USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume II > Part 38
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ter created a committee on the entertainment of the General Conference of 1900, they selected Dr. Spellmeyer as chairman. In that capacity he quickly demonstrated his ability in business matters and administra- tion. His ready grasp of all details and his superior ability, so manifest whenever he appeared before the body to give notices or to present plans commanded close attention and admiration from all delegates. The Editor of the "Church Advocate," the of- ficial organ, wrote that "successive Confer- ences may try in vain to find a chairman of the Entertainment Committee that will sur- pass him." The General Conference of 1900 decided upon two new bishops. Dr. Spellmeyer, although receiving considerable more than a majority of all votes cast did not reach the legal two thirds required to elect. He was continued a member of the book committee and was again chairman of the entertainment committee of the General Conference of 1904. At that conference he was elected bishop by a vote that was the largest ever cast for a candidate for that of- fice. The conference fixed his official resi- dence at Cincinnati, Ohio, and in 1906 as- signed him to visit the Methodist confer- ences and mission in the orient. He made this journey accompanied by his wife, traveling about sixteen thousand miles, being at times in great peril. While on the Yangzte river he wrote: "Twice our house-boat has been wrecked, twice the bamboo rope has broken and we were at the mercy of a fierce tide and great rocks waiting for a chance to strike. Once the rope slipped from the track- er's hands with the same perils increased somewhat by our nearness to most danger- ous whirlpools and projecting sharp-edged ledges of stone. But notwithstanding our anxieties and record breaking trip for ad- venture, the journey has been a great de- light to me and I have had no sense of ser- ious alarm, believing that somehow we would get ashore before the boat could sink and knowing that I was on the path of duty, where the one who has faith can feel that on
that road God is his companion and pro- tection." Of China he wrote: "China is discontented with herself. At least she wants better things, better implements for her farmers, better scholarship for her stu- dents, and a better faith for her 400,000,- 000. China is building school houses and railroad, and electric plants. She is ready to welcome the hand that will lift her to a higher plane in the history of nations. This is the red letter day of opportunity for the Christian Church. If Christ were on earth today saying again 'Go' to his apostles, I do not know where he would tell them to 'begin' but I think in this age it would be Cliina, rather than Jerusalem." The trip home was retarded by the serious illness of Mrs. Spellmeyer at Bombay, India. On his return, his official residence was fixed at St. Louis, Missouri. His last official assign- ment was to preside over the annual meet- ing of the New Jersey Conference at At- lantic City in March, 1910. There he had presided three full days, winning all hearts by his fraternal spirit and felicitous bear- ing. He was particularly enjoyable on Fri- day, when candidates for the ministry were being received, and none could have thought that they were looking upon his face for the last time. On the morrow they were startled with the sad news, "Bishop Spellmeyer is dead," taken from the midst of his own New Jersey friends, of which most fitting end Dr. Fred Clare Baldwin writes in the following lines :
"Here had he caught the Master's call ; Here had he served unceasingly :
Here was he known and loved by all,
Here by the Eastern Sea.
Here were the friends of the days of yore;
Here were the comrades he loved to greet : Here were the homes with the open door, Here was the welcome sweet.
Here was the soil that he loved to tread ;
Here was the land of the smiling sky :
Here was the place where his heart had bled. Here he came home to die."
Without solicitation from any one, Syra- cuse University conferred upon him, on the
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recommendation of Chancellor Sims, the degree of Doctor of Divinity when he was thirty-four years of age. In 1905 his alma mater, New York University, conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws.
While serving in his first pastorate on Staten Island he married, November 8, 1871, at Haverstraw, New York, Matilda, daughter of Rev. Thomas Smith, of the Newark Conference. There were four chil- dren; the eldest, a daughter, married Mr. James Boote, of East Orange, New Jersey ; the other three died in infancy.
SUTTON, Frederick,
Financier, Man of Enterprise.
Heroic death was a fate shared by many of the hundreds of the victims of that great marine tragedy, the loss of the steamship "Titanic" in the spring of 1912. but it was not admiration for a man who had met his death with fearlessness and fortitude that caused the former friends and colleagues of Frederick Sutton to bear testimony of him as a man of "commanding ability, sterling integrity, and strong personality, whose as- pirations were lofty and whose hopes were ideals." Rather were those words written in appreciation of one with whom they had enjoyed pleasant business relations, upon whose honor they had come to rely, and whose friendship they counted a precious possession. Frederick Sutton was long a resident of Haddonfield, New Jersey, al- though his business interests were in Phila- delphia, where he was engaged in coffee importation, and in public service companies of New Jersey, notably Wildwood, one of the popular watering places of the Atlantic coast.
Frederick Sutton was born in Suffolk county, England, in 1850, son of George and Elizabeth Sutton, and in that country acquired his education, coming to the United States at the age of twenty. He was but twenty-six years of age when he founded the coffee importing firm of Sutton
& Vansant, a concern whose operations, large and widespread, brought prosperity to the partners. Mr. Sutton's excellent judgment and business sagacity led him in- to wise investments of his resources, the de- velopment of seashore porperty being a field in which he was especially interested. At the time of the founding of Wildwood, now a resort with all claims to prominence as an ideal watering place, he was a heavy in- vestor, and was a director of the Marine National Bank of Wildwood, the Five Mile Beach Electric Company. the North Wild- wood Land Company, and the Wildwood Manor Hotel Company, also being a direc- tor of the West Jersey Electric Company, with lines running to the above resort. Mr. Sutton was at the time of his death presi- dent of the Collingswood ( New Jersey) National Bank.
With so many of his business interests centering in Philadelphia, he naturally there formed associations of a social nature, and was a member. among numerous other or- ganizations of the Union League, also for many years serving as president of the So- ciety of St. George. A brilliant mind and pleasing personality made him a favorite among his fellows, and he was a welcome addition to any gathering.
Mr. Sutton's residence in Haddonfield, New Jersey, began soon after his establish- ment of the firm of Sutton & Vansant, and there he lived at the time of liis death. Ill health had taken him abroad, where he made a short stay, and he was one of the pas- sengers on the liner "Titanic" when that vessel struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage. His death was mourned with that sincerity of grief that is the highest tribute to a man who has lived a life of useful- ness and rectitude, for into the sixty-two years of his life he had crowded much of earnest effort and high attainment. There follows the resolutions adopted by the board of directors of the Collingswood National Bank, of which he was president :
At a special meeting of the board of directors
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of the Collingswood National Bank, held April 22, 1912, convened for the purpose of expressing its sorrow and deep regret at the untimely and tragic passing away of their late president and colleague, Mr. Frederick Sutton. in the disaster of the steamship Titanic, on the morning of April 15, 1912, the following resolution was adopted :
Whereas :-- The Divine Architect of the Uni- verse has seen fit to remove from our midst our devoted President, a man of commanding ability, sterling integrity, and strong personality, whose aspirations were lofty and whose hopes were ideals, who succeeded in many of the ob- jects for which he strove, who gave his time, his thoughts, and his means for this institution with- out any reward; one who was admired and loved by his associates for his strength of character, genial nature, grace, and dignity. To him and his wise counsel is largely due not only the success- ful upbuilding of this institution, but also the growth, development, and success of other asso- ciations of which he was a part, and
Whereas :- His death leaves his associates and the Board of Directors of this bank with a pro- found sense of loss and with the greatest admir- ation for his many fine qualities of character and although we deplore his unfortunate end, yet it is with pride and patriotism that we point to him as one of the many men who stepped back on the ill-fated steamship "Titanic" in response to that noble Anglo-Saxon sentiment "Women and Children First" and thus died that others might be saved.
Therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Directors of this bank extend to his relatives and many friends their heartfelt sympathy and sin- cere condolence, as we feel that we do not mourn alone, and further be it resolved that a copy of this resolution be sent to the family and that a copy be spread upon the minutes of this institution.
EDWARD S. SHELDON, Vice-President, DAVID S. RUSH, Cashier.
Frederick Sutton married, October 18, 1877, Ella, daugliter of William Under- clown, still living at the Haddonfield home. Children : Elizabeth Aslıburner, deceased ; Florence Ellen, now Mrs. Francis H. Tom- lin, of Haddonfield ; Jennie Banham. de- ceased.
GODLEY, John Forman,
Enterprising Business Man.
The late John Forman Godley, of Tren- ton, New Jersey, was a fine example of a
man born to command. Wise to plan, quick in action, capable of prolonged labor, all these qualities were combined with a power of close concentration. He liad a habit of investigating thoroughly every detail of a proposed enterprise, and of calculating closely the probable consequences of any given policy. Every subject was given in- tense thought, and when satisfied with the conclusions at which he had arrived, he had the courage of his convictions in the face of determined opposition. His mistakes in judgment were few and far between.
William Godley, great-grandfather of John Forman Godley, married Mary Rock- hill, daughter of Edward Rockhill, a prom- inent man of Hunterdon county. New Jer- sey.
William Godley, son of William and Mary (Rockhill) Godley, bought a tract of land of two hundred acres, in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, in 1791, and the fol- owing year built the large stone homestead on it. The Godleys were Methodists, and as there was no church in the neighbor- hood, the Presiding Elder held meetings at regular intervals at this homestead. He married (first) Abigail Grandin, and when she died he married (second) her sister Eleanor (Grandin) Covenhoven, a widow, daughters of Philip and Eleanor ( Forman) Grandin. Philip Grandin was commission- ed major of the Second Military Battalion by Governor Franklin. April 10, 1771.
AAugustus Godley, son of William -and Eleanor (Grandin-Covenhoven) Godley, was born on the Godley homestead in Hun- terdon county, New Jersey. He was the owner of a mill, and Godley Mills, Hunter- don county, was named in his honor. He was also possessor of other extensive lands in Hunterdon county, New Jersey. He finally sold his mill and retired to the home- stead which, after his death, was purchased by his son, John Forman Godley. Augus- tus Godley married, (first) Mary Dis- brougli. (second) Elizabeth Paul Forman, a descendant of Rev. William Forman, of England, whose son, Robert Forman. lad
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returned to England from Holland, having married Johanna , and from thence immigrating to America, locating in Flush- ing, Long Island, in 1645. Their son, Aaron Forman, married Dorothy Their son, Samuel Forman, High Sheriff of Mon- mouth, 1695, married Mary Wilfore, of Rhode Island. Their fourth son, Ezekiel Forman, married Elizabeth Seabrook, sis- ter of Daniel Seabrook. Their son, Dr. Aaron Forman, married Ann Emley, daugh- ter of John and Sarah (Lawrence) Emley. Their son, John Emley Forman, married Sidney Paul Rakestraw. Their daughter, Elizabeth Paul Forman, became the second wife of Augustus Godley and mother of John Forman Godley.
John Forman Godley, son of Augustus and Elizabeth Paul (Forman) Godley, was born on the Godley homestead, at Godley Mills, Hunterdon county, New Jersey, Au- gust 21, 1845, and died at Trenton. New Jersey, April 22, 1913. His elementary ed- ucation was acquired in the town of his birth, and he then became a student at the Excelsior Normal Institute at Carversville, and later at the Attleboro Institution, Penn- sylvania. About the year 1875 he removed to Trenton, and there established himself in the wholesale bedding and spring business, in association with Jacob C. Bloom, the firm name being Bloom & Godley. They com- menced business in a modest way in a small building on South Warren street, near Fall street. Three years later they had outgrown their quarters, and rented a structure on South Broad street, opposite Lafayette. The progressive methods put into practice here caused a steady and consistent increase in the demands made upon their business re- sources, and they soon outgrew these quar- ters also. In 1889 they erected a large and modern plant at Nos. 203-207 North Willow street, which is the present home of this important concern. It has been found necessary to improve and make additions to the original building from time to time' as the growing needs demanded. This firm
is the only one in the city which manufac- tures bedding and bed springs, and one of the very few in the State engaged in this in- dustry. About eight years prior to the death of Mr. Godley, the business was in- corporated. at which tiine Mr. Godley was chosen president of the corporation, Mr. Bloom was made treasurer, and William Cooley, of Trenton, secretary.
The reliable methods which have char- acterized this business from the outset have resulted in gaining the confidence of all who have had dealings with it, and the majority of its patrons are of very long standing. Mr. Godley never held public office, holding the opinion that he was best serving the in- terests of the community by devoting his time and attention to increasing her mater- ial prosperity by means of his business. He has, however, always been a generous and hearty supporter of any project which tend- ed for the public welfare in any particular. Of a deeply religious nature, Mr. Godley was a member of the Third Presbyterian Church for a period of thirty-five years, during thirty of which he taught a class of young men in the Sunday school. He was a member of the church session for almost a quarter of a century, serving as sessional treasurer about eighteen years. In early years he became a member of the Young Men's Christian Association, and at the time of his death had been a director of this organization for many years. His fine and commodious residence was at No. 197 West State street.
Mr. Godley married Sarah E. Hunt, youngest daughter of Edward and Effie Hunt, of Milford, New Jersey. He was buried in Milford Union Cemetery, in the beautiful family plot, marked by a hand- some granite monument, of noble propor- tions. The view from here, looking up the river to the west among the hills to the set- ting sun, is most charming and not to be forgotten by those who have looked upon the beautiful scene. Mr. Godley was of a genial, warm-hearted disposition. and his
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generosity and philanthropy were well known. A tale of distress was always a passport to his sympathetic heart, and he did not rest until the trouble had been allev- iated to the best of his ability. The entire career of Mr. Godley was marked by up- rightness and sincerity of purpose.
MERSELIS, Edo I.,
Financier, Man of Affairs.
The life history of Edo I. Merselis, late of Paterson. New Jersey, one of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of the community in which he lived, has been replete with work well and conscientiously performed. He was not a man to shrink from any duty however irksome, and he had inherited in rich measure the steling traits which distinguished his ancestors, con- cerning whom it is fitting at this place to say a few words.
There are several traditions regarding the racial origin of this family, and it may be said that not all chroniclers of its history are agreed in respect to the manner of spelling the surname now generally recog- nized and written as Merselis. Nor is this surprising when we consider the fact that those sturdy old Holland Dutch immigrants came to America without family names, and when finally such were adopted, they fre- quently were spelled phonetically rather than in accordance with established family custom. A. A. Vosterman Van Oyen, keep- er of the Heraldic College genealogical ar- chives of the Netherlands, in one of his pub- lications says: "although the ancestor of the family known to us and belonging to the Danish nobility was born at Hamburg it seems, however, that the family originat- ed from some other place, very likely Den- mark. Several patrician families of this name lived in Belgium, whose coat armour, however, not only differ each from the oth- er, but also do not show any comparison with the different branches raised to the Danish nobility." J. B. Rietstap, in his
"Coat Armor of the Netherland Nobility," mentions a coat of arms as follows: "in silver an elephant in natural color upon a meadow whereon are three trees; the one in the middle is placed before the elephant. This animal carries upon his back a tower, from which a female rises in red or seen from aside. The crest is the elephant with the tower and female." He claims this to be a coat patented to a Van Marselis, Sep- tember 17, 1643. The first Van Marselis of the Netherlands to whom the American branch can trace its ancestry in an unbroken line is :
(I) Jan Van Marselis, born in the early part of the year 1500, married N. N. Van der March.
(II) Jan Van Marselis, son of Jan and N. N. (Van der March) Van Marselis, married Dina Van Duffel d'Elswith.
(III) Gabriel Van Marselis, son of Jan and Dina (Van Duffel d' Elswith) Van Marselis. resident at Commissary of the King of Denmark at Hamburg. married Anna Ehrmit d'Ermitage, and died at Ham- burg, July 20, 1643. They had four sons : Gabriel; Pieter, of further mention ; Leon- ard ; Silvius : and one daughter.
(IV) Pieter Van Marselis, son of Ga- briel and Anna Ehrmit (d'Armitage) Van Marselis, was born in Hamburg in the early part of 1600. He represented Russia at the Court of Denmark and was elevated to the Danish nobility, September 17, 1643, and granted the coat of armor described by Rietstap, as mentioned above. He was the progenitor of the American branch of the Van Marselis family. He left Amsterdam, Holland, in April, 1661, with his wife and four children (Aged respectively twelve, six, four and two years) and with their two servants, in the Dutch West India ship "Beaver" or "Bever," and arrived at New Amsterdam (New York), May 9 of the same year. The ships register shows that he paid two hundred thirty-two florins pas- sage money for his family of eight persons, from which it is evident that our immigrant
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ancestor was possessed of goodly means as well as being a person of consequence. He soon removed to Bergen, New Jersey, set- tled there, and died in 1682. His wife died there in 1680. The place where he settled was then a Dutch hamlet and Indian trading post on the hill between the Hudson river and Newark Bay, in the Indian county of Scheyichbi, in the New Netherlands. There he acquired lands and became a planter. He was appointed schepen (alderman) of Ber- gen county, August 18, 1673, during the re- occupation of New Netherlands by the Dutch, and as a mark of honor was buried under the Dutch Church of Bergen, at his death, September 4, 1682. On August 20. 1682, he conveyed property to his son-in- law, Roeloff Van Houten.
In this connection it is well to mention that this Pieter Van Marselis is identical with him of whom Riker records as Pieter Mar- celisen, or Peter Marcelis. and who, ac- cording to the same authority, was born in Beest, near Leerdam, province of Utrecht, Holland; and he is the same Pieter Marcel- isen referred to by Neafie, himself a de- scendant of Pieter, and who says in his historical narrative that Pieter "might have been born in Leerdam, but when he came to America he was from the village of Beest, near the town of Buren, in the province of Gelderland," and also that at least three of his children were born in Beest. Riker also notes that he is said to have been Van Beest, which means "from Beest." It may be stated here that this Pieter Van Marsel- is dropped the prefix Van from his name.
According to Harvey, the historian of Bergen county, the children of Pieter Mar- celisen were James, Jannetje, Pieter, Mer- selis, Elizabeth and Hillegond. Mr. Labaw says "the name and sex of the first one we do not know :" that the second was called Marcelis (always called Marcelis Pieterse) ; the third Jannetje, who married Roelof Helmigse Van Houten; and the fourth Neesje Pieterse, who married Gerrit Gerrit- sen, Jr. But Mr. Labaw takes account only
of the four children of Pieter who accom- panied their parents to America. A more recent, and perhaps more accurate account of the children of Pieter Van Marcelis is as follows: 1. Hessil Pieterse, married (first) Lysbot Kuper, (second), February 6, 1714, Magdelena Bruyn. 2. Marcelis Pieterse, of further mention. 3. Jannetje Pieterse. mar- ried, September 3. 1676, Helmigh Roelofer Van Houten, ancestor of all the American Van Houtens. 4. Neesje Pieterse, married, May II, 1681, Gerrit Gerritse Van Wag- eningen, and became ancestor of the Van Wagoner and Garritse families.
(V) Marcelis Pieterse Van Marselis, second child of Pieter Van Marselis or Mer- celisen, is accorded progenitorship of the Preakness families of the Merselis surname. He was born about 1656, and died, October 23, 1747. He married, May 12, 1681, Pieterjie Van Vorst, daughter of Ide and Hieletje (Hulda) Jans. Children (perhaps others of whom appears no record) : Eliz- abeth, married Adrain Post, Jr. ; Hillegont- je, married Harpert Garrabant; Pieter, of further mention; Edo, married Ariantje Sip, a cousin : Annetje : Catreyna, married Reynier Van Geisen ; Leena, married Dirck Van Giesen : Jannetje, married Johann Van Zolingen.
(VI) Pieter (Peter) Van Marselis, son of Marcelis (or Merselis Pieterse) Van Marselis, was baptized July 17, 1687, and died April 1, 1770. He married. December 3, 1717, Janneke Prior. Children: Mersel- is, married Elizabeth Vlierboom :
died in infancy ; daughter, name unknown ; Pieter, married in New York, Hannah Els- worth ; Andries : John, married Beletje Van Wagonen: Edo, of further mention; two children, died in infancy : Antje : Johannee ; Jenneke, married Gerrit Sip ; Rachel : Mary ; Elizabeth.
(VII) Edo Van Merselis, seventh child of Pieter and Janneke ( Prior) Van -Mer- selis, was born January 27, 1729, and died October 12, 1799. He is said to have been the first Merselis to settle in what afterward
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became Wayne township, where he had a large and valuable tract of land which, after his death, was divided into several small farms; his old homestead is still owned by his descendants. He made a public dona- tion of land for a burial ground and meet- ing house site. He married, April 11, 1754, Ariante Sip, daughter of Ide and Antje (Van Wagonen) Sip. Children (May have been others of whom there is no record) : Antje, married Simeon Van Winkle; Jan- netje, married (first) Adrain Van Houten, (second) Enoch J. Vreeland : Pieter, mar- ried Jannetje (Hettie) Van Winkle; Edo, married Helen Van Houten; Cornelius, married Maria Post; John, married Jan- netje Van Riper ; Catlyntje, married Isaac Van Saun, of Lower Preakness: Arreyant- je, married John Parke; Gerrit of further mention.
(VIII) Gerrit Merselis, youngest son and child of Edo and Ariantje (Sip) Van Marselis, was born in Preakness. New Jer- sey, October 1, 1777, and died. April 2, 1843, on the old homestead farm where his life had been chiefly spent. He married, May 3, 1799, Ellen (or Lena) De Gray. Chil- dren (may have been others) : Marea; Jane; Edo; John D., of further mention ; Ann; Peter G., married Eleanor F. Sickles ; Ellen.
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