USA > New Jersey > Cape May County > Ocean City > Ocean City [N.J] guide book and directory 1893 > Part 3
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J. F. HAND.
In all cities, whether inland or on the seaboard, there are no more efficient and substantial factors toward their comfort and beauty than the work of those engaged in the building inter- ests. In growing cities, especially, men who are conversant with architecture and building in a practical sense, are valuable acquisitions. J. F. Hand is one of these. The first work for which he was called to the city was the erection of the artistic little cottage, "Holiday." Among the buildings which he has erected since are the M. E. Church and Rev. B. H. Sander- line's handsome residence. Mr. Hand was born at Tuckerton, N. J., attended the public schools, but finished his education at Pennington Seminary. He has travelled extensively up and
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down the coast, was engaged by the Long Island Railroad Com- pany and also by the United States Government to erect build- ings. He is now serving his first term as Councilman, and is progressive and liberal, firm in his convictions and intrepid in his efforts toward crystalizing those convictions into such ac- tion as shall be for the best interest of the city.
R. FISHER.
In the real estate business the fact is especially apparent that " Realty is the basis of all security." This basis is found in the knowledge and probity of those through whom the transac- tions are conducted. In view of this fact, there is probably 110 one in Ocean City possessing more of these qualifications than R. Fisher, one of the few pioneer real estate agents left. He has been connected with the largest sales of lots which have been inade on the Island, and his business interests have been closely interwoven with the history of the city. This knowledge, together with long experience, is an invaluable aid to investors. His office buildings are centrally located at the corner of Seventh street and Asbury avenue, and his handsome residence at the corner of Seventh street and Wesley avenue.
Mr. Fisher was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1848, of Scotch- Irish parents. He came to America twenty-five years ago and has travelled extensively in Europe and the United States.
With the advantage of talents amounting to genius, and with an inherent brilliancy and versatility of mind that rest only with the reward of high achievement, Mr. Fisher's continued success is established, while no more glowing tribute can be paid than that his eminence has been reached by the exercise of his own abilities.
R. B. Stites-Lumber Dealer.
Residence of R. B. Stites, 759 Asbury Avenue.
VED
R. H. Thorn.
R. H. Thorn's Stores and Residence.
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R. B. STITES.
R. B. Stites is one of the earliest pioneers of the city, and was thoroughly acquainted with the island long before it was de- cided upon as a site for a Summer resort. He was born in Cape May county, educated in the public schools, and served nine years in the Life Saving Service. October 12, 1881, he moved into the house he now occupies, and August 10, 1885, the firm of R. B. Stites & Co. was organized. It is recognized as being in every way capable of meeting the constant demand for first- class lumber. There may be found in the yards, at Twelfth street and West avenue, a heavy line of builders' material, well seasoned and adapted to immediate use. There is com- munication by telephone between his residence, in the heart of the city, and the office at the lumber yard. This contributes greatly to the convenience of the public, as orders may be left at either place. It is due to the untiring efforts and superior business ability of R. B. Stites that the firm has become very widely known. By great care in purchasing, and honorable methods in dealing, it has won and well deserves the confidence and patronage of the publie.
Mr. Stites is public-spirited, always ready and willing to en- courage and support every project of importance to the city's welfare, thus making an invaluable citizen.
R. H. THORN.
This name stands conspicuously in the ranks of the pioneer business mien of Ocean City. Possessed of fine commercial ability, aided by the exercise of sound judgment and indomit- able energy, Mr. Thorn has not only won success for himself, but has added materially to the growth and prosperity of the city. He was born and educated in Frankford, Phila. He came to this city May 4th, 1885, and having a previous knowl- edge of the business, purchased stock and opened a hardware and house-furnishing store at his present stand, at the corner of Eighth St. and Asbury Ave. Confident of the speedy growth 3
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of the city, he purchased in 1887 two lots adjoining the one he occupied, and built the store, No. 805 Asbury Ave. In 1890 he bought the stand where he commenced business, and in 1891 built another store between Sor and 805, together. with a dwelling house facing on Eighth St. Mr. Thorn now owns the largest establishment of its kind in the city; his ware rooms are filled with every variety of goods necessary to the trade. The stock is constantly enlarged, as the demand steadily in- creases. Mr. Thorn has served as Councilman and has held inany positions of trust, both public and private, the duties of which have all been faithfully performed.
STEELMAN & ENGLISH.
The beauty of a city depends largely upon its architecture, and to those who design and construct its buildings is due the credit of the position it holds in this direction. Among those who have done a large amount of the work which adorns the streets and avenues of Ocean City is the above firm, the mem- bers of which are J. C. Steelman and E. B. English. These young men are well versed in the details and principles of this branch of industry and are moving rapidly toward the estab- lishing of an extensive and lucrative business. They are pre- pared at all times to execute orders with accuracy and prompt- ness, coupled with the courtesy which ever marks successful business inen. They were both born and educated in Southern New Jersey and were among the early residents of the city. Mr. Steelman, the senior member of the firm, is serving a second term as City Councilman. He is broad-minded and progressive, yet careful and conscientious. In him the people have a valuable guardian of their interests and the city an official who looks to the future and has the courage to chain- pion measures which tend toward hier prosperity.
Councilman J. C. Steelman.
-
Residence of J. C. Steelman.
H. G. Steelman, City Treasurer.
JANT & STEELCAN
H. G.Steelman's Grocery Store, 705 Asbury Avenue.
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H. G. STEELMAN.
Ocean City has one prominent characteristic, the success of her young men. H. G. Steelman is among the first of the city of those who have acquired this guerdon for which all men toil. He was born at Weymouth, N. J., and educated in the public schools. He came to Ocean City in 1888, and imme- diately engaged in the grocery business at his present location, 705 Asbury avenue. The building in which he commenced was soon too small to meet the requirements of a rapidly growing trade, and was removed to the rear of the lot it occu- pied. A store 72x30 feet, three stories high, has been erected on the site of the old one; the second floor is fitted up for a public hall and council chamber, and the third floor for lodge rooms, etc.
H. G. Steelman carries a heavy stock of first-class goods, consisting of everything connected with his line of business. By a systematic course of honorable dealing he has acquired a large and profitable patronage. He also holds the responsible position of City Treasurer, and has been otherwise made the recipient of public confidence. A brilliant future is predicted for H. G. Steelman.
R. C. ROBINSON.
One of our rising young men is Postmaster R. C. Robinson, editor and proprietor of the Ocean City Sentinel. Mr. Robinson was born in Atlantic county, N. J., in 1862. His father died when he was nine years of age, and he was early thrown on his own resources. At sixteen years of age he entered a wholesale dry-goods house, but finding the business distasteful he engaged to learn the printing business in the Banner office at Beverly, N. J. He then accepted a position with A. L. English, of the Atlantic Review, Atlantic City. Mr. Robin- son was first in the employ and was then associated with Mr. English in business for over six years. During this time he
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was editor and manager of the May's Landing Record, and assistant editor of the Philadelphia journal, Over the Moun- tains and Down by the Sea. He came to Ocean City in 1885, and forming a partnership with W. H. Fenton, purchased the Ocean City Sentinel, and in a short time became sole pro- prietor. In 1888 he represented Ocean City in the Board of Freeholders of Cape May county. He was appointed post- master in 1889. Upon assuming the duties of this position, he immediately set about having the mail service extended and the office designated a money-order office, succeeding in both. Mr. Robinson is possessed of those faculties which constitute the elements of success-hard labor and strict attention to whatever line of business in which he may be engaged.
H. B. ADAMS.
Real estate and insurance business is a most important factor in the material prosperity of a community. A casual observer can form no conception of the important position held by the active, enterprising agent, devoted to the work of buying and selling real estate, establishing values and otherwise stimulating property-holders to the great improvements it lies within their power to make. H. B. Adams is one of this class. The judi- cious principles which he upholds in his transactions, the com- petency with which he investigates points connected therewith, are securing for him a large and deserved patronage. Mr. Adams is also editor and proprietor of the Weekly News, a paper which, though of recent issue, has already a large circulation, giving, as the well-directed efforts of a journalist always must, an additional and irresistible impulse to the progress and development of the city it represents. The popularity of Mr. Adams is shown in the fact of his being elected to the position of City Clerk, in which he is now serving the second terin; to that of Secretary of the Electric Railway Company, and Direc- tor of the Water Works Company.
R. Curtis Robinson. EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR OF THE OCEAN CITY SENTINEL.
Prof. L. R. Thomas. PRINCIPAL OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Ex-Mayor J. E. Pryor, M. D.
Dr. J. S. Waggoner. OLDEST RESIDENT PHYSICIAN OF OCEAN CITY.
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DR. J. E. PRYOR.
Dr. Pryor is descended from a family prominent in the State of Indiana for many generations, noted through Colonial and Revolutionary times for the men it furnished to the patriot armies engaged in warfare on the western frontier, when the Indians, led on by their great chief Tecumseh, constituted such a terrible foe. He was born April 24, 1861, near the city of Logansport, Ind. His preliminary education was received at the public schools, in which department he afterward became a teacher. Desirous of a higher profession, he chose the study of medicine, and entered the Detroit Medical College, from which institution he was graduated in 1888. Dr. Pryor located in Ocean City the sanie year and soon acquired an extensive prac- tice. Ambitious to rise in his profession, he further pursued a course of instruction at the Philadelphia Polyclinic in 1890 and 1891, and is constantly alive to the importance of keeping abreast of the times in this direction. He has contributed a number of articles of merit to medical journals.
Dr. Pryor was elected Mayor of Ocean City in 1889 and served one term. The duties incumbent upon this position were dis- charged by him in an able manner. He has displayed through his career the perseverance and courage which will continue to bring to him in the future, as it has in the past, the success which is ever the result of these attributes.
J. S. WAGGONER, M. D.
Dr. Waggoner was born in Perry county, Pa., where he resided during his boyhood. He afterward removed to Carlisle, and engaged in the study of medicine. In 1860 he was gradu- ated from the University of Pennsylvania. At the outbreaking of the Rebellion, he was appointed assistant surgeon of the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry (Cameron Dragoons), and was also physician to the Eastern Insane Asylum of Virginia at Wil-
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liamsburg. He was mustered out as a supernumerary of the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry, and immediately appointed assistant surgeon to the 84th Pennsylvania Infantry, from which posi- tion he was shortly afterward appointed to that of surgeon. In 1864 he resigned, and was appointed post surgeon of the United States General Hospital, at Beverly. Here he ac- quired an enviable reputation as surgeon. At the battle of Chancellorsville he was carried from the field supposed to be mortally wounded. Through the skill and tender care of S. S. Fowler, now of South Carolina, his recovery was brought about.
After the war he was engaged in private practice in New Jersey. He came to Ocean City when it was first planned, and established the pioneer drug store, still continuing the prac- tice of medicine. He has served as borough clerk and city councilman.
Dr. Waggoner is thoroughly conscientious in all his work. The positions which he lias held, and the offices he has filled have been honored by the manner in which he has discharged the duties of each.
JESSE CONVER.
Ex-Councilman Conver is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Montgomery county, March 29, 1834. He engaged in the tin and sheet-iron business at twenty years of age, and shortly afterwards removed to Philadelphia, where he carried on the roof- ing, heating and range business very extensively. He came to Ocean City in 1881, and has since engaged in the same busi - ness. Mr. Conver is one of the few men who, when coming in contact with the business world, do not allow its influence to draw them from their own consciousness of truth and right, who maintain a strict integrity in all their business trans- actions. The influence of his early life among the hills of Pennsylvania, of simple habits and firmly ingrained princi- ples of right, are still exerted, and may be felt and seen in his daily life.
Councilman J. F. Hand.
The Vandalia House, 725 Central Avenue. MRS. S. BURLEY, PROPRIETRESS.
-
CHOGUCUP & WEST ENG. do.
"Ocean City" Life Saving Station.
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Wrecks.
" And the stately ships go on To their haven under the hill."
The following pages are designed for the entertainment of our summer guests, with the hope that the happy, idle hours spent in strolling on the beach may be made interesting, as well by these accounts of incidents of the sea. The lore of sailors is rich in curious and poetic fancies, in quaint and beautiful superstitions; to him the winds and waves possess a peculiar meaning. While the love of the sailor and the joy of the fisherman may not be revealed in all its beauty and significance to us who come from crowded cities, from mountains or prairies, the ocean is still, in its many phases, at all times and to all people, ever clothed with a weird, mysterious charm. The traditions that cluster around the New Jersey shores of wrecks of Spanish galleon laden with gold and silver, of merchantman and whaler, the lugger of the pirate, slow-sailing ketch and swift steamship, are many of them founded upon those which have occurred on Peck's Beach. The island claims a distinct history, written in her driftwood of broken spars, crushed and battered hulls. Great Egg Harbor Bar is dangerous to mariners on account of its continually shifting sands, and requires the es- pecial attention of the Coast Survey, and although every pre- caution is used to warn and protect vessels, many a good ship has come to grief on these treacherous shoals. The accounts of wrecks which have occurred a century or more ago sound to us like a wild romance, until we remember that the marine records registered hundreds of thousands of sailors, England alone contributing over half a million. What tragedies, then,
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might not be enacted, or dramas sustained by the vast multi- tudes, drawn from every race and nation that "go down to the sea in ships." When we recall the fact that three-quarters of the globe is used as a highway, and that even in our midst are sailors who have reckoned their course by the polar star among the icebergs, sweltered in the blazing sun of the tropics, or kept their vigils beneath the splendor of the southern cross, to whom the Chilian shores, the rocks of Gibraltar, the coast line of the Dark Continent, and the islands of the South Seas are familiar sights, little room is left for imagination or fancy; truth far outreaches the powers of either, the extent of which will never be revealed till "the sea gives up its dead." The old hostelries at Somers Point could tell strange tales of res- cued victims of shipwreck, of terror-stricken emigrants, unable to converse save in their native tongue, of cabin passengers whose wealth lay at the bottom of the sea. How it was neces- sary at times to resort to severe measures to prevent bloodshed among the crew and officers, when the captain was secured with bolts in one room, the mates in another, and the sailors in still another apartment, until their fury had subsided, or they were removed to safer quarters. These troubles some- times arose when the sailors in mutiny had wrecked the vessel purposely, when the accident had occurred through the neglect of the officer on watch, or the captain had been harsh and cruel. It is with reluctance we confine ourselves to those wrecks only which are officially recorded, or have occurred within the recollection of people still living, and to those of recent date. It is to be sincerely hoped that these traditions may be embalined in song or story before they are forgotten, or the old sailors and wreckers to whom they are familiar have sailed out beyond the final harbor bar.
E. B. English.
Residence of E. B. English.
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THE PERSEVERANCE.
" Down upon the beach of sand, When the night's fierce storm was o'er, And the morning's tender hand Touched with light the wreck-strewn shore, Fishers in their suits of gray Found her body where it lay Cold and lifeless on the shore."
The brig Perseverance, from Havre, France, to New York, laden with a cargo valued at $400,000, was wrecked nearly opposite the point where the "Ocean Rest" now stands, in the month of December, 1815. The day previous to the disaster (Friday) a vessel from New York was spoken which told the Perseverance she was 200 miles east of Sandy Hook. The news occasioned great joy among the crew and passengers, as they expected, according to this intelligence, to land in New York on the following day. The captain, imbued with the spirit engendered by the fatal error to a degree of recklessness, spread every stitch of canvas to a heavy "nor'easter," and with spars strained to their utmost, and cordage creaking, the good ship sped merrily on to hier swift destruction. At 3 o'clock A. M., on Saturday, the cry of "breakers ahead " was sounded, and a moment later the vessel struck, refused to obey her helm, and backed up on the beach stern foremost. In a short time the sea broke entirely over her. Eight of the seven- teen souls on board got into the long boat and a heavy sea swept it overboard. It was then discovered to be fastened by a cable which they were unable to cut or in any way detach, and amid piercing shrieks, with the means of rescue just at hand, as the boat would probably have floated to shore, they went down beside the vessel. The others succeeded in reach- ing the round-top, except a Frenchman by the name of Cologne, who remained in the shrouds. At daybreak the vessel was dis- covered from the mainland, and willing hearts sped across the bay and down the beach to the rescue. Boats were launched again and again, only to be capsized and hurled back by the
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angry waters. Every means which human skill and daring could devise was tried till Sunday at noon, when they signaled to the vessel that nothing more could be done. The poor wretches held up their pocketbooks and watches as an induce- ment for those on shore to continue their efforts, but the limit of their power had been reached long before. Exhaustion from cold and hunger now did rapid work, and one by one, until but five were left, they dropped into the sea. Captain Snow, one of the remaining five, attempted to swim ashore and was lost. In the meantime the mate, who had secured a hatchet, con- structed a raft. A negro, who was assisting, was washed over- board, but swam to shore. The Frenchinan, who had remained in the shrouds up to this time, fell into the water senseless; he was caught by the hair and thus towed behind the raft, which was finally carried ashore by the breakers. The saddest pro- cession that ever trod this beach took up the line of march toward the bay to cross to the mainland. Four exhausted, half- frozen men, borne in the arnis of those who had gone to the rescue, followed by others bearing a rudely constructed bier, upon which lay the form of a young French girl, the only female on board the ill-fated vessel, and the only victim whose body floated to shore. Her linen clothing was daintily em- broidered, and jewelry was concealed in the braids of her hair. Many reports were given of her beauty. Dr. Maurice Beasley, an eye witness, said: "She was the concentration of all the graces of the female form." Her remains were interred in the burying ground of the Golden family, a little plot now over- grown with weeds and briars a short distance from the wharf at Beasley's Point. Three days later hier uncle, Mr. Cologne, who died from exhaustion, was buried by her side. For seven miles, the entire length of the island, the beach was strewn with cashmere shawls, leghorn flats, thread lace, fine china and bales of silk and satin. Remnants of the merchandise are still in existence. It is supposed the liull is lying some distance out, covered with sand, and contains treasure. After the storm of September, 1889, which swept the Atlantic seaboard, pieces of china washed ashore at this point, which, when compared
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with those secured at the time of the wreck, are of the same design, pattern and quality, and are doubtless from the old brig. These tangible links, thrown across nearly three-quarters of a century, connecting us so closely with the Perseverance, tell of a time when Madison was President of the United States. The treaty of peace with Great Britain had just been signed. The little Clermont, or "Fulton's Folly," had but a short time before revealed tlie adaptation of a power that should revolu- tionize navigation; tlie magnetic telegraphi was unknown till nearly thirty years later, but Peck's Beach had been know11 and recorded in the Old World for over 120 years.
THE FAME.
The earliest wreck of which we can gain an authentic account is that of the brig Fame. This vessel was sent out with a 1111111- ber of others to protect the inhabitants of Cape May county from the incursions of the British and refugees. She was in comminand of Captain William Treen, of Egg Harbor, and made a number of captures of vessels much larger than herself. The night of February 22, 1781, while lying at the anchoring point in Great Egg Harbor Bay rejoicing over a victory just achieved, she was capsized in a heavy gale, with twenty-eight of a crew of thirty-two inen on board. Four attempted to swiin ashore; three succeeded in landing at the north point of Peck's Beach, the fourth one drowned. Help reached the ves- sel at daylight, but of twenty-four brave men who had faced shot and shell, tempest and flood, twenty had succumbed to the sleep of death from exposure to the intense cold; the four re- maining ones kept alive by walking rapidly and constantly up and down the side of the capsized vessel.
.
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THE PANCHITO.
" A weltering sound, remote and vast, comes to my drowsy ear, The Gulf-waves rolling from the past, suggest the Buccaneer ; And she is manned by frowzy men, Bohemians eke, who love To fight at odds like ten to one, and care not where they rove."
Among the driftwood piled here and there on the island may. be seen an occasional piece of logwood. This wood, lying; hundreds of miles from its native soil, was brought here by the. Spanish brig Panchito, wrecked February 13, 1888. The ves -- sel came on the bar in the night, but sent up no signals of dis -- tress, and even extinguished her lights. At daybreak the life-, guards discovered her lying in a dangerous position and imme -. diately went to her aid. The captain represented hier as belonging to a wealthy ranchman of Vera Cruz and bound for New York. The deck was loaded with logwood, and the hold was partly loaded with logwood and hides. The crew of thirteen men were taken off in life-boats and cared for at "Ocean City " life-saving station. After seven days of hard labor a wrecking steamer succeeded in getting the vessel off the bar. As she was being towed into deeper water the cable parted and she struck again. The deck load was thrown off and she floated a second time. A small quantity of hard tack, a few Mexican beans and a little sugar was all there were on board to eat. The first inate, an American, was intelligent and well educated. His log book was remarkable for neatness and beauty of penmanship. The captain and second mate were coarse and ignorant Spaniards. They were each armed with a pair of revolvers and a huge dirk. The latter was stuck inside the waistband on the left side in front, and was carried without any sheath. The captain carried two watches of exquisite workmanship, besides a number of rings and other jewelry. The mates had in their possession different kinds of jewelry set with precious stones. The ten sailors were a motley group, and were in a filthy condition. Their long, unkempt hair, un- shaven beards and swarthy complexions gave them the appear-
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