USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Passaic > The Passaic valley, New Jersey, in three centuries.. Vol. 2 > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37
74
THE PASSAIC VALLEY
dent of Rutgers College at New Brunswick, an office he held until his death, April 12, 1861. He married Charlotte, daughter of Archibald Mercer.
THE PLUME FAMILY .- The identification of the Plume family with Newark, the metropolis of Essex County, began as early as June 23, 1666, when certain colonists of Bran- ford, Conn., followed their brave neighbors of Milford, who, but a few months previously, had sought a home on the banks of the Passaic River and effectually founded Newark. Samuel Plume was one of these Branford pioneers, and, in the division of " home lots," was awarded a tract of land which would now be bounded by Broad, Orange. Ogden, and Bridge Streets. It should be stated here that the name "Plume" is used advisedly, for the reason that, the family patronymic hav- ing been employed in different forms at dif- ferent times (like Plumbe, Plumb, Plume, or Plum), there would seem to be a reasonable doubt as to which of the several methods had the strongest claim to priority of use. Early ISAAC E. P. PLUME. records in England, coats - of - arms, crests, and the like refer to the " Plumes." New England chron- icles do likewise. The first settler in Newark, however, subscribed himself Plum, yet the grandson (John Plume2) used the final "e," as is witnessed by the tombstone of his wife, still standing, while the latter's son (John Plum3) strangely dropped the vowel of his father, though his
75
BIOGRAPHICAL
brother (Isaac Plume) adhered to it. Whichever may be the original name, it is certain that, from the gentleman referred to as John Plum3, there has followed a long line of descendants until practically two separate families have been perpeinated (the Plumes and the Plums), the history of both being a part of the chronicles of Newark itself. It is of the former branch of the family, however, that we now write.
The Plumes are Norman by descent, and can be traced back to Normandy to the year 1180, at least, and in England to 1274. A practically complete record of lineal descent has been obtained from John Plume, of Toppesfield, Essex County, England (born in 1505, died October 1, 1586), down to the present generation of Plumes. From Robert Plume, " gent," of Spaynes Hall, Great Yeldham (born in 1558, died August 14, 1628), the family have inherited their coat- of-arms. John Płuum, the first known in America, came to Westerfield with the first party of settlers from the neigh- borhood of Boston, Mass .- Watertown it is supposed. His- tory says there was a dispute in the church at Watertown, in Newtown, and in Dorchester, all in Massachusetts. The minister in each of these places and his congregation left there and removed to Watertown, Newtown, and Dorches- ter, in Connecticut, in 1635, and settled in three separate places on the Connectient River, which they first called by the names of the places they came from in Massachusetts- Watertown, Newtown, and Dorchester. These were the first settlers in Connecticut, and numbered between thirty and forty men in each town. In 1637 the names were changed-Watertown to Wethersfield, Newtown to Hart- ford, and Dorchester to Windsor. John Plum was with those of Watertown (Wethersfield). From February 9, 1637, until 1642 he was a member of the General Court As- sembly of the Colony of Connecticut. He was one of the men in Captain Mason's little army during the Pequot War in 1637, and received a grant of land for his service. In the fall of 1644 he sold all his land and houses in Wethers- field and removed to Branford, where he died in 1648. The New Haven probate records say " Mrs. Phone and her son
76
THE PASSAIC VALLEY
Samuel " presented an inventory of the estate of John Plum, deceased, August 1, 1648.
Samuel Plum (2), son of John (1), and one of the founders of Newark, N. J., was born about 1627 and died January 22, 1703. His family as well as himself had a share in the administration of public affairs, filling and being re-elected to the offices of the day, from " cattle impounder " to " fence inspector," and even to " Highway Surveyor," and to " Col- lector of the Parson's fee "-all positions of trust and honor. Samuel Medliss, son-in-law of Samuel Plum (the settler), first opened the Newark quarry and brought from thence its subsequently famous sandstone. John Plum (3), son of Samuel, was born October 28, 1657, and died July 22, 1710. He resided opposite the " Watering Place," ad- joining the present site of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, on the corner of Market and High Streets, and the grist mill on what is now known as Seventh Avenue, originally Mill Street, was operated for the last time by Stephen Plume, who was born in 1755 and died in October, 1828.
John Plume (3) had, by his wife, Hannah Crane, a son, John Plume (4), who was born about 1696 and died in 1785, and who married Joanna Crane, born in 1708, died March 9, 1760. Their son, Isaac Plume (5), born October 1, 1734, died November 19, 1799, married, secondly, Annauchy Van Wagenen, born October 30, 1752, died February 19, 1816. She was descended from Captain Bastian Visscher, a Dutch navigator, who, in Hendrick Hudson's party, about 1609, explored the upper Hudson River, and, with others, after- ward organized the " Colonie of Renssaelaerswyck," where the City of Albany is now situated.
About the commencement of the year 1800 we begin to learn more definitely of the personality of the townspeople of that period. Isaac Plume had been but recently borne to his last resting-place. He had been a prominent and an influential man, and his residence (the well preserved man- sion on the corner of Broad and State Streets, the present rectory of the House of Prayer) was one of the most con- spicuous edifices in Newark. There are still evidences of the presence of British troops within its substantial walls, and the indentations of heavy musket-butts in the hard-
77
BIOGRAPHICAL
wood floors may be readily detected even now. A few years later his widow (Annauchy Van Wagenen Phime) inherited a large fortune from an uncle in England (General Garrett Visscher, husband of " Lady " Trevor, whom he survived), which sum, added to her life estate in her hus- band's property, rendered her probably the wealthiest woman in the community. Her carriages, horses, and pos- tillions were a feature of Broad Street, exciting attention and admiration whenever they appeared. She died in 1816, at the age of sixty-three. The executors of her will were Theodore Frelinghuysen, Richard Duryea, and Colonel James Hedden. Her slaves had been freed by her own act several years before. It is a remarkable fact that, when an attempt was made, seventy five years later, to exhume her remains from the " old " burying ground with a view of reinterment elsewhere, the only trace found by the excava- tors were the silver coffin-plate and serews, bright and un- tarnished. But not a bone, nor even a splinter of the coffin itself, remained. This plate is now in the possession of General J. W. Plume, a great-grandson-truly a strange curiosity. Isaac Plume was evidently a man of energy, and a philanthropist as well as a patriot. In 1870, when re- pairing the " Stone Bridge " at the junction of Belleville Avenue and Broad Street, but now obliterated, which had been damaged by an umisual flood in " First River," the natural outlet of Branch Brook, now a part of " Essex Park," to the Passaic River, the keystone of a long forgotten arcb was brought to light bearing the name of Isaac Plume as director of the construction of the bridge of which the arch in question had been a part. In September, 1786, the subscription list for the raising of means to rebuild the old First Presbyterian Church, on Broad Street opposite the present fire engine houses, was headed by Isaac Plume, who not only contributed the largest sum toward that object, but also personally supervised the work involved. In the War of the Revolution we find the name of Isaac Plume enrolled as First Lieutenant of Captain James Wheeler's company of " Grenadiers of the North Battalion of Minute Men," a command that had become so noted in drill, equip- ment, and discipline as to warrant its officers in petitioning
78
THE PASSAIC VALLEY
Congress to forego its disbandment with the army gener- ally, upon the restoration of peace-a request which was promptly granted by the national legislature.
Coming down to a later period, we find among the well known merchants of Newark the name of Jacob Plum (boru July 31, 1770), a son of John Plume, Jr. He was the leading grocer of his day, and his store was located on the south- east corner of Broad and Bridge Streets. His originality of character may be recognized in the following extract from an advertisement in the Sentinel of Freedom, December 17, 1799:
He expects all those indebted to him to make immediate payment, or they may expect after the 10th of January, next, to find their accounts in the hands of the magistrate for collection.
His sign was a gorgeous one for those times, but one could never ascertain why from the liberally gilded name the final "e," used by the father, had been eliminated by the son.
The second son of Isaac Plume was John I. Plume, born March 16, 1786, died November 4, 1854. He married Susan Winter, of Staten Island, and by her had five sons and three daughters. Of these children but one survives, viz .: Archer Gifford Plume (born in 1832), who still resides in Newark, a well known business man, a gentleman of means, and a bachelor. "Colonel " John 1. Plume, as he was usually called, was a good deal of a public man. He participated in the War of 1812 and commanded a regiment at Platts- burg, N. Y. In 1815 he was Foreman of Fire Engine Com- pay No. 2. In 1842 he was Collector of the Port of Newark. In 1845 he was appointed Postmaster. During the great " Jobn H. Stephens Fire " of that year, the railroad trains beitr stalled by the heavy snow in the Bergen cut, Colonel Plus, e dispatched a horse and sleigh to New York and thus brought out the daily morning papers at a comparatively early hour. It was considered a clever bit of enterprise on his part. In 1850 he was a Justice of the Peace and a terror io evildoers. In 1834 " Colonel " Plume built, for his own occupancy, what was probably the finest residence thus far erected in Newark. It was situated on a commanding
79
BIOGRAPHICAL
knoll on what is now known as Clark Street, a few yards east of the present Mt. Pleasant Avenue. It was built in colonial style and approached by terraces adorned with flowers, the landings being decorated with blossoming urns. Its snow-white facade formed a beautiful background to the huge Corinthian pillars, also white, which supported the overhang of the roof, and it could be discerned from a long distance glistening in the sun like some of the marble mansions of the present day. This beautiful dwelling ulti- mately passed into other hands, being known in turn as the " Bage" place, the " Brewster" estate, and the "John V. Cox " mansion. To-day not a vestige remains of the building or the site, the march of industry having swept both from view and almost from memory. Colonel Plume was buried with military honors in Mount Pleasant Come- tery in 1854, the entire militia of the city being under orders to parade. It was an impressive cortege.
Joseph Plume (6), son of Isaac and Annanchy (Van Wage- nen) Phone, was born November 14, 1788, and died October 23, 1817. He married . his second consin, Lucetta Phim, who was born April 26, 1794, and died July 3, 1881. For many years she was a Directress of the Newark Protestant Foster Home.
William Plume (7), grandson of Isaac Plume and An- nanchy Van Wagenen and son of Joseph and Loretta (Plum) Plume, was born November 9, 1814, and died No- vember 9, 1882. Ile married Eliza Ann Turk, of New York, and had four sons, all of whom are still living and well known citizens of Newark. They are William Turk Plume (born in 1837), Joseph Williams Phone (born in 1839), Isaac. L.lward Payson Plume (born in 1841), and George Clinton Plume (born in 1855). All are married and have living do- scendants.
William Plume, the father, had no predilection for pout- ical office. His tastes were asthetie and of a domestic nature, and his home was his world. At the same time certain duties mutually incumbent upon all good citizens Were never evaded by him. In the early history of Now- ark's Fire Department he was actively interested, at one time and for many years being Foreman of the Board of
80
THE PASSAIC VALLEY
Fire Wardens-a very responsible position. In his declining years in the business of a fire underwriter he was regarded as an expert and his opinions accepted as ex-cathedra. But among the people of Newark generally he was especially well known as a successful amateur horticulturist. His extensive gardens on Bridge Street had constant and nu- merons visitors, and the display of flowers and fruits, during their respective seasons, won the nniversal admiration of their beholders. In fact these annual but private exhibi- tions of roses and, later, of pears and peaches were social events fifty years ago. And all this was undertaken with- ont the slightest recompense save the manifest enjoyment he thus afforded his friends. Some of the participants in these occasions are still living, and readily recall the pleas- ure of those days. William Plume died at the age of sixty- eight, in the house in which he was born, located on the site once a part of the original lot of Samnel Plum, the settler.
Mrs. Eliza Ann (Turk) Plume, wife of William Plume, was born November 14, 1808, and died September 30, 1888. She was a sister of Admiral John W. Livingston, U. S. N., who died September 10, 1885, and a daughter of Dr. William Turk, U. S. N., born March 2, 1778, died November 20, 1854, and Eliza W. Livingston, born in 1780, died in 1857. Dr. Turk was a descendant of Antonie Janssen Salers, a wealthy Hollander, who settled in Gravesend (now a part of Brooklyn, L. I.) in 1631. He married a daughter of Cap- tain John W. Livingston, of New York, a Revolutionary officer, the lady being one of the fourth generation in de- scent from Robert Livingston (grandfather of William Liv- ingston, Governor of New Jersey during the whole Revolu- tionary epoch), who emigrated from Scotland to America in 1674, and subsequently became the original grantee of the famous baronial manor of that name on the Hudson River. Surgeon Turk and wife are buried in Mount Pleasant Ceme- tery.
Of the four sons left by William Plume, General Joseph W. Plume seems to be the only one who has inherited the martial spirit of his great-grandfather, Isaac Plume. In 1857, while yet a lad, he enlisted in Company C of the " City Battalion," at that time the " New York Seventh Regiment
81
BIOGRAPHICAL
of Newark," and remained a private therein for four years. Then the War of the Rebellion had broken ont, and, having offered his services to his country, he was commissioned as Adjutant of the Second New Jersey Volunteers. In 1863 he retired from the army, having meanwhile held positions from Aide-de-Camp to Assistant Adjutant-General, and par- ticipating in several engagements from the battle of First Bull Run to those of Antietam and Fredericksburg. In 1863 he was appointed Brigade Inspector of the State of New Jersey. In 1865 he was commissioned Colonel of the Second Regiment, New Jersey Ritle Corps. In the celebra- tion of the two-hundredth anniversary of the settlement of Newark, in 1866, the coincidence is worthy of record that the Grand Marshal of the procession on that occasion was Colonel J. W. Plume-a direct descendant of an original settler. On April 26, 1869, he was elected Colonel of the Ser- ond Regiment, National Guard of New Jersey. In May, 1869, he was commissioned Brigadier-General of the First Brigade, and on the 4th of April, 1885, he was commissioned Major-General, N. G. N. J.
On May 1, 1897, General Plume received a gold medal from the State of New Jersey in recognition of a continuous service of forty years in its militia-the first one awarded. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War he was com- missioned a Brigadier-General of United States Volunteers by President MeKinley, and with his command went into camp in Virginia. But his services were not required, and, ultimately, his brigade was honorably mustered out. On February 8, 1899, General Plume tendered his resignation as Major-General, N. G. N. J., and thus terminated a mili- tary career of forty-two years. While commander of the State Militia he effected many reforms which tended to greatly improve the service, and it was through his personal effort and indefatigability that there was finally obtained for Newark its beautiful armory, completed in 1889. ITe is now the cashier of the Manufacturers' National Bank of Newark, having held that office since the establishment of the institution in 1871. On May 21, 1901, General Plume was unanimously elected Senior Vice-Commander of the
82
THE PASSAIC VALLEY
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Commandery of the State of New York.
Isaac Edward Payson Plume, son of William and Eliza Ann (Turk) Plume, has been a lifelong resident of Newark, N. J., where he was born January 14, 1844. He was edu- cated in private schools in his native city, leaving the tutor- age of Nathan Hedges in 1859 to enter the dry goods house of H. E. Dibblee & Co., of New York. In 1861 he entered the employ of Alexander Gregg, a Wall Street stock broker, with whom he remained until 1864. He then associated himself with the parent office of the Home Insurance Com- pany of New York, with which he has since continued, cov- ering a period of thirty-seven years and holding at the pres- ent time the responsible position of statistician.
Mr. Plume is well known in insurance circles, and in the position which he has so long filled has gained a high reputation. He was President of the Washington Literary Union in 1861, and editor of the Literary Gazette in 1865-66. He was Corresponding Secretary of the New Jersey State Literary Union in 1866, Secretary of the Newark Literary Club in 1869, and in the latter year became associate editor of the Newark Morning Register, a position which he filled with acknowledged ability for several years, meanwhile and subsequently being a correspondent for various journals. He became a life member of the New Jersey Historical So- ciety in 1897, and is also a member of the North End Club of Newark, of which he was a Governor in 1892. Mr. Plume is a man of literary ability, of broad and liberal attain- ments, and honored as a worthy representative of one of Newark's oldest families.
He was married, in 1863, to Caroline H. Macbeth, and has two daughters, Mrs. Mary P. Douglass, of Norfolk, Va., and Mrs. Adelaide D. Van Slyke, of New York.
JOSEPH DORSETT BEDLE occupied two important offices in the State Government- those of Associate Justice and Governor. He was of English descent, his ancestors being among the first settlers in New Jersey. He was the son of Thomas J. Bedle, a merchant, who pas prominent in
83
BIOGRAPHICAL
Monmouth County, serving as a Justice of the Peace and Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for several years. His mother was Hannah Dorsett, whose family came to Mon- mouth County from Ber- muda more than a cen- tury and a half ago.
Governor Bedle was born in Middletown Point (Matawan), Mon- month County, N. J., Jannary 5, 1831, and ob- tained his early educa- tion at the academy there. He then entered upon a course of legal study, reading law for five years in the office of Hon. William L. Dayton, of Trenton, with the ex- ception of one winter spent in the law school at Ballston Spa, N. Y., and another brief pe- riod, during which he JOSEPH D. BEDLE. pursued his studies with Hon. Henry S. Little in his native town. During this period of preliminary reading-one of unusual length-he devoted much of his time to the acquisi- tion of knowledge of an historical and literary character, especially connected with the profession of the law, thus affording an exceptional breadth to his special preparation. He was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of New Jersey in June, 1853, and immediately settled in Middletown Point, where his industry and ability soon secured an excel- lent practice and reputation. In the spring of 1855 he ro- moved to Freehold. and immediately took high rank as a sound lawyer and skillful advocate. Close study and severe application to his profession advanced him so rapidly at the bar that in March, 1865, at thirty-four years of age, he was nominated by Governor Parker, and confirmed by the Sen- ate, as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State to suc-
84
THE PASSAIC VALLEY
ceed Hon. Elias B. D. Ogden, one of New Jersey's distin- gnished judges who had recently died. He succeeded to the circuits of Judge Ogden, which embraced the Counties of Hudson, Bergen, and Passaic. The business of the circuits being heavy, Judge Bedle removed to Jersey City, where his residence became permanent.
Judge Bedle's judicial career covered a period of abont ten years, and logically prepared the way for still higher preferments. His previous close study and application had given him a clear knowledge of law, and while, added to this, his vigorons common sense and fearless integrity ren- dered his judicial qualities pre-eminent in the trial of jury cases, his reputation for faithful, intelligent, and just ad- ministration of his duties in the Supreme Court, the Court of Errors and Appeals, and at the circuits became securely established. He was reappointed for a second term, and dur- ing this second term his prominence npon the bench and the satisfactory performanceof his duties had attracted so wide- ly the attention of the public that there grew up a strong popular desire to elect him Governor. The condition of the times and the state of the public mind at this juncture were both favorable to the selection of an executive outside the arena of politics. Judge Bedle, though a Democrat, had been strictly non-partisan on the bench, and this gave an added impetus to the popular demand. He was duly nomi- nated by the Democratic convention, and in the fall of 1874 was elected by the large majority of 13,233 over a strong competitor. He was inaugurated January 19, 1875, and served the constitutional term of three years. In a sketch of his career, as Governor, it was stated :
Most unmistakably was he called to his bonorable post by the popular voice, whose expectations were in no sense disappointed. His administration from the first was marked by ability, prudence, and a patriotism inspired by an earnest desire for the public welfare. By his statesmanlike views and noble aims he firmly intrenched himself in the respect and regard of the community.
He was active in behalf of the State while Governor in connection with the great Centennial celebration in Phila- delphia in 1876, in promoting both its success and the honor of the State in that exhibition. The judgment and prudence with which he managed the civil and military power during
85
BIOGRAPHICAL
the riots of 1877 resulted in the complete preservation of the peace of the State and the opening of the great lines of travel through it. A foe to extravagance and fraud, his administration as Governor was wise, pure, and economical.
Ile retired from office in January, 1878, and, refusing an offer of reappointment to the bench, returned in the full vigor and maturity of middle age to the practice of law in Jersey City. From The time of his return to the bar until his death he was continuously occupied in the conduct of the most important and weighty litigations pending during that time in the State. Among others were the arbitration between the State and the Morris and Essex Railroad Com- pany; the litigation between the New Jersey Junction and National Dock Railway Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad Company; and the proceedings for contempt in the Governor Price cases, which created wide public interest, and in all of which he was eminently successful. With the sole exception of the memorable struggle which resulted in the defeat of the late Governor Abbett for United States Senator, and in which Governor Bedle was a controlling fac- tor, he took little part in politics beyond giving advice and occasional addresses in important campaigns. After his retirement from the governorship he was three times offered positions on the bench, all of which he refused. The Rus- sian and Austrian missions, among several tempting offers, were urged upon him by the President of the United States, but these he declined, preferring to pursue his profession and pass the residue of his days in private life. A careful writer has said of him :
As judge on the bench, as Governor of the State, in his practice at the bar, and in his deportment as a citizen. the weight of exalted character was always con- spienons on his side of the seales- Judge Bedle is an instance of a man who, at a comparatively early age, achieved the highest honors of his State, apparently withont having passed through any of the highways and byways of the politician. Such instances in these days are so rare that they must be set down as exceptional in the history of politics in this or any other country. Ilis progress to the high position he has oceupied has been quiet, dignified, and, we may say, almost noiseless. We at no time find him pushing himself into any of the high places he has occupied. A most worthy example, surely, and one which we generally have to seek for in the passed and better times of the republic.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.