USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume III > Part 17
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Children of Thomas and Frances Kil- borne: 1. Margaret Kilborne, born in Wood Ditton, England, 1607; came with her parents to America in 1635; married Richard Law, a prominent citizen of Wethersfield and Stamford. 2. Thomas Kilborne, baptized November 30, 1609; he came to America in 1634, in the ship "Elizabeth," with his wife Elizabeth, set- tling at Ipswich, but as there is no record of his descendants it is supposed that he returned to England. 3. George Kilborne,
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baptized February 12, 1612; was a resi- dent of Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1638, and in 1640 was admitted a freeman of Rowley ; he married Elizabeth. 4. Eliza- beth Kilborne, baptized May 12, 1614; did not come to America. 5. Lydia Kil- borne, baptized July 14, 1616; came to America with her parents ; married Rob- ert Howard, of Windsor, Connecticut. 6. Mary, born 1619; came with her parents in 1635 ; married John Root, an early set- tier of Farmington, Connecticut, where both were members of the church in 1679. 7. Frances Kilborne, baptized September 4, 1621; came with the family in 1635; married Thomas Ufford (or Uffoot) of Stratford, Connecticut. 8. Sergeant John Kilborne, of further mention.
Sergeant John Kilborne was baptized at Wood Ditton, England, September 29, 1624, and died in Wethersfield, Connecti- cut, April 9. 1703. He came with his par- ents in the "Increase" in 1635, and settled with them in Wethersfield, on the west side of the Connecticut river, six miles below the present city of Hartford. For nearly forty years he was a conspicuous figure in the town, holding the office of collector, lister, constable, selectman and deputy to the General Court, and at the May session of that body in 1662 he was appointed a member of the Colonial Grand Jury. In May, 1657, he was con- firmed by the General Court "to be Ser- geant at Wethersfield," a post he held for eighteen years, resigning in October, 1676. He was often a grand juror of Hartford county, and in May. 1677, was on the "Jury of Life and Death." Sergeant Kil- bourn (as he wrote his name in his will) married, in 1650, Naomi -, who died October 1, 1659, leaving children: John Thomas and Naomi. He married (sec- ond) Sarah, daughter of John Bronson, who bore him children : Ebenezer, of fur- ther mention; Sarah, George, Mary, Jo-
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seph and Abraham. The line of descent is through Ebenezer, eldest son of Ser- geant John by his second wife.
Ebenezer Kilbourn was born in Glaston- bury, Connecticut, March 10, 1679. died in Morris county, New Jersey, about 1732. He married, June 1, 1698, Sarah Fox, who died October 18, 1714, the mother of ten children: Susannah, Ebenezer, Richard, Sarah, Josiah, Elizabeth, Gideon, Amos, Naomi and David Kilbourn. He married (second) May 14, 1715, Elizabeth Davis, of Hartford, by whom he had three sons, all born in Morris county, New Jersey : James, Thomas, and Gershom, of further mention.
Gershom Kilborn was born in Morris county, New Jersey, February 7, 1732, died in Orange, New Jersey, April 26, 1813. He married (first) Phebe Lindsley, and had children: Moses Kilborn, a sol- dier of the Revolution ; Samuel, died aged seventeen years; Abner, died aged four- teen years. He married (second) Mrs. Eunice Harrison Conger, and had four children: Elizabeth, died young; Jabez Davis, of further mention; Daniel, died young ; Captain Daniel, a captain in the War of 1812.
Jabez Davis Kilburn was born in Or- .ange, New Jersey, October 31, 1773, and died there September 23, 1849. He be- came a prominent citizen of Orange, and a large landowner. He held the offices of moderator, judge of election, and com- missioner of appeals. He was a vice- president of the county convention which met in Newark, Tuesday, April 3, 1844, and proposed Theodore Frelinghuysen as a candidate for Vice-President of the United States, and was president of a mass meeting of citizens in Newark the following September to further his nomi- nation. He married Esther Baldwin, and had children: Elizabeth, died in infancy ; Thomas Daniels, of further mention ;
Isaac Baldwin, died unmarried; Charles Lalliet, died in Newark, June 23, 1837; Mary, died in childhood ; Mary (2), died in Orange, October 22, 1838.
Thomas Daniels Kilburn was born in Orange, New Jersey, October 9, 1796, and died February 15, 1882. He was a promi- nent citizen, farmer and landowner, the old Kilburn farm lying along South Or- ange avenue, now being known as the Tuxedo Park tract. He served the town as overseer of highways and commis- sioner of appeals ; took a deep interest in the welfare of his community, and to his memory stands Kilburn Memorial Pres- byterian Church at South Orange ave- nue and Norwood street, founded by his two daughters, Margaretta D. and Clara C. Kilburn. He married, October 7, 1823, Abby Condit, born March 29, 1804, died April 26, 1880. Children : Esther B., mar- ried Ira Taylor, of South Orange; Isaac B., married Mary E. Dodd, and died July 30, 1879; Hannah L., married Amzi S. Dodd; Margaretta D .; Mary E .; Ira C., married Kate P. Alexander ; Charles Fleming, of further mention, and Clara C.
Charles Fleming Kilburn, of the eighth generation, youngest son of Thomas Dan- iels and Abby (Condit) Kilburn, was born at the Kilburn homestead, South Orange, New Jersey, August 28, 1844, and died in Newark, New Jersey, at St. Barnabas Hospital, June 27, 1915, and is buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Newark. He attended the public schools of South Or- ange until fifteen years of age, and then was sent to boarding school at Ferguson- ville, Delaware county, New York, where he completed his studies. He was asso- ciated with his brother, Isaac B. Kilburn, in the manufacture of bent wood until the latter's death in 1879, then conducted the business alone until 1885. From that time forward he devoted himself to the man- agement of the estates of his father and
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brother and to his own private interests. He was well known in real estate and business circles, and until within a year or two of his death maintained an office at 88 Mechanic street, Newark.
He was identified with the management of the old Waverly State Fair, was a member of the New Jersey Road Horse Association, and did a great deal to in- crease the usefulness of that organization. He was one of the original members of the board of governors of the Essex Club, was one of the first members of the Essex County Country Club and of the Bal- tusrol Club, an honorary member of the Essex Troop, and belonged to the Repub- lican Club of New York City. He was a devoted member of the South Park Pres- byterian Church, which he served as trus- tee, and in political faith was a Repub- lican. He was a man highly esteemed for his sterling qualities of mind and heart, possessed a wealth of friends, and left behind him an honored name.
Mr. Kilburn married, in South Orange, January 15, 1902, Grace Currier, who sur- vives him, daughter of Cyrus Chase and Harriet (Anderson) Currier. Children : Abby Condit Kilburn, born December 8, 1902 ; Gertrude Currier Kilburn, June 10, 1904; Charles Fleming (2nd) Kilburn, born February 22, 1906: Thomas Daniels Kilburn, born July 23, 1907.
(The Condit Line).
Abby (Condit) Kilburn. mother of Charles Fleming Kilburn, was a descend- ant of John Cunditt, who is first of men- tion in this country in 1678. He pur- chased lands "in the bounds of the town of Newark," Essex county, New Jersey, in 1689, from Richard Hore, and again in 1691 from Lawrence. In both transfers his name is spelled Condit, but in his will it is written "Cunditt." He is supposed to have been of English descent, but may have been a Welshman. He married in
Great Britain, but was a widower when he came to America in 1678, accompanied by his son Peter. He settled in Newark, New Jersey, and there married a second wife, Deborah, who bore him a son John, who died a minor. John Cunditt died in 1713 and left a will now on file in the office of the Secretary of State at Trenton, New Jersey. In it he devises "land and meadows" to "My Dearly Beloved Wife Deborah Cunditt," in Newark and else- where, in trust for their son John, but to Peter, his eldest son, very little, he prob- ably having had his share.
Peter Condit, son of John Cunditt by his first wife, came with his father to Newark, New Jersey, and there died in 1714, surviving his father but one year. His will on file in Trenton, dated Febru- ary 7. 1713. devises land and meadows in "Newark and elsewhere" to his sons, and to his daughter Mary. "twelve pounds money ;" to his wife Mary, whom he made sole executrix, all his personal estate not otherwise disposed of, and a third inter- est in his real estate "during her widow- hood." To his son Samuel he gave a "Weavers Loom commonly called Sain- uels Loom with all ye Tackling belong- ing to it." This would indicate that both father and son were weavers by trade. Peter Condit married, in 1695, Mary, daughter of John Harrison, a woman of strong character who reared her children most religiously. She was a descendant of Richard Harrison, who came from Cheshire, England, and died at Branford, Connecticut, October 25, 1653. They had six sons : Samuel, Peter, John, Nathaniel, Philip and Isaac; and a daughter, Mary. Three of these sons-John, Nathaniel and Isaac-settled at the foot of the Orange mountains; Samuel, the eldest, settled between the First and Second mountains : Peter and Philip settled in Morristown, New Jersey.
Samuel Condit, son of Peter and Mary
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(Harrison) Condit, was born at Newark, New Jersey, December 6, 1696, and died July 18, 1777, his gravestone in the Or- ange burying ground bearing the name "Samuel Conduit." with the date of his death. In 1720 he bought land between the Orange mountains, presumably from the Indians, as there is no former record of ownership. He gave during his life- time to each of his five sons, fifty acres of the home farm, and on each lot erected a house, reserving for himself the home- stead with about seventy acres. To each of his sons he gave a family Bible, and left them a record of a pious life. He married (first) in 1722, Mary Dodd, born November 8, 1698, died May 25, 1755. He married (second) in 1756, Mary Nutman, widow of Amos Williams, who died Feb- ruary 18, 1777. Both wives are buried near him in Orange burying ground, with many others of the Condit name. By his first marriage. Samuel Condit had issue : Daniel, of further mention ; Jotham, Sam- uel, Martha, David and Jonathan.
Daniel Condit, eldest son of Samuel Condit and his first wife, Mary Dodd, was born December 27, 1723, and died Novem- ber 14, 1785. He was a farmer, occupy- ing the land given him by his father be- tween the First and Second Orange moun- tains. He was a soldier of the Revolu- tion, serving as a private in the First Bat- talion, second establishment of New Jer- sey militia. Like his forefathers, he was a man of pious life, and a deacon of the Presbyterian church. He married Ruth Williams, born December 29, 1723, died November 23, 1807, daughter of Gershom and Hannah (Lampson) Williams, son of Matthew and grandson of Matthew Wil- liams, a native of Wales, Great Britain, who came to America about 1630 and set- tled in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Daniel and Ruth Condit had children : Adonijah ; Eunice, married Nathaniel Ogden; Mar- tha, married Major Aaron Harrison ;
Mary, married Philip Condit, of Morris- town, New Jersey ; Joel, a soldier of the Revolution ; Samuel, of further mention ; Ira, a minister of the Dutch Reformed church, vice-president and professor of Rutgers College ; Jemima, died in infancy.
Samuel Condit, seventh child of Daniel and Ruth (Williams) Condit, was born at the homestead in the Orange Moun- tains, August 6, 1761, and died April, 1819. After his marriage he removed to the east side of the Orange Mountains, at what was long known as "Tory Corner." He followed farming as an occupation, and was a devout Christian, highly es- teemed. He served as private in the Rev- olutionary army, although little more than a boy in years. He married, in 1785, Han- nah Harrison, born 1764, died 1855, daugh- ter of Ichabod and Sarah (Williams) Harrison, granddaughter of Nathaniel Harrison, son of Joseph Harrison, son of Sergeant Richard Harrison, who came to Newark, New Jersey, with the Connecti- cut colony in 1667 or 1668, son of Rich- ard Harrison, of Branford, Connecticut. Samuel and Hannah Condit had chil- dren: Sarah, married Ichabod Losey ; Jemima (2nd), married Samuel Morris Dodd; Eunice, married John Munn ; Har- riet, married (first) Viner Van Zant Jones, (second) Deacon Henry Pierson : Samuel, married Phebe Peck ; Mary, mar- ried Stephen Dodd; Abby, of further mention ; Clara, married Thomas W. Munn; Ira H., married Phebe Mulford ; Ichabod, died in infancy.
Abby Condit, eighth child of Samuel and Hannah (Harrison) Condit, was born at the home farm at "Tory Corner," Essex county, New Jersey, March 29, 1804, and died at the Kilburn farm on South Orange avenue, South Orange, New Jersey, April 26, 1880. She married. October 7, 1823, Thomas Daniels Kilburn (see Kilburn). They were the parents of Charles Flem- ing Kilburn.
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BALBACH, Edward,
Founder of Important Industry.
There are very few names more promi- nently associated with the industrial de- velopment of Newark, New Jersey, than that of Balbach, two generations of which family, father and son, have been respon- sible for the introduction and growth there of the great business connected with the smelting and refining of precious metals for which that city is famous. The immense mills founded by Edward Bal- bach, Sr., and brought to their present proportions by both father and son, are one of the two largest in the world, and the methods of carrying on the work, de- vised and first put into practice there through the genius of the two men, are those now universally employed.
The Balbach arms are: Arms-Parti per fesse or and vert, the upper part charged with three palm branches, placed one above the other, vert. The lower part parti per bend wavy, argent. Crest-A young man issuant, habited parti per fesse or and vert, collared of the last, cap vert, holding in each hand a palm branch vert.
Edward Balbach was born March 19, 1804, in the city of Carlsruhe, Baden, Ger- many, and passed the years of childhood and early youth in the place of his birth. He was typical of the best class of his race, showing in his own character the strong virtues and abilities that have given his countrymen the place they occupy in the world to-day, the virtues and abilities that, transplanted into this country, have formed one of the most valuable elements in the development of our citizenship. His childhood and youth, too, were typical, and he went through the same hard but wholesome training customary in that day and country. His education was received at the local Volke- schule, and he showed marked intelli-
gence and perseverance as a student, and a special aptness and fondness for the subject of chemistry. His father was; quite willing for him to gratify so prac- tical a taste, and every opportunity was given him, lad though he was, to perfect himself in the subject. Of these he availed himself, and as he grew older, so also did his taste grow, so that when he eventually came to an age to chose a career in life, he determined that it should be something of a kind in which he could exercise his knowledge. He finally de- cided upon the refining of precious metals, an occupation for which he was especially fitted by his studies. The knowledge of chemistry in those days was decidedly rudimentary, of course, compared with that of to-day, and especially was this true in what might be called the depart- ment of applied chemistry. the wonderful wave of inventive activity which char- acterized the nineteenth century having only just begun. so that much of what was known was of a purely theoretic value, and its practical significance as yet unrealized. What practical knowledge existed in his line at the time, Mr. Bal- bach possessed, however, and also that quality of originality which makes the best use of opportunities at our disposal and devises new ones-the originality, in short, that was responsible for the very wave of invention already remarked.
He began his operations on a small scale in his native city of Carlsruhe, where he gradually worked up a success- ful trade, remaining there until the year 1848 and he had reached the age of forty- four years. The conditions imposed upon labor of all kinds in his native land, as well as conditions in a more general sense, were not at all satisfactory and had led up to the serious disturbances known as the Revolution of 1848-49. The entire state of affairs was becoming more and
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more intolerable to men of stong ambi- tions, especially if they were also strong republicans in their beliefs and sym- pathies. Both of these Mr. Balbach was, and he determined to seek some region where he could find a greater opportunity for self-expression, and reap without un- warrantable interruption the fair fruits of his enterprise and labor. It is only natural under the circumstances that his thoughts should have turned to the great republic of the west, as did those of so many of his countrymen at that time. Mr. Balbach was not obliged, however, to hazard all on a stroke of fortune as did so many others, and his natural prudence impelled him to first see for himself what conditions in America were. He believed that, if they should turn out as reported, his training and experience would insure him future success, but he preferred to take nothing for granted. to trust little to the stories told, and to witness with his own eyes the environment which he pro- posed to make his own before taking an irretrievable step. Accordingly, in 1848, .he sailed for the United States and made here an extended visit, going carefully into conditions with a thoroughness typi- cal of his race, and doubly so of himself. Two facts stood out most prominently in his mind after this investigation ; he had found many reports untrue or exagger- ated, he had found his preconceived pic- ture not wholly accurate, but these two essentials· he had seen for himself, and they outweighed all other considerations in his mind. The first was that he would be free of those trammeling regulations that had so cramped his efforts in his native land, and he found that, in spite of the fact that there seemed to be a large and growing demand for such work as he contemplated, he would have little if any competition in that line. In his endeavor to find the best possible location for the
plant he intended establishing, he visited most of the large and important cities of the United States, and, in spite of the in- ducements held out by western points, and their nearness to the great mines of the country, he finally decided on the city of Newark, New Jersey. Where Newark lacked in proximity to the mines, it more than made up by its nearness to the great markets ; and then, too, the manufacture of jewelry was carried on there on a large scale which afforded a double advantage, both as purchasers of Mr. Balbach's product and because the dust and sweep- ings of such places offer a splendid ma- terial for the refining process. This ma- terial at that time was commonly sent to some European city for refining, and it was obvious to Mr. Balbach that a great saving on all sides could be effected by doing it at home. The business sagacity of Mr. Balbach had been obvious in the investigations carried on by him in this country : what next occurred illustrates a very different side of his character. While he was in the midst of them and when he had about determined to open his busi- ness in Newark he received the sad tid- ings that his brother and the latter's wife had both been seized with a trouble at that time epidemic in Baden and their deaths resulted. This, as he knew well, would leave eight little children orphans and, leaving everything else behind him, he sailed at once for Germany to take charge of the helpless ones. So great was his charity for them that he adopted all eight for his own, and thereafter gave them a father's care and affection.
In 1850 he was able to return once more to Newark, and it was not long before he erected the first of the great series of buildings that have since become so inti- mately associated with his name. Upon its completion he began operations, the first venture being the refining of the
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jewelers' sweeping. So satisfactory was his work that it was not long before his reputation spread far beyond the confines of the city, and he began to receive ship- ments of the sweepings from far distant points as well as from those near at hand. His business grew with phenome- nal rapidity, and his greatest expectations as to his success in the "New World" were far surpassed. He was obliged to add greatly to his equipment of machin- ery, to erect several new buildings, and increase greatly his force of men. This, however, was but the beginning, and a small beginning to what followed. In 1851 Mr. Balbach extended his operations into new fields and began the smelting of silver bearing lead ores for the extracting from the waste of both these metals. He drew his materials from the mines of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the first instance, but soon went farther afield for his main supply. All this. of course, necessitated the further extension of plant and equipment, and this was accomplished accordingly, although in- creases could hardly keep pace with the growing demands put upon its capacity. By 1861 Mr. Balbach was receiving ores from Mexico, and a business with that distant country was thus begun which exists to this day. The main source of these ores, however, was the great mines of Nevada, from which enormous quanti- ties of gold and silverbearing materials were shipped him, so large, indeed. that it finally became necessary to construct wharves and warehouses to take care of the enormous consignments, to say noth- ing of the increase in the plant itself. The majority of the great western mining States followed the lead of Nevada, and these ores were sent him from Mon- tana, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Arizona and Lower California. Notwithstanding the huge size of the smelting business thus
built up, the original industry was not lost sight of, and the jewelers' sweepings are to this day cared for in the great establishment. One of the very impor- tant products of the plant is that form of lead required for the manufacture of white lead, which prior to this time had only been produced in Europe and had to be imported by our manufacturers here.
The year 1864 saw the admission into the concern of Mr. Balbach's son, Ed- ward Balbach, Jr., who had inherited his father's genius for chemistry and busi- ness taient. The same year the younger man made himself famous in the indus- trial world by inventing a simple pro- cess for the separation of the precious inetals from the lead ore, which before had only been accomplished at great trouble and expense. This notable inven- tion reduced both the time and expense elements enormously and gave a new im- pulse to the whole industry. An account of it, however, belongs and will be found with the sketch of Edward Balbach, Jr., which follows in this work. There, too, will be found some word of the latest chapter in the development of the great concern, its venture into the copper refin- ing industry, where it has been so suc- cessful, and its recent growth since the death of its remarkable founder in 1890, at the venerable age of eighty-six years.
Mr. Balbach was married to Miss Mar- garetta Raab, of Ettlingen, Baden, where she was born in 1806. To them were born four children, as follows: Amalia. Ma- thilda, Emilia, Edward.
BALBACH, Edward, Jr., Metallurgist, Inventor.
Edward Balbach, late of Newark, New Jersey, died at the Hotel Savoy, New York City, where he had resided for some
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time, on December 30, 1910, in the sev- to manhood and gaining an excellent edu- enty-second year of his age. His death was felt as a loss, not merely by the com- munity of which he was a distinguished member, but by the smelting and refining trades the country over, which his efforts had been instrumental in developing and bringing up to their present state of per- fection.
Edward Balbach, Sr., was the pioneer of the smelting business in the United States. Carlsruhe, Baden, Germany, was the city where Mr. Balbach was born: June 4, 1839, and where his family had dwelt for many years previously. His father, Edward Balbach, Sr., was a man of very enterprising nature who came to this country during the Revolutionary troubles in 1848 in Germany, bringing with him his son, at that time a lad eight years of age. Mr. Balbach, Sr., was a chemist of large technical learning and considerable practical experience, and had been engaged in the smelting and refining of metals in his native city of Carlsruhe during his young manhood. It was his intention upon coming to the United States to establish himself in the same business, a project which he carried out with great success. The city of Newark, New Jersey, was the scene of his opera- tions, and in the year 1851 he built a plant there (this was the first smelter built in the United States) and began the busi- ness which has since, under the able man- agement of himself and son, grown to such enormous proportions. It was at first confined to refining work, such ma- terials as jewelers' sweepings and other waste products forming the basis of the operations, but it was not a great while before other kinds of work were done and smelting became an important element in the business.
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