USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume III > Part 39
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a United States customs inspector, inven- tor and farmer. 4. Mary, married John Carpenter, merchant. 5. Catherine, mar- ried Charles Edward Steane, M. D. 6. Frances Matilda, married Benjamin Pike, Jr., the noted manufacturer of philosophi- cal and scientific instruments, and pub- lisher of books on those subjects. 7. Cor- nelius, a merchant in New York City. 8. Rev. James Malcolm, a Baptist minister of Brooklyn, Long Island. 9. Washing- ton Lafayette, referred to below. 10-II. Two children died in infancy.
Washington Lafayette, son of Reuben and Catherine (Taylor) Hope, was born in New York City, August 4, 1824, and died at his residence on Sycamore ave- nue, Shrewsbury, Monmouth county, New Jersey, February 13, 1899, in his seventy- fifth year. After receiving his education in the schools of New York City he en- tered on a business career, but being a studious and thoughtful man he became an exceedingly well read scholar. At first he engaged in mercantile business in New York City and in Orange county, and became a contractor for materials used in building and equipping railroads. In November, 1844, he was appointed and commissioned major and quartermaster in the Twenty-eighth Regiment of New York State, and served several years when the militia of the country was pre- paring to take part in the war with Mex- ico. Later he engaged in farming in Rockland county, New York, and was one of the organizers of the Rockland County Agricultural Society, of which until his removal to Shrewsbury, New Jersey, he was one of the officers. In 1865 he removed to Allendale, in Shrews- bury township, Monmouth county, New Jersey, to property which had descended to his wife through her parents. Mr. Hope was for a long time lecturer for the New Jersey State Grange, and as State
lecturer for the Order of Good Templars, he delivered many addresses, not only throughout New Jersey, but also in other States, and in a number of other cases his services as an orator were in great de- mand, as he was a highly instructive and eloquent public speaker. He was also Grand Worthy Chief Templar of the State of New Jersey, and an officer of the Right Worthy Grand Lodge of Good Templars of America. In politics he was a mem- ber of the Republican party from its first organization, and he was in a great meas- ure independent both in principle and practice, adhering more to what he be- lieved to be the spirit than the letter of his party platform, and when needful re- forms could not otherwise be brought about, he had no hesitation in acting with a third party. He was zealous for the abolition of the liquor traffic, and made diligent and partially successful efforts for legislation favoring local option, and was always very active during the cam- paigns when local option was an issue. He was a candidate for Congress on the Prohibition ticket when the late General Clinton B. Fisk was a candidate for Gov- ernor of New Jersey, and at that time and also in 1878, when he was a candidate for Congress in the Third New Jersey dis- trict on the national independent ticket, he received a very large vote, which was regarded as a high personal compliment to him. In the different reform move- ments outside the Republican party in which Mr. Hope's high sense of public and civic duty led him to engage, he was intimately associated with General Fisk, the late John G. Drew, Benjamin Urner, the venerable Peter Cooper, General Ben- jamin F. Butler, and many other promi- nent men who believed certain reforms in State and national government were nec- essary for the welfare of this country. Mr. Hope was an Abolitionist, and ren-
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dered efficient services in the campaigns of 1860 and 1864 for the election of Abra- ham Lincoln, and in 1868 and 1872 for the election of General Grant to the presi- dency. During the Civil War he was most patriotic in behalf of the Union and outspoken against disloyal persons in Rockland county, New York, and when the uprising which culminated in the draft riots in New York City occurred, he armed his family and employees to pro- tect himself against attacks which had been threatened because of his active loyalty, and his refusal to surrender two old negroes who had been in his employ for many years as family servants. Al- though his offer to serve in the Union army was not accepted because of a slight physical disability, he labored zealously and successfully in aiding to stop the spirit of secession, and induced many who were at first against the cause and policies of the government, to become earnest supporters of the Union cause. As he expressed it in a pamphlet he pub- lished at the time, he persuaded miany men so to act that "not a single star shall be taken from the flag of our Union." He was a devoted husband and father, highly respected for his sterling character and exemplary life, and he and his estimable wife were zealously engaged in many good works, being particularly active in religious and temperance work, and en- tertaining at their home many prominent persons who were intimately associated with them in their labors. From 1855 both Mr. and Mrs. Hope were members of the Baptist church, and for many years each served faithfully in various impor- tant offices in the churches and Sunday schools, Mr. Hope being trustee, deacon and Sunday school superintendent for more than thirty years. He married, Sep- tember 6, 1848. Helen Cobb, daughter of George L. and Ann Cocks Allen, the cere-
mony being performed by Rev. Henry Finch, rector of Christ Church, Shrews- bury, at the bride's home, which Mrs. Hope and her ancestors owned for over two hundred and thirty years, and where Mr. and Mrs. Hope themselves lived since 1865, Here they celebrated their golden wedding in September, 1898, and here Mr. Hope died after a two weeks' illness from pneumonia, and Mrs. Hope died there December 6, 1902.
HOFPER, Benjamin W., Veteran of Civil War.
Benjamin W. Hopper, son of John A. and Keziah (Westervelt) Hopper, was born in Bergen county, New Jersey, near Hackensack, May 15, 1839. He was brought up in Newfoundland, Morris county, 1840-55, where he received his school training. He was apprenticed to the trade of carpenter in Newark in 1856, and in spring of 1861 arranged to go to Macon, Georgia, as a master mechanic in carpentering and building, he having ac- cepted a flattering offer for a master builder in that southern city. The out- break of the Civil War, however, changed the plan and the whole current of his future life. He went south as a soldier instead of as a master carpenter, and on September 1, 1861, was in the ranks of the Union army as a private in the Ninth New Jersey Volunteer Regiment Lieu- tenant Colonel Charles A. Hickman. He was assigned to Company E, and in De- cember, 1861, was promoted to sergeant. He went with the regiment to North Car- olina in the Burnside expedition, and at Roanoke Island his regiment was second in line of battle in the Second Brigade under command of General Jesse L. Reno, the army being under command of Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside. Ser- geant Hopper distinguished himself at
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Roanoke Island when the troops were landed under cover of the gunboats, and as General Foster in command of the First Brigade had awaited the arrival of General Reno with the Second Brigade no fighting occurred between the two as- sembled armies until Reno's arrival to take his place on the left with the Twen- ty-first Massachusetts, which had the right of the line, followed by the Ninth New Jersey and the Twenty-first New York, and the three regiments began an effective attack, turning the Confederate right by marching through a thicket of briers, shrubs and swamp land, almost impenetrable. This was February 8, 1862, and after the capture of the fort, Foster and Reno pursued the enemy to the northern extremity of the island, where an unconditional surrender of the entire Confederate force was effected. After a well-earned rest the army pro- ceeded to the attack on New Berne, which place was reached by transports under guard of the gunboats. Here again Reno had the extreme left and made his favor- ite swing to the rear of the Confederate right, and the enemy found themselves between two effective fires and broke and fled to the town. burning the bridges as they retreated, and in that way escaped capture. The town of New Berne, North Carolina, was occupied by Burnside and his army in the afternoon of March 14, 1862. Burnside sums up the victory as follows: "The Burnside Expedition has passed into history; its records we can be proud of. No body of troops ever had more difficulties to overcome in the same space of time. Its perils were both by land and water. Defeat never befell it. Its experience was a succession of honor- able victories." The gallantry of Sergeant Hopper attracted the attention of Colonel Hickman, who promptly promoted him to a lieutenancy and subsequently made
him captain of the company. He followed the fortunes of his regiment through the entire war. His sword hand was disabled while leading an advance on the abattis protecting Fort Darling, May 14, 1864; at the terrific combat at Drury's Bluff, May 16, 1864, he was wounded in the breast and arm and was ordered to the rear by Regimental Surgeon Gillette. He persisted in remaining with his command, his bleeding arm supported by a sling which the surgeon extemporized, and he sought the aid and comfort of the hospi- tal only after he had secured for his deci- mated command a position of compara- tive safety. Such a commander could not fail to secure the universal respect and love of every member of the company and the esteen) of every member of the regi- ment. In the final campaign of the Caro- linas after the fall of Wilmington, North Carolina, and near the close of the war, his regiment was. with a division of the Twenty-third Army Corps under com- mand of Major-General Cox, placed in command of the Beaufort district The Ninth New Jersey was in the Second Brigade under Colonel James Stewart, the regiment being commanded by Lieu- tenant-Colonel Samuel Hufby. The duties of this column were to open the railway from New Berne to Goldsboro. Sergeant Hopper had fought with his regiment at New Berne early in the war, and now at its close the fortunes of war carried him back to familiar places, and after the successful battle of New Berne. March 8-10, 1865, the Union army occu- pied Kinston, North Carolina, March 14, and reached Goldsboro on the 21st. He led his company into Goldsboro, North Carolina, March 21, 1865, and secured the capitulation of the citizens and few troops who had not fled. The commander of the Ninth New Jersey in recognition of his valor and daring in capturing the city,
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detailed his company as provost guard, and Captain Hopper was made inspector- general of the Twenty-third Army Corps, the onerous duties of which position were so well performed that he received spe- cial commendation from General Sher- man and Generals Cox and Schofield.
Upon his return home, Captain Hopper, through the kind offices of his old com- mander, now General Hickman, was ap- pointed a conductor on the Central Rail- road of New Jersey, and he held that re- sponsible position together with that of general freight agent of the road for over forty years, becoming personally known to every regular patron of the road. He died in Newark, New Jersey, April 18, 1906.
His brother, Henry Hopper, was also a veteran of the Civil War. He was eighteen years of age and he left the plow in the furrow and hastened to join his brother, Benjamin W., who was recruit- ing volunteers to fill up Company E of the Ninth New Jersey Volunteers. He followed the fortunes of his brother and the Ninth New Jersey at Hatteras, when he was detailed to serve on the gunboat fleet that bombarded the fort on Roanoke Island. In the afternoon before the event- ful day on which the forts were captured, he urged strongly to be allowed to go ashore with the launch carrying howit- zers to the scene of the attack, and thus became temporarily attached to his regi- ment and took part in both the battles of Roanoke Island and New Berne. His brother, then a private, assisted in drag- ging and firing the howitzers, the only artillery ashore at Roanoke Island, until after the victory had been won. After New Berne had capitulated, and seeing ahead no more gun boat fighting, he pro- cured his discharge from the naval serv- ice, and from that time until the end of the war was with his regiment and his
brother who so gallantly commanded Company E. He was mustered out with the regiment in July, 1865, and again took his place at the plow and he continued on the farm until 1873, when he went to Newark and obtained employment there. In 1878 he was appointed on the police force as patrolman. He soon made his services to the city and the department so valuable that he was promoted through the grades to captain of the precinct and thence to chief of the police force of the city of Newark, from which honorable position, especially honored by his unim- peachable character and service, he re- signed.
BAER, Jacob F.,
Pioneer Silk Manufacturer.
Jacob Frederick Baer, son of Frederick Jacob and Anna ( Weibel) Baer, was born in the village of Beckton, in the canton of Basle, Switzerland, November 27, 1836, and died at Paterson, New Jersey, No- vember 29, 1905. He attended the schools of his native town, and immediately after, while yet a boy, was taught the trade of silk making by his father, who moved from Arburg to Aargau, a nearby hamlet and a part of Arburg. After thoroughly mas- tering every detail of the trade under his father's careful tutorage, he decided at the age of twenty years to emigrate to America with the hope of finding a broad- er and more remunerative field for his skill and labor. He came to New York, where for a time he worked at his trade, and later became a member of the firm of E. Walther & Company, of New York City, where he continued up to 1863, when the firm of E. Walther & Company were looking for a new field in which to en- gage in manufacturing to the best ad- vantage. They decided to come to Pater- son, New Jersey, then the center of the
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silk industry of the country, and here Mr. ing demands of its products. About 1904 Baer finally engaged in the manufactur- an addition was made to the plant that increased the output about one-third. There are about two hundred and twenty ribbon looms in the mill, and the concern employs about three hundred and twenty- five operatives. The present officers are : Frederick A. Baer, president, and Ralph Baer, secretary. Jacob Frederick Baer always enjoyed a reputation for liberality, especially in his dealings with his em- ployees, and seldom if ever has any dif- ferences occurred with them. He was a man of high ideals and probity of char- acter, and noted for his kindness and gen- erosity to all with whom he came in con- tact. With his friends he was generous to a fault. He was always an energetic and enterprising citizen, actively engaged until his death, being the oldest silk man- ufacturer in Paterson. ing business for himself with the little money he had saved by dint of simple and frugal tastes taught by his sturdy and honest ancestors, starting with a half dozen small looms. He began to prosper, and by his careful and conscientious man- agement the plant increased. He intro- duced the first ribbon loom in Paterson. and was the first in America to make satin back velvet ribbons. He was in a fair way to become the largest silk manu- facturer in the country when the disas- trous panic of 1873 swept the country. and with a number of other silk makers he was among those who suffered, his plant being entirely wiped out and his entire savings lost in the failure. At the time he was located in the Crescent mill, on what is now Belmont avenue, and was succeeded by the firm of Sterett Ryle & Jacob Frederick Baer married, in New York City, 1858, Louisa Blattner, born September 26, 1838, at Küttingen, Canton Aargau, Switzerland, died at Paterson, New Jersey, July 4, 1904, daughter of Jacob and Anna Blattner. Their sons- Ralph, William A. and Louis G .- inher- ited the father's tastes and abilities, and followed in his occupation. Murphy. Nothing daunted by this failure, Mr. Baer again determined to try his re- sources of energy, brain and thought, and in the meantime he secured positions as superintendent of the Pioneer Silk Com- pany, and later with William Strange & Company, which position he held several years. In 1887 he resigned his position of superintendent, and resumed the manu- facture of silk ribbons on his own ac- MASON, Victor Louis, count, and was instrumental in found- ing and establishing the Helvetia Silk Man of Affairs, Enterprising Citizen. Mill, which company was incorporated in Though not yet in his prime when his life came to its sudden end, Victor Louis Mason had already gained a recognized position in the business world of two con- tinents. In his early career as private secretary to high government officials, he formed many close and lasting friendships with men eminent in public life, notably John Hay, General Russell A. Alger and General Nelson A. Miles, U. S. A. March, 1887, and soon grew into a flour- ishing concern. He became the head of this concern, with branches on Van Hou- ten street, and Lehighton, Pennsylvania, and which to-day are the most conspicu- ous of the industrial establishments of Paterson. The success of the firm was due to the untiring energy, honesty and executive ability of its founder. The plant has been enlarged at various times His business life was an important one, in order to meet the constantly increas- and just prior to his death he had advan-
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tageously placed in London a large issue of the bonds of an American company. He was a social favorite, and a well known member of leading clubs in dif- ferent cities. In his adopted home, Passaic, New Jersey, he became a leader, and as president of the Board of Trade was foremost in all movements for the upbuilding of the city. He was of Eng- lish and French ancestry, and combined with the solid qualities of the former, the vivacity and dash of the latter. His pa- ternal ancestors were early settlers in Virginia; his mother was of French parentage, a direct descendant of Pepin le Broef. Thoroughly equipped through inheritance, education and personality, he met with no failures in his life work. and will be remembered as a man who achieved much, even though his life was a comparatively short one.
Victor Louis Mason was born in Wash- ington, District of Columbia, December 9, 1870, and died in London, England, May 13, 1912. He was the son of James Madi- son and Laura Elizabeth (Pepin) Mason, and of distinguished Virginia lineage. He prepared for college in Washington schools, and then entered Columbian Uni- versity (now George Washington Uni- versity) from which he was graduated in the class of 1897. Soon after graduation he became private secretary to General Russell A. Alger, Secretary of War under President Mckinley, and remained with him until General Alger was succeeded by Hon. Elihu Root. He continued with Secretary Root in the same capacity for a short time. After General Alger re- turned to Detroit, Mr. Mason joined him in 1899, and again became his private secretary. He filled this position until the spring of 1902, when he became as- sistant to Frank M. Murphy, president of the Development Company of America in New York City. Shortly afterward he
was elected second vice-president, then vice-president, an office he most efficiently filled until his resignation in 1910. In addition to serving as vice-president and member of the executive committee of the Development Company of America, Mr. Mason was a director and a mem- ber of the executive committee of the Tombstone Consolidated Mines Company, Limited, the Imperial Copper Company, and the American Mexican Lumber Com- pany.
He was the close personal friend of Mr. Murphy, and was always free to admit that to his association with him he owed much of his success in the business world. During a portion of the time that he was connected with the Development Com- pany, Mr. Mason represented the com- pany in England, where he gained an ex- tensive acquaintance among the financiers of London and Continental European cities. On his return from England he became a resident of Passaic, New Jersey. and served as president of the Passaic Board of Trade from 1907 until the time of his death. He actively encouraged all movements for social betterment; took a prominent part in affairs of local inter- est, as for instance, when he laid the corner stone of the Smith Academy, an institution devoted to the social and phy- sical activities of the young people of Passaic: and indeed displayed enthusi- asm for the development of the city along all lines. It was through his efforts that an appropriation was secured from Con- gress for a post office building in Passaic, and that a Sunday mail collection was ordered. It was due to him also that the Passaic Bank was made a national de- positary. He was one of the first and strongest advocates of the purification of the Passaic river, the agitation he began, now bearing fruit in the construction of the trunk sewer system, that will eventu-
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ally purify the river and enhance the value of all lands adjoining the river.
While president of the Passaic Board of Trade, he planned the memorable ban- quet given by the board to noted men of the nation, an event that was fully re- corded in the daily press and will long be remembered in Passaic. President Taft was the guest of honor. Other eminent men attending the banquet were: Post- master-general Hitchcock, Secretary of Commerce and Labor Nagel, the British Ambassador, Leslie M. Shaw; ex-Gov- ernor Stokes, of New Jersey ; ex-Govern- or Murphy, and Governor Woodrow Wii- son. These men were all personal friends of Mr. Mason. Other warm friends were General Alger, General Coleman Dupont, ex-Governor Fort, ex-Governor Griggs, Oscar Straus, Senator Brice, of Ohio, and Charles E. Hughes. Mr. Mason was brought into contact with many public men through his association with General Alger in Washington and Detroit, his im- portant business connections, his service in 1008 as assistant secretary of the Republi- can National Committee with headquarters in New York, and his active part in the election of President Taft. He also made a large army acquaintance in his capacity as secretary of the National Board of Ordnance and Fortification.
Mr. Mason was a delegate to the New Jersey Republican State Convention of 1908, and a delegate to the National Re- publican Convention of that year which nominated President Taft. During the campaign that followed, he accompanied Mr. Taft on his noted western trip. Al- though Mr. Mason was importuned to ac- cept the nomination for mayor of Passaic and was spoken of for United States Sen- ator from New Jersey, he would never allow his name to be used in connection with political office.
ments to bridge and tunnel the Hudson river, and by appointment of Governor Jolin H. Fort represented New Jersey as a member of the New York Interstate Bridge Commission, a joint commission appointed by the States of New Jersey and New York, of which he was vice- chairman. He was also chairman of the New Jersey Interstate Bridge and Tunnel Commission, and not long prior to his leaving for England in 1911 was called in conference by Governor Wilson to dis- cuss the plans of the new commission for bridging the Hudson.
Mr. Mason was a selfmade man in the truest sense ; he worked his way through college and followed high ideals. He was a witty, eloquent after-dinner speaker and a most pleasing writer. He began writing for the press and periodicals when but twenty years of age, and continued to be an occasional contributor in later life. Some of his articles were highly com- mended and republished in England. notably "The Four Lincoln Conspira- tors." an article illustrated by photo- graphs taken by Mr. Mason. Among his other contributions to current literature were "Manitions of Modern Warfare," and the "Flight and Capture of Jefferson Davis." He was also responsible for the publication of a "History of the Spanish- American War," which vindicates Gen- eral Alger from the charges of neglecting the soldiers' health and welfare.
At a dinner of the Gridiron Club of Washington given in honor of Mr. Mason after the elections of 1908, he was pre- sented with a handsome silver loving cup. the gift of the Republican National Com- mittee, in recognition of his valuable services during the campaign as secretary in charge of headquarters in New York City.
He was an ardent devotee of out-door He was deeply interested in the move- sports, went on frequent fishing and hunt-
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