USA > New Jersey > The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century > Part 101
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married : first to Chrissie Dunham, daughter of Nehemiah Dunham, a farmer of Clinton, New Jersey, of which he was an old resident, who died in 1862; and a second time, to Mary De Witt, daughter of Charles A. De Witt, superin- tendent of the United States Express Company, Jersey City, whose father, Charles G. De Witt, was at one time asso- ciated with President Jackson's administration, and in 1833 was appointed Chargé d'affaires to Guatemala, in Central America.
OODRUFF, REV. BENJAMIN, Clergyman, late of Westfield, was born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and was the son of Samuel Woodruff, an eminent merchant of his native place, and for nearly twenty years a Trustee of Princeton College. After graduating he pursued the study of theology, probably with his pastor, Elihu Spencer. In due time he was licensed to preach, and on March 14th, 1759, was ordained pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Westfield, New Jersey. During the forty-four years of his uscful and zealous ministry there, he greatly endeared him- self to his people by his earnest preaching, sincere piety and charitableness, and his pastoral intercourse. He is described as small in person, dignified and precise in his manners, scrupulously exact and fastidious in his dress, with small-clothes, silk hose, buckles, cock-hat and ruffles, cverywhere the same, and always commanding respect. He died suddenly, April 3d, 1803, and with him went a well- beloved link that connected the old time and the new, and a revered and exemplary spiritual guide and exliorter.
TEVENS, JOHN, Inventor, Prominent Citizen of New Jersey, late of Hoboken, New Jersey, was born in New York in 1749. In 1787, happening to see the imperfectly constructed steamboat of John Fitch, he at once became interested in steam propulsion, and during the ensuing thirty years was constantly engaged in experimenting on the subject,
traverse the roads at a speed of fifty miles, or even more, per hour, though probably in practice it would be found convenient not to exceed twenty or thirty miles per hour." The details of construction of the roadway, and of the locomotives and carriages, are given with such minuteness and accuracy, that " it is difficult to realize that their only existence at that time was in the mind of the inventor." He died at Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1838.
TEVENS, ROBERT LIVINGSTON, Inventor, President of the Camden & Amboy Railroad, son of the inventor, John Stevens, late of IIoboken, New Jersey, was born in that place in 1788. Inheriting his father's mechanical genius and his deep interest in propulsion by steam on land and water, he, while still a youth, commenced a course of dis- covery and improvement on these subjects which has given him a very high rank among the inventors of this century. At the age of twenty he constructed a steamboat with con- cave water lines, the first application of the wave-line to ship-building; subsequently used for the first time vertical buckets on pivots in the paddle-wheels of steamers, sus- pended the guard-beam by iron rods, and adopted a new and original method of bracing and fastening steamboats. In 1818 he discovered the advantage of using steam cx- pansively, and of employing anthracite coal as fuel for steamers. In 1822 he substituted the skeleton wrought- iron walking-beam for the heavy cast-iron one previously in use ; first placed the boilers on the guards, and divided the buckets on the water-wheels in order to lesson the jar of the boat. In 1824 he applied artificial blast to the boiler furnace by means of blowers; and in 1827 adapted the " hog-frame " to boats, to prevent them from bending at the centre. In the course of the ensuing twenty-two years he made numerous other improvements, in the way of balance- valves, tubular-boilers, steam-packing, cut-offs, cross-pro- pellers to turn boats as on a pivot, the forcing of air under the bottom of the steamer " John Wilson," to lighten the
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draft, etc. During this period he also invented and put into use the T rail, and used successfully anthracite coal as a fuel for fast passenger locomotives. At an early age he had established steam ferry-boats on the Hudson river; and on the organization of the Camden & Amboy Railroad, took a warm interest in its management and development, and was for many years its President. In 1813-14 he invented an elongated bomb-shell of great destructive power, and imparted to the government the secret of its construction, in consideration of which he received a large annuity. In 1842 he commenced experiments with a view to the con- struction of an iron-plated war-steamer, or battery, which should be shot-and-shell-proof, and whose construction was begun in 1858, at Hoboken, New Jersey, under a con- tract made by him with the Navy Department in 1849. The actual construction of this vessel was commenced, however, in 1856. The following were her principal di- mensions : extreme length, 415 feet ; breadth, 48 feet ; depth, 32 feet 4 inches; displacement in tons, 5,840; indi- cated steam-power at 50 pounds pressure equal to 8,624 horses ; 10 large boilers; 8 driving-engines ; 4512-inch cylinder ; 312 feet stroke; 2 propellers; 9 subordinate engines for various purposes, such as pumping, blowing, starting, etc. He also devoted much time and expense to an elaborate series of ordnance experiments, and entertained no doubt of the practicability of making his battery shot- and-shell-proof. ITis vessel was intended to operate in the waters of New York bay and harbor, from Sandy Hook upward, and in March, 1858, was about two-thirds com- pleted, all her machinery, boilers and dependencies being in place ; in February, 1862, the propriety of finishing this huge war-instrument was earnestly advocated by those who foresaw the duration and probable magnitude of the sec- tional conflict. A more detailed and fuller account of his various inventions, improvements, etc., will probably be found in the later volumes of the "Annual of Scientific Discovery." He died at Hoboken, New Jersey, April 20th, 1856.
OODHULL, REV. GEORGE SPAFFORD, Pas- tor of the Preshyterian Church at Cranberry, late of Middletown Point, New Jersey, was born in New Jersey in the last quarter of the past century, and was the son of Rev. John Woodhull, of the Princeton class of 1766. Ile also studicd at Princeton College, and in due time and season graduated from that institution. He subsequently studied law for two years, and medicine for one year ; hut, determining to enter the ministry, was licensed hy the Presbytery of New Bruns- wick, November 14th, 1797. June 6th, 1798, he was or- dained and installed as pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Cranherry, New Jersey. Here he remained until 1820, when he was chosen pastor of the church of Princeton, where, for twelve years, he labored faithfully and success-
fully. In 1832 he resigned his charge, and spent the last two years of his life as pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Middletown Point, New Jersey, where he died, December 25th, 1834. He was eminently blameless and exemplary in his life, eminently peaceful and happy in his death. Three of his sons graduated at Princeton ; one in 1822, and two in 1828.
ILLER, WILLIAM W., Lawyer, late of Paris, France, was born in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, in 1797. "Although living in the country, which commonly presents so many more allur- ing pastimes for a boy, and having the com- panionship of a large family of brothers and sisters, yet his fondness for and his application to study was so great, that at the age of twelve years he was prepared to enter the freshman class at college." The regulations of the institution not permitting this, he pursued his studies alone, and at the age of fourteen entered the junior class of Princeton College, half advanced. Before attaining his sixteenth year he graduated, taking one of the honors of his class, several members of which were afterward distin- guished characters in public life. Owing to his youth, he was advised not to enter immediately upon his professional studies, but to review those to which he had so successfully applied himself while laboring as a student. For this pur- pose he went to Somerville, and there instructed in the languages a class of young men, all older than himself. Shortly afterward, however, he entered upon the study of the law with Theodore Frelinghuysen, and was licensed as an attorney in 1818, and as a counsellor in 1821. IIe then commenced practice as a lawyer in Morristown, where he was professionally occupied during the ensuing five or six years, removing subsequently with his family, consisting of a wife and three children, to Newark. His reputation as a public speaker began at this time to attract attention, not only in his own neighborhood, but also in the city of New York, so that frequent calls were made upon him to address public meetings. His speech in behalf of the Greeks, then struggling to relieve themselves from the oppression of the Turks, made in Trinity Church, Newark, July 13th, 1824, won for him applause which rang through the whole coun- try, and is still spoken of as a master-piece of eloquence. In February, 1825, he was retained as counsel for a minister of the Dutch church, who had sued his son-in-law in New York for a gross slander. The case was one that excited universal interest, and the City Hall was every day crowded to excess while it was in progress. The celebrated Thomas Addis Emmet was one of the counsel of the defendant; so that every circumstance was calculated to enlist the sympa- thy and stimulate the ambition of a young lawyer. He spoke nearly three hours on this occasion, during which time the excitement of the crowd assembled was intense, and when at
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last he sank exhausted into a chair, Emmet embraced him, and the defendant sobbed so violently as to be heard all over the court-room. The cause was gained, but it was the last effort of the gifted orator; that night he was prostrated by a hemorrhage of the lungs. By the advice of his physi- cians he then left home and repaired to the south of France, and for a time seemed on the road to a complete recovery ; but on the 24th of July, 1825, he was again attacked by a hemorrhage, at a hotel in Paris, and there died, at the early age of twenty-eight years and a few months. He lies buried in the well-known cemetery of Père la Chaise, where an iron railing marks his grave, and which is visited with mel- ancholy interest by his American friends. On the news of his death, a meeting of the bench and bar was held in the court-room at Trenton, of which Richard Stockton was chairman and Peter D. Vroom secretary, and highly com- plimentary resolutions were duly adopted. Says Hon. L. Q. C. Elmer : " I well remember his reputation for splendid oratorical powers, and his high character as a Christian gentleman. His Greek speech was published, and uni- versally admired."
UTHERFURD, HON. JOHN, President of the New Jersey Historical Society, President of the Tuckerton Railroad in Ocean county, and of the Council of Proprietors for the Eastern Di- vision of New Jersey, and of the New Jersey Coal Company, Director in the Sussex Railroad, etc., late of Newark, New Jersey, was born at the resi- dence of his maternal grandfather, Lewis Morris, of Mor- risania, Westchester county, New York, July 21st, 1810, and was the son of Robert Walter Rutherfurd and Sabina (Morris) Rutherfurd. His paternal grandfather, after whom he was named, John Rutherfurd, was a country gentleman and large landed proprietor, living on his estate at Edger- ton, on the Passaic river, known as Rutherfurd park ; he married the sister of Lewis Morris, " thus making a double tie of consanguinity in the ancestors of Mr. Rutherfurd " : he was also well known throughout the State as a public- spirited and energetic citizen, and is recorded as a United States Senator in the "Senate Journal " of the First Session of the Third Congress, which met in Philadelphia in 1793; his only son was Robert Walter Rutherfurd. The paternal great-grandfather was a British officer of the rank of colonel, who was prominent in several actions attendant on the old French war; and letters are still extant in the family, de- scribing his sufferings in the campaign on Lake Ontario and in Canada; he married a sister of Lord Stirling, and the daughter of James Alexander, who holds an enviable and distinguished position in the colonial history of New Jersey and New York. Ilis maternal grandfather, Colonel Lewis Morris, was a son of the signer of the Declaration of Independence; lic was the oldest of six sons, " most of
whom, excepting the youngest, joined the Continental army on reaching the age of sixteen ; the youngest, fearing the war would close before he was of that age, joined when only fifteen." When the British forces entered New York the officers took possession of the Morris country place, the family hastily escaping with their servants, horses and fur- niture, in a flat-boat across the Hudson to Weehawken, and to Round Valley, Hunterdon county, where they remained until the close of the conflict. " Thus, while this sturdy patriot was contending against the enemy with voice and pen in the Continental Congress, he sends his six sons into the field as soon as they can shoulder a musket-his family, meantime, seeking refuge in a secluded valley among the Jersey hills." At the age of two and a half years he went to live with his" grandfather, at Edgerton, situated on the east bank of the Passaic, about seven miles above Newark ; the old mansion there existed until quite recently, when it was altered and enlarged for a hotel, and ultimately de- stroyed by fire. " It was in its day the scene for the dis- pensation of elegant hospitality ; and there are yet many old neighbors and former residents on the river who cherish very delightful recollections of the old place, and the pleas- ant and joyous times they have had within its hospitable walls." As a child he seems to have given token of some precocity of intellect; an extract from an old diary will serve to illustrate the fact : " July 21st, 1817. John Ruther- furd is seven years old to-day, and has commenced reading history with the Bible." .... "July 24th. Read an extract of Egyptian and Persian history, with some extracts in third volume of Rollins' ' Belles-Lettres.'-Reading Goldsmith's 'Abridged History of Greece,' and an abridgment of Alex- ander's Life and Conquests, from ' Flowers of History.'- We began Goldsmith's ' Rome,' the number of the different states rendering Grecian history rather complicated for a child of seven years of age." At nine years of age he was sent to school, at the Newark Academy, then presided over by Andrew Smith, "a very respectable old Scotchman," and " probably because the distance was too far for the young boy to go to and fro each day, he was placed at board with the family of his teacher, who lived across the Passaic, in what is now known as East Newark, on the turnpike road near to the crossing of the Morris & Essex Railroad, from which place he, in company with four other boys, walked in daily to the academy, which then stood on the site of the present post-office." From this school he was sent to the famous educational institute of Dr. Brown- lee, at Basking Ridge, to be fitted for college. It was in- tended also that he should go to Princeton, and be educated by the vencrable Alma Mater under whose shadow his father had won his scholarly attainments; " but here we have an early instance of his strongly marked character, and decision of purpose as impressed by nature herself. One day he went to Princeton to pay a visit to an old schoolmate then in college, and living, as the custom of the timcs was, in ' commons;' but the boy, accustomed from his infancy to
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the observance of all the nice propricties of refined life, | Jerscy Coal Company, in which enterprise he was warmly took such a disgust at the scenes he witnessed among the interested, his faith in it being so great that he believed- youths at dinner that he at once resolved he would look elsewhere for an education." Accordingly, and without consulting any one, he went to New Brunswick and applied for admission to Rutgers College; and therc, after the ordeal of a two hours' examination, conducted by the Dutch pro- fessors who had charge of the curriculum of that institution, secured a favorable verdict, becoming a member of the sophomore class at the early age of fifteen years. Ile gradu- ated while in his eighteenth year, and soon after entered the law office of Elias Van Arsdale, in the city of Newark. After being admitted to the bar, and practising law for about two years, he abandoned his profession in order to assist his grandfather in the care and management of his large landed estate. He continued to live at Edgerton until the death of his grandparents, after which his two aunts, Mary and Louisa Rutherfurd, built an elegant residence on the same bank of the Passaic, about two miles distant from Newark, " which the refinement and taste of those ladies rendered conspicuous for all that is attractive in rural life." He then took up his residence with them at " Eastridge," as the grounds were named, and commenced there his married life. He possessed remarkable executive ability ; had a far-sighted vision as to the future of the State; and furthered materially the many enterprises set on foot to develop its interests and resources. "His great self-control, his tact in management of all embarrassing questions, his whole-souled generosity, his entire abnegation of self, and slowness to suspect anything wrong in the motives of others, caused him to be almost worshipped among his tenantry,
and there was probably no one in the entire county of Essex who had equal popularity with him." One of his favorite projects was the uniting of the waters of the Delaware and Hudson by a continuous route of railway; this led him to originate the Warwick Railroad, which was commenced on the line of the Erie road, at Chester, and continued to the State line, a distance of ten miles. He was also largely in- tercsted in the construction of the Pequest Valley Railroad, and was a Director and able worker in the Midland Rail- road; "his counsels and energetic action in this corporation will be sadly missed." Ile was President of the Tucker- ton Railroad, in Ocean county, where, with other mem- bers of his family, he was very largely interested in the Pine Barrens, which are now giving place to cultivated lands, fulfilling and realizing the Scripture prophecy, " The desert shall blossom as the rose." He was also the Presi- dent of the Council of Proprietors for the Eastern Division of New Jersey ; was an hereditary proprietor in this hoard, and had been its presiding officer for many years. " His influence in that body was so great, and the confidence in his inflexible uprightness and sound judgment so general, that he never failed, by expressing his opinion, to control the action of the board, no matter how divided the senti- ment might be." He was also the President of the New
from the value of their lands and the superior quality of their coal-that it could not fail to become a very wealthy corporation. He was a Director also in the Sussex Rail- road, in which county was his home, his residence being known as Maple Grange. Beyond these official positions he held several others; was a Director in the New Jersey State Agricultural Society, and in several financial institu- tions; and was also the honored head of the New Jersey Historical Society, in whose prosperity and promotion he cver manifested a deep and generous interest, contributing to its funds with no sparing hand, and seeking by every means in his power to advance its aims and objects. " Many of the priceless manuscripts, documents and literary curiosities contained in our library are the gifts of Mr. Rutherfurd and his family, and there is enough to day in that library to keep his name ever fresh in grateful remem- brance."-R. S. Swords. He was elected a member of the society November 6th, 1845, and made Vice-President January 19th, 1865. Speaking of him the same writer re- marks, further : His versatile talents enabled him to devote himself with fidelity to every duty he assumed. His memory was tenacious to an extraordinary degree, and he was wont to depend upon it to an extent that hardly another man would have felt safe in doing. He never forgot a business engagement, or failed to keep an appointment; in such matters he was the promptest of the prompt. There was probably no man in the State whose time was more entirely engrossed, and yet it is recorded of him that "he never brought his business affairs into his family." In his deal- ings with his fellow-men he was just and generous; no friend ever appealed to him in vain for sympathy or aid. No man could be more simple and unaffected in manner ; and yet, so careful was he of wounding the feelings of others that, in most cases, where he had the right to be severe, he preferred silence to delivery of just resentment. His last sickness was sudden and severe. He came from Newport early in the fall, suffering from an attack of mala- rious fever, complicated with the beginning of the painful malady which was to end his days. He then remained temporarily at his city residence in Newark, in order to re- cuperate under the watching of his physician; and subse- quently returned to his home in Sussex, where he improved slightly, and became strong enough to ride about the country. Being advised to return to Newark, where he could receive more attention and find higher medical skill, he started on his return, and on the night of his first day's journey was prostrated by a fresh attack while resting at the house of a friend. After reaching Newark his malady speedily assumed the most serious and alarming aspect ; his naturally powerful frame and strength of constitution en- abled him to endure for a time what any other man of less vigor would at once have succumbed to; but on the 21st day of November, 1872, at 8 o'clock A. M., he breathed
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his last, " conscious to the extremest moment," and " was gathered unto his fathers, having the testimony of a good conscience; in the communion of the catholic church, in the confidence of a certain faith, in the comfort of a reason- able, religious and holy hope; in favor (as we devoutly be- lieve) with his God; and in perfect charity with the world." His funeral took place from Trinity Church, Newark; and he was buried in the yard of Christ Church, Belleville, where are interred the remains of his father and mother, his aunts, and one of his own children. In this church he had grown up and become a communicant, and afterward for many years was one of its vestrymen ; he also frequently represented the parish in the diocesan conventions of the Episcopal Church in New Jersey.
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ERRINE, REV. MATTHEW LA RUE, Clergy- man, Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Polity, late of Auburn, New York, was born in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, and belonged to a distinguished and influential family of Monmouth county, New Jersey. After graduating at Princeton College he studied tlieology under Dr. John Woodhull, of Freehold, New Jersey, and was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, September 18th, 1799. On the 24th of June, 1800, he was ordained, and for four months acted as a missionary in western New York. On the 15th of June, 1802, he was installed as pastor of the Spring Street Church, New York. Here he continued till the summer of 1820, when, at his own request, the pastoral relation was dissolved. In 1821 he was elected to the Professorship of Ecclesiastical His- tory and Church Polity in the Auburn Theological Semi- nary. He continued actively engaged in the discharge of his various duties till near the close of his life. In 1818 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Allegheny College. " His personal appearance was alto- gether agreeable. His countenance indicated great mild- ness and benignity, mingled with thoughtfulness and intel- ligence ; his manners were urbane and winning; his temper amiable and benevolent." He was naturally of a specula- tive and metaphysical turn, and in theology harmonized with Dr. Emmons ; as a preacher he was always instructive and interesting, but could not be called popular. His style was correct and perspicuous, but, in a great measure, un- adorned; yet in the mellow and gentle tones of his voice there lurked a great and enduring eharm. He had the reputation of being an accurate and thorough scholar. IIe published " Letters Concerning the Plan of Salvation, ad- dressed to the Members of the Spring Street Church," New York, 1816; "A Sermon before a French Missionary Society in New York," in 1817; and "An Abstract of Biblical Geography," 1835. He also contributed several
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