI.'s time, and subsequently of Oxton, in the County of Devonshire, which furnished many colonists to New England. Of this number, Jantes Street, called son of Isaac, was brought by his mother, Mary Sweet, a widow, from England, and settled in Salem, Mass .. abont 1631.
EDWARD SWEET, the subject of this sketch, was born at Ipswich, Mass., October 23, 1815. He was a son of Captain Aaron Sweet, of the same town, who was a descendant (probably) of James, the emigrant. He was graduated at Yale College in 1844, and took a theological course at New Haven Theological Seminary. After spending a year or more in travel, he, in 1849, accepted a call from the Haydenville (Mass.) Congregational Church. He entered with zeal and earnestness upon this, his first field of labor, which gave great promise of success. His people were pleased with his preaching, and became warmly attached to him personally. Much to his sorrow, and to the regret of his congregation, he was compelled, in consequence of his failing health, to relinquish his charge.
At the suggestion of his brother, who was a member of the Boston banking house of Brewster, Sweet & Co., he removed to New York, where he soon after established himself in the same line of business, which he carried on successfully for some years in his own name, and at a later period formed a co-partnership with his brother-in-law, Mr. W. L. Bull, under the firm name of Edward Sweet & Co. This firm dealt largely in goverment seenrities, and was noted for its loyal support of the Government during the critical period of the war, when dangers at home and abroad seriously imperilled its credit. Mr. Sweet was a staunch Republican before the war, and never entertained a doubt of the final issue of events, or of the ability of the Government to meet its obligations. He was a man of unimpeachable integrity and uprightness of character, and was much respected in the business community. In the Stock Exchange, of which he was long a member, he was held in high esteem, and his word was considered as good as his bond.
During his residence in New York he was an active member of the Madison Square Presbyterian Church, then under the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Adamns.
Mr. Sweet married, in 1863, Miss Caroline W. Bull, daughter of Frederick Bull, of New York,
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HISTORY OF MONTCLAIR TOWNSIIIP.
and a grand-daughter of Jirah Bull, of Milford, Conn. The ancestor of this branch of the Bull family was Henry Bull, of Roxbury, Mass., who came in the "James" from London, in 1635, and removed thenee to Boston. He was one of the Boston majority of heretics (Society of Friends) who went to Rhode Island with Mrs. Hutchinson, and was one of the purchasers in 1638, being the eighteenth name of the signers of the compact or covenant for civil government in that year. He became Governor of the Colony and held many positions of trust. He had a son Jirah, who kept a garrison hotel at Narragansett during Philip's war. This Jirah had also, among other children, a son Jirah, and the name appears to have been continued through successive generations.
Governor Henry Bull. the ancestor, is said to have been a brother of Thomas, who was in command at Saybrook, when Governor Andros attempted to gain the place for his master, the Duke of York. When the clerk of Andros insisted upon reading the patent, Captain Bull commanded him in a loud voice to forbear, and then read the protest. Governor Andros, pleased with his bold and soldier-like appear- ance, said, " What's your name?" He replied, " My name is Bull, sir." "Bull," said the Governor, "It's a pity that your horns are not tipped with silver." This family was conspicuous during the colonial period, and during the period of the Revolution, and were prominently represented in civil and military capacities in Rhode Island and Connecticut.
The mother of Mrs. Sweet (nee Bull), whose maiden name was Lanman, was a daughter of Abby (Trumbull) danghter of David, the son of Governor Jonathan Trumbull, the famous war governor of the Revolution, known as " Brother Jonathan." He was the son of Joseph, of Suffield, Conn., son of John, of Roxbury, Mass., who was the son of John Trumbull, the emigrant settler of Roxbury in 1636.
Two years after his marriage with Miss Bull, Mr. Edward Sweet removed to Montelair and purchased a large plot of ground, where the present homestead property is now located. The main street leading to his property-Gates Avenue-was subsequently laid out by Mr. Nason, who named it after his wife. Mr. Sweet erected on this plot a large and commodions house, and the laying out of the grounds and other improvements which he made from time to time afforded him rest and recreation from the cares of business. Here he entertained his numerous friends, who always found a hearty welcome and were loth to leave his hospitable board. Ile was one of the founders of the Congregational Church of Christ, and gave liberally, not only to the erection of the original church edifice, but to the several improvements which have since been made. Few men who have lived in Montelair since its erection as a township have ever been held in higher esteem. His failing health during the latter years of his life prevented him from taking any active part in its affairs. He was known as a whole-souled, generous man, of a genial nature and kindly disposition, who delighted in doing good and contributing to the happiness of his fellow-men. He was of a retiring nature and avoided all appearance of ostentation, but those who enjoyed the " inner circle " of his acquaintance found in him a warm and steadfast friend. He was the soul of honor and uprightness. He was a gentleman-not formal and precise, but dignified and gennine. His own fireside was the pleasantest spot on earth, and its influence attended him in all the affairs of life.
THE HOLMES FAMILY AND COLLATERAL BRANCHIES.
SAMUEL HOLMES, or " Deacon Holmes." as he is well known, traces his descent through three well- known families of Connecticut, many of the descendants of whom have achieved distinction in the various walks of life in which their tastes or inclinations led them.
The family of Holme or Holmes has been established in the County of York, Eng .. since the period of the Norman conquest. The first mentioned of this name is John Holme, of Paull-Holme, whose grandson Olenor Ilolme was comptroller to the Empress Maud, and received the honor of Knighthood from that Princess.
FRANCIS HOLME, the American ancestor, emigrated from England as early as 1648, and settled in Stamford, Conn. His son John, born in England, came with him and settled at Greenwich, Conn., and was one of twenty-four proprietors who afterwards settled at Bedford, Westchester County, N. Y.
A THOMAS FITCH, 2fq;
C ARCTICNY. } Captain-General, and Governor in Chief, in and over His Majetty's Englifb Colony of Connecticut, in New-England, in America.
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Demimans in North-America, and particularly of the Pofefions of Ans Conguef stere, IN ander in Chief fall judge wop conducive to the King's d to proceed sber of the faid Commander ia Obief ; af wbieb Regiment . 30
You are therefore carefully and diligently to difebarge the Dasy of a r dering, and exercifing foid Company, in Arms, botb inferior Offrers and Soldiers, "in the Service aforafai , No krep tbem in good Order and Difcipline ; bereby commanding them in mory yon,' as their . ..... >>/
and yourself to abferve and follow fach Orders and Infractions, as you Emil from Time to Time receive from Me, or the Command In Chief of the fard Colony, for the Time befug, or other your ficherier Oficers, according to the Rules asd Difilpline of War, furfuant In the Troft repofed in you.
GIVE N ppder my Hand and the public Seal of the f Colony, at . the
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By His Honor's Command,
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JONATHAN TRUMBULL, ESQUIRE, Captain-General and Commander in Chief in and over the STATE Of
CONN TICUT In AMERICA.
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GENT. GREETING. YOU being by the Genel Affembly of this State accepted to be Captain of the of Company on the Good in the 17th Regement . this Vel.
repofing fpecial Truft and Confidence in your Fidelity, Courage and good Con- duct, I DO by Virtue of the Laws of this State, me thereunto chabling, appoint and impower you to take the faid Game honey into your Care and Charge,
as their Captain carefully and diligently to difcharge that Office and Truft, exercifing your inferior Officers and Soldiers in the Ufe of their Arms, accord- ing to the Rules and Dife boline of War, ordained and eftablilaed by the Laws of this State, keeping thea in good Order and Government, and commanding them to obey you as their Complain. and you are toobferve all fuch Orders and Directions as from Time to Time you fhall receive, other from me, or from other your fuperior Officer, purfuant to the Truft hereby repofed in you.
GIVEN under my Hall, and the Public Seal of this State, at ( fastfood, the I/ Day of fishgeary A. D. 178.3 €
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HISTORY OF MONTCLAIR TOWNSHIP.
Stephen, son of John. had a son Benjamin, who served in Capt. Clark's company, 11th Regiment, Con- nectient Militia. Israel, son of Benjamin, married Sarah Judd, and moved to Waterbury, Conn. The issue of this marriage was Samuel Judd (father of Dea. Samuel Holmes), of whom hereafter ; Reuben, of whom hereafter; Israel, of whom hereafter : Ruth, of whom hereafter ; and Miles.
SAMUEL AJUDA, the eldest son of Israel and Sarah (Judd) Holmes (father of Dea. Samuel Holmes), was born in Waterbury. Conn., October 2. 1794. He moved to Sonthington, Conn., in 1825, where he remained until 1884. when he returned to his native town and became identified with its manufacturing interests. He was a prominent stockholder in the Waterbury Brass Company and for sixteen years was the faithful overseer of one branch of its business. He was very methodical, careful and painstaking in all his business as well as other affairs. In the affairs of the church with which he was long connected he evinced many of the traits of his Puritan ancestors. A deep thinker, yet reserved in the expression of his views ; cautious in all his dealings. yet upright and straightforward-a man of the strictest integrity, measuring himself by the orthodox standard, and expecting the same treatment from others in return. He married May 2, 1522, Lucina, daughter of Hezekiah Todd, of Cheshire, Conn .: he died May 1. 1867. Ile had issue. Israel, of whom hereafter; Sarah, born July 6. 1-29, married Rev. Jose W. Hough (she died in Santa Barbara, Cal. April 5. 1877) : William B. and Hannah, who died young; and William B. again, of whom hereafter.
Reuben, second son of Israel and Sarah (Judd) Holmes, was born February 11, 1798, graduated with Honor at the West Point Military Academy, was valedictorian of his class, and afterwards distin- guished himself as an Indian fighter in the West. During the Black Hawk War, and while still holding his commission as Captain in the U. S. service he was elected Colonel of a regiment of Illinois volunteers. and became their leader in that war. He died of cholera in 1533 at Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis, Mo. A part of the inscription on the monment which marks his last resting place is as follows : * * " and there awaits the last review ": * * * erected by his companions in arms." *
Israel (2), third son of Israel (D). and Sarah (Judd) Holmes, was born December 19, 1800. Ile was one of the chief founders of the great brass manufacturing industry of this country ; he made trips to England in 1529, and again in 1931-34. to procure skilled workman for the various branches of the business.
Rath Wood, fourth child of Israel and Sarah (Andd) Hohes, was born April 26, 1799. She married Preserve W. Carter, and was the mother of President Franklin Carter, of Williams College.
Miles, fourth son and youngest child of Israel and Sarah (Judd) Holmes, was born March 20, 1802, at Waterbury, Conn. He resided in the South and in the State of Wisconsin most of his life. He died in Waterbury, Conn., August 23. 1-68.
Sarah Judd. the wife of Israel Holmes (1), was a direct descendant of Thomas Judd, who came from England in 1633 and settled in Cambridge, Mass .; removed to Hartford, Conn., 1636, and to Farmington, Conn., about 1644. In the churchyard at Waterbury, Conn., is a headstone containing the following inscription : " Here [lies] the body of THOMAS JUDD, ESQ., the first Justice, Deacon, and Captain in Waterbury, who died Jannary ye 4, A. D. 1747. aged 79."
Thomas, above referred to, was a son of the first Thomas, the emigrant proprietor. He had a son John, who also had a son John. The latter had a son Samuel, known as Captain Samuel. He was the great grandfather of Deacon Samuel Holmes. He held a commission as First Lieutenant in the Colony under the reign of King George III. (see for simile of commission on opposite page), and on March 15, 1762. was commissioned by Gov. Thomas Fitch, of Connecticut, to raise a " Company of Foote." The commission states : " I do hereby authorize and empower you by beat of drum or otherwise to assist your Captain in raising by inlistment a company of able bodied. effective volunteers within the colony of abont ninety-five men, including officers for the ensuing campaign. ete."
Ile served in different capacities during the War of the Revolution, and on the 24th of January, 17×3, was commissioned Captain by Governor Trumbull (see fac simile of commission on opposite page). After the close of the war he opened a tavern at Waterbury, which he kept for fifty years; it became a
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HISTORY OF MONTCLAIR TOWNSHIP.
noted resort for passengers on the stage route between New Haven and Albany. He was a noted character in his day. Ile married Bede, daughter of Isaac Hopkins, and on her way home after the marriage ceremony she rode behind him on a " pillion " (a cushion attached to the rear of the saddle).
This Bede Hopkins was a descendant of John Hopkins, who came from England with his wife Jane to Cambridge, Mass., in 1634; moved to Ilartford in 1635. Ilis son Stephen, born 1634, married Dorcas Bronson ; they had a son John, who was one of the youngest of the original proprietors of Waterbury. He became " Leftenant" in 1716, and several times represented his town at the General Court. He held many offices of trust and honor. When the new meeting house came to be seated in 1729. he was one of the revered dignitaries who were voted into the first pew at the west end of the pulpit. Ile had a son, Ebenzer, who was the father of Isaac Hopkins referred to above. Some of the most distinguished divines and educators in the country descended from this branch of the Hopkins family, anong whom was Mark Hopkins, for many years President of Williams College.
Israel, eldest child of Sammel J. and Lucina (Todd) Holmes, was born at Waterbury, Conn .. August 10, 1823. He is connected with several of the manufacturing companies of Waterbury ; also with a banking institution. He resided in Liverpool, Eng., from 1859 to 1871.
DEACON SAMUEL HOLMES, second son of Samuel J. and Lucina (Todd) Holmes, was born at Water- bury, Conn .. November 30, 1824. He attended publie school until he was eleven years of age, when he began working in a button factory with his father, and from that time until he reached the age of fifteen he worked in the factory during the summer and attended school in the winter at the Waterbury Academy and at a boarding school. At the age of sixteen he entered the general store of J. M. L. & W. II. Seovill, as clerk until 1845, he having then attained his majority. The company that year opened a salesroom for their goods in New York City, and he became their assistant manager. In 1850 a joint stoek company was formed under the name of The Scovill Manufacturing Company, in which he was a stockholder and director, and soon after assumed the management of the New York business. The business increased in volume from year to year aided by his skillful direction, and the stock increased in value yielding large dividends. He was prosperous and happy and fortune smiled upon him during those years, in which he was also stockholder in various other companies, which yielded satisfactory returns. In 1873 he severed his connection with The Scovill Manufacturing Company and entered into a new copartnership in the manufacturing line and dealing in metals, which promised well, but owing to circumstances beyond his control, proved a most disastrous venture, and came near cansing his financial rnin. llis ereditors as well as his numerous friends, who had unbounded confidence in his integrity stood by him nobly in his trouble, and he was thus enabled to tide over his difficulties, but he was compelled for many years to carry a heavy financial burden. In 1876 he was appointed to the treasurer- ship of the Bridgeport Brass Company and also to the management of the New York business. It was not in a very flourishing condition at the time, and a change for the better was soon apparent. The business showed a large annual increase, and largely through the judicions and economical management of Deacon Hohes the stockholders received constantly increasing dividends. At the beginning of his adminis- tration Deacon Hohes purchased quite a block of stoek on credit, the dividends on which, together with the subsequent sale of his stock, enabled him to liquidate a considerable portion of his old indebtedness. Ilis connection with the company ceased in 1890, the majority of stock having been previously purchased by a syndicate, which assumed the direction of the company.
In 1867, before his misfortunes, Deacon Holmes purchased several traets of land. in all about 100 acres, in Montelair, lying near Watchung Avenue, and on the mountain slope. Through the assistance of his numerous friends he was enabled to carry this throughout the period of his business misfortunes, which resulted to the benefit of his creditors, and on his retirement from business in 1890 he began to develop and place it on the market. it having in the interim appreciated in value. Hle laid out streets and avenues, and divided the property into building plots, several of which have been sold at a large advance over the original cost. He continued Highland Avenue through his mountain tract ; Edgewood Avenue and Holmes Place, both laid out and named by him, intersecting the former and connecting with
Tam Hletimes
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Mountain Avenue. The homestead property, corner of Watchung Avenue and Grove Street, comprises abont 17 acres, adjoining and near to which he has some 42 acres, which is being laid out and developed for market. The improvement of his property. from which he has derived a corresponding benefit, has also largely enhanced the value of the surrounding property, and opened up a new and exceedingly attractive part of the township of Montelair.
For nearly half a century Deacon Hohnes has been actively engaged in religions, benevolent and educational affairs, to which he has not only devoted the best years of his life, but has given liberally of his means, when not embarrassed by business difficulties. He is the oldest member in office, by several years, of the Executive Committee of the American Missionary Association, having began his connection with that body in 1564. He has been a corporate member of the American Board of Foreign Missions since 1-70, and was for many years Treasurer of the American College Society, and since its union with the Educational Society in 1972. under the name of " The American College and Education Society," he has continued his interest in and membership of the new organization and as its first Vice-President.
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