USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Passaic > The Passaic valley, New Jersey, in three centuries.. Vol. 2 > Part 21
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1800, died in 1867, daughter of Major Jabez Pierson, of Sonth Orange. Mrs. Condit's descent was through Major Jabez (1755), Samuel (1730), Samuel (1698), Samuel (1663), and Thomas Pierson, the Newark ancestor. The year after his marriage, in 1824, Mr. Condit built the house still stand- ing on the corner of Main and South Clinton Streets in East Orange, where he lived sixty-six years and up to the close of his life. He never accepted public office, but always held decided views of public policy, and never failed to give ex- pression to them at the polls. He was an old time Whig until the formation of the Republican party, whose princi- ples and aims claimed and received his support. Few men were possessed of finer sensibilities and stronger religious convictions than Mr. Condit. Brought up under the teach- ings of a godly mother, his seat in the sanctuary was rarely vacant, and his respect for the Sabbath and God's house is worthy the commendation of all who knew him. During his long and eventful life he saw Orange, a struggling town- ship of a few hundred inhabitants with one place of public worship, grow to a city and four townships, one of which has since assumed a city government.
Mr. Condit had three children : Martha Ann, born in 1824, died December 12. 1899, unmarried; Jabez Pierson, born April 7, 1826, married, April 3, 1850, Harriet W. Jinkins, danghter of William Jinkins, of Newark, N. J .; and Amzi, born June 18, 1830, married, in 1854, Catherine C. Halstead, of Caldwell, N. J., and died February 6, 1865, leaving one child, Oscar HI., born February 27, 1861, married, November 12, 1884, Fannie C. Harrison, daughter of Philip H. Harri- son, of Caldwell.
JABEZ PIERSON CONDIT, the eldest son of Aaron Munn Condit and Louisa Pierson, was born in Orange (now East Orange), April 7, 1826. He received his education in the public schools of his native town. He learned the trade of hatmaking, but relinquished it on his removal in 1847 to Ohio, where he remained two years. On his return from Ohio he settled in Bloomfield, N. J., where he married, April
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3, 1850, Harriet W., daughter of William Jinkins, a worthy descendant of an old New Jersey family.
During his residence of five years in Bloomfield ( 1850-55) Mr. Condit was en- gaged with his father- in-law in the manufac- ture of shoes and in conducting a general grocery store. In 1885 he returned to Orange, where he established himself in the business of making paper hat boxes and wooden cases. In 1872 he re- tired from active busi- ness and turned his at- iention to his real estate interests.
While a resident of Orange Mr. Condit served four years in the Common Council (from 1864 to 1867 in- JABEZ P. CONDIT. «lusive). On his removal to West Orange he was, in 1873 and 1874, elected a member of the Town Committee and by the committee was made the Town Treasurer. He was one of the organizers of the Half Dime Savings Bank of Orange and has been one of its managers from its organization un- til the present time.
Mr. and Mrs. Condit joined the Second Presbyterian (or Brick) Church of Orange in early life, and are still in the membership of that church. No one in the Oranges is het- ter known or more highly respected than Mr. Condit.
WILLIAM PECK CONDIT is one of the oldest citizens of Orange, N. JJ., where he was born March 30, 1829. He is the son of Samuel Condit and Phebe Peck, a grandson of Samuel Condit, Sr., and Hannah Harrison, a great-grand- son of Daniel Condit, and a lineal descendant of Samuel
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Condit, who emigrated to this country early in the seven- teenth century. The family is a prominent one in the Passaic Valley, where they have resided for more than two hundred and fifty years. Mr. Condit was edu- cated in the Orange schools. After complet- ing his studies he was an apprentice in the wheelwright and car- riage business. Snbse- quently he was for some years a farmer, engag- ing largely in dairying. Finally, after succeed- ing to his father's large landed estates, he nat- urally became inter- ested in the business of a real estate dealer, and in this connection he has been actively and WILLIAM P. CONDIT. extensively occupied to the present time. Mr. Condit has achieved success, and during a long and active life has maintained the confidence of all who know him. lle is a man of great energy, enterprise, and perseverance, prominently identified with the growth of his native town, and honored and respected by the entire community.
In public as well as in business life he has been active and prominent. He has held various municipal offices, snch as Surveyor of Highways, member of the Township Com- mittee, Assessor, School Trustee, Appraisement Commis- sioner for the Park Commission, and other public positions. He was Quartermaster on the staff of General Condit of the Essex Brigade and Provost Marshal for the Eleventh Dis- trict of New Jersey during the Civil War. He is a mem- ber and Past Master of Union Lodge, No. 11, F. and A. M., of Orange, a member of Union Chapter, No. 7, R. A. M., and a member of Kane Council, No. 2, R. and S. M. Public spirited, progressive, and alive to the best interests of his
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town, Mr. Condit has been very active in promoting its wel- fare, and officially and privately has done much toward lay. ing out and planning several of the finest streets in East Orange and Essex County.
He was married, June 24, 1862, to Emily A. Olds, and has had four children: Bertha C. (deceased), Emily, Mary M., and Watson S.
ROBERT M. CONDIT was born November 8, 1855, in Orange, Essex County, where he has always resided, and where his family has been prominent for several genera- tions. He is the son of John Condit and Frances Hillyer, and a lineal descendant of John Condit, or Cun- ditt, the founder of the family in America, and who is noticed elsewhere in this work.
Mr. Condit acquired a good practical education in the public schools of Orange. He subsequent- ly learned the plumbing trade, which he has fol- lowed with marked sue- coss. During the past seventeen years he has been engaged in that business for himself. with headquarters in Orange. He is a public spirited citizen, actively ROBERT M. CONDIT. identified with his native town, and a worthy representative of an old and honored race. He married Mary, daughter of Jeremiah Vandemark, of Towanda, Pa.
ALBERT P. CONDIT, a prominent citizen of West Orange, N. J., was born in Orange, Essex County, on the
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10th of December, 1829. He is the son of Stephen Condit and Phebe Harrison, both of whom were members of old and honored Passaic Valley families.
Mr. Condit, after receiving a good preparatory education, entered Yale College, in 1846, and was graduated from that institution with the class of 1850. He read law in Newark, and was admitted to the bar of New Jersey as an attorney in November, 1853, and as a counsel- lor in February, 1864. He has followed his pro- fession with marked suc- cess since 1853, and since 1872 has been a partner of William Silas Whitehead, the firm name being Whitehead & Condit. This is the oldest law firm in New ALBERT P. CONDIT. Jersey.
In public as well as in professional life Mr. Condit has gained an honorable repu- tation. He was elected a member of the New Jersey House of Assembly in 1867 and 1871 was chosen Speaker of that body. His career at the bar stamps him as an able lawyer. He has never married.
Those who have known him well are aware that he has always been fully informed of all important changes in mer- cantile life and conditions, and also of the political condi- tion of his State and country. He has studied and under- stood men as well as the law, and for these reasons he has long been known as one of the most helpful business ad- visers in the State. He has been counsel for the Essex County National Bank, the Mechanics National Bank, the Newark Fire Insurance Company, the Germania Fire In- surance Company, the State Trust Company, the Clark
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Thread Works, and many other corporations, and he has been the trusted adviser of hundreds of the prominent peo- ple of the county. Many important matters were placed in his charge, during his early professional life, by the late Governor Pennington, and he has acted as executor or trus- tee of dozens of large estates and of many smaller ones. Al- ways frank, open, and kind; generous to a fault to others, but accustomed to self-denial in order to more effectively aid his friends; too honest to be just to himself; absolutely truthful always, but never unkind in the use of truth; faith- ful, gentle, quiet, and wise, he has enjoyed in his later years as well as throughout his whole career at the bar the loyal friendship and perfect faith of all who have dealt with him.
llis recent retirement from active practice by reason of failing health is a source of deep regret to his many friends, who miss him and his help greatly. They have, however, the assurance that his estate is sufficient to provide him with every comfort, that he has a pleasant home near his birthplace, where he is often visited by his old acquaint- ances, and that he is generally light hearted and happy al- though helpless and deeply afflicted.
PETER V. P. HEWLETT, M.D., was born December 3, 1816, in Newark, N. J., where he still resides. He was grad- uated from the University of the City of New York in 18GS, with the degree of M.D., and immediately began the practice of medicine in Newark. Je soon came into prominence as a successful physician, and during his professional career has steadily advanced in reputation and standing until now he is one of the leading practitioners of that section.
Dr. Hewlett has on several occasions been a delegate to the New Jersey Medieal Society, and in 1879 read before that body a paper on the " Criminal Use of Chloroform," which attracted much favorable criticism. He is a member of the Essex District Medical Society, of the Newark Medical As- sociation (of which he was Secretary in 1869-70 and Presi- dent in 1871-72), of the Newark Pathological Society, and of the New Jersey Academy of Medicine, of which he has been Secretary and Curator for several years. He was at-
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tending physician of the Newark City Dispensary from 1868 to 1874, and for some years beginning with 1873 was attending physician and Curator of St. Michael's Hospital. He has served as a member of the Board of Education of the City of Newark continuously since 1876 and as county physician of Essex County since 1879.
In the various responsible positions which Dr. Hewlett has been called upon to fill he has displayed great executive ability as well as unerring professional skill, and from the first has enjoyed the confidence and respect of the entire community. As a citizen he has always manifested a deep interest in public affairs. He has discharged every duty with rare grace and devotion.
Dr. Hewlett's practice is one of the largest in the City of Newark, and he is very frequently called in consultation in difficult cases with other physicians in various parts of the State. When examined as a witness in causes before the court, which is often the case, his testimony is received with the highest respect and his opinion as an expert is regarded as final.
Notwithstanding his great practice he finds time to in- dulge in scholarly studies not connected with his profession. He is an omnivorous reader, and has one of the best selected private libraries in the State. His books are his delight and a never failing source of restful repose and solace to him when a moment can be snatched from the continuous de- mands made upon him by his large body of patients. The volumes, selected by him with the greatest care, are for use and not for show, and are so numerous that he is obliged to utilize every available space in his suite of offices, but he knows where every one is to be found. With all his cares and responsibilities Dr. Hewlett is one of the most genial of men, approachable by all.
FREDERICK TYSOE FEAREY was born in Newark, N. .J., September 18, 1848, and is the son of Isaac and Alice (Tysoe) Fearey, who came from England and settled in Newark about the year 1838. They were descendants of
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William and Mary Fearey and of Robert and Alice Tysoe, of Stevington, Bedfordshire County, England.
Frederick T. Fearey received his education in the Newark public schools and business colleges. He engaged in the railroad business in 1869 as clerk in the gen- eral passenger depart- ment of the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey, in New York City. Later he was the Newark city representative of the Pennsylvania Railroad passenger department from 1874 to 1884, and for many years after- ward he represented the Erie Railroad, the Central Railroad Com- pany of New Jersey, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and other transportation compan- ies. In 1879 he organ- FREDERICK T. FEAREY. ized the Domestic Telegraph Company, afterward named the Domestic Telegraph and Telephone Company, and later the Newark District Telegraph Messenger and Burglar Alarm Company. He made a number of valuable improve- ments in the general development of these enterprises, in which he was largely interested financially and in their successful management as an officer and director.
In 1888 Mr. Fearey invented an improvement in railway fastenings for the abutting ends of railroad rails. Patents were secured and a company was formed and duly organ- ized under the name of the Continuous Rail Joint Company of America. This appliance is extensively used, ten thon- sand miles of railroad track in the United States being equipped with the continuous rail joints. At the World's Paris Exposition in 1900 Mr. Fearey's rail joint in compe-
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tition with the leading manufacturers in the United States was awarded a bronze medal, the highest award in the rail joint exhibit.
Mr. Fearey married Miss Bertha Louise Kittel, of Mount Vernon, N. Y., n 1896. They have one daughter, Marie Louise, and reside in East Orange, N. J. He is a member of the First Baptist Church of Newark, the New Jersey Historical Society, the Newark Board of Trade, the Essex Club of Newark, and the Blooming Grove Park Association of Pike County, Pa.
CHARLES A. WILLIAMS was born in Verona, Essex County, N. JJ., on the 17th of March, 1862, and has always resided in that place. He was educated in the public schools of Ve- rona, and is one of its representative citizens and prominent in its business community as a member of the firm of J. E. Williams & Co. Mr. Williams has served for three years as a member of the Township Committee and for eight years as a member of the Board of Education.
CHARLES A. WILLIAMS.
He is a member of the Verona Club and also a member of the First Congregational Church of Verona,
where he resides. He is active in public affairs and re- spected by the entire community.
Mr. Williams was married on the 24th of November, 1883, to Helen Baldwin. They have three children : Edgar, Hat- tie, and Mildred.
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DAVID H. SLAYBACK, of Verona, N. J., son of Will- iam and Adeline ( Warman) Slayback, was born in Hunter- don County, N. J., August 27, 1861. He was educated in the public schools of Verona, Essex Conuty, and at the age of seventeen obtained employment at the painter's trade. Later he learned the trade of type metal engraver at No. 104 Fulton street, New York, which he followed for five years. During the latter part of that period he was em- ployed with the Samuel Crump Label Company, of Montelair, N. J. Since 1885 he has been a men- ber of the firm of Slay- back Brothers, a well known and very success- ful company now doing business in Verona, Caldwell, and Little Falls.
Mr. Slayback is Presi- dent of the Verona Lake and Park Association, a corporation which ro- cently purchased Vero- na Lake, Essex County, with adjacent land, and has highlydeveloped the property as a refined DAVID H. SLAYBACK. popular resort. The di- rectors of this association are David H. Slayback, Charles A. Williams, Anson . Voorhees, and John W. Slayback. Three beautiful houses have been erected in Verona as sub- stantial evidence of the success attained by the Slayback Brothers-one occupied by David IL., another by John W., and the third by their father, William.
Mr. Slayback is a member and stockholder in the Verona Club, and is a member of Montelair Council, Royal Arcanum.
He married Henrietta Grosch, daughter of the late Will- iam Grosch, who was the first manufacturer of bronzes in
VIEWS OF VERONA LAKE AND PARK.
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the United States. Their children are Gertrude, Henrietta, Jean, and Marion.
JOHN W. SLAYBACK, a younger brother of the pre- ceding, was born in Raritan, N. J., November 1, 1863. To the education which he received in the public schools he has added much by a constant acquaintance with the best things in literature. At the age of sixteen he entered the Montelair Times office, as an apprentice, and later, for a period of six years, condneted a printing business in Cald- well, N. J., in connection with the printing work of the firm of Lane, Lockward & Co., tobacconists. In 1888 he accepted a posi- tion with H. C. Dabney, of Montelair, as book- keeper, and continued with him for two years.
The firm of Slayback Brothers ( David II. and John W.) was organized in 1885, and has en- joyed constant success and development. A general ice business con- dueted in Montelair, Vo- rona, and Caldwell was the first undertaking of this firm. In 1891 a coal yard was opened in Verona, and in 1892 JOHN W. SLAYBACK. lumber and building supplies were added. Later the main yard was located in Caldwell, where a large storage plant bespeaks the success attained through intelligent enterprise and upright busi- ness methods.
Though Mr. Slayback is essentially a home loving man. he has filled several public offices with credit to himself and satisfaction to his fellow citizens. He was the first
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Clerk and is the present Treasurer of the Township of Ve- rona, where he resides. lle is Secretary and Treasurer of
VERONA LAKE AND PARK.
the Verona Lake and Park Association, a stockholder and Director of the Verona Club, a member of Caldwell Lodge,
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No. 59, F. and A. M., a member of Montelair Council, No. 121, Royal Arcanum, and a member of Verona Council, No. 225, Jr. O. U. A. M.
He was married, in 1892, to Miss Nellie Husk, daughter of James HE. Husk, of Caldwell, N. J. One child, JJohn W. Slayback, 2d, completes the happiness of this home.
STUART CORY SMITHI, of Orange, is descended from one of the oldest families in New Jersey. His first Ameri- can ancestor, James Smith, born about 1665, is said to have come from Scotland to this country in 1680, on a sailing vessel which landed at Perth Amboy. James Smith was an orphan, and the Captain of the vessel, having assumed guardianship over him, brought him to Newark and bound him out to Deacon Azariah Crane, son of Jasper, one of the first settlers of Newark, to serve seven years. Mr. Crane soon after- ward located on what he called his " Mountain Plantation," on the east- erly slope of the Orange Mountain in what is now known as Orange Valley. James served his full time and mar- ried Mr. Crane's young- est daughter Mary, whose mother was a daughter of Governor Robert Treat, of Con- nectient. She received as a marriage portion a part of the land on the southerly side of the STUART C. SMITH. plantation. Mr. Smith later acquired considerable adjacent property and was one of the number that made the " Horseneck " purchase from the Indians, which included the lands west of Orange Moun-
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tain and east of the Passaic River. James Smith died in 1727, at the age of about sixty-two, and his will, drawn November 4, 1727, by Rev. Daniel Taylor, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Orange, N. J., is as follows :
In the name of God, Amen, this fourth day of November in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twenty-Seven (1727).
I, James Smith, of Newark and eastern division of New Jersey in America, being weak of body but of perfect and sound mind and memory, thanks be given unto God therefore, calling unto mind the mortality of my body, and knowing it is appointed to all men once to die, do make and ordain this, my last will and testament, that is to say principally and first of all. I give and recommend my soul unto the hands of God who gave it, hoping through the alone merits of Jesus Christ to have eternal life. And my body I recommend to the earth, being dead, to be buried in a Christianlike manner at the discre- tion of my executors hereafter mentioned, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection, I shall receive the same by and through the Mighty Power of God. And, as touching such worldly estate wherewith it has pleased God to bless me in this life, I give, devise and bequeath of the same in the following manner and form.
Imprimis. I give, devise and bequeath unto my well beloved wife, Mary by name, the whole and sole use and benefit of all my barn, house, orchard and lands therennto adjoining, situate in Newark at the Mountain Plantation, so called, by her my said wife freely to be possessed and enjoyed during the time she shall remain my widow. Also I give and bequeath unto her (my just debts being paid) all and singular my personal estate not hereinafter otherwise disposed of, to be possessed and enjoyed, given and bestowed by her unto her children at her own discretion.
Item. I give, devise and bequeath nnto my beloved son, James Smith and to his heirs and assigns forever, all and singular the lands and tenements hereto- fore made over to him and them by deed of gift and together with one equal fifth part of my purchased lands on the west side of the mountain.
Item. I give, devise and beqneath unto my beloved son, Joseph Smith and to his heirs and assigns forever, all and singular the lands and tenements here- tofore made over to him and them by deed of gift and together with one eqnal fifth part of my purchased lands on the west side of the mountain.
Item. 1 give, devise and bequeath unto my beloved son, John Smith and to his heirs and assigns forever, the one equal half of my lands in Newark on the Brushy Plains, so called, and together with one equal fifth part of my purchased lands on the west side of the mountain.
Item. I give, devise and bequeath unto my loving son, David Smith and to his heirs and assigns forever, the other half of my lands on the Brushy Plains, the southernmost side or part of my lot there and also a piece of swampy land below the road adjoining the Rahway River, together with one equal fifth part of my purchased lands on the west side of the mountain.
Item. I give, devise and bequeath unto my beloved son, Ebenezer Smith and to his heirs and assigns forever, my house, barn, orchard and lands adjoining as above seised, after his mother, together with my tools, tacklin and utensils for husbandry he paying unto my danghters and each of them by name, Mary, Hannah and Sarah, the just and full sum of three pounds (3) in money or that which may be equivalent thereto, when he shall come of age, and also one equal fifth part of my purchase lands on the west side of the mountain, which purchase
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right, I would have divided among my sons, respecting both the quantity and quality thereof.
1 do constitute, ordain and appoint my beloved sons James and Joseph, exeentors of this, my Last Will and Testament. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and scal in Newark, and day and year above written.
JAMES SMITH. (Seal.)
Signed, sealed, published and declared by the said James Smith to be his last Will and Testament in presence of us the subscribers.
DANIEL TAYLOR, SAMUEL FREEMAN, JAMES NUTMAN.
James Smith's fourth son David, born in 1705, married Martha Freeman and lived in Orange, on Scotland Street, near Tremont Avenue, and carried on farming. He died in 1777. at the age of seventy-two. His fourth son, Samuel, born in 1745, married Eunice Baldwin and resided in the homestead on Scotland Street, where he died in 1800, at the age of fifty-tive. Samuel Smith's second son, Caleb, born in 1778, married Sarah Garthwaite, and also resided on
Scotland Street, where he died in 1866, at the age of eighty-seven. Caleb Smith's eldest son, Sammel, born in 1804, died November 15, 1862, at the age of fifty-eight. He married Caroline P. Tichenor, daughter of Stephen Tichenor, who was a descendant in the sixth generation of Mar- tin Tichenor, one of the original settlers of New- ark, and one of the sign- ers of the Fundamental Agreement. Samnel Smith carried on the business of making horse collars, and lived STEPHEN T. SMITH. on Scotland Street, cor- ner of Frankfort Street. He was held in the highest esteem by all who knew him, and was a member and Treasurer of
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