USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 37
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Bennington F. Randolph, only son of Francis C. F. and Phoebe Halsey (Crane) Randolph, was born in Belvidere. New Jer- sey, December 13, 1817, died in Jersey City, March 7, 1890. After completing his pre- paratory years of study in various institu- tions, public and private, he entered Lafay- ette College, whence he was graduated with honors. Many Randolphs had chosen the law as their life work, that was his father's profession, so the young man after gradua-
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tion had little inclination save for the same profession. He studied under the preceptor- ship of William C. Morris, of Belvidere, and J. F. Randolph, of Freehold, finishing his studies, passing the required exaniina- tions, and gaining admission to the New Jer- sey bar, first as an attorney in February, 1839, and as a counsellor in February, 1842. For twenty-one years he practiced his pro- fession in Monmouth and Ocean counties, but in 1861 moved to Jersey City, where he died twenty-one years later. During his professional career at the bar he was at different times associated with others, in- cluding his uncle, Judge Joseph F. Ran- dolph, of Jersey City, and his cousin. Joseph F., Jr. He was also a member of the New York bar, being a member of the law firm of Alexander & Green. On April I, 1868, he was commissioned by Governor Marcus L. Ward one of the judges of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for the county of Hudson. He served until 1873, and on June 30 that year was appointed a special Master in Chancery. In 1877 he was appointed judge of the District Court of Jersey City and on March 30, 1882, was again appointed to that office by Governor George C. Ludlow. As a lawyer and jurist he stood very high, his learning, patience, love of justice, and fair-mindedness win- ning him the unvarying respect of his pro- fession.al brethren.
Judge Randolph was equally prominent in the world of business, his trained mind, coupled with wise judgment and sound busi- ness ability, rendering him a most valuable executive and wise in counsel. He was one of the founders of the Equitable Life As- surance Society of the United States, was clected to the first board of trustees in 1859, and until his death in 1890 served the So- ciety with all his ability, zeal, and earnest- ness. He served as director of the Bank of Freehold, the First National Bank of Jer- sy City. the Mercantile Trust Company, and the Mercantile Safe Deposit Company. of New York. In 1861 he joined with
cthers in planning a route to California, selecting under official authority the Nic- aragua route. He was one of the strongest friends of public and higher education, serv- ing as a member of the New Jersey State and the Jersey City Boards of Education, was a director of Princeton Theological Seminary, and a trustee of the State Normal School. To all these boards he gave freely of his time, his wisdom and his experience, was devoted to their interests, and instru- mental in increasing their usefulness. When the project of a railroad to be known as the Central Railroad of New Jersey was first mooted, he earnestly advocated its construc- tion, aided in organizing the company, serv- ed as its legal counsel, and was one of the real fathers of that now great corporation. At one time he added to his heavy business and professional burdens the office of treas- urer of the company.
In religious faith Judge Randolph was a Presbyterian, inheriting his faith from a line of elders of that church and himself an elder for many years. He was closely as- sociated in religious work and social inter- course with the pastors of the Presbyterian Church of Freehold, Rev. Daniel McLean, D. D., in 1842; later Rev. S. I. Alexander. and in 1861 with Rev. Dr. Chandler. In 1861 he moved to Jersey City, where he was elected an elder of the Presbyterian church whose pastor was then Rev. C. K. Mabie, D. D. When the congregation con- solidated with the Bergen Presbyterian Church it became known as the First Pres- byterian Church of Jersey City, the first pastor of the new church being Rev. Charles Herr. D. D. As an elder he was a pillar of strength to his pastors, and to devoutness and loyalty added all the Christian graces. He was widely known and highly esteemed for his personal, professional, and business qualities, and richly served the communities in which he resided by generous, untiring aid in all movements for the public benefit. His life was an active, useful one, not sel- fishly passed but given freely to the service
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your of mother E. L.Panaryto
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of the public. He was great in all things. yet withal modest and unassuming, a de- lightful companion, a faithful friend, true to every trust reposed in him and constant in his fidelity to his family, his daughters treasuring above all the memory of his de- votion to their mother and his loving care of their every interest.
Judge Randolph married, in 1840, Eliza Henderson, daughter of John Burrowes and Hope Forman, of Freehold, New Jersey. John Burrowes Forman was born in 1786, died in 1853, son of Jonathan and Hope (Burrowes) Forman. He married Hope B. Henderson, born in 1787, died in 1823, daughter of Hon. Thomas Henderson ; they were the parents of four children: Eliza. the youngest, was born in 1819. Jonathan Forman, eldest son of Sheriff David For- man, was born in 1758, died in 1803. He married Hope Burrowes, a sister of Major John Burrowes. She bore him four chil- dren, John Burrowes Forman being the youngest. Sheriff David Forman was a son of Judge Jonathan and Margaret (Wyckoff) Forman, the former a prosper- ous farmer and judge of the Court of Com- mon Pleas of Monmouth county in 1745. Judge Jonathan Forman was the second son of Samuel Forman, high sheriff of Monmonth county in 1695. He was a son of Aaron Forman, who came from Long Island to Monmouth prior to 1693, son of Robert Foreman* founder of the family in America, an Englishman driven to Hol- land by religious persecution, thence com- ing to America, where he appears as one of eighteen incorporators of the town of Flush- ing, Long Island, in 1645. Four daughters of Judge Randolph survive him: Frances Forman Fitz Randolph; Isabella H., mar- ried Rev. Albert Dod Minor ; Julia, married Flavel McGee, a prominent lawyer of Jer- sey City ; and Althea R., married Joseph D. Bedle, Governor of New Jersey.
In a letter written to his daughter, Althea,
under date of January 20, 1875, Judge Ran- dolph spoke in the highest terms of the in- augural address of Governor Bedle, adding the wish that "a copy could be placed in the hands of every thinking man," closing with the sentence "I am grateful to God for His blessing and favor vouchsafed to your good husband." As a fitting close to this review of his life a copy of the splendid tribute paid Judge Randolph by the Hudson Coun- ty Bar Association is appended :
At a meeting of the bar of Hudson County, New Jersey, heid at the Chancery Chambers, Jersey City, March :0, 1890, it was resolved as follows:
The members of the bar of Hudson County learn with deep regret of the decease of Ben- nington F. Randolph, their honored associate for nearly thirty years, and for over half a century an active and well known member of the legal profession in this state. During this long period his industry, his intelligence, his integrity, have been unexcelled in the profession. Personal in- tercourse with him only served to add the warmth of affection to the respect with which he was everywhere regarded. We do not believe any- one can recall an unkind remark uttered by him. and we are sure that many have felt, and will always remember, the genial welcome, the kind attention, the timely suggestion, the word of en- couragement, which it was his habit to give. He could hardly have known what it was to have an enemy, but the narrow confines of his own state are not nearly spacious enough to enclose his host of friends. A member of an honored New Jer- sey family which has rendered much and signal service to the state, he was always looked to and chosen for responsible public duties, and he dis- charged them with constant fidelity and well- directed skill. Fifteen years of judicial service. twenty years on the riparian commission, and a whole generation of both personal and official labor in the improvement and government of the public schools, testify to his place in the public esteem and his devotion to the general good. As a guardian of the State's most valuable prop- erty, as a dispenser of her public justice, and as a manager of her system of popular education- the palladium of her liberties-our departed friend filled up his measure of service to the community, heaped and running over. Rut be- sides this, he filled many posts of private duty. Hlis sound judgment and integrity were sought by several leading financial institutions, in which he served as director, and he aided in organizing that gigantic engine of providence and benevo-
*See addenda for Foreman and Forman.
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lence, the Equitable Life Assurance Society. He was a consistent Christian and deeply interested in church work and religious education, and his influence was thus always on the side of enlight- enment, good morals, and true progress. As such men yield to the common destiny, lay down their burdens and pass away, we may justly sor- row at their loss; but in their well rounded term of years and honors and public services, we may realize an example which will act long after they are gone, and will perpetuate their memory in a line of honorable and devoted lives, which is a true immortality, though, as we humbly believe. not the only immortality of well doing reserved for them. We tender our respectful sympathy to the family and relatives of our deceased friend, and will attend the funeral ceremonies, and we direct the secretary of the meeting to present this resolution to the courts of this county, and to request its entry on the minutes, and that a copy be forwarded to the family of the deceased.
Lovely and lovable, a devoted wife and faithful mother, Mrs. Randolph was the pride of her husband and the joy of her children. One of the three heirs of the late John B. Forman estate, her executive abili- ty in financial and executive affairs was giv- en ample scope and was proven of high quality. An immaculate house-keeper, al- ways surrounded by a circle of friends, her hospitality was unbounded. Her notable charm of manner and gracious personality blended with a sincerity of purpose, eman- ating from a strong Christian character. Her judgment was excellent, she was a lib- eral provider, and known for her generosity and philanthropy. In 1861 the family mov- ed to Jersey City, Judge Randolph presid- ing over the First District Court of Hud- son county, and there she was much sought after by the representative people in the church and in society, and was greatly be- loved by all. Her charming personality and lovable characteristics never forsook her, but, witty, brilliant. and beautiful to the last, she delighted those who knew her. An accident terminated her life in her eighty-ninth year, while living in Freehold in the new residence built by her upon the retirement of the family after Judge Ran- dolph's death in 1890.
She was a daughter of John Burrowes Forman and Hope Henderson, his wife, and granddaughter of Hon. Thomas Henderson, a graduate of Princeton, a distinguished physician and patriot of the Revolutionary period, a descendant of Michael Hender- son, grandson of Sir Michael Balfour, of England. The Formans are descended from Robert Forman, an Englishman, who came to this country in 1645. The connec- tion of the family with the Wyckoffs by marriage, the Seymours, of New York, and many promient lines and people is most in- teresting.
A great shock to Mrs. Randolph and one that came but a few years after the death of her honored husband was the passing of her son-in-law, Judge Bedle, who died Oc- tober 21, 1894. Seven years later she was again prostrated by the death of her son- in-law, Honorable Flavel McGee, who died August 12. 1901. In August, 1906, a fav- orite and devoted daughter, Miss Frances Forman Fitz Randolph, died, and two years later, on August 21, Mrs. Randolph suc- cumbed to accidental injuries, survived by her daughters, Mrs. Althea F. Randolph, widow of ex-Governor Bedle, and Mrs. Julia F. Randolph, widow of Flavel McGee, and Mrs. Isabella Minor. Mrs. Minor died June 10, 1910, leaving a daughter, Sus- an Brown Minor, a resident of New York City. Mrs. McGee died November 30, 1912, leaving Mrs. Bedle the last survivor of her family.
SPELLMEYER, Henry, D. D., LL.D., Distinguished Methodist Divine.
"Nothing must ever interfere with my duty," was ever Bishop Spellmeyer's motto, and nothing ever did, his end coming while he was presiding over a session of the New Jersey Conference at Atlantic City, after the conference had been in session three days. The life of Henry Spellmeyer was re- markable for its contiued development from
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youth to its close. A University graduate at eighteen years, a member of the Newark Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church at twenty-one, his thirty-five years of unbroken pastoral work a succession of honorable promotions to important charges and church official position, the final honor came at the age of fifty-seven years, when the General Conference of his church be- stowed its highest trust in electing him a bishop by six hundred and twelve out of six hundred and ninety-one votes, the larg- est vote ever cast for that high office in the history of the church.
Numerous were the important posts he filled, yet no honor or promotion ever came to him that he did not earn by persistent toil and genuine merit. He never under- took anything without special preparation. For his public utterances he did not depend upon the inspiration of the minute. This habit of mind brought to him a furnishing and equipment which served him to good purpose in his later ministry and particu- larly when he came to the episcopacy, for he had a fund of well thought out material with which to stimulate and inspire a seem- ingly extemporaneous address. He was no less careful in deeds than in speech. If he had a problem in administration to meet he gave it the most painstaking consideration, viewing it from every possible angle. This would sometimes lead him to hesitation, but when he had fully examined the case and had gathered all possible light from all sources he was ready to act, and then he was immovable. Hence he was strong in the administration of the affairs of pastorate and episcopacy.
His sense of justice was very keen and was applied to all his affairs. Unwilling to be imposed upon he was even stronger in his purpose not to impose upon others ; and while keenly feeling an injustice in- flicted upon him he was ever ready to throw the mantle of charity over those responsible for the act. To say a kind word, to do a
kind deed, was his great pleasure. That fine vein of sympathy and kindness that was so marked in his family relations as son, as husband, as father, as brother, was felt in all other associations in which he moved. Its manifestation in his pastoral work great- ly endeared him to all to whom he minis- tered and was a decided factor in his marvel- ous success as a shepherd of souls.
Bishop Spellnieyer was a very popular preacher, multitudes gathering to listen to his exposition of the Word. He used no sensational methods, but with refinement and dignity conducted all of his services as became the Gospel of Christ and one who had a serious message to deliver to men. He knew the needs of the human heart, and his one purpose was to meet that necessity in so far as he could as an ambassador of the Master. His sermons were deeply spir- itual, his expression very clear, his voice superior and well trained, his appearance attractive. He seemed to be able always to say the right thing in the right way and to make his meaning easily understood. Said a contemporary : "He is a model of chaste- ness, clearness, and expression, while the matter is pure beaten oil. He is an elocu- tionist of high cultured type and this he brings into the pulpit with both grace and unction. His sermons would do to go into print without either erasure or addition or change of a jot or tittle." Said another : "We witnessed his goings forth among a people who saw in his busy footsteps the tracery of feet of mercy : we were cognizant of the steady grasp of his pulpit ministrations on vast congregations of edified hearers ; we saw him in the Conference as a steady force interpenetrating all church interests. We knew him when repeatedly smitten by grief, in a short time resignedly bowing to the will of God, nothing daunted; we enjoyed his personal friendship when among strange brethren, and we are prepared to say that we have never known a minister of Christ who more perfectly measured up to our ideal
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as a preacher, pastor, and all round pyra- midal man 'who stood four square to every wind that blows.'"
While the pulpit was his throne, he met all the exacting requirements of the loving, faithful pastor, systematically, carefully, and persistently. He made the rounds of pastoral calls, going from house to house in search of his people, and when the round was completed repeated his visits again and again, giving the most pronounced sympathy and brotherly help to those afflicted in body, mind, or estate. He was a welcome visitor in the homes of the sick and the poor and in the homes of the rich and prosperous, for he neglected none, the conviction of the su- preme importance of his work being ever with him. He felt that men were lost with- out the Gospel and that it was his particular mission to lead them to Christ. His minis- try was evangelistic : he had revivals in all his charges; his meetings were scenes of great spiritual power and many hundreds were converted and led into the church. He was an indefatigable worker and noth- ing social or secular was permitted to in- terfere with the complete fulfillment of his ministerial duty.
Into the episcopacy Bishop Spellmeyer brought the full application of all the ener- gy and industry which had characterized him as a pastor. One sentence from an ad- dress in response to a great welcome given him on taking up his official residence in Cincinnati truly reveals the man : "I give to you my heart and hand in friendliest greet- ing and my promise to you is to do all I can for everybody I can in in any way I can." This promise he kept. When later the General Conference fixed his official residence at St. Louis, he became an unusual influence among the religious forces of that city and universally esteemed and loved by all who met him. He was particularly strong and happy in his administration of an annual conference. As a presiding officer he com- manded the highest respect, was proficient as a parliamentarian and graceful in his deport-
ment in the chair. His brotherly spirit awak- ened immediate confidence in the hearts of his brethren : they saw that he comprehend- ed the delicacies of the situation and would be absolutely fair in the exercise of his power and responsibility. A Methodist ann- ual conference is unlike any other body on earth, either political or religious. It is a very democratic body, and every man in it is a potential district superintendent, or even bishop. There is no law of caste or of preference ; free speech exists to the full- est degree; the only inflexible law of the conference is loyalty to the church and to the bishop presiding. Hence the bishop holds a peculiar position, and one that re- quires the highest type of consecrated man- hood. Bishop Spellmeyer, so refined, so gentle, but so strong, met every requirement. He studied each particular case with great care, keeping in view the interests of the church and of the pastor, both very dear to him. He encouraged each one to come to him with perfect frankness and to tell him the needs and conditions of his case. He did not ask for the maintenance of secrecy in reference to appointments, preferring to have the problem openly and clearly worked out. But his open heartedness, gentleness, and fairness were not signs of any lack of firmness, and at the close of a Conference session, when the appointments had been read, he was perfectly willing to meet and to talk with any disappointed man. Bishop Berry characterized him as "manly, brother- ly, level headed, discriminating, and sympa- thetic ;" another contemporary as "humble, sympathetic, approachable. graceful, and tactful in administration, a fervent preach- er of the Gospel, a man upon whom the Church can look with justifiable pride at any time and under any circumstance."
The pecuniary necessities and embarrass- mnents of men in the conferences where he presided appealed to him strongly, and for the relief of such cases he maintained a fund. When he received compensation for special services, such as dedications or other
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occasions, deducting the mere amount of personal expense he would place this re- mainder with this fund and sacredly devote it to the relief of his brethren who might be in need.
Bishop Spellmeyer was of American birth, his parents German and Scotch. His father, Matthias Henry Spellmeyer, was born and spent his youth in Germany. His mother, Mary Jamison, was born on one of the Shetland Islands, off the coast of Scotland. They met in the United States and were married January 16, 1847. Henry, the eldest of their three children, was born in New York City, November 25, 1847, died in Atlantic City, New Jersey, March 12. 1910. It was his mother's dearest wish that he become a minister, and it was her daily practice, after he came to an age of under- standing, to retire with him to her room to pray that he might grow up to be a good minister of Jesus Christ. Whatever might have been his own convictions, it required persuasion from those interested in him to convince him that he would be able to meet such a responsibility. At the age of fifteen years he entered the University of New York, pursuing the regular classical course and carrying off the honors at his gradua- tion, three years later. He tutored for a time in a private family, then decided upon the ministry, completed a course at Union Theological Seminary, and at the age of twenty-one years was received on probation by the Newark Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in March. 1869. His first appointment was at Kingsley Church, Staten Island, within two miles of his fath- er's home. There he served three years, building up the church in all departments and endearing himself to the people of the charge. He was next stationed at Bloom- field, New Jersey, where a remarkable re- vival attended his ministry. He remained at Bloomfield for three years, although one of the most prominent churchies of the Con- ference appealed for his services. When his 'term expired, as fixed by church law.
three of the most important churches of the Conference insisted upon his being assigned to them. The presiding bishop appointed him to the Central Church of Newark, and that church further secured him as pastor until his combined service numbered eleven years, two terms under the three year limit and one term under the five year limit. The other churches which he served during an unbroken pastorate of thirty-five years in the Newark Conference were Saint James, at Elizabeth, Trinity at Jersey City, Calvary at East Orange and Roseville, and Centen- ary at Newark. While with the latter church, he was a delegate to the Ecumeni- cal Conference held in London, England. In each case. while the time limit was in force, he remained in pastoral charge as long as church law allowed, and it is a remark- able fact that his whole itinerant ministry was spent in an area that could be covered by the naked eye from an eminence in the vicinity of any of his charges. There was scarcely a year in all the thirty-five years when urgent efforts were not made to se- cure his transfer to large and responsible fields of labor outside of the Newark Con- ference, but he was in love with his work where he best knew it and no tempting calls could induce him to leave it. In each case he was so absorbed with the pastorate he was serving that men sometimes failed to appreciate the breadth of his sympathy. but his real vision did take in the broad arca of the Kingdom of Christ and he had the greatest interest in other men's successes as well as his own.
While yet a minister he bore various re- sponsibilities bestowed by his brethren. He was a trustee of the Centenary Collegiate Institute, Syracuse University, and Drew Theological Seminary. He was a delegate from the Newark Conference to the Gener- al Conferences of 1896. 1900, and 1904: and in 1896 the General Conference, in forming its committees, placed hinì on the Book Concern, and also made him a mem- ber of the book committee. When the lat-
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