The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 119

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

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Princeton is a small town, or rather has but a small num- ber of houses in the most compact part. . . . . Trenton is spread over a considerable space of ground. There is only one small meeting-house and one church in this town. I therefore conclude that the people are not much disposed to attend public worship, for the two houses, I presume, are not sufficient to hold one-third of the inhabitants." He died July 23d, 1823, aged eighty-one years, in the fifty- second year of his ministry. His oldest son, Judge Eph- raim Cutler, of Warren, Washington county, Ohio, who died July 8th, 1853, was a remarkable man, and was hon- ored in the Ohio Constitutional Convention as the successful leader of the opposition to an attempt to introduce slavery into that State, an attempt which at one time seemed sure of triumph. " Thus the name of Cutler is an honored one in the history of the great West and Northwest, and is still most worthily borne by William P. Cutler, the son of Eph- raim, who still resides on the goodly acres which consti-

tuted his patrimony." The foregoing sketch is valuable as a part of the present volume on account of the insight which it affords into the early condition of many parts of the State, and into the history of a scheme for the development of the. West in which New Jersey manifested a deep and active interest.

ANKIN, WILLIAM, of Newark, was born, in December, 1787, in Nova Scotia. His family was of Scotch extraction, his father having emigrated from Scotland. When he was still a child, his parents removed to Albany, New York, where he was educated, and whence, be- fore he was out of his teens, he went to Elizabeth, New Jersey, to learn the trade of a hatter. In 1812, having learned his trade, and learned it well, he removed to Newark and set up hatting there on his own account, conducting his business with an energy and industry and prudence that soon made it both large and profitable. In 1831 he took his son-in-law, Peter S. Duryce, into partnership with him, and the firm had a successful career for many years. He retired from the firm in 1845, the business being con- tinued by Mr. Duryee and his partners until about the year 1871. In 1836, when Newark was proclaimed a city, he was elected an Alderman in the first City Council. He was also Vice-President of the Mechanics' Insurance Com- pany in Newark. His reputation as a business man and a citizen was high. Although a Republican in politics, and a man of political convictions, so that he could pro- mote the public good, he cared nothing for party. He was married early in life to Abigail Ogden, of Elizabeth, whose family were old residents of that place. He died at his home in Newark, December 15th, 1869.

KINNER, D. M., Assistant-Surgeon in the United States Navy, of Newark, New Jersey, upon passing the necessary examination, was appointed in September, 1861 .. He then served one month on the receiving-ship "North Carolina," and six months upon the frigate "Sabine." During that time the lost " Vermont " was found, which vessel had left Boston for Port Royal, but encountering a heavy gale when but a few days out, lost anchor, sails and rudder, and drifted about at the mercy of the winds and waves until found by the "Sabine," when she was assisted in shipping a temporary rudder, finally reaching her destina- tion in safety. He was about one year on the sloop-of- war " Vincennes," attached to the West Gulf Squadron, and was then ordered to duty with the army besieging Port . Hudson, and there, after the surrender, placed in charge of the General Hospital. Early in August, 1863, he was ordered to the United States steamer "Calhoun." This

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vessel was Admiral Farragut's flag-ship in the attack upon Fort Powell, situated at the entrance from Mississippi Sound into Mobile Bay. In April, 1864, the "Calhoun " being ordered to New Orleans for repairs, he was per- mitted to return to the North. In June, 1864, he was ordered to the Naval Academy, then located at Newport, Rhode Island, and there remained until he resigned, in May, 1865.

ABE, HON. RUDOLPH F., Lawyer and Speaker of the State Ilouse of Representatives in the session of 1877, was born in Germany in 1841. He received a classical education in his native country, from which, at the age of fifteen, he emi- grated to the United States, settling in New York eity, where he engaged at first in mercantile pursuits, pur- suing them until 1862, when he began the study of law in the office of Connable & Elliott. Subsequently he entered the Columbia Law School, from which he graduated in 1869, and was admitted to the bar of New York, at which he has since practised, although his residence for the last thirteen or fourteen years has been in Hoboken, New Jersey. For a time he was one of the proprietors of the Hudson County Journal, published in Hoboken. His practice in the New York courts is large and general, extending to all branches of the profession. He is a lawyer of decided abil- ity, and of equal versatility, the latter quality, so far from dim- inishing or diluting the former, serving rather to strengthen and enrich it. For some years he has been the junior member of the law firm of Browne & Rabe. In politics he is a Democrat, staunch and true, yet fair and dispassionate. Though a strong partisan, he is an honorable one. In 1873, on his return from a visit to Europe, he was elected to the New Jersey Assembly, in which he is now serving his fourth consecutive term. His quality as a legislator is sufficiently disclosed in the fact that, besides having been a member of all the more important committees, lie has been Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, and of the Committee on Conimerce and Navigation, and, still more amply, in the organization of the Assembly in 1877, when, there being a party tie, thirty Democrats to thirty Republicans, he was elected Speaker, after a struggle of two days, terminated by his receiving the votes of a number of Republicans, in addition to those of all the Democrats. It is pleasant to be able to record that this mark of confidence on the part of his political opponents has been justified by the uniform and manifest impartiality of his rulings, which have been ac- cepted with satisfaction by both parties alike. The oppor- tunity was a rare one, and he has proved himself equal to it, thereby at once confirming and enlarging his reputation. Ilenceforward the way to high honors will be apt to be open to him, but should it not be, he will probably know how to open it. Young, able, well educated, well informed, a man of character as well as of intellect, he is not likely,

in the pursuit of a just ambition, to succumb to obstacles or surrender to adversaries. Ile is married to Miss Lusby, of New Jersey.

ATIIERS, THOMAS B., of Woodbury, was horn, December 15th, 1831, at Germantown, Pennsyl- vania, his father, Thomas Mathers, being then a resident of Philadelphia, where the family had been old residents. He received his education in the public schools of Philadelphia, after leaving which he engaged with his uncle in stock-dealing and butchery in that city. When he was nineteen years of age he went to Woodbury, Gloucester county, New Jersey, where his parents had gone some years before, and there established himself in the business of a drover and butcher, which he carried on with such industry, judgment and thrift, that he soon became a prominent man in the community. Ilis business qualifications, personal energy, and public spirit won for him the confidence of his fellow-citizens to such a degree that in 1869, having previously filled several local offices, he was elected by a large majority Sheriff of Gloucester county, and, so acceptable was his discharge of the office, re-elected three times in succession. The sheriff- alty is an office that tries the mettle of a man as thoroughly as any other civil office whatever, insomuch that one who comes out of it with general applause may pretty safely be taken for a man of courage and sense as well as of integ- rity; and in this point of view his successive re-elections to the office speak much more significantly than any ordinary series of re-elections could have done. They attest the public sense not merely of his business capacity and execu- tive vigor, but of his manhood and his probity. In 1875 the Republican party, of which he is a staunch member, nominated him for the office of State Senator, and elected him by the full vote of the party in the district. Ilis term in the Senate is still unexpired, but he has served long enough to show that he is an able, faithful and intelligent legislator. Ile is at present a member of the Committee on Commerce; of the Committee on Printing, and of the Com- mittee on Engrossed Bills. His constituents and liis col- leagues alike hold him in high esteem as a Senator. As a man and a citizen he has the warm regards of all who know him. He was married in 1853 to Rebecca Graves, of Glassborough, who died November 22d, IS73.

ODGE, REV. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, Minister and Author, was born in Pennsylvania, July 18th, 1823, and is the son of Professor Charles Hodge, of Princeton, the eminent theo- logian and author. Ile graduated at the College of New Jersey in 1841. Three years later he became a tutor in thic institution, and held that position

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until 1846. He graduated at the Princeton Theological confined himself to advice alone, being always ready to back his public-spirited schemes with his own capital. The Vincentown National Bank, of which, in 1864, he was elected President, was created through his exertions, and Seminary in 1847, and subsequently went to Allahabad, India, as a missionary, under the auspices of the Presby. terian Board of Missions, remaining there and laboring with much fidelity and success until 1850. Returning to | by the liberal aid of his means; the Camden & Burlington this country, he became the pastor of a church at Notting- ham, Maryland, in 1851. Four years later he accepted a call to Fredericksburg, Virginia; in 1861, one to Wilkes- barre, Pennsylvania; and in 1866, one to Allegheny City. Two years previously, in 1864, he was appointed Professor of Didactic, Historical and Polemic Theology in the Theo- logical Seminary in Allegheny City. He published "Outlines of Theology," New York, 1860; translated into Welsh, 1863; "The Atonement," 1867; "Commentary on the Confession of Faith," 1869; and " Presbyterian Doctrine Briefly Stated," 1869.

County Railroad, now a section of the United Railways of New Jersey Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, was strongly urged by him, and was in part built with his money ; the Vincentown Branch of this line was almost wholly his work; and the St. Mary's River Timber Company and the Vincentown Marl Company were likewise mainly created by his effort. Of all of these corporations he has from the i outset taken a leading part in the direction, his business ability being exercised in their guidance, as his formulative ability was exercised in their foundation. Of the Morris Canal Company. and of other equally important corporate organizations of the State, he is also a Director, his adminis- trative and executive talent naturally bringing him to the front in all business enterprises with which he becomes con- nected. During the late war he served for eighteen months as an Aide-de-Camp on Governor Olden's staff, being during this period Adjutant-General, and Master of Military Trans- portation. He married, May 18th, 1832, Emeline S. Bishop, of Burlington county, New Jersey.

RICK, GENERAL JOHN STOCKTON, of Vin- centown, was born at the old Irick homestead, in North Hampton (now known as South Hampton) township, Burlington county, New Jersey, August 4th, ISII. His father, William Irick, was a native of New Jersey, a farmer, and also a sur- veyor and scrivener. His mother was Margaret Stockton, a member of the eminent Stockton family of New Jersey. His early education was received at the common schools of his native county, and was completed at the well-known RICK, HON. HENRY J., of Vincentown, son of the preceding, was born in South Hampton town- ship, March 13th, IS33. His early education was received at a select school in the immediate vi- cinity of his home ; he was subsequently, 1844-49, a student at Treemount Seminary, Morristown, where among his classmates was the present Governor of Pennsylvania, John F. Hartranft, and in 1849-51 concluded his education at the Freehold, New Jersey, Institute. For three years after leaving the institute he was employed upon his father's farm ; then moved to and took charge of the homestead farm, where he remained until 1863; was for several years resident in Vincentown while engaged in milling, and has latterly resided upon one of the several farms owned by the family near that town. Like his father, he has since early manhood been prominent in politics. Joining the Whig party upon attaining his majority, he worked and voted with that organization until the Republi- can party was formed, and he has since continued an earnest supporter of the newer political falth, In the fall of 1862 he was elected to the lower house of the State Legislature from the old Fourth District of Burlington county by a majority of thirty five; was re-elected in 1863 by a majority of one hundred and ninety, and again in 1864 by a majority of one hundred and sixty. During his three years in the House, he served upon a number of important committees, and in 1864 was one of the Special Committee appointed to academical institute at Burlington, of which John Gum- merie was principal. When twenty years of age he began farming upon his own account, and throughout his life he has always taken an active interest in agricultural affairs. In early manhood he identified himself with and became an earnest worker in the Whig party ; and since the foundation of the Republican party he has been no less active in the service of that organization. For a number of years he held the position of chosen freeholder, relinquishing this in 1847, when he was elected a member of the State Assembly. In 1848, and again in 1849. he was re-elected to the As- sembly, and during the three years that he remained in office-serving on the finance and other important com- mittees-he manifested a quite remarkable legislative ability. Although never again permitting his name to be put in nomination for a public elective office, he has continued to take a zealous interest in the government of the State, and has exercised a potent influence in moulding and directing its policy. With an enlightened comprehension of the necessity for developing the great natural resources of the commonwealth, and with a clear, well-balanced mind, capable of adapting means to ends, and of adjusting practice to theory, he has for years been prominent in advancing all measures tending to the public good, his intimate acquaint- ance with the leading men of the State enabling him to place his suggestions in such position and in such shape as to assure their speedily taking form in action. Nor has he | adjust the dead lock in the Legislature. In 1870 he was

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nominated as State Senator from Burlington county, and | was elected by a majority of one hundred and fifty-five, running very considerably ahead of his ticket. In 1871, and again in 1872, he was re-elected. In the Senate, as in the House, he was appointed a member of important com- mittees, serving on the Judiciary, Engrossed Bills as Chair- man, Education, and Soldiers' Orphans' IIomes. He also served as Chairman of the Committee on Railroads at the time of the very serious difficulty between the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and the Hamilton Land and Improve- ment Company. In local enterprises he has taken a promi- nent part, and at present he is a Director and Secretary and Treasurer of the Vincentown Railroad Company, a Director of the Vincentown Loan Association, and Secretary and Treasurer of the Vincentown Marl Company. In 1862 he married Harriet R. Clement, a niece of ex-Senator John H. Roberts, of Camden county, New Jersey.

RAKE, LEWIS, M. D., Physician, of Rahway, was born, August 26th, 1803, in Middlesex county, New Jersey, and is a son of the late Reuben and Marion (Piatt) Drake, both of whom were natives of New Jersey. His father was a descendant of one of the Drake brothers, who, according to a family tradition, was a connection of the famous navigator, Sir Francis Drake, and who came to America about the year 1660. On first leaving home for school, Dr. Drake went to Basking Ridge, where he entered Dr. Brownley's grammar school. A few months subsequently Dr. Brownley received a eall to take a professorship in Rutgers College, which he accepted. Thereupon Lewis Drake left the academy and soon after went to Amherst, Massachusetts, and entered the grammar school of that place. At the expiration of two terms he returned home and took lessons in Latin and Greek of a minister residing not far away from his father's residence. In a few months this preceptor sickened and died, whereupon his pupil decided to proceed no further in this course of study, but to begin at once a thorough prepa- ration for the medical profession. For this purpose he placed himself under the direction of Dr. Taylor, of New Brunswick, in whose office he pursued his studies for about eighteen months. He then went to Philadelphia and placed himself under the tuition of Dr. Samuel Jackson, who was at that time Professor of the Practice of Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania. Ile likewise attended three separate courses of lectures at that institution, from which he graduated in the spring of 1829 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Returning to New Jersey, he located at first at Woodbridge, where he commenced the practice of his profession, but only remained there a short time; and finally settled at Rahway, where he has since discharged his professional duties, covering a period of forty-seven years, and is the oldest resident practitioner of medicine in

Union county. Ile took an active part, in the years 1855 and 1856, in causing the passage of an act by the Legisla- ture whereby the mill dams on the Rahway river, within the city limits, were removed, as it was shown conclusively that they were the cause of much sickness to the population. He was married, in 1832, to Charity S. Freeman, who chied April 28th, 1842. After a widowerhood of three years he was again united in marriage, in 1845, to Mrs. Julia Anna Martin ; she died September 2d, 1874.

LOKE, WILLIAM, the Editor of the Trenton, New Jersey, Daily and Weekly State Gazette, was born in the county of Kent, England, February 18th, 1842. His ancestry was among the most ancient and honorable yeomanry of that county, dating back, by authentic family records, to the time of the conquest. The subject of this sketch was brought to this country in 1848, the family first settling in New York city, and removing thence in 1850 to Mon- mouth county, New Jersey, where Mr. Cloke, Sr., fol- lowed the farming business for a short time. This proving neither lucrative nor eongenial, he entered into the business of a country merchant, where William as- sisted him in the capacity of clerk. When he was about seventeen years of age William began teaching a country school, and followed this occupation until 1860, when he was summarily dismissed for the aggressive and outspoken character of his abolition sentiments. In 1861 he was given entire editorial and business management of the Monmouth Herald and Inquirer, a weekly Republican journal pub- lished at Freehold, the county-seat. He conducted this paper with such vigor and ability as to attract considerable attention, and the paper immediately rose to a position of influence and authority. It was while defending the principles of the Republican party and the cause of the Union in this sphere that he attracted the notice and won the lasting friendship of the late Horace Grceley. In a letter to the Secretary of War in 1864, Mr. Greeley said : " Mr. Cloke is one of the best and most promising young men in New Jersey." The sale of this paper, a few years later, left Mr. Cloke without employment, and he went South and engaged in the culture of sea island cotton at Hilton Head. Re- turning North, he took charge, as principal, for one year, of the Freehold Academy, and the next year, the spring of 1867, was offered the position of city editor or reporter of the Trenton State Gazette, which he promptly accepted. He performed the duties of this position with such fidelity and acceptability that when the editor-in-chief, Mr. Enoch K. Borden, died, in 1871, Mr. Cloke was at once promoted to the vacant chair. In this position the force and character of his mind have had full opportunity to display themselves. From early boyhood he had had a taste and genius for

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newspaper work. When a lad at school, he drew with his | sively to paints, oils and colors ; but finding it a difficult pen and pencil an amateur newspaper, which excited the astonishment and delight of his teacher. Later he corre- sponded every week with the local press, and the whole bent of his mind seemed to be strongly and irresistibly in the direction of a journalistic career. As editor of the State Gazette, he has made a decided mark in New Jersey jour- nalism. The paper has, under his editorship, steadily and rapidly risen in public favor and in influence and character. No newspaper in New Jersey ever before exerted so wide- spread an influence upon the thought of the State. It goes to every post-office in the State, to readers in the remotest sections, and its utterances are eagerly consulted by a very large circle of devoted admirers. Mr. Cloke's editorial writings are characterized by profound sincerity, an intelli- gent and wide grasp of subjects of current interest, a mascu- line vigor of style, and by a moral earnestness which wins the confidence of honest minds. During the time that he has been editor he has been twice elected Assistant Secre- tary of the New Jersey Senate. He is emphatically the architect of his own fortune, having won his way in life entirely by his own exertions, and through the force of a vigorous mind and a strong and resolute character. He is regarded as one of the foremost editors in New Jersey, and as a rising man.

UCAS, JOHN, Manufacturing Chemist, eldest son of Thomas Lucas, and a descendant of the John Lucas of Ashburn, Derbyshire, who was the warm friend and long-time companion of Izaak Walton, was born at Stone, Staffordshire, England, No- vember 25th, 1825. After receiving a liberal education at Fieldplace Commercial Academy, near his native town, and after passing a sufficient length of time in his father's tea and general grocery establishment to deter- mine that mercantile pursuits as then obtaining in England were not to his liking, he entered upon the study of agricul- tural chemistry. This he prosecuted with much earnestness, and to his proficiency as a chemist he owes his subsequently successful business career. Previously to establishing him- self in business he made-leaving England in 1844-an extended tour of the United States and Canadas; and so well pleased was he with the former that he returned to Great Britain only to the end that he might make prepara- tions to become an American citizen. Various hindrances delayed his intended emigration, and it was not until 1849 that he was enabled. to sail. Upon his arrival in this country he selected Philadelphia as his home, and with characteristic energy immediately embarked in active busi- ness, establishing a foreign commission house, obtaining the agency of several large firms in Europe, and laying a broad foundation generally, upon which he has since built his very extensive trade. His first store was at No. 33 North Front street, his operations being confined almost exclu- Jersey has naturally caused him to feel a lively concern

matter to ascertain, through the medium of the wholesale trade, the most salable articles for the American market, he made arrangements for bringing himself into direct con- tact with consumers. . To this end he removed to a large store on Fourth street north of Arch, the centre then as now of the oil and color trade, and himself served behind the counter, being thus brought into close relations with practi- cal painters. The immediate result of his enterprising method of investigation was the discovery that a pressing need existed for a good green paint to take the place of the Paris or arsenical green, the latter not only having an in- jurious effect upon those using it, but being also deficient in body. Applying his chemical knowledge, he began a series of experiments that resulted in the discovery of an economical formula productive of the article. desired ; and pursuing his investigations in a different direction, he made valuable improvements in the machinery necessary to its manufacture. Upon the latter he has taken out letters patent. In 1852, for the purpose of enlarging his business, he took into partnership an old and experienced color manufacturer, his relation, Mr. Joseph Foster. In the same year he removed his store to No. 130 Arch street, and pur? chased a considerable tract of land, on which was a large sheet of remarkably pure- water, entirely free from linie or iron, in Camden county, New Jersey. .. Upon this tract he erected the Gibsboro' White Lead, Zinc and. Color .Works. The purity of the water enabled him to produce the beauti> ful and permanent " Swiss " and " Imperial French " greens, now so favorably known and so extensively used throughout the United States and Canadas. The perfection to which he has brought the white oxide of zinc, effected by continued and careful chemical experiment, may be understood when it is stated that the best judges of the article have pro- nounced it to be not only superior to any manufactured in this country, but fully equal to the world-renowned Vieille Montaigne Company's production. The pulp steel and Chinese blues, and primrose chrome, yellow, have super- seded the French and English makes, and are now used by all the leading manufacturers of paper-hangings in the United States. In 1857 Mr. Foster withdrew -from the firm, and the senior partner was joined by his brother, Mr. William H. Lucas. The latter, under the new arrange- ment, took charge of the salesroom and financial department generally, leaving the former at liberty to devote his undi- vided attention to the manufacturing and chemical depart- ments, an arrangement that has enabled the firm to reach and maintain its present pre-eminence in the trade. Having become, by naturalization, a citizen of the United States, Mr. Lucas has thoroughly identificd himself with his adopted country. At the outbreak of the rebellion he threw all his heart and energy into the Union cause, being instant to assist in organizing, drilling and equipping volunteers for the army. The location of his large interests in New

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The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 119

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