USA > New Jersey > Salem County > History of the counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland New Jersey, with biographical sketches of their prominent citizens, vol. 1 > Part 69
USA > New Jersey > Gloucester County > History of the counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland New Jersey, with biographical sketches of their prominent citizens, vol. 1 > Part 69
USA > New Jersey > Cumberland County > History of the counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland New Jersey, with biographical sketches of their prominent citizens, vol. 1 > Part 69
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The J. V. Sharp Canning Company was organ- fin's interest, and from 1842 to 1846, Mr. Bodine was , ized in 1880, and incorporated the same year, and in
the sole owner of the works. In the latter year Mr. Bodine admitted his three sons, John F., William H., and Joel 1. Bodine, to an interest in the business, and the firm-style became Joel Bodine & Sons. In 1855, Mr. Joel Bodine withdrew, and the sous contin- ved the business as Bodine Brothers. In 1866 and 1867, Joel A. and William II. Bodine withdrew, and the firm of Bodine, Thomas & Co. was organized, under which the business is carried on at the present time.
The Williamstown Glass-Works cover six acres, comprising three large furnaces, -the second of which was erected by Mr. Joel Bodine in 1845,-batch- house, lear buildings, a large pot-house, twenty by eighty feet, two stories high, with wing twenty by forty feet ; packing-house, five large sheds for storage purposes, steam saw-mill and grist-mill combined, blacksmith- and machine-shops, large general store and offices, and fifty dwelling-houses. In addition to these, thirty of the employés of the works own their own dwelling-houses and farms. A railroad switch runs through the glass-works proper, delivering sup- plies at every part of the yards directly from the cars.
It is estimated that fully one thousand persous a dependent on the works for support.
There are consumed and used at the works five thou. sand tons of coal, two thousand eight hundred tons of sand, one thousand tons of soda-ash, eight hundir-} >acks of ground sah, four thousand words of woot. twenty-three thousand bushels of lime, and one millies five hundred thousand feet of box-boards per year. The annual business from all sources reaches in the aggregate three hundred and fifty thousand dollar -. The value of the glass, produced yearly is two hun-
1882 large and commodious buildings were erected a short distance west from the village of Williamstown for the canning of all kinds of fruit. Mr. Sharp had been previon-ly engaged in the business on a small seale for some fifteen years. The capacity of the works is about twenty-five thousand cans of all kinds daily, and employment is given to from one hundred : and fifty to one hundred and seventy-five persons during the canning season.
The same company are also engaged in the manu- facture of lime from oyster-shells. They have two patent kilns near the canning works, in which the lime is manufactured. The track of the Atco and Williamstown Railroad extends past the village to the kilns and canning-works.
The offeers and directors of the company are as follows: President, Samuel Garwood; Treasurer, J. A. Bodine; Secretary, George W. Ireland ; Directors, S. Garwood, J. A. Bodine, John F. Bodine, Isaiah Aldrich, and W. II. Bodine.
John D. Sharp has also a small canning establish- ment, operated by himself, where he carries on quite an extensive business,
The works turn out bottles ranging from half-ounce in size to two gallons, comprising the usual varieties BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. of druggists' glassware, patent medicine bottles, fruit- jars, pickle-bottles, and various styles in German flint, such as mustards, ketchups, ete. About three hun- IION. JOHN F. BODINE. dred and seventy-five hands are employed, men and The earliest representatives of the Godine family boys, as blowers, shearers, packers, engineers and | were among the band of Huguenots who fled to machinists, day men, farm hands, and tending boys. ! America to escape religious persecution and located at
John J. Godine
Marilisas DM Caheur
279
TOWNSHIP OF MONROE.
New Rochelle, in Westchester County, N. Y. From county judges and officiated for five years, after which thence they emigrated to Staten Island. and later to New Jersey. John Bodine, the grandfather of the subject of this biography, was born in Cranberry. Middlesex County, N. J., about the year 1750, from which place he removed when a youth to Burlington County, and engaged in the active pursuits of life. He married and had children,-John, Stacy, Francis, Charles, Joel, Wilson, Jesse, Daniel. Samuel, Budd S., Su-an ( Mrs. Wright), Mary (Mrs. Monerief), Abi- gail (Mrs. Hudson, Sarah : Mrs. Allen), and Lucy Mrs. Fisher). These children were all born in the Wading River tavern, a popular resort, of which MIr. Bodine was for a period of forty years the respected ' of that order.
landlord, and where his death occurred in 1820 or 1821. ITis son Joel was born in 1795, and twice mar- ried, first to Miss Sarah Gale, to whom was born a son, Samuel; and second to Miss Phebe Forman. whose children were John F., William HI., Isaac E., Charles J., Alfred, Henry C., and one who died in infancy. Three of this number still survive. Mr. Bodine, in 1824, made Philadelphia his residence, and in 1820 removed to Millville, Cumberland Co., ' N. J. In 1834 he repaired to Winslow, Camden Co., N. J., which place was for five years his home, when he chose Williamstown as a more permanent abode. His death occurred in Camden, in his eighty-fourth year. John F., his son, was born Oct. 27, 1821, in Tuckerton, Burlington Co., and spent his youth in active employment when not enjoying the limited advantages of education there afforded. After two and a half years of service in the shop of a black-
he was elected to the State Senate for a period of three years, and chairman of the State Prison and Public Grounds Committees, also a member of the commit- tees on Railroads and Canals. Lunatic Asylums, and Industrial School for Girls, Mr. Bodine is actively interested in the advancement of the religious interest- of the village, and a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church of Williamstown. He is president of the Williamstown Railroad, which he was largely in- terested in building, and director of the First National Bank of Camden. He is also identified with the Masonic order, and member of Brearley Lodge, No. 2,
MATTHIAS M. CHEW.
The Chew family are of English origin, though New Jersey claims its early representatives as citizens. Robert, the grandfather of Matthias M., was a resi- dent of Franklin township, in Gloucester County, where he was both a farmer and a lumber merchant. By his wife, Tamzen, he had thirteen children, as follows: Jane, Sarah Ann, Thomas E., Lafayette, Levi. Charles, Margaret, Elizabeth, Esther Ann, Beulah. Samuel D., Pbebe, and one who died in carly youth. Thomas E., the father of Matthias MI., was born in Franklin township in 1918, and having acquired a knowledge of farming pursuits, made it his ealling, to which was added that of briek-making. He married Mis- Elizabeth Miller, and had children, -William, Matthias M., Susanna (married Maskell smith, he entered a glass manufacturing establish- ' Bates), Sidney (deceased), Isabella (deceased), Rob- ert, Thomas, Sarah, Elizabeth (deceased), Mary Ella (deceased ). and Rose Eila (deceased ). In the fall of 1865 he bought of Hugh Gelston, of Baltimore, Md., the Coles Mill property, intending to make of i a cranberry bog. as well as to use it for mill and farin- ing purposes. Ile devoted seventeen acres of the pond to cranberries, and in 1847 erected a saw-mill on the site of the old one, which had been burned. Mr. Chew's death resulted from an accident while en- gaged in sawing shingle-bolts. He was buried at "The Lake," and a fine monument erected to his memory by his children. The property remained in the hands of Mrs. Chew, as administratrix of the estate, until 1870, when she obtained from the court
ment, and at the age of seventeen was for three years an apprentice to the art of glass-blowing. He then removed to Williamstown, and became assistant to his father, receiving, after attaining his majority, a salary for his services. At the age of twenty-five he had by industry and thrift accumulated the sum of six hun- dred dollars, with which a partnership was formed with his father and brother. This sum formed the nucleus around which centred a large and successful business, that of hollow-ware glas- manufacturing, with which a general store was connected, and con- tinned until his retirement in 1882. Mr. Bodine was married in 1844 to Miss Martha, daughter of John Swope, of Williamstown, and had children, Dinna (r. Atkins and Phebe (Mrs. Duffel). He was a ' permission to sell the same at public sale.
second time married, to Miss Gertrude, daughter of Peter Boucher, of Columbia County, N. Y. Their children are Joanna (Mrs. Garwood, and Alice. In polities Mr. Bodine is a strong Republican, and has been actively identified with the political interests of the district and county. He filled the offices of su- perintendent of schools and freeholder each for three : years, and was in 1864 elected member of the State legislature, where he served on the committees on Railroads and Corporations, having been chairman of , district school. With his father's consent he, in the the latter. He was in 1873 appointed one of the fall of 1862. enlisted (as did his brother William) in
Matthias M. Chew, second child of Thomas E., was born at "The Lake," in Franklin township, on the 231 day of February, 1:42. Here he spent his early boyhood, remaining a member of his father's family until twenty-one years of age, and living succes- sively in Glassboro, Clayton, Evansville, Cape May, and Bethel. At the latter place he obtained until eighteen years of age suck education as could be acquired by three months' yearly attendance at the
280
HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
Company D, Twenty-fourth New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, and was discharged in August, 1868, by reason of expiration of term of service, having par- ticipated in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chan- cellorsville. On the 22d day of December, 1 64, he was married to Miss Mary Etta, daughter of Thomas A. and Abigail Ann (Leonard) Chew, who was of the same family and distantly related. After his marriage Mr. Chew cultivated the farm of his father- in-law on shares for one year, and later rented a farm of Mr. Jessup for a year, then removed to Cole's Mill, and began the cultivation of cranberries, taking from his father two acres of bog, which he set out to vines, his share being an undivided one-half interest. The sudden death of the latter having prevented the consummation of their bargain, he removed to Wil- liamstown and engaged in surveying and conveyanc- ing, to the study of which he had been devoting his leisure hours for several years. Mr. Chew had mean- while given the cultivation of cranberries much thought and attention, and becoming thoroughly convinced that it could be made a remunerative business, be in 1870 bought, in company with his brother Robert, at the sale above mentioned, the en- tire property. At this time there were about twenty acres out to vines, though not as yet productive. The following summer he divided the farm with bis brother, Matthias receiving one hundred and seventy- five acres. The next year Matthias M. had two hun- dred and eighty bushels of berries, since which time he has planted fifteen acres more to vines, making thirty-five acres in all, from which he has realized five thousand bushels of berries in one year. In October, 1881, Mr. Chew bought of William Corkrey two hundred acres of land, known as the Hospitality Mill property, situated in Monroe township, of which fifty acres are set to vines, and yielded eleven hun- dred bushels of berries this present season. MIr. Chew is the acknowledged pioneer cranberry-grower of this part of New Jersey, his success being an evi- dence of what can be achieved by perseverance and thorough knowledge of the business in which he is en- gaged. It has inspired others and made the coltiva- tion and raising of cranberries an extensive business, bringing to the operators yearly many thousands of' dollars, and giving employment during the picking season to hundreds of people. He now has all the . buildings and appliances necessary to the storage and shipping of his berries, the raising and handling of which he has made a science. Mr. and Mrs. Chew have five children,-Thomas J., born Jan. $, 1867, died Aug. 1, 1867 ; Mary Abigail, born May 21, 1803 ; Elizabeth, born March 8, 1871; Edward D., born Sept. 11, 1872; and Samuel ML, born June 18, 1874.
In politics Mr. Chew is a Republican. He has served two terms of five years each as justice of the peace for Monroe township, has been for four years a member of the board of frecholders, and for the same period assessor of the township. He is st .
present officiating as freeholder and commissioner . deeds, the latter office having been held for the. terms. In religion, he is a supporter of the Meth .. dist Episcopal Church of Williamstown, and one ; its trustees.
CHAPTER XLVIL.
TOWNSHIP OF SOUTH HARRISON!
THIS is one of the southwest border townships in the county, and the youngest of the thirteen, having been organized in March, 1883.
Geographical and Topographical .- The town- ship is bounded on the east by Clayton township, on the south by Salem County, on the west by Wool- wich, and on the north by Harrison township, from which this township was organized.
The surface of the township is gently undulating. sufficiently so for proper drainage, while the soil pro- duces crops equal to that of any other locality in this or adjoining counties.
The township is watered by the head-waters of the south branch of Raccoon Creek, which forms a part of the north boundary line, and affluents of Oldman's Creek, which forms the south boundary line of the township.
For early settlers, see Harrison township.
Civil Organization,-Chapter xlvii. of the Laws of New Jersey reads as follows :
" AN ACT to set of from the township of Harrison, in the county of Gloucester. it were township, tot. called South Harrison.
"I. He it tructed by the Senate and Gemil Assembly of the State of Nic Jersey, That all that portion of the toy nship of Harrison, in the county of Gloucester, lying and being within the following boundaries, to wit : Beginning at a station in the middle of the public road, lending from Mullica Hill to Swedesboro, via Thomas Mounce's residence, where the Woolwich township line intersects said road; thence running a direct line to the centre of the bridge over the sonthi branch of Riccoon Crest:, in the commissioners' road: thence in a direct line to the bridge over the worth branch of said creek, in the road leading from Harrisonville to Five Points : thence up the said north broich, its several courses, to where it intersect- the Glassboro township line : thence along .aid line to the Clayton townsbip line: thence along the Clayion township line to the boundary line between Salem and Gloucester counties. thence along said boun dary liny until it intersects the Woolwich township line; thence along the Woolwich township line to the place of begintin 2, shall Le, and hereby is, set off from the township of Harrison, in the county of Gloucester, and made a separate township, to be known by the name of the township of South Harrison.
"2. And be it enacted, That the inhabitants of the township of South Harrison shall be, and are hereby, constituted a body politic and corpor- ate, in law, by the name of ' The Inhabitants of the Township of South Harrison, in the County of Gloucester,' and shall be entitled torall the rights, powers, authority, privileges, and advantages; and shall be sub- ject to all regulations, government, and li thilities that other town-hips are now entitled to, or subject, by the existing laws of this State.
"3 And be if surctedl. That the inhabitants of the township of South : Harrisoto aforesaid, shall ho! l their fost annual town mareting in the hall at Harrisonville, in said township, at the title how fixed by law for holding town mertings in the several townshinjs of this State.
"4. And be il enacted, That the township committees of e ch cf the townships of harrison and South Hattison shall meet at such plwe .u
1 Dy W. H. Shaw.
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2º1
TOWNSHIP OF SOUTH HARRISON.
" . village of Mullica Hill, in the township of Harrison, as a majority ( eali committees shall designate, on the first Mondo in April next, at ! io'clock A.t., and shall then and there, of as soon thereafter as may : proceed to allot and divide between the end townships the assets, : D ilities, and real estate of the old township of Harrison, in proportion the ttvalde property and ratalles, as taxed by the assessor at the last . sees-mont : and to ascertain the just proportion of debts to be paid by the inhabitants of each of said townships ; and that if any of the cont- quitter, on the part of either of said townships, shall neglect or refuse 1. meet as aforesaid, those assembled may proceed to make said division add to Becertain the said proportion of debt, and the decision of the ni- erity of those present shall be final and conclusive; provided, that it ¿1.all and may be lawful to adjouin the said meeting to such time and place as a majority of those assembled as aforesand may think proper. "5. And be it enacted, That nothing in this act contained shall be con- strued so as to interfere with or impair the commission of the justices of the peace, or commissioners of deeds, nutil they shall expira by their own limitations ; or su as to impair the rights of the said township of South Harrison, in and to its just and legal proportion of the surplus revenue of the general government, and the interest thereof.
"6. And be it enacted, That the said township of South Harrison shall form a part of the assembly district of the county of Gloucester.
"7. And be it cuacted, That this act shall take effect immediately." Approved March 2, 1883.
The following is a complete list of the first town- hip officers and appropriations ordered :
Town Clerk, Alfred W. Madara: Assessor, Thomas Borton ; Collector, Jno. Wriggins ; Chosen FreehoMers, Charles String. Stacy W. Hazle- tou ; Township Committee, Asa Engle, George Horner, Samuel Moore ; Surveyors of Highway., Alfred French, Nathan Wilkinson ; Overseers of Roads, Samuel S. Madura, Charles Stearns, Robert Crawford ; Com- missioners of Appeal, Win, S. Mattson, Chas, Steward, Joseph Horner : Judge of Election, Amos T. Eastlack : Inspectors of Election, Peter K. Eldridge, Henry Moncrief: Justice of the Peace, John W. Bates ; Con- stable (for three years), Samuel R. Devault : Overseer of Poor, Samuel R. Devault; Pound-Keepers, Jos. C. Horner, Patrick Connelly, John B. Porch. Appropriations for roads, $900; for poor, $100; for inci- dentals, 8300.
present limits of the village. These were the houses of Martha Cole, Samuel Cole, John Howey, William Mounce, Thomas Cole, Susan Pimm, John Fogg, Nathan Gannt, and Israel Kirby. Andrew Kni-el, John Davis, John Howey, Isaac Ridgway, Joseph Cheadle, and George Horner were other old settlers near here.
Gaunt, who was succeeded by Asa Cole. The busi- ness is now carried on at the same place by William Ladow, who is also engaged in the general black- smithing business.
The pioneer blacksmith at this place was the late Samuel Pimm, who has been succeeded at the old place by William and Samnel Pimm. The pioneer harness-maker in this town was Amos M. Jones ; and the present one is Andrew Knisel. -- Monnee was the early shoemaker; but since 1850 or 1851 Lewis Amy has attended to the pedal appendages of his neighbors. The first resident physician at this place was Dr. Miller, now of Paulsboro. Samuel Stanger is the present physician.
The old Cole property in the village is now owned by William Matson, who came here in 1846, and for several years was engaged as a dealer in live-stock and in the butchering business, and now engaged in farming.
There are at present in Harrisonville two general stores, Ilalderman & Hazelton and Riggins Broth- ers ; three wheelwright- and blacksmith-shops, Wil- liam Ladow, Amos Eastlack, and the Pimm brothers ; Methodist Episcopal Church, and school-house.
Fairview is a small hamlet in the south part of the township, where there is a Methodist Episcopal Church, school-honse, cemetery, and half a dozen dwellings. The land-owners at this place are James Lafferty, Jacob Armstrong, Joseph Abbott, Aaron Simpkins, William McGown, William Lafferty, Charles Shugard, Joel Chord, John Osras, Mary Bates, Wade Mulford, ---- Nelson, and one or two others.
Harrisonville .- This village is located on the southwest border of the township, about four miles The new school-house at this place was built in 1873 or 1874, and John V. Becket was the first teacher from Mullica Hill, and named in honor of General William H. Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe. The . in this school building, and taught here for four or place was formerly called Coletoun, and in 1844 as- ' five years. James Lafferty had a store here from 1876 sumed the present name, by which it is known at the | to 1880. post-office department.
Lincoln .-- This is a small hamlet in the southeast In 1835 there were only nine dwellings within the part of the township, formerly known as Stringtown. Here is a grist- and saw-mill and a few houses. Just when or by whom the mills were built is a mystery, yet in 1828 the grist-mill property was purchased by James Jessup, father of the now venerable Joseph Jessnp, of this township. In 1833, Joseph Jessop purchased the saw-mill property and rebuilt the mill, which he still owns. Having subsequently come in possession of the grist-mill, he sold it, in 1853 or 1854, proved the mill by the addition of more runs of stone (four French burrs), and increased its capacity for business to five hundred bushels of grain per day, until it is now a first-class mill, manufacturing the highest grades of flour.
The grist- and saw-mills were built in 1810 by Thomas Cole, and now owned by Parker D). Lippin- . to Paul Avis, the present owner. Mr. Avis has im- cott. The pioneer store of the town was kept by John Fogg, and the second store, at what is now Harrison- ville, was opened for business, in 1848, by James Saunders, in the building now occupied by Halder- man & Hazelton Isaac Lock also had a store on the corner now occupied by Riggin. Lock com- In the pioneer days of Stringtown there was con- meneed here in 1855. Several other parties have kept : siderable business done at this place, but at present there is only the gri-t-mill, saw-mill, and a black- smith-shop, with Bartley Stiles as blacksmith. store here, and at different times. The store of Lydia Lippincott, now Lydia Haines, was converted into a dwelling, and is now occupied by Dr. Stanger. The Saint John's Methodist Episcopal Church .- pioneer wheelwright of Harrisonville was Nathan . This society is located at Harrisonville, and is an
282
HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
outgrowth of old Bethel Church, near Hurffville, and was organized into a separate society in 1945. with Samuel Cole as the pioneer leader. Mir. Cole at this time lived where William S. Matson now lives, in the village of Harrisonville. He was one of those old-fashioned Methodists, ever ready to sacrifice time and money for the good of the cause. He did not keep a tavern by any means, but kept what in some sections was known as a " Methodist tavern," where Methodist preachers were always welcome, and not only preachers, but all who wore the old-fashioned imprint of Methodism, -a straight coat with rolling collar and broad-brim hat. Abraham Gearhart was the preacher in charge at the organization of this society, and Edmund Layton was another leader.
building committee were Israel Kirby, John Davis, and Samuel IT. Weatherby, who were also elected first trustees.
Among the preachers who have served this people since the days of Gearhart we are enabled-through the kindness of Mrs. William Matson, to whom we are indebted for all these items-to present the fol- lowing list : Revs. James Long, Caleb Fleming, James Bryan, Joseph Ashbrook, John T. Fort, David Duf- field, Isaac Hugg, Samuel Parker, William Stockton, Joseph Somerell, Edwin Waters, John Warthman, Matthias Shimp, Daniel Harris, and William Abbott, the present preacher in charge.
Tho present stewards (1882) are Samuel Pimm, Michael Swagart, Thomas Turner, William Pimm, Lippincott Cassady, Christopher Harbison ; Trustees, William Matson, Amos Lastlack, Joseph Dare, Clark- son Lippincott ; Sunday-school Superintendent, Sam- uel Pimm, with nineteen teachers and an average attendance of eighty-five scholars. Value of church property, five thousand dollars. Membership in 1882 was one hundred and eighty -two.
.
Fairview Methodist Episcopal Church .- This church is located in the hamlet of Fairview, south- east part of the township. Previous to 1840 or 1842 the meetings were held in private houses, barns, or grove, upon the old Fairview camp-ground. During one of those years, under the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Edwards, the present church building was erected, for the double purpose of church and school, and was jointly occupied till 1873, when the new school- house was built, since which time the Methodists have continued to worship in the old building.
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