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 77
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 77
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 77
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CHAPTER LI.
TOWNSHIP OF CLAYTON.1
Erection, Boundary, Population, and Valua- tion .- By an act of the Legislature, approved Feb. 5, A.D. 1858, Clayton township was organized. Up to this date it had been part of Franklin township. In the ; ous neatly-arranged streets, all running at right year 1878 the town of Glassboro was struck off from i angles with the publie roads. Its streets and roads Clayton township, so that the township is now . for the most part are well graded and beautifully bounded as follows, viz .: north by Glassboro town- shaded. The dwellings are first-class; even those ship; east in part by Monroe and in part by Frank- ' occupied by the employee of the glass-works are lin township; south by Franklin township and Upper roomy and comfortable, being of a better class than in many other manufacturing villages in the State. Pittsgrove township, Salem Co .; and west by Harri- son township. According to the State census, com- piled in 1880, Clayton township has a population i of nineteen hundred and eighty-one, being one of the most populous townships in Gloucester County. The assessed value of real estate, as returned by El- wood S. Costill, the township assessor, for the year 1883, was 8666,130; assessed value of personal prop- erty, 8297,060; total amount of the assessed value of both real and personal property, $945, 100.
Topography, Soil, and Industries .- The surface of the land is level; the soil light, and very easily cultivated by the use of fertilizing substances. The substances mostly used are those of marl, lime, gnano, and manure. It contains some of the best farm-land to be found in Gloucester County, especially that owned by Judge John M. Moore, the Iszard family, and the Fisler family. The farming soil throughout the township, however, is in a well-cultivated state.
Next to agriculture, the principal industries of the township are the manufacture of glass, general store busines., manufacture of cigars, and carriage-building.
In appearance and importance Clayton township i, second to none in Gloucester County.
VILLAGES.
The chief village within its boundaries is
Clayton, which is pleasantly situated along the line of the West Jersey Railroad, about twenty-one miles south of Philadelphia, and about thirteen miles south of Woodbury, the county-seat of Gloucester County. The village was first settled by Felix Fisler and his family, which consisted of himself, wife, two sons, and two daughters. Jacob Fisler, one of the sons of Felix, just before the Revolution, bought from the government a tract of land containing about two thousand eight hundred aeres, for which he paid sixty-two and a half cents per acre, and made a per- manent settlement thereon. From this time till 1:50 the place was called Fishertown. It contained very few dwellings, being hardly anything more than a " cross-road .. "
In 1850 the name was changed to Fislereille, and the village received a fresh start by the introduction of the glass business. In 1867, by an act of the Legis- lature, the name was again changed to Clayton. it re- ceiving this name from the name of the township. From the year 1850, when the town consisted of only five dwellings, up to the present time its prosperity has been very rapid. It now contains a population of eighteen hundred people, and is laid out in numer-
BUSINESS OF CLAYTON VILLAGE .-- The business interests of the village consist of three general stores, one drug store and post-office, two wheelwright- and two blacksmith-shops, one meat-market, one iron foundry, one bakery, one clothing-store, two livery stables, two hotels (one a temperance hotel), railroad depot, express- and telegraph-offices, two cigar-fac- tories, one attorney-at-law, one jeweler, one barber, four physicians, one undertaker, one tailor, two mil- linery-stores, one shirt-factory, two glass-works, and other business representatives that help make up a thriving town. The glass business deserves more than a passing notice : there being two firms conduct- ing the business, we shall give a brief sketch of each.
MOORE BROTHERS' GLAS -- WORKS Were started in the year 1950 by Jacob P. Fisler and Benjamin Beckett, the first-namel being a great-grandson of Felix Fisler. These two purchased abont seventy- five acres of land on the east side of what is now known as the Glassboro and Malaga turnpike, and
1 By George H. Hewitt.
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after laying the same out in four squares, erected the the business for some months, Mr. Walter Morgan necessary buildings for the establishment of the glass withdrew. They have in connection with the glass business a large store. Their works cover about teh acres of land, and when in full operation they emphy about one hundred hands. business and began operations under the firm-name of Beckett & Fisler. They built a store, a few dwell- ing-houses, and a barn, besides the buildings for the business, and these constituted the beginning of what CIGAR MANUFACTORY .- Cigar-making is carried on by John F. Iszard, and although the business is comparatively new, he employs five hands, and during the year 1883 manufactured one hundred and twenty thousand cigars. is now a large glass-making concern. In 1851, after conducting the works less than a year, the firm dis- solved by Benjamin Beckett withdrawing. Mr. Filer then associated with himself a Mr. Edward Bacon, the new firm assuming the name of Fisler & Bacon. From 1851 till 1856 this firm continned in business, CHURCHES. when, by the death of Mr. Bacon, who was killed by There are two churches, one each of the Methodist Episcopal and Presbyterian denominations. a railroad accident at Burlington, N. J., in that year, it was dissolved, and Mr. Fisler, the surviving partner, sold the business to Mr. John MI. Moore, who rented the factory.
In a short time Mr. Moore purchased the real estate, aud conducted the business until April, 1859, when he associated with him George C. Hewitt, the present manager of the works, and Jeremiah D. Hogate. under the firm-name of John M. Moore & Co. ; MMr. Moore and Mr. Hewitt managing the making and selling of the glass, and Mr. Hogate running the store. The firm continued thus until 1863, when Mr. Hewitt sold his interest in the business to D. Wilson Moore, a
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized about the year 1812, when a division occurred among the Methodist people in the vicinity by some deciding to build a church at Union, a small town three miles west of Clayton. In said year, there being no Meth- odist Church in Clayton, Dr. Jacob Fisler and wife deeded a lot of ground for the purpose of building what was called the "useful school-house," for meet- ing and school purposes. A Methodist organization was then formed, with Gabriel Iszard, Joseph Fisler, James Abbott, Leonard Fisler, and Thomas Strang as trustees. For a long time after this school-house brother to John M., and the firm-name was changed to , was built no regular minister was stationed at Clayton, Moore Brothers & Co. The following year, viz., 1864, Mr. Ilogate sold his interest to the other two mem- bers of the firm, and the firm of Moore Brothers was established. The two brothers conducted successfully the business from 1864 until i880, when they associ- ated with them three young men, viz., Francis M. Pierce, Harry Steelman, and Charles F. Fisler, and the firm took the name of Moore Brothers & Co. In the latter part of 1880, Mr. Fisler withdrew, and the present firm of Moore Brothers was formed. Their works cover an area of about twenty acres, and in- elude four large factories for making bottles and one
the meetings being conducted by local preachers and exhorters. The " useful school house" was used for a meeting-house until 1850, when it was deemed ex- pedient to build a church. Amid much opposition the project was carried through, and on Dec. 8, 1850, the church was dedicated by Rev. D. W. Bartine and Rev. W. E. Perry. Its size was thirty-six by fifty-five feet, two stories high, twenty-nine-feet posts, with a steeple and bell, the whole costing abont five thou-and dollars, the amount of cash and amount pledged at the time being four thousand three hundred dollars. It was a heavy undertaking, considering all the cir- small one for making either bottles or stoppers. . cumstances, and required a vast amount of energy steam saw- and grist-mill, machine-shop, blacksmith- and liberality on the part of the few. The trustees shop, warehouses and sheds, elevated coal-track and . at the time were Michael Turner, Benjamin Turner, bins, and a number of other necessary buildings, in- . Samuel L. I-zard, Henry S. Brown, and Dr. Jacob cluding a large three-story store building with offices attached. A railroad track runs entirely through the yards and connects with the West Jersey Railroad track, about one-quarter of a mile distant from their works. When in full operation they employ about five hundred hands. Filer. Of these, Samuel L. Iszard is the only one now living. At this time, however, Clayton was still on what was called a circuit, in connection with two or three other places. In 1860 it was set off as a sta- tion, with Res. Firman Robbins as pastor. The con- gregation increased from this time, so that in 1867 it The other glass firm is was decided to build a parsonage. The necessary ground was obtained, and a house costing five thou- sand dollars was built, Rev. G. Hitchens being its first. occupant. The church membership at this time was about two hundred. As the population increased the membership increased, so that there is now a mem- bership of four hundred.
FISLER & MORGAN COMPANY. - In 1880, Mr. Charles F. Fisler, having withdrawn from the firm of Moore Brothers, associated with him Mr. Albert S. Fisler, Mr. Henry Morgan, and Mr. Walter Morgan, under the firm-name of Fisler & Morgan Company, and began operations in the north end of the town. They built a large factory, office, steam-mill, black- smith-shop, packing-house, and other buildings, cost- ing about twenty thousand dollars. Alter conducting
In 1883, the old church building becoming too small, it was by a vote of the trustees soll and moved off the church lot, and a new church, costing about
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HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
fifteen thousand dollars, was erected in its place. This church is one of the most handsome dwellings in South Jersey. It was planned by Lawrence B. Valk, of New York City, and built by Messrs. Dor- man & White, contractors, of Camden, N. J., under the supervision of Rev. G. S. Sykes, John F. Iszard, Charles F. Fisler, Harry Steelman, Benjamin F. Du Bois. Dr. C. L. Daffell, John Dooling, John S. Iszard, and William Iszard, as building committee.
It is of Gothic style, one story high, and so arranged that all the rooms can be thrown into one. The main audience-room seats six hundred and fifty, and the vestry- and the class-rooms together about six hun- dred and fifty more, thus giving, when desired, a room seating about thirteen hundred persons. It was dedi- cated by Bishop Simpson, assisted by Rev. Dr. Bnek- ley, of the Christian Advocate, and Rev. Dr. Hanlon, president of Pennington Seminary. The following are the names of the official board by whose vote it was decided to build the church, viz. : Pastor, Rev. George S. Sykes; Stewards, George C. Hewitt, S. S. Turner, Thomas Spencer, John S. Iszard, John H. Long, Albert S. Fisler, Martin Madden, Dr. C. L. Duffell, and Thomas P. Smith; Leaders, George C. Hewitt, S. S. Turner, John H. Long, Thomas Boogar, T. S. Turner, and pastor ; Trustees, Daniel Westcoat, Benjamin F. Du Bois, John F. Iszard, Charles F. Fisler, John Dooling. Harry Steelman, William 1szard, T. Smith Turner, and George H. Hewitt.
The Presbyterian Church was organized Aug. 18, 1853, with a membership of six. In 1853 a church was erected, with Rev. Charles E. Ford as pastor. In 1870 a new church was built, the old one becoming too small. The lower room was dedicated July 28, 1870; upper room completed and dedicated Nov. 1, 1878. The membership at this time was ninety, with Rev. Alexander Proudfit, pastor. The new church building is forty by sixty-five feet, two stories high, with a steeple and bell, the whole costing about seven- teen thousand dollars. In 1568 a parsonage was built, costing six thousand dollars. This church, as well as the Methodist, is in a flourishing condition.
Schools,-The public schools are divided into six division», and taught by a principal and five assist- ants. Three buildings are used to provide accom- modations, each room seating about one hundred scholars.
Old'Settlers and Families .- The oldest inhabit- ant is Thomas R. Hewitt, who is now in his eighty- eighth year. He has lived in Clayton and vicinity nearly all his life. He has two sons and two daugh- teis living, his oldest son being George C. Ilewitt, manager of Moore Brothers' glass-factories, and the younger being Rev. Edmund Hewitt, a member of the New Jersey Methodist Episcopal Conference. One daughter, Sarah, married Richard Sooy, and the other, Hannah, married R. W. Austin. George, the oldest son, married Abbie Long, and has four chil- dren ; of these, the thirce sons were married to Martha
Davis, of Clayton ; Amanda Dilk-, of Bridgeton : ard J rie Iszard. of Clayton. Lewis, the oldest son, is a salesman ; John, the next, a clerk ; and George, the youngest, a lawyer. The daughter, Mary Jane, mar. ried Samuel Iszard, of Clayton.
THE ISZARD FAMILY is an old family in the town. and consists of three branches .-- one with Joseph Iszard as its head, one with Gabriel Iszard as it- head, and another with Samuel L. Iszard as its head. The family settled in Clayton when you could almo-t count the number of inhabitants on your fingers, the younger members of the family thus growing up with the town.
Union is the name of another town in Clayton township, and is about three miles west from Clayton, and numbers about two hundred inhabitants. It has one general store, with which is connected a coal- yard. Its chief indu-try, however, is the manufac- turing of hay-forks by the " Fork and Elevator Man- ufacturing Company." Mr. J. R. Fitzhugh is the manager and president of the company. The only church in the town is the Methodist Episcopal. The public schools are divided into two divisions, with Mr. John Tonkins as principal.
The principal officers of Clayton township are: Town Clerk, John Gandy ; Assessor, Elwood S. Cos- till; Collector, George H. Hewitt; Township Com- mittee, Dr. S. F. Fisler, Christopher Knisell, and I. M. Pierce.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.
JACOB R. FITZHUGH.
The name of Fitzhugh was originally Fitshons. John D., the grandfather of the subject of this biog- raphy, was of German ancestry, having resided in Wittenberg, Germany. His children were nine in number, of whom John D., the father of Jacob R., was born in 1801, and emigrated to America in 1812. He first settled in Philadelphia, but later removed to Bordentown, and subsequently located in Somerset County, Pa., where he began the manufacture of wagons and coaches, having previously learned the trade in his former places of residence. He married, in 1833, Miss Charlotte Houk, of Somerset County. Pa., whose father still survives in his eighty-ninth year, and had children,-Christiaun (Mrs. Henry Conrad), Elizabeth (Mrs. George Shrader), David, Daniel, Frederick, Jacob R., Charlotte (Mrs. Fred. Ridmiller), John, George, and Mary. Mr. and Mr -. Fitzhugh both survive, and reside in Covington, Ohio. Their son, Jacob R., who is essentially a self-made man, was born March 28, 1848, in Indiana County. Pa., and remained at the parental home until twenty- three years of age. Such advantages of education as were at hand were improved, the nearest school having
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TOWNSHIP OF CLAYTON.
bren in session but four months of the year, and lo- with general favor, and received the first premium for excellence. He remained for two years in Philadel- phia, honily engaged in manufacturing his valuable inventions. Mr. Fitzhugh, in 1879, invented a hay- fork, which has rapidly gained popularity and an ex- tended sale. In 1882 he invented and patented h coal elevator, which is now being manufactured. He has in all secured ten patents on inventions, all of which implements are manufactured by him, and are of prac- tical value. This seives to illustrate the inventive faculty of the subject of this sketch, and his success- ful career from boyhood to the present time. In poli- ties Mr. Fitzhugh is independent, though educated in the principles of the Republican party. He was reared worshiper with the Methodist Episcopal congregation cited three miles distant. He was married Nov. 25, 1-69, in his twenty-first year, to Mary B., daughter of John King, of Clearfield County, Pa., and has chil- dren, -- William B., George Franklin, Oliver J., and Laura May. At the age of twenty-three Mr. Fitz- hugh removed to Indiana and engaged in the busi- ness of butchering, and in 1872 embarkel in the patent right business, handling principally a hay ele- vator patented by himself. This he continued until 1875, and meanwhile exercising his inventive genins, secured three patents ou hay elevators. During the latter year he removed to Philadelphia, and two years later made Unionville, N. J., his home, where he purchased ten acres of land, and has since resided. ; in the faith of the Lutheran Church, but is now a During his residence in Philadelphia, he devoted six months to exhibiting his patents at the Centennial ; of Unionville. He is a member of the Philadelphia Exhibition, and also patented a coal bneket and re- turn spool. The hay elevator before mentioned met
Lodge of Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, and of the Glassboro Lodge of Knights of Pythias.
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HISTORY OF SALEM COUNTY.
CHAPTER LI1.
SETTLEMENT AND SETTLERS.
Description .- Salem is the southwestern county in the State of New Jersey. Gloucester County lies north from it, Cumberland County bounds it on the cast, and Delaware Bay and River form its southern and western boundary. The surface of the county is generally level, and the soil is mostly loam, mixed occasionally with clay or sand.
The drainage of the county is iuto Delaware Bay and River, through four principal streams and their affluents. These are Oldman's Creek, which sepa- rates Salem from Gloucester County: Salem River, which rises in Upper Pittsgrove, pursues a westerly then a southerly course, and empties into the Dela- ware between Lower Penn's Neck and Elsinboro town- ships; Alloways Creek, which also has its source in Upper Pittsgrove, passes southwesterly, and debouches into the Delaware between the townships of Elsin- boro and Lower Alloways Creek; and Stow Creek, which rises in the eastern boundary of Upper Allo- ways Creek, and pursues a southerly course, on the eastern boundary of the county, to discharge its waters into the Delaware. Maurice River forms the eastern boundary of Pittsgrove township, and passes sontherly through Cumberland County to Delaware Bay. So level is the surface that the tide flows many mile- up these streams and their atiluents, and sub-
of the Delaware. The tide-marshes or meadows thus formed vary in width, and are only utilized by means of embankments, which prevent the flow of the tide over them.
Early Settlements .- The history of this region prior to the advent of Europeans has been elsewhere spoken of, and the early settlement- along the Dela- ware by the Swedes and Finns have been mentioned. These latter were made as early as 1698, and though the Dutch afterwards held supremacy here, many of the Swedish settlers, who were scattered along the shore in the townships of Elinboro and Lower and Upper Penn's Neck, remained. In 1640 what was known as the New Haven colony also came here, but all these may be regarded as failures, for although many of the settlers and their descendants remained, and some of the families are still largely represented here, their distinctive character was lost or rather,
overshadowed by the people who, forty years later came here in greater numbers, and brought with then .. not only the peculiar religious faith which had mad them the objects of persecution in the land of their nativity, but the habits of industry, frugality, ani honesty which enabled them to prosper in the wild country, and to live in peace with their savage neigh- bors, the aboriginal inhabitants of the region.
Settlement by the English .-- The acquisition of the territory by the Duke of York, its transfer to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, and its pur- chase by John Fenwick and Edward Byllinge have been elsewhere detailed, and no further reference to thein is necessary here.
Arrival of John Fenwick .- On the 4th of Orto- ber, 1675, John Fenwick, with his children. his ser- vants, and associates, in the ship "Griffith," Capt. Robert Griffith, anchored opposite the old Swedes fort, " El-borg," near the mouth of Salem River. Ile had sailed up the bay from Cape May along the east- ern shore, and the next day, or the 5th of October, the ship weighed anchor and ascended the river abou: three miles, and the passengers landed at the point on the south side of the river, where now is the city of Salem. Their voyage across the Atlantic had been of more than two and a half' months' duration. and their feelings of thankfulness on landing upon this pleasant spot, on a beautiful autumval day. can read. ily be imagined. Fenwick at once determined to es- tablish a town here and to give it the name of Salem. merges the surface along their shores and the shore . which signifies peace. This was the first English town settled on this side of the Delaware, and, it i- hardly necessary to say, it has ever since borne the - name which was then given to it.
JOHN FENWICK, the founder of the town, and of what was known as Fenwick's colouy, was born in Northumberland County, England, in 1618 In 1045 he was a law student at Guy's Iun, London, and soou afterward he was made a major of cavalry b: Cromwell, and took an active part against the crown He became a member of the Society of Friends in 1665, and suffered, with others, the persecutions t' which the members of that sect were at that time subjected. West New Jersey was at about that time offered for sale by Lord Berkeley, and in 1673 it was purchased by Fenwick, for himself and Edward Byl- liuge, one-tenth of the whole to be his share of the purchase. The territory now comprising Salem and Cumberland Counties was set off as his tenti, and h.
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GENERAL HISTORY.
made preparations to come hither and possess his Winds. He offered inducements for others to come with him, and many. mostly Quakers, accepted the invitation ; and of the-e a considerable number par- cha-ed land before they embarked.
As soon as practicable after his arrival he pur- chased from the natives the land comprised within his tenth. According to Johnson,' his purchases from the Indians were as follows:
"The first purchase was for the lands included within Salem and Oldman's Creeks, which creeks were called by the Indians Mosacksa and Foreus; the grant to these lands was made by the Chiefs Tos- paminkey and Henaminkey.
" The second purchase was for all the lands lying between the Forens Creek (or, as it was afterwards called, Game Creek, or Fenwiek's River, and now Salem Creek) and the Canahockink Creek (now called Cohansey, and by some of the first settlers it was called Cohanziek, from a chief who resided on the south side thereof ). This grant was made from the chiefs whose names were Mahoppany, Allaways, Ne- comis, and his mother, Necosshehesco, Myhoppony, and Shuceotery. Of all the water-courses within the county of Salem, I recollect only the names of six which at this day retain their primitive or Indian names. They are, first, the Allaways; second, the Necomis, the run at the side of which are some marl- pits ; third, tbe Mahoppony, that branch of Pledger's Creek on which there was formerly a tide-mill ; fourth, the Mackimppuck, two miles northwest from Greenwich; fifth, the Manimnska, the branch on which is built the village of Port Elizabeth ; sixth, a small branch of Morris River called Menatico, situate about half-way between Millville and Port Elizabeth.
"The third purchase was from the Canahockink. now Cohansey, to the Wahatquenack, now Morris River.
" The grantors were Mahawskey, Mohut, who styles himself the king, Newsego, Checheneham, Torucho, and Shacanum."
Fenwick at once entered on the work of organizing and arranging for the government of his eolony and the disposition of his lands. He erected for himself a house on what he named Ivy Point, in the town of Salem, a short distance from Market Street.
It is not necessary to enter into a discussion of the difficulties and embarras ments in which Fenwick be- came involved, and from which he was not, at the time of his death, fully extricated. There are still differ- ences of opinion as to the merits of the controversies, and the uprightness of his conduct in those controver- sics. It is exceedingly difficult, after the lapse of two hundred years, to form a satisfactory judgment concerning matters wherein so wide a difference of opinion existed at the time.
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