USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Passaic > The Passaic valley, New Jersey, in three centuries.. Vol. 2 > Part 20
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Mr. Kip has achieved distinction as an able financier and business man, and during his entire career has maintained a high KIP ARMS. standing for integrity, honesty, and sound judgment. His active connection with many important financial enterprises have won for him an eminent reputa- tion among New York's most progressive and substantial men of affairs, while his sagacity and superior judgment have constantly brought him into demand as a safe adviser and counsellor. He continued to reside in Passaic until about 1874, when he moved to New York City, where he has been a prominent member of several of the leading clubs and other organizations. While a resident of Passaic he was quite influential and prominent in local politics, al- though he did not hold any official position.
Mr. Kip is publie spirited, patriotic, always ready to pro- mote worthy enterprises, and highly esteemed by all who know him.
He was married, June 13, 1866, to Mary Roe, who was born at Paterson, N. J., October 11, 1846. On her side three generations of governors descended from Dolor Davis, who was Governor of Massachusetts. John Davis Long, the present Secretary of the Navy, is also a member of this family.
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IRA ANDRUS KIP, JR., son of Ira Andrus Kip, Sr., and Mary Roe, is a well known business man of New York City, with residence at South Orange, N. J. Hle was born at Passaic, N. J., and was educated in various private schools and at Columbia Institute, New York City, graduating from the latter in 1887. Leaving school when seventeen years of age, he took his first employment in the fall of 1887 with Henry II. Crocker & Co., East India merchants, of which firm his father was a member. With the ex- ception of several months spent in a trip over Europe, and at another time to South America and through the Windward Islands, he remained with this firm until 1896. In the spring of the latter year Mr. Kip spent several months traveling through the West for pleasure, at the same time looking over rail- road properties in which he was inter- ested. Upon his return he and his father or- IRA A. KIP, JR. ganized the firm of Ira A. Kip & Co., hemp brokers and importers. Mr. Kip is a Director in the Brooklyn Union and Brooklyn City Elevated Railroad, and is also interested in numerous railroads, gas companies, and corporations.
In the spring of 1888 Mr. Kip entered the Seventh Regi- ment, N. G. N. Y., from which organization he was dis- charged in October, 1894. He is a member of the Holland Society, the Calumet Club, the Down Town Association, and the Ardsley Chib; a Governor of the Essex County Country Club, the Orange Riding and Driving Club, and the Orange and South Orange Field Clubs; and a member of the Orange
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Gun Club and the Baltusral Golf Club. In April, 1900, he was elected President of the village of South Orange by a large majority.
He has been interested in fine horses for several years, and has been a successful exhibitor at the various horse shows with his high steppers in four-in-hand and harness classes. He was a cushion subscriber to the " Good Times " coach running from the Waldorf-Astoria, New York, during the seasons of 1900 and 1901, and one of the owners and coachman of the coach " Olden Times " running between the Essex County Country Club, West Orange, and the Bal- tusral Golf Club.
Mr. Kip was married, in 1893, to Katharine Flower, daughter of the late John D. and Abigail ( Bullard) Flower, who was born in Theresa, N. Y. Her father was a brother of the late Governor Roswell P. Flower, of New York. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kip.
CAMILLUS GEORGE KIDDER, of Orange, N. J., lawyer, was born in Baltimore, Md., July 6, 1850, and is the son of Camillus and Sarah ( Herrick) Kidder. His paternal grand- parents were Reuben and Lois Kidder; his maternal grand- parents were Jedediah and Mehitable Herrick. In the pa- ternal line he traces his ancestry to James Kidder, who settled near'Boston in 1656. On his mother's side he is a descendant of Major Isaac Herrick, who fought on the patriot side at the battle of Bunker Hill.
Mr. Kidder received his preparatory education at Phil- lips Exeter Academy (Exeter, N. H.), and was graduated from Harvard College in the class of 1872 and from the Harvard Law School in 1875. Upon completing his law school course he came to New York City, finished his prepa- ration for the bar under James Emott, and was admitted to practice in 1877. Mr. Kidder served his legal apprentice- ship as a clerk in the office of Emott, Burnett & Hammond, which firm subsequently changed its style to Emott, Ham- mond & Kidder. In 1891 he organized, with John S. Melch- er, the law firm of Kidder & Melcher, which became Ivins, Kidder & Melcher by later association with the Hon. Will-
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iam M. Ivins. Mr. Kidder is a successful and esteemed member of the metropolitan bar.
CAMILLUS G. KIDDER.
lle is a member of the Harvard, University, Church, and Reform Clubs of New York City, the Geographical
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Society, the Phillips Exeter Academy Alumni Associ- ation, the Civil Service Reform Association, the Economic Association, the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association, the Bunker Hill Association of Boston, the New England So- ciety of New York, the New England Society of Orange (of which he is President), the Colonial Order, and the Wash- ington Association of New Jersey. He is one of the most prominent citizens of Orange, and is at present an Excise Commissioner of that city.
He was married, December 3, 1881, to Matilda Faber, and has three children : Jerome Faber Kidder, Lois Faber Kid- der, and George Herrick Faber Kidder.
GEORGE E. HELLER, whose career as a manufacturer stamps him as one of Newark's leading men, is the son of Elias Heller and Mary Leak, and was born in West Orange, N. J., January 26, 1848. He is of German descent. He was educated in the West Orange public schools and at home, and at the age of eighteen entered upon an active and in- dependent business life. Learning the trade of filemaking in the shops of his brother, Elias G. Heller ( whose sketch appears in this work), he became, in 1873, a partner in the enterprise in connection with Elias G. and Peter Heller, and has since been one of the firm of Heller Brothers, one of the largest manufacturers of files, rasps, etc., in the country.
Mr. Heller mastered every detail of the business, and to his application, ability, and untiring energy, united with sound judgment and a thorough knowledge of the trade, is due much of the firm's remarkable success and reputation. Employing a large force of skilled workmen, with an ex- tensive business throughout the Union, the firm has for many years carried on one of the leading industries of New- ark. Mr. Heller is also interested in the Heller Tool Com- pany and the Orange Mountain Ice Company, both exten- sive corporations. He is a Republican, deeply interested in party measures, and actively identified with the city.
He married, first, January 26, 1872, Caroline Greeny, daughter of Jacob and Mary Greeny, of German descent. She died August 20, 1875, leaving one son, George, born on
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that date. For his second wife Mr. Heller married, Septem- ber 10, 1876, Miss Emma C. Pfeiffer, born June 10, 1852, daughter of Lonis and Mary ( Becker) Pfeiffer, both of Ger- man lineage. She is a communicant of the Protestant Epis- copal Church. They have had eight children : Lucy M., Al- fred L., Lydia M., Walter, Gertrude, Lider, Leo, and Viola. The family attend the Presbyterian Church.
JAMES S. HOLMES, of Orange, is a lineal descendant on his father's side of Thomas Holmes, who surveyed and mapped the City of Philadelphia, Pa. He is the son of Charles Muir Holmes, of New York, and Mary Frances Lane Proctor, daughter of Benjamin and Mary Frances ( Lane) Proctor, of Boston, Mass., and a grandson of Adrian Bancker Holmes and Catherine Morris, of New Jersey. His paternal ancestors were early settlers of this State.
Mr. Holmes was born in New York City on the 21st of July, 1833. Le was educated at the Mechanics Institute, New York, finishing at Dickinson's school in Jersey City. Subse- quently he engaged in the jewelry manufac- turing business in New- ark. He continued in that industry with marked success until 1888, since which time he has been engaged in the real estate business in Orange, N. J., where he resides. Mr. Hohnes is a man of acknowl- JAMES S. HOLMES. edged ability, and through his integrity and enterprise has always maintained the confidence of his fellowmen.
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He was married, August 24, 1858, to Phebe A. Van Velsor, daughter of Cornelius Van Velsor, a Major in the War of 1812. They have two children : James S. Holmes, Jr., and Emily Frances Lane, wife of Clayton S. Fitch.
JOHN RICHARDS WHEELER, a leading citizen of Eliza- beth, N. J., and prominent in Masonic, Odd Fellow, and Grand Army circles, was born in New York City, April 25, 1834. His parents, Rev. Lyman Thompson and Margaret (Lee) Wheeler, were natives of Norwalk, Conn., and Glas- gow, Scotland, respectively. His paternal grandfather, John Richards Wheeler, was a native of England, a school teacher, and for many years lived in New Rochelle, N. Y., where he taught school and died. His wife was Elizabeth Thompson, of Irish descent, whose brother, William Thompson, served through the War of the Revolution, principally in New Jersey. The ma- ternal grandfather was Alexander Lee, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, who for many years was a resident of New York City, being in the employ of Thorbon & Co., flour merchants. Rev. Lyman Thompson Wheeler, an Episcopal JOHN R. WHEELER. clergyman, spent most of his life in the West engaged in missionary work, principally in Indiana, where he died. His children were John R., Elizabeth (Mrs. An- drew Bates), Lyman T. (deceased), James S. (a soldier in the Twelfth and Forty-fourth Indiana Regiments, Volun- teer Infantry, serving through the entire Civil War), and
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Abel (a member of the Twelfth Indiana Volunteer Infantry in the Rebellion, killed in battle), and a stepson, Charles F. Monteith, a member of the Thirteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
John R. Wheeler was reared in New York City and edu- cated in the public schools. He learned the chairmaking trade, and later engaged in the painting business, which he followed for twenty-five years prior to and following the Civil War. In July, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, Sev- enty-fourth Indiana. Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Murfreesboro, Mission Ridge, and other minor engagements. After two years' service he was honorably discharged on account of disability. He spent four years in Warsaw, Ind., and seven years in Fort Wayne. Since 1875 he has been a resident of Elizabeth, N. J.
He married, February 26, 1857, Sarah Jane, daughter of Dr. Amos Pegg, of Ligonier, Ind., who was also a soldier in the Civil War. The issue of this union is two children: Mary E. ( Mrs. Morris Mason) and Lyman T. Mr. Wheeler is a member of the Episcopal Church, the Elizabeth Fire Department (of which he has been a Trustee for twelve years), and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is Past Master of Washington Lodge, F. and A. M., Past High Priest of Washington Chapter, R. A. M., and Past Com- mander of St. John's Commandery, K. T. He is a member of Ulric Dahlgreen Post, No. 25, G. A. R., of which he was Commander in 1900. In politics he is a Republican.
JOHN WILLIAM GRIGGS, born in Newton, Sussex County, N. J., July 10, 1849, is the son of Daniel Griggs, a farmer. He was graduated from Lafayette College in 1868, became a law student in the office of Hon. Robert Hamilton, at Newton, and in 1871 removed to Paterson, where he con- tinued his legal studies with the late Socrates Tuttle. He was licensed as an attorney in 1871, and subsequently formed with Mr. Tuttle the law firm of Tuttle & Griggs. In 1879 he opened an office for himself in Paterson, and rapidly won high rank in his profession.
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In 1875 he was elected to the House of Assembly from the old First District of Passaic County, comprising the Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Wards of Paterson, Acquack- anonek Township, and the City of Passaic. He was the youngest member of the Assembly in the Centennial year of 1876, and in the revision of the laws under the constitutional amendments approved in 1875 he bore a conspicuous part, several of the new acts, notably one remodeling the election laws, being suggested by him. In 1877 he served a second term in the Assembly, and was the recognized leader of his party. The following year he was renominated for a third term, but failed of election. In 1878 he was elected counsel to the Board of Freeholders of Passaic County. In 1882 he was elected to the New Jersey Senate from Passaic County for a term of three years, and subsequently suc- ceeded himself for another term; in 1886 he was President of the Senate. In 1888 he was chosen a Delegate-at-Large to the Republican National Convention at Chicago, receiving the largest vote of any candidate. After the nomination of General Harrison for President Mr. Griggs presented as a candidate for the Vice-Presidential nomination the Hon. William Walter Phelps. Mr. Griggs several times had pressed upon him the nomination for Congress by the Re- publicans of his district, but he steadily declined. In 1892 President Harrison gave serious consideration to Mr. Griggs's name in connection with the vacancy on the United States Supreme Court bench, caused by the death of Justice Joseph P. Bradley, of New Jersey. In 1895 Governor Werts intimated that he would like to appoint Mr. Griggs a Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, to fill the vacancy cre- ated by the death of Justice Leon Abbett, but Mr. Griggs did not entertain the proposal. He became the Republican candidate for Governor of New Jersey in 1895, in a memora- ble campaign to free the State from the domination of the Democratic ring. He was elected Governor, November 5, 1895, for a term of three years, by a plurality of 26,900 votes, the Democratic candidate being the late Hon. Alexander T. McGill. On January 31, 1898, he resigned as Governor of New Jersey and accepted the appointment by President Me- Kinley as Attorney-General of the United States, to succeed
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Hon. Joseph McKenna. He resigned this office in the spring of 1901.
Mr. Griggs has been President of the Paterson National Bank, President of the Paterson Safe Deposit Company, and President of the Hamilton Club of Paterson. He married Miss L. Elizabeth Price, of Cleveland, Ohio, and has two sons and five daughters.
ALBERT C. COURTER was born January 31, 1851, in Newark, N. J., where he still resides. He is the son of Peter and Mary Ann ( Canfield) Courter, a grandson of Abram Courter, and a great-grandson of Peter Courter. On his mother's side he is a grandson of Louisa Crane Canfield and a great-grandson of Sarah Collard Canfield, whose husband, David Canfield, born March 9, 1757, died March 9, 1804, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, being wounded at Springfield, N. J. He was buried with mili- tary honors in the first churchyard in Newark.
Mr. Courter was edu- cated in the public schools of his native city. In 1866 he entered the store of George 1. Thomas, with whom he continued for many years, becoming a part- ner in the business in 1880 under the firm name of G. A. Thomas & Co. This firm was subsequently changed to Thomas & Courter. In 1891 he purchased Mr. Thomas's interest and has since conducted the ALBERT C. COURTER. enterprise alone. He carries on a large and successful busi- ness in paints, oils, chemicals, hatters' supplies, leather
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manufacturers' supplies, etc., at Nos. 110 and 112 Mulberry Street, Newark, and through his integrity, uprightness of character, and honorable dealings has gained a high reputa- tion.
In politics Mr. Courter is a stanch Republican. He has been active in party affairs, and as a member of the Essex County Republican Committee has wielded a strong in- fluence in shaping the course of the Republicans in the com- munity. He is a member of the Northern Republican Club, of the North End Club, and of the Newark Athletic Club. He is President of the Electric Emery Wheel Company and Treasurer of the Gladding Oil Company.
Mr. Courter was married, June 26, 1877, to Lottie G. Ir- win, and has three children : Jessie Irwin, Carrie May, and Grace Irwin.
JAMES L. CRISP, of Bloomfield, N. J., manufacturer and inventer, was born in Baltimore, Md., March 30, 1836. Ilis parents were John Crisp, born in Maryland, and Sarah E. Peterson, a native of Delaware. He is a descendant of Ben- jamin Crisp, a Revolutionary soldier.
Mr. Crisp received his education at Belleville, N. J., and after leaving school learned the machinist's trade. In 1876 he invented machinery for the manufacture of round belt- ing, and he has since been engaged in that line of industry. He has taken out various patents in his own name, includ- ing a valve for a compound engine and a patent process used in hat manufacture. His belt manufacturing estab- lishment, conducted under the firm name of James Crisp & Company, is the largest of its kind in America.
He is one of the prominent and public spirited citizens of Bloomfield. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of that place, of the Knights of Honor, and of the Knights of Pythias. He has served in the New Jersey State Militia, under Colonel Peckwell.
Mr. Crisp married Mary Isabella Bell, of Bloomfield, and has six children: James W. (who is associated with his father in business), Lonisa, Mary, Sarah, Elva, and Alice.
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DANIEL W. BROWN, of East Orange, is descended from an old New Jersey family, and is the son of Daniel Brown and Eliza Gibson, daughter of William and Mary ( Arbuth- not) Gibson. He was born in Griggstown, Somerset Con- ty, December 16, 1837, and there received a public school education. Learning the blacksmith's trade with his father, he subsequently moved to South Amboy, N. L., and entered the repair shops of the Camden and Amboy Railroad Com- pany, where he re-
mained for several
years. Later he re- moved to Woodbridge, in this State, and en- gaged in the butcher business, serving also as Postmaster of that place from 1878 to 1886, as Justice of the Peace for five years, as Towu Clerk, Poll Clerk, and in township offices. Ile was also engaged in the insurance business in Woodbridge, which he sold out, however, upon retiring from the post- mastership. He then ac- cepted a position as DANIEL W. BROWN. floorwalker with the clothing firm of Brokaw Brothers, Fourth Avenue and Astor Place, New York City, and remained in their employ some ten years. He is now (1901) engaged in the real estate, fire insurance, and coal and wood business in East Orange, where he resides.
Mr. Brown has always been an energetic, enterprising, and public spirited citizen, active in promoting the best interests of the community, and respected by all who know him. He is a Notary Public, a Commissioner of Deeds, and a member of Hope Lodge, No. 124, F. and A. M., of Lafayette Chapter, .No. 84, Royal Arch Masons, of Rahway, aud of Weyvern
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Council, No. 1419, Royal Arcanum, of New York City.
He was married, April 16, 1862, at Woodbridge, N. J., to Catharine Augusta Clarkson, who bore him three children : Frank Clarkson Brown, of Newark, and two daughters, one of whom is married. His second wife was Isabel Westwood, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
GEORGE H. ELLIOT, an old and respected resident of East Orange, was born in Falmouth, Me., April 16, 1831, his father being Josiah B. Elliot. He received a common school education in his native town, and while yet a youth went to Roxbury, Mass., and engaged in the tailoring business. At the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion he enlisted in Company C, Ninth Massachusetts Volunteers, at Roxbury, and served until he was mustered out, July 3, 1865. He saw much active service and participated in a number of battles, los- ing his right arm at Spottsylvania, Va., Sun- day, May 8, 1864. He discharged his duties with singular fidelity and credit.
Returning from the army, Mr. Elliot en- gaged in the tobacco business, which he fol- lowed successfully for several years. About 1886 he moved to East Orange, N. J., and be- came a Justice of the Peace. In 1893 he was GEORGE H. ELLIOT. appointed Police Justice of the Township of East Orange and has held that office ever since, administering its duties with ability, impartiality, and satisfaction. He is also a Notary Public and a Commissioner of Deeds. Mr.
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Elliot has been a lifelong Republican, active in party affairs, and a man of strict integrity and great enterprise. He is a prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the East End Republican Club of East Orange.
llis first wife, Eliza Agant, died in 1860, and he married, second, Eliza Jane Nutter, whose death occurred in 1898. HIe has four daughters, of whom all but one are married.
ANDREW C. CHALMERS has been a lifelong resident of Orange, N. J., where he was born July 25, 1857, the son of Thomas A. Chalmers and Janet Fife. He was edneated in the Orange public and high schools, and subsequently learned the plumbing trade with his father and unele, who had es- tablished a successful plumbing business in Orange abont 1865. They continued the enterprise until the death of Thomas A. Chalmers, April 1, 1900, since which time it has been conducted by Andrew C. and his brother Matthew.
Mr. Chalmers has long taken an active part in the public af- fairs of his native town, and has frequent- ly been called upon to serve his party and fellowmen. He is a val- mable member of the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholdersand in 1900 was a candidato for Alderman. For six ANDREW C. CHALMERS. years he served in the State militia. He was a member of the MeKinley and Roosevelt Club of the Oranges during the campaign of 1900, and in every capacity has faithfully and conscientiously discharged his duties.
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ELIAS MULFORD CONDIT, fourth child of Ira Harrison Condit and Phebe Farrand Mulford, is descended from one of the oldest families in the Passaic Valley, his ancestors having immigrated thither from New England at a very early colonial period. He was born in Orange ( now West Orange), Essex County, May 21, 1841, and received an excel- lent public and private school education in that town. IIe spent his early life on a farm, where he laid the foundations of a strong constitution and successful business career. For a number of years he has been ex- tensively engaged in real estate operations.
Mr. Condit has taken an active part in public affairs. He was long a member and for five years the Director of the Essex County Board of Freeholders, and for many years has filled the office of City Surveyor of Orange with ability and satisfaction. In 1885 he was nominated for the Legislature by the Re- ELIAS M. CONDIT. publicans of his district and was elected by a handsome majority. He was re-elected in 1886, and in 1890 received the unanimous Republican nomination for Con- gress, but was defeated, although he ran ahead of his ticket. In 1892 he was one of the delegates chosen to represent his district at the National Republican Convention held at Min- neapolis, Minn. Mr. Condit is a member of Union Lodge, No. 11, F. and A. M., a member of Orange Chapter, R. A. M., and a member of various other societies in Orange and Essex County. In every capacity he has discharged his duties with ability, fidelity, and satisfaction.
He was married, in 1870, to Sarah Louise, daughter of
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Charles Beach and a descendant of Zopher Beach, son of Thomas Beach, who took the oath of fidelity at New Haven, Conn., in 1654, and who was in Newark in 1685. Their chil- dren are Charles B., Phebe A., Clara L., Wilberforce, Albert Kitchell, Hattie May, and Elias Mulford, Jr.
AARON MUNN CONDIT was at the time of his death the oldest representative of the Condit family in the Oranges. He was the sixth in descent from John Condit or Condiet, the ancestor of the Condit family in this country. Ile was born September 15, 1799, and died September 6, 1890, ending a life of nearly ninety-one years. He was the eldest son and child of Jotham Condit and Hepzibah, daugh- ter of Benjamin Mun. flis grand parents were Samuel Condit and Martha Car- ter, and his great-grand- parents were Samuel Condit and Mary Dodd, daughter of Samuel Dodd, 1st. His great- great-grandparents were Peter Condit (son of John, the ancestor) and Mary Harrison, daugh- ter of Samuel, who was the son of Sergeant Richard Harrison, the ancestor of the Newark and Orange families of the name of Harrison and one of the first set- Hlers of Newark.
Mr. Condit was a shoemaker by irade and AARON M. CONDIT. ocenpation, which he learned with his father. He was content to follow his call- ing all his life, doing ahnost to the last the needed re- pairing for his family. In 1823 he married Louisa, born in
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