USA > New Jersey > Warren County > History of Warren County, New Jersey > Part 26
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When Mr. Jeffery moved to Washington in 1865, what is now the borough of Washington was then the township. At a meeting of the citizens, called to take steps to have the borough incorporated, Judge Vliet, Oscar Jeffery and Peter Winter were appointed to draft a charter for the borough, and the legislature, on the 22nd day of February, 1868, passed an act incorporating the borough. Mr. Jeffery alone remains of those who took part in the incorporation of the borough. It has now grown from a village having a population of about twelve hundred to a borough of over three thousand six hundred inhabitants. Since the borough was incorporated, many wonderful improvements of modern days, including trolley, elec- tric lighting, gas and water, have been inaugurated and are now in common use in Washington.
Oscar Jeffery married, in 1870, Emma, daughter of John Wild, of Paterson, New Jersey. She is a descendant from the Cutler family, of Boston, Massachusetts, which figured prominently in the revolution, and she is connected with the chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution. They have one son, Oscar W. Jeffery, a lawyer prac- ticing in New York, and living at Englewood, New Jersey. He married Harriet Blythe, of Philadelphia, and they have two children.
BOWERS John Clark Bowers, the first member of this family of whom we have definite information, lived in Warren county, New Jersey, and was a son of Jacob Bowers, of Oxford, in the same county. He received a common school education and then learned the trades of carpentering and cabinet- making, which he followed for a number of years, building many of the barns and
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houses of Warren county. He next turned his attention to farming, and settled down for that purpose near Broadway, Warren county, New Jersey, where he spent the last thirty years of his life. He was a prominent member of the Methodist church in Washington. He married Eleanor, daughter of Jacob and Margaret (Laycock) Cole. Children, besides three that died in infancy: Margaret C., married Robert H. Axford (see Axford I); William H., living at Hope, New Jersey; Mich- ael B., referred to below; Jacob; Christopher C., living in Washington, New Jersey; John Thomas.
(II) Michael B., son of John Clark and Eleanor (Cole) Bowers, was born in Washington township, Warren county, New Jersey, September 6, 1845. He received his education in the public schools and began life as a farmer, working at first for James Lomerson. Being needed at home, however, he helped his father for ten years and then, renting his father-in-law's farm, he conducted for sixteen years a general truck farming business, which he made highly successful. In the spring of 1886 he moved to Broadway, Warren county, New Jersey, where he purchased the store and dwelling he now occupies and sixteen acres of land, which formed part of the estate of the late William Warman. There Mr. Bowers has a fine store, carry- ing an excellent line of general merchandise, and a business which he has built up and made very prosperous. He carries a good line of farming implements, gas engines and fertilizers. He has also bought a number of other real estate properties and to-day has ten tenants on his different farms. He is a Democrat in politics and has always taken an active part in the affairs of his township, having held the offices of supervisor of election boards, overseer of roads, and assessor of the township. President Cleveland, during his second administration, appointed Mr. Bowers post- master of Broadway, and he held the office for five years. He is a member of Mans- field Lodge, No. 36, Free and Accepted Masons, of Washington; of Temple Chapter, No. 12, Royal Arch Masons, of Washington; of Washington Council, Scottish Rite Masons; of DeMolay Commandery, Knights Templar; of Mecca Temple of the Mystic Shrine, of New York City; of the Tall Cedars of Lebanon, No. 14, of Phillipsburg; of Warren Lodge, No. 152, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Stewartsville; of Union Encampment, No. 57, of Washington. For a number of years he has been trustee and steward of the Methodist church at Broadway. He married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Conrad Henry and Tamson A. (Beatty) Bryan. Children: Henry B. and Walter Edgar, both referred to below.
(III) Henry B., son of Michael B. and Mary Elizabeth (Bryan) Bowers, now de- ceased, spent his whole life with his parents and was considered a most- exemplary son. He was a Democrat in politics, and at the time of his death a trustee of the Methodist church in Broadway. He was a member of the same Masonic and other organizations as his father, and his funeral is said to have been one of the most impressive services ever conducted by those bodies. He married Naomi, daughter of Joseph Woolever, but left no children.
(III) Walter Edgar, son of Michael B. and Mary Elizabethı (Bryan) Bowers, was educated in the public schools of Broadway, and since then has been assisting his father. He has the same Masonic affiliations as his father and is a member of the Methodist church. He married Edith, daughter of Logan Bowman. Child: Henry B.
Christopher C. Bowers, son of John Clark and Eleanor (Cole) Bow-
BOWERS ers (q. v.), was born in Franklin township, Warren county, New Jersey, May 18, 1853, and is now living in Washington, New Jersey. He was educated in the public schools of Broadway and Pleasant Valley, New Jer- sey, and in his early life worked on his father's farm. Obtaining a position in the organ and piano factory of Daniel F. Beatty, who was later to becoine his uncle-in-
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law, Mr. Bowers came to Washington, and about four years later, having saved suffi- cient capital for a start, embarked in the grocery business for himself, his place of business being in the building now occupied by the drug store of Dr. Williams. After fourteen years of successful business, Mr. Bowers disposed of his grocery and in 1898 opened an office as insurance agent. In 1902 he embarked upon his present business of wholesale and retail dealer in patent medicines and extracts. He has become one of the most successful merchants of Warren county and has the highest esteem of his fellow citizens. In 1887 he purchased his present residence from Mr. Beers. . He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of Mansfield Lodge, No. 36, Free and Accepted Masons of New Jersey, of Mansfield Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; of the Oriental Branch of the Junior Order of American Mechanics, and a charter member of Ute Tribe, No. 80, Improved Order of Red Men.
He married, September 1, 1880, Laura, daughter of Mansfield H. and Mary Catharine (Castner) Beatty, who was born March 13, 1861. Her great-grandparents were James and Elizabeth (Schleicher) Beatty. Her grandfather was George Beatty, who was born January 16, 1815, and died March 9, 1889. He married (first), December 3, 1840, Elizabeth L. Fisher, who was born October 22,. 1816, and died November 14, 1858. He married (second) Rachel L. Thatcher. Children of George Beatty, six by first wife: Mansfield H., referred to below; Hibbard, born Novem -. ber 13, 1846, died in November, 1909; Daniel Fisher, born April 14, 1848; George Lewis, May 14, 1851; Wellington, May 2, 1853; Keziah F., January 24, 1857, married Alexander Anderson; Mary A., born August 5, 1860, married George B. Hoffman; Enos E. B., born January 27, 1862; Ann E. L., March 8, 1868, married John Hocken- bury, of Chester, New Jersey.
Mansfield H., son of George and Elizabeth L. (Fisher) Beatty, and father of Laura (Beatty) Bowers, was born November 3, 1841, and died March 24, 1910. Leaving the old homestead in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, when he was seven- teen years old, he taught school in various places and then became secretary to his brother, Daniel F. Beatty. In 1892 he removed to Chicago, Illinois, and became traveling salesman for a rubber stamp and stationery firm. He served in the civil war; was a Democrat in politics, and a Methodist in religion. He was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, of Washington. He married Mary Catharine, daughter of Adam and Mary (Schwartz) Castner, who was born April 1, 1842. Chil- dren: Laura, referred to above; George W., living in Chicago, Illinois; Watson, living in Chicago; Alvin, deceased; Lucy, married Marshall Burd; Daniel, living in Chicago, Illinois; Elizabeth, married Horace Dearnburger; Minnie, deceased. Chil- dren of Christopher C. and Laura (Beatty) Bowers: Mansfield Bowers, born Au- gust 8, 1881, married Mary, daughter of John Britton, of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, has one daughter, Leah Jeane; Lena, born December 19, 1886, married John W. Lunger, has one child, Clark Bowers; Clark C., born October 6, 1891, a graduate of Washington high school and a student of finance, which line of business he expects to take up in the near future.
John Axford, the founder of the family of his name in New Jersey, AXFORD emigrated from Oxford, England, and after living for a while near Trenton, New Jersey, finally settled in what is now Oxford township, Warren county, New Jersey, where he located sixteen hundred acres, which he divided at his death among his four sons, Abraham, Samuel, Jonathan and John. He and his wife, Anna Beach, were members of the Society of Friends. His descendants have become prominent and influential, not only in Warren county, but also in vari- ous other portions of the United States, particularly the middle west.
(I) Robert Hunt Axford. a descendant of John and Anna (Beach) Axford, was
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born in Oxford township, Warren county, New Jersey, May 8, 1836, and died there, January 31, 1873. Being deprived of a father's care in infancy, he spent his early life with his grandparents and received his education in the public schools of Oxford township and under a private tutor. As a young man he went south and purchased a farm; but the life there proving uncongenial, he returned to New Jersey and set- tled for a while on a farm at Scott's Mountain, belonging to one of his uncles, and finally leased the old Carhart farm, which he managed till his death. He married, January 8, 1863, Margaret C., born in Oxford township, Warren county, New Jersey, July 20, 1838, and died October 10, 1872, daughter of John Clark and Eleanor (Cole) Bowers (see Bowers I). Children: John Clark, referred to below; Daniel Irwin, born December 31, 1865; William H., referred to below; Jacob Bowers, born May 15, 1869, died September 25, 1870; Michael Bowers, twin with Jacob Bowers, died Au- gust 23, 1870; Sarah E., born January 25, 1870, married the Rev. W. S. Newson, of Richmond, Staten Island, New York; Minnie, born October 31, 1871, died April 5, 1873.
(II) John Clark, son of Robert Hunt and Margaret C. (Bowers) Axford, was born in Washington township, Warren county, New Jersey, June 7, 1864, and is now living in the town of Washington, where he and his brother, William Henry Axford, are two of the most highly esteemed and successful merchants in the place. He spent his boyhood on the farm of his uncle, Michael B. Bowers, and received his education in the public schools of Broadway, Warren county, New Jersey. When he was twenty-four years old he began clerking in his uncle's store, where he remained until after his thirty-first birthday, when he embarked in business for himself. For three years he ran a small store at Cole's Corners, and then, in 1897, he purchased the ground at 113 Broad street, Washington, where his present store and residence are situated, and where he has built himself one of the best and most substantial dwellings in the town. Besides this property, Mr. Axford owns a number of other highly desirable building sites in the town and also good farming lands in Franklin township. He is a Democrat in politics; has served on the executive committee of the town for eight years, and is at present (1910) clerk of the board of education. He is very active in local politics and has been delegate to many of the county conventions of his party. He is a member of the board of stewards of the Methodist Episcopal church in Washington. He is also a member of Stewartsville Chapter, No. 53, Independent Order of Odd Fellows of New Jersey; of the Patriotic Order Sons of America of Washington, New Jersey; of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and he is financial secretary of Lodge No. 7, of the Ladies of the Golden Crown Temple. He married, October 17, 1888, Ida, daughter of Peter O, and Mary (Hil- liard) Rinehart, of Port Colden, Warren county, New Jersey, who was born there, March 31, 1867. No children.
(II) William Henry, son of Robert Hunt and Margaret C. (Bowers) Axford, was born in Washington township, Warren county, New Jersey, January 6, 1867, and is now living in the town of Washington. He spent his boyhood days on the farm of his grandfather, John Clark Bowers, and received his education in the public schools of Franklin township and the borough of Washington. After leaving school he began life acting as clerk to his uncle, Christopher C. Bowers, in Washington, with whom he remained until 1897, when he embarked in the grocery business for himself at the corner of Belvidere and Carlton avenues. Here he built up for him- self by his industry and thrift and upright dealing a highly prosperous business and he has gained the reputation of carrying the best line of goods to be found in the town. He has built himself a fine residence and store property, and he owns besides several of the most desirable real estate properties in the town. He is a Democrat in politics, a member of the board of education, and he takes a deep and active inter- est in the advancement of the public school system and in the improvement of the
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schools of Washington in particular. He is a member of the board of stewards of the Methodist Episcopal church of Washington. He married Nelly, daughter of William Kinaman. Child: Jennie.
PURSEL The Pursel family is one of the oldest families of the township of Greenwich. The name is found in Pennsylvania in 1677. The Pur- sells or Purcells of Pennsylvania and New Jersey are probably de- scended from the noble Purcell family of Ireland. Sir Hugh Purcell, who traced his descent from Charlemagne, accompanied William the Conqueror from Normandy to England; he is said to have been the first to land on British soil and the first to effect a notable deed of arms. The Irish Purcells were faithful adherents of the Stuart cause and suffered severely for their loyalty, both in the rebellion and at the accession of William of Orange.
(I) Stewart C. Pursel, the first member of this family of whom we have definite information, was a merchant at Phillipsburg. He was a member of the Lutheran church, and with his wife took much interest in the affairs of the church. He mar- ried Catharine C. Stone; both are deceased. Children: Daughter, died in infancy; Ephraim D., referred to below; William S., a merchant at Easton, Pennsylvania; Theodore M., resides in Boston, Massachusetts; John T., a merchant at Phillipsburg.
(II) Ephraim D., son of Stewart C. and Catharine C. (Stone) Pursel, was born at Phillipsburg, New Jersey, July 26, 1867. He attended the public schools at Phillips- burg, including the high school. For several years he was a clerk in his father's grocery stores, and from 1892 to. 1904 he was in the clothing business in Phillipsburg. In the latter year he became a member of the John H. Hagerty Lumber Company. He is one of the most prominent business men in Phillipsburg, and his residence on Fairview place, which he built in 1906, is among the finest in the county. He is a Republican in politics. His secret orders are Delaware Lodge, No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons; Eagle Chapter, No. 30, Royal Arch Masons; DeMolay Command- ery, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is past exalted ruler. Mr. Pursel is one of the trustees of the Presbyterian church. He married, at Phillipsburg, November 19, 1890, Anna M., daughter of John H. and Ellen (Hazen) Hagerty. John H. Hagerty, now deceased, was one of the most respected business men of Phillipsburg. Children of Ephraim D. and Anna M. (Hagerty) Pursel: Stewart H., born at Phillipsburg, May 20, 1894, now attending college at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania; John .H., born at Phillipsburg, April 5, 1896, now attending the high school at Phillipsburg.
PURSEL Philip Pursel, the first member of this family of whom we have defi- nite information, died April 24, 1882, and was a brother of Stewart C. Pursel, of Phillipsburg. He had a gristmill at Greensbridge, Lopat- cong township, Warren county, New Jersey. He married Mary Louisa Stone. Among their children was Thomas Stone, referred to below.
(II) Thomas Stone, son of Philip and Mary Louisa (Stone) Pursel, was born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, July 25, 1857. He lived all his life in Warren county. After attending the school at Springtown and school No. 10 at Lopatcong township, he entered the Easton, Pennsylvania, high school. At the age of thirteen he set out to earn his own living and secured work with a contractor named Collins, who was building for the Lehigh Valley railroad. About six months later he was made clerk in the general store of Theodore Mellick, in-which position he remained for two years. After this he learned the trade of miller in his father's mill at Greensbridge. . Two years later he accepted a position as clerk in the store of his uncle, Stewart C. Pursel, remaining there for over five years, and acquiring a fair knowledge of the mercantile business. His father's health then failing, he took charge of the
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mill for him, and continued this business for himself for fourteen years after his father's death and took care of the family. S. C. Pursel's Sons then bought this business. A year later, in 1897, Mr. Pursel began contracting for masonry work. The sewers on South Main, Sitgreaves and Chambers streets and the retaining wall on Stockton street are among his constructions. Purchasing fifty feet of frontage on South Main street, a store and three dwelling houses, Numbers 383, 385 and 387, he remodeled these and entered the general merchandise business. His store is to-day one of the best equipped in Phillipsburg, with a stock including dry-goods, boots and shoes, and groceries. Five fine dwellings on Jersey street, built about 1896, are owned by Mr. Pursel, and he owns two on South Main street. In 1897 he built five dwellings just outside the town, near Greensbridge, in one of the best suburbs. One of these houses is Mr. Pursel's own residence. He has also a well- stocked farm of one hundred and fifty-five acres at Carpentersville, New Jersey, with a man in charge.
Mr. Pursel is a Democrat in politics and has been active in county affairs. He served for six years on the board of freeholders of Lopatcong township, and was director of the board from 1893 to 1898; he also served on the school board of that township. He is one of the directors of the Second National Bank of Phillipsburg. He is a member of Delaware Lodge, No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons; of Eagle Chapter, No. 30, Royal Arch Masons, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, of Phillipsburg. Mr. Pursel married, at Phillipsburg, November 4, 1881, Ella Foering, daughter of William Mott and Susan Bowman (Winter) Patterson, who was born in Phillipsburg, December 22, 1859; the Rev. H. B. Townsend, of the Presbyterian church, officiated at the ceremony. Mrs. Pursel is a graduate of the Phillipsburg high school, class of 1879, and is a woman of more than ordinary attainments. Samuel Patterson, her great-grandfather, the founder of this family, was born February 6, 1769, and died at Norristown, Pennsylvania, March 18, 1815. He came from Belfast, Ireland, with his brother John, in 1798, and settled at Norris- town. In 1807 he applied for naturalization. He became landlord of an inn at Norristown in 1811. The next year he was appointed county commissioner, and in 1814 was regularly elected to that office. In the war of 1812 he joined the Penn- sylvania Volunteers.
Samuel Dewess Patterson, grandfather of Ella F. (Patterson) Pursel, was a man of studious disposition, with strong inclination to composition and versification. He was appointed to succeed James Winnard as publisher of the Norristown Register. Verses composed by him appear in this paper and in the New England Magazine, pub- lished at Boston in 1824. From 1828 to 1834 he was editor of the Register. In 1833 he was recorder of deeds of Montgomery county. From 1834 to 1837 he edited and published the Pennsylvania Register and was state printer by appointment of Gov- ernor Wolf. President Van Buren appointed Mr. Patterson in 1837 United States marshal for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, which office he held until 1841. In 1839 Governor David D. Porter made him aide-de-camp on his staff, with the rank of colonel. In the years 1843-48 he published the Saturday Evening Post, founded by Franklin in 1728, and at that time in the zenith of prosperity as a family news- paper. Among its contributors were: Poe, Willis, Hawthorne, Lafayette, Cooper, Neal, G. P. R. James, Bayard Taylor, Mrs. Osgood, Mrs. Stephens, Mrs. Sigourney and Mary Howitt. It was at this time that Bayard Taylor contributed the account of his foreign travels entitled "Views Afoot." Colonel Patterson's financial assist- ance had enabled him to make his first trip abroad, of which fact Mr. Taylor made pleasant acknowledgement in the first published volume of those letters (1846). Col- onel Patterson frequently contributed to the columns of the Post. In 1845 President Polk appointed him naval agent at Philadelphia, and he held the office until 1848.
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About this time he was also associated with John W. Torney, Mifflin, Parry, Joseph Neal and A. Boyd Hamilton in the publication of the Pennsylvanian, the predecessor of the Philadelphia Press. From 1848 to 1850 he published Graham's Magazine, and in the decline of this periodical he suffered financial loss. In 1851 he removed to Woodbourne, near Schuylkill Haven, where he held a position with the Silver Creek Coal Mining Company. He removed again in 1855 or 1856 to Evansburg, where he served as justice and contributed to the local and city newspapers.
Colonel Patterson's greatest accomplishments werc in the field of literature. Be- sides the periodicals already mentioned, he contributed to various annuals: to the National Gleaner, the Opal, the Family Messenger, the Casket, the Gift, the Fountain, Godey's Ladies National Magazine, the Episcopal Recorder, Pennsylvania, the Wash- ington Union and others. As a political writer he wielded a pen quiet but forcible and bold. Among the best of his poetical writings were "My Mother" (1839), "The Little Straw. Hat" (1844), and "A Salt River Voyage." Colonel Patterson was an intimate friend and correspondent of President Buchanan, who often visited him and was godfather to two of his children. He was a very handsome man and conspicuous for his scholarly attainments and refinement. Many strugglers for literary recogni- tion found in him a friend, and he was generous to a fault. He was a consistent Christian and a member of the Episcopal church, which he long served as vestryman. He was a Mason, an Odd Fellow, and a member of the Hibernian Society of Phillips- burg.
William Mott, father of Ella F. (Patterson) Pursel, and son of Samuel Dewess Patterson, was born in Norristown, April 22, 1830, and died August 25, 1875. His large and successful experience as journalist commenced in the position of reporter for Torney's Spirit of the Times; in this capacity he interviewed Forrest and Ma- cready at the time of the riotous excitement resulting from their quarrel. He was connected also with Godey's Magazine. He later served the Eastern Express in sev- eral capacities and wrote for that paper a series of letters from this side of the river, which were of unusual interest. He contributed to the Phillipsburg Standard and was editor of the Evening Mail, the first daily newspaper in this town. He was also on the staff of the Paterson Guardian. At the time of his death he was local editor of the Easton Free Press, himself furnishing locals to its columns. The Warren Demo- crat, of Phillipsburg, owes him much of its success and popularity. He was ready and pleasing with his pen, a man of rare humor, an interesting conversationalist and a pleasing associate; as an editor he was of notable industry, zeal, fidelity and ability. Mr. Patterson had a fine talent for chemistry, evincing a quickness for this science which seemed almost instinctive. He was active in the affairs of the town of Phillips- burg. At the time of the smallpox epidemic he was at the head of the board of health, and his promptness and ability were efficacious instruments in checking this plague. He also served as president of the board of education, and held this position when the high school was organized. He was a Democrat of the strictest sort and prominent in Warren county politics, taking a leading part in the conventions and caucuses. Mr. Patterson was a member of the Presbyterian church and actively inter- ested in its affairs. His disposition was eminently hospitable and generous. He was a kind and obliging neighbor and ever ready to confer a favor. He married, August 25, 1853, Susan Bowman, daughter of Peter and Susan (Bowman) Winter, of Easton, Pennsylvania, who was born August 25, 1829, and died September 2, 1903. Children : Mary Matilda, born August 25, 1854; Sarah Ann, born June 12, 1857; Ella Foering, referred to above; Clara DaVor, born October 29, 1871; William Comstock, born April 21, 1874, now living in Phillipsburg. Children of Thomas Stone and Ella Foer- ing (Patterson) Pursel: 1. Clara, born at Phillipsburg, April 8, 1883, married George B. Winter; they have one child, Ella Pursel, born August 27, 1905. 2. Ruth, born
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