USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume III > Part 41
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County Ayr to the North of Ireland. She was left an orphan at an early age, and was provided for by her uncle's family. She accompanied her parents' friend, Mr. Calbraith, to this country, and shortly after her arrival married Captain Perry, then mate of a ship, at the house of the celebrated surgeon, Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia. They had five children.
Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, son of Captain Christopher Raymond and Sarah Wallace (Alexander) Perry, was born at South Kingston, Rhode Island, August 23, 1785, and died at Port Spain, Trinidad, August 23, 1819. He was care- fully reared by his mother, who incul- cated one truth beyond all others-that, in order to command others, one must first learn to obey. He was educated in private schools in Kingston, Tower Hill and Newport, and was an apt scholar in mathematics and navigation. At the age of twelve years he was confirmed in the Episcopal church. With his parents he removed to Warren, Rhode Island, in 1797. April 7, 1799, he received his com- mission as midshipman, and cruised in the West Indies. Later he cruised to Louisiana, and then served in the Tripoli- tan War. January 15, 1807, he was ap- pointed a lieutenant, and, after building a fleet of gunboats, commanded the schoon- er, "Revenge." While preparing for the War of 1812 he gave deep study to the science of gunnery and naval tactics, so that when the fight commenced he was considered the best qualified naval officer in the United States. He had assembled his gunboats and made his men compre- hend the evolutions of a fleet. He ten- dered his services to Commodore Isaac Chauncey on the lakes, and, on the re- quest of the latter, Perry was ordered to Lake Erie. Within twenty-four hours of February 17, 1812, he had sent ahead a detachment of fifty men, and set off in a
sleigh for Lake Erie on the 22nd, reach- ing there March 27th. He directed the building of a squadron from the virgin forest, and by incredible toil collected a force of nine vessels, but in it were only two vessels which could be classed as men-of-war-the "Lawrence" and the "Niagara," of five hundred tons burden each, carrying twenty guns apiece. The British side, under Captain Robert Heriot Barclay, supplied its ships by dismantling its forts, and he had six vessels of one thousand four hundred and sixty tons, with sixty-three cannon, or nine more than the American fleet possessed. Perry moved from Put-in-Bay on the morning of September 10, 1813, to meet the Brit- ish fleet. The opposing forces approached each other at eleven o'clock, and when the bugle sounded on the flagship of the Brit- ish fleet the men gave three cheers, and the long guns of the "Detroit" opened on the "Lawrence" at a distance of half a mile. At noon the battle was on in dead earnest, the heaviest vessels of each flect confronting each other as in a duel. The advantage at the start was with Barclay, and the cockpit of the "Lawrence" was filled with wounded men and the ship re- duced to the condition of a hulk. Under these circumstances, Perry called for men to man a boat, and with the flag wrapped around his arm was taken to the "Nia- gara." The breeze coming up now, aided the Americans to get into position, so that they swept the British decks. At three o'clock the enemy lowered the Brit- ish flag, announcing that Great Britain had lost its entire squadron, and this to a man of twenty-seven years. It was then that Perry sent the famous despatch to General Harrison, reading: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." A painting depicting this great episode in American history may be seen in the ro- tunda of the Capitol at Washington. Com-
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modore Perry married Elizabeth C. Ma- son. A lineal descendant of Commodore Perry was Dr. Alfonzo Perry, of Rhode Island, who married Marietta Plate. Their son was
Oliver H. Perry, who was born in New York State, and died in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1908. He was the recipient of an excellent education at Rockford Col- lege, New York, and after being gradu- ated from this institution accepted a cleri- cal position with the Erie Railroad Com- pany, with whom his brother was already holding a responsible position. Later he engaged in the coal business in Jersey City, with which he was identified until his death. He was a man of many sided ability, and was held in high regard in the financial world. He was a director of the Fifth Ward Bank, and of the Third National Bank of Jersey City. For a time he was a freeholder of the county. He was a member of the Hollywood Hunting Club, of the Union League, and the Corate Club.
Mr. Perry married Eugenia Wild. also a native of New York. While taking a fair share in the social life of the city, Mr. Perry was a man of very domestic inclinations, and found his chief pleasures in the home circle.
HUSK, James H.,
Respected Citizen.
A selfmade man rising to a condition of competence and ease through enter- prise, industry and resolute purpose, Mr. Husk belonged to that honored class of men whose lives are a lesson and an in- spiration. Few men in Essex county, New Jersey, were more widely known, none more worthy of the high esteem in which he was held, and none more de- serving of success than he. He was of the third generation of his family in Cald-
well township, Essex county, his grand- father, John Husk, a native of Holland, Europe, purchasing a tract of land at Clinton, Caldwell township, in 1800. On his first visit to Clinton the locality was in such primitive condition that on the spot which afterward he cultivated as a garden, he shot a deer. John Husk car- ried on the work of wresting a farm from the forest all his life, and to such men is due the reclamation of the beautiful Cald -. well section. They laid the foundation for the present prosperity, and, like John Husk, left sons who carried forward the work begun by their sires. John Husk had seven children: Abraham, of further mention ; Ellen, married John M. Van Duyne, of Morris county ; Sarah, married Henry Francisco, of Caldwell township; Rachael, married Lewis Estler, and died at Boonton, New Jersey ; Richard, died at Boonton; Eliza, married Henry Stager, whose farm was on the North Caldwell road: John, lived and died in Caldwell township.
Abraham Husk, eldest son of John Husk, the founder, was born at the Husk homestead in Clinton, Caldwell township, in 1807, there spent his life of fifty-one years, and died March 4, 1858. He spent his life from boyhood in the cultivation and improvement of the farm, succeeded to its ownership, and was highly regarded in his neighborhood, as a man of industry and thrift. He married Esther Crane, who died February 14, 1869, daughter of Abijah Crane. Children: Maria; James H., of further mention; Stephen; Eliza ; Lucetta ; John; Richard; William; Al- fred ; Thomas; Abbie, and Marcus E.
James H. Husk, son of Abraham and Esther (Crane) Husk, was born at the homestead in Clinton, Essex county, New Jersey, October 13, 1829, died in Caldwell, New Jersey, April 6, 1909. He attended the district school, and from boyhood
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until attaining legal age remained at home, his father's farm assistant. He never liked his occupation, and as soon as he attained his majority left the home roof, with a small well earned capital, a stout heart, a clear mind, and a good healthy body, developed under the best conditions of country and family life. He first went to Boonton, New Jersey, where he had relatives living, and for a time was employed as a team driver. He then se- cured a position with the Boonton Iron Company as a cutter in the nail depart- ment, and in a later year was promoted to the position of general superintendent of outdoor work. He continued with the Boonton Iron Company until 1859. when he resigned to become wagon salesman for Campbell, Lane & Company, of Cald- well, New Jersey. His business was to drive over a given route at regular inter- vals, and dispose of the stock of goods with which his wagon was loaded. He was very successful and in course of time he accumulated considerable capital. which he invested in a farm. He culti- vated his own acres for a time, but the boyhood dislike for farm labor was still strong within him, and he soon sold out and sought a new field of investment. This he found in the Caldwell and Mont- clair stage line, which he bought in 1883 and operated very profitably until June 30, 1897, when the trolley line superseded the stage. He then operated a livery barn and continued in business activity for several more years, then retired com- pletely to the comfort and enjoyment of the competence he had so honorably earned. He was a man of strong char- acter, rugged in his honesty and every- body's friend. He was a member of the Republican party, and always a keen voter on town, county, State and govern- ment affairs. He was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, in Caldwell, New Jersey.
Mr. Husk married, in Morris county, January 19, 1850, Adeline Stites, daugh- ter of Nicholas Stites. She survives her husband, a resident of Caldwell. Chil- dren: Wilson, Maria L., Jessie, Sarah, Thomas S., Nellie and Adline. Mr. Husk and his family were members of the Pres- byterian church.
MULLIGAN, Patrick Francis, Bookseller, Newsdealer, Stationer.
Born in Ireland, but from infancy until death a resident of the city of Newark, Mr. Mulligan's life story is one of exceed- ing interest and commendable example. He found no royal road to fortune, but pursued the old difficult path to business success, starting humbly, thoroughly mastering every detail, and earnestly and intelligently pursuing one line of business from his boyhood. He was a "news- dealer" from the time he was a little boy. and it is said of him that he knew the name and address of every man in New- ark who had attained prominence. From a small beginning he built up the largest book, stationery and news business in the city of Newark. His store on Broad street, opposite the City Hall, being the literary centre for the city. He supplied three generations, and as his memory was peculiarly accurate and retentive, he could tell the life story of thousands of his fel- low citizens, and in this faculty he had no equal in the city. One of the main rea- sons for his rise in the business world was his personal, consistent and constant de- votion to his business. His familiar sta- tion in the store was behind the counter near the door. He knew every item of his stock, was for years his own cashier, and his volume of personal sales exceed- ed that of all of his clerks. This atten- tion he continued even after the stream of fortune had floated him to a high finan- cial level ; in fact, he was an indefatigable
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worker until the end, and contrary to the advice of his friends and his physician he refused to take any vacation, and chose rather to be in his old place in the store and still "in harness," as he liked to put it. Men liked and admired the outspoken manner of the boy, and they enjoyed to linger in conversation with him in the riper and mellowed years of manhood and old age. He was a man of strong and decided views, and while he expressed them frankly and uncompromisingly, he yet possessed the rare faculty of differing without offending.
While for forty-two years he conducted his business on Broad street, and was the best known dealer in his line in the city, he became thoroughly familiar with New- ark real estate values, and acquired his wealth largely from well timed invest- ments in centrally located property. His judgment of real estate values was re- markably accurate, and from his host of friends he could always obtain any infor- mation which he might desire regarding investments. Intensely strong in his political views, it was only as a patriotic, interested citizen, never as the office seeker, although his reputation at large and his friendship with the leaders of both parties was a weighty asset had he desired to use them for his political ad- vancement. But he was never lured from his chosen life work, and while he was proud that he had made his life a success, he was well contented to end as he began, "P. F. Mulligan, bookseller, newsdealer and stationer."
To the city of which he was a long honored resident, he left the record of a well lived life, and an example of perse- verance, integrity and character. His two sons, James Roosevelt and George Doane Mulligan, are successful members of the Essex county bar.
Patrick Francis Mulligan was born
February 5, 1846, in the Aghadrumsee dis- trict of Clones, in County Monahan, Ire- land, and died in Newark, New Jersey, May 17, 1910, son of Hugh and Bridget (McCaffery) Mulligan, both of Irish birth, the former a native of County Monahan, the latter of County Ferma- nagh.
In 1847 Mrs. Hugh Mulligan, after the death of her husband, brought her three sons to the United States, settling in East Newark, New Jersey.
Patrick Francis attended the public school in East Newark and the famous Kearny School in Newark, and began his business life on August 31, 1861, as one of Newark's booksellers in the em- ploy of Charles A. Wallen, who conducted a book store on Broad street, near the Third Presbyterian Church. He con- tinued an employee of Mr. Wallen until Friday, November 13, 1868, when at the age of twenty-two he bought out the Wallen business, and in 1871 moved it to a new building which he had erected at No. 927 Broad street, the present location of the book store which is now run by the family as a corporation. As the years passed, his business expanded until "Mul- ligan's" became the most important of all similar establishments in the city.
These two lines, his business and his investments were Mr. Mulligan's greatest activity, and in both he won reputation and fortune. He was a Democrat in poli- tics, and a member of the congregation of Saint Patrick's Cathedral. He be- longed to no clubs, and the only interests in his life were his business, his home and his family. He was buried in the family plot in the Cemetery of the Holy Sepul- chre, East Orange.
Patrick Francis Mulligan married, in Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Newark, Feb- ruary 5, 1877, Mary Elizabeth Gaffney, daughter of Peter Gaffney and Catherine
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Carr. Children: Francis P., born No- vember 4, 1877, died December 18, 1835 ; James Roosevelt, born May 28, 1880; George Doane, born May 28, 1880: Ella May, born May 10, 1883, died May 25, 1887; and May Frances (Mrs. Harry L. Brittingham, of Danville, Illinois), born March 15, 1888.
TATEM, William Peniston, Business Man, Public Official,
At the old Tatem homestead at Wood- bury, Gloucester county, New Jersey, Wil- liam P. Tatem was born, May 23, 1822, and seventy-four years later, August 20, 1896, he ended his useful life at Collings- wood, Camden county, New Jersey. He came from an old New Jersey family, well known in Gloucester county and South Jersey, and in his own life maintained the high standards and best traditions of his race. He obtained a good education, and for several years taught school in his native county, but later engaged in the insurance business in Camden, New Jer- sey, where for thirty-five years he was a director of the Camden Fire Insurance Association and for twelve years its presi- dent. He was a good business man, a capable executive and an authority in the insurance world in which he moved. Mr. Tatem was a son of Joseph and Mary Tatem, and the old homestead in Wood- bury is yet owned in the family.
Mr. Tatem was ahvays deeply inter- ested in politics and an ardent supporter of the Republican party. He held many positions of honor and trust, through the favor of the voters of Woodbury and Gloucester county, and each office held but increased his hold upon public confi- dence. While he held many minor offices, he also filled places of county and dis- trict importance. He was but thirty-two years of age when elected sheriff of Glou-
cester county, and so satisfactory was his administration of the duties of that office that later he was called to represent his district in the New Jersey State Senate. In that body he became well known throughout the State for his devotion to the interests of the people, for his able work upon the floor of the Senate and his untiring labors in the committees upon which he was placed. At the expiration of his term he was reelected, and repeat- ing the successes of his first term, his con- stituents returned him for a third term, which he likewise served with honor and fidelity. While he was a straight party man and always stood firmly by his prin- ciples, he was not unfair or blindly par- tisan, and retired from every office he ever heid with the confidence and respect of the people he served irrespective of party affiliation. In 1868 Senator Tatem was appointed internal revenue collector for a New Jersey district by President Grant, an office he filled most satisfactorily to the government and to those whose busi- ness came within the scope of his author- ity until the first administration of Presi- dent Cleveland, when he resigned and re- tired from public life. From 1854, when elected sheriff, until his retirement in 1885, his life was lived in the fierce light of publicity and much of that period was one of heated political feeling when party spirit ran high, but he held inviolate a strict sense of public honor and never was there a stain upon his public record. In private and business life he adhered to the same high ideals and left to his de- scendants an honored name. He was one of the organizers of the Haddonfield Pres- byterian Church, and was a trustee of the church until his death. Within a square of his old home at Collingswood a $50,000 Presbyterian church has been erected, being on a part of the old homestead ground.
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Mr. Tatem married, in 1849, Achsah White Frazer, of near Bordentown, Bur- lington county, New Jersey, and this life was an ideal one. Mrs. Tatem's death oc- curred six years prior to her husband's. Four children were born of their union: Joseph E., deceased ; William P., Jr., died in infancy ; Mary L., deceased; Henry R., resides in Collingswood, New Jersey, where he is engaged in the real estate and insurance business ; was the town's first mayor, acted as postmaster for ten years, and served two terms in the New Jersey Legislature.
VANDERPOEL, Beach, Enterprising Citizen, Public Official.
The great-great-grandfather of Beach Vanderpoel, one of Newark's honored mayors of the early day, was Wynant Vanderpoel, born in Albany, New York, 1681, died in Newark, New Jersey, April 14, 1750. Wynant Vanderpoel, of Albany and Newark, was a son of Melgert Wyantse Vanderpoel, a grandson of Wyant Gerritse Vanderpoel, born in Am- sterdam, Holland, in 1620, died in Albany, New York, 1699, and a great-grandson of Gerrit Vanderpoel, of Amsterdam, and his wife, Tryntje (Melgert) Vanderpoel, also of Amsterdam. The Vanderpoel residence in Newark began with Wynant Vanderpoel in 1730, and from that day until the present the name has been an honored one in the official and business annals of the city.
James Vanderpoel, father of Beach Vanderpoel, was prominent in Newark public affairs from 1808 to 1836, and shortly after his retirement his son, Beach, took up the father's unfinished work, and as mayor of the city for two terms and as a business man for years, added new lustre to the family name. With the sons of Beach Vanderpoel came into the fam-
ily new lines of activity, and in the pro- fessions-law, medicine, divinity and en- gineering-each bore a man's part, prov- ing their true mettle and strength of char- acter.
Beach Vanderpoel was born in Newark, New Jersey, October 26, 1808, and died in the same city at the home erected by himself near the corner of Washington Place and Halsey street. His early edu- cation was obtained under Andrew Smith, then principal of . old Newark Academy, and at the boarding school kept by Cal- vin S: Crane, at Caldwell, New Jersey. He did not incline to a professional life, but at the age of seventeen began a busi- ness career, becoming a clerk in the dry goods house of Josiah James & Company, in New York City. Three years later, in 1828, he entered into partnership with his brother John, establishing the importing and wholesale dry goods house of J. & B. Vanderpoel. The firm occupied a store in Maiden Lane, and there until 1841 con- ducted a most successful business. After the death of his father in 1842, Mr. Van- derpoel moved his residence from, New York to Newark, first occupying the old family homestead, corner of Broad and Division streets, on the present site of the Continental Hotel, afterward removing to the brick building he caused to be erected in 1868 on Washington Place. near the corner of Halsey street.
After locating permanently in Newark, he became actively interested in the offi- cial management of the Morris & Essex Railroad Company. He was chosen a director in January, 1842, also was elect- ed treasurer, and until the leasing of the' road to the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western was one of its most prominent active officers and managers. It is worthy of remark that James Vanderpoel, his father, was one of the original founders of the road, and that after it passed to the
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Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, Beach Vanderpoel continued a member of the board of directors until his death. Like his father in his devotion to public affairs, Beach Vanderpoel both in New York and in Newark was ever engaged in all that pertained to the public good. In Newark he was especially interested, and during the years 1846-47 capably and honorably filled the mayor's office, by will of the voters, who twice elected him their chief executive.
He married, March 3, 1834, Miss Fish- er, of Hightstown, New Jersey, a grand- daughter of Colonel David Chambers, who commanded a regiment of Conti- nentals during the Revolution, leading them at Trenton and Monmouth. Great as was the service Beach Vanderpoel ren- dered Newark as executive citizen, his best gift to his native city was his five brilliant sons : William, Beach, Jr., James, Eugene, Wynant. 1. William, a graduate of Burlington College and Harvard Law School, also spent a year in study at the University of Berlin, Germany. He was an honored member of the Essex county bar, was a long time connected with finan- cial institutions of Newark, and secretary of the New Jersey Insurance Company. He was a close student, with a mind of rare ability and culture, had widely trav- eled, and was richly endowed with a wealth of manly qualities. He died No- vember 2, 1885. 2. Beach, Jr., was a graduate of Burlington College and Har- vard Law School, also studied for sev- eral years at the University of Berlin, Germany. He was admitted to the Essex county bar and to the New York bar, practicing at both, but most of his life was spent abroad, in European capitals. 3. Dr. James Vanderpoel was a graduate of Williams College and of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York. After obtaining his degree he was con-
nected with the staff of St. Barnabas Hos- pital and St. Michael's Hospital, Newark, but later went to Japan, where he was assistant physician at the Yokohoma Gen- eral Hospital. He died there, January 14, 1876, in the thirty-fifth year of his age; his was a life of rare promise, suddenly terminated. 4. Eugene, of whom is fur- ther in an extended notice in a following sketch. 5. Rev. Wynant Vanderpoel was a graduate of Princeton University, and a graduate in divinity at Union Theologi- cal Seminary, New York. He took holy orders, and became a clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal church.
VANDERPOEL, Eugene, Man of Affairs.
Eugene Vanderpoel, fourth of the sons of Beach Vanderpoel, was born in New- ark, New Jersey, in 1844, and there after a life of great usefulness he died, July 12, 1903, at his residence, Washington Place, near Halsey street.
He prepared in the public schools and then entered Princeton College whence he was graduated. He chose engineering as his profession, preparing therefor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. After leaving college he en- tered the active fields of labor, giving especial attention to gas manufacture and distribution. In this field he became pre- eminent, and was a consulting authority much sought after. He became president of the Newark Gas Company, and was its active, efficient executive until 1895, when the company became the Newark Consoli- dated Gas Company. He was an expert authority on all matters associated with the manufacture of gas, and as a trained engineer was of the greatest service to the company in planning and installing the lines of the distribution service. He was president of the International Gas
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Light Association, and a consulting au- thority on all subjects pertaining to the use of gas as an illuminant.
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