USA > New Jersey > The New Jersey coast in three centuries; history of the New Jersey coast with genealogical and historic-biographical appendix, Vol. III > Part 18
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Mr. Lyttleton White's great-great-great-grandfather on the maternal side was Samuel Dennis, and his wife's Christian name was Increase. He came to this coun- try from England in 1675, and died in 1723, and was the founder of Mr. White's American ancestry in the maternal line. He was the father of Jacob Dennis, whose wife was Clemence. They had a son Jacob, whose wife was Margaret, and their daughter, Clemence Dennis, married Robert R. White, who was Mr. White's grand-
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father in the paternal line. Jacob Dennis was a Whig and was a stanch supporter of the cause of the colonies in their struggle for independence. He was a fearless soldier in the ranks of the continental army and a price was set on his head by those who sought to compass his downfall. At one time he was taken prisoner, but he was finally liberated. Before the Revolutionary war he held the office of magis- trate under the king of England, and after the independence of the colonies had been recognized he was elected a member of the colonial assembly, and in that body and elsewhere proved himself a man of worth and influence. His descendants in suc- cessive generations have been good and loyal citizens.
I.yttleton White, of Eatontown, Monmouth county, New Jersey, son of Elisha and Mary (Lewis) White, was born April 7, 1833. He acquired a primary edu- cation in the common schools and was later a student at the high school at Red Bank, then learned the tinner's trade, at which he worked for a time in his native town. Later he removed to Long Branch and finally settled at Eatontown, where, in the enjoyment of the confidence of his fellow citizens, he is likely to spend the remainder of his days. Since he retired from business in 1892 he has been honored with various offices of trust. He was for several years a school trustee and for nine years a freeholder and is now the incumbent of the office of county auditor of Monmouth county, which he has filled for six years with great credit. He is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church and is an influential member of its vestry, and he affiliates with Oceanport Tribe, Improved Order of Redmen.
Lyttleton White married Miss May Lambertson, February 4, 1853. Mrs. White, who was born in Middlesex county, New Jersey, in 1835, a daughter of Joshua Lam- bertson, has borne her husband. three children: Their daughter, Anna E., is dead. Their son, William L., is a prominent business man of Easton, Pennsylvania, and ex-comptroller of that city. Their son, Harry, is a minister of the gospel, of Uni- tarian faith, having a charge at Duluth, Minnesota.
ADON LIPPINCOTT.
Adon Lippincott has been identified with the beautiful city of Asbury Park during the period of its history in which it reached that high development which has made it an ornament among seaside resorts, sought by European as well as American tourists. In that work he bore a full part, and to him is awarded, by common consent, a large share in the credit due for praiseworthy accomplishments. He also enjoys the high distinction of having been specially honored by the war department for faithful and gallant service during the Civil war.
Mr. Lippincott was born at Harrisonville, Gloucester county, New Jersey, May 25, 1839, son of Chalkly and Phoebe Lippincott. He received a public school edu- cation, and he assisted his father on the home farm until he attained his majority. At the outbreak of the Civil war, in 1861, he enlisted as a private in the Forty-eighth Regiment, New York Volunteers, and re-enlisted at the expiration of the three years' term of service, being mustered out at the end of the war, April 16, 1865. He rose through the various grades to a full captaincy, and was brevetted major of volun- teers, his commission bearing the signature of the President. During the earlier part of the war he served in the department of the South, and in the latter por- tion in the department of the James. The engagements in which he participated were those of Hilton Head, Port Royal Ferry, Fort Wagner, Olustee, Drury's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Chapin's Farm, Fort Fisher, Wilmington and Raleigh.
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
After leaving the army Major Lippincott engaged in carpentering and worked at the trade first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then in Camden, New Jersey. In 1878 he took up his residence at Asbury Park, New Jersey, and began contracting and building, an occupation which he has successfully followed, and in which he is yet engaged, with his offices, at No. 907 Main street. During all these years he has been busily engaged, and in the extension and beautifying of the city with modern residence structures he has contributed a full share. In all his transactions he has displayed the qualities of a discerning man of affairs and of eminent uprightness. He is remarkably well preserved, despite the hardships and exposures he encoun- tered during four years of service in the field in time of war, and gives promise of many added years of usefulness.
Mr. Lippincott is a member of the First Congregational church. In politics he is an ardent Republican. April 16, 1868, he was married to Miss Anna C: Clark, daughter of William P. Clark, of Philadelphia. She died April 8, 1894, leaving one son now living, Walter C., born February 27, 1871, now associated with his father in business. Mr. Lippincott was married April 18, 1901, to Miss Irene Wilson, daugh- ter of Hon. Arthur Wilson, a prominent citizen of Asbury Park.
A. PETFORD CRANSTON.
A. Petford Cranston, who has held the office of superintendent of the Com- mercial Cable Company building in New York City since the formation of the com- pany, was born in Brooklyn, New York, March 17, 1865, a son of Alfred and Eliza- beth H. (Petford) Cranston, the latter mentioned being a native of the state of Ohio, and the former being born in Georgia; the father removed to Brooklyn when quite a young man, and decided to make his home there; he enlisted with the Fourteenth Regiment, and served all through the Civil war; for his bravery and daring during that trying ordeal he was appointed to a captaincy. He and his wife still reside in Brooklyn.
A Petford Cranston, who resides at the present time in Colonia, Woodbridge township, New Jersey, spent his youth and early manhood in Brooklyn, and Mor- ristown, New Jersey. He acquired his education in the common schools of the latter named place, and upon attaining manhood he became interested in railroading in Ari- zona, and subsequently engaged in building smelters for copper in Arizona and other parts of the southwest. During the same period he was also engaged in government service, in connection with Indian affairs. He came to New York City about nine years ago, when the Postal Telegraph Building was being erected, and became con- nected with that company; he remained with them until 1897, when the position he now holds was offered him and accepted.
In 1894 Mr. Cranston decided to purchase the Jones Mill place at Colonia, New Jersey. There had been some litigation about an ancient title to the property; Mr. Fullerton, who was a man of considerable consequence, and the first schoolmaster in Woodbridge, claimed it, as did also Jeffrey Jones, who finally appealed to the King of England; the king sustained the claim and Mr. Jones took possession in May, 1695, as the old grant shows. It remained in the Jones family until bought by Mr. McDonald, who left it to Samuel McDonald, from whom Mr. Cranston pur- chased it.
Mr. Cranston has been a member of the Woodbridge township school board. He is a member of the Masonic order of New York City, Lodge No. 67, and of the
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Artistic Lodge, No. 101, of Brooklyn. Mr. Cranston married Miss Florence A. Lovatt. Mrs. Cranston was a daughter of Mr. William Lovatt, for many years a prominent manufacturer in Newark.
NICHOLAS WILLIAMSON, M. D.
To know Dr. Williamson is to esteem and honor him. He occupies a position in the ranks of the medical fraternity never attained except by men of pronounced ability, and, moreover, in the affairs of the city he has been a most important factor, filling the office of mayor for three consecutive terms; his administration has won him the highest commendation of men of all parties, for his course has ever been characterized by reform, by progress and improvement. New Brunswick has bene- fited by his efforts in large measure, and she justly honors the man who has so greatly promoted her welfare.
The Doctor is a native of New York City, his birth having there occurred on the 9th of March, 1845. He has back of him an ancestry honorable and dis -. tinguished, including James Abeel, one of his great-grandfathers, who served as deputy quartermaster general under Washington in the Revolutionary war and rendered valuable aid to the colonies in their struggle for independence. His father, Nicholas Wiliamson, was for some time paying teller in the Bank of New York and after -. ward president of the Novelty Rubber Company of New Brunswick, an industry which proved an important factor in the upbuilding of this city. His death oc- curred in 1862. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Rebecca Burlock, was a native of the West Indies.
Dr. Williamson spent part of his youth in New Brunswick, but after his father's death the family returned to New York City, spending three years in the metropolis. On the expiration of that period they again came to Middlesex county. The Doctor pursued his education in private schools, having been a pupil of the present Judge Jonathan Dixon. He entered Rutgers College in 1862, but finding an opportunity to go into business with his father in the Novelty Rubber Company, he gave up col- lege. He remained in business until 1869, when he left that enterprise in order to prepare for the practice of medicine, which he had determined to make his life work. His preceptor was Dr. Henry R. Baldwin, a distinguished member of the medical profession of Middlesex county. He further continued his studies in the University of New York, in which he was graduated with the class of 1871, and he is also a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York. A man of Dr. Williamson's nature could never content himself with mediocrity-the highest degree of perfection attainable being his goal. To this end he pursued an advanced medical course in Edinburgh, Scotland, being graduated in the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons of that city, with the class of 1879. He has always been a deep, earnest and discriminating student of his profession, continually broadening his knowledge by reading and investigation, and using with excellent result those medical agents known to the calling. The large patronage accorded him stands in unmis- takable evidence of his ability, for people do not risk their most priceless treasure, health, in the hands of the unskilled or incompetent.
The Doctor has been twice married, his first wife being Sarah, the daughter of Dr. George H. Cook. She died in 1878, and on the 2d of June, 1881, Dr. William- son was joined in wedlock to Miss Clara A. Gurley, of Troy, New York, a daughter of William Gurley. Their children are Clara C., born March 21, 1882; Ruth A.,
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
whose birth occurred May 31, 1886; Charles Gurley, born Februay 23, 1888; and Mary Agnes Burlock, July 29, 1891.
In addition to his professional duties the Doctor has other business interests, being a stockholder and director in the New Brunswick Savings Institution. His social relations connect him with Union Lodge, F. & A. M., with the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Rutgers College, and with the Sons of the Revolution. He belongs to the Second Reformed church of this city. In the line of his profession he is connected with the Middlesex County Medical Society and the New Jersey State Medical Society ; and American Medical Association. He is always deeply interested in any- thing that promises to disclose the key to the mystery which we call life, and to aid him in his important work in the restoration of health. But while professional prominence has been won by him, Dr. Williamson has also been honored in other ways by his fellow townsmen, for in 1882 he was elected to represent the fifth ward in the city council and was continued in that office until 1886. In 1895 he was chosen by popular suffrage to the highest elective office within the gift of his fellow towns- men, and for two successive terms was re-elected mayor of New Brunswick. The city has never had a more capable officer, for while his course has been progressive, his administration has been practical and free from extravagant expenditures. He has labored earnestly and effectively for improvement along substantial .lines, and while a stanch Republican, has never been biased in his official acts by his party allegiance. Not only men of his own party, but those in the opposition praise him for his wise and judicious management of the city affairs. He commands public confidence and respect in every walk of life and in New Brunswick there is no man more honored or more deserving of honor than Dr. Williamson.
GEORGE WILKINS.
Atlantic township, Monmouth county, New Jersey, is the home of several re- tired farmers who are recognized as leading citizens, but none of them is known more favorably than George Wilkins, Sr., who began life without the advantage of a good education and without financial backing, and has accumulated sufficient to make him more than well off.
Mr. Wilkins was born in England, March 24, 1828, a son of John and Mary (Needle) Wilkins. His parents brought him to the United States when he was a year and a half old, and his father, who was an able veterinary surgeon, located at Matawan, New Jersey, where he long practiced his profession and where after a use- ful yet uneventful life he passed away at the ripe age of eighty-one years. His wife died six weeks earlier than he, aged seventy-one years. They had three children, named William, Elizabeth and George.
George Wilkins, Sr., son of John and Mary (Needle) Wilkins, was reared and educated in Marlboro and Freehold townships, Monmouth county, and early evinced a natural aptitude for his father's profession, in which he has become so expert that his skill in the treatment of diseases to which the horse is subject surpasses that of many college-bred veterinary surgeons; yet with all his skill and all his success he makes no pretentions to special prominence, and has given to farming such time as has not been demanded in the practice of his profession. His first pur- chase of real estate was sixty acres. Later he bought fifty acres more and still later fifty-six acres, and he has since bought a farm of eighty-six acres and several wood lots of from ten to fifteen acres each. He is the owner also of real estate at Long Branch and at Freehold, New Jersey.
GEORGE WILKINS.
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
Mr. Wilkins was married December 24, 1851, to Miss Paulina Cottrell, daughter of William T. and Eleanor Cottrell, who was born in Monmouth county, Novem- ber, 1830. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins have been born children as follows: Job, Hannah M., John T., George, Jr., Sallie E. and Wellington. Mr. Wilkins' inclina- tions have never led him to active partisanship in a political way, but he has pro -. nounced . opinions upon all questions of public policy and is a man of more than ordinary public spirit, who is ever ready to exert himself to the utmost for the up- building of the interests of his community.
LEONARD FURMAN.
Over the official career of Leonard Furman there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. For eight years he has filled the position of surrogate of Middle- sex county, and his long retention in the office is unmistakable proof of his ability, promptness and trustworthiness. His patriotic spirit is manifest in the active, pro- gressive way in which he administers the county business,-a public office being to him a sacred trust and not an avenue for personal gain or self aggrandizement.
Mr. Furman was born in South Amboy, New Jersey, March 20, 1851, and in the schools of that place he began his education, which was continued in the high school of Lawrenceville, New Jersey. At South Amboy his father had established a clay business in 1844, and after putting aside his text books our subject began assisting his father in business, and in 1886 was admitted to a partnership, which was main- tained for two years, when Noah Furman, the senior member of the firm, was called to his final rest. The business then passed into possession of our subject, who is still the sole owner. He is engaged in getting out clay, which is used in the manufacture of stoneware, sewer pipe and moulding sand; the large potteries in this part of the state make an excellent market for those who own and operate extensive clay fields. The business had grown to be a very important one, and Mr. Furman through this. line of activity is meeting with very creditable and richly deserved success. He fur- nishes employment to a large force of workmen and his products are extensively shipped to many points in the United States and Canada.
Mr. Furman has long been prominent in public affairs in his county. For two years he was collector of taxes at South Amboy and for a like period he was a member of the township committee. In politics he is a Democrat and was elected surrogate in 1892 and again in 1897, so that his incumbency will cover ten years. He is a man of 'high social standing, his business qualifications and untarnished repu- tation, his unassailable record in office and his pleasing qualities in social life winning. him the respect and good will of all with whom he has been brought in contact.
CLARENCE M. LIDDLE.
In an analysis of the character of the successful man we find that there is no. unusual cause which leads to his prosperity, but that it has come to him through enterprise, close application and diligence,-qualities which may be cultivated by all and which never fail to win the desired result. It has been along these lines that Mr. Liddle has gained a place among the leading business men of Woodbridge, where he deals in ice, enjoying a liberal and well merited patronage through the season ..
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
Mr. Liddle is a native of Woodbridge township, Middlesex county, New Jersey, born September 30, 1871, his parents being Joshua and Anna L. Liddle. His paternal grandfather, Joshua Liddle, Sr .. was born in Westmoreland, England, March 8, 1807, and when a young man crossed the briny deep to the new world, locating in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Subsequently he purchased land in Woodbridge town- ship and turned his attention to farming, which he followed with creditable success. The place is now owned by his son, Joshua Liddle, Jr., who was born October 3, 1840, and is the father of our subject.
Clarence Melick Liddle acquired his education in the public schools of Wood- bridge, but at the age of fourteen entered the employ of his father, who was engaged in the ice business at Woodbridge. At the age of eighteen he became manager of the business and has since been associated in the enterprise with his father and his brother, Arthur M., giving his personal supervision to the trade. In February, 1897, he extended the field of his business endeavors by entering into partnership with his brother-in-law, William H. Pfeiffer, in the livery business at Perth Amboy, which association has been maintained to the present time.
On the 17th of September, 1891, occurred the marriage of Mr. Liddle and Miss Clara M. Pfeiffer, a daughter of John Pfeiffer, of Metuchen, New Jersey; she was born November 2, 1871. They have two sons, Clarence Kelley, born September 24, 1895, and Willianı Pfeiffer, whose birth occurred on the 27th of February, 1899. The family home is pleasantly located on Main street in Woodbridge. Mr. Liddle is quite prominent in political circles as an advocate of the Republican party, and he labors untiringly for its welfare and success, believing firmly in its principles. He is a member of the township committee of Woodbridge township and has filled the po- sition for six years, being secretary of the board at the present time. In 1899 he was appointed treasurer of the township. He belongs to the First Presbyterian church of Woodbridge, and socially he is connected with the Royal Arcanum and with the Order of Red Men. His interest in the town is shown in his advocacy of all measures tending to promote the general welfare.
In his business life he is regarded as strictly upright and reliable, and the fact that many of his warmest friends are numbered among those who have known him from his boyhood is proof that his career is worthy of respect.
C. HERBERT WALLING.
At all times and in all places the conscientious teacher has rightly commanded the respect of his fellow citizens. This is especially true of C. Herbert Walling, principal of the high school at Oceanic, New Jersey, who fitted himself for his position by the most careful, systematic training, and whose success has been so great that throughout Monmouth county he is regarded as' a leading educator, whose promise of success in the years to come is most brilliant.
C. Herbert Walling was born at Keyport, Monmouth county, New Jersey, Sep- tember 26, 1873, a son of Thomas B. and Henrietta (Stoney) Walling. He was graduated from the Keyport high school in 1891, and then entered the State Normal School (Trenton), where he thoroughly mastered a three years course in two years, and from which he was graduated with honor in February, 1894. He began teach- ing at Saddle River, New Jersey, and remained there two years, when he resigned his position to accept a position at Keansburg, Monmouth county, where he began his labors in September, 1896. In 1897 he accepted a call to the Navesink public
Cheket Halling
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
school, where he served so faithfully for two years that he was re-elected for a third year, but declined the honor in order to accept his present position, which he has filled since September, 1899, with entire satisfaction. He has under his charge two hundred and twenty-five pupils and four competent teachers.
Mr. Walling was married in August, 1896, to Miss Josephine T. Covert, a na- tive of New York City, daughter of George Covert, long a resident at Keyport. Mrs. Walling has borne her husband three children,-Herbert R., Helen and Dor- othy, the first mentioned of whom is dead. Mr. Walling is a member of the Mon- mouth County Horticultural Society, in which he holds the office of secretary; he is secretary also of the Oceanic Social Club and of the Oceanic hook and ladder company. He is a member of Bayside Lodge, No. 191, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has taken the patriarchal degree and is past chief patriarch of his or- ganization. He is record keeper of finance in the Keyport organization of the Order of Maccabees, and is a member of Narumsunk Tribe, No. 148, Improved Order of Redmen, in which he holds the office of chief of records.
WILLIAM MASON.
This venerable citizen, who almost reached the ninetieth milestone on life's jour- ney, was always a resident of Monmouth county, his birth having here occurred in Millstone township, December 15, 1812. His grandparents were residents of the county at the time of the Revolutionary war, and thus from colonial days the name of Mason has been connected with the agricultural interests of the county. James Mason, the father of our subject, was born in Manalapan township and always engaged in the tilling of the soil as a means of livelihood. His death occurred prior to 1860, and his wife, Mrs. Catherine Mason, who was also a native of Monmouth county, died about 1870, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. Ten of their children, five sons and five daughters, have now passed away, namely: Joseph, Samuel, James, Charles, Annie, the wife of William Cravatt, Catherine, the wife of William Shomay, Betsey, Margaret, William, and Mary, wife of John Hulse, of Hightstown. All were residents of Manalapan township. Only one of the family still survives, Gertrude, who makes her home in Hightstown.
Throughout the long years of an active business career William Mason followed farming. He was industrious, energetic and enterprising, and as the years passed he acquired a handsome competence which supplied him with all of the necessities and many of the luxuries of life. In 1835 he was married to Mrs. Rebecca (Wyckoff) Herbert, who died in November, 1899, after they had traveled life's journey together for thirty years. She left but one (adopted) child, Ella, the wife of John Gagen, who reside on the farm and have two children, Raymond and Betsey; Elizabeth I. is dead.
At the time of the Civil war Mr. Mason manifested his loyalty to the Union and deep interest in the welfare and safety of the country by enlisting in August. 1862, as a member of Company' C, Twenty-eighth New Jersey Infantry, with which he served until mustered out on the 29th of June, 1865, after the practical cessation of hostilities. He participated in the hard-fought battle of Fredericksburg, in December, 1862, and the battle of Chancellorsville, May 2-3, 1863, and was in other engagements where his bravery was fully tested. Although he was never wounded his health was greatly impaired by his army service. His was an upright life, devoted to his busi- ness interests and to his duty, whether it called him to the battlefield or led him in the quiet walks of the world. Through almost nine decades he watched the progress
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