USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume III > Part 36
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pointed by Governor Green, March 15, 1887, and again on April 1, 1887, for a term of five years; and on April 1, 1892, he was reappointed by Governor Abbett. In 1879 he was appointed by Chancellor Runyon one of the advisory masters in chancery. In political adherence Judge Hopper was a firm Democrat, and while he was looked upon as one of the leading inen of the State in the councils of his party his democracy was of the type which was calculated to draw strength to the party and not to engender bitter antagonisms in the opposition party. From 1851 until the time of his death he was a member of the board of trustees of his alma mater, Rutgers College, and also was a member of the New Jersey Historical Society, a director of the Pater- son & Ramapo Railroad Company, its first secretary in 1844 and was elected its treasurer in 1851.
On June 16, 1840, Judge Hopper mar- ried Mary A., daughter of Robert Imlay, at one time a prominent merchant of Philadelphia ; and June 16, 1890, Judge Hopper and his wife celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage. They had six children who grew to maturity: I. John H., silk manufacturer, member of the firm of Hopper & Scott, Paterson. 2. Robert Imlay, lawyer, Paterson. 3. Mary A., wife of Frank W. Potter, late United States consul to Marseilles. 4. James, re- moved to Texas. 5. Caroline. 6. Mar- garet Imlay, wife of John T. Boyd, of Brookline, Massachusetts.
FERGUSON, Rev. John, Clergyman.
This ancient surname is of Scottish origin, derived from Fergus, a favorite name and one proudly worn by many Scotch chiefs in ancient times.
(I) Rev. John Ferguson, immigrant,
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was born December 9, 1788, in Dunse, a market town in Berwickshire, in the chosen. southern part of Scotland. His grand- father came from the north of Scotland and was one of the soldiers of the Duke of Marlborough, serving in the Scots Greys, a regiment of heavy cavalry dur- ing the period of Queen Anne's wars. His father and uncle came to America and settled in Newport, Rhode Island. About. the time of the Revolutionary War his father returned to Scotland, for he was not willing to take up arms against the mother country ; but at the age of about seventy years he returned with his wife and family to Newport. His wife was Anne Briggs, of Little Compton, Rhode Island.
At the time of the return of his father to this country John Ferguson was a young man of seventeen years. He was converted at an early age and at once began fitting himself for the ministry. For two years he studied theology with Dr. Tenney, pastor of the First Con- gregational Church of Newport. Rhode . Island, intending to enter Yale College two years in advance of the regular course. While living in Providence, Rhode Island, he at one time was a stu- dent of theology under the instruction of Rev. Galvin Park, D. D., professor of ancient languages and later of moral philosophy at Brown University. How- ever, he was compelled to abandon his plans for entering Yale and had to again enter business pursuits and assume the care of his father and the maintenance of his family. For ten years he continued this course, and during all of that time he never relinquished the hope of entering the ministry. He seemed to have a pre- sentiment that the chief desire of his life would be fulfilled, and the ten years proved a period of preparation for that kind of life, although of quite different
nature from that which he would have
His first sermon as a candidate was preached at Attleboro, Massachusetts, and his text was "The Lord is a Man of War." The text and sermon were not only characteristic of the man and of his theology, but of his ministry, which to use his own expression was "warlike." He never shrank from the defense of truth, never hesitated to sacrifice com- fort, reputation or means of support in the maintenance of principle. He was ordained in Attleboro, February 27, 1822, and dismissed March 25, 1835. In speak- ing of his ministry there one writer says : "It was of great value in the administra- tion of wise and judicious measures and marked the beginning of the system of support to the various benevolent enter- prises of the day, and of aid to the labors of parent and pastor by a judicious and careful education of children in Sabbath schools, and maternal associations." After leaving Attleboro Mr. Ferguson was set- tled in Whately, Massachusetts, from March 16, 1836, until June 7, 1840. He was called Father Ferguson and was a man to whom churches looked for coun- sel and pastors for advice, often when pastors and churches were involved in difficulties. "He was very often solicited to appear as advocate before ecclesiastical courts, and many a time as he has done this have the coolness and shrewdness, the wit and wisdom with which he advo- cated the course extorted the exclamation 'what a lawyer he would have made'." Ile almost always defended the weaker party, his sympathies frequently inclining to the unpopular side. "He was always ready to grasp the shield and poise his lance for the injured and defenceless. In all such cases he sniffed the battle like the war horse and fought with all the chiv- alry and the courtesy of a Christian
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knight." He became extensively known as the "champion of the oppressed," al- though at the same time he was equally well known as "a lover and maker of peace."
He preached for about two years at Lanesborough and Whately, the place of his former settlement, and in 1842 became general agent for the American Tract Association for the States of Vermont and New Hampshire, in which office and its duties he was very successful; and he really became the Congregational bishop for those two States. He died at Whately, November II, 1858. He was a man of vigorous mind and of vigorous body, a large-hearted man, of keen wit, "but his keenest shafts were winged with kindness." He was social and genial in manner. Realizing the defects of his own education-never having graduated from any college-he labored hard and made many sacrifices to give each of his sons a college education. Amherst College bestowed on him the honorary degree of Master of Arts, a proof that although he had been denied the advantages of a col- lege course he had by his own exertions thoroughly educated himself and the com- pliment was a source of great gratifica- tion to him. Mr. Ferguson published a sermon on the death of Ebenezer Dag- gett, Jr., which was delivered December 16, 1831, and several other discourses. He also published for the use of Sunday schools a "Memoir of Dr. Samuel Hop- kins," the celebrated theologian.
Mr. Ferguson married (first) June 7, 1813, Mary V. Hammett, of Newport, Rhode Island, by whom he had two chil- dren. She died June 30, 1818, and he married (second) April 28, 1819, Mar- garet S. Eddy, of Providence, who died May 6, 1871, by whom he had nine chil- dren. Children : 1. John, born January 1, 1815; married Sarah Moore. 2. Mar-
garet, November 11, 1816, died December 19, 1819. 3. Mary H., February 25, 1820; married Charles D. Stockbridge. 4. Peter, December 13, 1821, died October 14, 1822. 5. Peter, July 20, 1823. 6. William E., April 1, 1825, died June 6, 1854; married Elizabeth Sawtelle. 7. Rev. George R., March 19, 1829; married Susan Pratt, of Andover. 8. Margaret E., December 9, 1830; married H. B. Allen, of New Haven, Connecticut. 9. James A., November 17, 1832; married Claudia Churchill, of New Orleans. 10. Anna B., May 3, 1835, died August 6, 1840. 11. Abby Park, April 4. 1837.
STEVENSON, James, Educator, Litterateur.
On August 7, 1764, a tract of twenty- five thousand acres of land situated at what is now Salem, Washington county, New York, was granted Alexander Turn- er and twenty-four others residing in Pel- ham, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and these proprietors conveyed an undivided half to Oliver Delancy and Peter Dubois, of New York City. The whole tract of twenty-five thousand acres was marked off into three hundred and four small farms of eighty-eight acres each, suitable to the requirements of a Scotch-Irish farming colony.
The "New Light heresies" which in the - middle of the eighteenth century sowed dissensions in the Presbyterian churches in Scotland and Ireland caused an Irish Presbyterian community in and about Monaghan and Ballibay to petition the Associate Burgher Presbytery of Glas- gow, Scotland, to furnish them with ortho- dox preaching. Rev. Thomas Clark, M. D., an ordained minister of this Glasgow Presbytery, was thereupon sent "as a mis- sionary to Ireland," and shortly after was regularly ordained and installed by a com-
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mittee of the Glasgow Presbytery over was that the Scotch-Irish and Scotch colony under Dr. Clark were intermingled over a wide territory with a New Eng- land colony who divided among them- selves the farms which represented the half of the tract which Dr. Clark did not purchase. Dr. Clark and his people were under obligation after five years to pay a rent of one shilling per acre, and hence they no doubt urgently invited their co- religionists from Scotland as well as from Ireland to join them, and within ten years from the original settlement a very sub- stantial addition to the colony was made by emigrants from the part of Scotland from which Dr. Clark had come. Dr. Clark named the settlement New Perth, while the New England settlers called it White Creek. On March 2, 1774, the Legislature of New York combined both tracts into the township of New Perth thus establishing a legal name, which re- mained until March 7, 1788, when in dividing the whole State into counties and towns, the name New Perth was changed to Salem, located in Washington county. New York. This was the objective point to which the passengers of the brig, "Commerce," were bent on April 20, 1774, when James Stevenson and his family left Scotland for the New World. the church at Ballibay, where he became greatly honored and beloved for his piety and zeal. Bitter persecution, however, instigated by prominent members of the rival Presbyterian church in Ballibay in- duced Dr. Clark and a large portion of his flock to seek a new home in the wilds of America. Dr. Clark and his parishioners sailed for New York from Neury, Ire- land, May 10, 1764, arriving there July 28, 1764. The unique feature of this interest- ing emigration is the fact that the entire church organization was transferred from Ireland to America. An Irish Presby- terian church with a Scotch pastor affili- ated ecclesiastically with a Scotch Pres- byterian Assembly was thus transferred to America in a body. As stated in the "Salem Book," there were none of the formalities of organizing a church. No admission of members or election of trus- tees. The company was already a per- fectly organized religious society with its pastor, its elders, its members, all reg- ularly constituted. Dr. Clark had never resigned nor had the Presbytery released . him from his pastoral charge over these people. We doubt if any other religious society has been transferred from the Old to the New World in a manner so regular and orderly and with so little to vitiate its (II) James (2), son of James (1) Steven- son, a shawl weaver of Scotland, was the founder of this family in America. He was born in the home of his parents on the bank of the Bonnie Doon in Ayrshire, Scotland, about the year 1747. When a young man he removed to Paisley, where he learned the trade of silk and linen weaver. He joined the Scotch Presby- terian church in Paisley, at that time hav- ing as its pastor the distinguished divine, John Witherspoon. While a citizen of Paisley he married Margaret, daughter of David Brown, of Stewartson, Scotland, title to a continuous identity." Dr. Clark searched for a suitable place on which he and his people could establish their church and their homes, and after much investigation and travel he secured on September 13, 1765, from Delancy and Dubois their undivided share of the twell- ty-five thousand acre tract, which already had been sub-divided into farms as above stated. The result of acquiring rights to the allotment of farms distributed throughout a large tract, instead of ac- quiring the whole of a tract which the colonists could divide among themselves, and while residents of Paisley three chil-
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dren-James, Jane and John-were born. The family embarked at Greenock, Scot- land, April 20, 1774, in the brig, "Com- merce," with several other families, their destination being the Scotch settlement at New Perth in the State of New York. He had allotted to him a farin located two miles east of the present village of Salem, Washington county, whereon he settled and lived during the remainder of his life. In 1896 this farm was owned by two of his grandsons, Thomas S. and Robert M., sons of Thomas and Agnes (McMurray) Stevenson. The first election held in the town of New Perth, now Salem, was on September 8, 1774, and James Stevenson voted at that election. Soon after the American Revolution had assumed a defi- nite purpose, he volunteered for military service in the New Perth Company, com- manded by Captain Alexander McNitt. Upon his arrival James Stevenson became a member of the church of Dr. Thomas Clark and was afterward one of its rul- ing elders. When Dr. Clark severed his relations with the congregation in 1782, Mr. Stevenson went on horseback through the almost unbroken wilderness from Sa- lem, New York, to Pequea, near Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, to endeavor to per- suade the Rev. James Proudfit to become pastor of the church at Salem as suc- cessor to Dr. Clark, who had resigned to join another Scotch settlement in South Carolina as their pastor. In this mission he was entirely successful and Dr. Proud- fit became the second pastor of the Scotch church in Salem. Mr. Stevenson brought with him from Paisley, Scotland, a large library of excellent books, and a quantity of fine linen, the product of the industry of his family, and these heirlooms are highly prized by his descendants.
Children of James and Margaret (Brown) Stevenson: 1. James, see for- ward. 2. Jane, born in Scotland ; married
George Telford and settled in Argyle, New York. 3. John, born in Scotland ; married Katherine McLeod and settled in Howard, Steuben county, New York, where he died in 1863. 4. David, born in Salem, New York, died there unmarried. 5. Thomas, born in Salem ; married (first) Agnes, daughter of John McMurray ; married (second) Mary, daughter of Joshua Steele ; his children were : Thomas S., Robert M. and James B .; Thomas Stevenson lived on the homestead; was an elder in the church at Salem for nearly half a century ; died in Salem, 1854, aged seventy-five years. James Stevenson, father of these children, died in Salem, New York, April 19, 1799, and his widow died the following year.
(III) James (3), eldest child of James (2) and Margaret (Brown) Stevenson, was born in Paisley, Scotland, January 8, 1762. He came with his parents, sister Jane and brother John to America in 1774. He was prepared for college by his father, and then entered the Hackensack Classi- cal Academy, conducted by Dr. Peter Wilson, afterwards of Columbia College, and was graduated at Queen's now Rut- gers College, Bachelor of Arts, 1789. He was principal of the academy at Morris- town, New Jersey, the Rutgers grammar school, and in ISII was appointed princi- pal of the Washington Academy, Salem, New York, in which institution he proved himself one of the ablest classical teach- ers in the country. Among his pupils, several of whom have written eulogis- tically of his character, his attainments and his extraordinary skill and capacity as an instructor, were Dr. Philip Lindsay, vice-president of Princeton and president of Nashville, Tennessee, University, Pro- fessor Henry Mills, of Auburn Theologi- cal Seminary, Samuel L. Southard, Theo- dore Frelinghuysen, Rev. Jacob Kirkpat- rick and Rev. Dr. George W. Bethune.
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That eminent scholar, Dr. Taylor Lewis, professor in Union College, who was a pupil for two years in the Salem Acad- emy, in some reminiscences which he writes of his beloved instructor, says: "He stands in my remembrance as the best model that I ever knew of the most honorable and dignified profession, the schoolmaster's. Some of the thoughts re- specting him come to my mind when I read Dr. Arnold, the best example of a teacher that England ever produced." James Stevenson was a trustee of Wash- ington Academy, incorporated February 18, 1791, the fourth academy incorporated in the State of New York and the first free academy established in the State outside of New York City. He contributed to the newspapers and magazines of the time de- voted to educational and religious sub- jects.
James Stevenson married Hannah, daughter of Richard Johnson, of Morris county, New Jersey. Children: James, Sarah, Martha, Richard, Paul Eugene, Anna Louisa. James Stevenson, father of these children, died October 9, 1843, in the eighty-second year of his age.
TRENCHARD, James H., Authority on Land Titles.
The Trenchard family belongs to a good old English stock which had made its name in the old country many years before it was transplanted to the new world. The family traces its origin back to Pogames Trenchard, who held land in County Dorset during the reign of Henry I., in 1090. In the sixteenth and the pre- ceding century they had intermarried with the Damosels and the Moleynes.
(I) Thomas Trenchard, Knight, of Wolverton, was born 1582, died 1657; he was knighted by King James I., Decem- ber 14, 1613, and held the office of high
sheriff of Dorset; he was the founder of the branch of the family at present under consideration. His son Thomas is re- ferred to below.
(II) Sir Thomas (2) Trenchard, son of Sir Thomas (1) Trenchard, was born in Wolverton, County Dorset, in 1615, died in 1671. Like his father he was a baronet. In 1638 he married Hannah, born 1620, died 1691, daughter of Robert Henley, of Bramhill, Hampshire. Their son John is referred to below. Two of his cousins, Grace Trenchard, who married Colonel William Sydenham, and Jane, who mar- ried John Sadler, of Wardwell, were strong supporters of Oliver Cromwell.
(III) John, son of Sir Thomas (2) and Hannah (Henley) Trenchard, was born in Wolverton, County Dorset, England. March 30. 1640, died in 1695. He matric- ulated from New College, Oxford, in 1665. He was elected a member of Parliament for Taunton, February 20, 1678. and was a member of the club of Revolutionaries which met at the King's Head Tavern in Fleet street. November 2, 1680, he spoke against the recognition by parliament of the Duke of York as the heir apparent, and in July, 1683. he was arrested as a conspirator, but released for lack of evi- dence. In 1687 William Penn, who was a warm personal friend of Trenchard, obtained from King James II. a free par- don for Sir John and he was again elected to parliament. He was one of those who united in the invitation to William of Orange to come over and seize the Eng- lish throne. October 29, 1689, he was knighted at Whitehall and was appoint- ed to the office of chief justice of Chester, which he held until his death. In No- vember, 1682, John Trenchard married Philippa, daughter of George Speake, and the sister of Charles and Hugh Speake, by whom he had four sons, one of whom is George, referred to below.
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(IV) George, son of John and Philippa (Speake) Trenchard, was born in county Somerset, New York, in 1686, died at Alloway township, Salem county, New Jersey, in 1712. He was probably mar- ried and had several children. In his will he names as his children: George, Ed- ward, John, Joan.
(V) George (2), son of George (1) Trenchard, died in Salem county, in the latter part of 1728. Coming to America with his father he settled in Salem county and from 1723 to 1725 was sheriff. He was also one of the deputy sheriffs for West Jersey and also one of the asses- sors. By his marriage with Mary Ben- der, of Salem county, he had five sons and several daughters. The daughters married into several of the leading fam- ilies of Salem and have left numerous de- scendants. The sons were: I. Curtis, born 1740, died 1780; from 1778 to 1779 clerk of Salem county, later surrogate. He married the daughter of Attorney Burcham, of Salem. His son Edward was in the United States Navy, com- manded the "Constitution" at the siege of Tripoli and the "Madison" in the War of 1812 and other famous men-of-war. 2. John, referred to below. 3. James. 4. George, born 1748, died 1780; was attor- ney-general of West Jersey from 1769 to 1776, prominent in the Salem commit- tee of safety and the Camden Second Battalion, Salem County Light Horse, and one of those to whom Colonel Maw- hood's letter was addressed. He married Mary, daughter of Judge Andrew Sin- nickson, of Salem. 5. Thomas.
(VI) John (2), son of George (2) and Mary (Bender) Trenchard, was born in 1742. He lived for a time at Cohansey Bridge, and about 1768 with his brother bought a property at the northwest cor- ner of Laurel and Jefferson streets, which was afterwards owned by James Boyd, at
the commencement of the Revolution, where for several years afterwards Mr. Boyd's widow resided and kept a store there. In 1769 they sold this property and afterwards removed to Fairfield, where he died in 1823. He was twice married. His first wife was Theodosia Ogden, by whom he had ten children, three sons and seven daughters. The sons were: 1. John, referred to below. 2. Curtis. 3. Richard.
(VII) John (3), son of John (2) and Theodosia (Ogden) Trenchard, died in 1863. In early life he worked as a black- smith with Curtis Edwards, whose shop was situated on the old road from Bridge- ton and Fairfield to Rocap's Run. He continued in that employment four or five years, and then went into business at Fairton, keeping store with Daniel P. Stratton. When Mr. Stratton removed to Bridgeton in 1814 John Trenchard con- tinued business, sometimes alone and sometimes with a partner for twenty years, being engaged in building vessels and in getting lumber and shipping same to Philadelphia, this being at that time a highly profitable business. He also sent produce to Bermuda. In 1843 he purchased from David Clark the mill property at Fairton and in 1845 moved the mill to its present site, where by close attention to business he amassed a very considerable estate. During all his life he was most highly esteemed by his asso- ciates. In early life he was a Democrat and a supporter of John Quincy Adams rather than Jackson and became a Whig. In 1827-28 he was elected a member of the New Jersey Legislature.
John Trenchard married (first), in 1803, Eleanor Davis, who bore him seven children. Married (second) Hannah L. Pearson, in 1816. She bore him thirteen children. Ten of these children died in infancy. Children of John and Eleanor
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(Davis) Trenchard to reach maturity were: I. James Howell, referred to be- low. 2. Ethan, twice married, his second wife being a Miss Diament. 3. Eleanor. Children of John and Hannah L. (Pear- son) Trenchard who reached maturity were: 4. John, M. D., of Philadelphia, married (first) Mary Olnsted and (sec- ond) a Miss Booth. 5. Theophilus, of Bridgeton, New Jersey. 6. Emily, mar- ried the Hon. George S. Whiticar, of Fair- ton. 7. Rufus, married Sarah Jane Ben- nett. 8. Nancy, married the Rev. David Meeker, a Presbyterian minister. 9. John, died unmarried. 10. Henry Clay.
(VIII) James Howell, son of the Hon. John (3) and Eleanor (Davis) Trenchard, was born May 20, 1811, in Fairton, New Jersey, died February 27, 1877, after a severe illness of about ten days duration. He went into the mercantile business soon after his marriage, having purchased the interest of his father-in-law, Judge Barrett, which he continued for a time 'until he removed to Centreville (now Centreton) in the fall of 1839, where he entered largely into the general store and milling business and the lumber trade. In early life he was for a while under the Rev. Dr. George Junkin, of Easton, Penn- sylvania. He had a liking for mathe- matics and soon began surveying in this branch, abounding in intricate cases in great land try-outs. In the fall of 1848 Mr. Trenchard was elected to the New Jersey Assembly on the Whig ticket. He was very popular in his own neighbor- hood and received the votes of many in the township whose policies were op- posed to his purely from personal con- siderations. He refused to run a second time, the corruption of the lobby and the questionable character of a large part of the public and private legislature as then and since directed having no charms for one of his honest, frank and independent
manner. At this time Mr. Trenchard was very frequently called upon to find old searches, to settle disputes as to title and to act as commissioner, also to engage in surveying whenever wanted. He did not give his whole attention to these matters until he removed to Bridgeton in the spring of 1863. Here his son was with the firm of J. H. and W. B. Trenchard, surveyors, which was then one of the most prominent ones in that section of the State. No-person in New Jersey had done more practical surveying or tramped more miles in all weathers and under all conditions than had this James H. Tren- chard. At various times he had had many of the most valuable papers in his pos- session relating to the lands in the lower counties of the State. Consequently he became thoroughly conversant with the titles, butts, bounds, courses and descrip- tions and all other matters relating to lower Jersey's real estate. He always carefully preserved copies of maps of all surveys made by him, and these are of very great use to persons asking informa- tion in regard to landed property. He possessed great natural kindness of heart and was generous in his impulses, which rallied around him earnest friends. Not the least of his merits was his unflinching patriotism. At the time of his death he was city surveyor, a position which he had long held. As such he established the present grade of the Bridgeton streets. and also at the time of his death was serving his second term as councilman from the second ward. He was president of the Bridgeton Water Works of Bridge- ton, New Jersey, and a forerunner in the movement which secured the city's pres- ent water works.
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