USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume I > Part 46
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whether they were different persons is not known. Peter Whitaker is mentioned in the Minisink records, 1792-93, and Richard Whitaker, in 1813, lived in Unionville. The last named was the grandfather of the Mr. Whitaker of this review, and was success- ful as an agriculturist. He married Eliza- beth Forgerson, and they had children: Samuel, of further mention ; Jacob ; Aaron ; Richard; John; Halsey ; Lewis; Mary, who married Dr. Austin, of Unionville ; Milly, married Benjamin Haynes, of Unionville; Charlotte, became the second wife of Ben- jamin Haynes ; and Fanny, who became the second wife of Dr. Austin. Descendants of Jacob reside in Oswego, New York; a son of Richard is a resident of West Town, New York; and Lewis lived and died in Wantage, Sussex county, and his descend- ants are still located there.
Samuel Whitaker, son of Richard and Elizabeth (Forgerson) Whitaker, was born in Unionville, New York, June 22, 1796, and received the education usual for boys in his day. Although his immediate an- cestors had all been engaged in agriculture, Mr. Whitaker, early in life turned his at- tention to mercantile affairs. He removed to Sussex, where for many years he was one of the foremost merchants of the town, and was successfully engaged in business until a few years prior to his death, which occur- red, October 20, 1871. Although a man of plain habits and retiring disposition, he was possessed of remarkable energy and force of character, and took an active part in promoting all interests for the welfare of the community. He was one of the found- ers of the Farmers' National Bank, served as a director of this institution for many years, and was the leading spirit in bringing the Midland railroad to Deckertown. He subscribed liberally to that work and devot- ed time and energy to its accomplishment. He served as collector for Sussex county for seven years, and had the unqualified confidence and respect of all who knew him.
He gave his political support to the Demo- cratic party, and was a member of the Pres- byterian Church of Deckertown. Mr. Whitaker married Margaret, daughter of John E. and Jane Adams, of Dcckertown, and they had children : John A., of further mention; Richard, born March 24, 1820, died August 31, 1845 ; Zillah M., born June 16, 1822, married Jacob E. Hornbeck.
John Adams Whitaker was born in Sus- sex county, New Jersey, July 1, 1818, and died May 22; 1898. He was reared in the Empire State, and at the age of fifteen years was sent to the school just established in Sussex formally Deckertown by William Rankin, being the only pupil in the school upon its opening day. Later the school be- came a noted one and many men, now famous, obtained their cducation in its halls. Upon the completion of his education he secured a position as clerk in a store in Newburgh, New York, and, having secured practical experience there, he went to Buf- falo, thinking a larger city would offer bet- ter opportunities. Being unable to find a suitable opening in Buffalo, he came to Deckertown, where he acted as assistant to his father in the business established by the latter. Subsequently he engaged in busi- ness independently in New York City, but being unsuccessful in this venture, he re- turned to Deckertown and again became as- sociated with his father, who was also the postmaster of the town. In 1850 President Zachary Taylor appointed him postmaster to succeed his father. Later he engaged in business on his own account in Decker- town, and on January 1, 1857, hc was ap- pointed cashier of the Farmers' National Bank, an office he filled until January 13, 1874. when he succeeded to the office of president, left vacant by the death of Jona- than Whitaker. He was the incumbent of this office at the time of his death, his actual connection with the bank covering a period of somewhat more than forty-one years. His business career was ever characterized
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by sterling honesty, promptness in the dis. charge of his duties and faithfulness to every trust reposed in him.
Mr. Whitaker married, in 1846, Mary A., daughter of John and Amanda (Sayre) Holbert, of Chemung, Chemung county, New York, the Sayres being members of the South Hampton family. Children : Isa- bel, married Theodore F. Margarum, of Sussex ; Amanda H., wife of Captain Theo- dore F. Northrop, of New York City; Marie Alice, married Charles Tyler, of New York City: Josephine, married John Bennett, a banker of Horseheads, New York. Mr. Whitaker was a member of the Presbyterian church many years. The following letter, received by Mrs. Whitaker at the time of her husband's death, will give some idea of the estimate placed upon his character :
Dear Mrs. Whitaker :- Providence was indeed merciful and gracious in sparing him so long to his loved ones and to the community. We sometimes mourn that the influence of a prom- ising career is cut short by death: not so with him. In the fullness of his life and at the com- pletion of his work he was summoned to his reward. His community was fortunate in his life and presence ; no other occupied such a posi- tion of responsibility ; no other in any communi- ity ever discharged responsibility with greater credit and honor. He would have been a picked man anywhere. When trusted men have proven unfaithful there have always been whisperings which ought to have put the community on guard; but who ever heard a whisper against him?
In times of doubt and distrust even a good man may suffer, but no matter how perilous the the times or what the cause for anxiety, no one doubted that he and all the trusts confided to him were safe. What an object lesson to the community and to all who knew him! His gentle outgoing and incoming are gone forever, but you cannot think of him without a sense of the es- sential qualities of honesty, industry and sobriety which thoroughly imbued him. Such as he can- not have lived in that little community for four- score years without having left his impress upon it, and his impress can be nothing but a benedic- tion. It is hard to realize that I can remember him when he was only forty years old; but in my childhood he was my ideal man, and as the
many years have gone by and other associations have undoubtedly had their influence upon me, he has always stood ont as a conspicuous man- such a one as a devoted father would safely and proudly point to as an example for his son.
The following resolutions were passed by the Board of Directors of the Farmers' National Bank, of Deckertown, June 6, 1898:
Whereas, Almighty God has removed from us our venerable and esteemed friend. Mr. John A. Whitaker, who was at the time of his death president of. the Farmers' National Bank, of Deckertown; therefore, be it
Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Whitaker the bank has lost a worthy and able president one who presided successfully over the great trust many years and gave the whole of his study, time and attention to building up and making the bank safe;
That in his official capacity he showed a char- acter that only true financiers possess, being courageous, not afraid to speak for what he thought was right, and for the best interests of the corporation he represented, even in the face of the strongest opposition ;
That his honesty never was questioned, and his sterling qualities and excellent habits, to- gether with his firmness, balanced with good sense and wisdom, made him a valuable officer and great strength to a banking institution ;
That during his term of office and under his management the bank flourished; surplus accum- ulated, deposits and discounts increased until the capitai stock sold for more than double its par value ;
That he was not selfish, close or narrow, but was manly, generous, magnanimous and noble, and had a broad and elevated mind and deep in- tellect ;
That he was one of the best of citizens, pa- triotic, having the interests and welfare of his country at heart, and always on the side of progress and advancement for good ;
That he was a kind, obliging and accommodat- ing neighbor and a friend to the poor, ever ready to help in the time of need, and sympathize in the time of trouble and affliction ;
That in his death our loss is his gain; that we beleive he died a Christian and is being re- warded by his God in the home above the skies ; and be it further
Resolved, That the directors of the bank ex- tend their sympathy to the family of the said de- ceased, and that these resolutions be recorded in
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the minutes of the bank, and that a copy thereof be sent to his family.
CHARLES A. WILSON, A. WATSON SLOCKBOWER, Committee on Resolutions.
BLAKE, John Lauris,
Lawyer, Statesman.
John Lauris Blake was one of those men who seem to have been selected by fate for an honorable and eminent career. He was distinguished as a jurist, and took part in the political life of the nation.
Mr. Blake was born in Boston, Massa- chusetts, March 25, 1831, and was a son of Dr. John Lauris Blake, who removed to Orange, New Jersey, in 1842, and died there in 1857. Mr. Blake was the recipient of an excellent classical education, and after this thorough preparation took up the study of law with the late Philip Kingsley. In June, 1852, he was admitted to the bar of New Jersey, and at once established himself in the practice of his chosen profession, open- ing an office in a small one-story building on Main street, near what is now Essex avenue. Success attended his efforts almost from the outset of his career, but it was not without the assistance of unremitting and constant toil. He was admitted as a coun- sellor in 1855, and so well known and popu- lar had he become, that two years later, in 1857, he was elected to serve in the State Assembly. At the expiration of his term of one year he declined renomination. In 1879 and 1880 he represented his congres- sional district in the United States House of Representatives, and although strongly urg- ed to accept the nomination for another term, he felt constrained to decline because of the press of his professional business, with which his absence from home had seri- ously interfered. At the time of his elec- tion as a representative he received 14.771 votes, his Democratic opponent received 12,- 832 votes, and a "Greenback" candidate re- ceived 2,106 votes. After this time Mr.
Blake abandoned work in the political field for the reason above mentioned.
Mr. Blake was at one time president of the Citizens' Gas light Company, and when the consolidation of the gas companies took place he resigned from this office and was succeeded by Henry C. Keisey. About 1896 he withdrew from business life. For a period of twenty years Mr. Blake was city counsel of Orange, and for a long period of time he served as counsel for West Orange and for Montclair. He drew up the present charter of the city of Orange, and served as counsel for the Orange Na- tional Bank, president and counsel of the Half Dime Savings Bank, was director in Mutual Benefit and several other institutions of financial importance. Brown University, Rhode Island, recognized in Mr. Blake the man of culture and scholarly tastes, by con- ferring upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. At the time of his death, which occurred October 10, 1899, the Es- sex County Bar Association met in Chan- cery Chambers to take action on the sad event. In the Orange District Court, on October 12, 1899, Judge Storrs appointed Wilbeforce Freeman, William R. Howe and Horace Stetson, as a committee to prepare a suitable memorial minute on the death of Mr. Blake, to be placed upon the records of the court.
Mr. Blake married, October 20, 1858, Angeline, daughter of Lowell Holbrook, of Brooklyn, New York. She died in 1880, leaving one daughter, Mrs. William Read Howe. The funeral services of Mr. Blake were held in St. Mark's Episcopal Church, West Orange. He stood as a representative of a high type of American manhood, com- bining energy and determination with lofty principles and exalted patriotism. His career in political, professional, business and social circles was characterized by laudable ambition and honorable effort, leading inevitably to successful accomplish- ment. No more lasting or permanent monu-
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ment can be erected to his memory than a record of the plain, simple, unvarnished truths evolved from his life of usefulness and benefit to humanity.
ROBERTS, Jonathan William Antiquarian, Ideal Citizen.
Jonathan William Roberts, of Glenbrook, Morris Plains, New Jersey, the subject of this biographical sketch, was a commanding personality among hundreds of New jer- sey's most prominent men. His leadership was pronounced and uniformly was exer- cised for the general welfare. Whatever engaged his interest got the hostage of a devoted enthusiasm. Whatever his hand found to do was done with all his might. He became noted for the rare ability to make successes out of threatened failures. When he assumed the chair, the meeting sat up. His acceptance of leadership was quite synonymous with advances all along the line. His most fruitful public work in New Jersey was accomplished during the last quarter of a century of his long life of ninety-one years, after the age of sixty- five.
He was born on September 1, 1821, in the village of Manchester, Hartford coun- ty, Connecticut. His parents, William Mar- tin and Maria McMillan Roberts, were of Scotch-Irish origin. The family name orig- inally was MacRoberts, and probably was shortened by some ancestor after reaching America. Manchester was incorporated in 1823, and long has been noted for silk and other manufactures. Its population in 1910 was 13,641.
Jonathan W. Roberts received his school- ing in Connecticut, and was for a time in business life at New Haven; but in 1842, at the age of twenty-one, he removed to New York and entered the employ of Amos Richard Eno, a wholesale drygoods mer- chant. Mr. Eno in 1833 had entered into partnership with his cousin John J. Phelps : they dissolved within ten years and made
other connections, both becoming very wealthy. Mr. Eno for a time continued in the dry goods business and later went into real estate. He built the old Fifth Avenue Hotel. He was born in Simsbury, Connecti- cut, on November 1, 1810; and died Febru- ary 21. 1898. Eno, Pheips and Roberts were fine representatives of the old-time New Yorkers who had come with the so- called "Connecticut immigration."
Mr. Roberts, on June 4, 1850, married Mary King, the daughter of Hezekiah and Weltha Warburton King of Bristol, Penn- sylvania. It was a very happy union.
Mr. Roberts rapidly won the confidence of his employers Amos R. Eno & Company, and upon the reorganization of the business under the name of Eno, Mahoney & Com- pany, was made a member of the firm. Suc- cessively the style became Eno, Roberts & Company, then Roberts, Rhodes & Com- pany; and finally J. W. Roberts & Com- pany. Business connections were very large- ly in the South, and the Civil War, through the ruin of customers, caused immense losses which threatened failure; but Mr. Roberts was able to weather the storm and to recover a fortune sufficient for his re- tiring a year after the war. Enormous ob- ligations incurred by his firm were paid by Mr. Roberts personally rather than to have any blot upon the firm name. He refused to take advantage of legal technicalities which would have relieved him of responsi- bility. Not long after the war, Mr. Roberts, accompanied by his wife, visited the South and made an attempt to collect some part of the debt. Of the $400,000 owed, some $1,500 was recovered.
Long application to business had caused a strain upon the constitution of Mr. Rob- erts, which soon after the war his physicians discovered. He had reached the age of forty-five, and a period in life when de- cisions are often momentous for health. He was told to "go into the country, or go uit- der ground." As, in his own language, he "naturally preferred the country," he acted
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upon the doctor's first alternative. He re -. tired from business in 1866. The country which was to conserve his strength and help to lengthen out his life, happened to be in Morris county, New Jersey. The story of his coming to this State and his purchase of Glenbrook at Morris Plains has interesting features bordering romance. Quite by chance and yet through a series of connect- ed causes he was led from business life in New York to a career of civic and social usefulness in New Jersey.
During the early summer of 1866 he start- ed forth with Mrs. Roberts for a driving trip through the Catskill mountains. The return route lay through Goshen and thence through northern New Jersey. Reaching Newfoundland. they put up for the night at the famous hotel kept by the late John P. Brown. They intended to remain a couple of days so that Mr. Roberts might take a trip to New York City and return. Their stay was lengthened to three weeks, and then they drove to Budd's Lake, where they remained for a month. On the train one day, Mr. Roberts met an acquaintance, Mr. Cyrus Smith, of New York, who was sum- mering at Morristown. Mr. Smith urged him to go to Morristown, and informed him of an opening for boarding. Lebbeus Ward and his wife were about to give up their rooms and Mr. and Mrs. Roberts decided to take them. They came to Morristown one Saturday afternoon intending a brief so- journ; but, as Mr. Roberts used to say : "We came to stay thirty days, and we spent the rest of our lives in Morris county." Within twenty-four hours they had rented a pew in the South Street Presbyterian Church, and each had taken a class in the Sunday school.
The buying of Glenbrook largely had its cause in the attractiveness of the rippling Watnong brook. Mr. Roberts, in the fall of 1867, was requested by Theodore Ayres, a real estate agent, to visit at Morris Plains the farm of an elderly man, who. it was said, was continually "badgering him to
bring somebody out to buy his place." They drove out to the place and found it quite a wilderness. A zigzag path ran from the ancient farm house to the brook, and the owner declared that the spot was a "good place to raise potatoes and for watering the cattle." The brook attracted Mr. Roberts and he returned to the carriage where Mrs. Roberts, after saying she saw in the place nothing worth buying, had remained. "Come with me, I want to show you something," he said. They went back through the brush to the Watnong; and when Mrs. Roberts saw the stream she said: "Buy it," and the deal soon was closed. Using two dwelling houses found on the farm, and adding addi- tionai rooms and architectural requirements, a commodious home was built in which on July 4, 1868, the first meal was taken. He named his farm Glenbrook, and later named the road passing it Glenbrook place.
Mr. Roberts found much to occupy his time and attention in developing into a gentleman's farm the eighty acres he had purchased. Referring to this period, he used to quote the old saying that "If a man gives up business he takes to gambling or to drink," and to add humorously, "I didn't want to do either so I kept busy." Already he had lived forty-six years, but he was to live yet as long again and to be constantly busy in matters social, educational and phil- anthropical. His superintendent James G. McNeill well remembers how one summer clay in 1881 Mr. Roberts came out to the field where the men were working and said : "Well, boys, I'm an old man, I'm sixty years old to-day." He then had still re- maining over thirty-one years of grace for activities as important as any in his past life.
Always in the stables of Glenbrook there were six or eight driving horses. Their owner greatly enjoyed driving, and attribut- ed his good health to this open air recrea- tion. Frequently he would use one team in the morning, and change to another for the afternoon. The automobile made its ap-
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pearance on New Jersey roads when Mr. Roberts had reached advanced age, and he deplored the fact that they made driving less pleasant. When advised by his friends to procure a car, he replied that he was "too old to make an engineer out of him- self."
Glenbrook is located on Glenbrook place, one of the old roads to Dover, about a quarter of a mile south of Speedwell avenue and the Lackawanna station at Morris Plains. It is a little west of the old village and church. The village in 1830 was called Piersonville. The public house was then kept by Ira C. Pierson, who advertised in the "New Jersey Eagle" that a mineral spring, the waters of which were "equal to Schooley's Mountain," had been discovered near his house and had proved beneficial to invalids. This spring is remembered by people in the locality. It was located on the premises now owned by Mr. Arthur Thom- son, not far from Glenbrook. The Wat- nong, as it flows through Glenbrook, pre- sents an idyllic scene. Beautiful slopes of lawn form an amphitheatre in the midst of which there plays a remarkably beautiful waterfall flowing from a little lake artificial- ly contrived. From the rear piazza of the house the falls best are seen, and also there is heard their constant murmur. The view and sound for almost forty-five years con- sciously were enjoyed by the owner. Of the scene he used to say, "I never grow tired of looking at it."
Mr. Roberts, with his wife, became a member of the South Street Church at Morristown, and identified himself with the best interests of that town and of the neigh- borhood in which he dwelt. The church burned to the ground on January 10, 1877, and he was made chairman of the building committee for a new edifice. Work was begun on June 21, 1877, and the dedicating took place on July 12, 1878. The total cost was $45,000, of which $23.000 had been received in insurance. The architect was J.
Cleveland Cady, and the builders William H. Kirk & Company.
Three times he was called to be the presi- dent of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation of Morristown, and each term his remarkable enthusiasm brought the organ- ization to renewed usefulness and better financial condition. As chairman of the building committee he had the principal part in the planning and erecting, without debt, of the building on South street.
Mr. Roberts in 1884 was elected a trustee of the Washington Association of New Jer- sey. This organization had been formed May 5, 1874, its primary object having been the purchase and preservation of the Ford Mansion, occupied during the Revolution as a headquarters by Washington. For the interests of the Association. Mr. Roberts tirelessly labored until his death. He was elected president in 1887, and continued in that honored position until his death twenty- five years later. His part in placing the Association upon a stable financial basis, and in helping to establish for it an enviable reputation, was pronounced. His wise fore- sight in securing additional land, and in making improvements in the property, was proved in every instance. His tireless quest for valuable relics and historical miscellanea appropriate for the Headquarters museum has its fruit in the splendid collection now exhibited daily to the public. To his in- itiative is owing the building of the com- modious Lafayette Rooms east of the Head- quarters, in which are held the meetings and celebrations of the Association.
Three years after his first election to the presidency a gold badge bearing the insignia of the Washington Association was given to Mr. Roberts as an expression of appre- ciation. The record in the minutes of Janu- ary 20, 1800, reads as follows :
Incidentally to their report and on behalf of the entire executive committee, the badge com- mittee presented to President Jonathan W. Rob- erts an impression in gold from the Association
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badge dies, as a mark of the personal regard of each member of the executive committee for him and of their appreciation of his invaluable services as a trustee and as president of the As- sociation, which mark of esteem from the exec- utive committee was accepted by Mr. Roberts in a few feeling and modest remarks.
On the cover of the box are these words :
Presented to Jonathan W. Roberts, President of Washington Association of N. J .; 1889-90.
How highly the Association esteemed his character and services may further be seen from the following minute and resolution :
In the meeting of members and guests of the Washington Association of New Jersey, held on February 22nd, 1907, on motion of Mr. Albert H. Vernam, the following resolution was adopted :
Whereas, The present prosperous condition of this Association is largely due to the personal ability, untiring energy and conservative manage- ment of its affairs by Jonathan W. Roberts, Es- quire, who, for the past twenty years has kindly consented to act as its President ;
Therefore, be it resolved. That we, the mem- bers of the Washington Association. hereby ex- press our appreciation of the self-sacrificing spirit with which our honored President Jonathan W. Roberts has during all these years personally de- voted to the management of this Association ;
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