USA > New Jersey > Union County > History of Union County, New Jersey > Part 38
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67
373
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY
coupled with a desire to have a permanent building for the library, induced the trustees to make great efforts to obtain money enough to purchase a lot and to build thereon a structure that would be a credit to them and to the city of Rahway. These efforts were so far successful that they were enabled to construct a substantial brick building in a central location, at a cost, including the lot, of about ten thousand dollars. The books were removed to the new building, at the corner of Seminary and Irving streets, in the summer of 1869, and the library was opened to the public with fifteen hundred volumes upon its shelves. On the Ist of June, 1871, a lady of our city, well known for her liberal contributions to many and varied objects of philanthropy, presented the association with the sum of ten thousand dollars, to be securely invested, and the interest derived therefrom to be used for the purchase of books of science, biography, history, travels, etc., and the better class of periodical literature. On the Ist of May, 1872, the trustees of the Rahway School for Colored Children made the association a gift of six thousand dollars, on conditions and with restrictions similar to those in the donation mentioned. In 1891 an annex was built at a cost of about fifteen thousand dollars,-this being the gift of Mrs. Mary A. Marsh, as a memorial to her husband, John D. Marsh. The present trustees are: Mesdames W. C. Squire, F. James, D. Jones, L. Lupton, A. V. Shotwell, E. Marsh, Underhill, Wood and Miss Harned. The library at present has about fifteen thousand volumes. Carolyn Wells is the librarian.
THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.
The Rahway V. M. C. A. was organized in 1889, and incorporated in 1890, with fifty-nine charter members. S. D. Mershon was president from 1889 to 1893, and was succeeded by J. R. Morss. F. W. Langstroth has been treasurer since the association was organized. The general secretaries have been John G. Withrow, Arthur Lanning, O. H. Hillman, and R. M. Honeyinan. The new building was erected, on Irving street, in 1890, the site being purchased from the Grand Army of the Republic.
There is an average attendance at the rooms per day of fifty inen and forty boys. The average attendance at the men's gospel meetings is sixty-five; at the Bible classes eight. The total attendance at the gymnasium classes per year amounts to fifteen hundred. The Ladies' Auxiliary of the Y. M. C. A. is an organization composed of about sixty ladies. The society's aim is to aid the Y. M. C. A. financially.
THE CHILDREN'S HOME.
In the summer of 1883 a society was formed to care for the destitute children of Rahway and vicinity. In 1887 it was incorporated under the name of the Children's Home and Orphan Asylum Association. The association became an auxiliary to the Children's Industrial Home,
374
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY
of New Brunswick, but as time passed and the work enlarged it seemed better to establish the home here. Accordingly, on October 1, 1892, this was accomplished. In the winter of 1895 property was purchased for the home.
WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Rahway is composed of about forty members, and is auxiliary to the state and national organization. The organization was completed in March, 1874. The "Y" is the Young Woman's Christian Union, abbreviated. The society came into being December 12, 1893. The object of the society is to uphold and exalt the principle of total abstinence.
CEMETERIES.
Probably the oldest burying ground in Rahway is the Frazee place of interment. It is known that the Frazee family were among the original proprietors of land on the Rahway river in this vicinity. It is probable they followed the example of the early settlers in this community, in burying their dead on their own estates. As the interment of John Frazee occurred eighteen years before the building of the church, in 1742, the presumption is that this was the Frazee family burying ground before it became the principal burying ground of the neighborhood. The Frazee family, in its several branches, may have donated the same and adjoining space to the Presbyterian society when about to build, or the land may have been purchased from the family by the society for church and burial purposes. There have been made by the church at least nine different purchases of land which have been added to the original plot, making an area, according to the city records, of thirteen and one-tenth acres.
The Abraham Clark monument gives a sort of national sanctity to this cemetery, as it marks the resting place of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. On an upright brown sandstone, about forty yards from the gate, may be seen this inscription :
A. C. 'In memory of ABRAHAM CLARK, EsQ., who died Sept. 15, 1794, In the 69th year of his age. Firm and decided as a patriot, zealous and faithful as a servant of the public ; he loved his country and adhered to her in the darkest hour of her struggles against oppression.
In 1848 the citizens of Rahway, in honor of this distinguished man, erected a plain obelisk, twenty-two feet high, on which, commen-
375
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY
cing with the east face of the base supporting the shaft, thence passing around to the north, we have the following inscriptions :
ABRAHAM CLARK, born at Rahway, 15th Feb., 1726 ; died 15th Sept., 1794. In private life a Christian, exemplary, consistent, zealous.
In public life a statesmen and patriot. In 1775 a member of the First Provincial Congress. In 1776 one of the Committee of Public Safety. A delegate to the Continental Congress, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Erected by the citizens of Rahway, 4th July, 1848.
The dedication of this monument to its memorial purpose, on July 4, 1848, was characterized by a spontaneous outpouring of the people of Rahway and neighboring towns. Social, beneficiary, and military organizations of Rahway, New Brunswick, Elizabeth, and Newark, with bands of music, made a stirring and animated scene for Rahway, as they marched, under the direction of the officers of the day, from the depot to the First Presbyterian church, where the formal exercises were held. The capacity of the church was too limited for this occasion. When the audience room was filled, the services were formally commenced by Rev. J. J. Janeway, D. D., of New Brunswick, who pronounced the invocation. Rev. Mr. Ayers, of the Methodist Episcopal church, read the Declaration of Independence. Hon. William B. Reed, of Philadelphia, was the orator of the day. His discourse is spoken of as possessing rare beauty and pertinence, clothed in a style of singular purity and strength. The leading thought of the orator was the contrast between European revolu- tions and the American Revolution. Speaking particularly of Abraham Clark, he, in substance, said : "The peculiarity of his career-and it is well worthy of meditation-is that he was a member of the old congress from first to last,-from the day that it asserted a substantive existence as the representative of an independent nation till it relinquished its trust on the formation of the federal constitution. Of the fifty-one members of the congress of 1776 he alone survived in office in 1783, and rarely, so far as can be ascertained from the printed journal, was he absent from his post." At the close of the oration the benediction was
376
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY
pronounced by the Rev. Lewis Bond, of Plainfield, when the procession was reformed and proceeded to the cemetery, where the dedicatory address was made by the Rev. Charles K. Imbrie. The words of dedication and the inspiration of the day were pointedly and beautifully expressed in the following words :
In the name of the citizens of the republic, in your name who have erected this structure (the citizens of this township), I dedicate this monument to the memory of Abraham Clark. I need not identify him. The signatures of the enduring record stand alone engraved in one consecrated tablet in the heart of every American freeman. Let that simple name, encircled by its wreath of olive and oak, designating the man, record his virtues, and proclaim the glory of the monument which is consecrated to his memory. Let this monument inspire you and your children with patriotism. Let it fire our hearts with a warmer devotion to our country and of gratitude to our God.
Among the quaint and admonitory inscriptions found upon some of the memorial stones, we have the following specimen:
MR. JOHN LAWRENCE, Who, November 6th, first drew his breath, And, October 16th, 1766, yielded to death. From London truly famed I came ; Was born in Stains, a place near by ; In Rahway at old age did die, And here entombed in earth must lie' Till Christ ye dead calls from on high.
Hazlewood cemetery is situated just west of the limits of the city of Rahway, partly in Union and partly in Middlesex county. It com- prises an area of about forty acres, very tastefully laid out by the original designer, William Saunders. The Hazlewood Cemetery Association was incorporated in 1859, under the general act for the incorporation of rural cemeteries, -Thomas H. Shafer, Jonathan Woodruff, Dr. S. Abernethy, Eden Haydock, A. C. Watson, A. E. Brown, Dr. Lewis Drake, Jacob R. Shotwell, George W. Hall, A. Stoats Bonney and others being the incorporators. The articles of association were filed October 1, 1859, and upon the organization of the association the following officers were chosen: Dr. L. Drake, president; Joseph T. Crowell, vice-president; Joel Wilson, secretary and treasurer; Dr. L. Drake, Thomas H. Shafer John H. Lufbery, George Hartshorne, Joseph Gatchell, Joseph S. Smith, Joseph T. Crowell, H. H. Bowne, J. R. Shotwell, A. C. Watson, George W. Savage, Isaac Osborn, trustees; Patrick Clark, surveyor; William Kneilley, superintendent. The first interment was made in Hazlewood cemetery January 18, 1860.
JONATHAN WOODRUFF.
Jonathan Woodruff, a representative of one of the oldest families in New Jersey, died, at his home in Rahway, March 25, 1893, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. He was a great-great-grandson of
377
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY
John Woodruff, a prominent citizen of Elizabeth Town in 1673, and of the family of Woodruffs who settled Westfield in 1699.
William Woodruff, the son of Jonathan, moved from Westfield to Rahway and settled on the old St. George's road, now St. George's avenue, in 1815, in which year Jonathan Woodruff, the subject of this sketch, was born. William Woodruff married Phebe Ludlow, daughter of Jacob Ludlow, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. She died in 1856.
Jonathan Woodruff learned the trade of a carriage manufacturer, but, in 1837, accepted a position in New York city as superintendent of Thomas Hale's Silk and Print Works, which were located at Rahway. This position he filled creditably for three years, when, resolving to go into business for himself, he spent one year with the jobbing house (dry goods) of Ely & Freeland of New York city. In the spring of 1842, with his brother Amos, he opened in Rahway a large general-merchan- dise store, which was successfully conducted for fifteen years. While conducting this business he went south, in 1845, to Memphis, Tennessee, and established a large repository, and, leaving a brother in charge, returned to Rahway, where he opened a large carriage repository, which was successfully conducted until the war broke out, in 1861.
In 1865 the Union National Bank was organized. He was chosen its first president, a position which he held for a number of years. He was a large property-holder, owning, among other fine buildings in Rahway, the Exchange, adjoining the Pennsylvania Railroad depot.
Mr. Woodruff was one of the organizers of the Second Presbyterian church in Rahway, was one of its building committee, was for many years a trustee, and for thirty-five years an elder. During sixty years of his long life he was interested in Sunday-school work, as superin- tendent and teacher. In 1852 he organized a Sunday school at Uniontown (now Iselin) which he attended for fifteen years. He was often sent by the presbytery of Elizabeth as a delegate to the general assembly.
FRANK M. STILLMAN,
of the firm of Sandford & Stillman, is a resident of Rahway. He is a native of Brooklyn, New York, where he was born in September, 1853. His parents removed to Bridgeport, Connecticut, when he was five years of age. For many years he was employed by the Howe Sewing Machine Company in America and in Europe, and subsequently engaged with the New York & New Haven Railroad Company, becoming chief clerk of the Harlem River branch. In 1882 he removed to Jersey City, and engaged in general contracting, and his business headquarters are still located in that town.
In 1888 he removed to Rahway, where he at present resides. Mr.
378
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY
Stillman was married, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Miss Caroline Griffiths, by whom he has three children.
ABEL VAIL SHOTWELL.
The Shotwell family is among the oldest in New Jersey, and is supposed to be of English origin. Abraham Shotwell's name stands fourth in the list of those who took the oath of allegiance to Charles II., his successors, etc., "in Elizabeth and its jurisdiction," beginning February 19, 1665. He boldly opposed the governor in his usurpation of power, and for this Carteret confiscated his property and banished him. He was given a grant of land by the New York government, and died in exile. It is probable that Daniel Shotwell, who settled on Staten Island, was his son. In October, 1679, his son, John, married Elizabeth Burton, in New York. The property which had been taken from Abraham Shotwell was returned in May, 1683, and given to his son John. He died at Woodbridge in 1718. In his will he is called "John Shotwell, of the town of Woodbridge, and county of Middlesex, and province of New Jersey, yeoman." His son, John, married Mary Thorne, of Flushing, Long Island, in 1709. He settled on the banks of the Rahway river, at a place long known as Shotwell's Landing and now designated as Rahway Port. He died in 1762. His eldest son, Joseph, was born in 1710, and married at Flushing, Long Island, in 1741. He was a prominent merchant.
In the history of the Shotwell family, as given in the Biographical History of New Jersey, and published by the Galaxy Company, of Philadelphia, it is said that "Two of his sons opened and maintained a direct trade with Bristol, England, shipping flaxseed and other produce, and receiving dry goods in return, by means of a small vessel that navigated a portion of the Rahway river."
Abel Vail Shotwell was born October 18, 1814, in Rahway, New Jersey. His parents were Abel and Elizabeth (Vail) Shotwell. His father did an extensive business as a tanner, in Rahway. His mother was a native of Somerset county, New Jersey, and was the fifth in descent from Edward Fitz Randolph, a native of Nottinghamshire, England, who was born about 1617 and came to Plymouth, Massa- chusetts, in 1630. Edward Fitz Randolph was married May 10, 1637, to Elizabeth Blossom, born in Leyden, 1620, her parents having left England to escape persecution. They came to America the same year, in the Mayflower.
Our subject, the sixth in descent from the pilgrim, was educated in the common schools of Rahway. In 1830 he became a clerk in a mercantile house, and later began business on his own account, in which he was actively engaged until 1863. In 1868 he became connected with the Rahway Fire Insurance Company. He was for many years second
ABEL V. SHOTWELL
-
-
379
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY
vice-president of the Rahway Savings Bank, also secretary of the board of directors of the National Bank of Rahway, and was for a long period director in the old Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, of Rahway. In 1858, when Rahway became a city, he was chosen to represent the first ward in the city council. He was married November 2, 1859, to his second cousin, Rosetta Shotwell Ebert, of Hamilton, Ohio, granddaughter of Hugh Shotwell, formerly of Scotch Plains, New Jersey. On her father's side she was a great-granddaughter of Colonel Smyser, of York county, Pennsylvania, an officer in the Revolutionary war. Colonel Smyser was a captain in Colonel Swope's regiment, and was captured at Fort Washington, on the Hudson, November 16, 1766. Mr. Shotwell died December 17, 1893.
FRANK LINTS,
member of the city council from the first ward of Rahway, was elected to that body, as a Democrat, in April, 1897, in a Republican ward. He is connected with the Mershon Printing & Binding Company, of that city, and was born in Scotland thirty-five years ago. He came to the United States ten years ago, and has lived in Rahway nine years. He was married in his native land to Mary A. Mckinnon, and has five children: Mary (born in Scotland), and Frank, Nellie, James and William M., born in Rahway.
Mr. Lints has been somewhat engaged in local political contests during the past five years. As a member of the council he is working for the equalization and reduction of the tax burden in his city, and is known as an enthusiast in whatever he becomes interested.
Mr. Lints is a Forester, Chief Ranger, president of Hook and Ladder Company, No. 2, and represents this company in the board of representatives. He is also prominent in the Royal Arcanum, and hopes to make himself as prominent in the city council as in the differ- ent societies to which he belongs.
WILLIAM MCMAHON.
The subject of this sketch was born in North Charlestown, New Hampshire, on June 4, 1852. His family came to this country from county Clare, Ireland, early in the present century and followed their original bent, which led them to agricultural pursuits, and, by dint of that unweary industry and thrift which characterize emigrants, he succeeded after a time in obtaining a snug farm.
When the war broke out his father enlisted in the Fourteenth New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry for a short time, and later, when President Lincoln called for volunteers for three years, or "during the war," he was one of the first to offer his services. He proved himself a gallant soldier and remained with his regiment until the end of the war. Ten
1
380
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY
years prior to the death of his father, which occurred in 1887, Mr. McMahon built near the old homestead, a beautiful residence for his father and mother, which the latter still occupies.
Mr. McMahon's opportunities for education were limited. He 1 attended the district school, when farm work allowed, until he was fourteen years old. Later, by reading and study and by his travels and contact with men of the world, he added largely to his knowledge and, being gifted with great powers of observation, he became a ready conversationalist and a charming companion.
He left his native town at the age of fourteen. After engaging in occupations of various kinds in the eastern states, he worked his way through Texas, Arkansas, and other southwestern states, experiencing his full share of the hardships and vicissitudes of the times. It was, however, a splendid training for his after life, making him prompt in action, ready of resource, and able to seize any opportunity that might offer.
After his travels in the southwestern states, he came north and devoted himself for some time to the production of various useful patented articles. One invention was a process for utilizing wood pulp, which from that time has been in very extensive use. Mr. McMahon sold his interest in this patent many years ago. Since that time he has taken out many other patents, notably those for automatic- dumping cars and boats.
In the early 'Sos he was prominently identified with improvement schemes then rife in New York city,-especially those pertaining to "rapid transit" and the "subway " for the electric wires which at that time disfigured the city. He was also at one time associated with Mr. Edison in introducing those marvels of modern times, the electric light and the phonograph, and was among thie first to exhibit the latter in public. Politically Mr. McMahon is and always has been a consistent Democrat, believing that in that party lies the future prosperity and, indeed, the perpetuity of the republic. He has, however, been too much engaged with business to become an active factor in politics, and therefore has never held office. On one occasion, at the solicitation of his party friends, he consented to run for congress against John R. Kean, Jr., the Republican candidate, and such was his popularity that, in spite of the fact that his district was strongly Republican, he was defeated by only a small number of votes. On another occasion he was nominated for mayor of Rahway, but declined to accept the nomination.
In 1875 Mr. McMahon married Mary F., daughter of the late William Walsh, of New York city. She was a most charming and popular woman, and possessed wonderful sagacity and ability in con- ducting business affairs. She died in 1890, leaving four children, two sons and two daughters. The elder son, William E., is at the present time a student at Rutgers College.
WILLIAM McMAHON
381
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY
At the present time Mr. McMahon is one of the most respected citizens of Rahway, where he has resided for twenty years. His house, situated on one of the pleasantest streets of that city, was built for comfort, and is an ideal home.
PHILIP E. TUFTS.
The subject of this sketch is the popular and efficient postmaster of Rahway, and in the discharge of his civic duties displays the same loyalty to the trust reposed in him that he manifested when, on southern battle fields, he followed the starry banner to victory. He is one of New Jersey's native sons, his birth having occurred in Blazing Star, on the 12th of October, 1841. His parents were John M. and Mary (Davis) Tufts, and in their home he spent the days of his boyhood and youth, no event of special personal importance occurring during that period.
By the time he had attained his majority, however, the country had become involved in civil war, and the patriotic impulses of his nature being aroused in support of the Union, he offered his services to the government to aid in crushing out the rebellion, enlisting as a private in Company C, Thirtieth New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, September 3, 1862. He entered into the routine duty of a soldier's life with the same energy and devotion that have ever characterized his performance of a duty, and on the first of the following month promotion came to him. He was made corporal, and from that time forward his advancement was rapid. On the 16th of March, 1863, he was made second lieutenant and transferred to Company C, and on the Ist of April of the same year was again promoted, becoming first lieutenant of Company F, with which command he continued to serve until mustered out at the close of the war. .
In 1872 Mr. Tufts came to Rahway, where he has since made his home, and in the municipal affairs he has taken an active and important part. For four years he served as a member of the city council, and for two years of his term was its president. His administration was progressive and brought about many needy reforms and improvements which materially advanced the interests of the city. So efficient and able were his labors in that capacity that on his retirement from the presidency he was presented a beautiful basket of flowers by his fellow members of the council, who thus evidenced their appreciation of his labors and his unvarying courtesy as presiding officer. On the Ist of February, 1894, Mr. Tufts was appointed postmaster of Rahway and is still serving in that capacity. After two years of persevering effort he secured free delivery for the city, the measure going into effect on the 16th of July, 1897. It is characteristic of the man that he is continually seeking improvement and advance-
382
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY
ment in connection with his work, and Rahway has never had a more capable official in her postoffice.
On the 27th of June, 1871, Mr. Tufts was united in marriage to Miss Emily E. Watson, a native of Rahway and a daughter of Amos C. Watson, a prominent druggist of the city. In his political
PHILIP E. TUFTS
affiliations he has been a life-long Democrat. Socially he is a valued member of Lafayette Lodge, F. & A. M., Rahway Conclave of Heptasophs, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Grand Army Post of Rahway. In the latter organization he is especially prominent, and is known throughont the state as one of the workers of the order. In 1882 he was elected commander of Barry Post; was
1
1
GEORGE S. BRACHER
383
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY
appointed chief mustering officer, by Commander H. M. Nevius, in 1883, and was elected senior vice-commander of New Jersey in 1885.
GEORGE S. BRACHER,
of the George S. Bracher Manufacturing Company, is one of the prominent business men of New Jersey. He was born near Painsville, Ohio, in 1840, and when eight years of age came with his parents to New York city, where he received his academic education.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.