History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 48

Author: Snell, James P; Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1140

USA > New Jersey > Sussex County > History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 48
USA > New Jersey > Warren County > History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 48

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LEVI SHEPHERD. - Deacon Nathan Shepherd, father of Levi, resided in the township of Frankford, and was a farmer by occupation. He was a man of good influences, and one of the pillars of the First Presbyterian Church of Wantage. During his early manhood he commanded a company of militia and was known as Capt. Shepherd. His wife was Miss Ayers, who bore him the following children : Jesse, Moses, Morris, Nathan, Levi, Harriet (who became the wife of Nathaniel Roe, of Frankford), Mehitable (who became the wife of George Kymer, of Frank- ford), and Susan (wife of - Baker, who resided near Cayuga Lake, N. Y.). After his family had grown up Deacon Shepherd removed to Bradford Co., I'a., where he died.

Levi Shepherd was born in Frankford township, Sussex Co., Oct. 28, 1813. In his early life he had but few of the educational advantages which are en- joyed by young men of the present day. ITis limited knowledge was acquired at the common school and at the academy at Branchville, under the instruction of the well-known teacher Willard Barrows. For some two years prior to his entering the academy he was a clerk in the store of Haines & Broderick, of Ham- burg. About the year 1833 he began studying law with Hon. Daniel Haines, afterwards Governor of New Jersey, at Hamburg, where he remained until he was admitted to the bar, in 1839; in his class at that time were Chief Justice Whelpley and Gen. E. R. V. Wright, He commenced practice at Decker- town immediately thereafter. While there, on Jan. 17, 1852, he married Nancy, youngest daughter of Samuel and Nancy Decker, of that place. She was n sister of ex-Sheriff Peter S. Decker, and a descend- ant of Peter Decker, who built the first house, and settled in Wantage in 1734, from whom Deekertown took its name." She was born April 2, 1826, and died

April 2, 1858. The children of this union are Kittic, wife of Ira C. Moore, of Newton; Frank, a graduate of Princeton in the class of '77, and now a member of the law-firm of Roe & Shepherd, of Newton, N. J .; and Nancy.

In September, 1842, Mr. Shepherd was admitted as counselor,-the only other person in his class being Cortlandt Parker, Esq., now of Newark, N. J. In 1845 he went to Milwaukee, Wis., where he practiced law for a short time in partnership with John Linn, when he again returned to Deckertown, where he re- mained in uninterrupted practice until 1864. In 1849 he took an active and prominent part in securing the charter of the Farmers' Bank of Wantage, and upon its organization was elected one of its board of di- rectors, a position which he held until his removal from that township.

In the spring of 1864 he came to Newton and again entered into a law partnership with John Linn, main- taining it for about two years, when he withdrew from the firm and continued the practice alone until his death, which occurred Aug. 11, 1875.

In May, 1869, he was elected county collector,-a position which he held for six years. He was chosen a director in the Sussex National Bank, in the place of George D. Turner, resigned, and soon after was made its vice-president, in the place of David Thomp- son, who was promoted to the presidency of that in- stitution. In this as in all his other official positions his sound judgment, untlinehing integrity, and cor- rect business qualities were of great value and gave him high standing.

"A man of more than ordinary judgment and of great purity of character, he possessed the very soul of honor, as all those who came in contact with him can attest. In a publie business life in his profession of nearly forty years-in which he transacted busi- ness with thousands of persons and held important trusts, the labor and care of which wore out his phy- sical energies-we have yet to hear for the first time that he ever betrayed the confidence reposed in him or did one mean or dishonorable act. His nature was above meanness, and no man regarded sham pretense and dishonesty in others with greater indignation than he.

" Those old fashions of rectitude which he inherited from his father and the good men of his time were never laid aside for a moment, but were made the governing principle of his life. Ile was very guarded in his intimacy with others, but when he once formed an attachment it was as lasting as life itself. His motto was, 'Stand by old friends ;' and he had hosts of them who would stand close by him in all emer- geneies.

" Few men in the county had greater influence than he, and his power over others was not acquired by craft or intrigue, but by his known good judgment and sterling and unyielding honesty. The secret of his popularity was in the fact that the people had

* Sec E !salt's "Contonnial AddIross."

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faith in him; and those who trusted him were never deceived.

" As a citizen he was public-spirited and enterpris- ing almost beyond his means. All projects for the benefit of the community and to promote the best interests of society in which he lived found in him a willing and liberal supporter."

In his profession he was not a man who would be termed a brilliant advocate, but his talents were more fully developed as a counselor ; and his opinions were generally safe, judicious, and given with strict integ- rity and on the side of justice and of right.

SIMEON M. COYKENDALL .- Moses Coykendall, grandfather of Simeon M., was born Dec. 11, 1767, and was one of the early settlers of Wantage town- ship. The wife of Moses Coykendall was Hannah, daughter of Samuel Decker, born May 9, 1771, also representing a pioneer family of Wantage. The is- sues of the marriage were Henry, born Oct. 11, 1789; Samuel D., father of our subject; Elijah, born Sept. 17, 1793; Susannah, born Aug. 6, 1795; Mary, born June 16, 1799 ; Jonathan, born Oct. 14, 1802; Sarah, born April 6, 1805; Margaret, born Aug. 28, 1807 ; Julia, born Nov. 28, 1809; Madison, born June 8, 1812; Harrison, born May 26, 1815.

Samuel D. Coykendall was born Sept. 8, 1791, and married, on June 29, 1822, Huldah, daughter of Samuel Adams, born March 31, 1804. Her mother was Mary Cuddeback, and her grandparents James and Mary (Westbrook) Cuddeback. Of the union were born three children,-namely, Ellis M., April 15, 1823; Simeon M., our subject; and Adams D., July 5, 1831. Samuel D. Coykendall died Sept. 12, 1837.

Simeon M. Coykendall was born in Wantage town- ship, on Nov. 29, 1824. His early life was passed upon his father's farm, and his education was obtained at the district school of his neighborhood and at the excellent academies of Messrs. Rankin and Stiles, of Deckertown. At the age of sixteen, owing to a change of circumstances, he was thrown upon his own re- sources, and thus early entered upon a life of self-dis- cipline, labor, and toil. He commenced by securing employment on a farm, and after a while engaged in school-teaching in his neighborhood,- an occupation that he continued for a number of years. In the year 1847 he commenced the study of law in the office of Levi Shepherd, Esq., of Deckertown, and after three years entered that of Hon. Daniel Haines, where he continued one year, being regularly admitted to prac- tice by the Supreme Court at Trenton on April 3, 1851. He located in the exercise of his professional duties at Unionville, N. Y., where he established a business for himself, and for fourteen years enjoyed an excellent practice, occupying a prominont and an influential place in the community. On April 19, 1865, he removed to Deckertown, where he continued to practice until his death, on March 12, 1872.

Mr. Coykendall may be said to have passed away

just at the time when he was becoming best known, and when he had reached a prominent and influential position among his fellows. One of his chief char- acteristics was great energy, industry, and persever- ance, coupled with the most exact method and system. Everything he touched received careful and analyt- ical treatment and was thoroughly digested before it was passed by. As a lawyer he was careful, sys- tematic, and painstaking, and his advice and judgment were ever to be relied on. As a man he was liberal, generous, and public-spirited, and universally re- spected for integrity and uprightness of character. He took an active interest in all local affairs, was town superintendent of schools in 1850, one of the directors of the Farmers' National Bank of Deckertown, and was especially interested in the project of bringing the Midland Railroad to Deckertown, contributing fifteen hundred dollars to that end, besides devoting his time and using his influence towards the accom- plishment of the purpose. In politics he was a Dem- ocrat, but no seeker after position. He was a warm supporter of the Union canse in the late war, and did yeoman service in gathering recruits and perfecting the muster-rolls of the town of Minisink, Orange Co., during the struggle. Early in life he was imbued with strong religious convictions, which throughout his days exerted a controlling influence over him. He possessed a singularly deep devotional nature, and in all his transactions was guided by the moral and re- ligious precepts of the Man of Nazareth. The com- mission of a dishonest or dishonorable act seemed impossible with him, and in his private life he was one of the purest of men. He was a member and trustee of the Presbyterian Church of Unionville for a number of years, and took an active interest in all of its affairs.

Mr. Coykendall was married on Oct. 27, 1858, to Frances, daughter of John and Mary ( Wilson) Fuller, of Deckertown, who survives him.

HON. MANNING M. KNAPP, son of William Knapp, of Newton; born in that village; studied law with Col. Robert Hamilton, and was admitted as an at- torney in July, 1846, and as a counselor in January, 1850. Shortly after his admission Mr. Knapp re- moved to Hackensack, N. J., and opened a law-office, where he has remained ever since. For many years he was a leading lawyer of Bergen County, possessing fine abilities, varied information, and excellent char- acter. IIe is now one of the justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, having been appointed to that office by Governor Bedle in 1875.

COL. HENRY OGDEN RYERSON, the youngest son of Judge Thomas C. Ryerson, was born at Newton, in this county, Jan. 10, 1826. On the mother's as well as the father's side he was descended from patriotic stock. His father's family had their representatives in the Revolutionary army, among both the combat- ants and the non-combatants. IIis father, as scen elsewhere, did his tour of duty in the militia in the

Suber Kendall"

This Kays

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war of 1812, and the records of the State Historical Society sulliciently show the part taken by his mother's family in the war of the Revolution, her father and uncles being field- or staff-officers in the Continental army, and her grandfather one of the New Jersey Committee of Safety. Her uncle Aaron Ogden was aide to Lafayette and a trusted agent of Washington in connection with the affair of Andre and Arnold.

Col. Ryerson, declining a collegiate course, passed from the grammar-school directly to the study of the law, and was licensed in 18-17. From that time until 1855 he lived an unsettled life in Chicago, California, and the Sandwich Islands, After returning to New Jersey and taking his counselor's license, he lived in Belvidere until 1857, when he returned to his native town, where, at the breaking out of the Rebellion, he held the office of public prosecutor. While en- gaged in taking depositions in chancery at Jersey City he saw the first call for volunteers, returned home, and, baggage in hand, walked directly to the recruiting-office and volunteered as a private, Elected captain by his comrades, he led them to the field as Company B of the gallant Second Regiment of New Jersey. As an officer of this regiment-cap- tain, and afterwards major-Ryerson had high repu- tation for soldierly bearing, tactical skill, and high discipline. His enthusiasm led him to practice the bugle-calls of the skirmish-line, and when assigned to command in brigade drill he was always ready and accurate.

At the battle of Gaines' Mill, June 27, 1862, six companies of the Second Regiment, under Col. Tucker and Maj. Ryerson (promoted to that vacancy in his regiment just before leaving Alexandria), were sent in to relieve a whole regiment. So rapid and effective was their fire that they kept an entire brigade at bay until our line had fallen back on both sides of them. Exposed to a double cross-fire, and the gallant Tucker mortally wounded, the regiment began a hasty retreat. Maj. Ryerson seized the standard, and was rallying the battalion when he fell, shot through both thighs and bleeding so profusely as he was carried away that his attendants reported him mortally wounded in the abdomen, and left him on the field. There he remained ten days, three of them without food. Water, however, was abundant in the swamp. That ten days' exposure and three weeks (before his exchange) in a Richmond prison gave him a fever, which aggravated his wounds and kept him away from his regiment until the Ist of October. With one wound still open, he rejoined his regiment as lieuten- ant-colonel, hurried to the field by the record of his comrades nt Crampton's Gap. Just as the army began to move towards Manassas he was placed by Gen, Torbert over the Twenty-third Regiment of nino months' men, and received a regular commission as colonel. With this regiment he participated in the first battle of Fredericksburg, where they were for a short time under heavy fire und suffered severely.

In March, 1863, some three months before the Twenty-third was mustered out, Col. Ryerson was transferred to the Tenth, which regiment did most important service both before and after his taking command. At Suffolk, against Longstreet, after Col. Ryerson took command, this regiment did most ex- cellent fighting. With his command Col. Ryerson was sent to Philadelphia to suppress the threatened riots during the draft, and afterwards to Pottsville and Mauch Chunk to suppress the virtual hostilities in our rear. ITere Col. Ryerson was effective in per- forming excellent and important service, sitting as president of a commission to try those engaged in these most dangerous riotous proceedings. While at Suffolk, Col. Ryerson performed (for a part of the time) brigadier's duty, and in that capacity received Gen. Pock's written compliments for his vigilance, knowledge of the strategic character of the country, etc.

At his urgent request the Tenth was assigned to the First New Jersey Brigade, in the Army of the Poto- mac, in the spring of 1864, when it participated in all the battles of the Wilderness. It was on the 6th of May, during these battles, that Col. Ryerson fell, being struck in the head by a ball from a sharpshooter, who had taken the corps badge upon his cap as a mark. He was carried to a log cabin in the rear, where two of his captains, with Capt. Cooke, adjutant-general of the brigade, waited by him through the night, unable to get surgical assistance, and expecting his speedy death and the sad duty of burying him. During the night our line fell back, and early in the morning the whole party were taken prisoners. Col. Ryerson was left at Locust Grove Confederate hospital, where he died on the 12th, attended by a paroled Vermont sur- geon, who marked his grave and so described it that at the elose of the war his remains were found and reinterred in the cemetery at Newton.

Col. Ryerson was said to be conspicuous for courage, showing it often to the admiration of his fellow-sol- diers, He never was conscious of personal danger, but of his men he was serupulously careful in action and in camp, because he was responsible for their welfare both to his superiors and to the country's cause, 1 strict disciplinarian also, he was yet beloved because impartial to both officers and men. Along with the other officers of our army, he showed his conviction of the righteousness of our cause by the assistance furnished for religions instruction both in the camp and on the march. It was known, by the voluntary assurance of President Lincoln to his brother, Dr. Ryerson, that had he lived, he would have been pro- moted at an early day ; but, falling, he received, as was believed, higher than earthly promotion from tho Captain over all, under whose banner he had long been enlisted.

THOMAS KAYS, lawyer, of Newton, is the son of the Jate Thomas and Mary ( Bale) Kays, and was born Oct. 15, 1829, at La Fayette, Sussex Co., N. J. He is

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of Scoteh, German, and English descent, and his an- cestors, paternal and maternal, were among the early settlers of his native county. His paternal grand- father, John Kays, was a Scotchman, born April 22, 1739, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and came to this country in 1760 and married Sarah, one of the thir- teen children of the late Benjamin and Anna (Duer) Hull. He located in Frankford township, near Moden, and resided there in the occupation of a farmer until his death, in 1829, at the advanced age of ninety years.

Benjamin Hull was of English extraction, and set- tled in that section of the Delaware Valley above Flatbrookville as early as 1750. Mr. Kay's mother, Mary Bale, was born Sept. 10, 1791, and was one of eleven children of Peter Bale, of Baleville, in this county, who was the eldest son of Henry Bale, a German, who came to this country and settled at La Fayette as early as 1750, and there erected one of the first flouring grist-mills in Sussex County. His grand- mothier on the maternal side was Elizabeth (Struble) Bale, one of nine children of Leonard Struble, who was also of German descent and one of the pioneer settlers of that section of Hampton township west of Baleville. His father, Thomas Kays, born June 5, 1785, was a justice of the peace, and owned and op- erated the old grist-mill at Lower La Fayette from April 1, 1819, until his death, May 9, 1830.

His parents, Thomas and Mary (Bale) Kays, had ten children : Sarah, Martha, and John, all of whom died young ; Elizabeth, who married Benjamin Dor- mida ; Mary S., who married George W. Collver and died soon after her marriage ; Henry B., who married Sarah Morris ; Dorcas, who married George W. Coll- ver; Phebe, who married Samuel Shotwell ; Martha, who married Judge James B. Huston ; and Thomas, the subject of this sketch, who married Amanda E., the eldest daughter of the late Hazlet Slater, of La Fayette, on Sept. 24, 1857.

His father died when the subject of this sketch was only seven months old, leaving a small estate, which was spent in the support of the family. He was thns left at an early age with only his widowed mother to care for him, but, most fortunately for him, she was the best of Christian mothers, and his education and . moral training were looked after with the most scru- pulous care; which deht was paid in after-years by every known want of the mother being diligently supplied. He received only a common-school educa- tion, and at the age of sixteen went with his older brother, Henry B. Kays, to learn the trade of a pat- tern-maker, machinist, and millwright. He eon- tinued this, occasionally elerking in a store, until his majority, becoming thoroughly acquainted with all the details of the business. While learning his trade he spent all his leisure hours in study, and obtained a thorough knowledge of most of the higher branches of education, and especially of mathematics, for which he had a natural aptitude; during the same time, to

some extent, he read law, towards which profession, at an early age, he had a strong inclination.

He taught school a few months in IS51, and in 1852 formed a copartnership with Dr. Franklin Smith. They carried on a very heavy and extensive foundry, machine, and milling business at La Fayette until 1859, when he sold out his interest to his partner and devoted his whole time to the study of the law.

While heavily engaged in business, in 1858, he commenced the study of law with Hon. A. J. Rogers, and continued it under the preceptorship of his cousin, Hon. Martin Ryerson, and Mr. Rogers, until Feb- ruary term of the Supreme Court, 1863, when lie was licensed as an attorney-at-law. He immediately be- came an equal partner with Mr. Rogers, at Newton, which connection continued until 1867, when Mr. Rogers removed to New York City, since which time Mr. Kays has continued the practice of law alone. Soon after this he was called as a counselor-at-law and a special master in chancery, having continuously had a very heavy practice in all the higher courts in the State and the United States Circuit Court, and more recently admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the board of directors of the Sussex National Bank and coun- sel for the same, and was for several years president of the Celluloid Harness Trimming Company of New- ark, N. J.

Mr. Kays is emphatically one of the self-made men of the times. Left fatherless in infancy, without means or influential friends, and thrown wholly upon his own resources, he sought and obtained outside of schools a thorough education, and by like close appli- cation acquired a large store of general knowledge and rapidly advanced to prominence in business, politics, and his profession. As a business man he was recognized as one of the most active and success- ful in the county, forcing himself to the head of the business in which he was engaged in spite of all op- position and obstacles. By the burning of a leased grist-mill filled with grain he lost many thousand dollars, but more than made up this loss in a single year by the purchase of the premises on which the burnt mill was located, the sale of seven feet of the water-power, and the building and sale of a. new mill.

Mr. Kays became a prominent member of the bar of his county almost as soon as admitted. He is self- reliant, is a close, rapid, and logieal thinker, and has a strong, clear legal mind. His nature is not only to do systematically whatever he undertakes, but to do it in the most thorough manner, whether working for pay or not, and whether the amount involved is large or small. His knowledge of mathematics and me- chanics and his experience in business have aided him very much in his profession, and balanced, if not overcome, the disadvantage of his not earlier taking up the practice of law. He has been a hard student, carnest in his work, always making his client's cause his own ; has great power of concentration; is cool

Lewn Cochran

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and self-possessed, grasping the strong points and jus- tice of the case; is usually a logical and deliberate debater, yet has at his command a rapid and power- ful utterance. Hle always prepares his causes in the most thorough manner, and presents them to the court and jury with all the power of which the law and the facts will admit. For many years he has devoted most of his time as counsel in causes and in pre- paring briefs and arguments in litigated cases. Ile selects his business and stands as one of the leading members of the bar of the county, and among the prominent lawyers of the State.

In politics Mr. Kays has always been a decided and uncompromising Democrat. During the late Rebel- lion he warmly espoused the cause of the Union, urging enlistments by public speeches in aid of the integrity of the Union, yet claiming and exercising at all times the right freely and boldly to criticise the acts of the party in power.

From early manhood he has been generally active in politics. Well versed in the fundamental principles of government and the political issues of the day, with recognized honesty and a thorough knowledge of human nature, bold, fearless, and with decided power over the minds of men in influencing their judgment and uniting them and getting discordant elements to work harmoniously in a common cause, he naturally became a prominent man in his party in the county and in the State. He refused a seat in both branches of the Legislature when quite young, and never sought, but has always refused to accept, any political office, either by appointment or by elec- tion by the people. While decidedly outspoken in his political views of men and measures, he serupu- lously respects the honest opinions of his opponents, and has many warm friends among them.

As a citizen Mr. Kays occupies a prominent posi- tion, and is recognized as a man of strict integrity, public-spirited, and of broad and liberal views.

Hox. ANDREW J. ROGERS-well known to this bar as n prominent lawyer and politician, and now resid- ing and practicing in the city of New York-was born in the township of Lafayette, Sussex Co., and was admitted to the bar in 1852. In that year he com- meneed practicing in the village of Lafayette, and continued there till 1857, when he removed to Newton and conducted a successful law business there for ten years. In 1867 he established his office in New York City, and has continued there ever since. He was known in Sussex County as a very prominent and in- fluential lawyer and politician. In his successful practico he amassed quite n large sum before he went to New York. Thomas Kays was his law-partner from 1863 to 1867, under the firm-name of Rogers & Kays. They did a very extensive business.

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History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 48

Author: Snell, James P; Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1140

Author: Snell, James P; Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1140