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 57
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70
Mr. Schanck is a scientific and prosperous farmer. His farm, consisting of about two hundred acres, is devoted largely to the cultivation of potatoes. While he votes the Democratic ticket, he is not in any sense an active politician. He is a liberal supporter of the Dutch Reformed church at Holmdel, upon the services of which members of his family are regular attendants.
GEORGE W. PITTENGER.
George W. Pittenger, a leading citizen of Asbury Park, prominently identified with the real-estate interests of that city, and an active participant in all enterprises conducive to the city's development and improvement, was born December 16, 1867, on the same farm where was born his father, four miles west of Freehold, the county seat of Monmouth county, New Jersey. His parents were Lewis C. and Deborah (Patterson) Pittenger.
George W. Pittenger attended the public schools near the home farm until he was thirteen years of age, when he went to Asbury Park and entered the high school in that city. He was a diligent student, and completed the three years course in two years. He developed considerable literary taste and ability, and from 1883 to 1885 he was an associate editor on "The Torch," published under the auspices of the Sigma Zeta, a Greek letter society of the Asbury Park high school. After leaving school
396
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
he found employment as clerk in a dry goods store in Asbury Park, and he occupied that position for four years, relinquishing it to become money order clerk in the post office. After being employed in the latter capacity for two years he was engaged for eleven years thereafter in the office of Willisford Dey & Company, real estate dealers. In 1900 he began business for himself, opening an office for the transaction of a real estate, mortgage, loan and life insurance business, which he yet conducts, and has expanded it to large proportions. He manages estates and performs the duties of commissioner of deeds and notary public. He is also special agent for the Aetna Life Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut. Methodical and careful in the conduct of all branches of his business, he has established an irreproachable repu- tation for ability and probity. He is a past master of Asbury Lodge, No. 142, F. & A. M., and a member of the Junior Order of American Mechanics. He is an earnest member of the Republican party ..
Mr. Pittenger was married, October 1, 1896, to Miss Mary Frances Osborn, of Ocean Grove, New Jersey. Their children are Willard O., born November 28, 1897, and Robert A., born November 14, 1899. The family place of residence at present is Allenhurst, New Jersey.
AUGUSTUS STELLE.
The Stelle family in America was founded by Pontius Stelle, and is of those inflexible French Huguenots who, to enjoy religious freedom, left their native land and came, between the years 1668 and 1675, to these shores. The company to which present reference is made settled on Staten Island, and some of their descendants are now to be found in Raritan township, Middlesex county, New Jersey, while the family name is commemorated in that of Stelton, a beautiful village situated on the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The eldest son of Pontius Stelle was Benjamin, born in New York in 1683. He. was ordained pastor of the Piscataway (Stelton) Baptist church about 1739, and continued in this relation usefully and faithfully for twenty years, passing away at the ripe age of seventy-six years. He was succeeded in the pastorate of the Stelton church by his son, Isaac, who had been ordained as assistant to his father in 1752; he died October 9, 1781. The Rev. Isaac Stelle had among his children two sons, Joseph and Samuel. Joseph had a son Isaac, who had five sons, Samuel, Lewis R., Augustus, James and Alexander. Augustus, son of Isaac, and grandson of Joseph, was born in what is now called Stelton, Raritan township, Middlesex county, New Jersey, October 23, 1815. He was educated in the subscription schools of the period, known as "pay schools," and he followed farming for a livelihood, He was a member, and for many years clerk, of the Piscataway Baptist church at Stelton. For many years he was a Democrat in politics, but he afterward became a Prohibitionist. He was a man of sterling principle, progressive, and abounding in good deeds. He aided every worthy enterprise in his neighborhood. and secured the location of the railway station at Stelton, and exerted his utmost endeavor to build up that village. He was a ready helper of the poor and afflicted, and in all the relations of life his example was one worthy of emulation. February 14, 1840, he married Maria Stelle. His death occurred January 14, 1899, and his wife died on January 15, but thirteen hours afterward. Thus had this devoted husband and wife lived together nearly fifty- nine years, and in death they were not divided, as they were buried side by side, with the same religious service. Their children were John Newton, born June 4, 1842; Angeline A., born January 20, 1845; Julia R., born February 20, 1848; and Spencer C., born August 10, 1854.
397
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
John N. Stelle, eldest son of Augustus and Maria Stelle, was born June 4, 1842, on the homestead at Stelton, where he now resides. He was educated in the public schools at his home and in Flushing. For fifteen years he conducted a general store at Parkersburg, Pennsylvania. He is now managing the old homestead farm at Stelton. A man of industry and probity, sympathetic and kindly, he is held in high regard throughout his neighborhood. March 7, 1865, he was married to Mary A. Conaway. His unmarried sisters, Angeline and Julia, reside with him.
Spencer C. Stelle, the youngest son of Augustus and Maria Stelle, was born August 10, 1854, on the family homestead. He acquired his education in the public schools and the grammar school at New Brunswick, New Jersey, and at the Peddie Institute in Hightstown, New Jersey. He engaged in silk manufacturing at Scranton, Pennsylvania, and gave the business his personal attention until the death of his father, in 1899, made it necessary for him to return home in order to settle up the paternal estate, retaining, however, his financial interest in the silk factory. His business record is that of a well-equipped, resourceful man of affairs, and his in- tegrity has ever been unquestioned. March 20, 1878, he was married to Ellen C. Conaway. The family occupy a handsome residence in Stelton, near the old Stelle homestead.
The Stelle family, as traced in this sketch, dates back with the earliest Huguenot immigrants who aided in peopling the Raritan valley. Through its various generations down to the present time its members have borne a useful and honorable part in the establishment of communities and in fostering those religious, educational and social institutions which are the adornment of our country, and upon which are largely dependent its healthful progress and perpetuity. Such a record is not solely the in- heritance of the immediate descendants of worthy ancestors but is a heritage to be honored by all who have shared in the advantages consequent upon their labors.
LYBRAND SILL.
The village of Asbury Park, New Jersey, known throughout the country and to thousands of foreign tourists as one of the most delightful seashore resorts in America, owes much of its fair repute to the good-natured disposition and business sagacity of those who provide entertainment for visitors in their hotels and boarding houses. One of the best conducted and most popular hotels in the region is the Grand Avenue hotel, at Asbury Park, and its proprietor, Lybrand Sill, is favorably known to the greater number of those who visit the town.
He is a native of Ohio, born in Franklin, July 5, 1832. He acquired a liberal education, which he began in the common schools in his native state and completed in Union College, Schenectady, New York, from which he was graduated shortly be- fore attaining his majority. For twenty years following he taught school in the east, for the greater part of the time in New York and in New Jersey. In 1873 he located in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and from that day he has been identified with the development of the village as a business man and a public-spirited citizen. He came before the place was greatly sought by visitors, and his first venture was a joint grocery and hotel business, using different portions of the same building for these various purposes. As time passed the hotel business became more and more important, and he finally abandoned the grocery department, to afford more accom- modations for guests. Additions and improvements were made from time to time, and in 1901 he built a large wing to the original hotel structure, at a cost of fifteen
398
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
thousand dollars, making the entire edifice a symmetrical whole, of double the previous capacity. The new wing, fronting on Summerfield avenue, contains on the first floor a magnificent amusement hall and ballroom, suitable for entertainments and private theatricals. All the rooms are steam heated, and the parlors and lounging places are cosy and homelike, the entire impression being that of a large, well-kept private residence rather than of a house for the entertainment of the gen- eral public. The Grand Avenue hotel is now one of the largest as well as one of the most admirably equipped hotels on the Atlantic coast, and as much care is taken to promote the comfort of guests during the winter months as during the summer. Mr. Sill is deservedly popular with the patrons of the house and with the traveling public generally, on account of the untiring care which he affords them, and his in- telligence and readiness in responding to their calls for information with reference to the village and its vicinity, its history, and its old-time celebrities.
Mr. Sill was married, June 5, 1873, to Miss Melvina Stout, of Hamilton, Mon- mouth county, New Jersey, and a daughter, Elizabeth, has been born of the union. Mr. Sill is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics he is a Republican.
JOHN HENRY NEVILL.
John Henry Nevill, a prominent and highly respected citizen of Carteret, Wood- bridge township, Middlesex county, was born in New York City, January 2, 1868, and when but four years of age came with his parents to Carteret. His father, Timothy Nevill; was a native of Ireland, and came to America in 1851. He married Miss Mary B. Kenney, and both parents are now living at Carteret. The carly boy- hood of John H. Nevill was spent on his father's farm in Woodbridge township, where he remained until twenty years of age, learning the duties of farm life, and at the same time pursuing his studies in the public schools of Carteret. Upon attain- ing his majority he left the farm and secured a position on the New York Central Railroad with Brady Brothers, railroad contractors, where he remained for eighteen months, and then entered the employ of Holmes & Coghan, contractors. Having thoroughly acquainted himself with this work, he started in business for himself, which he successfully carried on for two years, after which t'me he obtained a position in the Colwell Iron Works at Carteret, there serving an apprenticeship for two years. The balance of his apprenticeship was served in the Henry Worthington Pump Works at Elizabeth, New Jersey, after which time he entered the employ of the Wheeler Condensing Works at Carteret, where he remained for eighteen months. He then went to Sistersville, West Virginia, where he engaged in the tank business with his brother-in-law for one and one-half years, and upon returning to Carteret at the expiration of this time entered the employ of the Wheeler Condensing Works. Here he worked as a moulder in the moulding department for three years, his faith- ful service being rewarded by his promotion to assistant foreman of that department, which position he holds at the present time, being himself a practical moulder. He has always given satisfaction to his employers, and his success in his work is due to his untiring energy and persistent labor.
On the 25th of February, 1894, Mr. Nevill was joined in marriage to Miss Bertha E. Carroll, of Alleghany, New York, who has been to him a loving and faithful com- panion. They are the parents of three children, namely: John J., born April 25, 1896; Jennie Loretta, born November 26, 1898; and Joseph Leo, born May 20, 1900.
In politics Mr. Nevill is a stalwart Republican and is recognized as one of the
399
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
leading representatives of his party in this locality. He has served as a member of the school board and for three years was honored with the office of president of the board. In April, 1899, he was elected a member of a township committee for a term of two years and is the present chairman of that committee. In all his duties he has acted with promptness and intelligence, and has won to himself the confidence of all concerned. Socially he is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, and is also a member of the Royal Arcanuni, being interested in everything pertaining to the progress and welfare of these societies. He is president of the Carteret Building & Loan Association, and is an active and consistent member of St. Joseph Catholic church of Carteret. He has been an important factor in the development and advance- ment of the community in which he resides, and does all in his power to promote intellectuality and morality and to advance law and order. During his residence in Woodbridge township he has won many friends, who respect him for his honesty and integrity.
JOSEPH CONOVER PATTERSON.
Joseph Conover Patterson is a worthy and highly respected citizen of Middle- town township, where he was born on the 6th of December, 1850. He is a member of an illustrious and well known family of the county, which is of Scotch-Irish de- scent. His paternal grandfather became a distinguished citizen of Monmouth county, and for thirty years he occupied the office of judge of the court, besides filling many other positions of honor and trust. He was married to Hannah Gordon, and their children were: James, Charles, Rachel, Rebecca and Ann.
James Patterson, the father of our subject, was a native of Middletown town- ship, Monmouth county, where he was born in 1798. He early developed a taste for agriculture, which he made his life occupation. He was a man of superior worth and executive ability, was public spirited to an eminent degree. and for twenty years he served as freeholder of his township. He was also a member of the state council, and for two terms was a member of the legislature. He passed away in death in 1866, at the age of seventy-four years. He was twice married, his first union being with Miss Deborah Trafford, and they had the following children: Jehu, who was an able attorney and served as clerk of his county; Mrs. Hannah Hopping; Mrs. Joseph S. Applegate; and Ann. For his second wife he chose Lydia T. Hopping, and their children were: John H., who for two years served as doorkeeper of the House of Representatives of the United States; James H., a noted physician; Mary E., who became Mrs. Joseph Burrowes and who is now deceased; Samuel H., who for several years served as freeholder of Middletown township; Andrew; Charles G .; Rebecca, the wife of ex-Senator W. H. Hendrickson; Allen; Henry; Charles E., an attorney; Harriet; Joseph C .; and Mrs. Lydia Frost.
Joseph C. Patterson, whose name introduces this review, received his early edu- cation in the district schools of his native township, and afterward attended school at Hightstown, New Jersey, where he enjoyed superior educational advantages. As a life occupation he chose the vocation of his father and grandfather, and his efforts as an agriculturist have been crowned with a high and well merited degree of success. His farm contains one hundred and seventeen acres of well tilled and pro- ductive soil, and for many generations this place has remained in the possession of the Patterson family, having been sold but once, and then it became the property of a member of the family. Mr. Patterson was married on the 7th of September, 1875, Miss Lydia R. Sherman becoming his wife. She is a daughter of William
400
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
Sherman. Three children have been born unto this union: William A., who is engaged in business in New York as cashier of the Anaconda Mining Company; James A., who is a student of New York Law School; and Harriet, deceased. The family are members of the Baptist church of Middletown.
JOHN LIDDLE.
Among the representative citizens of Woodbridge township, Middlesex county, is John Liddle, who was born July 18, 1844, on the Liddle homestead, which is located about two and one-half miles from Woodbridge, Woodbridge township, Middlesex county, New Jersey. His father, Joshua Liddle, was a native of Westmoreland, Eng- land, his birth having occurred there on the 8th of March, 1807. When about twenty-five years of age he came to the United States, settling at Perth Amboy, New Jersey, where he engaged in working on a railroad. He later purchased a farm in Woodbridge town- ship, which he has greatly improved, and it is now one of the finest farms in that community, being known as the Liddle homestead. The father married a young lady by the name of Anna Buck, who has been to him a faithful companion.
John Liddle received his early education in the public schools of Woodbridge, and during the vacation periods assisted in the work on his father's farm, learning the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He remained here with his parents until seventeen years of age, when he went to South River, New Jersey, to learn the trade of a blacksmith, serving an apprenticeship of three years and four months. At the expiration of this time he went to Fords, Woodbridge township, where he engaged in blacksmithing, and where he has since followed that business.
On November 1, 1866, Mr. Liddle was joined in marriage to Miss Margaret 'A. Emmons, a daughter of John Emmons. They are the parents of three children, namely : Charles A., born December 8, 1869, who married Miss Grace Murdock, Sep- tember 20, 1894, and by whom he has three children, namely: Violet, Beatrice, John Parker; Mary E., born February 12, 1873, who was married December 1, 1892, to Edward Pfeiffer, and who is the mother of five children, namely: Edward and Russell, deceased, Sophia, Clifford and John Spencer; Leslie Elmer, another son, was born December 21, 1881.
Mr. Liddle gives his political support to the Republican party, and is a steadfast adherent of its principles. He has been a member of the school board for two years and has always discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity, and is a man greatly interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community in which he resides. A man of honor, strong of purpose and upright in all his dealings, he commands the respect and confidence of all his fellow citizens.
JOHN TYLER REYNOLDS.
Among the representative and highly respected citizens of Southard, Monmouth county, New Jersey, is John T. Reynolds, who is a descendant of one of the pioneer families of Howell township, Monmouth county. His great-great-grandfather, John Reynolds, settled in this locality and reared a family. Of his children was Joseph Reynolds, the great-grandfather of our subject. He was a farmer of considerable note, being quite influential in local affairs and having held some prominent offices
John Key notes
MRS JOHN T. REYNOLDS.
,40I
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
in the township. He married Miss Mary West, who became the mother of twelve children, five of whom are now living, namely: William, Israel, Charles, Jane and Mary. Joseph Reynolds lived to the advanced age of eighty-seven years. Of his children who are now deceased was John W. Reynolds, the grandfather of our sub- ject. He was born in 1818 in Howell township, Monmouth county, where he engaged successfully in agricultural pursuits and held some of the important offices in the township. He and his wife, who was Miss Hester A. Estell, were the parents of ten children, as follows: Hannah J .; Robert J .; Elizabeth; Mary; Britton C .; George; Carrol, now deceased; U. S. Grant ; John T .; and Ruth. Of these children John T. Reynolds is the father of our subject, and was born in Howell township in 1843. He received his education in the schools of his native township, and as soon as he was able to handle the plow assisted in the labors of his father's farm and at the same time learned the carpenter's trade. In 1862, when his country was in danger, he offered himself upon her altar as a living sacrifice, and enlisted as a private in Com- pany D, Fourteenth New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, for a term of three years. He heroically engaged in the following battles: Mine Run, Seven Days' Fight, Spottsyl- vania, Cold Harbor, Bermuda Hundred, Monacacy, Winchester, Fishers Hill, Harri- sonburg, Stroudsburg and Cedar Creek. During the last named engagement he re- ceived a wound in the left leg below the knee, which disabled him for further active service. He received an honorable discharge at the close of the war and returned to the duties of civil life, taking up the saw and plane where he had laid them down, becoming a loyal and useful citizen. His close application to business and his unflagging energy have brought to him marked success, and in his county he is recog- nized as a high class mechanic and contractor. In 1881 he was elected to the office of postmaster, which he has efficiently held for twenty years, having won the confi- dence and respect of his fellow men. Two years subsequent to his election he opened a store in Southard, which he still conducts by proxy. He has also served as over- seer of the highways. The cause of education has found in him a loyal supporter and advocate, and he has ably served for eighteen years as school trustee, and is now an active member of the new board of education. At one time he was a nominee for freeholder and was defeated by a very strong opponent, by one majority. Politically he is a loyal Republican and does all in his power to advance the welfare of his party. In 1868 he was united in marriage to Miss Lavenia Riley, who was born in 1844. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds have been born nine children, namely: Samuel, de- ceased; Lizzie, who has passed away; John, also deceased; John T., the subject of this review ; William H .; Walter, also deceased; Viola; Ellen; and Thomas.
John T. Reynolds was born in Howell township, Monmouth county, in 1875, and there received his early education. Following his father's footsteps, he learned the carpenter's trade, in which he has been eminently successful. His natural ability, coupled with his industry and perseverance have made him a careful and expert work- man, and he gives promise of becoming a leading factor in his line of trade. In 1896 he led to the marriage altar Miss Nancy E. Elder, a native of North Carolina. This union has been blessed with two interesting children: William H. and Maud C. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds are people of intelligence and refinement, and are highly respected by all who know them.
DAVID COMPTON BOWEN.
David Compton Bowen, to whom the Asbury Park public are largely indebted for the excellent sanitary conditions they enjoy, was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 5, 1860, the son of Lorenzo and Beulah Compton Bowen. The
26
402
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
public schools of Morristown and Dividing Creek contributed to his education. His first business venture was in the mercantile line at Bridgeton; later he associated himself in the same line of trade at Asbury Park, New Jersey, in which he continued up to the year 1892; at that time he was appointed secretary to the board of health of Asbury Park, which position he still fills. Mr. Bowen is also chief inspector for the board; to more faithfully fulfill the demands of the office he has devoted much time and study to public sanitation, and in order that he might thoroughly familiarize himself with the subject in all its technical features, he took a special examination in municipal hygiene in the scientific department of Rutgers College, and holds one of the first certificates issued by that college, covering all branches of this ex- haustive science.
His marriage, which occurred on April 18, 1885, to Miss Rodella Johnson, daugh- ter of John and Sarah Johnson, of Dayton, Ohio, has resulted in the birth of one child, namely, Elmore, born February 28, 1889.
ARTHUR LESLIE PHILIPS.
Arthur L. Philips, one of the respected citizens and substantial agriculturists of Monmouth county, was born in New York City, November II, 1857, a son of Alexander and Mary (Stanley) Philips. The father was born in Linlithgow, Scot- land, near the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots, about 1819, and in 1822 he came with his parents to America. His father was a stonemason and quarryman, and the son also engaged in that occupation, owning one of the first free stone quarries in New Jersey at Avondale, where he did an extensive business in shipping stone and as a contractor. He erected the beautiful church of the Rev. John Hall in New York City, and many other fine buildings. He was also engaged in milling, owning the mill at Harmony, Monmouth county, and at one time he had in his employ four hundred and fifty men. He was a shrewd business man and accumulated a fortune. He was a Republican in his political views, and in 1878 was elected to the state legislature, where he was active and influential during his service. His business at Avondale is still owned by his two sons, Henry and Austin. His dea h occurred in 1887, at the age of sixty-eight years, while his wife survived until 1900, passing away at the age of eighty-six years.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.