History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 71

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts
Number of Pages: 1224

USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 71
USA > New Jersey > Union County > History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 71

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" Sir, shall no spot be held sacred by Americans? Have we no rever- ence for the symbols of departed greatness ? True, there are monu- mente at Bunker Hill and Baltimore; we have here and therea ustional memento. The curious can yet trace the crumbling ramparts and the reomins of basty breastworks, behind which the stunt hearts of our forefathers beat with patriotic zeal, and over which they dealt disnisy and death to our enemies. But, sir, as we have been reminded by our Governor, these memorials like ourselves are fust passing away. Let us then secure this honored patrimony. Let Mount Vernon be the per- petual memento of our country's great deliverance, and let the rever- ence with which it is regarded be the token of our gratitude. And when in ages hence the banks of the silvery Potomac shall resound as now with the hell of the passing vessel, uttering its tribute to the mem- ory of Washington, and the flag at the masthead shall humidy droop, and the mariner stand uncovered in honor of the sacred spot, let future generations learn the lesson of gratitude and patriotisin which these tokeus shall daily recite at Mount Vernon."

Returning to New York he was made president of the Knickerbocker Bank, and vice-president of the Knickerbocker Life Insurance Company and St. Nicholas Fire Insurance Company.

In 1854 he was Whig candidate in the Syracuse Convention for Governor, but was defeated by Myron H. Clark by only some two or three votes, who was nominated in the interest of making W. H. Seward

United States senator. He was then tendered the nomination for Lieutenant-Governor, which, however, he declined. He was appointed one of the commis- sion by the controller of the State of New York, and acted as chairman, to examine into all of the assets, etc., of all insurance companies in New York City. In 1855, Mr. Savage settled in Rahway, N. J., and organized the State Fire Insurance Company, of which he was president for several years, until ill health compelled him to resign. Upon the occasion of the acceptance of his resignation of the presidency he was presented with a handsome silver plate as a token of appreciation for his efficient services while the incumbent of that office.

In 1860 he purchased sixty-five acres of land within the present city limits of Rahway, built his present substantial residence, and laid out the surrounding grounds with such taste as to make the location one of the most desirable for a residence. Here he has lived ever since, his time being largely spent in the care of his property.

Since the organization of Rahway as a city he has served several years in its Common Council, was its third mayor, and was also elected and served in 1880 and 1881.

While a member of its Common Council he strongly opposed the lavish expenditure of money by the city in extending its boundaries and in laying out and im- proviug streets, which has placed so large a debt upon its taxable property.

Mr. Savage is a man of keen perception, broad ideas, and great earnestness in his advocacy of any measure which he undertakes to carry forward to a successful issue, and his ability in the discussion and presentation of topics of importance have on many occasions received favorable comments from the press of the country. In his nomination of Gen. Scott in the New York Convention in 1861 for the Presidency of the United States, and upon invitation his lecture on the " Resources of New Jersey," delivered in Jersey City, and also in the assembly-room of the Capitol at Trenton, evidence is given of a clear mind, and one well stored with useful knowledge.

His first wife, Caroline, daughter of Francis Child, a lawyer in New York, bore him the following chil- dren : Josephine, deceased, and Francis. His second wife, Sarah F. Pike, of New York, bore him seven children,-Joseph W., Jr., Walter P., Charlotte E., Lavinia, Latitia W., John M., and Sarah F. His present wife is Frances C. Parcells, a native of New York City.

WILLIAM MERSHON.

The Mershon family are of Norman origin, and were among the early settlers in the vicinity of Tren- ton. Deeds and other papers are in the possession of Samuel D. Mershon, the father of William, the sub- ject of this sketch, showing conveyances of land in

Now Muston

William la gariés.

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CITY OF RAHWAY.

1708 to Henry Mershon in the township of Maiden- head (now Lawrence), Hunterdon County, and Henry to Benjamin Mershon in 1761 in the same vieinity. This Benjamin Mershon was the great-grandfather of William, and resided on the present homestead in the township of Lawrence, Mercer County. At the age of eighteen William Mershon went to Philadelphia, and for three years was a clerk in a wholesale dry-goods house there, leaving it in June, 1848, for a situation with a firm in the same city dealing in coal. In July, 1852, he accepted a situation offered him by Messrs. A. Pardee & Co. in their New York office, a firm which for nearly half a century has been very extensively en- gaged in the mining of anthracite coal and manufac- turing of pig-iron; was made their general agent at New York Jan. 1, 1856, and still fills the position, having held it for a period now over twenty-six years.

Mr. Mershon has been married three times, moved to Rahway in 1862, and continues to reside there.

WILLIAM CRANE SQUIER.

Ellis Squier resided in Suffolk County, Long Island, where he reared a family of fifteen children. The place of his residence is still called Squiertown. In 1687 his son, Ellis Squier, came to New Jersey, and re- sided in the borough of Elizabethtown, and his son Benjamin was one of the founders of the old West. field neighborhood, and resided there in 1699. Thomas Squier, son of Benjamin, resided in Westfield, and owned some four hundred acres of land, which was divided among his sons at his death. One son, John, grandfather of our subject, born Dec. 10, 1730, suc- ceeded to a part of the homestead, where he resided during his life, and where he died during the Revolu- tionary war. His wife, Hannah Clark, born May 19, 1735, was a cousin of Abraham Clark, the New Jer- sey signer of the Declaration of Independence, sur- vived her husband, and was twice married afterward, dying in Rahway. The children of John Squier were Daniel, born Oct. 19, 1755, was in the Revolu- tionary war, and took a prize from the British ; Abra- ham, born Jan. 26, 1758, a privateer on the high seas during the same war, was captured by a British cruiser and confined in the Old Sugar-House Prison in New York City, where he died. While in confine- ment there he sent his Bible to his sister Letitia, and the book is in 1882 in the possession of the subject of this sketch. John, born July 22, 1860, succeeded to the homestead, which remained in the family until 1880 ; Rebecca, born Oct. 6, 1763; Jonathan, born May 15, 1766 ; Letitia, born Sept. 28, 1768 ; Recom- pence, born Feb. 24, 1771 ; and Hannah, born Aug. 6. 1774. The father of these children was captured by the British at his own house during the war, together with his sons, who were released, and he was taken to Elizabethtown, where he was very soon afterward also released and allowed to return home.

Jonathan, fourth son of John Squier, owned and

resided on a farm of one hundred acres, now com- prising the western part of the city of Rahway. He established the manufacture of hats and clothing in Rahway about 1800, and did a large business in the Southern States, as well as at home, having branch houses in New Orleans, Mobile, Columbia, S. C., and Augusta, Ga. His wife, Hannah Crane, born May 31, 1771, was a great-great-granddaughter of Stephen Crane, who came over on the " Caledonia" from Eng- land, and was a niece of Gen. William Crane, of Elizabeth, who was a distinguished officer in the Revolutionary war. Their children are John, born Aug. 31, 1794; Job, born Oct. 20, 1796, succeeded to his father's business in New Orleans and Columbia, where he was a merchant for many years; Eliza, born Sept. 21, 1799; David, born April 14, 1805, was a farmer in Rahway; Nancy, born Nov. 18, 1806, died at the age of eighteen ; Jane, born Jan. 14, 1809, became the wife of Jacob G. Crane, of Elizabeth ; and William C., born Jan. 8, 1812.

William C., youngest son of Jonathan and Hannah Squier, attended school in Rahway during his boy- hood, was prepared for college at Princeton, and en- tered the University of New York City. In 1834 he determined to discontinue his studies and lead a business life. He therefore set ont for New Orleans, which he reached by stage-coach after a tedious jour- ney of fifteen days and nights, and at once became a partner with his brother Job in the wholesale clothing business, where he remained until 1846, and returned to Rahway. In 1852, Mr. Squier formed a partnership in the city of New York with Richard H. Manning, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and the firm of " Manning & Squier" were sales agents for the New Jersey Zinc Company until 1854, when they organized the " Pas- saic Zinc Company," and began the manufacture of zinc in Jersey City. Mr. Squier acted as president of this company from its organization until 1875, when he resigned the duties of the office, and Mr. Man- niog has served as secretary and treasurer until the present time (1882).

Messrs. Squier & Manning control the majority of the stock of the company, which owos part of the red oxide of zinc mines at Ogdensburg, Sussex Co., N. J., and the carbonate of zinc mines in Union County, Tenn. The business of this company has rapidly increased, which from a small beginning now manufactures ten tons of metallic zinc and nine tons of oxide of zinc per day, employing some two hundred and fifty men at the manufactory in Jersey City and seventy-five men at the mines.

The Stirling Hill Mine at Ogdensburgh, and the Mine Hill Mine, two miles northeast of Stirling Hill, are the only red oxide of zine mines known in the world, and both were owned by Lord Stirling before the Revolutionary war. He sunk several shafts upon the veins, but never utilized any of the ores.

Mr. Squier has taken an active interest in the local enterprises where he has resided, and while a resident

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HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

of New Orleans was a director of the Commercial Bank and of the Exchange Bank of that city, of the Western Marine Insurance Company and of the State Insurance Company. He was a director of the Far- mers' and Mechanics' Bank of Rahway for many years, president of the savings-bank since its organization, one of the incorporators of the Rahway Public Library, one of the trustees of the First Presbyterian Church, and a life-member of the State Historical Society. The Squier family were formerly identified with the old Whig party, and later generations are Republicans.

He has kept aloof from public place, never solicited political office, and never held any, but has spent an active life devoted to business pursuits. His wife, Catherine, whom he married Nov. 8, 1841, is a daughter of the late Dr. David Stewart Craig, for many years a prominent physician in Rahway, and a great-great- granddaughter of Dr. David Stewart, who came from Scotland on the "Caledonia," and was the first prac- ticing physician in Woodbridge, N. J., where he died.

Mr. Squier has five sons,-Stewart C., in business with his father, William C., Jr., Charles B., Edwin M., and Frederick. The last three are also engaged in the zinc industry with their father.

Relating to the "Caledonia," sometimes called the "Mayflower" of New Jersey, Thomas O. Crane, a former resident of Rahway, given to antiquarian research, who died at an advanced age, has left the following written narrative:

" I had this morning, April 28, 1818, from James Crane, who had it from Alderman William Miller, a pious man, a millstone-cutter, who lived to a great age, and was well acquainted with Stephen Crane, one of the first of the name who came to this town ( Eliza- beth Town), and related it to said Miller.

"In the reign of -, when the Protestants were per- secuted by the Papists, a number in the west of England and Wales resolved, if they could, to escape to the wilds of America. The wreck of the ship 'Caledonia' lay sunk at the shore. Some of the proprietors and others concerted a plan and agreed to raise her and fit her for the voyage. With the help of two pumps and sev- eral hundred buckets they freed her of water and stopped the leak, and fitted her out in the night-time; and one hundred and thirteen went on board and set sail in the night-time for fear of detection, and in the morning Providence so ordered it that a thick fog arose between her and the land so that they escaped. They had fair winds and weather all the passage till they arrived on the shoals of Amboy, when she leaked so that the pumps would not free her, and she sank, but all escaped safe to land and dispersed among the Indians. Stephen Crane with others settled at Eliza- beth Town. He was a man of note and one of the first Associates. He married a Danish woman with red hair, by whom he had several children."

JOHN C. DENMAN,

the progenitor of the Denman family, from whom the subject of this sketch was descended, settled on Long Island, from England, in 1667. His son, John Denman, came from Southampton, L. I., and settled back " west in the fields," now called Westfield, and

Ano Deman

was one of the Elizabethtown Association in 1699, and was among the early Episcopalians of the bor- ough of Elizabethtown. John Denman, Jr., settled on one hundred acres of land in Westfield, now the township of Cranford, in 1723, and this property has been successively owned by his descendants in direct line to the present time (1882). He died in March, 1776, leaving children,-John, Joseph, Daniel, Chris- topher, Mary, and Jennie, of whom Christopher suc- ceeded to the homestead; was born March 5, 1741, and died Oct. 21, 1808. His wife, Abigail Hendricks, bore him the following children : Susanna, Anna, Abigail, John, Huldah, and Mary. Of these chil- dren, John succeeded to the homestead, where he was horn Feb. 28, 1782, and died Sept. 25, 1849. He was a farmer and a representative business man, being widely known throughout the State. A sketch of his life will be found on another page of this work. His wife, Lockey, died July 30, 1875. The Denman fam- ily were members and attendants of the Episcopal Church at Elizabethtown until the Revolutionary war, when that church was closed, and afterwards of the West Presbyterian Church at Westfield, N. J.

Jonathan Wvortreff

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CITY OF RAHWAY.

John Christopher, son of John and Lockey Den- fixed purposes, frank and outspoken, and his great man, was born on the homestead Nov. 17, 1815. His kindness of heart, marked liberality for any enter- prise he conceived to be right, and especially his sympathy and help to those in need have made his name remembered in many households, where, in an unostentatious way, lie gave of his means, commen- surate with his spirit of liberality. Politically, Mr. Denman wielded a large influence, and he was prom- inent in the councils of the Democratic party. He was a member of the Legislature from Essex County in 1858, and successfully advocated the bill to make a new county, to which he gave the name of " Union," and the removal of.the mill-dams at Rahway. After one turn of service at Trenton as a legislator he took up his residence in Newark, N. J., where he was elected and served in the board of chosen freeholders, aud where he resided until his decease by heart-dis- ease, Feb. 4, 1864. His wife, who survives him, is Eliza H., a daughter of Aaron V. and Eliza Buck- alew Hendricks, of Middlesex County. His children are George Hendricks, Lillie Orlean, and Rolph Marsh Denman.

early education was received at the school in his na- tive place at the Rahway Athenian Academy. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to learn carriage- making with Charles Hedenberg, a large manufac- turer in Newark, N. J., in whose service he became conversant with the manufacture of all kinds of car- riages, and there laid the foundation for his subsequent remarkable and successful career as a manufacturer and dealer in carriages and vehicles of all descriptions. Soon after he reached his majority he commenced working at the shop of his uncle, Rolph Marsh, of Rahway, and while there made the first paneled coach-body ever gotten up at Rahway. He con- tinued there one year, but the disasters of 1837 having overtaken all branches of trade and com- merce, he was induced to start in search of more remunerative employment. He finally reached Co- lumbus, Ga., where he took charge of a large car- riage-shop for Mr. George W. Way, remaining one year. He then proceeded to New Orleans, but not succeeding in his expectations went to Mobile, where he remained one year. About 1840 lie formed a partnership in New Orleans with John E. Mat- thews, under the firm-name of Matthews & Denman, as dealers and manufacturers of carriages. There they had a large repository, being supplied partly by large purchases in Northern markets and partly by their own manufacture. They became large con- tractors during the Mexican war, furnishing supplies of wagons, mules, horse-shoes, etc., for the army. In the spring of 1852 he retired from business, feeling that he had accumulated a reasonable competency, but in a short time found that inactivity was " uncon- stitutional," and that it was preferable to wear than to rust out.

At the close of 1852 he connected himself with his brother, I. Marsh Denman, under the firm-name of I. Marsh Denman & Co., at New Orleans, and Den- man & Co., at Rahway, he taking charge of the business at the North, and his brother of that at New Orleans. In 1856 he purchased the interest of his brother, I. Marsh Denman, in both the New Orleans and Rahway establishments, and associated with him at New Orleans a younger brother, under the firm- name of Rolph M. Denman & Co., and at Rahway with John L. Freeman, under the name of Denman & Freeman. The latter remained his partner until the decease of Mr. Denman, Feb. 4, 1864. At the opening of the war the business in New Orleans was closed, and he connected himself with Fisher, Rick- ards & Co., of Australia, shipping them large con- signments of carriages.

John C. Denman was a man of remarkable energy, sagacity, and enterprise, and during his active busi- ness life his name was known in business circles throughout this country and quite extensively in foreign lands. He was a man of quick perception,

JONATHAN WOODRUFF.

The Woodruff family have been one of prominence in this section of the State for more than two centu- ries. They were among the early settlers of Eliza- bethtown, and John Woodruff appears as one of the prominent citizens of that place as early as 1673.

John, Jonathan, and Samuel Woodruff are men- tioned also by Rev. Edwin F. Hatfield in his history of Union County as among the founders of the West- field families who settled there as early as 1699.

Jonathan Woodruff, the grandfather of our subject, owned a large farm on the four corners of the cross- roads, one mile north from the Westfield Church, and there resided in 1750. He left five sons,-Jonathan, Aaron, Noah, Joseph, and William,-who all lived to be old men except William (who died at the age of forty-six years of bilious fever). Jonathan lived to the advanced age of ninety-four years.

William Woodruff, father of our subject, was born in Westfield March 6, 1781, and resided there until the spring of 1816, when he purchased and settled upon a farm of ninety acres near Rahway, on the old King George road between Elizabeth and Rahway, where he resided until his death, Sept. 7, 1826, leav- ing a family of ten children. He had always enjoyed excellent health, and was a thoroughgoing business man, dealt largely in timber, and built many bridges in this section of New Jersey. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church of Westfield, aud upon his removal to Rahway united with the First Presbyte- rian Church of that place. His wife, Phebe, born Oct. 3, 1786, daughter of Jacob Ludlow, of Westfield, a soldier in the Revolutionary war, survived him, and died June 4, 1856.

After the death of her husband she remained on

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HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

the farm for many years, and reared her family of ten children with the greatest care, instilling into their minds those principles which have made her children what they are, and which make her memory dear to their minds as a devoted Christian mother.

There were eight sons and two daughters,-Jacob L., born Oct. 19, 1803, residing in Rahway ; Sarah, wife of John C. Meeker, born Sept. 25, 1805, residing in Newark, N. J .; Joseph, born Jan. 1, 1808, residing in Rahway, a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church ; John, born May 9, 1810, a resident of Bos- ton, Mass .; William, born Jan 24, 1813, died in Elizabethtown, April 12, 1837 ; Jonathan, born Sept. 1, 1815; Aaron Augustus, born Feb. 8, 1818, died in Rahway, Dec. 6, 1836 ; Amos, born April 4, 1818, a resident of Memphis, Tenn., since 1845; is an active and influential citizen of that place ; president of the State National Bank and president of the Cotton-Press Association there. Erastus Washington. born March 6, 1822, a carriage-manufacturer in Rahway; and Margaret Pool, born June 13, 1824, widow of John F. Disbrow, now residing at Roselle, N. J. No death has occurred in this large family of children during the past forty-five years, the youngest being now nearly sixty, and the eldest nearly eighty years of age. They all advocate temperance; not one of them ever uses tobacco in any form.

Jonathan, the subject of this sketch, received his education in the district school. At the age of seven- teen he went with Mr. Harned, in Rahway, to learn the carriage-making business, and remained with him until he was twenty-one years of age. In the spring of 1837 he was offered and accepted the superintend- ency of the New York office of Thomas Hale, pro- prietor of the Rahway Silk and Print Works, which position he held for three years. Resolving to go into business for himself, and wishing to obtain some knowledge of the dry-goods trade, he accepted a posi- tion, and spent one year as salesman in the jobbing- house of Ely & Freeland, of New York, and in the spring of 1842, with his brother Amos as partner, under the firm-name of J. & A. Woodruff, started a general merchandise store in Rahway.

By their industry, energy, and close application their business rapidly increased, and their names he- came widely known throughout this section of New Jersey as substantial business men.

Mr. Woodruff's knowledge of carriages led the firm to deal in them, as well as in carriage supplies, and finding that the carriages could not be sold here to advantage, Mr. Woodruff went South in the winter of 1845, and located at Memphis, Tenn., where he opened and established a carriage repository. In the spring his brother Amos took charge of the business in the South, and he returned to Rahway and took charge of the business North, carrying on a large business in dry-goods and carriage supplies, manu- facturing and buying carriages and shipping them from Rahway and the Eastern markets to Memphis.

In 1857, J. & A. Woodruff sold out the mercantile part of their business to their brother John and David B. Dunham, and gave their undivided atten- tion to the carriage business.

Upon the breaking out of the civil war Mr. Wood- ruff and his brother Amos deemed it advisable to dis- solve their partnership.

In 1865 the Union National Bank was organized. Mr. Woodruff was elected its first president, and has since continued to be president of the association.

In all matters of a local nature Mr. Woodruff has been one of the foremost citizens to contribute of his time and means in support of every enterprise which had for its object the welfare, growth, and prosperity of his native place. He is a large prop- erty-owner, and, in addition to several dwelling- houses of architectural beauty, he has erected several substantial buildings, which have added much to the appearance of the city. In 1854 he erected the large brick store on Main Street, and in 1872 he purchased the mansion house property adjoining the Pennsyl- vania Railroad depot, and at a large expenditure of money remodeled it into what is now known as the Exchange Building.

In 1849 he, with a number of the members of the First Presbyterian Church, met at his residence, and there resolved to organize the Second Presbyterian Church of Rahway. Mr. Woodruff took a very active part in the enterprise. The church was organized, Mr. Woodruff being one of the building committee, and was for many years one of the trustees of the church.

Mr. Woodruff has always been active and earnest in Sunday-school work. He has been for sixty years in the Sabbath-school, as scholar, teacher, and super- intendent, believing that the influence of the Sunday- school is only for good, to the scholars, teachers, parents, and to the entire community.

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History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 71

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed. Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts Number of Pages: 1224

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts
Number of Pages: 1224