USA > New Jersey > The New Jersey coast in three centuries; history of the New Jersey coast with genealogical and historic-biographical appendix, Vol. II > Part 33
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creased duties of the office as well as the multiplicity of years of our be- loved treasurer, William V. Wilson, we accept his tendered resignation. And we hereby express our appreciation of his inestimable services as treasurer of this board, so freely given for twenty-three years. During his term of service he not only secured large funds for the school, rescuing it from bankruptcy, but also, unknown to any save himself, until now, the hour of his retirement, privately and on his own account paid claims for which there were no vouchers; thereby removing a bar to the future wel- fare of the institute. During all these years by his thorough, prompt and wise administration of his office he has maintained the financial honor and integrity of the school. We recommend that this report be incorporated in our minutes; that a copy of it properly inscribed and signed by the presi- dent and secretary be given to Brother Wilson. (Signed) T. T. Griffith, A. Ferguson, Thomas Burrows, O. P. Euches, J. C. Buchanan, Committee. H. E. Deats, Secretary, James Buchanan, President. December 13, 1877."' A life consecrated to the development of all that is highest and best in man, to the advancement of those things which contribute to his happiness in this earth and serve as a preparation for the life to come-such is a sum- mary of a long, useful and honorable career covering nine decades. In 1891 Dr. Wilson married his third wife, who was Miss Mary A. Willett, of New Monmouth, where he removed, and where he yet resides.
LEWIS EVANS.
From one of the humblest positions in life Mr. Lewis Evans, of At- lantic City, New Jersey, has risen to one beside that of the truly repre- sentative men of New Jersey. Born in Estelville, Weymouth township, Atlantic county, August 23, 1842, son of Samuel. a Quaker, and Emeline (Estell) Evans, he received his early education in his native town, and at the age of fifteen years went to Camden, New Jersey, where he found employment as a messenger boy. This was before the cable was laid across the Delaware river. He took up the study of telegraphy, and for several years served as an operator, finally becoming station agent at Atco for the Camden & Atlantic railway. His intelligent conduct of this office later secured for him a more responsible charge at Hammonton, which position he filled until 1863, when he was placed in charge of the station. For twenty-two years, or until 1885, he continued in that service. Dur- ing this time he was elected clerk of Atlantic county, which office he occu- pied for two terms, covering a period of ten years, and he was a useful member of the board of education for nine years. The first building and loan association established in Atlantic City was nurtured and stimulated largely by the efforts of Mr. Evans, who was one of its founders, and he has continued to serve as one of its directors up to the present time ( 1902). The Second National Bank also has had the advantages of his service as a member of its directors.
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In every movement inaugurated for local advancement, Mr. Evans has ever been among the foremost. He was one of the charter members of Neptune Fire Company, of which he has been president from its organi- zation, in 1885. Mr. Evans is a prominent member of the Masonic order and is past master of Trinity Lodge, No. 79, F. & A. M., of which he was for- merly secretary for many years ; he is a member of Trinity Chapter, R. A. M., and Olivet Commandery, K. T., of Millville. In Odd Fellowship he has attained the position of past grand of American Star Lodge, No. 148. He belongs to the Independent Order of Workmen and the Royal Arcanum. He is a member of the board of governors of the city hospital, and acts as treasurer of that body. He is one of the board of directors of Atlantic Safe Deposit & Trust Company, of Atlantic City.
Politically Mr. Evans is a Republican, and he was elected by that party to a state senatorship in November, 1898, by a large majority, chair- man of committee on commerce and navigation, and industrial schools for girls, also chairman of finance committee and reform school for boys. It is thus that a man, through an ambition which nerves him to honest and persistent application to whatever duties come to him in life, finds that appreciation which leads to advancement which is as honorable to himself as it is useful to his fellows. Mr. Evans married Maria S., daugh- ter of Chalkley Leeds, one of the two original proprietors of the present site of Atlantic City. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have three daughters and one son, viz. : Luiana, J. Estell, Emeline and Margaret. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JAMES F. ACKERMAN, M. D.
James Franklin Ackerman, M. D., a leading physician of Asbury Park, is a son of Joseph and Susan Reed Ackerman, and was born December 29, 1864, at Nashua, New Hampshire. The name is of English origin, and the family was famous in New England throughout the Colonial and Rev- olutionary periods, some members of it participating in the famous Boston tea party in 1774.
Dr. Ackerman received his early education at Francestown Academy, New Hampshire, and subsequently attended school at Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, after which he took the classical course at Amherst College. He entered upon the study of medicine at the New York Homeopathic Medical College, New York City, in 1887, and graduated in the class of 1890. He removed to Asbury Park in the winter of 1890 and entered upon the practice of his profession. In 1892 he built his present handsome residence and office at No. 905 Grand avenue, since which time he has built up a large and lucrative practice. He is a member of the New Jersey State Medical Society, of which he is now president, of the New York Ma- teria Medica Society, the Hahnemann Club and Monmouth Club, and of the American Institute of Homeopathy. In politics he is a Republican,
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but is too deeply engrossed in his professional work to devote active at- tention to public affairs. He is a prominent member of the First Presby- terian church, and takes a deep interest in Sunday-school work. He is a member of Asbury Lodge, No. 142, F. & A. M. In 1892 he was married to Adeline A. Hadden, who died in the same year. In 1896 he was mar- ried to Miss Anna Rouse, daughter of Martin Rouse, of Jersey City, and they have three children. Dr. Ackerman has had a remarkably successful career, and is now considered one of the leading practitioners of Mon- mouth county. He is thoroughly versed in all the elements of his profes- sion, and keeps himself constantly in touch with every advance in the theory and practice of medicine. He has cultivated literary tastes, has ac- quired a large and well selected library and is universally esteemed for his high intellectual as well as fine social qualities.
THE MANNING FAMILY.
Among the first settlers of New Jersey was Jeffrey Manning, who, with his wife, came to Piscataway, New Jersey, from New England, about 1671. He had several large tracts of land surveyed for himself, and in landed estate the founder of the Manning family was prominently among the largest and most successful pioneers. He was one of three commis- sioners to lay out land grants in Piscataway in 1682. In the following year he was appointed marshal of the first county court of Middlesex, held at the town of Piscataway, June 19, 1683. He died in 1693, leaving four sons, John, Joseph, Benjamin and James, and a daughter Elizabeth. His will is on record in Trenton. His wife was Hepsibah Andrews daughter of Joseph Andrews, of Hingham, Massachusetts, who was town clerk there from 1637. She was the grand-daughter of Sir Thomas Andrews, Lord Mayor of London, the family being natives of Devonshire, England, the ancestral home of some of the Mannings. Ephraim Andrews, brother of Hepzibah, settled in Woodbridge, on an estate bequeathed to him by his father, who had lived on it.
The Mannings had their early origin in Germany and went over to England from Saxony in the fourth and fifth centuries, three branches settling in Kent county, in Sussex and in Norfolk. The Mannings who came first to America were from Kent. The coat-of-arms was quite similar for all of the surname, and was granted in 1577 to Manning, Downe. Kent County, according to "Burke's Armory," page 656. The motto is, "Better die than submit to disgrace." The first of the name mentioned in the county of Kent was Ranulph de Manning, or'Manheim, Lord of Manheim, who married the aunt of King Harold. Simonde Manning, son of Ran- ulph, possessed lands in Downe and was knighted in the second crusade. He was among the very first of the English barons to take up the cross and go with King Richard to the holy wars in 1190. He was the ancestor of the line of Manning of Downe, and Gootham, who were knights-mar-
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shal in the household of England's sovereigns for nearly four hundred years. The old manor house of this progenitor was an entailed estate and is still in the Manning family.
During the reign of Henry II ( 1154-1189) some of the name mi- grated to Ireland, where there has always since been a large representation of the Manning family. As late as in the reign of King William of Nas- sau ( 1689-1702) there were Mannings in the Emerald Isle who took up arms for the restoration of James II, and for their action the greater part of their estates was confiscated and never returned to them. Sir Henry Manning, knight-marshal to Henry VII, married Eleanor Brandon, aunt of the Duke of Suffolk, who was the husband of Mary, sister of Henry VIII and widow of Louis XII of France. She was the grandmother of Lady Jane Grey. Sir Henry's grandson, John Manning, son of Hugh, had a grant of a large part of the possessions of the Earl of Esmond, in Ireland, and joined the Earl of Essex, about 1600, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, in an expedition to the land of the Irish people.
Among the early emigrants to America, some Mannings settled in New England and some in Massachusetts. The earliest mention of any person by this name in America is in August, 1635, when the English ship "Globe" left London for the new world with one John Manning on board, born about 1615, as he was then twenty years of age. It is supposed that he settled in Massachusetts, for as early as 1640 a Captain John Manning and wife Abigail were living in Boston. There was a William Manning at Cambridge, admitted a freeman in 1640. His son William left two sons, Samuel and John. Mention is also made of a George Manning, of Boston (1653), who was one of the original proprietors of Sudbury in 1640. By his second wife, Mrs. Hannah Blanchard, he had eleven children, George, John and Joseph being the sons. There was a George Manning who went to St. Johns, New Brunswick, about 1738, among the loyalists, and be- came one of the grantors of the city. There was a Captain John Man- ning (about 1659) living near the old boundary line between the colonies of New York and Connecticut. He became a man of prominence and power, both as a military and civil officer. His name is recorded in the provincial documents of New Jersey as a British army official during the governorship of Philip Carterct, when New Jersey and New York were connected in government. He lived also at Newtown, Long Island, and became the owner of the long narrow island in the East River, owned by a Dutch officer, Captain Francis Fyn, since 1651. It was confiscated and given to Captain John Manning for services to England in the wars with the Dutch. He named it "Manning's Island" and deeded it to his daugh- ter Mary. who married Robert Blackwell, of New Jersey, in 1676, and it became Blackwell's Island, and has borne the name ever since. Robert and Mary (Manning) Blackwell lived there. The Blackwells became promi- nent among the old merchants of New York.
Perhaps the most useful and honored member of the Manning family of New Jersey was the Rev. James Manning. D. D., who by devoted serv- ice to the cause of education takes his place among the eminent men who
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founded our leading institutions of learning. He was appointed the presi- dent of the College of Rhode Island and professor of languages in 1765. His institution was afterward named "Brown University," in honor of the Hon. Nicholas Brown, whose father, Nicholas Brown, a distinguished mer- chant of Providence, was the liberal benefactor of the college. The Latin School, established at Warren, Rhode Island, by the Rev. James Manning in 1763, became the nucleus of the college, and was removed to Providence in 1770.
Dr. Manning was pastor of the Baptist Church at Warren. The earliest state holiday in the history of Rhode Island was the first com- mencement of the college at Warren, in 1769, four years after the presi- dent, with a solitary pupil, had commenced his collegiate duties as in- structor. There were seven graduates. In 1771 Dr. Manning became pastor of the church founded by Roger Williams in 1639, the oldest Baptist church in America. In spirit, opinions and action he was a worthy suc- cessor of Roger Williams. To his intelligent and active exertions in behalf of religious liberty and equality we of the present day and gen- eration are greatly indebted for what we now enjoy as a birthright. He was a liberal and faithful citizen, a lover and promoter of civil liberty. He was sent as delegate to the "Old Congress," as it was called, which met in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, in 1774, and on the evening of October 14th he presented to an influential conference, including Samuel and John Adams, Thomas Cushing, Samuel Ward and prominent Quakers, an eloquent memorial in behalf of religious freedom in the Massachusetts Bay colony. The result of the conference was not satisfactory, but in 1833 the bill of rights was so amended that church and state were sep- arated in the old commonwealth, and "soul-liberty," as maintained by the Baptists of every age, was finally and perfectly secured. In 1786 Dr. Manning was elected unanimously a member of the Continental Congress by the general assembly of Rhode Island, and he made earnest efforts to secure the adoption of the constitution of the United States. During his presidency of Brown University a visit was made to Providence bv Gen- eral Washington, accompanied by Thomas Jefferson and Governor Clinton. and at that time the degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred on Washing- ton by the university. Dr. Manning died in 1791, aged fifty-four years. His wife wa's Miss Margaret Stites, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, and they had no children. Manning Hall. at Providence, is a memorial to him, erected by the Hon. Nicholas Brown, his pupil and a liberal benefactor of the college. The portraits of Dr. and Mrs. Manning are preserved in Brown University.
The descendants of Jeffrey Manning in Piscataway were allied by marriage with the Stelles, Dunns, Fitz-Randolphs and others. Judge Reeder Manning, of Mobile, Alabama, was a descendant from the son James by his marriage with Grace Fitz-Randolph. Members of that fam- ily live near Perth Amboy. Jeremiah Manning was three times married, and by his union with Mrs. Rachel (Ford) Fitz-Randolph, of Wood- bridge, he was the father of two sons, James and William Ford. His only
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other child was Ursula, daughter of his first wife, Ursula Drake, and she married Colonel Phineas Manning. Another branch is represented in Mr. Stelle Manning, of Metuchen, and in the family of the late Lewis B. Brown, of Elberon, New Jersey, who married Miss Emma Manning, of New Dur- ham, New Jersey. The late Morgan Livingston, of New York, married Miss Catherine Manning, a granddaughter of Judge Jeremiah Manning, of Middlesex county, New Jersey. He was a brother of the Rev. Dr. Manning, of Providence, and served as captain in a Middlesex county regiment. His grandsons, Forman Manning, of Missouri, and William Ford Manning, Jr., of Bonhamtown, Middlesex county, were descended from James and Grace Manning, of Plainfield. The parents of this James were James and Christiana Laing. James was a son of Jeffrey Manning. In Virginia (Charlestown) is a branch descended from the same son of Jeffrey, by Colonel Phineas Manning and wife Ursula. The late Thomas Jefferson Manning, of the United States Navy, was a grandson of Captain Jeremiah Manning. The latter seems to have been a brother-in-law of General Nathaniel Heard, of Woodbridge, New Jersey, and was, himself, a valiant soldier of the Revolution. His great-grandchildren at Bonham- town guard with care a "Heard sword" that he wore in the service of his state and country. Upshur Manning, of Virginia, Major George Paton Edgar, of Rahway, and James Manning Livingston, of New York, were his great-grandsons, followed in his patriotic footsteps and volunteered in the Civil war, Upshur falling in battle, and James M. Livingston at Gettysburg, a mere youth. Major Edgar did much honorable service. The late William Ford Manning, of Bonhamtown, married Mary Taylor, of Freehold, a sister of the eminent Edward Taylor; M. D. He died in 1850.
"People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors."-Burke.
THOMAS W. AUMACK.
One of the leading and representative farmers of Raritan township, Monmouth county, is Thomas W. Aumack, who traces his ancestral line back to Holland. The original American ancestor, William Omock, as the name was spelled in the Dutch language, came to this country about 1630 and was one of three brothers to locate at Gravesend, Long Island, where the family remained until about 1700. One branch of the family then came to Monmouth county, locating in Freehold township, now Marlboro, and Jacob Aumack came to Middletown township, locating at Wycake about 1730. He married Catherine Conoyer, of Marlboro, and they figure as the great-grandparents of the subject of this review. Jacob Aumack was a weaver by trade and followed the same as a vocation through- out his entire business career. He and his wife became the parents of four sons and two daughters. William Aumack. the grandfather of our sub-
Thomas W Aumack
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ject, married Christina Hoff, a great-granddaughter of Penelope Stout, of whom mention is made on another page of this work. William Aumack was a farmer by occupation and his was the distinction of having been a valiant soldier in the Continental line during the war of the Revolution. His children were seven in number, namely: Leonard, who served in the war of 1812, and Jacob, Daniel, William, John, Elizabeth and Catherine. Daniel Aumack, the father of him whose name introduces this article, mar- ried Sarah Waydock and their only son is the subject of this sketch. Daniel Aumack also devoted his life to the dignified art of husbandry, having been one of the successful and honored farmers of Monmouth county. On the maternal side also is our subject descended from a prominent family. His maternal grandfather, Charles A. Waydock, was a son of Lord Way- dock, of Ireland, and not being the eldest son and having thus no claim on the entailed estate, was sent to America to seek his fortune, after hav- ing received excellent educational advantages in his native land. He became a teacher in Middletown and later followed the same occupation at Freehold, at which place he died, his remains being interred in the old Tennent churchyard.
Thomas W. Aumack, to whom this sketch is dedicated, was born on the old homestead, in Middletown township, on the 15th of November, 1825, and his early educational privileges were such as were afforded in the common schools of the locality. He was early inured to the labors of field and meadow and has followed the tilling of the soil as a life occupation. He has inherited the old homestead, to which he has since added several adjoining farms, and is now the owner of an extensive and valuable landed estate. He is prominently engaged in fruit culture and the raising of garden vegetables, having annually a large acreage planted to tomatoes, asparagus and potatoes, while many acres of his estate are devoted to apples, pears, peaches and other fruits.
For many generations the family have been Jeffersonian Democrats, and of the principles thus exemplified our subject has ever been a stalwart advocate. He is a public-spirited and progressive citizen and has been honored with a number of township offices, while for many years he has served as director and vice-president of the Keyport Banking Company. For a full half century he has served on the grand jury, under every sheriff of Monmouth county, and it is believed that no other man in the state can equal his record in this particular. He is widely and favorably known and has the respect and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact, either in business or in social life. In religion Mr. Aumack is a zealous inember of the Baptist church, in which he has served as deacon for the past thirty years, while he has also been incumbent of many other church offices.
On January 19, 1847, Mr. Aumack was united in marriage to Miss Eleanor Snyder, of Marlboro, who was born January 15, 1826, a daugh- ter of Hendrick and Mary (Quackenbush) Snyder, both representatives of prominent early families of the state. Unto this union were born six children, namely : Mary, the wife of Cornelius V. Clark : Emma, the wife
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of James S. Walling, of whom specific mention is made on another page; Daniel, who married Katie Taylor and is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Manalapan township; Cyrenus, deceased; Thomas, who married Susan Seeley and is a farmer of Raritan township; and William, who married Mary Bedle and is likewise a prominent farmer of the same township. After a happy married life of fifty-one years, the devoted wife and mother was called to her final rest on the 28th of January, 1898, her life having been one of beauty and usefulness. On the 19th of January, 1897, they celebrated their golden wedding, at which her five living children and eighteen grandchildren were present. On the 2d of October, 1901, Mr. Aumack was united in marriage to Mrs. Jeannette ( Hogarth) Bailey, widow of Charles Bailey and a daughter of Thomas Hogarth, a stonemason and contractor of New York City, and believed to have descended from the same common ancestor as did William Hogarth, the renowned satirical painter of England, in the seventeenth century. The marriage ceremony was performed in the city of Trenton, by the Rev. J. K. Manning, who had baptized Mr. Aumack when he became a member of the Baptist church many years ago.
JOHN STILWELL APPLEGATE.
John Stilwell Applegate, a prominent lawyer of New Jersey, and who served as state senator in 1882, 1883, 1884, was born August 6, 1837, in the township of Middletown, Monmouth county, New Jersey. He is a descendant of Thomas Applegate, who lived at Weymouth, Massachusetts, 1635, and at Gravesend, Long Island, 1647. Thomas Applegate was one of the patentees of Flushing, Long Island, in the patent dated October 19, 1647, issued by Governor Kieft, and he is the' progenitor of the Applegate family in America. His son, Thomas Apple- gate, Jr., moved from Gravesend, Long Island, to Monmouth county in 1674, where he settled, taking up land from the Indians and afterward re- ceiving a warrant therefor from the proprietors. He married a daughter of Sergeant Richard Gibbons, one of the patentees of the noted Nicolls or Monmouth patent. Other ancestors are Richard Stout and James Grover, also patentees of the Nicolls patent, Richard Hartshorne, James Bowne, William Lawrence, John Throckmorton, Nicholas Stilwell and John Bray, all of whom were pioneer settlers of Monmouth county and bore a leading part in colonial history. The father of John Stilwell Applegate was Joseph Stilwell Applegate-five generations removed from the original Thomas, of Weymouth, Massachusetts-a prominent and successful farmer of Mid- dletown township and a grandson of John Stilwell, quartermaster of the First Regiment of the Monmouth militia in the Revolutionary war. He (the father ) was born in 1789, and in 1857 built a residence at Red Bank, which he occupied until his death in 1881, at the age of ninety-two years. The mother of John Stilwell Applegate was Ann Bray, a descendant of the Rev. John Bray, a Baptist minister from England, who founded the
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Baptist church and donated building and lot therefor at the village now called Holmdel, but long known as Brays' Meeting House, and subse- quently as Baptisttown. She died in 1878 at the age of eighty-two years.
The subject of this sketch graduated at Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, in 1858, and was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1861. He began and has continued the exercise of his profession at Red Bank, New Jersey, practicing in the state and federal courts .. He has been connected with many reported cases of public interest, and represents as counsel some of the most important corporate and private interests in the state. In 1875 he formed a co-partnership with Henry M. Nevius, the present judge of the Hudson circuit court, which continued until 1880. In 1884 Frederick W. Hope became associated with him as partner, which relation con- tinued until 1901. His firm now comprises himself and son, John Stilwell Applegate, Jr., in the name of John S. Applegate & Son.
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