USA > New Jersey > Morris County > History of Morris County, New Jersey > Part 40
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Council of 1872 .- Mayor, Joseph W. Ballentine; re- corder, Henry W. Miller; aldermen-William L. King, William C. Caskey; councilmen-Eugene Troxell, Eras- tus D. Allen, Edward E. Pierson, Silas Norris, James Anderson; clerk and treasurer, Francis R. Atno.
Council of 1873 .- Mayor, Joseph W. Ballentine; re- corder, Henry W. Miller; aldermen, William C. Caskey, James P. Sullivan; councilmen-Edward E. Pierson, Silas Norris, James Anderson, John D. Guerin, William W. Fairchild; clerk and treasurer, Edward C. Lyon from June 2nd 1873.
Council of 1874 .- Mayor, Alfred Mills; recorder, Henry W. Miller; aldermen-James P. Sullivan, John Bird; councilmen-John D. Guerin, William W. Fair- child, William R. Mckay, George L. Hull, James S. Adams; clerk and treasurer, John D. Canfield from June 5th 1874.
Council of 1875 .- Mayor, Alfred Mills; recorder, John E. Taylor; aldermen-John Bird, Philip H. Hoffman; councilmen-William R. Mckay, George L. Hull, James S. Adams, Isaac G. Arnold, Thomas B. Pierson; clerk and treasurer, John D. Canfield.
Council of 1876 .- Mayor, Theodore Ayers; recorder, John E. Taylor; aldermen, Philip H. Hoffman, James V. Bentley; councilmen-Isaac G. Arnold, Thomas B. Pier- son, Charles E. Noble, Charles H. Dalrymple, J. Searing Johnson; clerk and treasurer, John D. Canfield.
Council of 1877 .- Mayor, Theodore Ayers; recorder, George L. Hull; aldermen-James V. Bentley, Julius A. Drake; councilmen-John B. Bryam, Charles H. Dal- rymple, J. Searing Johnson, William R. Mckay, Charles E. Noble; clerk and treasurer, John D. Canfield.
Council of 1878 .- Mayor, Theodore Ayers; recorder, George L. Hull; aldermen-Julius A. Drake, Daniel H. Leek; councilmen-John B. Bryam, James W. Carrell, William R. Mckay, Thomas B. Pierson, Louis A. Vogt; clerk and treasurer, John D. Canfield.
Council of 1879 .- Mayor, Theodore Ayers; recorder, James P. Sullivan; aldermen-L. Dayton Babbitt, Daniel H. Leek; councilmen-James N. Coriell, William W. Fairchild, John Hone jr., Thomas B. Pierson, Louis A. Vogt; clerk and treasurer, Edward C. Lyon.
Council of 1880 .- Mayor, Henry W. Miller; recorder, James P. Sullivan; aldermen-L. Dayton Babbitt, George W. Colles; councilmen-James N. Coriell, John Hone jr., John Thatcher, Collins Weir, Joseph York; clerk and treasurer, Charles H. Green.
Council of 1881 .- Mayor, Henry W. Miller; recorder, Richard M. Stites; aldermen-John C. Beatty, George W. Colles; councilmen-Charles McCullum, John Thatch- er, George W. Vreeland, Collins Weir, Joseph York; clerk and treasurer, Charles H. Green.
City Officers for 1881 .- Manning Johnson, assessor; Charles H. Mulford, collector; David L. Pierson, street commissioner; J. Frank Johnson, city surveyor; Wil- liam J. Easton, police justice; Thomas Malley, marshal; Arthur Hoops, first assistant marshal; Edward White- head, second assistant marshal.
The health board of the city consists of the mayor, one alderman, and one common councilman. The city clerk acts as clerk of the board. The marshal's duties include those of health inspector. The board appoints a health physician, who attends to the needs of the indigent. The salary of this office is $300 per year. It is now filled by James C. Lindsley, M. D.
From the annual report of the controller of the treas- ury of the State for the year ending October 31st 1880 we append the financial condition of the township and city :
Morris Township .- Rate of tax for State school pur- poses, thirty-four cents per $100 ; rate of tax for county and township purposes, twenty cents per $100 ; road, fourteen cents on $100 ; dogs, forty cents per capita ; amount of tax ordered to be raised, $37,707.80 ; annual expenses of repairing roads, $7,000; poor, $300; coun- sel's salary, $100 ; elections, $288 ; commissioners of ap- peal $45, besides incidental expenses arising as occasion requires, including printing, room for committee meet- ings, etc.
City of Morristown .- Amount of funded debt, $12,- ooo, at 7 per cent., contracted for the establishment of the fire department. Falls due, $1,000 in 1881, and $1,000 each succeeding year until paid. Rate of tax for local purposes, twenty-seven cents on $100 ; amount of tax ordered to be raised, $13,041. In addition to the above the corporation of Morristown receives 66 per cent. of the road tax raised in Morris township, mounting in 1880 to $4,620, and five-sixths of the poor tax raised in said township, amounting in 1880 to $250. The annual expense of police is $1,690; board of health, $850 ; interest on fire bonds, $940 ; discounts, $300 ; street lamps, $2,506.50 ; fire department, $2,766 ; streets, $6,858.50 ; miscellaneous, $2,100 ; total annual expense, $18,011.
PROMINENT INSTITUTIONS.
THE MINARD HOME.
The late Abel Minard of Morristown, in the year 1870 gave to the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States a valuable property for the purpose of affording a christian home for :-
I. "The female children of foreign missionaries of the M. E. Church so long during their minority as their parents may be engaged in their work as such mission- aries."
2. " Female orphans and half orphans who are chil- dren of ministers of said church."
3. "Such other female orphans or half orphans as the trustees may designate."
The property consists of a handsome and commodious brick building, in every way adapted to the purposes for
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THE MINARD HOME, MORRISTOWN-STATE LUNATIC ASYLUM.
which it has been erected. The rooms are all pleasant and airy, heated by steam, supplied with hot and cold water and well furnished. The property is valued at about $60,000.
The Minard Home is not an orphanage, asylum or charity school, but a home, where all who are received are recognized as members of the family of the missionary in charge. The children of missionaries, by the condi- tions of the donation, are entitled to its advantages first, and the other classes afterward in their order; the trustees have decided, however, to admit the first two be used in case of fire and for other purposes.
classes only to the privileges of the institution. The de- sign is to make the Home all missionaries can desire when they are seeking the best place to leave their daughters while they are absent from them.
The institution has been incorporated by the Legisla- ture under the corporate name of the "The Minard Home of Morristown," and is free from taxation of a sum not exceeding $100,000. Its management is vested in a board of eighteen trustees, who are appointed quad- rennially by the General Conference of the M. E. Church.
The Home is situated on South street, below Madison avenue, and is capable of accommodating twenty-five wards.
LUNATIC ASYLUM.
The " State Asylum for the Insane at Morristown " is located about three miles and a half north from the city, in the township of Hanover, on a tract of land four hun- dred and fifty acres in extent. It is a massive structure in lineal form, built of gneiss, of a light gray color, resembling granite in solidity and texture. It was erected by the State, under the direction of commis- sioners appointed for the purpose, and cost, including the lands, etc., about two and a half million dollars. Work on the building was commenced in the spring of 1872, and the building was opened for the admission of patients, quite complete, on the 17th of August 1876.
The structure consists of a central edifice, six stories high, and four principal wings on either side, four stories high, with two at each extremity, two stories high. The latter form, with the fourth wings (which are at right angles with the first three), hollow squares, and are used for the more excited and irregular class of patients, of each sex.
The capacity of the building is for eight hundred pa- tients, together with the resident officers, attendants and assistants, most of whom reside within it constantly.
The building is formed to so large an extent of incom- bustible materials that it is practically fire-proof. This result is secured by the use of stone and brick in the outer and inner walls, and iron floor beams, filled be- tween with brick arches; while the roofs and stairs are constructed of slate, with ridges, gutters, hips, valleys and conductors of copper.
Considering the great size of the building, about twelve hundred and fifty feet long in a direct line; the durable character of the materials of which it is composed, and the careful workmanship throughout, it may be truly said that it has few equals and perhaps no superiors.
The center, or administrative building, contains rooms for public offices, for the accommodation of resident officers, a chapel, an amusement room, kitchens, etc. The apartments, passages, fixtures, etc., common to the various wings are as follows: Central corridors, with rooms on either side; two flights of stairs of slate near each extremity, front and rear; bedrooms for patients and attendants; dining rooms with china closets and dumb waiters; a sitting room, bath and closet rooms; standpipes for water, with outlets for attaching hose, to
The building furnishes arrangements for sixteen full and twenty partial subdivisions of each sex, which are ample for the classification of inmates.
The water supply is from springs on the hillside, one hundred and ten feet above the foundation of the build- ing, where are located storage reservoirs, with a capacity of six million gallons. The house is lighted by coal gas, made on the premises, and warmed by steam fixtures of approved arrangement and construction, the fuel for which is delivered directly into coal vaults at the boiler- house from cars brought over a spur of road connecting with the main line at Morris Plains station. Other and important auxiliary arrangements, buildings, fixtures and machinery exist and are in successful operation. Among the most important of these is the boiler-house, with eight boilers for supplying steam for all purposes-power, warming the building, cooking, ventiliation, &c .; a laun- dry with all its departments; shops for wood, iron and other work; also a mechanical bakery, with adapted fix- tures and machinery for making aerated or unfermented bread.
It may be added in regard to the arrangements for the latter object, that, so far as is known, bread-making by this process has been done in no institution except the State asylums of New Jersey. This is deemed a remark- able circumstance, and particularly as it is quite certain that bread made by this method is more wholesome, cleanly and economical than any other.
As before stated, the building is warmed by steam throughout, the radiating surfaces being placed in the cellar stories of the corridors of the center and wings, the warm air in winter and the cool air in summer passing over and through them, to flues in the corridor walls, and thence to all parts of the building above. The ventila- tion is accomplished by the aid of force and exhaust power; the former being supplied by two fans, driven by engines which are duplicated, and the latter is effected by the aid of two upright shafts in each wing, heated by steam coils. The course of the foul air, in its passage outward, is through flues in the outer walls, the direction from the rooms being downward, through openings near the floor, to horizontal trunks in the cellar that deliver the air at the bottom of the aforesaid heated shafts.
Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia was the architect of the building. General Fitz John Porter, of Morristown, was superintendent until his appointment in New York city as commissioner of public works in March 1875. He was succeeded by S. H. Moore, of Newark, who died
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HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.
after holding the office a few months. R: S. Johnson was contractor for masonry and. plastering. Meeker & Hedden, of Newark, superintended the carpenter work.
The general government of the institution is vested in a board of managers, appointed by the governor and Senate; while the daily administration of its affairs, in- ternal and external, is confided by the managers to a medical superintendent, aided by medical assistants, steward, matron and treasurer, all but the last being resi- dents of the house.
The following are the managers of the asylum: Francis S. Lathrop, Madison, president; Beach Vanderpool, Newark; Anthony Reckless, Red Bank; George A. Halsey, Newark; William G. Lathrop, Boonton; John S. Read, Camden; Joseph D. Bedle, Jersey City; Samuel S. Clark, M. D. Belvidere; Hiram C. Clark, Newton, sec- retary.
The resident officers are as follows: Superintendent and physician, H. A. Buttolph, M. D. LL. D; asistant physician, Edwin E. Smith, M. D .; second assistant physician, Thomas M. Lloyd, M. D .; steward, Martin B. Monroe; matron, Miss Mary Tabor.
From the fifth annual report to the governor of the State, dated November Ist 1880, we gain the following additional items of interest : There were in the asylum during the year 687 patients-335 males and 352 females; total number of patients October 31st 1880, 586, of whom 94 were private. From the opening of the asylum, August . 17th 1876, to the date of the report 999 received ยท treatment-493 males and 506 females; 130 had died in the asylum, 35 during the year reported. The pro- ducts of the farm, garden, dairy, and stock-yard amounted in the year to over $10,000. Total receipts for the year, $142,776.25. Total expenditure, $137,892 67.
THE SOLDIERS' MONUMENT
stands on the corner of the "Green " facing the First Presbyterian and Methodist Episcopal churches. It was "erected by the people of Morris county to perpetuate the memory of her soldiers and sailors who fell during the great civil war." This monument is an elegant one of Quincy granite, fifty feet high. It is surmounted by the figure of a " soldier boy at rest," eight feet high. On the shaft are inscribed the names of the battles in which the New Jersey troops fought. Around the die are, be- sides the inscription quoted above, " A grateful country mourns the loss of those who fell in her defense," and "Their memory shall never fade who fall in defense of a just cause." The monument was unveiled in the pres- ence of the governor and other dignitaries of the State, July 4th 1871. Its entire weight is about one hundred tons and it cost $15,000. It has been admired by all who have seen it, and reflects credit on the patriotism of the people of the county. The designer and builder is H. H. Davis, of Morristown.
FORT NONSENSE.
court-house, with what is called Fort Nonsense. There are still signs of work having been done here as if in prep- aration of some kind of a defense. There are two ac- counts given of this fort : one is that Washington de- signed to plant cannon there, with which to command the entrances of the town in case of an attack from the enemy ; the other and more probable account is that Washington, finding his troops needed exercise, both for purposes of health and military subordination, set them to work at this fortification, as if it were a matter of the utmost importance in defending the stores, the people, and the army itself. Having answered its design, tradi- tion says, Washington asked one of his friends what the useless fort should be named; the reply was, " Let it be called Fort Nonsense."
Fort Nonsense is a pleasant, cool, shady retreat in sum- mer. The view from the summit is a very fine one. East, west, north and south a panorama is spread out before the eye; hill, valley, winding stream, solitary farm house, little villages, with here and there a modest spire-all this, diversified and never ending, forms a scene on which the eye may feast hours at a time. On a clear day, with a good glass, Staten Island and other places in the vicin- ity of New York can be seen from it.
WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS.
We acknowledge indebtedness to an address delivered by ex-Governor Randolph at the formal opening of the Headquarters, July 5th 1875; and also to Rev. J. F. Tuttle's paper on "Washington at Morristown," for our account of this famous house.
This grand old historic building lies on a gentle eleva- tion half a mile east of the Green, from whence it can be plainly seen, and in full view as you approach the town by railroad. Morris avenue (Whippany road) and Wash- ington avenue (branch of the Madison road) unite before the house and form Morris street, one of the five thoroughfares which branch out from the Green as do spokes from a wheel. Nearly opposite the Headquarters on Washington avenue is the noble mansion of Henry W. Ford, a lineal descendant of " Jacob Ford jr."
During the summer of 1873 this property, so long and widely known from its historic connections, was offered for sale in order to settle the estate of the late Henry A. Ford, cf Morristown, who had been its owner. A few gentlemen present at the sale, headed by ex-Governor and U. S. Senator Randolph of Morristown, concluded to purchase it; and having done so formed an asso- ciation known as the "Washington Association of New Jersey," the principal object of which is to perpetuate this house with its great historic associa- tions. The Legislature of New Jersey granted the association a very liberal charter; among its pro- visions are total exemption of the property from tax- ation; prohibition to the erection of any unsightly object adjacent thereto; police powers upon or near the grounds and the semi-annual payment from the State treasury of the sum of $1,250 to keep the Headquarters in repair and
The hill known as Mount Washington, or Kimball Mountain, ends abrubtly -in Morristown, back of the open to the public. The capital stock. is limited to
WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS MORRISTOWN , N. J .
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WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS, MORRISTOWN.
$50,000. This stock is transferable only with the consent of the association, and then only to a male descendant of the holder. If no such descendant claims it within five years after the death of a holder the stock becomes the property of the State.
As you approach the Headquarters you are forcibly struck with the beauty of its position. The stars and stripes float proudly from the flagstaff on the roof; the terraced lawn in front is studded with trees and orna- mented with pieces of brass cannon, the property of the State. "It rarely happens that art, nature and circum- stance combine in elements of attractiveness. .To this place belongs the infrequent fortune of blending much that is interesting in art, more that is charming in natural scenery, and most that is stirring in circumstance."
This house had its foundations laid in 1772 and was occupied by the Ford family in 1774. They builded well; sledge and hammer and trowel shaped and placed these broad foundation stones before England's king had ceased to rule the land. Axe and adze hewed out gir- der and beam from massive oak, that yet defies the storms of a century. The oaken planks that make the outer walls, caulked like the hull of some great frigate, are as sound as when they sheltered Washington from the terrible storms of 1779-80. They builded well ! The carved work about the doors and the beautiful cornices are rare specimens of elegance in woodwork; it would be difficult to excel their chaste design to-day.
The same oaken doors open to you which opened to Washington; the massive knocker his hand was wont to touch yet waits obedient to your wish. Raise that knocker; the doors are opened, and now the floor he trod with anxious thought and weary brain you tread !
On entering one naturally thinks, "What a wide hall! " This hall runs directly through the building; it is fur- nished with furniture of one hundred years ago, but con- tains no articles of special interest. The front room on the right is the association room, and is interesting only from having been Washington's reception room. The front room on the left contains the more interesting relics. Here in the center is a round table, of plain oak, which was Washington's reception room table. On one side is his secretary, with its secret drawers; near it is a plain little table-his dispatch table; in another corner is the old sideboard, from the dining-room, in its day, un- doubtedly, an elegant piece of furniture. There is the plain but substantial old camp chest left here by Wash- ington, and two straight-backed chairs with sheepskin- covered bottoms-his reception chairs. On the walls are revolutionary portraits and engravings, among others a portrait of Paul Revere, and with it his commission in the British army, the property of General Joseph W. Re- vere, of Morristown. There was also here when we vis- ited it a "seedling magnolia grandiflora, from a tree planted by General Washington with his own hands at Mount Vernon."
Take this old chair which Washington once used, and seat yourself by this old seeretary at which he often wrote; or take this plain little table-a favorite with Washington that winter-on which he is said to have written many of those noble letters which issued from Morristown that winter; look at the very ink spots on that table, said to have been left by him, and then read carefully the letters which he wrote in this house; let your imagination bring back the past-not only Wash- ington, but his dignified wife, the brilliant Alexander Hamilton. the recreant Quaker but magnificent soldier Nathaniel Greene, the stern Steuben, the polished Kos- ciusko, the accomplished Stirling, the noble Knox, and perhaps, as an occasional visitor, Benedict Arnold, a satan in paradise-and you have the materials with which to start your emotions, however lethargic they may be.
Having recovered, proceed on your tour of inspection. In the rear left room you will find show cases filled with old books, old documents, old newspapers, &c. Here is the first telegraph instrument, presented by Mrs. Stephen Vail; shoes of 1776; old continental and colonial cur- rency; several old swords used in the Revolution, mus- kets captured at Trenton and Princeton; "soldier's water bottle," a small tub-shaped vessel, capable of holding about two quarts; Washington's mail bag, resembling those of the present, but open on the side instead of the end; antique furniture. In the room opposite this are more show cases and more old documents; here we find "Mrs. Alexander Hamilton's tea caddy" and a pair of General Putnam's pistols, with case and ammunition pouch; numerous Indian relics, continental currency and coins, and a copy of the laws passed by the Legislature in 1800.
As you go up stairs you enter a room to your left, in the rear; here are old furniture, old spinning wheels, &c., with no particular interest except their age. The hall is the counterpart of the one down stairs; here are an ancient clock used in the house in Washington's time ; two of his office chairs, and much other old furniture. The most interesting room on this floor is the front one on the southeast side of the hall, which was Washington's bedroom ; here over the fire place hangs a large gilt- framed mirror used by Washington; here is his dressing bureau and washstand ; also "Lady Washington's mir- ror" -- much smaller than the general's-and her dressing table, all very plain. In the room in the rear of this is old furniture; opposite in the room in front is a piece of the carpet which was in Washington's bedroom that winter; here is more antique furniture, some of it very fine. If you desire to go up into the attic you can see that "the century has wrought no change in rafter or beam, or floor or sheltering oak." All appear good for centuries to come. From the roof, which is reached through a scuttle, the view is very fine, taking in the mountains to the north and west, the new asylum and other points of interest.
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HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
HON. THEODORE F. RANDOLPH.
The New Jersey Randolphs-or Fitz-Randolphs as they once wrote themselves-came to Middlesex county, New Jersey, from Barnstable, Mass., in 1630, to which place they emigrated from Nottinghamshire, England, in 1622. They were of the emigrants who left England for "conscience sake "-a portion of the name landing at Massachusetts Bay and another portion in Virginia, dur- ing the years from 1621 to 1630.
The Randolphs of England have had a prominent place in English history from early in the tenth century, as have those of Scotland-from whom " the Bruce " was descended-in Scottish history.
All of the American Randolphs are from English and Scottish stock, and all are directly descended from the and a member of the committees on Finance, Federal "adventurers " who, sailing from England in 1621-30, landed in Massachusetts or Virginia. Most of those who thus came, and who had Scotch blood in them, wrote their name Fitz-Randolph, while those of unmixed Eng- lish blood retained the simple name of Randolph.
Theodore F. Randolph, the subject of this sketch, was born at New Brunswick, N. J., June 24th 1826. His father, James F. Randolph, was for forty years editor of the Fredonian, and was its founder. He also filled many offices of public trust, among them being that of a repre- sentative in Congress from 1824 to 1830 The mother of Theodore was the daughter of Phineas Carman, and his grandparents were active revolutionists during the war for independence.
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