The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 105

Author: Robson, Charles, ed; Galaxy Publishing Company, publisher
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy publishing company
Number of Pages: 924

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population of some one hundred and fifty persons, dwelling in scattered houses, to an incorporated borough of three thousand inhabitants. . ... Ile was indeed the patriarch of this community, and one of the greatest blessings God could have bestowed upon it. For the first four years this was truly missionary ground, only twenty-five additions hav- ing been made to the church in that time, and fifteen of these by certificate ; but he, without ambitious aspirations, humbly and patiently persevered through all the discouragements of his position, and has founded a church which will, we trust, by God's favor, live to be a lasting blessing." -- " Funeral Sermon," of Rev. George Hale, D. D. During a ministry of great length and eminent usefulness he was an untiring worker, and zealous in good counselling and tender deeds ; his labors were abundant in extra preaching services at home and abroad, in systematic pastoral visitations, in calls upon the sick, in ministering comfort to the afflicted, in advising the anxious inquirer, in rejoicing with his people in their joys, and sharing in their sorrows. He solemnized five hundred and ninety marriages, and officiated at more than twice that number of funerals. In the church at Solebury he baptized seventy-one adults and eighty-three infants; in the church at Lambertville two hundred and sixty adults, and two hundred and twenty-four infants, making, in both churches, a total of six hundred and thirty-eight baptisms. While in charge of the Solebury church-for twenty-six . years, until 1848, when the pastoral relation was dissolved owing to the increased demand at Lambertville for all his services-one hundred and fifty-four persons were received into the communion of the church on profession of their faith, and fifteen by certificate. At Lambertville five hun- dred and seventy have been received on profession, and two hundred and ninety-two by certificate from other churches. As the result of his labors, nine hundred and thirty-one communicants have been taken under his pastoral care, of whom seven hundred and twenty-four were admitted on profession of their faith, making an average of a little more than sixteen persons each year received on confession. During his pastorate, also, " there were not less than eight precious seasons of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit,"-in 1833-34, 1837-38, 1841-42, 1845-46, 1854, 1856, and 1863. The largest ingatherings were probably in the winter of 1841-42, and 1845-46. " If to this part of his work were added his frequent services in other congregations and among the destitute, services always willingly rendered, and all the precious fruits brought together, it would be manifest that few ministers have wrought more earnestly, or have been more richly blessed." He was a diligent student through his life from childhood ; his reading was varied and extensive, and few could " eviscerate" a book with equal rapidity and thoroughness. He was also a sound and able theologian ; an independent thinker, investigating for himself the great questions that claimed his attention; and a judicious, dis- criminating and most instructive preacher. Ile seized with eagerness every book coming from the press which promised

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to throw light on the word of God-his constant study in the original Hebrew and Greek. " He was mighty in the Scriptures, and sought to make his people so ; and the fruit of his efforts has been seen in the interesting and profitable Bible-classes which characterized his ministry." In his " Diary," at the date, February 11th, 1822, is found this record : " I must cultivate more intercourse with my people. Besides writing one sermon weekly, Theology, Church History, the German, French, Greek and Hebrew lan- guages claim my attention." One of his last public exer- cises was the giving of the charge to his son, Rev. Samuel Studdiford, at his instalment as pastor of the Trenton Third Church ; and his last sermon was preached at the funeral of " his venerable and life-long friend, Rev. Jacob Kirkpatrick, D. D., of Ringoes. Urged by his people (who made liberal provision for his journey) to take some rest he repaired to Baltimore, and there gathered his family and kindred around him for the last time." His final exclama- tion was : " Into thy hands I commit my spirit." He then engaged in prayer, but his speech was too feeble and broken to be understood; and waving his hand, as if to request the family to leave his bedside-" evidently desiring to be alone with God"-he went to the eternal home. Thus closed a life of sixty-seven years, a ministry of forty-five years, a fruitful pastorate of forty-four and a half years, on Tues- day, June 5th, 1866.

YLE, JOHN, Silk Manufacturer, of Paterson, New Jersey, was born in Macclesfield, England, noted for its silk fabrics, in the manufacture of which his brothers, Reuben and William, have for many years borne a leading part, supplying the London and Manchester markets. He emigrated to this country in 1839, and being already an expert in his business, engaged the following year in the manufacture of silk at Paterson. His products at first were limited to the ordinary varieties of sewing and floss silks, but in 1843 he attempted weaving, succeeding perfectly in producing marketable articles, though not, unfortunately, at a profitable cost, for which reason he gave up the attempt. Among his products of that period was the beautiful flag, which waved over the Crystal Palace at the great exhibition in New York in 1852. In 1860 he renewed the attempt, but in consequence of the civil war and the lack of encouragement from the govern- nient, he was again constrained to abandon it. His ill fortune in weaving, however, was compensated by his suc- cess with his sewing silks, which during this period attained a high reputation, and have since been regarded everywhere as equal in quality to the imported. Some day, no doubt, when the conditions of the manufacture are improved, he will again renew the work of weaving, twice relinquished, and carry it through successfully, since he is a man of commer- cial nerve, and not likely in the line of his business to yicld to any difficulty not absolutely insuperable. Meanwhile, the

department in which he first set out gives fair scope to his energies and skill. The business in his hands has grown to immense proportions, the mechanical provisions for it hav- ing of course kept pace with it. On May 10th, 1869, the Murray Mill, as the factory was then called, was destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of $550,000, against which there was no insurance. In order to more readily recover from the effects of this misfortune, Mr. Ryle caused to be char- tercd and organized the Ryle Silk Manufacturing Company, and the mill was rebuilt and fitted with the newcst and best appliances. In this manufactory all the processes are per- formed, including dyeing and finishing, as to the former of which he has been particularly successful, as he has been particularly solicitous, the dyeing department being under the superintendence of a Macclesfield dyer of long experi- ence. Macclesfield, indeed, as his native place, as still the home of his brothers, and as a great centre of the silk man- ufacture, in which his brothers are themselves leaders, is a storehouse to which he is probably indebted for much, besides skilled workmen, that has profited him in his bold venture here, serving as a rich subsoil of knowledge and methods, so to speak, into which his enterprise might strike its roots and draw up nourishment. However, the part of this subsoil that has chiefly nourished him is doubtless the part he brought over with him when he transplanted hint- self into this country, where his flourishing growth must be set down to the vigor and vitality of the plant as much as to all other things put together. Be this as it may, the fact of his distinguished success is patent. And richly does he deserve it, personally as well as commercially. After doing business in connection with the company organization for about three years, Mr. Ryle, who had in that time become the owner of nearly all its stock, retired from business in March, 1872. During the after part of that year, however, he sustained such serious losses that he was compelled to resume business. At the present time he has employed in the extensive works, which are built upon the site of the mill burned in 1869 and on a large tract of adjoining prop- erty, about four hundred operatives, whose average annual wages, even at the present low rate, is over $150,000. His efforts in the present manufacturing enterprise are aided and seconded by the well-known firm of Leister & Sum- merhoff, of New York city, who are the sole consignees of the silks produced at the establishment, and whose facilities for selling, combined with the facilities possessed by Mr. Ryle for producing every varicty of goods in the silk mar- ket, constitute one of the ablest organizations in the country. Mr. Ryle has been a benefactor to Paterson, not only in establishing a new branch of manufactures of great im- portance, but in promoting civic improvements tending to increase the attractions of the city as a place of residence. The waterworks, which furnish the city with an abundant supply of pure water, were erected mainly through his ex- ertions and means ; and the grounds around the " cottage on the cliff" and the Falls, that afford a delightful breathing

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place to the citizens, especially the operatives in the factories, in surf-boats. Upon landing, under a severe fire of mus- were adorned by him and thrown open freely to the public. Ile is not more shrewd and able than he is generous and public-spirited.

COTT, LIEUTENANT-GENERAL WIN- FIELD, United States Army, late of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was born in Petersburg, Virginia, June 13th, 1786, of parentage of Scotch descent. He was left an orphan in early boyhood; was educated at William and Mary College, whence he graduated in 1804; subsequently studied law, and in 1806 was admitted to the bar. After a few years' practice of his profession he was appointed, May 3d, 1808, a Captain of the Light Artillery, and was stationed at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the division commanded by General Wilkin- son. At a later date certain remarks uttered by him, ex- pressive of an opinion of General Wilkinson's complicity with Burr's conspiracy, were made the basis of a prosecu- tion, and led to his suspension from duty on the score of disrespect to his commanding officer. He then returned to Virginia, and turned to advantage his year's absence from his post by again devoting his time and attention to legal studies. In July, 1812, he was promoted to a Lieutenant- Colonelcy, and ordered to the Canada frontier. Upon ar- riving at Lewiston, while the affair of Queenstown Heights was in progress, he crossed the river, and entering instantly into action saw the field won under his direction ; it was eventually lost, however, and, owing to the refusal of the troops at Lewiston to cross to his assistance, he and his command fell into the hands of the enemy. "The war of 1812 had arisen, in part out of the claim of the British gov- ernment to the right of impressing seamen into her service, Great Britain acting on the maxim, 'Once a subject always a subject,' while the American government insisted upon the right of expatriation. The British officers attempted to enforce practically the doctrine of their government in the case of the prisoners taken at Queenstown, and were in the act of selecting the Irish and other foreign-born citizens out of Colonel Scott's command, to send them to England to be tried for treason, when he ordered the men not to answer any question or make known the place of their na- tivity. He threatened the retaliation of his government, and upon being exchanged procured the passage of a law to that effect; and he caused a number of British prisoners, equal to that of his own men who had been sent to Europe, to be set aside for the same fate that those should receive. The result was the safe return of his men to the United States after the close of the war." Shortly after the capture of York, Upper Canada, he joined the army under General Dearborn, as his Adjutant-General, with the rank of Colo- nel; and in the combined naval and land attack on Fort George, May 27th, 1813, was in command of the advance,

ketry, the line was formed on the beach, below an abrupt elevation of ten or twelve feet held by 1,500 of the enemy. He was repulsed at the first onslaught, but finally carried the position by a vigorous rally, and pushed on to Fort George, which was abandoned by the enemy after they had attached slow matches to the magazines. One of these exploding, he was thrown from his horse by a flying piece of timber, and severely injured. Two officers snatched away in time the matches from the other magazines, while he with his own hands tore the British flag from its staff. In the autumn of 1813 he commanded in the advance of Wilkinson's descent of the St. Lawrence, in the operations directed against Montreal, " but which was abandoned on wholly insufficient grounds, at a time when the place could have been easily captured and the campaign closed with honor." In the opening of 1814 he was made a Brigadier- General, and established a camp of instruction at Buffalo, New York, where he introduced the French system of tactics, and put them in practice from April to July, "with such success that the three brigades and the battalion of artillery under him were as thoroughly instructed as is requisite for all the purposes of war." On the following July 13th his and Ripley's brigades, with Hindman's artil- lery, crossed the Niagara river, captured Fort Erie and a part of its garrison, and the next day advanced upon Chip- pewa, skirmishing the entire distance to the point occupied by General Riall, and on the 5th succeeding in repulsing the enemy and driving them beyond the river. Twenty days later was fought the battle of Lundy's Lane, or Bridge- water, near Niagara Falls, in which he had two horses killed under him and was twice severely wounded; lis wound of the left shoulder, especially, was critical, and his recovery painful and slow, and when completed his arm was left partially disabled. Before operations were resumed on the Canada frontier the treaty of peace was concluded, and he then was offered, and declined, a seat in the Cabinet as Secretary of War, and was promoted to the rank of Major- General. After assisting in the reduction of the army to a peace establishment, he visited Europe in a military and diplomatic capacity; and, arriving in France shortly after the battle of Waterloo, enjoyed the great advantage of con- sultation and intercourse with many of the leading captains who had fought under Napoleon. After the peace of 1815 he made several needed contributions to American military literature; and his "General Regulations for the Army " supplied at the time a great desideratum, and contains much useful information for the garrison and field. The " Infantry Tactics," from the French, and published under a resolu- tion of Congress in 1835, " is the basis of that department of military knowledge in this country." He also aided materially in the preparation of other works of a similar kind, and wielded an able pen in various departments of literature. In the hostilities of 1832 against the Sacs and Foxes, which were terminated by the battle of Bad Axe, he

Engraved by & Teel. Paguestrotyped by E Guramy

Winfield Scott

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was an active and prominent participant. On the passage of his troops to Chicago the cholera attacked them with great severity, and for the time utterly prostrated the com- mand; and again, on his arrival at the Mississippi, he en- countered the same scourge in the army under General Atkinson. In the same year occurred the Nullification troubles in South Carolina, foreshadowing an unwelcome collision between the authorities of that State and of the United States. "Great prudence, tact, self-restraint and delicacy were called for on the part of the chief military man commanding at that crisis the forces of the general government in the harbor of Charleston. Boldness, de- cision, energy, so valuable in their effect at other times, might then have precipitated a result fatal to the peace of the country. The qualities actually required by the situa- tion were conspicuously displayed by Winfield Scott." During the war with the Seminoles in Florida, which began in 1835, he was present for a short time at the scene of action in the Indian territory, was then called to the Creek country, and from there was ordered before a court of inquiry to answer for the failure of the campaigns in the Creek country and in Florida. The finding of the court was, without qualification, in his favor. During the time of the Cherokee troubles, in 1838-which arose from the policy adopted by the United States government, and the nature of the attitude necessarily assumed-his personal and official influence was ably and considerately exerted to in- duce the incensed Indians to submit to the dictates of their masters, abandon their grounds in Georgia and remove to the banks of the Arkansas. At the time of the Canadian rebellion, which developed into the " Patriot War of 1837," he was called upon to prevent the outbreak of a fresh con- flict that would have been a violation of treaties, and in defiance of international law, between Great Britain and the United States; and eventually accomplished his difficult mission in a most efficient and honorable manner. In the spring of 1839, while actual hostilities were impending be- tween the State of Maine and the Province of New Bruns- wick, owing to a bitter dispute about their respective boun- dary lines, he arrived at Portland, Maine, in the character of a pacificator, and at once reopened communications with Major-General Sir John Harvey, the Lieutenant-Governor, who, through his earnest efforts, assisted him in smoothing the way to a reconciliation with Governor Fairfield, and in establishing a temporary convention between the State and the province. The whole question and matter of dispute were then referred to Washington, where the difficulty was finally settled by the treaty arranged in 1842 between Web- ster and Ashburton. He had in the meantime, by the death of General Macomb, become Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the United States. After the capture of Monterey, September, 1846, he was assigned to the chief command of the army in Mexico, and decided to direct an army upon the capital of the republic, with Vera Cruz as the base line. March 9th, 1847, his 12,000 men landed safely at their

destination, and at once the city was invested from shore to shore. The mortar battery opened on the 22d, and the siege pieces on the 24th, and after receiving nearly 7,000 missiles, fired day and night, the city and the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa capitulated on the 26th, and on the 29th the garrison of 5,000 men marched out of the city and grounded their arms. April 8th the march toward Jalapa was begun, and on the 17th the army was in front and on the flank of the mountain position of Cerro Gordo, while Santa Anna, with an army of double the numerical strength of the Americans, occupied the fortifications. His order, on that occasion, begins : "The enemy's whole line of intrench- ments and batteries will be attacked in front, and at the same time turned, early in the day, to-morrow, probably before ten o'clock. A. M."; and " the order that directed what was to be done, became, after it was done, the narra- tive of the performance." The enemy was driven from every point of his line, and, following in pursuit, the American army captured Jalapa April 19th, Perote on the 22d, and Puebla May 15th, where it remained, drilling and awaiting reinforcements, till August 7th. He had always opposed the policy of occupying an armed frontier line, either the Rio Grande or the Sierra Madre, and had desig- nated the base line of Vera Cruz, and the line of operations from that place to the city of Mexico. For the preparatory measure of the campaign, whatever its plan should be, he, as the commanding General of the army at Washington, had proposed to the administration that the new troops should be assembled at convenient and healthful points within the United States, there to be organized and dis- ciplined, and suggested that the new line could not be placed upon the Rio Grande earlier than September. The proposal, however, met with ridicule and rejection, but time vindicated it with exactness, and brought its convinc- ing testimony of bitter experience to honor his slighted wisdom. " The army was delayed at Puebla to do there what should have been done at home beforchand ; the sick- ness and losses upon both Taylor's and Scott's lines were excessively increased by the unfitted state of the new troops for the field; and Santa Anna had time to create a new army, and to fortify the capital." Up to the time of his arrival in Mexico there was no law to punish offences com- mitted by Americans upon Mexicans, and by Mexicans upon Americans. Congress had adjourned without pro- viding for the difficulty, the most flagrant crimes passed by unpunished, and terrible barbarities were continually oc- curring. The discipline of the army also was in peril, and daily its morale was being undermined by the state of anarchy in which it existed. To meet and correct this state of affairs he issued, at Tampico, in February, his "General Order, No. 20," which specificd the classes of crimes and offences hitherto unprovided for, deduced a code of laws from the articles of war and the general crim- inal jurisprudence of the United States, and cstablished tribunals under the name of military commissions. August

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7th-Ioth the divisions were set in motion from Puebla along the national road, the whole force numbering 10,740 men, the advance of the army coming in view of Mexico at the latter date. The road from Puebla was defended by the fortified mound El Peñon, which, it was decided, could not be attacked with any desirable degree of success ; while for reasons deemed sufficient the route by Mexicalcingo also was declined. He then ordered an examination through General Worth, to ascertain whether a possibly practicable route could be found or made around lakes Chalso and Xachimilco. A way being found, a detour was made around the lakes to the southern avenue of the city, the Acapulco road; and the last division of the army with- drew from before El Peñon on the 16th, up to which time it was supposed that the initial action would take place at the mound. " The detour was a stroke of strategy which had long been premeditated as a likelihood by the general, and as such imparted to his staff." After the capture of Contreras and Cherubusco, August 20th, the capital lay at the mercy of the invaders, but it was deemed advisable to afford an opportunity for negotiations, through the peace commissioner, Mr. Trist, who was present for that purpose. On the 21st a truce was asked by Santa Anna, an armistice entered into, and negotiations carried on, which were con- tinued until September 7th, when another series of opera- tions was begun on the southwest avenue, the Toluca road. On the morning of September 14th, after the most gallant and heroic exertions on the part of the American officers and soldiers, and valiant and stubborn resistance in many cases on the part of the enemy, the army passed into the conquered city, Quitman's division leading into the Grand Plaza and running up the United States flag on the national palace. At nine A. M. he also rode into the square amid the wildest enthusiasm. " Mexico was humiliated and cast down. Her 32,000 soldiers had disappeared, and her lines of fortifications were silent and abandoned." There was afterward some street-fighting, and firing upon the troops from the buildings, on the part of disbanded soldiers, re- leased criminals and the street beggars; but these futile reprisals were suppressed completely before nightfall. Order was then established, and a contribution levied on the city of $150,000 for the army, two-thirds of which sum he remitted to the United States as a fund for the creation and erection of military asylums. Taxes to raise revenue for the support of the troops were laid, the sphere of the military commission was extended and defined, and a civil organization created under the protection of the troops, who were spread over various parts of the country to give it an order and security which it had long ceased to enjoy; " all which made the presence of the American army in Mexico not the scourge that invading and victorious forces gen- erally are, but acceptable and a blessing to the people of the country, whose best citizens saw its withdrawal approaching with regret." The treaty of Guadaloupe-Hidalgo, negoti- ated by Mr. Trist, was signed March 2d, 1848, and Mexico

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The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 105

Author: Robson, Charles, ed; Galaxy Publishing Company, publisher Publication date: 1877 Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy publishing company Number of Pages: 924

Author: Robson, Charles, ed; Galaxy Publishing Company, publisher
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy publishing company
Number of Pages: 924