The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 22

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

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ILLS, ALFRED, Lawyer, of Morristown, was born, July 24th, 1827, in that town, and is a son of Lewis and Sarah ( Este) Mills, both of whom were also natives of New Jersey. His father was for a long period a merchant of Morristown. His mother was the daughter of Captain Moses Este, a soldier of the revolutionary war, and a participant in the battle of Monmouth, where he was wounded and left on the field. Captain Este was discovered by Colonel Hamilton, who was on the staff of General Washington, and who hap- pened to be riding over the field after the fight was over.

AYLOR, H. GENET, M. D., Physician, of Cam- den, was born, July 6th, 1837, at Charmantol, the residence of his uncle, General Henry J. Genet, near Troy, New York, and is the son of the late Dr. Othniel H. Taylor, who shortly after his son's birth removed to Camden, New Jersey. The latter received his rudimentary education in the primary schools, and completed the same in the Academy of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in Philadelphia. He then commenced reading medicine under his father's supervision and preceptorship, and also matriculated in the medical de- partment of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating therefrom in the spring of 1860. He immediately there- after entered upon the practice of his profession in Camden, where he continued until the outbreak of the rebellion. He entered the service in 1861 as Assistant Surgeon of the 8th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, and was in active duty in the field with the Army of the Potomac during the first

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three years of the war; and during his last eighteen months of service he was Surgeon in charge of the Medical Depart- ment of the Artillery Brigade of the 3d Corps, Army of the Potomac. On his return to civil life he resumed the prac- tice of medicine in Camden. In 1864 he was appointed a member of the Board of Enrolment, where, as Medical Ex- aminer, he served until the close of the rebellion. He is a member and Secretary of the Camden County Medical So- ciety, a member of the New Jersey Medical Society, and also of the American Medical Association. He is likewise Reporter for the New Jersey Sanitary Association, and a member of the New Jersey Academy of Medicine

BERCROMBIE, REV. RICHARD MASON, D. D., Clergyman and Rector of St. Matthew's Church, Jersey City, was born, 1822, in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is a son of the late Rev. James Abercrombie, D. D., one of the assistant ministers of the United Churches of Christ, St. Peter's and St. James', in that city. He was educated in his native city, and graduated in the depart- ment of arts in the University of Pennsylvania, July, 1840. Having resolved to devote himself to the ministry of the church, he matriculated in the General Theological Semi- nary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in New York city, and after pursuing the regular three years' course in that institution, graduated as Bachelor of Divinity in 1843; and in the same year received the degree of Master of Arts from his Alma Mater. His ministerial duties commenced, soon after his ordination, in St. Andrew's Church, Harlem, New York, where he officiated until 1849, when he accepted the rectorship of the Church of the Intercession, at Washington Heights, in the same diocese, and occupied that position until 1852. During his residence at that place he received a call to Trinity Church, Chicago, which he declined. In 1852 he received and accepted a call from St. John's Church, Clifton, Staten Island, of which he was the incum- bent four years ; and during this time his former parishioners at Washington Heights urged him to return to them once more, but he did not feel inclined to accede to their wishes. He also received, shortly afterwards, a call from Christ Church, Hartford, Connecticut, which he then declined; but upon its renewal he accepted the same, and removed there in 1856. His ministrations there were greatly blessed and he officiated until 1862, when he was stricken down with typhoid fever, and thereupon resigned his charge, hav- ing determined to recruit his health by a long vacation, during which he would indulge in travelling. His resigna- tion was accepted, and was accompanied by a substantial token from his parishioners, who in this manner testified their appreciation of his worth and services. Having re- gained his health, he accepted a call in 1863 to take charge of St. Paul's Church, Rahway, New Jersey, where he so-

journed for nine years. In acknowledgment of his merit the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on him, in 1865, by his Alma Mater, the University of Pennsylvania. In 1872 he received a call from St. Mat- thew's Church, Jersey City, which he accepted and removed thither. He found this parish in a rather precarious condi- tion, which was the result of a combination of unfortunate circumstances; one of these was the fact that the church edifice was located in the lower part of the city, while many of the parishioners had removed further up town, and the other arose from dissatisfaction with a previous rector. Dr. Abercrombie, however, began his ministry of recon- ciliation, and by means of his energy and perseverance in building up, the congregation returned to the fold, and the fruits of his labor are apparent in the fact that at present there are no sittings vacant in St. Matthew's Church. When the diocese of New Jersey was divided, a few years since, his name was prominently used as a candidate for the new see, but fortunately for his parish he was not elected. He is the President of the Hudson County Church Hospital and Home, in Magnolia avenue, Jersey City, an institution which, although under the control of the Protestant Episco- pal Church, is open for the reception of patients of all de- nominations, and is doing a good work in the community. He is also Dean of the Convocation of Jersey City, in the Diocese of Northern New Jersey. As a talented preacher he is well known in the community wherein his lot is cast, and his sermons show careful thought in their preparation, being delivered with that earnestness of manner which car- ries conviction to the hearts of his hearers of his sincerity and belief in what he says.

REEMAN, ELLIS B., A. M., M. D., Physician, of Woodbridge, was born in that town, June 18th, 1807, and is a son of Jonathan and Phobe (Bar- ron) Freeman, his father being engaged in agri- cultural pursuits. He obtained his preliminary education at the academy in his native town, and in 1825 entered Princeton College, from which institution he graduated in the class of 1827. He then commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Matthias Freeman, an old and em- inent practitioner of Woodbridge, and also attended a thrce. years' course at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, graduating from that institution in the spring of 1831. During the following summer, while the Camden & Amboy Railroad was in process of construction, there was considerable sickness among the laborers on the road, and he was requested to go to Amboy, which request he com- plicd with, and practised his profession there until the au- tumn of that year. IIe then returned to Woodbridge and opened an office, where he has since continued to reside, and has the control of an extensive medical patronage. Ile is a member of the Middlesex County Medical Society, and

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has filled the offices of Treasurer and President of that body. adjudicated after he became connected with the matter as He is one of the Trustees of the " Barron Library," to be counsel. He is at present the legal adviser of the Wells- boro' Fire Insurance Company, as also for several building loan associations, and other corporations ; and is one of the Board of Directors of the Somerset County Bank. He is highly respected by his fellow-townsmen, as well as by his brethren at the bar. In political faith he is an earnest Democrat, and has done that party good service in several sharply-contested campaigns, but he is no office-seeker, nor has he ever held any public position, except being con- nected with the School Board and the Town Council. In 1867 he was honored by receiving from Princeton College the degree of Master of Arts. He was married in 1868 to Miss Van Deveer, of Rocky Hill. constructed in Woodbridge from an endowment fund of fifty thousand dollars, bequeathed for that purpose by the late Thomas Barron, of Woodbridge. For more than twenty years past he has been President of the Board of Trustees of the First Presbyterian Church of Woodbridge, which is one of the oldest religious societies in the country. During the revolutionary war, its pastor, the Rev. Hazel Roe, D. D., was taken prisoner by the British, and carried to Staten Island. Dr. Freeman was married in 1834 to Martha, daughter of Samuel Edgar, of Woodbridge. For three successive years, viz., 1858, 1859 and 1860, he was a member of the Legislature of New Jersey, and for four years just past a member of the Board of Chosen Free- holders of the County of Middlesex.

"REEMAN, SAMUEL E., M. D., son of the pre- ceding, is a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city, where he re- ceived his diploma in 1858, and has since con- stantly resided in Woodbridge, engaged in the practice of medicine. During the two adminis- trations of President Lincoln, and also during a portion of President Grant's, he was Postmaster of Woodbridge. He was married, 1866, to Kate F. Randolph, of New York city, who died in January, 1873.

ARTINE, JOHN D., Lawyer, was born, 1836, near Princeton, New Jersey. He received a good education, and graduated at the Lawrence- ville High School in 1858. For several years thereafter he was engaged in teaching school, and in 1861 commenced the study of law in the office of J. F. Hageman, of Princeton. He was licensed to prac- tise law in 1865, and immediately thereafter removed to Somerville, where he opened a law office and speedily ac- quired reputation and practice ; and his business has con- tinued to increase until it now has attained a prominence second to none in this section of the State. He is regarded not only as an excellent counsellor, but an eloquent and able advocate; and, in his addresses before the jury or the court, seldom neglects any point in the cases which are confided to him, besides being ready to detect any weakness or defect in his opponent's argument. He practises in all the courts, and in all the branches of the profession ; and during the past ten years has managed some of the most important and intricate cases which have been heard in the courts of his county; noticeably, the Vanarsdale murder case, the Vanderveer will case, and the long-contested water-right case of Ten Eyck vs. Runk, which was finally

ERHUNE, WILLIAM L., Lawyer, of Matawan, New Jersey, Master and Examiner in Chancery, and Supreme Court Commissioner of New Jersey. He is also the Notary Public of the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank, in Matawan, the Counsel and one of the Directors of that institution. His legal practice extends to the counties of Monmouth and Middlesex, in which he has been actively engaged for the past thirty years. Mr. Terhune is a graduate of Rutgers College ; studied law with the late IIon. James S. Nevins ; was married in 1843 to Margaret, daughter of William Little, former president of the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank, of Middletown Point. His father, the Hon. John Terhune, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, is still living.

MITH, CHARLES MCKNIGHT, M. D., Physi- cian, late of Perth Amboy, was born, September 29th, 1803, at Haverstraw, Rockland county, New York, and was a son of Samuel Smith, an attorney and counsellor-at-law. On his mother's side he was the grandson of Dr. Charles McKnight, from whom he was named, and whose biographical sketch ap- pears elsewhere in this volume. He received an excellent education, and having chosen the medical profession for his future career, became a student in the office of Dr. Corneli- son, of Haverstraw, whom he selected as his preceptor. He also matriculated in the New York College of Medicine, from which he graduated with honor, April 9th, 1827. . IIe at once entered upon the practice of medicine, selecting as his field of operations the county of St. Mary, in the State of Maryland, but he remained there only a short time, as the prospects were far from encouraging. Returning northward he located in Perth Amboy, where he continued during the remainder of his life. His practice was an extensive one, being confined not merely to the town of Perth Amboy, but

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extending across the river to South Amboy and its neigh- borhood, while he had frequent calls from points on Staten Island; and in those days, there being no established fer- ries, he underwent considerable exposure in crossing those waters. He took a great interest in political matters, and although he differed from the majority which obtained in his town, yet he was several times elected to different po. sitions in its municipal government, without any solicitation on his part to become a candidate. During the famous Harrison campaign of 1840 he took an active part in favor of the " hero of Tippecanoe," and his services were recog- nized by the new President, who conferred on him the Col- lectorship of Customs for the District of Perth Amboy, then regarded as one of the best Federal offices in the State. He retained this position for hut one-half the period named in his commission, owing to the disorganization of the party, produced by the return of President Tyler to the Demo- cratic party. At a later period, however, on the accession of General Taylor to the Presidency, Dr. Smith was again appointed to the same office, which he held for the full period of four years. Subsequent to the inauguration of General Grant, in 1869, he was a third time the recipient of the same office, and held it until the expiration of his commission, in 1873, when it was renewed for another term of four years. But his health, which until this period had been unimpaired, now began to fail; and the disorder that threatened him became more and more developed, and not- withstanding he had the best medical skill all was unavail- ing. For many years he held the position of Health Officer of the city. In religious belief he was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and for thirty years a vestry- man of St. Peter's Church. He died, February 3d, 1874, universally lamented by his fellow-townsmen and friends.

ARD, WILLIAM S., A. B., A. M., M. D., of New- ark, was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey, July 13th, 1821. His parents, Eleazer D. and Eliza- beth (Dodd) Ward, were also natives of New Jersey. His father, the late Dr. Ward, of Bloom- field, was for many years successfully engaged in his profession in that place. After a thorough preparatory course at an excellent academy in Bloomfield, William S. Ward entered Princeton College in 1838, from which he graduated in the class of 1841, receiving in due course the degrees of A. B. and A. M. Selecting the medical profes- sion, he commenced his studies, in 1846, under the guidance of his father, and matriculated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of New York, from which he graduated, after a thorough course of three years, in the spring of 1849. Locating himself in Newark, he immediately entercd upon the active duties of his profession, where he has been con- stantly and successfully engaged since that period. He has at different times served as District Physician, in which

position he has given entire satisfaction to the community. During the operation of the Ward Hospital, in Newark, he was connected with its staff as Assistant Surgeon, and shortly after the battle of the Wilderness was detailed for duty at Washington, District of Columbia, where he per- formed efficient service. Since entering upon the practice of medicine he has devoted his entire time to the interests of his profession, and enjoys the esteem of his professional brethren as well as the respect of the community at large in which he has successfully labored for nearly thirty years. He is a member of the Essex Medical Union. He was married, May 10th, 1850, to Elizabeth H. Stitt, of Phila- delphia.

ABRISKIE, HON. ABRAHAM O., LL. D., Lawyer, Jurist and late Chancellor of New Jersey, was born, June 10th, 1807, in the then village of Greenbush, opposite Albany, in the State of New York, and when four years old removed with his parents to Millstone, New Jersey. He received a thorough academical education, and sub- sequently matriculated at Nassau Hall, Princeton, in 1823, becoming a member of the junior class when only sixteen years of age. He remained in college for two years only, and graduated with the class of 1825. In the same year he commenced the study of law in the office of James S. Green, of Princeton, and was licensed as an attorney in November, 1828; being admitted as counsellor- at-law in 1831. At first he selected Newark as the point where he would practise his profession; but after a resi- d'ence of less than two years he removed to Hackensack, where he sojourned for nineteen years. Here he was thrown amid a quiet, slow agricultural population, where he gradually matured his intellectual powers, and gathered strength which lasted during life. He gained the confi- dence of the people, and they in turn trusted him as they had never trusted any one before. In 1838 he was ap- pointed Surrogate of Bergen County, and five years later was reappointed, holding that position for a period of ten years. During his incumbency he not only accurately learned how to frame the statements of executors and ad- ministrators, but he acquired a full knowledge of the his- tory of ecclesiastical law, as pertaining to the estates of de- cedents, which made his counsels valuable in his after life. During the period of his administration of this office he evinced a method and accuracy which distinguished his life, and the discipline and care about minute details that he acquired in this position lasted him ever afterward; and there was no man in the profession, in litigated causes in the Orphans' Court or Prerogative Court, whose services were more valuable than his. In 1842 he was appointed Prosecutor of the Pleas for Bergen County, and in this po- sition he became master of the principles of the criminal law, so that no one who was really guilty of its infraction

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ever went unpunished for lack of effort on his part. He position. He was finally nominated by Governor Ward, in 1866, and confirmed by the Senate, and formally became Chancellor, May Ist, 1866. The Senate stood eleven Re- publicans to ten Democrats; of the Republicans one was opposed to him because he was opposed to the great monopoly, the Camden & Amboy Railroad, and this single Republican member was also a member of that corporation. But a young member of the Democratic side of the house, who had in times gone by been the recipient of great kind- nesses from his elder brother in the law, voted for his con- firmation, and so turned the scales. He performed the arduous duties of Chancellor with a promptness which has never been surpassed by any other officer who has held that position. During his administration business had greatly increased, yet no cause was allowed to linger by reason of a want of time for his examination and decision. And these decisions betoken a positive and independent mind, mani- festing great labor and research, and have established for him an enduring fame as a jurist. About the period when the great monopoly, as it was justly termed, was about to cease its arrogant demands, it was rumored that it sought an extension of twenty years, commencing January Ist, 1869, and much discussion prevailed throughout the State. At this juncture a public meeting was held in Jersey City to oppose the renewal of these monopoly privileges, when Chancellor Zabriskie made a speech taking strong ground against the renewal, and declared that, rather than have so odious a contract perpetuated, the people should, with pick- axe in hand, tear up the rails. For this expression of public indignation he earned the soubriquet of "Captain of the Pickaxe Guard." But the independent portion of the com- munity sustained his earnest declaration, and the State has been relieved of the obnoxious restriction. He repeated his speech before a committee of the Legislature at Trenton, and the monopoly extension scheme was dead. It was the crowning act of his life to defeat this giant corporation, and the result is seen already in the free railroad law of the State. He was in all respects a most successful man. His prac- tice was large and lucrative, whereby he was enahled to gain an ample competence. As a lawyer his learning was great and varied, as already detailed; and of his ability as a judge all his compeers bear full witness. He was re- garded by husiness men as eminently sagacious in the man- agement of affairs; and in these particulars not only was his advice sought for, but he was chosen to fill many positions of trust in various institutions. He was, as already stated, one of the directors of the New Jersey Railroad, and held the same position in a bank, a life insurance and trust com- pany, and in the Jersey City Gas Company; also as a Trustee of the old Jersey City Savings Bank, besides in sundry other institutions. When engaged in business he gave his whole attention to the matter before him; and when his labors were over he sought recreation. During his life he was somewhat of a traveller, and more than once was so especially noted for his success in practice of this kind that he was frequently called upon, at later dates, both to prosecute and defend in criminal causes. During his residence in Bergen county he was retained as counsel in many cases before the civil courts, and especially in those involving questions of titles to lands. By this means he became thoroughly familiar with the duties of a practical surveyor, and also with the proprietary history of New Jersey, and understood every patent in the old " Field Book of Bergen County," and the common lands assigned to each patent. He was regarded by the legal fraternity as a most formidable adversary in all those cases where the title to land was involved. Having been a practitioner in the Supreme Court for some years, during which period he had been noted for his thorough research and capacity for patient labor, he was named Reporter for that tribunal, and held that position until 1855. He removed from Hacken- sack in 1849, and selected Jersey City, in the county of Hudson, as his future, and, as it proved, his final resi- dence. To the people of this county he was no stranger, for Hudson county had been until 1840 a portion of the county of Bergen, of which latter Hackensack was the shire town. In 1850, the year after he had removed, he was nominated for the State Senate and elected, his term of service including the years 1851, 1852 and 1853. While a member of that body he took an important part in legisla- tion, and came in personal contact with many leading men in the State, which proved of great benefit to him after- wards. He was also one of the committee of citizens who framed the voluminous charter of Jersey City, passed March 18th, 1851, some of its provisions being drafted by him. During his senatorial career he was the means of having a good and sufficient lien law and also the "wharf act " passed. He was the author of the " Long Dock charter," which became a law in February, 1856, by which means the company bearing that cognomen were enabled to pro- vide the necessary means to bring the New York & Erie Railroad to their new terminus in Jersey City. During the same year he was elected a director of the New Jersey Railroad & Transportation Company, and held that position until he was made Chancellor, ten years afterwards. He soon became master of the situation, thoroughly conversant with all the affairs of the company, not only as regarded the road, but the rolling stock, the workshops and the multi- , farious data of so large a concern. He was nominated, in 1859, by Governor Newell for the office of Chancellor of the State, but as the Senate was politically opposed to the governor, they declined to confirm him, and the memorable struggle commenced which left the State for a year without a chancellor. At the next election Charles S. Olden was chosen Governor, but again the Senate was opposed to him ; and as he deemed that the interests of the State required that his name should not be submitted to the Senate-al- though he was his first choice-another was named for the visited the old world. Here again his methodical spirit

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asserted itself; for, not only was the day of his departure fixed upon, but all the minutiæ of his travels abroad were predetermined before he left his home, and the day of his return thither indicated. He also journeyed through a greater portion of the Union at various times, and he always adhered to the plan which he marked out to pursue. After his term as Chancellor expired he desired to visit the Pacific States, and in company with a friend set out upon what proved to be his last journey on earth. Together they passed from the East to the West, over the great iron highway that binds the Atlantic and Pacific shores of the imperial republic in an unbroken link, passing over the fertile fields, the boundless prairies, the extended plains, the Rocky mountains, and the dreary wastes of the great basin intervening between this rocky barrier and the Sierra Nevada, into the golden State and to the shores of the Pacific. After being impressed with the glories of the most sublime natural scenery on the continent they retraced their steps, and on their homeward way he was suddenly stricken by a sickness which proved mortal. He had been reared in the doctrines of the Reformed Dutch Church, and although he had never become a communicant member of that denomination, he was essentially a Christian man. He was a most charitable man, and never wearied in doing kindnesses ; and he was also a most conscientious man, for he took pains to know his duty, and when known he faith- fully discharged it. He was a most diligent student, not only well read in law, but in history, the natural sciences, anatomy, medicine and theology; and what he studied at all was thoroughly studied. He died at Truckee, Cali- fornia, June 27th, 1873, and the news of his decease, trans- mitted by telegraph, produced a most profound impression throughout the State, calling forth eulogia upon his fame not only as a lawyer, Senator, jurist and Chancellor, but also as a private citizen, a neighbor and a friend.

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The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 22

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