Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume I, Part 20

Author: Ogden, Mary Depue
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Newark, N.J. : Memorial History Company
Number of Pages: 980


USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume I > Part 20


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fill a vacancy, and altogether was United States Senator for sixteen years. In May, 1834, he received the appointment of Min- ister to Russia, which, however, he declined in June of that year, being appointed by General Jackson Secretary of the Navy, a position which he held for four years, when he resigned. He was afterward for a tiine judge of the District Court of New Jersey. During the latter part of his life he was extensively interested in mining and the manufacture of iron in Morris county. He published "Speeches in Congress, 1826 1846." He died October 5, 1853.


EWING, Charles,


Prominent Lawyer and Jurist.


Hon. Charles Ewing, LL.D., was born in 1780, in Bridgeton, Cumberland county, New Jersey, the only son of James and Martha (Boyd) Ewing. He was of Scotch- Irish descent, and was the great-grandson of Finley Ewing, of Londonderry, Ireland, who fought at the battle of the Boyne, and for his gallantry was publicly compliment- ed by King William III., who also presented him with a sword. Thomas Ewing, one of the sons of Finley Ewing, emigrated to America in 1718 and settled in Cumberland county, New Jersey, where he died, leaving a numerous progeny, some of whom have been greatly distinguished ; among them may be named the late Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, United States Senator, and at one time Secretary of the Treasury. Judge Ewing's maternal grandfather was from the North of Ireland, and emigrated about 1772 to New Jersey, settling in Bridgeton. After a short time he managed to establish himself in a good business, and sent for his family. When they arrived. the following year, they found that he had died but a short time previous. The widow, however, took charge of her late husband's business, and em- ployed as her clerk and assistant, James Ewing, who subsequently married her eld-


est daughter. and the latter died soon after the birth of her son.


Hon. Charles Ewing received a libera! education, and entered Princeton College. from which he graduated in 1798, taking the first honor. He afterwards entered the office of Samuel Leake, with whom he studied law, and in due time received his licenses as an attorney and counsellor-at- law. He was regarded as a most efficient and able advocate, and gained the control of a large and lucrative practice. In 1824 he was elected by the two houses of the Legislature as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, to succeed Judge Kirkpatrick, whose term at that time expired. He did not as- pire to the position ; indeed, he was opposed to any change being made, as the selection of his predecessor had given general satis- faction to the profession, although some complained of his unwillingness to pay much attention to the statutes regulating the proceedings in justices' courts. The change, however, was regarded as an excellent one, as Judge Ewing was a most patient, pains- taking and laborious judge, learned both in principles and cases, and prompt in their application. He always took upon himself all the responsibilities of the judge, and ever instructed the jury in matters of law, and guided them, where it was allowable for him to do so, in their estimate of facts and evidence. At the expiration of his seven years' term, so satisfactory had been his course, that he was re-elected by a joint meeting of a Legislature opposed to him in politics, but he only lived a few months of the first year of his second term.


In religious faith Judge Ewing was a Presbyterian and a zealous member of that church. When from any cause there was no one to preach, the worship was carried on by the elders, and a sermon read. On these occasions Judge Ewing was always selected as a reader, and the discourse he chose was always one of Dr. Witherspoon's. He was excellently well informed on the


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general literature of the day ; he possessed a fine miscellaneous library, in addition to the well-filled shelves of rare and valuable works of legal lore. He was truly a gentle- man of the old school, an instructive and agreeable conversationalist, and renowned for his hospitality. He died August 5, 1832, being one of the first victims of the Asiatic cholera in New Jersey.


SOMERS, Captain Richard,


Brilliant Naval Officer.


The name of this distinguished sailor is one of the ornaments of American naval history, and his career is replete with in- cidents such as would delight a Marryat or Cooper, masters of nautical fiction.


He was born in 1778, at Egg Harbor, Atlantic county, New Jersey, son of the prominent Revolutionary soldier. Colonel Richard Somers. He attended school in Philadelphia, and afterward pursued acad- emical branches in Burlington, New Jersey. For two years beginning at the age of sixteen, he made coasting voyages out of Egg Harbor. At the age of eigh- teen he received a midshipman's war- rant from President Washington, and this marked the beginning of a brilliant career. He was fortunate in his first assignment, being sent to the "United States," a fine frigate just from the stocks at Philadelphia, and under the command of the naval hero Decatur. The last named officer, then but a captain, and young Somers, notwithstand- ing their disparity in rank, were mutually attracted, and thus began a friendship which only ended with the tragic death of the younger officer. Somers was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1801, but saw only routine service during the following two years. In 1803, when the United States government determined to resist the pirat- ical exactions of the Barbary powers, he was appointed to the command of the "Nautilus," a twelve-gun schooner, the most beautiful vessel of its class then afloat. With


this he sailed from home in the summer, and joined the Mediterranean Squadron, under Commodore Preble. His services dur- ing the blockade of Tripoli were most ardu- ous and replete with incidents of rare in- terest, and his successful encounters with superior forces were many. At one time, when approaching the enemy with an ordin- ary rowboat, and under a heavy fire, a cannon ball cut off the flagstaff against which he was leaning, at a height which would caused his beheading had he not low- ered his head.at just the proper moment. On September 4, 1804, he undertook an expedition of almost reckless temerity, and which resulted in his death.


After many ineffectual attempts to bring the enemy to terms, Commodore Preble determined to send in a fire-ship, in the hope of destroying his fleet. The plan, sup- posed to be that of Somers, was to load a ketch with combustibles and explosives, sail it into the harbor and set it ablaze, the crew then escaping as best they could. The service was so extremely hazardous that the Commodore would give no orders for de- tails of officers and men, trusting entirely to volunteers. Somers at once responded, and was placed in command. Selecting four men from among the many who volunteered to accompany him, Somers gave a final warning, saying that he wished no one to go who would not consent to being blown up rather than be taken prisoner. They again manifested their readiness to proceed. Each man bade farewell to his shipmates, and made verbal disposition of his effects in case of his non-return. Several friends of Somers came from other vessels to make a last visit to him, among them Stewart and Decatur, with whom his naval life had be- gun on board the "United States." Somers displayed no unusual feeling, and was calm- ed and collected. The final moment came ; the ketch went forward upon its mission, followed by two boats to bring away the survivors of the desperate errand, should such there be. The incendiary ketch, some-


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what in advance of the rescue boats, was soon lost to sight by reason of a low hanging fog. A few moments elapsed, and there was a brilliant light and a tremendous ex- plosion. None of the heroic party was ever seen again, and to this day the exact na- ture of their fate remains unknown. In the fleet which was thus bereft of these gallant souls, the general opinion was that Som- ers and his crew had blown up their lit- tle vessel to escape capture; but later con- jectures were that it had been exploded by a hot shot from the enemy. Thus, has said an annalist, perished one of the bravest 01 the brave. There will ever remain a mel- ancholy interest around the manner of his end, forever veiled from human eyes in a sad and solemn mystery. He was mild, amiable and affectionate, both in disposition and deportment, although of singularly chivalrous ideas of honor and duty. From that day to this, his name has been borne by some staunch vessel of the American navy.


PIKE, Zebulon,


Soldier, Discoverer of Pike's Peak.


He whose name is for all time comment- orated in that of one of the most famous of American landmarks, was born in Lamber- ton, New Jersey, February 5, 1779, son of Major Zebulon Pike, U. S. A.


He received a common school education, and also acquired some knowledge of ad- vanced mathematics, and of the French and Spanish languages. While yet a youth he accompanied his father in his service on the western frontier. Subsequently he was commissioned ensign and then lieutenant in the First United States Infantry Regiment. His life was uneventful until 1805, when the government having acquired the Louisi- ana Territory, Pike (now captain) and Captain Lewis were sent by the War De- partment to trace the sources of the Mis- sissippi river. They outfitted at St. Louis,


Missouri, and started August 9, 1805, in a sail boat with a company of twenty nien, and provisions for eight months. Their cx- pedition continued eight months and twen- ty days, marked with much exposure an ! frequent perils, but they succeeded in the :: mission. Two months after their return, General Wilkinson placed Captain Pike at the head of a party to explore a portion oi the Louisiana Territory, and his conduct won for him the commendation of his supe- riors, who credited him with the display of most remarkable personal heroism, and har- dihood, united with extraordinary prudence and sagacity. It was during this expedi- tion that Captain Pike discovered the great mountain which bears his name,-one of the most conspicuous objects in the Rocky Mountain range. His party eventually reached the Rio Del Norte, and, being on Spanish ground, were taken in charge by the Spanish cavalry, and Captain Pike was deprived of his papers. Regaining his own country, July 1, 1807, he was officially com- mended for his zeal, perseverance and in- telligence, and found himself on the way for rapid advancement, and in 1810 had attained to a colonelcy. In the same year he published a narrative of both his ex- peditions, accompanied by valuable maps and charts.


When war opened between the United States and Great Britain, in 1812, Colonel Pike was commanding his regiment on the northern frontier. The next year he was promoted to brigadier-general, and given command of the force dispatched against York (now Toronto), in Canada. With fifteen hundred men he sailed from Sack- etts Harbor on April 25, landed his troops at York, and personally led the operations against the combined British and Indians. His success was assured, and the surrender of the post was a foregone conclusion, when the magazine of the fort exploded. Gen- eral Pike was severely injured by falling stones, and his death followed on April 27,


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1813, not, however, before he had the satis- faction of receiving the surrender of the enemy. He married in Cincinnati, Ohio, in March, 1801, Clarissa Brown, by whom he had several children.


DICKERSON, Philemon,


Lawyer, Governor, Jurist.


Governor Philemon Dickerson, a brother of Governor Mahlon Dickerson, was a na- tive of New Jersey, born in Morris county, in 1788. He received a liberal education, and prepared himself for the law. In 1813 he was licensed as an attorney, in 1817 was made a counselor, and in 1834 a sergeant- at-law. The last designation, it may be re- marked, was peculiar to only one or two other States besides New Jersey. It fol- lowed after the practice in the English courts of common pleas, and the position was originally of some importance, as only' sergeants could pass a common recovery in the Supreme Court. For a time the exam- iners of students were sergeants only, but this distinction was abrogated in 1839. after which time no sergeants were desig- nated.


.


Mr. Dickerson resided for a time in Phil- adelphia, whence he removed to Paterson, New Jersey, the year before he was ad- mitted to the bar, and it was there that he entered upon practice, continuing actively engaged for a period of twenty years. It was not until 1833 that he took any import- ant part in political affairs. In that year he was elected to the State Assembly as a Jacksonian Democrat, and his abilities com- manded such approval that in 1836 he was elected Governor. In 1839 he was nomi- nated for Congress, and while it was gen- erally conceded that he had received a plu- rality of the votes cast, on account of irreg- ularities in the election returns he did not receive a seating certificate. In 1841 he was appointed by President Van Buren to a seat on the bench of the United States District Court, and he held that high office


during the remainder of his life. In his decisions he displayed the powers of a dis- criminating mind, and a substantial knowl- edge of law and equity, and was held in high esteem. A humorous incident occur- red in his court in the early days of the Civil War. A zealous Republican who was acting as foreman of a grand jury, pro- posed that all the jurymen present should take the oath to support the Constitution of the United States : upon which, Judge Dick- erson remarked in a quiet, businesslike way, that if any persons present were so distrust- ful of themselves as to think the oath neces- sary, he would at once administer it. No one responded, and the court proceedings were resuined. He died in Paterson, New Jersey, December 10, 1862.


WILSON, James Jefferson,


Soldier, Journalist, Legislator.


James Jefferson Wilson was born in Es- sex county, New Jersey, in 1775. He re- ceived only a common school education, but his natural abilities were of a superior or- der, and by diligent reading he acquired a comprehensive equipment which fully en- abled him to acquit himself creditably in all his relations during his varied career.


He was for many years clerk of the New Jersey Legislature, and was a member of that body in 1809-1811. In 1810-1812 and in 1814 he was Adjutant General of New Jersey, and also captain of a company of infantry in service on the New Jersey coast during the last war with Great Britain. In 1814 he was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate, and served until 1821, when he resigned, having been ap- pointed postmaster at Trenton, and in which position he served for a term of four years. For several years he was editor of the "True American," in Trenton. In 1822 he was again a member of the Legislature. In De- cember of that year he sustained severe in- juries by a fall out of the window of his house. He died July 28, 1824.


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FENWICK, John,


Early Proprietor, Man of Many Parts.


There is no more overshadowing name in the early history of Western (and now Southern) New Jersey, than that of John Fenwick,-soldier, lawyer, preacher, and man of commanding ability. A victim to persecution, yet his name is held in rever- ence to the present day, and that, too, in places where the once mighty name of his great persecutor, Governor Andros, has been forgotten or is held in execration.


Fenwick was born at Stanton, Northum- berland, England, in 1618, and was a law- yer by profession. When the Civil War broke out, he threw his lot with the Parlia- mentary forces and became a captain in a cavalry regiment. After peace was re- stored, he resumed the even tenor of pro- fessional life, until he embraced the prin- ciples of the Society of Friends, and then his life troubles began. He seems to have suffered imprisonment for his religious views, and to have been molested even in the prosecution of his business, in which, however, his condition was not worse than that of his fellow religionists. Wherever they appeared, they were made to feel the brunt of the law, and, as most of the early brethren were also preachers, it was an easy matter for the law to reach them. The hope . the Atlantic, but he brought. with him three' of the Friends (or Quakers, a's they were even then called) lay across the sea ; but the" reception of their early missionaries in Bos- ton in 1656 showed that the Puritanism of New England was as bitterly opposed to them as was the Puritanism of Old Eng- land, and a year later it appears that the Dutch Dictator in New Netherland was equally emphatic in his opposition. After the "glorious restoration of Charles II." in 1660, the Quakers in England fared a little better, but the Privy Council was an un- certain body, and there was no telling how soon an era of persecution would begin. So the dream came of founding a settlement across the seas for the Society, such as the


Puritans had founded in New England, but the Quaker idea was that such settlement should be one where religious toleration should prevail in the widest sense-a sen-e then unknown in Massachusetts and Con- necticut, or even in Rhode Island.


When, in 1665, Lord Berkeley offered hi- West Jersey possessions for sale, Fenwick saw an opportunity for putting into practice the theories of himself and his fellow rehg. ionists, and, with Edward Billinge, he form- ed what would now be terined a syndicate, and acquired - possession of the territory. The agreement was that Fenwick was to have one-tenth of the Berkeley lands, and he selected what is now substantially com- prised in the counties of Salem and Cum- berland. So far as can be known, he had little means to invest in the enterprise, but his influence in the Society of Friends wa, great, his own honesty of purpose and method were fully recognized, and he read- ily sold portions of his lands to his fellow members and approved intending colonists. In 1675 the first colony reached the Dela- ware, and included, besides Fenwick him- self, John Pledger, Samuel Nicolson, James Nevil, Edward. Robert and Samuel Wade. Robert Windham and Richard Hancock. with their families, all people of excellent character. Fenwick's wife never crossed daughters-Elizabeth, with her husband, John Adams; Anne, who soon afterward married Samuel Hedge, and Priscilla, who became the wife of Edward Champney. The party landed in December. 1675. at a place now called Salem Creek, and some three miles inland selected a site for a vil- lage, to which they gave the name of New Salem. It was an unfortunate selection, as may be judged from the popular name giv- en to it-"Swamp Town." Fenwick lost no time in making his preliminary arrange- ments. He held a council with the Indian chiefs who had any claim to the lands, and entered into a treaty with them, thereby se- curing the friendship of the red men, and


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CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY


he issued a proclamation ordaining that within the limits of his patent the most am- ple civil and religious liberty should be guaranteed to all settlers. Richard Hall- cock, the surveyor of the colony, at once laid out the town into lots, 'and there Fen- wick built a house for himself. To two of his daughters, Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Champney, he gave each a tract of two thousand acres; to Elizabeth, who appears to have been the favorite, he gave a sim- ilar tract on her marriage to Samuel Hedge, and the property was long known as Hedgefield.


Having thus effectually established his colony and his family home, Fenwick pro- ceeded to govern "according to his inward light," but soon found that the chair of au- thority was not one of roses, and perplex- ities and troubles of all sorts gradually en- compassed him. By order of Governor An- dros he was arrested in his own house, in the middle of the night, charged with in- fringments upon the dignity and preroga- tives of that high and mighty functionary, masquerading under the guise of royalty. and taken to New York, where he was held some time as a prisoner. Soon after his re- lease, without undergoing any trial for his alleged misdoings, he disposed of his lands and proprietary rights to William Penn, af- ter reserving for himself and family one hundred and fifty thousand acres. By this act the whole of West Jersey passed under one government, and although Fenwick was elected a member of its Assembly, he seems to have taken little if any interest in public affairs. His spirit appears to have been crushed by the treatment he received at the hands of Andros, and he retired to the home of his daughter, Anne Hedge, where he died, in 1683.


HYDE, Edward,


Colonial Governor.


Edward Hyde (Lord Cornbury), Colon- ial Governor, was born in England in 1661,


the eldest son of the second Earl of Clar- endon. He was a member of Parliament for Wiltshire during 1685-95, and for Christ Church during 1695-1701. Being one of the first officers who deserted the cause of James II., his uncle by marriage, in1 1688, and to join the standard of Wil- liam of Orange, he was in 1701 appointed by the latter Governor of New York and New Jersey. Being pursued by a host of hungry creditors in England, he eagerly took advantage of this appointment, suc- ceeding Bellamont on May 3, 1702.


Lord Cornbury was arrogantly despotic, and more dishonest and grasping than any of the governors who had preceded him. Notwithstanding the fact that £2000 ster- ling was given by the Assembly of the Province for the expenses of his transpor- tation, and though the cost of the public service was voted for seven years in ad- vance, he misappropriated moneys which should have been devoted to the fortifica- tion of the seacoast and to other important purposes, and claimed, moreover, that the Assembly had no rights but such as Queen Anne, who had succeeded William III., was pleased to allow it. When the yel- low fever broke out in New York in 1703, he fled to Jamaica, Long Island. Although educated at Geneva, he was a foe to Pres- byterianism, and he was accused of having forged a standing instruction in favor of the English Church. He actually gave to the Episcopalians the Presbyterian church which had been erected by the townspeople of Jamaica, but the colonial courts refused to recognize his decree, and the property was restored. In 1707 he imprisoned, with- out legal authority, two Presbyterian minis- ters for presuming to preach in New York without his license. They were afterwards acquitted by an Episcopalian jury. During his incumbency of the office of Governor of New York and New Jersey, Lord Cornbury was incessant in his demands upon the leg- islature of the former and the assembly of the latter for money. Both of these bodies


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resisted him steadily. In 1704 he arbitra- rily excluded from the New Jersey Assem- bly duly elected representatives. In New York the Assembly was twice dissolved. In New Jersey the same arbitrary action oc- curred. In both these provinces, resistance to Lord Cornbury forced him at last to comply with the will of the people. At last the cries of the oppressed colonies reached the ears of the Queen, and in 1708 she appointed Lord Lovelace in his place, and as soon as Lord Cornbury was super- seded his creditors threw him into the cus- tody of the sheriff of New York, and he was imprisoned for debt. After the death of his father, however, he was able to dis- charge his debts, and he returned to Eng- land to take his seat in the House of Lords as the third Earl of Clarendon. His- tory records that there was never a gover- nor of New York so universally detested or so deserving of abhorrence. He was even so weak in character as sometimes to dress in the garb of woman, and thus make his appearance publicly. He died in London, England, April 1, 1723.


HAMILTON, Andrew,


Colonial Governor.


Governor Andrew Hamilton was a na- tive of Scotland. While engaged in mer- cantile pursuits in Edinburgh, he was sent to East Jersey as a special agent for the proprietaries. In 1686 he was made a mem- ber of the Governor's Council, and on the departure of Lord Neil Campbell for Eng- land, in March, 1687, became acting Gover- nor of the colony. He was continued in office after the consolidation of the Jer- seys, New York and New England, under the control of Sir Edmund Andros, but when the latter was seized by the New Englanders in April, 1689, Hamilton sailed for England in order to consult with the proprietaries.


In March, 1692, he was appointed Gover- nor of both Jerseys, and retained this of-


fice until 1697, when he was superseded b Jeremiah Barse, notwithstanding that 1 ... rule was satisfactory to both the colonis :. and the proprietaries. So great was ti .: disorder and maladministration under hu successor that he was reappointed, Aug :.: 19, 1699. In 1701 he was appointed Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania by Willia !!: Penn, who was then preparing to go : England. In the session of the Assemb:, in October, 1702, the representatives of the lower counties refused to meet those of the Province, claiming the privilege of separ- ation by the supplementary article of the new charter, and expressing their firm de- termination to remain apart. The Gover- nor strongly urged the advantages of union, but, failing, dismissed the representatives, though the members of the Province had previously made a formal demand for a separation from the lower counties. Sub- sequently their representatives repented of their course, and the Governor tried to unite them, but now the Provincial Assem- bly would not consent, and the separation was final. He ingratiated himself with the colonies by organizing the first general post- office in Philadelphia, in 1693. One of Hamilton's acts, that cost him the displeas- ure of many, was an attempt to create a militia. A company was formed in Phil- adephia, and others were proposed in var- ious places, but death suddenly ended his administration, and the duties of office fell on Edward Shippen, the president of the Council. His son John was Governor of New Jersey during 1736-38, and again in 1746. Andrew Hamilton died while on a visit to his family at Amboy, New Jersey, April 20, 1703.




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