USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 32
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of the Treasury, but declined this honor, and two years after the expiration of his term as Senator he died, October 8, 1897.
DICKINSON, Gen. Samuel Meredith, Naval Officer, Lawyer, Law Official.
The late General Samuel Meredith Dickinson, of New Jersey, one of the fore- most members of the bar of the State of New Jersey, was endowed with the mental gifts of the highest order, and in the prac- tice of his profession he found full scope for their use to the best advantage of the important matters with which he was con- nected. Patriotic and loyal in the utmost degree, he was a worthy descendant of his distinguished ancestry. He was a son of Philemon and Margaret C. C. (Gobert) Dickinson; a great-grandson of General Philemon Dickinson, the famous Revolu- tionary soldier, patriot and statesman ; great-great-grandson of Chief-Justice Sam- uel and Mary (Cadwalader) Dickinson ; great-grandnephew of John Dickinson, LL.D., member of the Continental Con- gress, governor of Delaware and Pennsyl- vania, and one of the founders of Dickin- son College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, this in- stitution being named in his honor; and a descendant of Samuel Meredith, first treas- urer of the United States.
General Samuel Meredith Dickinson was born June 25, 1839, in the historical man- sion, "The Hermitage," West State street and Hermitage avenue, Trenton, which was the country residence of his ancestor, Philemon Dickinson. He was educated at the old Trenton Academy at which many residents of the city were trained, which was located on the present site of the Free Public Library. During 1856 and 1857 he was engaged in the mercantile business in New York, then returned to Trenton and commenced the study of law in the office of the Hon. Mercer Beasley, later Chief Justice, and he remained there until 1861. The outbreak of the Civil War caused a
change in his plans, and in June, 1861, he was appointed paymaster in the United States Navy. In this capacity he served on the sloop of war "Dale," which was attach- ed to the North Atlantic Squadron, and commanded by Admiral Dupont. In 1862 the vessel returned to Philadelphia, and General Dickinson, at that time colonel, was honorably discharged.
The following year he was appointed private secretary to Governor Joel Parker, and served throughout the term, assisting in the duties which devolved upon the exe- cutive who, in addition to his work as gov- ernor, superintended and audited all of the State's war expenditures. Meanwhile he continued the study of law, and in June, 1863, he was admitted to practice as an at- torney, and three years later as a counsel- or. In 1865 he was commissioned Colonel and Assistant Adjutant-General under General Robert F. Stockton, Jr., in recog- nition of his services to the State during the war. General Dickinson received this appointment under a new law reorganizing the National Guard of the State, and held the position until 1893 when he was com- missioned brigadier-general by brevet, and retired.
In 1867, when the position of Comptrol- ler of the Treasury was established, he was made deputy under William X. McDonald, and remained throughout the term. In 1871 he entered upon the office of chief clerk of the Court of Chancery, and con- tinued to perform the responsible duties of this position, for which his extended knowledge of chancery practice eminently fitted him, until his death. He was the au- thor of two valuable works on law ques- tions. One was "Chancery Precedents," published in 1870, and the other was "Pro- bate Court Practice," published in 1884. These works are accepted as standard au- thorities by both bench and bar throughout the State. After the death of Judge Stew- art in 1890, General Dickinson became chancery court reporter, compiling and
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publishing, for the twenty-one Volumes of the official reports of that Court. He was an advisory Master in Chancery, and in that capacity frequently sat to hear cases referred to him by the Chancellor. Gener- al Dickinson was a noted authority en equity law, and was so regarded by the whole bar of the State. For many years he held the position of president of the New Jersey Society of the Sons of the Rev- olution, and was a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, Commandery of Pennsylvania. He was treasurer of the Trenton Battle Monument Association, "which was largely instrumental in erecting the local battle monument.
General Dickinson married Garetta Moore, of Newtown, Long Island, a mem- ber of the old Moore family who were among the first settlers of that place. He had six children, five sons and a daughter. Following are a few extracts from a Mem- orial to General Dickinson. gotten and pub- lished by the Commandery of the State of Pennsylvania of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States :
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As paymaster of the United States Navy, he was attached to the sloop of war "Dale," and served in the North and South Atlantic squad- rons, chiefly under Admiral Dupont. He sail- ed from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, July, 1861, and was stationed off Newport News, Vir- ginia, for a short time and was then ordered to the South Atlantic. and performed blockade ser- vice between Charleston. S. C., and Cape Can- averal, his vessel capturing two blockade run- ners. After the battle of Port Royal, his vessel was put on blockade duty in St. Helena Sound, and while there received Robert Small on his escape from Charleston with the "Planter." The "Dale" was then ordered North, and resigning, he was honorably discharged, October 31, 1862, having served with characteristic ability and fi- delity.
In 1865 he was appointed Assistant Adjutant General, New Jersey, with the rank of colonel. and contnued such until 1894, when he retired as Brevet Brigadier General.
He was a member of Trinity Protestant Epis- copal Church of Trenton. New Jersey, and long was one of its honored vestrymen. He was a
ripe scholar and a Christian gentlemen, noted for his good ways and works.
Of distinguished ancestry, whose name was indissolubly linked with that of his native city and State for over a century, he maintained jealously the high record of his forbears and left an example all may well follow. It goes without saying that he was the very soul of honor and courtesy. He was patriotic, indus- trious, and devoted to every duty, both public and private. And it may be well said that in many respects he was indeed an ideal Jersey- man and model American.
General Dickinson was a distinguished citizen of Trenton and an exemplary State official.
LEE, Francis Bazley,
Lawyer, Historian, Author.
To have achieved fame in one direction is conceded to be an enviable condition by the majority of human beings, but in the late Francis Bazley Lee, of Trenton, New Jersey, we have a man who attained emi- nence as a historian, a lawyer, and as a writer. In every one of these fields he was undoubtedly successful, and in every in- stance he always labored for the best in- terests of humanity, with never a thought of self-aggrandizement. His courage and fearlessness, his personal self-sacrifice, his executive ability and foresight, and his tal- ent for conducting to a successful issue a number of important affairs at the same time, are well nigh unparalleled. It is dif- ficult to estimate the value of the services rendered by Mr. Lee. It is not alone by what he did that results must be measured, but by the influence his admirable life has had upon others. Tender and loving in the home circle, his heart was filled with love toward all humanity. The excellent quali- ties which characterized Mr. Lee were also characteristic of his ancestors, and it will not be amiss to here give a brief introduc- tory account of them.
Francis Lee, original emigrant and founder of the Port Elizabeth and Trenton
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branch of the family, was born in 1749. His birthplace was in the "county of the town of Carrickfergus," an Antrim sea- port, ten miles from Belfast. Carrickfer- gus is memorable in history as an ancient capital of Ireland, and the landing place of William III, 1690. Owing to the destruc- tion of family papers there is no record of Francis Lee's ancestors, although tradition says they were non-conformists of Midland English stock. Nothing is known of Fran- cis Lee until November 21, 1770, when he married Jane Alexander, a school girl of good family. With her, it is said, he elop- ed to America, and is supposed to have ar- rived at Philadelphia, where he soon com- menced to acquire property. In 1774 he paid a four-pound tax in the Chestnut ward in Philadelphia, and is named among war- rantees for thirty acres of land in North- umberland county, Pennsylvania, and two lots in Sunbury, the then recently settled capital of the county. During the Revolu- tionary War. Francis Lee prospered, and towards its close he dealt actively in real estate. In 1780 he purchased in Philadel- phia the attainted Front street land of George Knapper, and in 1782 acquired large tracts in the Northern Liberties, on the Wissahickon road and in Blockley township on the Haverford road. These and other transactions involved many thousands of pounds, currency. From 1778 to 1787 he paid State and Federal supply tax as a "non-resident" of North- umberland county. He appears as "inn- keeper" as early as 1774. Sharf and West- cott are authority for the following state- ment: "A movement was begun which might have led to trouble if the city had not changed hands so soon." (This re- fers to the British occupation). "It orig- inated in a meeting held at the Indian Queen (kept by Francis Lee) and the ob- ject was to insist on exemption from mili- tary duty for such as had furnished substi- tutes."
Previous to this, however, the journals
of the Continental Congress show that Francis Lee had furnished the Whigs with expresses, meals for soldiers, a stage coach for the use of Generals Prescott and Mc- Donald, and later had entertained John Paul Jones. In the Philadelphia directory for 1785 is to be found this reference : "Francis Lee, inkeeper and every day stage to and from New York, Corner of 4th and Market street." The stage started every morning at four o'clock from the "Indian Queen." The "Indian Queen" had been kept by Francis Lee until about this period. Upon March 8, 1783, Jacob Berry, a sur- veyor, conveyed to Francis Lee a tract of land in Haverford township, Chester coun- ty, Pennsylvania, and in 1786 or 1787, Francis Lee removed from Philadelphia, presumably to this purchase. Upon re- linquishing the "Indian Queen" he surrend- ered an inn property which was one of the finest in Philadelphia. Some idea of the house may be gathered from the journals and correspondence of Manasseh Cutter, agent of the Ohio Land Company, who vis- ited Philadelphia in July. 1787, and says : "It is kept in an elegant style and consists of a large pile of buildings with many spa- cious halls and numerous small apartments appropriate for lodging rooms. As soon as I had inquired of the bar keeper if I could be furnished with lodgings, a livery servant was ordered immediately to attend me, who received my baggage from the hostler and conducted me to the apartments assigned me by the bar keeper, which was a rather small but a very handsome cham- ber (No. 9), furnished with a rich field bed, bureau, table with drawers, a large looking glass, neat chairs and other furni- ture. Its front was east, and being in the 3rd floor afforded a fine prospect toward the river and the Jersey shore. The serv- ant that attended me was a young, spright- ly, well built black fellow. neatly dressed, blue coat, sleeves, and cape red, and buff waistcoat and breeches, the bosom of his shirt ruffled and his hair powdered. After
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he had brought up my baggage and prop- erly deposited it in the chamber, he brought two of the latest London magazines and laid on the table. I ordered him to call a barber, furnish me with a bowl of water for washing and to have tea on the table by the time I was dressed." Among the famous visitors who were to be found dur- ing this period in the "Indian Queen" were: General Washington, and it was to this inn he retired in 1797 after bidding farewell to public life; Cornplanter, and other notable Tammany chiefs; members of Congress; and distinguished military characters of the Revolution. The inn was finally removed to make way for business structures.
During the Revolutionary War, Francis Lee appears as a private upon the roll of Captain Tench Francis' company, First Battalion, Pennsylvania Militia, August, 1781. (See vol. 1, page 787, "Philadelphia Associators and Militia ;" vol. 13. page 128, 2nd series, Pennsylvania Archives). In 1781 Captain Francis' company brought to Philadelphia from Boston the French gold designed for the use of the Whigs. Con- veying the fourteen wagons and fifty-six oxen, Francis Lee, on account of his abili- ty in matters of transportation, was engag- ed in that service, the gold reaching Phila- delphia in November. Francis Lee remov- ed from Haverford township towards the close of the century. July II, 1796, John Kennedy, of East Whiteland, Chester coun- ty, Pennsylvania, conveyed a plantation to him. May 20, 1800, Francis Lee was ap- pointed justice for Tredyffryn, Charles- town, East Whiteland and West White- land, Chester county, the commission being signed by Governor Thomas Mckean. Until his death he added to his landed in- terests and was prominent as a breeder of running horses. He was a member of the Great Valley Presbyterian Church, died April 30, 1815, and is buried in the church- yard there.
Francis Lee married (first) Jane Alex-
ander, born about 1750, died about 1785, and had cleven children. (According to vol. 9, 2nd series, Pennslyvania Archives, a Francis Lee, December 16, 1792, married Elizabeth Bache, in the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia). In a real estate transaction invoiving property in Blockley township, March 25, 1791, "Elizabeth" is given as the name of the wife of Francis Lee, innholder. He married again, No- vember 18. 1793. Margaretta Cloyd, born August 18, 1771, died July 4, 1805, having had five children. His last wife was Eliz- abeth Cloyd, whose will was dated 1818. By this marriage there were no children.
Thomas Lee, son of Francis and Jane (Alexander) Lee, was born November 28, 1780, and died November 2, 1856. He came to Cumberland county, about 1798, and lived at Leesburg for a time. May 22, 1805, he married Rhoda Murphy, and liv- ed for a short time with his brother-in- law, Benjamin Fisler, a distinguished di- vine of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a physician. Shortly afterward he built a home in Port Elizabeth, still standing, and was engaged in the mercantile and lumber business extensively. He and his partner, Joshua Brick (later his bitter po- litical opponent), were government contrac- tors during the War of 1812. Thomas Lee- was one of the incorporators of the Port Elizabeth Manufacturing Company. He was an anti-Federalist, and later a Jack- sonian Democrat, and a record of his pub- lic career is as follows: Judge and justice of the Court of Common Pleas, Novem- ber 3, 1813, to February 17, 1815: post- master of Port Elizabeth, October 31, 1818, to January 2, 1833. when he was succeed- ed by his son Francis ; again appointed post- master, January 20, 1846, and served until June 11, 1849; member of Congress, 1833- 1837, during a part of this time being chair- man of the committee on accounts, and was the personal representative of President Jackson in the southern section of the State. He was active in his support of
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public education and various philanthro- pies, and was one of the founders of the Port Elizabeth Library and the Port Eliz- abeth Academy. His wife, who died April 6, 1858, was a descendant of John Mur- phy, who died about 1777, leaving a large plantation and a good library. They had children : Francis; Thomas; Ellen Brick, married Dr. Bowen; Elizabeth Cloyd, mar- ried - Osterhout; Clement Jones ; Lor- enzo Fisler ; Benjamin Fisler.
Benjamin Fisler Lee, son of Thomas and Rhoda (Murphy) Lee, was born in the Lee Mansion, Port Elizabeth, June 30, 1828, and died in , Alantic City, in April, 1909. He received an excellent education and up- on its completion joined his father in bus- iness as a partner, which connection was kept up until the Civil War. Mr. Lee's po- litical career commenced in 1850, when he supported Nathan T. Stratton for Con- gress. In 1856 he served as a Democratic presidential elector, and as a member of the Democratic State Committee. In 1859 and 1861 he was nominated for the New Jersey House of Assembly, being defeated both times by small Republican majorities. In 1870, as congressional nominee, he greatly reduced the Republican majority of the old First Congressional District. In 1871, as nominee for the office of governor, he retired in favor of the late Governor Joel Parker. He entered upon the duties of clerk of the New Jersey Supreme Court, November 2, 1872, and retained the office until November 2, 1897, when it passed in- to Republican control. He was treasurer of the Democratic State Committee from 1886 to 1895. From 1850 Mr. Lee was identified with the development of railroad interests in the southern part of the State. In 1853 he was one of the incorporators of the West Jersey Railroad Company, and in 1859 one of the incorporators of the West Jersey Central Railroad. By Act of Legislature, March 9, 1863, he was named as director of the Cape May & Millville railroad, and being elected treasurer of the
company, held this office until 1872. He was a leading spirit in the building of the Stockton Hotel at Cape May. In 1866 was an incorporator of the Bridgeton & Port Norris railroad, and was actively connect- ed with it until it became the Cumberland & Maurice River railroad. He was a di- rector of the West Jersey railroad and the West Jersey & Sea Shore railroad, and was instrumental in the construction of the Maurice River and Newfield-Atlantic City branches. He was founder and president of the Trent Tile Company of Trenton, and the Universal Paper Bag Company; and director of the Trenton Banking Company. Standard Fire Insurance Company of Trenton, and the Union Mills Paper Man- ufacturing Company of New Hope, Penn- sylvania. In 1888 he became manager of the State Home for Feeble Minded Women at Vineland, and later president of the Board; he was president of the New Jer- sey State Conference of Charities and Cor- rections; vestryman for many years of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church, of Trenton; and member of the New Jersey State Historical Society, American Aca- demy of Political and Social Science of Philadelphia; Mercantile Library of Phil- adelphia ; Lotus Club and Country Club of Trenton.
Mr. Lee married, July 16, 1862, Anna- bella Willson Townsend, born September 21, 1835. She is a daughter of the late William Smith Townsend, of Dennisville, New Jersey ; is descended directly from Richard Townsend, who first appeared at Jamaica, Long Island, 1656, and died near Oyster Bay, 1671, leaving among other children, John, who married Phebe Wil- liams, daughter of John Williams. John Townsend was one of the earliest settlers of Cape May county, gave his name to Townsend's Inlet, and was a justice and one of His Majesty's High Sheriffs. He died in 1721, and among his children was Richard, probably the first white child born in Cape May county, born in 1681, died
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1737, married Millicent Somers, of Somer- set Plantation, now Somer's Point. Her father, John, was the ancestor of Commo- dore Richard Somers. Isaac Townsend, son of Richard and Millicent (Somers) Townsend, married Sarah, daughter of John Willetts. Isaac Townsend, son of Isaac and Sarah (Willetts ) Townsend, was born in 1738, died in 1780; he married Ke- turah, daugliter of Josiah and Anne ( Aus- tin) Albertson, and granddaughter of Francis Austin, of the Vale of Evesham, Burlington county. Isaac Townsend, son of Isaac and Keturalı (Albertson) Town- send, married Hannah Ogden, a lineal de- scendant of David Ogden, who came to Pennsylvania in 1682 with William Penn in the "Welcome." William Smith Town- send, son of Isaac and Hannah (Ogden) Townsend, a merchant, ship builder and railroad constructor in Dennisville, Cape May county, was born in 1811, died in 1881; married, in 1833, Hannah Smith Ludlam, daughter of Henry and Mary (Lawrence) Ludlam, and a descendant of Anthony Ludlam, who settled in South- ampton, Long Island. in 1640, and whose son, Joseph Ludlam, was one of the first settlers of Cape May county. Of the di- rect line was Lieutenant Henry Ludlam, of the Cape May militia in the Revolution, with descent from John May, founder of May's Landing, the county seat of Atlantic county. Mr. and Mrs. Lee had children : Francis Bazley, who is mentioned at the head of this sketch ; Anna Townsend; Mar- guerite Alexander, who married Judge Huston Dixon, Esq., of Trenton.
Francis Bazley Lee, son of Benjamin Fisler and Annabella Willson (Townsend) Lee, was born in the Merchants' Hotel, Philadelphia, January 3, 1869, and died at the Jefferson Hospital. Philadelphia, May 2, 1914. He received his preparatory edu- cation in the Trenton Seminary, Lawrence- ville School, during the last year of Dr. Samuel M. Hamill's principalship and the first year of the John C. Green founda-
tion, and was graduated from the State Model School in 1888. While at the Model School he founded in 1885 "The Signal," the school paper, and was secretary and president of the Thencanic Literary Soci- ety. Entering the junior class at the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, Mr. Lee complet- ed in 1890 a special course on American history, political economy and constitution- al law in the Wharton School. At college he was active in the reorganization of Iota Chapter, Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, subse- quently becoming archon of the district ; was an associate editor of "The Pennsyl- vanian ;" and made special investigations for the matriculate catalogue committee. Upon graduation he was ivy orator. The summer of 1890 Mr. Lee spent in Europe, where he made the first translation from French of the Belgian constitution, and es- pecially studied the health problems of municipalities. During the following au- tumn and winter he took a special course in English literature in the University of Pennsylvania.
Having completed his legal studies in the office of Hon. G. D. W. Vroom, of Tren- ton, Mr. Lee was admitted to the bar of New Jersey, in June, 1893. From July of that year, until May, 1894, he assisted the city solicitor of Trenton. Edwin Robert Walker, in legal matters connected with the establishment of the sewer system of that city. In June, 1896, Mr. Lee was admitted as a counselor-at-law. During this period, with Nelson L. Petty, of Trenton, Mr. Lee was secretary to the commission to compile the general statutes of New Jersey issued in 1896. In 1897 and 1898 Mr. Lee was the receiver and managing editor of the "Trenton Times," also, in 1905 becoming acting editor of the Democratic "True American," at the personal solicitation of its editor, Joseph L. Naar, during his last illness. He was a director in the Standard Fire Insurance Company, the West Jersey Railroad Company, the Mechanics' Nation- al Bank, and succeeded his father as presi-
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dent of the Trent Tile Company, of which office he was the incumbent at the time of his death.
Mr. Lee contributed largely to current historical and legal literature. He wrote frequently for the daily newspaper press of New Jersey, while among his more exten- sive contributions are: "Memorial of George White Worman," 1890; "Supreme Court of New Jersey," Medico-Legal Journal, March, 1892 ; data relating to New Jersey men in the Matriculate Catalogue of the University of Pennsylvania ; a ser- ies of articles on Colonial laws, legislations and customs, New Jersey Law Journal. 1891-1902; "Colonial Jersey Coinage," 1893; "Agricultural Improvement in Southern New Jersey," 1894; "Jersey- isms," 1894; "History of Trenton," 1895 ; "History of the Great Seal of New Jersey." in Zieber's "American Heraldry:" and "Outline History and Compilations and Re- visions of the Colony and State of New Jersey, 1717-1896," in the General Statutes of New Jersey, 1896. He was for several years a member of the publication commit- tee of the New Jersey Archives, and edited vol. ii of the 2nd series. He was also chair- man of a committee of the University of Pennsylvania, class of 1890, which in 1895 published the quinquennial record of the class. He wrote the four-volume history, "New Jersey as a Colony and as a State," and prepared the articles on "New Jersey," "Newark," and "Trenton," in the "Ency- clopedia Americana." An article upon "Re- ceivers of Insolvent Corporations" in the American Corporation Legal Manual was also from his facile pen.
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