USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Passaic > The Passaic valley, New Jersey, in three centuries.. Vol. 2 > Part 22
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the Township Committee of Orange for several years, a School Trustee, and a Director in the Orange Bank. He was a member and Trustee of the First Presbyterian Church. In the military he served a full term as member of the Orange Troop.
Stephen Tichenor Smith, eldest son of Samuel Smith, was born in 1827 and died March 30, 1898, in his seventy-first year. He was one of the most highly respected citizens of Orange, and was loved by a large circle of friends who often looked to him for advice. Mr. Smith attended school in Orange and received a good business education. He was Town Treasurer from 1861 to 1864 and represented the First Ward in the Common Council in 1871 and again in 1874. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, and for twenty-one years was Treasurer of the Board of Trustees and in 1893 was elected a Deacon. He was one of the Mana- gers of the Orange Savings Bank, and a member of Union Lodge, F. and A. M., of Orange Chapter, R. A. M., and of the New Jersey State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, in which he took great interest. He worked with his father in the horse collar business and operated a retail grocery for several years. In 1859 he started in the fire insurance business as agent of the Home Insurance Company of New York, and as the business increased his brother, Caleb A. Smith, and later his son, Stuart C. Smith, were associated with him.
Mr. Smith married Martha A. Cory, in 1856, and had seven children, three of whom, Stuart C. Smith, Henry W. Smith, and Grace T. Smith, are living.
Stuart Cory Smith, eldest son of Stephen Tichenor Smith and Martha A. Cory, was born at the home on Scotland Street, Orange, October 5, 1857, and since the death of his father, on March 30, 1898, and also of his uncle, who died in October, 1898, has continued the fire insurance agency business, which has grown under good management and fair dealing to be one of the largest in Essex County, still representing the Home and sixteen other leading companies which have been added to the list. Mr. Smith was educated in private and public schools, leaving the Orange High School in 1874 to enter business. He is a member of Union
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Lodge, No. 11, F. and A. M., and served as Master for two years; a member of Plato Lodge, No. 122, Knights of Pyth- ias, and of Orange Lodge, No. 135, B. P. O. E .; Vice-Presi- dent of the Orange Building and Loan Association; and a member of the Finance Committee of the Orange Savings Bank. He is also a member of the Excise Board of the City of Orange, which is the only public office he has ever filled, having several times declined to accept nominations for other positions, although he has always taken great interest in public affairs.
Mr. Smith enlisted in Company B, Third Battalion, N. G. N. J., as a private, December 31, 1885, was made Sergeant February 8, 1886, Second Lieutenant February 27. 1890, First Lieutenant May 28, 1891, and First Lieutenant of Com- pany I, Second Regiment, N. G. N. J., May 31, 1892, resign- ing his commission March 9, 1898, on account of business reasons caused by the sickness of both his father and unele. Mr. Smith attends the First Presbyterian Church, of which the family are members.
Hle married Kate Hohler, daughter of Fred Hohler, of East Orange, N. J., October 16, 1883, and they have four children : Blanche Graves, born October 7, 1885; Helen Rus- sell, born February 9, 1890; Gertrude Lois, born July 19, 1891; and Stephen Thompson, born June 23, 1900, the last named making the eighth generation of Mr. Smith's family who have lived in Orange within a mile and a half of the home of their original ancestor, James Smith.
Mr. Smith's mother was born December 9, 1826, and died June 21, 1897. She was a descendant of one of the original settlers of Morris County, N. J., and was the daughter of James Cory and Susan Mulford. James Cory's father was Simeon Cory, and Mrs. Cory's father was Timothy Mulford, or Hanover, Morris County, whose family originally settled in East Hampton, Long Island, in 1649. Mr. Smith now re- sides in a pleasant home at No. 25 Ridge Street, Orange, Es- sex County.
ANSON A. VOORHEES, of Upper Montelair, N. J., was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., October 22, 1862, being the son
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of Judah B. and Matilda H. (Oakes) Voorhees and a grand- son of Peter Voorhees and Andrew Oakes. He comes from original Holland stock, his first paternal ancestor in this country having come over from the Netherlands in 1660 and settling in Flatlands, Long Island. The Voorhees family has ever since been connected with Long Island. Judah B. Voorhees, the father of Anson A., was for thirty-five years Deputy Clerk of the Kings County (N. Y.) Surro- gate's Court, resigning on January 1, 1891, on account of failing eye- sight; and Andrew
Oakes, the paternal
grandfather of Mr. Voorhees, was at one time Coroner of the same county.
He was educated in the Brooklyn public schools, and com- menced his business ca- reer in the woolen com- ANSON A. VOORHEES. mission house of Sulli- van, Vail & Co., of New York City. Ile continued with this firm for six years, and during the next five years had employment with other establishments. On the 1st of January, 1891, he became connected with the firm of J. E. Williams & Co., of Verona, N. J., with which he still continues, being since February 1, 1898, located at 51 Lispenard Street, New York City.
He was a member of the Board of Education of Verona Township, and is a member of the Verona Club, of the Montelair Athletic Club, and of the Holland Society of New York.
Mr. Voorhees was married, February 13, 1889, to Miss Anna V. Williams. Their children are Judah Edgar and Anson Willard.
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WALTER P. LINDSLEY, of Caldwell, N. J., lawyer and leading citizen, was born in Newark, N. J., December 6, 1867, his parents being Morris B. and Virginia C. (Personette) Lindsley. His grandparents were John P. and Kate M. Lindsley and Stephen and Sarah Personette. He is a de- seendant in the eighth generation of Francis Linle, who came from Guilford, England, to Branford, Conn., in 1644, and was one of the first settlers of Newark, N. J., in 1666. In the maternal line he traces his pedigree to Huguenot ancestors, who fled from France to Holland, and from there came to America in 1740. llis paternal line of descent is as fol- lows: Francis Linle (1), Ebenezer (2), Benjamin (3), John ( !), John Mor- ris (5), John P. (6), Mor- ris B. (7), and Walter P. (8). Ilis maternal line is: John Personette (1), George (2), John (3), Joseph (4), Stephen (5), Virginia (6) (married Morris B. Lindsley), and Walter P. Lindsley (7). WALTER P. LINDSLEY. He was educated in the Caldwell High School and Newark Academy, and after leaving school engaged in mercantile employment in Cald- well. In 1880 he was appointed Postmaster of the village by President Harrison, and served in that position until October 1, 1892, when he resigned to take up the practic . of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1893, and has since pursued a successful practice. He is a Trustee, Deacon, and Treasurer of the First Presbyterian Church of Caldwer.
Mr. Lindsley was married, June 6, 1894, to była Palmes. daughter of Captain Joseph Palmer, of Monticello, Florida. Their children are Mary E., Alice P., and Kathrin P.
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GEORGE PECK, M. D., Medical Director and Captain United States Navy, was born July 9, 1826, in the old family homestead, now known as the southwest corner of Maple Avenue and Main Street, East Orange, N. J., his parents being Aaron and Miranda (Pierson) Peck. His birthplace was on historic ground. His ancestry in this country is traced back to 1637. His father was the son of James (6) and Hannah (Canfield) Peck, a grandson of David (5) and Mary (Williams) Peck, a great-grandson of Joseph (4) and Jemima (Lindsey) Peck, a great- great-grandson of Joseph (3) and Lydia (Ball) Peck, and a great-great-great-grand- son of Joseph (2) and Sarah (Alling) Peck. Henry Peck (1) the father of Joseph (2), came to this country in 1637, in the ship " Hec- tor," landing in Boston, June 26, 1637. From thence the family moved to and settled in New Haven, Conn., and from AARON PECK. there they removed to Newark, N. J. The rec- ords show that of this branch at least three joined the Revo- lutionary Army and participated in the War for Independ- ence. Joseph Peck (3), with his sons, settled in what is now East Orange: one son on the easterly side of the hill and one on the westerly side, then known as Peck Hill.
The army of Washington had marched on its way southward, and was followed the next day by the British, a garrison of which was stationed in Newark. Hearing that a quantity of food was stored away in the barns of Mr. John Peck, living in what is now called East Orange, and at that time a Justice of the Peace, a band of Hessians started on a foraging expedition. On their arrival at the barn the party divided-part proceeding to pillage the home then occupied by Joseph Peck, a brother of the Justice. The news of their approach was soon
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earried to the few dwellings in the vicinity, and four or five stout hearts were aroused to resist the invaders. Lying behind a brush hedge which stood on the property belonging now to Mr. Aaron Peck, they watched the movements of the pillagers. Accompanying the latter was a Hessian woman, who had emptied a tick of straw and had filled it with newly-baked bread, which had been left in the oven as the family fled at the approach of the marauders, and was carrying it on her back through the entry when those in the ambuscade fired. The woman alone was killed. The redcoats fled to Newark. Chagrined at their sudden discomfiture, they returned with a band of fifty to obtain the body of the woman and revenge upon their victors.
On this ground where the patriots made their stand Dr. George Peck was born.
Dr. Peck's early instruction was obtained in the district school in Orange and later at the seminary of Rev. W. R. Weeks, at Newark, where he was taught Latin and Greek. lle also studied French under private tutors. He chose medicine for his profession, and studied under the direction of such eminent physicians as Dr. S. C. Brewster, Professor Joseph M. Smith, and Dr. John H. Whittaker, all of New York City, and was graduated from the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons, New York, March 6, 1847. After grad- uating he served temporarily as assistant physician of the City Hospital of New York, and later was in charge of the hospital on Blackwell's Island during the absence of the regular appointee in Europe.
Dr. Peck's connection with the United States Navy began February 25, 1851, when he passed the required examina- tion by the Board of Medical Officers and was appointed Assistant Surgeon. On the 23d of August 1851, he was ordered to report for duty aboard the United States sloop of war "Cyane," of the Home Squadron, to cruise in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the waters of the West Indies. During that cruise Dr. Peck was sent to the relief of the returning members of Strain's Expedition, which attempted a survey of the Isthmus of Darien, and assisted the survivors of that expedition on their return via Panama and Aspinwall to the ship and accompanied them home to New York. Subsequently the " Cyane " sailed to San Juan del Norte, where Dr. Peck was ordered to carry despatches to the United States Minister at Leon. During this journey he visited the principal cities and towns of Nicaragua. On his return to the "Cyane " he participated
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in the bombardment of San Juan del Norte, familiarly known as "Greytowns." He was detached from the "Cyane," September 1, 1854, and ordered to New York, September 13. October 15, 1855, he was detached from that duty, and after being examined and recommended for promotion, April 10, 1856, was ordered to the frigate "St. Lawrence," the flagship of the Brazil Squadron, September 30, 1856. He joined the Paraguay Expedition, and on the 11th of May, 1859, was detached from the " St. Lawrence " and ordered to the receiving ship " North Carolina," at the Navy Yard, New York, July 2, 1859. March 9, 1860, he was assigned to duty on the steam sloop-of-war " Seminole," and rejoined the squadron at Brazil, remaining for more than a year.
Ile was commissioned Surgeon May 30, 1861, and returned to the United States on the " Seminole," which ship joined the North Atlantic Blockading Fleet, then maintaining a blockade of the Civil War. In this vessel he saw active service on the Potomac River, Virginia, during the at- tempted blockade by rebel batteries, and later took part in the capture of Port Royal, Fernandina, and Norfolk. Ile also participated in the capture of the rebel battery at Sewell's Point, and witnessed the burning of the rebel ram " Merrimac." On the 9th of July, 1862, Dr. Peck was de- tached from the " Seminole " and ordered to the marine rendezvous at New York, August 18, 1862, and thence to the " Dictator," one of the vessels of the North Atlantic Blockading Fleet, on which he served until September 2, 1865, when he was ordered to the " Vanderbilt," convoy of the " Monadnock." which vessel went by way of the Strait of Magellan to San Francisco. While en route he witnessed the bombardment of Valparaiso and Callao by the Span- iards, and, volunteering to aid in the care of the wounded after the action at the latter place, he assisted the medical officer in charge aboard the " Villa de Madrid," of the Span- ish fleet. He also tendered his services to the medical offi- ver in charge of the hospital on shore.
On June 28, 1866, he was detached from the " Vander- bilt " and accompanied Commodore John Rodgers, escorted by a squadron of United States Mounted Infantry, from San
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Francisco overland to the Atlantic Coast. He was ordered to the Navy Yard in New York, April 1, 1867, and detached May 20, 1869. He was ordered to the frigate " Sabine," May 25, 1869, which ship received aboard from the Naval Academy the graduated class of midshipmen, and sailed on a practice cruise to Europe and Brazil. Ile was detached July 28, 1870, and on the 15th of September, of the same year, was ordered to the Navy Yard, New York. May 28, 1871, he was commissioned Medical Inspector. He was de- tached May 11, 1872, and ordered to the North Atlantic Fleet, on board the flagship " Worcester," at Key West, Florida, for duty as Surgeon of the fleet, and there remained in ac- tive service until December 26, 1873, when he was ordered as a member of the Retiring Board and for examination of officers for promotion, in Washington, February 25, 1874. He was appointed a member of the Naval Examining Board December 1, 1877. January 14, 1878, he was ordered for examination for promotion, and was commissioned Medical Director, of the grade of Captain, from January 7, 1878. lle was ordered April 30, 1879, as a member of the Retiring Board and President of the Medical Examining Board, was detached and ordered as President of the Board of Physical Examination for Promotion, September 3, 1879, and was detached February 29, 1880, and ordered as a member of the Naval Medical Examining Board of Philadelphia, Pa., March 1, 1880. July 2, 1880, he was ordered Medical Di- rector of the Naval Hospital on Mare Island, California. On the Sth of October, 1883, he was detached from that service on leave.
December 15, 1883, he was ordered as a member of the Naval Board of Inspection and Survey. He was detached June 3, 1884, on waiting orders, and on the 20th of the same month was ordered as a member of the Court of Inquiry at Washington. The court dissolved December 31, 1884, and he was ordered as a delegate from the Medical Department of the Navy to the annual meeting of the American Medical Association, which convened at Washington, April 9, 1884, and at New Orleans, April 23, 1885. His next service was in the capacity of delegate from the Medical Department of the Navy to the Ninth International Medical Congress,
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which met in Washington, August 23, 1887. He was ordered as a member of the Examining Board of the Navy Depart- ment, Washington, November 5, 1887, and detached July 9, 1888; and from length of service, in conformity with Chap- ter III, Section 1444, Revised Statutes of the United States, was transferred to the retired list of the navy. This com- pleted nearly forty years of active naval service.
Since his retirement Dr. Peck has resided with his sister, Mrs. David H. Pierson, at Elizabeth, N. J., but still regards East Orange as his home, and the scenes and incidents of his boyhood days there are foudly cherished. His public acts are now matters of historical record; but his kindness of heart and large-hearted liberality are known only to the few who enjoy his intimate friendship and to the recipients of his bounty. In the long years of his separation from his early home he has never forgotten the teachings of his child- hood and the wholesome lessons in morality and virtue re- ceived from a godly mother, as well as the noble example of an honored father. His long service in the navy, during which he visited many places of interest throughout the Western World and in Europe, have given him an interest- ing knowledge of many countries on the globe; and, added to this, his extensive reading has made him a gentleman of scholarly attainments. He has a wide acquaintance in naval circles; and wherever he goes he inspires personal friendships of unusual strength by reason of his excellent qualities of heart and mind.
He received an honorary degree of A.M. from Princeton University January 27, 1857, and is a member of the Ameri- can Medical Association, the American Academy of Medi- cine, the American Public Health Association, the New York Academy of Medicine, the New York Society for the Relief of Widows and Orphans of Medical Men, the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution of New Jersey, the Washington Headquarters Association of Morristown, the New Jersey Historical Society, the Naval Order of the United States, the Union League, and the University and Princeton Clubs of New York, and an honorary member of the Essex Club of Newark.
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Dr. Peek was married, September 27, 1817, to Elizabeth Ardelia Brewster, daughter of Dr. Stephen Coffin and AAr- delia Louis ( Kimball) Brewster and a lineal descendant of Elder Brewster.
EDWARD EVERETT BRUEN, Mayor of East Orange, is descended from Obadiah Bruen, the ancestor of all the families of this name in East New Jersey. Obadiah was the second son of John Bruen, Esq., of Bruen, Stapleford, Cheshire, England, and was baptized December 25, 1606. lle was a descendant of Robert le Brun, of Stapleford. A.D. 1230. le came into the Plymouth jurisdiction from Eng- land with his wife, Sarah, in 1640, removed thence to Gloucester, was made a freeman in 1642 and a selectman in the follow- ing year, and repre- sented the town at the General Court in 1647- 51. lle removed to Pequot (New London, Conn.), and was town clerk for fifteen years, a representative at the General Court, and is named in the charter of Connecticut in 1662. He came to Newark, N. J., with the Milford colo- nists, in 1666, and his name is second on the list of the subscribers (o the Fundamental Agree- EDWARD E. BRUEN. ment. His " Home Lott" and residence was on Market Street, not far from the present Pennsylvania Railroad depot. By his wife, Sarah, he had Hannah, born in 1613, married John Baldwin, Sr .; Jolin, born in 1646 in Gloucester, Mass .; and Rebecca, married Thomas Post, of Norwich.
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John Bruen came with his father to Newark just before he reached his majority. He married Esther, daughter of Deacon Richard Lawrence, one of the Branford settlers. Ile died before 1696. His children were Eleazer, Joseph, John, and tradition says he had a daughter who married Joseph Baldwin. Joseph Bruen was born in Newark, in 1669, and died February 1, 1753. He had issue David, Ruth ( widow of Caleb Davis), and perhaps other children.
David Bruen was born in Newark about 1700. He was one of the original settlers of Chatham Township, Morris Coun- ty. He married Phebe, daughter of Christopher Wood, and had Joseph, Elias, Jabesh, Elizabeth, and Phebe. He mar- ried, second, Phebe Crane, daughter of Robert, son of Deacon Azariah Crane, and had Benjamin, Jonathan, and Barnabas.
Joseph Bruen, born in Chatham, Morris County, about 1730, married Matilda Bonnell, and had Alexander, Benja- min, and Ichabod. Benjamin Bruen was born in Chatham, N. J., about 1765, married Nancy Harris, and had Isaac Harris, Elias Runyon, Ashbel, Jacob, Phebe, Eliza Jane, and Caroline. Ashbel Bruen, born in Madison, Chatham Township, in 1806, died in 1853, was a successful builder and contractor, and built some of the finest dwellings as well as public buildings and churches in Madison and Mor- ristown. He was a man of considerable prominence. He married Mary, daughter of Jonathan Chandler, a descendant of John Chandler, who settled in Elizabethtown, N. J., be- fore 1750. The children of Ashbel and Mary (Chandler) Bruen were Benjamin, Jane, Elizabeth, Theodore W., Caro- line, Merritt, Frank, and Adeline.
Theodore Wood Bruen was born in Madison, Chatham Township, N. J., October 12, 1832. He was associated with his father in building until the breaking out of the Civil War. He joined Company K, Seventh Regiment New Jer- sey Volunteers, and was mustered into service in September, 1861, for three years, or during the war. His regiment was attached to the Third Brigade, Hooker's Division. His first engagement was at the siege of Yorktown in April and May, 1862. In the battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862, while his regiment was retreating and firing, he fell back- ward and struck his back on a fallen tree, sustaining a seri-
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ons injury to his spine which rendered him unfit for further service. After remaining in the hospital for some months he was discharged at Philadelphia, June 12, 1863, being totally disabled on account of a lateral curvature of the spine. Some time after his return home he moved with his family to Elizabeth and entered the employ of the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey. He was a mere wreck of his former self, and he finally died, in 1879, as the result of his injury in the army. He married Caroline, daughter of Smith Maxwell Miller, son of Smith Miller, born in Elizabeth in 1765, and a great-grandson of William Miller, one of the settlers of Elizabethtown in 1687, admitted an associate in 1699, and one of the Memorialists of 1700. The mother of Caroline M. Miller was Catharine Coddington, daughter of Benjamin Coddington, a Captain of artillery in the War of the Revolution, who was long contined and near- ly starved to death in the New York prison honse, living for a time on tallow candles. The children of Theodore Wood and Caroline (Miller) Broen were Frederick S., Edward Everett, Ella C. (married Arthur (. Webb), Katie J. (mar- ried Joseph B. Roberts), and Theodore Ashbel.
Edward Everett Bruen was born in Chatham, Morris County. N. J., June 26, 1859, and removed with his parents to Elizabeth when about five years old. Ile was educated in the public schools of that city, served an apprenticeship at the machinist's trade, and then entered the clerical do- partment of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, being sub- sequently promoted to the general freight office in Now York City, where he remained about two years. Afterward he became private secretary to his father-in-law, Thomas W. Peebles, master mechanic of the Manhattan Elevated Rail- road, with whom he continued for four years, until May, 1885. In 1883 he took up his residence in East Orange, where he soon engaged in the real estate business, opening an office on Washington Place, near Brick Church station, and confining himself mainly to buying lots, building, and selling. He has been one of the most successful real estate operators in the Oranges. He has assisted others in building and has erected a number of first-class dwellings, averaging in cost from $5,000 to $25,000 cach, the result of which has
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been to draw a large number of first-class people to the Oranges, and has added upwards of half a million dollars to the wealth of the township. He is an indefatigable worker, and during the general depression of 1894-95 continued his operations without interruption and succeeded where others failed.
A man of keen foresight, good judgment, with a thorough knowledge of realty values, he seldom errs in his calcula- tions. His uniform courtesy and agreeable manners have made him many friends, and when solicited to become a member of the Township Committee in 1893 he accepted the nomination and was elected by a handsome majority. He was re-elected in 1895 for another term of two years, and was re-elected in 1897 for two years more. In 1899 he was elected President of the township, and when the township became the City of East Orange, in December, 1899, he be- came the Mayor, and in the spring of 1900 he was elected Mayor for two years. He held the positions of Vice-Chair- man and Chairman of the Finance Committee of the old township, and was Chairman of the Township Committee for three years. A very important measure-that of tide- water sewerage-was introduced during his first term as a member of the Township Committee, and he gave to this his most earnest support as well as to all other measures of real improvement.
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