USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Passaic > The Passaic valley, New Jersey, in three centuries.. Vol. 2 > Part 3
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In his religious views Mr. Wright was an earnest and de- voted churchman of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and he was one of the influential and honored communicants of the House of Prayer, being one of the most liberal contribu- tors to all portions of the parish work as well as that of the church at large. He married Minerva Peet.
EDWARD HENRY WRIGHIT was born in Newark, N. J .. April 5, 1824, his parents being Hon. William Wright and Minerva (Peet) Wright. He received his preliminary edu- ration at St. Paul's School, College Point, Long Island, en- tered the College of New Jersey at Princeton, and was graduated in 1844. After the completion of his college career he prepared himself for the legal profession, study- ing under Alexander Hamilton, of New York, and Archer
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Gifford, of Newark. He matriculated at the Harvard Law School, from which he was admitted to the bar of his native State.
In May, 1850, Colonel Wright received from President Taylor the appointment of Secretary of the United States legation at St. Petersburg, Russia. In May, 1861, he was appointed Major of the Sixth Cavalry, United States Army, and Aide-de-Camp on the staff of Lieutenant-General Win- field Scott, in which connection he held the rank of Colonel. Upon the retirement of General Seott Colonel Wright was appointed Aide-de-Camp on the staff of Major-General George B. MeClellan with the rank of Colonel.
Colonel Wright is a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, Past Commander of Marcus L. Ward Post, No. 88, Grand Army of the Republic, and President of the Board of Managers of the New Jersey Home for Disabled Soldiers, with which he has been identified for more than a quarter of a century. He is a Director of the Mutual Bene- fit Life Insurance Company and the Fireman's Insurance Company, and was a Director of the old Newark Gas Com- pany. He has always supported the Democratic party.
For about half a century he has been a member of the Union Club of New York City, and is one of the prominent members of the Essex Club of Newark, which he has served as Vice-President for several terms. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Episcopal Fund of the Dio- cese of Newark.
In 1860 he married Dorathea Mason, daughter of Hon. Stevens Thomson Mason, the first Governor of the State of Michigan and founder of the famous University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
JAMES G. BARNET was born in Mendham, Morris County, N. J., September 9, 1817, of Scotch parents, his father, David Barnet, being born at Dundee, Scotland, Sep- tember 17, 1769. His mother, Mary Gordon, was a cousin of Lord Byron, the poet, and was married to David Barnet on the 6th of May, 1795. His great-great-grandfather,
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Thomas Barnette, fled from France when the Ediet of Nantes against the Hugenots was revoked by Louis XVI.
Mr. Barnet's ances- tors were men of note and character, and from them he inherited those rugged qualities which marked his long and useful life. When he was three years old the family removed to New- ark, N. J., where his father died six years later (1826). He then returned to Mendham, attended a boarding school, and subsequent- ly finished his text- book education under the tuition of Nathan Hedges, famous teacher at Newark, lay- ing the foundations JAMES G. BARNET. that broadened and ripened in knowledge as he advanced in years. Through all his life he was an ardent lover of books, a close student of literature, men, and affairs, as well as of the great questions of religion and philanthropy, and constantly added to his fund of information. At a suitable period he was apprenticed to the carpenter trade, but on coming of age he entered the employ of his brother- in-law, James Turnbull, as a department superintendent of his carriage factory at Newark.
In the following year (1839) he went to Columbia, S. C., and engaged in the clothing business, in which he con- tinued for ten years with unvarying snecess, building up a large and lucrative trade. During that time he was mar- ried and had born to him two sons. In 1849 he formed a copartnership with his brother-in-law, Mr. Anderson, whom he left in charge of the Columbia business while he returned to Newark to direct the manufacture of goods. Disposing
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of this business, he purchased in 1851 Day's Express, a transportation business operating between Newark and New York, and to this he added a light express for quick delivery. Ile continned this business successfully until 1855, when he sold it and engaged in the manufacture of trunks as a member of the firm of Woodruff, Barnet & Co., which succeeded H. N. Peters & Co., and which in turn was succeeded by James G. Barnet & Co. This business was continued until 1862, when Mr. Barnet engaged in the manufacture of gig saddles and harness. In 1867 he en- gaged in the manufacture of varnish as one of the firm of Murphy & Co., the other members being William H. and Franklin Murphy. The business grew rapidly and assumed large proportions, branches being established at the lead- ing trade centers of the United States and Europe. For over thirty years Mr. Barnet was connected with the Mur- phy Varnish Company, becoming Vice-President upon its incorporation and holding that office until his death. Dur- ing that period he gave to the business the larger part of his time, and to his sound judgment, excellent business talents, and executive ability and energy was due in a great measure its remarkable growth and success.
Mr. Barnet was also a Director of the Second National Bank of Newark from its organization until his death, and was one of the charter members and Vice-President of the Ocean Beach Association of Belmar, N. J. He was not only a man of large and varied business interests, and universal- ly respected as a business man of great energy and ability, but also took an active interest in city and State affairs, participating in local politics, and serving faithfully and acceptably in official positions. He was a Republican from the organization of the party, and during its early days was the party's candidate for Mayor of Newark, but was defeated by the late General Theodore Runyon. From 1852 to 1863 he was a valuable member of the Newark Board of Aldermen. Active in religious and philanthropic mat- ters, it was in this field, probably more than in any other, that Mr. Barnet found the real pleasures of his life. He contributed generously of both time and means to advance the cause of Christianity, and to promote, build, and main-
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tain the benevolent and charitable institutions of the com- munity. As a member of the Central Methodist Episcopal Church of Newark from its organization in 1850 until his death, and as one of the builders of the church, he was very active and useful. For many years he was President of its Board of Trustees, and at the head of the east aisle, framed in Mexican onyx, is a white marble tablet bearing the fol- lowing inscription :
JAMES G. BARNET. September 9, 1817- July 21, 1898. President of the Board of Trustees, and a Member of the same for more than twenty-five years. FAITHFUL ADMINISTRATOR A GOOD MAN.
Regard the upright, for the end of that man is peace.
Mr. Barnet was also a Trustee of St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church, and with two associates car- ried that church along financially for a number of years. lle did as much for St. James's African Methodist Episcopal Church, and with William H. Murphy built and presented to the Newark Conference the Summerfield Church of New- ark, and with the late Enoch Bolles carried to completion the Centenary Chapel of that city. He was a Director of the Hospital for the Relief of Women and Children and of the Old Ladies' Home, both of Newark, and in various other capacities exerted an important influence in the community. Endowed with ability far beyond the ordinary, he possessed characteristics which endeared him to all with whom he came into contact, and in every business and social rela- tion was eminently successful. He was honest and con- scientious as well as enterprising, a firm friend, a safe and valued counsellor, a public spirited citizen, and a true Christian.
On the 16th of May, 1842, Mr. Barnet married Mary W., daughter of James G. and Hannah Hendrickson, both of whom were descendants of Revolutionary ancestors of Mon- month County, N. J. Mr. Barnet died at his summer home in Belmar, July 21, 1898; the death of his wife occurred April 13, 1894. Their surviving children are David H. and
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William H., both born in Columbia, S. C., and James G., Jr., born in Newark, N. J.
JAMES EDWARD HOWELL, of Newark, lawyer, was born in Wantage Township, Sussex County, N. J., June 25, 1848. His parents were William Chauncey and Julia A. (Schofield) Howell. He is a grandson of John Howell and Austin Schofield. Mr. Howell is a descendant of Edward Howell, of Marsh Gibbon, Buckinghamshire, England, who removed to Boston, Mass., in 1639, and thence to Southamp- ton, Long Island, in 1640.
(For complete genealogy see " Howell's History of Southampton," by George R. Howell.)
He received his edu- cation in the public schools of New Jersey and at the Mount Re- tirement Seminary near Deckertown, and later entered the Law Depart- ment of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in the class of 1870. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1872, and practiced his pro- fession at Newton, N. J., until 1874, when he re- JAMES E. HOWELL. moved to Newark. He has since been pursuing his profession successfully and with reputation in that city. He has been a member of the law firm of Coult & Howell since January 1, 1876.
Mr. Howell is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Newark Public Library, and a member of the commission to erect a new City Hall in Newark. He is a member of the Essex and University Clubs of Newark and of the Law-
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yers' and Republican Clubs of New York City. Since his removal to Newark he has been greatly interested in the New Jersey Historical Society, and has aided materially in securing for that association its present building.
He was married, June 13, 1877, 10 Minnie L. Cummins, of Newton, N. A. They have one child, Thomson Howell, born December 21, 1888.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN CRANE, for many years a leading merchant of Newark, later a successful financier, and the chief founder and President of the North Ward National Bank of that city, was the second son of Benjamin Crane, Esquire, of Pine Brook, Morris County, who was for twenty-five years County Judge of that county. Benjamin Crane was an extremely able man, possessing great in- fluence with the people among whom he lived, and died uni- versally respected in the year 1864.
Benjamin F. Crane was born at the paren- tal home, Pine Brook, Morris County. July 21, 1829. He passed his youth there and his lat- ter boyhood days at Montelair, then called West Bloomfield, and sometimes Cranetown, where his grandfather and great-grandfather were born. At the age of twenty-one he settled in Newark in the busi- ness of a clothier and merchant tailor, in which he continued for about thirty years. He BENJAMIN F. CRANE. then drifted into work for which he seems to have had a more special liking, and became interested in the Howard
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Savings Institution, the American Insurance Company, and the North Ward National Bank. In each of these he was a Director, and spent much of his time in caring for their interests. He latterly became President of the last named institution, of which he was the chief founder, and he held that odice until his death. He became an acknowledged expert in the values of real estate in Newark, and his opin- ions were constantly sought and his advice acted upon.
He possessed great urbanity of manner and was cour- teous to all in a remarkable degree, which characteristics, together with his good judgment and integrity of character, made him a much sought after as well as a very busy and popular man. Although possessing a fine constitution his excessive labors and unremitting industry made inroads on his health and he died of brain fever on February 1, 1897.
He left a widow, Sarah Matilda, daughter of the late Israel C. Eagles, whom he married in November, 1853, and the following children : Laura, wife of Edward M. Quigley; Mariella, wife of John S. Talmadge; William Rae, since de- ceased; Anna M., wife of Edward D. Conklin; Eugene E .; Benjamin F .; Lnnevra; and Edith A. Mr. Crane's death took place in Newark, which had been his home since his first advent there, and he was buried in the family plot at Rose- dale Cemetery, in Orange.
LEWIS JAMES LYONS was for more than half a century a prominent and conspicuous figure in the industrial de- velopment of Newark, and during that period contributed unselfishly, by both action and advice, to the growth of the great manufacturing interests of the city. Throughout the Passaic Valley there was no man whose acknowledged abilities and sterling character gave a greater impetus to business or commercial affairs. His indomitable energy was devoted to the vast enterprise which he inaugurated. He was a pioneer in this line, and through his industry, per- severance, and unquestioned integrity he built up one of the great industries which have made Newark so famous as a prosperous manufacturing center.
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the 7th of November,
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1815, Mr. Lyons descended from an old and historic family whose antecedents held a prominent place in civic and business affairs, and whose sturdy characteristics had an important influence upon the communities in which they re- sided. Ilis ancestors on both the paternal and maternal sides were people of intelligence enterprise, and public spirit, and in the line of patriotic devotion gave valuable service to their country's cause. One of them was an in- trepid officer in the Cornwellian Army in England while another was the noted Bohemian hero, Frederick Matthias, who became prominent in the Thirty Years' War and as a brave defender of Protestantism.
Mr. Lyons, however, was peculiarly indifferent to the boasted claims of family and birth, believing that, in all things, a man represented only what he was himself. In other words, he exemplified the true democratic spirit of American manhood. He was self-reliant, and made for himself his own opportunity. No man more thoroughly recoiled from display, from public posturing, and from pri- vate flattery. All these were foreign to his individuality. He shrank from ostentation, not from false modesty or for effect, but from that just pride and true independence of spirit which are above parade of any sort.
Soon after the death of his parents Mr. Lyons, then an infant, was brought by maternal relatives to Boston. This was not until every effort had been made by other family relatives to have him taken to them in London. While in Boston he received every advantage of private and public school instruction in the excellent institutions of that city, and early showed that his talents and abilities lay in the line of creative thought. This precocious exhibition of char- acter probably decided the bent of his life work. Leaving Boston in boyhood, equipped with a good rudimentary edu- cation and well grounded in the hard and practical prob- lems of the world, he went to New York City, where he re- sided two years. Afterward he lived in Stroudsburg, Pa., for a time. From there he removed to Providence, R. L., and later spent some years in Paterson, N. J., and Brook- lyn, N. Y. In these places he lost no opportunity to add to his store of general knowledge and fit himself for the busi-
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ness career which he subsequently followed with so much honor and success.
In 1845 Mr. Lyons settled in Newark, N. J., where he spent the remainder of his life. Here he established his boiler works, and engaged in those pursuits which made him at first a pioneer in his line of manufacturing and after- ward a man of importance in the great industries of this thrifty business center. He brought to his new field of labor the valuable experience gathered through years of residence in industrial localities where he had spent much of his time in practical operations, in investigations, and in experi- ments. In Newark he very soon made himself a power as a man of affairs and laid the foundations of a great manufac- turing business which has since become world renowned. Mr. Lyons was the first employer in the city to pay his work- men in cash instead of orders upon the stores, as had been customary before this time. In this innovation he at first met with much disfavor from other employers, but ulti- mately these very men followed his example, and the new system won for Mr. Lyons the respect and confidence of the community as well as the unbounded gratitude of his em- ployees. Intensely interested in the development of his chosen enterprise, he was himself an inventor as well as a manufacturer, and was also the ready counsellor and valned assistant of other inventors and workers.
In this way he became associated with Seth Boyden, and was of great service to him as collaborator and friend. In fact, Mr. Lyons established his boiler works in Newark in response to Mr. Boyden's persistent appeals, and the venture proved very successful. While it is not generally known, except to those most familiar with the early his- tory of the application of steam as motive power, it is, nevertheless, true that to Mr. Lyons the world is indebted for the successful application of this factor as the motive power of the steam fire engine, and in this line he was in- deed a benefactor. He displayed in all his business rela- tions great executive ability, superior judgment, indomit- able energy, wonderful foresight, and the loftiest integrity of character. He maintained throughout his long career the confidence and respect of all who knew him, and was
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the means of founding and developing one of the largest and most successful industries of the City of Newark. In this connection he established a reputation which extended far and wide, and he will be remembered as a worthy bene- factor in the industrial and business worldl.
As a student of human nature, and as a man alive to his country's welfare, Mr. Lyons took an impartial interest in polities, and always exemplified the highest principles of publie spirit and patriotism. But he was not a politician in the common acceptance of the term. Neither was he adverse, when called upon, to give his reason for choosing to be an onlooker rather than a participant in party struggles. When approached, as he frequently was, and urged to allow his name to stand in nomination for high office, he invariably declined the public honors which might have been his, preferring to devote his time and energies to his vast business interests. In places of trust, in financial institutions, and in every capacity which a public spirited and progressive citizen is called upon to fill, his name was songht as director and official. He was for twenty-eight years a director in the Merchants' Insurance Company, one of the oldest and soundest corporations of the kind in the State. Ile was also one of the founders of and a director in the North Ward Bank and was Vice-President in both the Citizens' Insurance Company and the People's Savings Bank of Newark.
Mr. Lyons was a Democrat and during the War of 1861- 65 was emphatically a peace man. From legal and his- torieal convictions he did not sympathize with the Rebel- lion. Yet he was always a loyal citizen, a firm believer in personal liberty, and withal very popular with the public. On one occasion he prevented a mob from destroying a friend's property. This friend was a Republican and a prominent Union man. On another occasion Mr. Lyons successfully repelled a mob which was demonstrating against his own property. During one of the great finan- cial panies he came to the rescue of one of the local banks which was threatened and which was experiencing a seri- ons rum on its finances. He placed gold from his private funds in the bank and re-established its credit and saved
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it from closing its doors. It can be truthfully said of him that he never contracted for anything unless he had the money with which to pay for it. On one occasion a sub- stantial citizen was asked to estimate Mr. Lyons's wealth, to which he replied that he did not know; however, he said one thing he did know was that Mr. Lyons was able to pay and invariably did pay for everything he bought or contracted for when the amount was due, and added that was all he wanted to know about any man's wealth or credit. This principle Mr. Lyons inenleated into his family circle and always pointed out that what they had which had not been paid for was only borrowed and was not owned by them.
Mr. Lyons was a member of St. John's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. In church work he was always deeply interested and served upon many official boards, although it was said of him, in his own words, that he "preferred to worship God in his pew rather than to render Him serv- ice as a Church officer." By parentage and birth Mr. Lyons was connected with the Church of England, but was for fifty years a zealous Methodist and during the last ten years of his life a Presbyterian. During his long connec- tion with the Methodist Episcopal denomination he was a leading man in the Union Street Methodist Episcopal Church of Newark, in which he was an earnest worker and a cheerful giver. To him this church is largely indebted for its house of worship. Mr. Lyons was also one of the organizers and founders of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church of the same city. lle always despised sham, pre- tense, and ostentation, and had little patience with either. In his business relations he was known for his absolute and recognized integrity. In social life he was a lover of home and family, and never a seeker for pleasure away from his own fireside. He was a firm believer in education, a lover of music and art, a man of genial and poetic temperament, and a strong admirer of nature, whose forests and waters and pleasant places were dear to his heart. He was never happier than when, surrounded by his family and chosen friends, he spent the summer days at his beautiful home at Belmar, N. J., or rested in winter in his southern home
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in North Carolina. It is believed that his life was actually prolonged by his ability to withdraw himself from business cares for the needed seasons of rest to mind and body. Discriminating in friendship, he was known to those to whom that friendship was given as a genial companion, abounding with humor and kindliness, sincere in all his utterances, generous in every action, and ever ready to serve and aid in a just cause. A true Christian, he worked humbly and consistently both in and out of the church, and was esteemed as a man of faith and prayer, wise of gift, and true of service.
Mr. Lyons was one of those sound, conservative, upright men whose presence in the community had a most invig- orating influence, and whose example will ever stand con- spicuously for emulation and honor. He always main- tained an unblemished character, and during the more than half a century of his residence in Newark was esteemed for those sturdy principles of character which invariably mark the successful man. He died there on the 31st of October, 1897, only a few days before the completion of his eighty- second year, and thus ended one of the most remarkable careers in the annals of the community.
In 1836 Mr. Lyons married Mary A., daughter of JJ. Farrel Ward, of New York City. Her family, like that of her hus- band, was an old and honorable one in the Old World, and represented ancestors prominent in the British Isles. Among them were the Dudleys, Cunninghams, and Peytous, and others of equal note. Mr. and Mrs. Lyons had a large family, only the youngest four of whom are now living- three daughters and one son-Hannah M., Bertha E. C., Isabella G., and Frederick M.
CHARLES S. HAINES, for many years one of the leading citizens of Newark, was born December 3, 1816, at Chester, Morris County, N. J. His father, Stephen Rogers Haines, was for a number of years JJudge of the Court of Common Pleas of Essex County. His mother's maiden name was Minerva Topping. He was one of a family of four children,
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his two brothers being Job and Jared Haines and his sister Elizabeth, who married the Rev. James F. Brewster.
Mr. Haines was edu- cated in the schools of Chester and vicinity. When but a youth he came to Newark and en- gaged in mercantile pursuits. On the 3d of March, 1847, he married Mary P. Seudder, of Springfield, N. J. After- ward he formed a co- partnership with his brother Job, to conduct a wholesale flour busi- ness.
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