USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Passaic > The Passaic valley, New Jersey, in three centuries.. Vol. 2 > Part 24
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Henry Albert Potter was born in Philadelphia, Pa., De- cember 19. 1856. He pursued his preparatory studies at the Friends' Central High School, Philadelphia, and entered the University of Pennsylvania with the class of 1877, but left at the end of his sophomore year and joined the class of 1877 at Lafayette College, where he was graduated with the degree of B.S. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He soon after entered his father's factory, worked his way up step by step, was appointed superintend- ent, and in 1879 was received into the firm as a partner. The following year he established the New York branch, the business of which has steadily increased under his manage- ment. He built up a local trade second only to that of the parent house.
Mr. Potter settled in East Orange in 1880, and purchased
1General Jacob Bower was born in Reading, Pa., in September, 1757, and died at Womelsdorf, Pa., August 6, 1818. He was a distinguished officer in the Revolutionary War, becoming Quartermaster in Captain George Nagle's company, Colonel Thompson's rifle battalion, June 25, 1775, which marched to Cambridge, Mass:, and took part in the battles of Bunker Hill and Lachmer's Point. He was a Lieutenant in the First Pennsylvania Regiment, Continental Line, January 18, 1776; Captain in the Pennsylvania Flying Camp, Conti- mental Line, in 1776; Captam in the Sixth Penn- sylvania Regiment, February 15, 1276; and Captain in the Second Pennsylvania Regiment, January 1, 1783, to the close of the war, being then twenty- five years of age. He was one of the officers who,
on May 13, 1783, in the Cantonment of the Hudson River, formed the General Society of the Cincin- nati. He was an original member of the Pennsyl- vania Society of the Cincinnati, which convened in Philadelphia, October 4, 1783. His son, Dr Henry Bower, succeeded to the membership in 1823, and his grandson, Dr. William Bower, in 1845 Gen- eral Bower was one of the five delegates appointed by the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati to the first meeting of the General Society of the Cincinnati, held May 4 to 18, 1784, in Philadelphia, General Washington in the chair. In the War of 1812 Captain Bower was appointed by Governor Snyder, of Pennsylvania, Brigadier-General com- manding the First Brigade, Sixth Division, Penn- sylvania Regiments.
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the Reune Martin place at 95 Harrison Street. He soon be- came interested in local politics and gradually his influence extended throughout the State. At the present time he is recognized as one of the strongest leaders in the Republican party. While participating in every movement for the ad- vancement of party interests he is in no sense a politician according to the modern acceptation of the term. His posi- tion is always clearly defined and his course straightforward and upright. His entrance into public life began in 1885, when he was elected to the State Legislature. It was dur- ing the height of the labor agitation, and he had the com- bined elements of the Democratic and Labor parties against him. The district included Orange and East Orange. His course in the Legislature was upright and exceedingly grati- fying to his constituents. He introduced and carried through two important measures relating to his own town- ship, viz., the division of East Orange into wards and the organization of the Board of Education. Mr. Potter de- clined the nomination for a second term tendered him by his party. He has been liberal in his donations to the party for legitimate expenses. In ISSS he was a delegate to the National Convention which nominated Benjamin Harrison; and after the election, in which Mr. Potter took a prominent part, he was offered the position of Secretary of Legation at Berlin, by Hon. William Walter Phelps, which he de- clined. Ile has made frequent trips to Washington on be- half of the oil cloth manufacturers, to protect their interests.
Mr. Potter's efforts in behalf of Orange have been by no means limited to politics, but to whatever concerns the pub- lic good or advances the welfare of the people. He was one of the originators of the Orange Athletic Club, and was one of its Governors; he also assisted in the re-organization and rebuilding of the Orange Club. He is a member of the Country Club and other social organizations. In January, 1897, he was appointed by Governor Griggs a member of his military staff.
He married, April 9, 1879, Miss Frances Green, daughter of Hon. Henry Green, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Judge Green was the son of Enoch, son of John, son of Richard, son of Richard, son of William, the
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ancestor who left England at an early age and landed at Philadelphia. He soon after visited Long Island and there became acquainted with John Ruder, whose sister or daugh- ter he married. He removed to Ewing Township about 1700. He purebased 345 acres of Colonel Daniel Coxe, the deed bearing date 1712, and on it he erected the first brick house in the township, which is still standing, having on the west end the date 1717. His qualities were such as to give him distinction, for he was appointed the first Judge of Hunterdon County, N. JJ., and from the frequent mention of his name in public office he was evidently a prominent and useful citizen. John Green, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Potter, served in the Revolutionary War, in the First and Second Battalions of Salem, in the State troops, and also in the Continental Army. The mother of Mrs. Potter was Anna Hulsizer, daughter of Daniel Hulsizer and Chris- tiana Hummer. Daniel was the son of Christopher, son of Martin Hulsizer, who came from Germany about 1750, and located first at Phillipsburg and later resided at different points along the Musconetcong Creek. His sons were Chris- topher, Jacob, Valentine, and John Martin.
JACOB PETER, of Newark, N. J., a prominent business man, was born in that city April 22, 1852, and is the son of Jacob and Mary (MeFadden) Peter. His father was of Ger- man parentage, and was born in Alsace Loraine. His mother was the child of Scotch parents, who removed to County Antrim, North of Ireland.
Mr. Peter's father and mother came to this country in early life, the father coming with his brother and uncle, George H. Peter, who was the first grower of hops at Cana- joharie, N. Y., near Albany. The mother of Mr. Jacob Peter, Jr., came with her sister and mother, and the Me- Fadden family made their home in Newark. Her father and mother died in the old country. Jacob Peter, Sr., came direct to Newark and went to work for States Meade on Clinton Place. Later he located at Foltville Mountain and engaged in the hay business, in which he continued until his death in 1884. He was the pioneer hay dealer in New
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Jersey, handling more of that commodity than all the other dealers, and was widely known. He was one of the promi- nent Democrats of Newark during the Rebellion, and was a member of St. Luke's Methodist Episcopal Church. He left five children: George H., superintendent of Public Works of Newark at the time of his death in July, 1898; Lizzie, who married Alfred Meyers, of Newark, and died in 1900; Jacob, the subject of this sketch; James, who resides in Newark; and John, who is a plumber in Newark.
Jacob Peter, third child of Jacob Peter, Sr., attended public school in the Sixth Ward of Newark, and at the age of fourteen was employed by his father in the hay business, continuing with him for four years. He served a regular apprenticeship to the mason's trade, in which he was en- gaged for about five years. Subsequently he was connected for a time with the hay business of his father, having charge of the Newark, Jersey City, and Hoboken trade. In 1880 he took a position with John S. Carpenter & Co., grain dealers, of Newark, traveled for them in the West, and also sold grain by the carload in New Jersey and New York.
Ile engaged in the contracting business in 1884, and still continues in it. He is one of the best known and successful contractors of Newark. Among the prominent buildings of that city for which he made the excavations may be men- tioned the Prudential building, the Postoffice, the cold stor- age building, the Eastwood building, the electric light building, the Town Talk building, the Empire Theater, the Mutual Benefit building, the Howard Savings Bank, and the Lawyers building. He has also executed numerous im- portant contracts for tearing down old buildings and in various other departments of contracting works. He is a member of the Order of Elks.
Mr. Peter was married April 2, 1879, to Bertha, daughter of Frederick Bonenberger, of Newark. Their children are May, Frederick, Howard, and Belle. Mrs. Peter is a mem- ber of St. Luke's Methodist Episcopal Church.
JOTHAM EDGAR WILLIAMS, of Verona, Essex County, was born in West Orange, N. J., October 27, 1836, his
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parents being Jonathan S. and Phoebe ( Perry) Williams. He is a grandson of Nathan and Catherine ( Wade) Williams and William S. Perry, and a great-grandson of Jonathan Williams and Saumel Perry. On his mother's side he is a descendant of William S. Perry, who served throughout the Revolutionary War, followed agricultural pursuits, and married a Miss Kont. His children were Ab- bie, who married Zebu- lon Condit; Jotham, who married Margaret Morris; Jacob, who mar- ried Emma Brundage; Sarah, who married John Gardiner; Achsah, who married Prosper Warner; and Charlotte, who married Lemuel Baldwin.
Jonathan S. and Phoebe (Perry) Will- iams had the following children : Samuel A., who died in 1894; Cath- erine R., wife of Albert Condit; William N .; Or- J. EDGAR WILLIAMS. lando; Albert, deceased ; Jotham Edgar, the subject of this sketch; and Sarah 1 .. wife of Herman Woodruff. Jonathan S. Williams for many years filled the offices of Justice of the Peace, Town Com- mitteeman, etc., and for forty years was an Elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Orange.
Jotham Edgar Williams received a common school edu- cation, and as a lad learned the trade of watchease finish- ing with Durand & Co., of Newark. Afterward he was on- gaged for a time in connection with the shoe manufacturing business. He then entered the employ of Benedict, Hall & Co., in New York City, subsequently being with the house of Andrew Brittan and with that of Joseph A. Condit ( West Orange). In 1864 he removed to Verona, Essex County, N.
RESIDENCE OF J. EDGAR WILLIAMS, VERONA, ESSEX COUNTY.
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J., and in partnership with his father-in-law, Charles Smith, engaged in the handling of paper and paper stock. In 1878 he embarked in the business of selling remnants, which he has since followed with marked success.
Mr. Williams is a Director in the Montelair Bank and one of the managers of the Montelair Savings Bank. He is President of the Verona Club and one of the Trustees of the Verona Congregational Church. He served for two years as Committeeman of Caldwell Township and for four years as a member of the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Essex County. When Verona Township was set off he was made Chairman of the first Town Committee.
ITe was married, October 4, 1860, to Martha Ellen, dangh- ter of Charles and Martha (Hardman) Smith. The only sur- viving child of this union is Anna V., wife of Anson A. Voor- hees, a member of the firm of J. E. Williams & Co. A son, J. Edgar Williams, Jr., died May 7, 1881, at the age of two years. Mr. Williams has two grandchildren, J. Edgar and Anson W. Voorhees.
JAMES M. BELDON, of East Orange, was born at North Branch, Somerset County, N. J., March 12, 1864, his parents being Heber C. Beldon and Margaret Van Devere. One of his ancestors, Dr. James Van Devere, was a prom- inent physician and citizen of that town. Mr. Beldon was educated in private schools at Clinton and Flemington, N. J., at Coleman's Business College in Newark, and at Sing Sing and West Point, N. Y. For about five years he was en- gaged in the wholesale fur business in New York City. In 1888 he established his present livery and boarding stables in East Orange.
Hle has devoted himself to his business interests, achiev- ing both success and reputation. In social and fraternal affairs he is also prominent. He is a member of the B. P. O. Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the K. A. E. O., and the Jeffer- sonian and Tuskin Clubs. As a citizen he is honored and re- spected by the entire community. He married Kate, daugh- ter of William S. Riley, of Flemington, N. J.
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CHARLES NEWELL FOWLER, of Elizabeth, member of Congress from the Eighth District of New Jersey, is the son of Joshua D. and Rachel (Montague) Fowler, being the seventh in a family of eight children. He was born at Deva, Ill., on the 2d of November, 1852. The Fowler and Montague families are of English descent, and were prom- inent in the early colonial days of New England, the Fowl- ers settling in Vermont and the Montagues in Massachusetts in 1632. Mr. Fowler's father removed in 1837 to a farm in Illinois, where he died in 1881. His mother, Rachel, died in 1854.
Mr. Fowler obtained a common school educa- tion and was prepared for college at Beloit, Wis. In 1872 he entered Yale University, from which he was graduated in 1876. Subsequently he went to Chicago, read law in the office of Will- iams & Thompson, and was graduated from the Chicago Law School in CHARLES N. FOWLER. 1878. Mr. Fowler began the practice of his pro- fession in Beloit, Kans. In 1884 he came to New York State, settling on the Hudson, but in 1885 he removed to Cranford, N. J., and in 1891 to Elizabeth, where he has since resided. For ten years he was engaged in the bank- ing business in New York City. For five years he was Chair- man of the Republican Central Committee of Elizabeth.
In 1894 he was elected to the Fifty-fourth Congress as a Republican from the Eighth Congress District, receiving a plurality of 6,236 votes, Mr. Cleveland having received 1,500 majority. He was unanimously renominated in 1896, was re-elected by a plurality of 11,644, and served as a member
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'of the Committee on Banking and Currency in the House of Representatives. In 1898 he was renominated and re- elected to the Fifty-sixth Congress by a plurality of 4,331. In 1900 he received his fourth nomination by acclamation and was re-elected by a greatly increased majority. Dur- ing the Fifty-sixth Congress he was a member of the Com- mittee on Foreign Relations and the committee for the re- form of the Civil Service as well as the Committee on Bank- ing and Currency, of which he has been a member since he first entered Congress. His speeches and contributions to current literature upon the financial and currency question attracted the attention of the whole country.
Before the assembling of the Fifth-fifth Congress, in speaking of the Currency Commission, the New York Tribune urged the appointment of Mr. Fowler as a member of that body, should such a commission be created, and said :
As a banker Mr. Fowler is necessarily familiar with the monetary systems of the world, but, besides his practical knowledge, he has made a special study of the whole subject, with particular reference to the changes needed in the methods operating here. Mr. Fowler's eminence as an authority has already been recognized in various quarters.
In the last Congress-the Fifty-sixth-he made one of the most important speeches on the currency and banking questions on record. This speech was highly commended and attracted the attention of financiers on both sides of the Atlantic. His congressional record has so pleased his con- stituents, and has been so eminently conspicnous, that he is likely to be retained in public life for some time.
Mr. Fowler is prominently interested in various ways in the institutions of his adopted city. He is President of the Board of Trustees of the Pingry School, a member of the University Club of New York, the Down Town Association, the Mettano Club of Elizabeth, and the Elizabeth Athletic Club.
In 1879 Mr. Fowler married Miss Hilda S. Heg, daughter of Colonel H. C. Heg, who was killed at the battle of Chicka- mauga. Mrs. Fowler received her education at Beloit, Wis., and in Europe. She is a member of the Westminster Preshy- terian Church in Elizabeth. One child, Charles N. Fowler, Jr., was born of this union.
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CHARLES SPEIR DODD, a prominent citizen of South Orange, is a member of the well known Dodd family who have resided in the Passaic Valley for several generations. He is the son of Samuel Dodd and Mary E. Walker, and was born in Newark on the 23d of January, 1864. He received a good education in the public and high schools of his native city, and then engaged in the fire insurance business, being for twelve years associated with the Firemen's Insurance Company of Newark. In 1894 he engaged in the business on his own ac- count, and until July, 1900, represented vari- ous companies. He then resigned all his other agencies and accepted the management for Newark and vicinity of the Royal Insurance Company, of Liverpool, England. His wide ex- p 'ience in fire insur- ance, his ability and in- tegrity in business af- fairs, and his untiring 4 energy and sound judg- ment have gained for CHARLES S. DODD. him marked success and a position as one of the leading underwriters of the State. He is Secretary of the Underwriters' Protective Association.
In South Orange Mr. Dodd has been active outside of busi- ness lines. He is a Trustee of the village, actively identi- fied with those movements which contribute so much to the advancement of the community, and a member of the Essex County Country Club of Orange, the Baltusrol Golf Club of Short Hills, the Reform Club of New York City, and St. John's Lodge, No. 1, F. and A. M., of Newark.
Mr. Dodd married Florence A. Cummings, daughter of Charles Cummings, of New York, and has one son, Norman.
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JAMES DOUGLAS ORTON .- The name Orton is not so uncommon as to strike with surprise those who hear it for the first time, nor is it so common as to cause its mention to be unnoticed. It is found in more than one-half of the States of the Union, possibly in all, and also in Canada, and has been known in England for many centuries. Several localities in that country, some of considerable antiquity, are called by this surname. An important village in Curi- berland bears the name of Orton, and the title appears also in the fol- lowing forms: Orton HIall, Orton Common, Orton Scar, Orton on the Hill, and Cole (Coal) Orton. Six postoffices, at least, in the United States are called Orton. A large extent of land in Kent has been in pos- session of some one of the family for m ny generations. At Hereby, seven miles north of Leicester, there is an an- cient church originally dedicated to St. Michi- ael, where rectors of the JAMES D. ORTON. name of Orton have offi- ciated at various times and for long periods: John Orton, 1675-1715; Joseph Orton, 1715; John Orton, 1730-60; John Orton (5), 1760-91; Thomas Orton, brother of John, 1799.
There is indubitable evidence that the family has been re- lated to the gentry in Great Britain. Seven different coats- of-arms of families bearing the name are reported in Burke's Heraldry. There can be no possible doubt that it was a very okl and respectable family in England, where several still exist to this day.
By some it is supposed that the name was originally spelled Overton, and has been gradually changed by use
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into its present form. Overton is now pronounced Oreton in several parts of England. It is not difficult to believe that the change from Overton through this mode of pro- nunciation was very easily made. Many such changes have been made in English surnames. It is only necessary to mention one to illustrate. The aristocratic name of Syden- ham is now spelled and pronounced Sidman in many parts of the United States. There is, therefore, excellent reason for accepting the theory of the change in the name Overton.
The Orton family in this country, numerous as it may be, is descended from one man, Thomas Orton, whose first au- thentic record in America places him at Windsor in the valley of the Connecticut River. This record is that of his marriage to Margaret Pratt, of Windsor, June 16, 1641. The first settlement at that place was in 1636, and it is quite cer- tain that he must have reached Windsor prior to 1641. There is, however, no authentic record of the actual time when he did reach that locality. He was undoubtedly of English extraction, related to the numerous Ortons, or Over- tons, found there, and doubtless he came early in the seven- teenth century to New England and settled first at Windsor. While resident at that place he was prominent in the colony, serving, as the court records at Hartford state, both as a Petit and Grand Juror. In the record of his marriage he is described as having been born in England in 1613. Fourteen years after his marriage he removed to Farmington, a beauti- fully situated town, on a river of the same name, about fif- teen miles south from Windsor and ten miles from Hartford. There were eighty-four original settlers and owners at Farm- ington, of whom Thomas Orton was one. He was one of the wealthiest men in the community and became a large landholder. He took an active part in political affairs and was elected to the General Court, the name given in Con- necticut to the real legislature of the province. Thomas Orton had only one son, John, and he was born in Windsor. Thomas died at a good old age in Farmington.
John Orton, son of Thomas, married and had three sons : Thomas, John, and Samuel, and three daughters. John, son of John (1), married and had sons and daughters, of whom one, named also John, married and had a son Sam-
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uel, a physician, who became the father of James, also a physician, and this James was the father of James Douglas Orton.
Throughout all these generations this family stands irre- proachable in integrity and foremost in the discharge of their duties as citizens and in all the varied walks of life. It has given lawyers, divines, judges, physicians, and legis- lators to the State. It has sent its representatives into all parts of the republic, and wherever these have gone they have made their mark for good and impressed their asso- ciates and fellow citizens with examples of virtue and good living. It is from this race that James Douglas Orton is descended.
Ilis father, James Orton, M.D., was born in Woodbury, Conn., May 10, 1787. He was one of five sons of Samuel, the son of John. His father and grandfather and his four brothers were physicians. He removed from Woodbury, Conn., to Caldwell, N. J., about 1810, travelling on horse- back with all his worldly possessions in a pair of saddlebags. IIe succeeded to the practice of Dr. Squier, and at once en- tered upon the laborious career of a country physician. His district was not confined to Caldwell, but extended in all directions, in many instances five miles from his resi- dence. Ile continued actively engaged in his profession until 1869, and really until within two hours of his death, which occurred very suddenly. In 1814 he married Hester Maria Douglas, daughter of Nathaniel B. Douglas, a repre- sentative of an old and honored family of New Jersey. James Orton was a very active practitioner, and became one of the most respected and influential men of his day. He died at the ripe age of eighty-two.
James Douglas Orton, the oldest son of Dr. James Orton, was born in Caldwell, N. J., December 19, 1822. He was odneated at the best schools of his time. When only thir- teen years of age he attended the academy of Holt & Sar- gent at what is now Montelair, four miles from his home, which distance he walked back and forth morning and after- noon, summer and winter. His inclination in early youth was toward a collegiate course of study and a professional life, but circumstances beyond his control prevented this,
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and he then turned his attention to banking. He secured a position, on the lowest round of the ladder, in the State Bank of Newark through the influence of his uncle, Marcus B. Douglas, who was connected with the institution. At the end of three years he was advanced from one grade to an- other, and then became a bookkeeper in the Newark Bank- ing Company. After continuing in this employment he was invited by the North River Bank of New York City to be- come its receiving teller. He remained in this connection, however, but a short time, and was then appointed paying teller of the Ocean Bank in the same city. The State Bank, where he first began his life work ten years before, did not forget his ability, and when the office of cashier became va- cant it invited him to assume that responsible position.
The wants of the business community in Newark required the establishment of another bank, and, recognizing this demand, Mr. Orton took a very prominent part in the or- ganization of the Second National Bank and became and still is the President of this institution. Under his careful and wise management this bank has become one of the strongest financial organizations of the country.
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