USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume I > Part 58
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and finally, in 1840, president. Before it he frequently read papers replete with interest and learning, and during all his connection with it was regarded as a devoted and val- uable member of the profession which he had so wisely chosen.
After more than twenty years of con- tinuous professional service, Dr. Goble be- gan to withdraw gradually from practice, and finally abandoned it altogether. It was doubtless his wonderful activity and great efficiency in any enterprise in which he might be engaged that drew towards him the attention of the Mutual Life In- surance Company of New York, then in its infancy. This growing corporation felt the need of a master-spirit in the state of New Jersey, and fixing upon Dr. Goble as the man who would meet all its require- ments, propositions were made by the company to him to act as the medical ex- aminer and general representative in the State of New Jersey, which, after repeated and pressing solicitations, he was induced to accept. Governed, as he always was, by the injunction, "Whatsoever thy hand findest to do, do with thy might," it is very easy to believe that Dr. Goble answered all the expectations of this now magnifi- cent institution, and, beyond a doubt, it was vastly indebted to him for the firm foothold which it obtained in the state of New Jersey.
In all affairs of public interest he took a prominent and active part, always mani- festing a most philanthropic spirit. From 1841 to 1844, inclusive, he was a member of the common council of the city of Newark, and during the year 1844 was president of that body. In 1846 he was a member of the General Assembly of the State. In all these positions he was an earnest advo- cate of whatever measures tended to pro- mote the public good, and an uncompro- mising foe to everything that was adverse thereto. In works of Christian benevo- lence and charity he was always anxious to perform his part, and to a great extent the
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colonization cause of his day was indebted to him for its success in New Jersey.
Dr. Goble died, after a very short illness, February 7, 1859. His loss was univer- sally regretted. The Essex County Dis- trict Medical Society, of which he never ceased to be an interested member, held, on the day before the funeral, a special meeting in respect to his memory, and eu- logistic addresses were pronounced by Drs. S. H. Pennington, L. A. Smith, J. F. Ward, A. W. Woodhull and others. The follow- ing resolutions were also adopted: "Re- solved, That this society has heard with sincere sorrow of the decease of Dr. J. G. Goble, late of this body, and for many years a prominent member of the profes- sion of this city and State. Resolved, That we tender our respectful sympathy to the family of the deceased, and in testi- mony of our regard for his memory will at- tend his funeral and wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days."
Resolutions expressive of sorrow were adopted by various other societies and in- stitutions of which the deceased had been a member.
CONRAD, Timothy Abbott,
Famous Naturalist.
Timothy Abbott Conrad was born near Trenton, New Jersey, June 21, 1803, son of Solomon White and Elizabeth (Abbott) Conrad, grandson of John and Sarah (White) Conrad, great-grandson of Wil- liam and Mary (Quee) Conrad, great-great- grandson of Henry and Katherine ( Strey- pers) Cunreds, and great-great-great-grand- son of Thomas Kunders, a member of the first band of German emigrants who set sail on July 24, 1683, in the ship "Concord." from Crefeld, Germany, and settled in Ger- mantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, born July 31, 1779. died October 2, 1831, by trade a printer and book seller. was an eminent mineralogist and botanist, whose home was a popular meeting place for
the scientists of Philadelphia, and the first natural history saloon opened in that city. He collected a valuable herbarium which he presented to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, and in 1829 was elected professor of botany in the University of Pennsylvania.
Timothy Abbott Conrad was born at the home of his maternal grandparents, and was educated in Philadelphia at select schools under the superintendence of Friends. His knowledge of the higher branches was ac- quired by private study. He learned the trade of a printer in the establishment of his father, after whose death in 1831 he con- tinued the business for a time. In 1831 he was elected a member of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, and some years later of the American Philosophical Society. His first volume, published in 1831. is entitled: "American Marine Con- chology, or Descriptions and Colored Fig- ures of the Shells of the Atlantic Coast." The seventeen plates contained therein was drawn by the author and colored by hand by his sister. In 1837 he was appointed geologist of the State of New York, and after resigning the position he remained as paleontologist of the survey until 1842. He prepared official reports on the fossils col- lected by the United States exploring ex- pedition under Wilkes; by Lieutenant Lynch's expedition to the Dead sea ; by the Mexican boundary survey ; and some of the surveys for a railroad route to the Pacific. He contributed many papers on the territory and cretaceous geology and paleontology of the eastern United States to the "Ameri- can Journal of Science;" the "Bulletin of the National Institution;" the "American Journal of Conchology ;" "Kerr's Geological Report of North America," and other pub- lications. A complete list of his papers con- tains one hundred and twelve titles. His non-scientific writings consist chiefly of verses. He was the principal American worker in the field of tertiary geology for many years. His published volumes are :
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"American Marine Conchology" ( 1831) ; "Fossil Shells of the Tertiary Formations of North America" (Vol. 1., 1832) ; "New Fresh-water Shells of the United States" (1834) ; "Monography of the Family Union- idae, or Naiades of Lamarck of North America" (1836) "Fossils of the Tertiary Formations of the United States" ( 1838) ; "Paleontology of the State of New York" (1838-40) ; "The New Diogones, a Cynical Poem" (1848) ; and "A Geological Vision and other Poems" collected by his nephew, Dr. C. C. Abbott (1871). He died in Tren- ton, New Jersey, August 9, 1877.
MAXWELL, John P. B.,
Lawyer, Legislator.
John Paterson Bryant Maxwell was born in Flemington, New Jersey, September 3, 1804, son of George C. and - (Bry- ant) Maxwell, grandson of John Maxwell, a captain in the Revolutionary army who served under General Washington, and great-grandson of Anthony Maxwell, who came from Ireland early in the eighteenth century and settled in Hunterdon county. New Jersey, and had two sons, John and William, the latter named having been a major in the Colonial army, was made a brigadier-general in the American service, October 23, 1766, and served through the war; he never married. George C. Max- well was graduated at the College of New Jersey, 1792, was a representative in the Twelfth Congress, 1811-13, and died in 1873.
John Paterson Bryant Maxwell obtained his preliminary education in the common schools of the neighborhood, and pursued a course in advanced studies at the College of New Jersey, his father's alma mater, from which institution he received the de- gree of A. B., in 1823, and that of A. M., in 1826. Deciding upon the profession of law for his life work, he placed himself under the tutelage of Chief Justice Horn- blower, and after liis admission to the bar
of his native State he located for active practice in Belvidere, New Jersey, in 1827, and in addition to his professional duties was editor and proprietor of the "Belvidere Apollo." He was a Whig representative in the Twenty-fifth Congress, 1837-39, and was one of the four Whig candidates for representative in the Twenty-sixth Con- gress who received Governor William Pen- nington's certificate of election which led to the "Broadseal" controversy. Congress re- fused to recognize the validity of Mr. Max- well's certificate, and on March 10, 1840, his opponent, Daniel B. Royall, was seated. Mr. Maxwell was re-elected to the Twenty- seventh Congress, serving from 1841 to 1843. He was a trustee of the College of New Jersey, 1842-45.
He married, September II, 1834, Sarah Brown, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who died October 17, 1834.
FLEMMING, James, Sr.,
Exemplary and Public-Spirited Citizen.
James Flemming, Sr., who was a member of the Board of Education of Jersey City, from its organization till his death in 1863, was born in Tamworth, England, May 5, 1804. On his mother's side he was con- nected with the Digges and West families, so well known during the colonial days in Virginia and Delaware, which latter State was named after Earl de la Warr, whose family name was West. In the year 1827, Mr. Flemming came to Jersey City, and in 1831 married Alice, the eldest daughter of Isaac Edge.
During the years that Mr. Flemming carried on the business of builder, he erected many of the best houses in Jersey City. He gave much of his time to public duties in various city and county offices to which he was elected, but to none did he show a more untiring devotion than in his efforts to extend the temperance reforma- tion. He united heart and soul in the Washingtonian movement to spread the
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doctrines of total abstinence from the use of alcoholic liquors as a beverage. Always first in doing good, he organized the Washington Society in Jersey City, one of, if not the first in the State. A public- spirited citizen, he built a hall on Gregory street, devoted exclusively to temperance meetings and work connected with the cause. That hall was dedicated in 1841, and for years was used for the good work, the society numbering at the close of Mr. Flemming's presidency one thousand mem- bers; but men and things change, and a fire finished the career of a building that had served a noble purpose, and a bar- room occupied the spot once made sacred by the teachings of Greeley and the eloquence of Gough. Mr. Flemming or- ganized the Second Division in the State of Sons of Temperance, and became its first officer, and subsequently the head of- ficer in New Jersey and a member of the National Division. After a time, the men who had worked so hard grew tired, and the temperance excitement subsided, but its fruits remained.
Several times elected as alderman of Jersey City and chosen freeholder, Mr. Flemming became identified with and was one of the leaders of the "Water-right party," the object of which was to secure to the people of Jersey City certain privi- leges and control over the shore, and to pervent the Gothic invasion of the rights of the people of Hudson county by the re- mainder of the State. Had proper spirit been shown by its inhabitants from 1840 to 1850, Jersey City would not have been so long lamenting the want of dock facilities as she did. Mr. Flemming was a member of the Board of Education from its organi- zation until his death, and was instru- mental in building up the public-school system in Jersey City. In the latter years of his life Mr. Flemming had retired from business, but kept himself busy in the per- formance of public duties in offices filled by him.
Suddenly he was stricken with an illness which terminated his life on March 14, 1863. The numerous public bodies with which he was and had been connected met and passed eulogistic resolutions. The Board of Education bore willing testimony to the sarnestness and diligence with which all the duties pertaining to his office were ever faithfully discharged. In the Com- mon Council, resolutions were offered by Alderman Hardenbergh, and, among other things, he said of Mr. Flemming: "In his private life he was quiet and unobtru- sive ; in his public course he was devoted to principle, and knew no compromise, nor would lie admit of any. We have lost a citizen of no mean distinction, and it is eminently fitting the public authorities should thus make record of their apprecia- tion of their loss and of his own public and private worth."
Mr. Flemming had eight children ; two died very young, and one (Benjamin) within a few years. Five survived-James and Dudley, and three daughters : Frances, wife of Dr. I. N. Quimby ; Alice E., wife of W. Henry Lewis; and Louisa, wife of C. Gray Parker. Mrs. Alice Flemming, always a good helpmate to her husband, a quiet, prudent, unostentatious woman, died at Jersey City, December 11, 1870. .
VREDENBURGH, Peter,
Lawyer, Jurist.
Judge Peter Vredenburgh was a son of Dr. Peter Vredenburgh, of Somerville, New Jersey, a physician of long standing and high repute in the county of Somerset. The first generation of the family on this- side of the Atlantic, as appears from ancient records, sprang from William I. Vreden- burgh, who came to Netherlands from the Hague in May, 1658, in the ship "Gilded Beaver." (See Col. Hist. N. Y., MSS. Dutch, page 225. Also "N. Y. General and Biographical Record," (1878), vol. ix., pp. 62, 151). An old Dutch Bible, bound in
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wooden covers, with brass hinges, preserves the family record continuously from Octo- ber, 1743, to March, 1776, in the Dutch lan- guage, and after the latter date in English. The same old record states that on the 24th of August, 1823, Peter Vredenburgh died at New Brunswick, New Jersey. "in the seventy-ninth year of his age, with his fac- ulties but little impaired, and executing the duties of county treasurer, an office he had filled without interruption for forty-two years." This was the father of Dr. Peter Vredenburgh, of Somerville, before men- tioned. His son, Peter, after Judge Vred- enburgh, was born at Readington, Hunter- don county, New Jersey, in 1805.
About the year 1829 he came to Monmouth county, and commenced the practice of the law at Eatontown, where he remained about a year, and then re- moved to Freehold, where he continued to reside during the remainder of his life. He took a leading part in politics, identifying himself with the Whig party. He held the office of Prose- cutor of the Pleas for fifteen years. He represented the county of Monmouth one term in the upper branch of the Legisla- ture, then called the Council, now the Sen- ate of New Jersey. In 1855 he was ap- pointed one of the associate justices of the Supreme Court by Governor Price, though opposed to him in politics. In 1862 he was reappointed to the office by Governor Olden, thus holding the position for four- teen years, discharging the duties of the of- fice ably and acceptably, and sustaining a reputation second to no one on the bench. Many of his decisions are regarded as the ablest reported. At the close of his second term of office he resumed the practice of law, but his health soon began to fail. This was increased by the death of his son, Ma- jor Peter Vredenburgh, Jr., who was killed in the battle of Opequan, or Winchester, Virginia, in 1864,-the sacrifice he laid upon the altar of his country to maintain the right and to preserve the Union. From
this sad stroke Judge Vredenburgh never recovered ; the vivacity for which he was distinguished never returned ; his heart was broken. He was like Jacob when he re- fused to be comforted, and said "I will go down into the grave unto my son mourn- ing." It was not long before his health gave way so entirely that he was obliged to retire from active life. For a time he found par- tial solace and comfort in reading ; but his sight failed, and that source of enjoyment to a cultivated mind was denied him. At length, in the hope of prolonging life, he was induced to seek a more genial clime; but all was unavailing. The hand of death was upon him, and in a strange land, though surrounded by loving hearts, his spirit took its flight. He died at St. Augustine, Flor- ida, March 24, 1873. Among the many eulogistic notices of Judge Vredenburgh, published in the newspapers of the State and elsewhere soon after his death, those of the "Monmouth Inquirer" and the "Mon- mouth Democrat" are here given. The "In- quirer" said :
It is rarely, even in the highest positions man is called upon to fill, that one passes away who is so sincerely and highly esteemed in life and so deeply mourned in death. He was truly a good man, kind and generous in nature, with no austere or repelling demeanor even to the hum- blest. We never met him but we received such a greeting as made us feel glad that we knew him.
Said the "Democrat' :
No man in this country was more generally beloved and respected than Judge Vredenburgh and his death will be sincerely deplored by the entire community. In this town where he has resided during the whole period of his active life, no member of the community will be more missed. During the last few years he was fond of promenading Main street during the day, and always had a pleasant word for old and young alike. He always noticed children, and not a boy, perhaps, in the town, but has many kindly reminiscences of pleasant chats with Judge Vre- denburgh. His genial flow of spirits, and his kindness of heart, and his polished demeanor towards all, will cause his memory long to be cherished in the community.
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The "State Gazette" said :
Judge Vredenburgh was an ornament and hon- or to the bench and bar of New Jersey. He was one of those great and pure minds who have given the judiciary of this State such honorable pre-eminence in the nation. .. . He was a lawyer of no ordinary ability, and while at the bar was eminently successful as an advocate. The high opinion of his friends who urged his appointment as justice of the Supreme Court was fully realized by the reputation gained by Judge Vredenburgh while on the bench.
Among the resolutions adopted in the Supreme Court on the occasion of the death of Judge Vredenburgh, were the fol- lowing :
Resolved, That as a judge he was remarkable for patience in hearing, sincerity in his search for right and its application to each case before him, minute analysis, and fearlessness of re- sponsibility.
Resolved, That the general simplicity of his manner, the ready sympathies of his heart, the noble frankness, candor and plainness which characterized his intercourse with the Bar, and his bearing upon the bench, endeared his person to all of us; and though dead, he lives in our memories as one by whose life and example we have been instructed, improved and served; and whose virtues deserve to be recorded, that they may be emulated and perpetrated.
Judge Vredenburgh was, as a lawyer, remarkable for his powers of minute analy- sis-a trait especially referred to in the foregoing resolutions by the Supreme Court. This power he brought to bear in the important questions of fact tried be- fore him at the circuits, and which led him so unerringly to the truth. In the exciting murder trials of Donnelly, Slocum, Fox, Bridget Durgan, and others, the smallest threads of evidence, sometimes overlooked by counsel, were woven by him into nets from which the guilty could not escape. It was remarked by an astute lawyer at the meeting of the bench and bar, that "Law as administrated by Judge Vredenburgh was no 'spider's web to catch flies while hornets escaped'." His concern in the set. tling of rules of law and in the decision of questions and cases before him was not so
much what the action of the appellate courts might ultimately be, as what was right and justice in the matters he was called upon to decide.
In 1836 Mir. Vredenburgh was married to Eleanor Brinkerhoff. They had three children, all sons, and all of whom became lawyers, viz .: Peter Vredenburgh, Jr., born February 12, 1837, admitted as an attorney in February, 1859, and as counsellor, Feb ruary. 1862, entered the United States military service in the War of the Rebellion as major of the Fourteenth New Jersey Vol- unteers, and was killed September 19, 1864, in the battle of Opequan, Virginia; Wil- liam H. Vredenburgh, a member of the Monmouth bar; and James B. Vreden- burgh, born October 1, IS44, studied law with Hon. Aaron R. Throckmorton, at Freehold, was admitted as an attorney in June, 1866, as counsellor in June, 1869, a prominent lawyer of Jersey City.
OAKES, David,
Manufacturer, Financier, Legislator.
Mr. Oakes was descended from English stock, his grandfather, John Oakes, having been a resident of Ellastone Mills, Stafford- shire, England. The latter had two sons, David and Thomas, of whom Thomas emi- grated to America in 1802, and pursued his vocation, that of a consulting engineer and millwright, having acted in the former ca- pacity for the Philadelphia Board of Water Works, and later was made superintendent of the Schuylkill Navigation Company. He married Rachel Kingsland, whose children were David, Joseph. Sarah, John, and Mary. Mr. Oakes, in connection with his duties as an official of the Schuylkill canal, re- moved to Reading, where his death occur- red in 1823.
David, son of Thomas Oakes, was born January 13, 1809, in that portion of Bloom- field afterward known as Franklin town- ship, where he lived until nearly two years of age, when his parents removed to the
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present site of Bloomfield, and he, until the HARRIS, John, age of seventeen, pursued his studies at the school adjacent to his home. In 1826 he removed to Orange, New Jersey, for the purpose of acquiring the trade of a finisher of woolen goods. Soon after com- pleting his apprenticeship he located in the village of Bloomfield, and at once erected a frame building which he equipped with the necessary machinery and stock, and began the manufacture of woolen goods. After a successful business had been established, the structure was destroyed by fire in 1836. The enterprise of Mr. Oakes was manifested in the immediate erection of a new build- ing, which was devoted to the exclusive manufacture of flannels and yarn. Again, in 1842, the products of the mill were varied, tweeds becoming the staple article, which, by their superior quality, gained a wide reputation. The mills were enlarged in 1849, and in 1860 the first brick building erected, which was followed by various ad- ditions in 1873 and again in 1879, 1880 and 1882 respectively, Mr. Oakes' son Thomas having succeeded him as general manager.
Mr. Oakes was married to Abigail H., daughter of Simeon Baldwin, of Bloomfield. Their children were-Sarah ( Mrs. Corne- lius Van Lieu), deceased; George A., de- ceased ; and Thomas. Mr. Oakes continued in active business during his lifetime, hav- ing established a reputation not less as a master in his special department of industry than for integrity and uprightness in all commercial transactions. He was in politics early a Whig, later a Republican, and al- ways strongly anti-slavery in his proclivities. In 1860 and 1861 he was a member of the State Legislature, and filled at various times the important offices connected with his county and township. He was a director of the National Newark Banking Company, and a member of the board of managers of the Howard Savings Institution. He was for years one of the board of trustees of the Bloomfield Presbyterian Church, and a member of this church at the time of his death, which occurred July 26, 1878.
Revolutionary, Soldier.
The Harris family of New Jersey is of Welsh extraction, from which country came two brothers, Samuel and Thomas Harris, about the beginning of the eigh- teenth century. They located first on Long Island, from whence they later removed to South Jersey, and their descendants are both numerous and influential in Cumber- land and Salein counties, New Jersey.
John Harris, one of the descendants, was born October 10, 1753, fourth son of Abra- ham and Esther (Langly) Harris. His life was an eventful one. He was about twen- ty-two years old when the war of the Revolution commenced. He went first, in 1776, into the militia of the Flying Camp, as it was then called, for six months ; was in the army under General Washington which assembled at New York for the de- fense of that city, and participated in the battle of Long Island, on August 27, 1776. That fall or winter he was sick at Somer- set, New Jersey, and returned home at the expiration of his term of service. The fol- lowing spring he enlisted in the Continen- tal regular army for seven years or during the war, as a bombardier in the Pennsyl- vania artillery, Continental line, also as drum major, and joining the main army under General Washington, took part in the battles of the Brandywine and Germantown, and suffered at Valley Forge while the British army had comfortable quarters at Philadelphia. In the summer of 1778 he went with General Sullivan on the expedi- tion against the Indians up the Susquehanna. After that he was sent with a part of the army to Pittsburgh, then called Fort Pitt, where he continued during the remainder of the war. Hugh Blackwood accompan- ied him through the Flying Camp and reg- ular army, and they returned home togeth- er. Following is in substance his account of his experience in army life :
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