The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 25

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

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ENDRICKSON, HON. CHARLES DUBOIS, Member of the New Jersey Assembly, was born at Middletown, Monmouth county, New Jersey, July 2d, 1844, and is the oldest living son of William H. and Elizabeth E. (Woodward) IIen- drickson, of the same place. He is of the sixth generation to reside upon the property now in the possession of the family; his ancestors being among the first settlers of Monmouth county, and conspicuous during the war of the Revolution for their loyalty and patriotism, taking high rank in the military service, and being distinguished for bravery and devotion to the cause of independence. Ile received a rudimentary education at the distriet school-house erected by his father upon his farm near the old homestead, and which he presented to the district. IIe subsequently passed two years in the Collegiate Institute, at Matawan, New Jersey, and completed his education by a three years' course at the Lawrenceville High School, in Mercer county, in the same State. After leaving school he returned home and remained upon the farm with his parents until his marriage. In the autumn of 1865, with his wife, he made an extended tour, of over three months, through the Atlantic and Gulf States and a portion of the West, visiting many of the prominent cities and places of interest, including nearly all the important battle-fields of the civil war, which had then just concluded, by this means obtaining a personal knowl- edge of the people, and valuable information concerning the country, together with the results of the civil conflict.

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Upon returning to New Jersey, he superintended the erec- tion of his family residence, which is built upon the high- lands-on a portion of the estate-overlooking Raritan bay, the Atlantic ocean, Long and Staten islands, New York harbor, etc., etc., and possessing an extended inland view, being one of the most beautiful locations on the coast. This house, with about two hundred acres of land, has been the means of attaching him to a country life, and to the occupa- tion of an agriculturalist. For three years he conducted the farm in person, but subsequently leased it, although maintaining a general supervision over the operations as managed by his tenant. At an early age he became much interested in the political movements of the day, and labored actively and enthusiastically for the candidates of the Demo- cratic party. Although frequently solicited by his friends, he steadily declined office until the fall of 1874, when he was induced to allow his name to be presented in the Demo- cratic convention as a candidate for the Assembly, receiving the unanimous nomination. The Republican party declined to present a candidate in opposition, and his name was placed upon both tickets, and in the election he received nearly the entire vote of the district. In the Legislature of 1874 the Democratic party was in the ascendency. He was made Chairman of the Committee on Militia, a member of the joint Committee on the Sinking Fund, and of the House Committee on Stationery, besides serving on several impor- tant special committees. He was renominated in October, 1875, for the Assembly, by the Democratic party, without opposition. The Republicans making a nomination this year, after an active canvass he was re-elected by a majority of 844, carrying every township in the district. Upon the organization of the Legislature he was chosen the Demo- cratic caucus nominee for Speaker of the House of Assem- bly, and received the entire Democratic vote for that posi- tion ; but, as the Republicans had the majority, he failed to be elected. He was, however, a prominent member of the Centennial Legislature, and the recognized leader of the Democratic party, being frequently called to the speaker's chair, which position he filled with great credit and satisfac- tion, exhibiting much executive ability. He served as a member of the Joint Committee on Treasurer's Accounts, and of the House Committees on Education and the Cen- tennial, and besides was a member of several special com- mittees. When but sixteen years of age he became con- nected with the State Militia, and served for a number of years in the ranks. In 1873 he was commissioned a Lieu- tenant in Company G, 3d Regiment, National Guards of the tinued until the sen or partner retired in 1873. The firm of State of New Jersey, and retained that position until April 26th, 1876, when he was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and appointed aide-de-camp upon the staff of his excellency, Governor Joseph D. Bedle, which appointment he continues to hold. In 1873 he was appointed, by Governor Parker, one of the commissioners to examine into the condition of the deaf, dumb, blind and feeble-minded inhabitants of the State, and was reappointed in 1874, by the same executive,

one of the commissioners to select sites upon which to erect institutions for the care of these different classes of defec- tives, and upon the organization of the commission was chosen its Secretary. In 1868 he was elected a Director of the New York & Long Branch Railroad Company, and after serving for three years in that capacity, resigned. He gave to that enterprise almost his entire attention for many months, contributing greatly to its success. At present he is a Director and Secretary of the Middletown & Keyport Turnpike Company, and is connected with other minor as- sociations, and is regarded as an energetic, enterprising citizen, aiding and encouraging the advancement and pro- motion of all public improvements tending to the develop- ment of the section in which he resides. He was married, October 12th, 1865, to Elizabeth McChesney Rue, at Penn's Manor, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, by the Rev. David R. Frazer. He has but one child living, Mary Cor- lies Hendrickson, who is now (1876) six years of age. A son of Senator William H. Hendrickson, whose biography appears immediately before this, there is presented the rather remarkable coincidence of father and son occupying seats in the same Legislature during the same session.

ORHEES, JOHN N., Lawyer, of Flemington, was born, March 4th, 1835, near White House, Hun- terdon county, New Jersey, and is a son of the late Judge Peter E. Vorhees. He received his preparatory education at the grammar-school of Rutgers College, New Brunswick, and matricu- lated at the latter institution in 1850. Having finished the full curriculum of four years, he graduated with the class of 1854, which included, among others, Revs. James Le Fevre and Andrew P. Thompson, of the Reformed Dutch Church, and James S. Atkin, a prominent member of the New Jersey bar, now practising at Trenton. Immediately after leaving college he entered the law office of Hon. Alexander Wurts, at Flemington, where he prepared for the bar, to which he was admitted in 1857. IIe at once entered upon the practice of his profession in his native town, White House, where he remained until 1871, when he removed to Flemington, and became associated with Hon. John T. Bird, under the firm-name of Bird & Vorhees. In the following year Chester Van Syckel was added to the firm, which became Bird, Vorhees & Van Syckel, and con- Vorhees & Van Syckel practised for about a year, when they dissolved, and the former associated with him his former student, George H. Large, and this connection still continues. They control a large and remunerative prac- tice, and among their clients may be named the Easton & Amboy Railroad Company, and the Delaware & Bound Brook & High Bridge Railroad Company. The senior partner has been connected with a number of criminal

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cases, noticeable among which are the Rottenburg rioters and Brenner murder cases, in both of which he secured ac- quittal in the face of the most damaging testimony. He was appointed, by Governor Randolph, Prosecutor of the Pleas, but resigned after holding the appointment a year. His political creed is that of the Democracy, and he has done his party good service, as a speaker at mass meetings and other gatherings. He is, however, no politician; nor has he ever sought or held any office of a political character.

HEBAUD, REV. LEO, Clergyman and Pastor of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Elizabeth, was born, 1839, in the city of New York, and is a son of Edward and Emma (Boisaubin) The- baud. His father was a merchant in New York city, of which he was a native. His mother was of Jersey birth. He was thoroughly educated at the Roman Catholic College, known by the name of Septon Hall, at South Orange, New Jersey, and being intended for the priesthood, repaired to Italy, where he pursued his theologi- cal studies at Genoa, and was ordained by Archbishop Charvaz, of Genoa, in 1867. After his return to the United States, he officiated for five years as assistant in St. John's Roman Catholic Church, at Paterson, and was then trans- ferred to Elizabeth, where he took charge of St. Mary's Church, which is the oldest congregation in Elizabeth, having been founded in 1844 by Rev. Isaac P. Howell, whose biographical sketch will be found elsewhere in this volume. Since his connection with this parish, he has by his earnest labor succeeded in liquidating a debt of $12,000, in which the church building was involved. He is a man of marked ability, an earnest and ready speaker, beloved by his congregation and much respected by his fellow-townsmen.

ARD, HON. FRANK M., of Newton, Senator from Sussex county, was born, November 26th, 1830, in Dutchess county, New York, and is a son of Edward and Annie (Pray) Ward, both also natives of New York State. His father was both a farmer and a manufacturer in Dutchess county. Young Ward received his rudimentary education at the Armenia Seminary in his native county, and subse- quently attended an academical institution in Poughkeepsie. Leaving school at an early age, he learned the trade of a millwright, and in 1849 removed to Fond du Lac, Wiscon- sin, where he commenced operations in that line of business on his own account. IIe remained there for some time, and then returned to New York, and sojourned at Deposit, New York, until 1855, when he finally located in Sussex county, New Jersey, which he has since made his perma- nent home, except during 1859 and 1860, when he was en-

gaged in the milling business at Watkins, Schuyler county, New York, and while there was one of the supervisors of the township of Jefferson, in that county. Since his resi- dence in Sussex county, he has been the recipient of several offices in the gift of the people, and has served his constitu- ents to their entire satisfaction. In the autumn of 1865 he was elected by the Democratic party to represent the first district of Sussex in the lower house of the State Legisla- ture, and served as such during the years 1866-67. He was re-elected to the same, and filled that position in 1872- 73. In 1876 he was nominated by the same party as can- didate for the State Senate, from Sussex county, and also elected. He is a Director of the South Mountain & Boston Railroad Company, which is now in course of construction.

AWRENCE, CAPTAIN JAMES, of the United States Navy, was born, October Ist, 1781, at Bur- lington, New Jersey, and was the son of James Lawrence, a prominent attorney-at-law of that city. From his earliest years he had a predilec- tion for a seafaring life, which his friends could not conquer. When sixteen years old he received a mid- shipman's warrant, In the war with Tripoli he accom- panied Decatur in the hazardous exploit of destroying the frigate " Philadelphia," which had been captured by that power. He remained several years on the Mediterranean station, and commanded successively the " Vixen," "Wasp," "Argus " and " Hornet." While cruising in the latter vessel off the capes of the Delaware, he fell in with the British sloop-of-war " Peacock," and captured her after an action of only fifteen minutes. This battle occurred Febru- ary 24th, 1813. On his return to port he was received with great distinction, and was promoted to the rank of Port Captain. In the spring of the same year he was ordered to the command of the frigate " Chesapeake," then fitting out at Boston. While lying in the roads, nearly ready for sea, the British frigate " Shannon," then commanded by Captain Brooke, appeared off the harbor and made signals expressing a wish to meet him in combat. Although laboring under many disadvantages, with a new and undisciplined crew, he yet determined to accept the challenge. He put to sea on the morning of the first day of June, when the " Shannon" bore away. At four o'clock the " Chesapeake " hauled up and fired a gun, and the " Shannon " hove to. A short time after the action commenced Captain Lawrence was wounded in the leg, but he continued on deck giving the necessary orders as if nothing had happened. Then the anchor of the " Chesapeake " caught in one of the ports of the enemy's vessel, and in consequence of this mishap the " Chesapeake " could not bring her guns to bear upon the foe. As Captain Lawrence was being carried below in consequence of receiving a second and a mortal wound in the intestines, he uttered the memorable words, " Don't

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give up the ship." But after the action had continued [ case before a jury, lie was always heard with fixed attention eleven minutes the enemy boarded and captured the for lively interest. He was lucid in arranging and express- " Chesapeake." The loss in killed and wounded on the latter was one hundred and forty-six, while the " Shannon " suffered a loss of eighty-six. The "Shannon," with her prize, made sail for Halifax, which port was reached in a short timc. Captain Lawrence lingered four days in ex- treme pain, and then died. The British, recognizing him as a true hero, though a fallen one, buried him with all the honors of war. His body, together with that of Lieutenant Ludlow, were subsequently removed by Captain G. Crown- inshield, at his own expense, first to Salem, Massachusetts, and thence removed to New York. Captain Lawrence married the daughter of M. Montaudevert, a merchant of New York. He died June 6th, 1813. His widow survived him, with two children. ing his thoughts, and well knew how to seize hold of strong points in a case, and when he pleased to touch the chords of feeling, he seldom failed to produce an impression. Ilis style of thought and expression was simple and natural. He was no indifferent spectator of the great political questions, the contests of which have ever divided the wise and good men of the nation. With the majority of the New Jersey bar he belonged to the Washingtonian school, and exerted all his energies in what he honestly believed to be the true interests of his country. He possessed an enlarged acquaint- ance with the principal departments of literature and science, but experimental philosophy and natural history had been his favorite studies. Moreover, he was a good anatomist and no mean chemist, and had a natural fondness for mechanical pursuits ; indeed, the products of his skill would not have disgraced the most experienced artists. He was distin- guished by a high sense of moral principle and great kind- ness of heart, and he cherished a warm attachment for his brethren of the New Jersey bar. He entertained a profound regard for the Christian religion, and being fully convinced of its truth, he was not backward in expressing his sense of its importance, and seldom could the scoff of infidelity pass unrebuked in his presence. He married a daughter of Robert Stockton, of Princeton, New Jersey. He died March 12th, 1838.

OHNSON, THOMAS P., Lawyer, late of Prince- ton, was born, about 1761, in New Jersey, and was the second son of William and Ruth (Potts) Johnson. His father was a native of Ireland, who emigrated to this country in the year 1750, and marricd Ruth, sister of Stacy Potts, of Trenton ; both parents were members of the Society of Friends. When he was quite young, the family removed to Charles- ton, South Carolina, where his father established a flourish- ing boarding-school, and gained much repute by his lectures on various branches of natural philosophy. His fondness for such studies seemed to have been inherited by his son, who, even in his later years, continued to turn his attention to them. His father died at the South, after a residence of some years, when his mother, with her family of five chil- dren, returned to her native State, and with the aid of her brother opened a store in Trenton. In that place Thomas was placed as an apprentice to a carpenter and joiner. After following this business for some time, he was com- pelled to abandon it, owing to his having ruptured a hlood- vessel. IIe then engaged in teaching youth in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and afterwards in Philadelphia. For this he had rare qualifications. While in Philadelphia a business house took him into partnership, and sent him to Richmond, Virginia, where the firm opened a large store. He became acquainted there with the late Chief-Justice Marshall, and often had the privilege of listening to the first lawyers of the Old Dominion. This probably led him to turn his thoughts to the bar. After a few years the loss of his store and goods by fire caused him to return to New Jersey. He took up his residence in Princeton, where he married, and entered his name as a student of law in the office of the Hon. Richard Stockton. In due time he was admitted to the bar and received his license as an attorney, three years after as a counsellor, and finally attained the rank as a serjeant-at-law. His career at the bar was a most brilliant one; whether arguing points of law, or spreading a

cKNIGHT, CHARLES, M. D., Physician and Surgeon-General of the American army during the revolutionary war, was born, October 10th, 1750, at Cranberry, New Jersey, and was the eldest son of the Rev. Charles McKnight. His family was originally from Scotland and settled in Ireland at the time of the " Ulster Plantation," at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Dr. McKnight's father was for nearly forty years a much-esteemed and highly respected clergyman of the Presbyterian church, and one of the early trustees of Princeton College. In 1777, he, then being in advanced life, having rendered himself obnoxious to the Tory party, was imprisoned by the British, who treated him with great cruelty. He died shortly after his release, New Year's day, 1778. In this connection it may be stated that a younger brother of the doctor, who was an ardent patriot and an officer of the New Jersey line, was also seized by the British and confined in one of the prison- ships in Wallabout bay, Long Island, now the site of the Brooklyn navy-yard, where he finally perished with the great army of martyrs to the cause of independence. Dr. McKnight received a first-class education, and graduated " candidatum primum" at Princeton College, in the class of 1771. He studied medicine under the celebrated Dr. Shippen, of Philadelphia. At the commencement of the revolutionary war his abilities were so marked as to procure

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him the appointment, April 11th, 1777, of " Senior Surgeon of the Flying Hospital, Middle Department." In 1780, al- though only thirty years of age, he was made Surgeon- General ; and from October Ist, 1780, until January Ist, 1782, he served as Chief Physician. The late Dr. John W. Francis, of New York, in an article printed in the American Medical and Philosophical Register, thus speaks of him in that connection : " In the discharge of the important and arduous duties of his station, his talents and indefatigable zeal were equally conspicuous. He was pre-eminently faithful in the performance of all these duties, which the perilous situation of his country required and his humanc disposition led him to undertake." After the termination of the war he removed to New York city, and was very soon afterwards appointed Professor of Surgery and Anatomy in Columbia College, New York. Dr. Francis speaks of him in this respect : " He delivered lectures on these two branches of medical science to a numerous and attentive class of students, while the profundity of his research and the acuteness of his genius gained for him the approbation of the most fastidious. In a life of constant activity, both as a practitioner and teacher, he continued until he arrived at his forty-first year, when a pulmonary affection (the re- sult of an injury received during the war) put an end to his labors and usefulness." He was distinguished, not only in this country, but also in Europe, for the successful per- formance of certain most difficult and dangerous surgical operations. President Duer, in his " Reminiscences," thus speaks of him : "Although he was eminent as a physician, he was particularly distinguished as a practical surgeon, and at the time of his death was without a rival in this branch of his profession. Gifted by nature with talents peculiarly calculated for the exercise of the important duties of a sur- geon, his edueation in an especial manner enabled him to attain the highest reputation." He published a paper in the " Memoirs of the London Medical Society," vol. iv, which attracted considerable attention abroad. He was a member of the New York State Society of the Cincinnati. He married Mrs. Litchfield, only daughter of General John Morin Scott, of New York, one of the most zealous patriots of the Revolution, a prominent lawyer and politician of those times, Secretary of the State and a delegate to the Continental Congress of 1782-83. The late John M. Scott McKnight, M. D., of New York city, was his only son. Dr. Charles Mcknight died in 1790.

NGLISHI, JAMES R., Lawyer, of Elizabeth, was born, September 27th, 1840, in Bernard town- ship, Somerset county, New Jersey, and is a son of Rev. James T. and Mary C. (Jobs) English. IIe is of Scotch-Irish and English ancestry, and some of his progenitors were the first settlers of Englishtown, Monmouth county, where the family resided

for over one hundred and fifty years. His father removed from that place to Liberty Corner, in Bernard township, when a youth, and subsequently became pastor of a Pres- byterian congregation, to whom he ministered for thirty-five years. James, the younger, received a thorough education and graduated at Princeton College. He subsequently en- tered the office of Theodore Little, at Morristown, as a student at law, where he continued until licensed as an at- torney in June, 1865. He then removed to Elizabeth, where he commenced the practice of his profession, which has been a large, successful and lucrative one. At the present time he is counsel for many corporations, including large foreign corporations doing business in New Jersey. In political creed he is a Republican, and has taken an ar- dent and laborious part in various campaigns, and has also been frequently a delegate to county and State conventions. Although frequently solicited to become a candidate for some office in the gift of the people, he has invariably de- clined the honor of a nomination. He was married, No- vember 9th, 1865, to a Miss Redford.

OODHULL, HON. GEORGE SPOFFORD, As- sociate Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jer- sey, was born in Monmouth county, near Free- hold, New Jersey. The family has been identified with that county for many years, holding a high social position and enjoying the esteem and re- spect of a very wide circle. Judge Woodhull's grandfather, Rev. John Woodhull, D. D., was an eminent divine, and for more than forty years pastor of the old Tennent Church, located about three miles from Freehold, while his father, John T. Woodhull, M. D., was for many years a skilful and leading practitioner of the county, and died in the year 1869 at the advanced age of eighty-three. His mother, née Ann Wikoff, also belonged to the same county, having been born near Manalapan. He received his early education at home, and after an exceptionally sound and thorough preliminary training, attended Princeton Academy, where he was pre- pared for Princeton College, which he entered in 1830. At the conclusion of a three years' course he gradu- ated with distinction with the class of 1833. Having made choice of the legal profession he became a student under Richard S. Field, of Princeton, and in due course was ad- mitted as an attorney in 1839. Three years later he was received as counsellor. He began practice at Frechold, where he prosecuted his profession until 1850, when he re- moved to May's Landing, Atlantic county, and there re- mained for twelve years. In the year of his removal to May's Landing he was appointed by Governor Haines, Prosecuting Attorney for Atlantie county. This office he held for fifteen years, distinguishing himself by able and faithful service, which led in a few years to his appoint- ment as Prosecuting Attorney for Cape May county also-a position which, in connection with the first, he occupied for

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The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 25

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