USA > New Jersey > Warren County > History of Warren County, New Jersey > Part 37
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
He married, in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, August 21, 1907, Elsie May, daughter of James and Catharine O'Brien, who was born in Phillipsburg, May 19, 1878. Her father is a wealthy railroad contractor of that city. Her sisters are Rose, Catharine, Agnes, and Elizabeth O'Brien.
The Beesley family of Belvidere is one of the oldest in the state, and BEESLEY its present representative in that town, Dr. Maurice Edward Beesley, a dentist of high reputation, worthily maintains the traditions of his race. The name of Maurice has been many times repeated in the successive generations, the first of the line having been the grandfather of Captain Jonathan Beesley, who
376
WARREN COUNTY.
was killed in the revolutionary war. The pedigree on the maternal side extends back to John Hart, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, while Sarah Hand, wife of Jonathan Hand, a grandfather on the Beesley side, was one of the maidens who strewed flowers before General Washington at Trenton, in 1789, while the hero was on his way to New York to be inaugurated president of the United States.
(I) Thomas Beesley, the paternal great-grandfather of Dr. Manrice Edward Beesley, was born in December, 1771, in England, and came to this country in 1778, settling at Beesley's Point, on the Jersey coast, where his son, Maurice Beesley, men- tioned below, was born May 16, 1804.
(II) Maurice, son of Thomas Beesley, graduated at the University of Pennsyl- vania, high in the class of 1828, and for fifty-four years thereafter practiced medicine continuously. In 1840 and again in 1841 he served as a member of the New Jersey state legislature, and from 1842 to 1844 was one of the governor's council. It was largely through his influence that a lunatic asylum was established in the state, and he was one of the committee who selected a site for the building. In 1845 he was elected a charter member of the New Jersey State Historical Society and became one of its active members, collecting information relative to the history of the state. There is now in the possession of Dr. Beesley, his grandson, a rare old scrap-book, in which are documents of great value, among them a letter of William Penn, written in 1682. Dr. Beesley was the author of a history of Cape May county, a work of much interest, and a recognized authority on the subject. Dr. Beesley married Sarah, daughter of Amos C. Moore, a circuit rider of the Methodist Episcopal church, and four children were born to them, among them, Edward M., mentioned below. Dr. Beesley died at Dennisville, January 13, 1882, and the death of his widow occurred in June, 1894.
(III) Edward M., son of Maurice and Sarah (Moore) Beesley, was born June 22, 1845, in Cape May county, New Jersey, and his education was completed at the West Jersey Academy, at Bridgeton. He then entered the Pennsylvania Dental Col- lege, Philadelphia, where he graduated in 1867. He first practiced his profession at Absecon, Atlantic county, New Jersey, and in 1871 came to Belvidere where he maintain- ed to the close of his life a large and lucrative connection, becoming one of the very prominent men of Warren county. He was a member of the state board of examiners in dentistry. From 1870 to 1873 he served as sergeant-at-arms in the New Jersey senate, and in 1882 was engrossing clerk of that body. He affiliated with Warren Lodge, No. 13, Free and Accepted Masons. Dr. Beesley married, November 11, 1873, Carrie A., daughter of Israel Harris, who was for forty years cashier in the Belvidere National Bank. Dr. and Mrs. Beesley were the parents of three children: Eleanor, a graduate of Belvidere high school, received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Woman's Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1896; Mary, wife of Frank Mathews, of Brooklyn, New York ; and Maurice Edward, mentioned below. Dr. Beesley died in 1906.
(IV) Maurice Edward, son of Edward M. and Carrie A. (Harris) Beesley, was born October 9, 1882, in Belvidere, and graduated from the high school of his native place. Electing to follow the profession of his father, he entered the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, and after a full course of study received from that insti- tution the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1907, since which time he has prac- ticed his profession in Belvidere. He is a member of the New Jersey State Dental Society and prosecutor for that society in Warren county. He belongs to the Tri- County Dental Society of Morris, Sussex and Warren counties. He is junior warden of Warren Lodge, No. 13, Free and Accepted Masons, and is a member of the Im- proved Order of Red Men, and the Greek letter fraternity Xi Psi Phi. Dr. Beesley enjoys merited social and professional distinction, not only in his home town, but also throughout Warren county.
He married, June 28, 1911, Lena Bair, daughter of James B. and Elizabeth (How- ard) Bair.
377
WARREN COUNTY.
The Shipmans are of Norman descent. The founder of the family SHIPMAN was knighted by Henry the Third, of England, in 1258. The Hon. George Marshall Shipman, presiding judge of Warren county, is a lineal descendant of Edward Shipman, the founder of the American branch, who was a refugee from religious persecution in England. In 1663 he cast in his lot with the colonists who settled in Saybrook, Connecticut, being one of the founders of that place.
(I) The great-grandfather of Judge Shipman was one of the original settlers of Morristown, New Jersey, and two of his sons served with distinction in the war of the revolution.
(II) David Shipman, the grandfather, was a leading citizen of Warren county.
(III) Jehial G. Shipman, a name well-known in his day throughout the state of New Jersey, was a son of David Shipman, and the father of Judge Shipman. He was born October 13, 1818, near the town of Hope, and graduated from Union College, New York, in the class of 1842. He subsequently studied law under the preceptorship of that profound scholar and noted legal authority, William C. Morris, and in 1844 was admitted to the bar. In a comparatively short time he rose to a place of prominence in the ranks of his profession. He married Mary Louisa Morris, whose father was for many years prosecutor of Warren county and afterward judge of the court of common pleas in Hudson county, and whose mother was the daughter of the late General and Dr. Peter Stryker, a distinguished Jerseyman. Miss Morris was descended from Major Peter Morris, who was an officer in the continental army, and was wounded at the battle of Chestnut Hill, by being shot in the month, Baron Steu- ben, on that occasion, sending his own surgeon to attend him. Major Ford Morris, ancther ancestor, was an ensign in the revolutionary army.
(IV) George Marshall Shipman, son of Jehial G. and Mary Louisa (Morris) Shipman, was born April 20, 1850, and was prepared for college under the tutelage of the Rev. Frederick Knighton, D. D., principal of the Classical Academy, Belvidere. In June, 1870, he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University, and sub- sequently received from the same institution the degree of Master of Arts. After a three years' course of legal study under the guidance of that eminent lawyer, his father, he was admitted to the bar. In June, 1876, he became a counsellor and con- tinued in partnership with his father until the latter's death in 1892. In the winter of 1898 Governor Griggs appointed him presiding judge of Warren county, a position which he still holds, his broad knowledge and familiarity with the principles of law having enabled him to discharge its duties to the satisfaction of the bar and of the entire community.
Before Judge Shipman's advancement to the bench he had won a large patronage, his clientele including the most distinguished people in the state. With a mind highly cultured and carefully trained, he was a logical and eloquent speaker and became a powerful advocate before judge or jury, and as a natural consequence many of the most important cases were intrusted to him. He took the place of his father as coun- sellor for the following railroads: Delaware, Lackawanna & Western; New York, Susquehanna & Western; New Jersey Central; Lehigh Valley, and Lehigh & Hudson. He is a director in the East Bangor Slate Company and the Warren Woodworking Company, director and attorney for the Belvidere National Bank, vice-president of the Belvidere Water Company, and is interested officially in other large concerns. He is a member of the Sons of the Revolution, the Easton Pomfret Club and the Prince- ton Club of New York.
Judge Shipman married, June 26, 1878, Anna Louisa, daughter of Richard D. and Margaret (Stewart) Wilson, of Belvidere, and they have three children: Margaret, Jehial G., George M. The family are identified with the First Presbyterian Church, of which Judge Shipman has been a member from his boyhood and in which he has, since
378
WARREN COUNTY.
his father's death, succeeded the latter as ruling elder. At their spring meeting, April II, IQII, at Belvidere, the Presbytery of Newton elected Judge Shipman to the office of moderator. This was the first time a lay member had ever been chosen to preside over the deliberations of that body.
Philip Kline, the founder of this family, came from Germany to Sourland
KLINE
Mountain, now called Neshanic, in Sussex county, New Jersey, about 1720. He was probably a relative of Godfried Kleyn, son of Christian of Ben- dorf, Germany, whose name appears in the Readington register. There were several early immigrants bearing the name Kline, spelled in various ways, and old families of this name are found in different places in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Philip Kline bought one hundred and sixty acres of government land at Still Valley, now part of Greenwich township, Warren county, New Jersey, and sent two sons and a daughter to settle upon it and make a clearing. At a later time he bought six hundred acres in what is now Harmony township; this tract he divided equally among these three chil- dren. The original purchase deed of this property, given under seal of King George III, has been handed down in the family. Philip Kline married Mary Haines, of Prussia, who bore him three sons and two daughters: William, Peter, Philip, Mar- garet and Elizabeth.
(II) William, son of Philip and Mary (Haines) Kline, was born in 1776. He married Catharine Horn, who was born in 1780. Children: Godfrey, John, Sally, Peter, Isaac, Mary, Haines.
(III) Godfrey, son of William and Catharine (Horn) Kline, was born in 1800. He married Mary A. Scudder, by which union the following children were born: Elizabeth, Isaac, Rosetta, William, Sarah, Catharine and Mary Frances.
(IV) William (2), son of Godfrey and Mary A. (Scudder) Kline, was born March 3, 1834, at Asbury, New Jersey. In 1858 his father, Godfrey Kline, and family, in conjunction with a number of residents in and about his native place, emigrated over- land and settled in Prince William county, Virginia, thereby effecting a colony of "New Jersey settlers." William, son of Godfrey, returned north in 1863, and married Eliza- beth (Hubler) Baker, daughter of Jacob Baker, of Northampton county, Pennsyl- vania. He first located at Harmony, Warren county, New Jersey, where he followed farming until 1882, when he retired from that pursuit and moved to Delaware Park, New Jersey. He held continuously for thirteen years the office of township collector. He was also an elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, at the time of his death, which occurred September 19, 1902.
(V) William (3), son of William (2) and Elizabeth (Baker) Kline, was born in Harmony, Warren county, New Jersey, September 2, 1865. He was educated in the public schools and Easton Academy, graduating from the latter in 1885, and then enter- ed Lafayette College for a two years' course, and in the fall of 1888 matriculated in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1891, with the degree of M. D. Having decided to settle in Phillipsburg, he moved there in 1893, and ranks to-day as one of the most skilled physicians in Warren county. Both socially and as a citizen he is highly esteemed, and has always taken an interest in everything looking to the welfare of the community and the people. He has always been inclined toward the Democratic party, and has many times refused political honors. He has held the office of city physician in 1894-95, and served for twelve years in the town council. Formerly he was a member of the Improved Order of Red Men; at present he is connected with Delaware Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Knights of Pythias, and with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Dr. Kline married, June 20, 1904, Caroline F. Flumerfelt, a granddaughter of Jesse Flumerfelt, who for many years was a private official of the Pennsylvania railroad. By their union. God has blessed Dr. and Mrs. Kline with two daughters, Frances Elizabeth and Mildred Lee Kline.
379
WARREN COUNTY.
John Ketcham, the first member of this family of
SOMERVILLE-KETCHAM whom we have definite information, was born De- cember 22, 1791 ; died November 30, 1865. He was descended from Edward Ketcham, of Ipswich, Massachusetts. John, son of Edward, who died in 1697, moved to Huntington, Long Island. In the middle of the eighteenth century, several of this name were living in Hopewell and the adjacent town of Amwell. John Ketcham is descended from the Pennington Ketchams, who were of English and Scotch extraction. He was a Presbyterian, and an old-time Whig, and naturally became a Republican. He was a farmer and a highly esteemed man. He married, May 2, 1818, Elizabeth, surname unknown. Children: William, born March 29, 1819; Eleanor, December 7, 1820; Elizabeth, April 5, 1822; Sarah, May 22, 1825; Mary, July 22, 1827; John L., May 15, 1830; Jane, referred to below; Mark, August 14, 1844, a resident of Port Murry.
(II) Jane, daughter of John and Elizabeth Ketcham, was born January 4, 1835. She married, July 4, 1850, Judge James Somerville, born in Ireland, October 16, 1832; died at Port Murry, New Jersey, April 30, 1903. He was one of the three children of William and Sarah Somerville, the others being William, and Margaret, who mar- ried a Mr. Wallace, and lived in Grass Valley, California. His parents came to this country when Judge Somerville was two years old, and made their home in Paterson, New Jersey, where they are buried. The future judge, at an early age, drove a mule on the old Morris canal in the summer time, and applied himself to his studies at school in the winter. He lived at different times in Paterson, New York City, and in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he worked at harness making. The greater part of the years, however, while he was canaling, he lived with William Maines, at Port Murry. For about twenty years, between 1840 and 1860, he ran a boat of his own and was quite successful. About 1855 he abandoned boating and settled at Washington, conducting a store near the canal basin, in the northern part of the borough. He presided at the first Republican meeting ever held in the borough of Washington. He had been a Democrat prior to the organization of the Republican party. On the day that the trains first ran over the Lackawanna railroad, in 1860, he left Washington and removed to Lincoln Park, in Morris county. In partnership with his old employer, he conducted a store at that place for about five years, and in 1865 returned to Port Murry, where he spent the remainder of his days in retirement from business. He already owned property in the village, and after his retirement he purchased a farm near Mt. Bethel. He became very prominent in the affairs of the township and was several times honor- ed with local offices. In 1879 he was appointed a lay judge of the Warren county courts for a term of five years; this position he filled with honor. He was for many years a member of the Port Murry Baptist Church, of which he served five years as treasurer. Judge Somerville was a man of very retiring nature, not prone to talk un- necessarily, and his remarkable career should be an incentive to all boys and young men to industry and integrity. With small early opportunities, he became one of the con- spicuous and highly-respected figures of Warren county. About five years before his death, he suffered a stroke of paralysis, but after a short time he was out again as be- fore and enjoyed good health for one of his age. His funeral was conducted by the Rev. J. E. Vasser, assisted by the Rev. W. D. Pimm, each being his former minister. Interment was made in the Baptist cemetery at Port Murry.
(III) Alonzo, son of James and Jane (Ketcham) Somerville, was born at Karrs- ville, New Jersey, March 7, 1852; died January 29, 1907. He began his business career as a clerk in the Hackettstown National Bank, and in 1870 became teller of the North Ward National Bank, in Newark, being made cashier in 1873. In 1879 he started a wholesale grocery business in New York. This he sold in 1882 and returned to New- ark, taking a position as secretary of the general grocery firm of Wilkinson, Gaddis & Company. In 1890 he had to retire on account of his health, and travel. In 1892 he
380
WARREN COUNTY.
was stricken on the street with paralysis. His life was then for a time despaired of, but he partially recovered and his death was probably more or less a result of his stroke. He lived on Lombardy street, Newark; for several summers he made his home at Port Murry. The funeral was held at Newark, interment made at Port Murry. He married a Miss Titus, of Newark. Children: James M., William T., Mary R.
The Suttle family of Warren county is of North of Ireland origin, and SUTTLE springs from Matthew Suttle, who emigrated to this country about the middle of the nineteenth century, and settling in Paterson, New Jersey, plied his trade of blacksmith with such success that he became quite prosperous and well-to-do, and the owner of considerable real estate. He died January 25, 1894, aged about seventy-five years. He married Grace Correy. who died about 1896, aged nearly eighty years. Children: Matthew, referred to below; William; Margaret; Grace; Catharine; Susanna; Robert, died in infancy.
(II) Matthew (2), son of Matthew (1) and Grace (Correy) Suttle, was born in Paterson, New Jersey, about 1844; died there, in 1877. Having learned the trade of machinist, he entered the employ of the United States government and for the greater part of his life was stationed in the navy-yard at Brooklyn, New York. He married Catharine, daughter of Richard and Margaret (Potter) Boothroyd, who was born in January, 1846, or 1847. Although she is of English origin, she is a member of the Dutch Reformed Church of Paterson. Children: Matthew, referred to below; Mar- garet. died in infancy; Frederick W., a banker in Paterson, New Jersey; Richard B., an employee of the American Locomotive Works in Paterson; Margaret; Grace. The two last-mentioned are teachers in public schools in Paterson.
(III) Matthew (3), son of Matthew (2) and Catharine (Boothroyd) Suttle, was born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1867, and is now living in Phillipsburg, where he was one of that town's most enterprising merchants, and was proprietor of the largest and most modern furniture store in the country. He received his early education in the public schools of Paterson and then took the course in the Baltimore Business College. After this he obtained a position as clerk with the furniture firm of Lockwood Brothers in Paterson, and here he remained for seven years, gaining his mastery over the business. At the end of this time he decided to embark in business for himself, and in November, 1890, purchasing the business of August Moneig, in Phillipsburg, he took as a partner, George Hubsmidt, and under the firm name of Suttle and Hubsmidt, the two young men conducted a flourishing and prosperous business for twelve years. In 1902 Mr. Suttle bought out his partner's interests and then carried on the business alone, drawing his trade not only from Warren county, but also from Easton and the adjacent parts of Northampton county, Pennsylvania. His store, which was located at 340 Main street, Phillipsburg, was the largest store in the town. Mr. Suttle retired from the furniture business about April 1, 1911. Mr. Suttle takes great pride in his home town, and is ever ready to assist in every effort for its welfare and benefit. He is one of the most active members of the Phillipsburg board of trade, and a member of the town's committee on manufactures, real estate and industries. He is a Repub- lican in politics, and he and his family are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church. He is a member of Moose Lodge, of Easton, Pennsylvania, and in 1895 built his fine residence at 37 Chambers street.
He married, in Paterson, New Jersey, May 2, 1893, Mary I., daughter of Thomas and Mary Walsh, a family that is of Scotch and Irish origin. Child: Frederick L., born in Phillipsburg, January 28, 1894, and now a student in the Phillipsburg high school.
38I
WARREN COUNTY.
Stephen W. Bogardus, the first member of this family of whom we BOGARDUS have definite information, was a native of New York state, died in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, in 1890. This family is of Dutch origin, being descendants of Dominie Everardus Bogardus and Anneke Jans. Dr. S. W. Bogardus was living in Matawan, Monmouth county, New Jersey, in 1853. He served in the civil war as lieutenant of Company E, Fifteenth New Jersey Regiment. The sword which he carried is now in the possession of his son. In 1882 he came to Phillips- burg and continued in the practice of dentistry until his death. He married Sarah A. Rose, who was born in New York state about 1825. They had ten children, among whom was Edward, referred to below.
Dr. Edward Bogardus, son of Stephen W. and Sarah A. (Rose) Bogardus was born in Matawan, June 24, 1853. He was educated in the public schools and at Matawan Institute. He went to New York and studied in the New York College of Dentistry. Having completed his technical course, he returned to his home and commenced prac- tice with his father. Dr. Bogardus is qualified to practice both in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, having taken the required examinations in each of these states. Dentistry has made great progress in recent years, but Dr. Bogardus is a student and keeps pace with the new discoveries, taking the leading journals devoted to dentistry. With his scientific training, his father's excellent practical instructions from his early years and his own subsequent studies, he has won a worthy place in his profession and has long been registered as the leading dentist of Phillipsburg. Besides his profession, he is an admirer and owner of fine horses. He is a Democrat in politics.
He married, in November, 1876, Mary, daughter of Jacob Eilenberg, of Strouds- burg, Pennsylvania. They had one child, which died in infancy.
Charles Bowlby, son of Elijah and Margaret (Shafer) Sharp, is one of
SHARP Phillipsburg's most enterprising men. He was born in the village of Asbury, Hunterdon county, New Jersey, May 31, 1859, and received his early education in the public schools of Washington, Warren county, and in private schools there and elsewhere. When he reached fourteen years of age he began his apprenticeship as a telegrapher in the offices of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, at Hampton Junction. Six months later he was transferred to the offices at Port Washington, and eighteen months after this time to Washington, where he re-
mained as night operator until 1878, when he was sent to Phillipsburg and promoted to the office of ticket agent. In 1880 he resigned this position in order to accept another in the office of the superintendent of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, where he was made wire chief of the railroad and of the Western Union Telegraph Company, at Easton, Pennsylvania. Five years later he became manager for both companies, and held the office most ahly until 1902, when he resigned in order to enter into part- nership with Mr. Oscar W. Shouffler, in the brokerage business. For the first four years the firm had their offices in Easton, and then removed to Phillipsburg, where they operated until April, 1910, when the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Sharp went into business for himself in his present offices on Union Square, making a specialty of bonds. Mr. Sharp is a Democrat in politics, and has taken quite an active share in local affairs. In 1899 he was elected on the Democratic ticket as surrogate of Warren county, and after the expiration of his term of five years he served for two years more as auditor of the town. He is a member of Delaware Lodge, No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons, of New Jersey; of Eagle Chapter, No. 32, Royal Arch Masons; of DeMolay Commandery, No. 6, Knights Templar; of Salaan Temple, of the Mystic Shrine; of Montana Lodge, No. 23, Knights of Pythias, being past chancellor of that organization. He is also a member of Malaska Council, No. 4, Junior Order of American Mechanics; of Chapter No. 395, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
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.