USA > New Jersey > Union County > History of Union County, New Jersey > Part 39
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At the age of twenty years he became one of a company engaged in the manufacture of hats, the business office of the firm being on Broadway, New York. The company of which Mr. Bracher is now president is one of the most prominent and successful business firms in the country, employing constantly a large force of skillful workmen in the manufacture of the reeded hat-sweat-band, a device originating with himself and his brother, and by them patented in five or six European countries.
Mr. Bracher is actively identified with a number of prominent industries in New Jersey. He is president of the Cragin Manufacturing Company, of Carlstadt, New Jersey, whose business is the manufactur- ing of glazed cloth, called Japan goods. He is also president of the Dumping Car Improvement Company, New York, the president of the Rahway Telephone Company, and holds a similar office in connection with a stitching plant in Newark, New Jersey.
Mr. Bracher is one of the governors of the Rahway Business Club, and is a charter member of the Rahway Driving Club. He has been remarkably successful in all his enterprises, and is among the best known and most highly respected men in Rahway and its vicinity.
Mr. Bracher was married June 11, 1881, to Evalina Johnson. Their children are: George Edward, Harold Hamblin, Robert Lester, Edith Evaline, Roy Stephen and Elmer Gladstone. The country seat of this family consists of fifty-six acres, under a high state of cultivation, on the Rahway river, and overlooking one of the richest and best improved districts of New Jersey. The residence, " Ellsmere Villa," is patterned after Ellsmere Villa of England, the residence of Lord Ellsmere, and is a three-story gothic dwelling, containing twenty-two rooms, and although built forty-eight years ago, it is now, in 1897, in a better condition than many more recently built houses. It is
surrounded by well cared for trees in great variety, both ornamental and fruit-bearing. The residence stands on an elevation near the centre of the grounds, surrounded by hundreds of shade trees and fruit trees of nearly every known variety. The stables and ontbuildings are spacious and substantial, and all are under the supervision of skilled attendants. The grounds are furnished with over one mile of drives
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and walks, and the gardens are bordered with over two thousand feet of arbor vitæ hedge.
The stables and barns are filled with well fed animals,-Jersey cows, valuable dogs, ponies, fowls, pigeons, etc., in abundance. Four teams are kept busy on the farm, and a number of men are employed by the year, there being hundreds of dollars expended annually in the preservation of the beauty of this model country seat, including a deer park, with tame deer, pea-fowls, turkeys, etc.
The shady roads leading across the fields, the boulevard by the river side, the mass of tropical foliage overhanging the walks and terraced lawns, the hot houses, the water fountain and the numerous flower mounds, make of this picturesque place a fairy land indeed, with boats for fishing, crabbing, and with private dock and boat house.
Among other buildings on these grounds is a spacious work-shop, built and equipped especially for the needs of the children. In this shop are printing press, benches and tools and everything necessary for them in the making of wagons, boats, toys or whatever else childish fancy may lead them to construct. This provision made for recreation and pastime also attests to both the happiness and health of the family, and constitutes one of the many attractive elements of this homestead, whose equal is hard to find.
WILLIAM HOWARD,
county clerk of Union county, was born in Brooklyn, New York, August 14, 1846. He is the son of Horatio N. and Cornelia (Finley) Howard, both of whom are dead. The father belonged to an old Vermont family, but when twenty years of age, went to Brooklyn, New York, where he followed the business of a furrier. In 1852 he removed to a farm in Somerset county, New Jersey, now North Plainfield, and died there in 1871. The mother died in 1856.
William Howard was one of seven children. He was reared on a farm and received his education in the public schools of North Plainfield. When eighteen years of age, or in 1864, he enlisted in the Thirty-ninth Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, and was assigned to the First Brigade Second Division Ninth Army Corps. His regiment was sent to City Point, Virginia, and his first battle was at Poplar Grove church. After- ward he participated in the siege of Petersburg and in all the battles of that memorable campaign, to the close of the war, which terminated in the surrender of General Lee, June 9, 1865, at Appomatox.
After the war Mr. Howard resumed his occupation as a fariner, but in 1869 removed to Rahway, where he went into the retail grocery business, and he very soon assumed a prominent position among the merchants of Rahway. This store, now uuder the inanagement of his son, Guy Howard, is the oldest and largest store of the kind in Rahway.
WILLIAM HOWARD
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Mr. Howard is in no sense an office-seeker. Nevertheless, the people of Rahway, and the county, have, from time to time, forced the duties of office upon him. In 1884 he was elected a member of the Union county board of freeholders, and held that office for ten years, when he resigned, to accept the county clerkship, receiving in this election a majority of sixteen hundred votes and being the first Republican ever elected to this office in the county. As a member of the board of free- holders he was chairman of the finance committee, and was for a number of years chairman of the public-building committee of that body. He has also been chairman of the city Republican committee for a number of years, has held other offices in the gift of the citizens of Rahway, and is now serving his fifth year as a member of the Rahway common council.
Mr. Howard was married in 1872 to Miss Nannie Merrick, daughter of David P. Merrick, an old merchant of that city, who is now dead. Of this union seven children were born, three of whom are now living, viz .: Guy, Charles and Raymond.
Mr. Howard is a member of the board of trustees of the Second Presbyterian church, of Rahway, and Mrs. Howard is a member of that church.
NICHOLAS MOONEY.
There is no royal road to wealth or distinction in this republic. Ability must win promotion and merit must gain advancement. A cursory glance at the life record of individuals may sometimes lead to the thought that fortune has favored them, but a close investigation usually shows that success has depended upon earnest efforts, persever- ance and indomitable energy. In reviewing the record of Mr. Mooney we notice that this is the course which he has followed, and must give him our respect and admiration, for in comparative obscurity he started out on life's journey for himself. Dominated by a progressive and enterprising spirit, energy and industry stood him in stead of capital and crowned his efforts with prosperity.
Mr. Mooney is one of New Jersey's native sons, his birth having occurred in Cranford, Union county, on the 3d of February, 1823. His grandfather, Nicholas Mooney, owned a farm of one hundred and fifty acres, included within what is now the most populous district of Cranford, and carried on the milling business, owning what was known for many years as Mooney's mills. Upon his death his son, Samuel Mooney, succeeded to the ownership and operated the mill until his removal from Cranford to Elizabeth, New Jersey. The last years of his life were passed in New York city, where he died on the 9th of April, 1837. He married a daughter of Jacob Wooley, who resided in Springfield, New Jersey, and was the owner of two valuable farms in that locality. His business was that of building bridges and turnpikes, and in his under- takings he was very successful. When the country attempted to throw
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off the yoke of British tyranny, he aided the colonists in their struggle for independence, and afterward received a pension in recompense for his services.
For more than half a century Mr. Mooney, whose name initiates this article, has been identified with the business interests of Raliway. He removed to that city in order to learn the carriage-maker's trade,
NICHOLAS MOONEY
which he mastered under the direction of Ralph Marsh and James B. Laing. He afterward embarked in the dry-goods and grocery business, which he followed for a number of years, after which he erected a large four-story brick factory at the corner of Irving and Coach streets and began the manufacture of carriages, which enterprise he continued from 1852 until 1860. The progress of the war practically
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put an end to all business in that line. During that period he also conducted a sale and exchange stable and sold fine carriage horses, doing business with the leading horse dealers of the entire country.
For the past twenty-five years Mr. Mooney has engaged in the real-estate and insurance business, which he still continues under the firm name of Nicholas Mooney & Son, at the corner of Cherry and Irving streets, Rahway, being now the largest real-estate owner and negotiator in the city. He handles all kinds of property, and has a knowledge of value and location that is unsurpassed. His progressive- ness is indicated by the excellent condition in which his property is always to be found. He keeps it under a good state of repair and thus materially advances the city's interest, for other real-estate dealers, in order to compete with him, must follow his example in this respect.
Mr. Mooney has ever been deeply interested in the welfare of the city, and his labors have been very effective in promoting its progress. He was largely instrumental in settling the debt of the city, which defaulted July 1, 1878, by purchasing the city bonds and paying back taxes and assessments for the property owners under the Martin act, which was passed in 1886, and the debt of the city was settled January I, 1895. He was one of the incorporators of the Rahway Public Library, and has been one of the trustees of the First Presbyterian church for a quarter of a century.
Mr. Mooney has been twice married. On the 12th of Janu- ary, 1860, he wedded Miss Charlotte C. Hegeman, daughter of John S. Hegeman, of Lamington, New Jersey. She died November 20, 1860. His second marriage was celebrated November 24, 1868, the lady of his choice being Thirza Squier, a daughter of Job Squier, of Somerville, New Jersey. In the family are four children,-three sons and a daughter,-Nicholas H., who is in business with his father, William J., Scott F. and Charlotte C.
In manner Mr. Mooney is free from all ostentation and display, but his intrinsic worth is recognized and his friendship is most prized by those who know him best, showing that his character will bear the scrutiny of close acquaintance. He is a generous-spirited, broad- minded man, a true type of the American spirit and an embodiment of that progress which in the last few years has drawn to this country the admiring gaze of the nations of the world.
LEWIS S. HVER
was born in Freehold township, Monmouth county, New Jersey, about one mile from the court house, in the town of Freehold, March 1, 1839. His father was Aaron P. Hyer, who died in 1870, at the age of seventy- six years, and his mother's maiden name was Gertrude Cottrell ; she died
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in 1878, aged nearly eiglity years. Both were natives of the southern part of Monmouth (now Ocean) county.
Lewis S. attended school in a small district school house of one room, the same being situated about a half mile from his home, and isolated froin all other buildings in the farming section. Years ago the school was discontinued and the building removed to a neigh- boring farm, where it was converted into a corn crib. As soon as Mr. Hyer was old enough to assist in farming he did so during the working seasons, attending school in the winter, and mastering the ordinary educational branches of those days.
In May, 1855, he entered the Monmouth Democrat office as an apprentice to the printing trade, against the wishes of his parents at the time, as they desired him to stay on the farm, though they lived long enough to realize the wisdom of his choice, as he showed an aptitude for the business, not only mechanically but in all that is required in a newspaper office,-he became foreman of the establishment before reaching his majority. When the civil war broke out, in 1861, his employer, Major (now Colonel) James S. Yard, answered to the first call for volunteers to go to Washington, and Mr. Hyer had general charge of the business during his absence. His only other experience as an employe was as assistant foreman in the office of the New York Journal of Commerce for a short time, in 1863.
April 29, 1860, he married Miss Jennie Young, daughter of Jacob Young, a veteran of the war of 1812, whose father was in the war of the Revolution ; her mother's maiden name was Mincha Morris. Both parents lived to a very old age. Mr. and Mrs. Hyer have but one child, Fred C., born December 10, 1874, now a practicing lawyer, with offices in Newark and Rahway.
In the latter part of March, 1865, Mr. Hyer came to Rahway and leased, for one year, of the Hon. Josephus Shann, the National (now Union ) Democrat establishment, purchasing it one year later and suc- cessfully conducting it, in all departments, continuously up to July I, 1896, when Mr. John I. Collins assumed charge of the business and mechanical departments, Mr. Hyer continuing as editor and proprietor.
Mr. Hyer has held a number of public offices, commencing in 1874, when he was elected mayor of the city, and the same year was appointed clerk of the board of chosen freeholders of the county. In 1881 he consented to accept the nomination for state senator, but was defeated by a small majority, on account of adverse party combinations. On March 1, 1882 (his birthday anniversary), he was appointed by Governor Ludlow a judge of the court of common pleas of Union county, for a term of five years; was reappointed by Governor Green, in 1887, and by Governor Abbett, in 1892, serving until April 1, 1896, when, on account of a law making changes in the formation of county courts the office was abolislied, he having a year yet to serve of the
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LEWIS S. HYER
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third term. In 1889 he again acceded to the desire of his friends, and became a candidate for mayor; was elected, and re-elected in 1890, for two years, the law having been changed just before his election, extending the term one year.
He joined the Methodist Episcopal church in early life, and has for many years held the position of president of the board of trustees of the Second (now Trinity) church of Rahway. He was also chair- man of the building committee of that church during the erection of the handsome new edifice, recently completed, and was for about twenty-five years director of the choir. He is a member of the Free and Accepted and Royal Arch Masons, Odd Fellows and other societies, though of recent years he has not given attention, as formerly, to the gatherings of such, preferring the quiet of home, especially since his erection of a commodious new residence in one of the pleasantest parts of the city. He was for twenty years a member of the executive com- mittee of the New Jersey Editorial Association, which association he connected himself with as soon as he became an editor, and of which he is still an active member.
NATHAN V. COMPTON
was born at Liberty Corner, Somerset county, New Jersey, November 2, 1841. He is a son of Alvah Compton and Ann Maria (Ayres) Compton. Alvah Compton was a son of James R. Compton. The Compton family came to New Jersey from Staten Island, and is of English origin. Ann Maria Ayres, the mother of Nathan V., was a daughter of Oliver Ayres, of Rahway, New Jersey. The father of the latter was Jacob Ayres, of Metuchen, Middlesex county, New Jersey. Jacob Ayres was a member of the New Jersey militia, from Middlesex county, in the war of the Revolution, and his son, Oliver Ayres, was a soldier in the war of 1812. The Ayres family came originally from Scotland.
The subject of this sketch received a common-school education, and in his early years became a clerk in a grocery at New Brunswick, and afterward in one at Plainfield. Subsequently he acquired the trade of a silver-plater, at Newark, and pursued that calling until the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, Thirtieth Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, commanded by Colonel John J. Cladek, and served in that regiment, with the Army of the Potomac, in the Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville campaigns. At the battle of Chancellorsville Mr. Compton was captured by the Fourth Virginia Cavalry and was for a time held as a prisoner of war at Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia.
Upon his discharge from the army he accepted a responsible position in a manufacturing and mercantile house in the city of Newark, and continued there for five years. In 1870 he established himself at
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Rahway in the real-estate and insurance business, which he has ever since carried on in that city with much success, having, from his long experience and unremitting attention to business, acquired for himself a most enviable reputation for reliable judgment concerning real estate, and for unsurpassed readiness and skill as an underwriter.
NATHAN V. COMPTON
He has at various times been appointed, by the common council of the city of Rahway, as an assessor of real estate, and has for many years served as such. He was appointed by Hon. William J. Magie, justice (now chief justice) of the supreme court of New Jersey, with Hon. John D. Bartine and James H. Durand, Esq., as a commissioner for the adjust- ment of the taxes and assessments of the city of Rahway, under the
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"Martin Act." The excellent work of that commission is a subject of much commendation, not only in Rahway but also throughout the state, and has proved of most material aid to the city in the collection of practically all of its arrearages of taxes and assessments, so far as the same were possessed of any value.
When the affairs of the city of Rahway were so far disorganized that the taxes could not be levied in the usual manner, Mr. Compton was appointed by Governor Leon Abbett, and later by Governor George T. Werts, as one of the special commissioners of taxation to whom the important work of making the assessments was committed.
Mr. Compton became, by appointment of the mayor of the city, one of the members of the board of finance, and the well considered and carefully planned methods, and the intelligent and practical labors of himself and associates in that board, have unquestionably been the means by which the financial credit of the city has been restored and its prosperity renewed. Mr. Compton is a director of the Workmen's Build- ing and Loan Association of the city of Rahway. He is a member of Barry Post, No. 27, G. A. R., and one of its past commanders. He is also an officer of the National Guard of New Jersey, being captain and paymaster, Third Regiment, Colonel B. A. Lee commanding.
He has long been an active and prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, having been initiated in St. Alban's Lodge, No. 68, F. & A. M., of Newark, New Jersey, in 1865. He affiliated with La Fayette Lodge, No. 27, F. & A. M., of Rahway, in 1871, and was Worshipful Master of the latter lodge in the year 1878. He was made a Royal Arch Mason, in 1872, in La Fayette Chapter, No. 26, R. A. M., of Rahway, and became High Priest of that body in 1876. In the Grand Chapter of New Jersey he has been Grand King, Deputy Grand High Priest and Grand High Priest, being elected to the last named office in May, 1889. He is a member of Kane Council, No."2, R. & S. M., of Newark, New Jersey, and of St. John's Commandery, No. 9, K. T., of Elizabeth, New Jersey. In 1893 he was appointed, and in 1894 was reappointed, Grand Marshal of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey, by James H. Durand, Grand Master of Masons. He is an active member of the A. & A. Scottish Rite bodies in the Valley of Jersey City, up to and including the thirty-second degree.
He married Miss Emma L. Briant, daughter of John A. Briant and Mary (Drake) Briant, of Newark, New Jersey, March 15, 1866, and three children have been born to him, of whom two are living,-Helen A., now the wife of William R. Gibbons, of Rahway, New Jersey, and Miss Flora L.
DANIEL K. RYNO.
The subject of this review is one whose identification with the material and moral interests of Rahway has made him one of its best
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citizens. Of pronounced business ability and prosperously managing his commercial affairs, he also finds time to meet the duties of citizen- ship and to discharge the obligations which man owes to his fellow man and, setting aside the rush and hurry of the commercial world, he leuds his aid and influence to the furtherance of those movements
DANIEL K. RYNO
which are for the development of the higher nature and which prove the balance wheel of society.
Mr. Ryno was born in Middlesex county, New Jersey, September 21, 1830, and spent his boyhood there assisting in the labors which ever fall to the lot of the agriculturist. His early education was acquired in the schools of the neighborhood, and at New Brooklyn (now South Plain-
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HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY
field). While in his 'teens he entered the employ of John A. Bryant, a cabinet-maker of Rahway, with whom he learned the trade, becoming a proficient workman and mastering the business in every detail. He subsequently worked for a time in Plainfield, and then returned to the employ of Mr. Bryant, later succeeding to the business. It was in 1855 . that he bought out his employer, and since that time he has conducted the furniture and undertaking business in the same location, enjoying a prosperous trade and a constantly increasing patronage. He has the reputation of being one of the leaders in this line in the state. His advancement in his business has been steady and, therefore, of the most reliable nature, and his success is the well merited reward of honorable effort.
Mr. Ryno has long taken a commendable interest and active part in church and benevolent work, holds membership in the Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, and is serving on its official board. He is an active temperance worker, doing all in his power to promote the cause and to promulgate a temperance sentiment in his adopted city. He belongs to the Masonic and Royal Arcanum fraternities, and is in hearty sympathy with the basic principles of the orders. Neither has he been neglectful of his duties to Rahway as a municipal organization, but faithfully served as mayor of the city in 1875, and is now a member of the board of water commissioners. He is a truly representative citizen, interested in public works in general and loyally advocating all that tends to the public good.
In 1855 Mr. Ryno was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca V. Rusling, daughter of Rev. Sedgwick Rusling, and to them have been born five children, namely: Sedgwick Rusling, Henry Parvin, Charles Pitman, Walter Palmer and Stella, wife of Joseph O. Lufbery. The home of the family is one of the pleasant and substantial residence properties of the city.
P. J. MCCARTNEY,
one of the progressive and well-to-do citizens of Rahway, and the present chief of the Rahway fire department, was born in his home city of Rahway on the 29th of February, 1870, and here acquired his elementary education in the public schools. His first business experience was obtained when he learned the trade of a spring-maker, under the able direction of his father, Bernard McCartney, who was engaged in that vocation. After finishing his apprenticeship he gave up spring-making and embarked in railroading, continuing to follow that occupation for a period of seven years, and then engaged in the retail liquor business, with which he is at the present time identified. On the 12th of October, 1896, Mr. McCartney was elected chief of the Rahway fire department and has the distinction of being the youngest man ever elected to that position in Rahway. His term expired November 1, 1897.
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While connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad, as locomotive fireman, Mr. McCartney became a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and retained his associations with that order for six years, but resigned after severing his connection with the railroad. He is now affiliated with the Foresters of America and takes a strong interest in that society. Mr. McCartney is one of Rahway's public-spirited citizens and a young man whose genial nature and many excellent qualities of character have gained for him the good will of a large circle of friends.
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