USA > New Jersey > The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century > Part 52
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was an old-line Whig, but has been an active member of the Republican party ever since its formation. He is not, how- ever, a hide-bound partisan, and consequently enjoys the respect of both parties alike. As a citizen, he is public- spirited, liberal and just. He has never sought office, but at the earnest solicitation of his political friends he has con- sented to serve the city of Newark, having been elected Alderman of the Fourth Ward, and subsequently, in Janu- ary, 1876, Mayor of the city, an office which he has ad- ministered with fidelity as well as ability, and which he still fills. He is a Director in the Newark City Bank, the Fire- man's Insurance Company of Newark, the Prudential Friendly Society, and the Newark Industrial Institute. Al- though not yet an old man, he has won, by his own energy and intelligence, all the more substantial prizes of life, crowned by the good opinion and confidence of his fellow- men. He was married in 1842 to Sarah A. Condit, of Bloomfield, New Jersey, daughter of Moses Condit, Esq.
HELPLEY, HON. EDWARD W., Lawyer and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jer- sey, was born in 1818, at Morristown, and was the only son of Dr. William A. Whelpley, a native of Massachusetts, who married a daughter of General John Dodd, of Bloomfield, father of the late dis- tinguished Amzi Dodd, formerly prosecutor of the pleas of Morris county. Dr. Whelpley, in removing from Massa- chusetts, settled first in Bloomfield, but eventually made Morristown his residence. He was a gentleman of great refinement of character and manners, and of elegant learn- ing; he died in 1828. Judge Whelpley was but ten years old at his father's death, and his mother attended carefully to the education of her son. He had a most precocious in- tellect, which he evidently inherited chiefly from his mother, whose family were noted for their superior mathematical attainments. He received his rudimentary education in his native place, and attended a school in which his grand- father had at one time been a teacher ; and he completed his studies at Princeton College, from which institution he graduated with the class of 1834, being at that time but little over sixteen years of age. Being too young to enter upon the study of the law, he passed two years in teaching school at the Mendham Academy. He then entered the office of his uncle, Amzi Dodd, and commenced his legal studies, and remained with him until his death, in 1838, when he continued his reading under Amzi Armstrong, who proved an efficient preceptor. Having attained his ma- jority, he was licensed as an attorney in May, 1839, and at once entered upon the practice of his profession in Newark, where he remained for two years. On the election of the late IIon. Jacob W. Miller to the United States Senate in 1841, he removed to Morristown and became his law part- ner, under the firm name of Miller & Whelpley; and while
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the senior member was almost constantly absent on official duties, the business was conducted solely by the junior part- ner. He soon achieved a wonderful success, and rose to eminence in his profession. He was elected in 1847 a member of the Legislature, and re-elected the following year ; and during 1848 was chosen Speaker of the House, which position he filled with marked efficiency and ability. In 1858 he was appointed, by Governor Newell, a Judge of the Supreme Court, in place of Judge Ryerson, who had resigned in consequence of ill-health. In 1860 Governor Olden selected the then chief-justice, Hon. Henry W. Green, for the post of chancellor, and elevated Judge Whelpley to the vacant Chief-Justiceship; this office he re- tained until his death. Before he became a judge, he was an earnest politician and an adherent of the Whig party until its disintegration, and then became a decided Republi- can. He was a member of the National Convention which nominated General Fremont for the Presidency, and was actively instrumental in the nomination of William L. Dayton for the Vice- Presidency. He was a most able, thorough and pains-taking lawyer, thoroughly versed in the common law. His mind seemed to be so constituted as to enable him to grasp, as if by intuition, the most intricate legal questions, and with unerring precision and certainty discern the principles by which they were solved. His in- tellect was strong, vigorous, highly cultivated, and well trained. But while these characteristics were most marked, he had admirable moral traits. He was a man of gravity ; he felt the responsibilities of life, and met them. He was no trifler. He had integrity, which, at the bar and on the bench, was beyond all suspicion. He expounded the law as he understood it, clearly, logically and firmly. This gave him his influence, and made him a safe counsellor and a good judge. In addition to his great professional learning he was also an ardent lover of general literature, a close student and a classical scholar; a genial companion and a true gentleman, whom every one respected. He was a member of the South Street Presbyterian Church of Morris- town, having formally joined that congregation about a year preceding his death. He married, in 1841, a daughter of Dr. Absalom Woodruff, of Mendham, and left a family of three daughters and one son. He died at Morristown, February 21st, 1864.
AYARD, SAMUEL JOHN, Lawyer and Littéra- teur, of Camden, was born at New Rochelle, Westchester county, New York, September 26th, 1801. His ancestors were of Huguenot descent (both paternal and maternal), having left France for America about the middle of the seventeenth century. His grandfather, John Bayard, and his father, Samuel Bayard, were born at Bohemia Manor, in the State of Delaware. John Bayard, his grandfather, was a member
from Pennsylvania of the Continental Congress, Colonel of the Ist Regiment of Cavalry of Philadelphia, and served in the army through the revolutionary war, and was afterwards Speaker of the Legislature of Pennsylvania under her first constitution. The father of Samuel J. was a lawyer, several years in practice in Philadelphia. After the negotiation of Jay's treaty with Great Britain in 1794, he was appointed by General Washington, Agent of the United States for the prosecution of American claims provided for by that treaty. On his return to the United States he resided for a few years with his father-in-law, Lewis Pintard, at New Rochelle, where Samuel J. was born. In 1806 Mr. Bayard (the father) removed to Princeton, New Jersey. Samuel J. graduated at Princeton College in 1820. He studied law with Richard Stockton and was admitted to the bar in 1823. In 1826, at the solicitation of his cousin, Commodore R. F. Stockton, he became editor of the Princeton Patriot, a newspaper which Commodore Stockton got up for political purposes. The Patriot soon became a popular and leading paper in New Jersey. Mr. Bayard in his paper urged the construction of the Delaware & Raritan Canal and a railroad across the State, four years before charters for those works were granted. He also advocated a change of the con- stitution of New Jersey, and got up a large State conven- tion, which urged the Legislature to authorize the election of delegates to a State convention to form a new constitution. But in the fall of 1827 he left the State for the West, and no change of the constitution took place until 1844. His dis- cussion of the subject in 1826, however, created a popular demand for a new constitution, and furnished the argu- ments which led to the adoption of the present excellent constitution of New Jersey. Going to Ohio in 1827, he was admitted to practise at the bar of that State. But his taste for politics excited by his experience in New Jersey soon interrupted his professional pursuits. Having attended a Democratic State Convention at Columbus, he drew the resolutions and address adopted by the convention, and thus made known his capacity for producing political effect. He was soon after invited to become the editor of a daily paper in Cincinnati, the only daily Democratic organ in the State. He conducted this paper for a year, and acquired in that time reputation and influence throughout the State. He relinquished in 1833 all the advantages of that position to engage in a real estate purchase at Seneca Falls, Seneca county, New York. At this time he was appointed, by President Jackson, and confirmed by the Senate, Secretary of the commission for running the boundary line between Mexico and the United States, but did not accept the ap- pointment. In the same year that he removed to New York, Mr. Bayard married Jane A. Dashiell, the daughter of the Rev. George Dashiell, then living near Louisville, Kentucky, though originally a distinguished clergyman of the Episcopal Church of Maryland. In 1836 Mr. Bayard was appointed, by Governor Marcy, and confirmed by the Senate of New York, a Judge of the Court of Common
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Pleas for Seneca county. Being a counsellor in New York | apt to drug their readers. We know no better specimen he was the Presiding Judge of the Court. Ile resigned this of judicious and effective writing." At the present time (1877) Mr. Bayard is a resident of the city of Camden. office after a few years' service. In 1840 he took an active part in favor of General Harrison for President. He wrote a popular biography of him, and several campaign songs for Mr. Greeley's Log-Cabin paper. In1 1849, at the instance of his New Jersey friends, he returned to that State and conducted several newspapers in the interest of the Canal OORHEES, FREDERICK, Counsellor-at Law, of Mount Holly, was born on a farm about one milc west of Blawenburgh, Somerset county, New Jersey. Ihs parents were Peter Voorhees and Janc (Schenck) Voorhees, the latter being a daughter of Captain John Schenck. Ile studied the earlier branclics of education at a common school ncar Stoutsburgh, about one mile west of his home. Pre- ferring to adopt a Icarned profession, lic 'at a compara- tively early age began the study of Latin, Rev. T. De Witt Talmadge, the popular pastor of Brooklyn, New York, being a fellow-pupil. Their instructor was Mr. Talmadge's bro- ther, Rev. James R. Talmadge, then pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church at Blawenburgh, and they continued their studies under his direction from November, 1847, until he resigned liis pastoral charge about one year thereafter. Fred. erick Voorhees then returned home and for a while took partial charge in the management of his father's farm. Re- turning to his classical studies, he placed himself under the tuition of Rev. Theodore B. Romeyn, who succeeded Mr. Talmadge in the pastorate of the Dutch Reformed Church at Blawenburgh. At this time he added the study of Greek to that of Latin. He completed his preparation for college under the instruction of Rev. J. B. Davis, then of Titusville, New Jersey, in the summer and fall of 1852, and entered the Freshman class of Princeton College at the commence- ment of its second term, in February, 1853. Soon after enter. ing college he joined the Cliosophic Society, one of the two literary institutions connected with the college. He graduated from the college in June, 1856, with an average grade on all studies of ninety-seven and nine-tenths, standing fifth with one other in a graduating class of seventy nine stu. dents. In mathematics he ranked first, and was accorded the honor of the Mathematical Oration at the College Com- mencement. Determining to follow the legal profession, he began the study of law with his brother, Peter L. Voorhees, at Camden, in June, 1856. Three years subsequently, at the June term of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey, 1859, he was licensed as an attorney-at law and solicitor in chancery. In November of that ycar he removed to Mount Holly, and took charge of the law practice of HIon. John C. Ten Eyck, who was then about leaving for Washington to take his scat as United States Senator. This trust he con- tinued to discharge until the expiration of Mr. Ten Eyck's term, in 1865, when he surrendered it to him, and then opened an office for himself in the same town. His great abilities as a lawyer and counsellor had by this time be- come generally recognized, and he found Iumself at once in and Railroad Companies, against which the anti-monopolists were waging a fierce war. He became editor of the New York Globe in 1850, and distinguished himself in advocating the compromise measures of that year. George Wilkes, then editor of the Police Gazette, which had the largest ex- change list of any paper in New York, is known to have said that Mr. Bayard's articles on the compromise were more copied in other papers than those of all the rest of the New York city papers. In 1851 he again resumed his residence in New Jersey, and wrote for almost every Demo- cratic paper in the State, sending his articles by mail. The Democratic party succeeded in carrying the State that year for the first time in ten years. In 1854 Mr. Bayard was appointed Secretary of the Camden & Amboy Railroad Company, which position he held until the Pennsylvania Railroad Company leased the works of the United Railroad and Canal Companies. He received in 1864 the Demo- cratic nomination for Congress in the First Congressional District of New Jersey, and met with the unanimous support of his party. In 1872 he was President of the straight-out Democratic Convention at Baltimore, which inaugurated the Democratic movement against Mr. Greeley's nomination. He was a prominent member of the Louisville Straight-out Convention, which nominated Charles O'Conor for Presi- dent, and drew the resolutions adopted by the convention. Mr. Bayard in 1856 published a " Life of Commodore Stockton," which Mayor Conrad (a very competent critic) pronounced the best biography in the English language, excepting only Southey's " Life of Nelson." His only son was General George D Bayard, who was killed, December 15th, 1862, in the battle of Fredericksburg. In 1873 Mr. Bayard published a life of his son, of which the late Wil- liam B. Read, literary editor of the New York World, in an extended review in that paper, writes as follows : " With- out meaning in any way to be extravagant, we express the candid judgment that this little duodecimo of but 300 pages ought to be in the hand of every American military student and of every American soldier. It is a perfect chrysolite- this short life of twenty-seven years. There is no flaw. The literary execution of the book is eminently graceful- the aged father writing about his dead boy-and nothing of the cant which makes such a life as ' Captain Vickars' so offensive. There is praise implied in a clear statement of personal experiences, but none of that doting eulogy which a parent might be pardoned for indulging in. There is a liberal use of familiar correspondence, but a strict suppres sion of those details with which surviving relatives are so
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the enjoyment of an extensive and valuable practice, which during subsequent years he has enlarged and consolidated until its proportions and character give him rank as the leader of the bar in his section of the State. He is a man of great tenacity of purpose, and when once a client has placed a cause in his hands, he may rest assured that so long as any legal resource remains it will never be given up. Many of his successes are due to this persevering pursuit of the means provided by the law for the protection of rights and property. To this marked characteristic he unites a profound knowl- edge of the principles and traditions of law, and being a forcible and prudent speaker, he commands the respectful at- tention of all the courts in which he practises and of his professional brethren. IIe has never taken any active part in politics, and is still unmarried.
EWELL, IION. WILLIAM J., Railroad Manager and Legislator, of Camden, was born in Ireland in 1835. Coming to this country at a compara- tively early age, he has become thoroughly identi- fied with its interests. On the outbreak of the war of the rebellion he felt impelled to give his services to the national cause, and was mustered into the army as Captain of the 5th New Jersey Regiment, August 28th, 1861. It became at once manifest that he was ac- tuated by true military spirit. He showed a comprehension of the necessitics of the service and promptly adapted him- self to its requirements, proving himself a disciplinarian of a high order and an invaluable support to his superior offi- cers. He participated in all the engagements in which his regiment took part down to the battle of Spottsylvania, in May, 1864, always exhibiting conspicuous courage, and the fine soldierly qualitics of ready apprehension and fertile re- source in emergencies. In the battle of Chancellorsville, Gencral Gershom Mott being wounded, Sewell, by this time Colonel of the 5th, succeeded to the command of the brigade, and, leading it forward at a critical moment, achieved one of the most brilliant successes of the war, cap. turing eight colors from the enemy and retaking the regi- mental standard of a New York regiment. His bearing throughout this most severe engagement was cxemplary, and at once placed him among the ablest and bravest soldiers of the republic. At Gettysburg he won fresh laurels. Both at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg he was wounded; in the latter battle severely, while commanding the skirmish line in front of the 3d Corps, during the attack of Longstreet in the second day's engagement. Ilis commission as Lieu . tenant-Colonel of the 5th Regiment was dated July 7th, 1862, and that as Colonel on October 2Ist following, both promotions being made on the recommendation of Colonel Starr, himself a gallant and efficient soldier. On September 30th, 1864, Colonel Sewell, who had been compelled by sickness, arising from long exposure, to temporarily leave |counties.
the service in July, was made Colonel of the 38th Regiment, then about organizing, and with it returned to the field, where he remained until the summer of 1865. He was made Brevet Brigadier-General of volunteers April 9th, 1866, " for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of Chancellorsville," and no honor was ever more worthily or justly bestowed. At the close of the war he was brevetted Major-General for meritorious services. On the election of Hon. Joel Parker as governor of the State, in 1872, General Sewell was appointed a member of his personal staff, a po- sition which he held with his army rank in accordance with a special act of the Legislature. In the same year he was elected to the State Senate from Camden, polling 5,022 votes out of a total of 7,399, and considerably increasing the pre- vious Republican majority. He took a conspicuous position in the Senate; in the session of 1874 he was Chairman of the Committees on Soldiers' Children's Home, Militia, Riparian Rights, and Centennial. As chairman of the last- named committee he was one of the first to suggest that the State and national governments be asked for direct appro- priations to the Centennial Exposition, and the first to give practical force to the suggestion by procuring from the New Jersey Legislature a subscription of $100,000 to the stock of the enterprise. In this measure he was ably supported by Governor Parker and Thomas H. Dudley, Esq. During the same session he was also a member of the Committees on Municipal Corporations, and Revision of the Laws. Re- elected in 1875, he served during the session of 1876 in the distinguished position of President of the Senate. A staunch Republican and a man of high principle, he has made for himself an enviable political record.
ARPENTER, THOMAS PRESTON, Lawyer and Judge of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, late of Camden, was born on April 19th, 1804, at Glass- boro', Gloucester county, New Jersey, where his father, Edward Carpenter, was then living and operating the glass-works now owned by the Whitneys. He was a descendant of Samuel Carpenter and Thomas Lloyd, both well-known men in the early days of Pennsylvania. His father dying when he was quite young, Mr. Carpenter spent his early life with his grandfather, at Carpenter's Landing (now Mantua). After receiving a liberal education he studied law with Judge White, of Woodbury, and was admitted as an attorney in September, 1830. On October 26th, 1838, he was appointed Prosecutor of the Pleas of Gloucester county, and took a prominent part in several very important trials, especially the' one known as the " Mercer trial " (March, 1843). On Febru- ary 5th, 1845, he was appointed, by Governor Stratton, one of the Associate Judges of the Supreme Court of the State; his circuit comprising Burlington, Camden and Gloucester On his retirement (after seven years) from the
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judgeship he devoted himself to the practice of his profes. sion, principally as a counsellor, and was eminently success- ful. At the breaking out of the rebellion he joined the Union League of Philadelphia, and gave his entire sympa- thies to the Union cause. In 1865 he was active in pro- moting the success of the Sanitary Fair, occupying as he did the position of President of the New Jersey Auxiliary. He was an earnest Christian, and in the church ( Protestant Episcopal) he always held an honored position, being for many years Vestryman, Warden and Deputy to the Diocesan and General Conventions. He was not only an able law- yer, but amidst the cares of an active practice he was thor- oughly versed in classical and general literature. He died at his home in Camden, New Jersey, on March 20th, 1876. He was greatly respected throughout the State of New Jer- sey, of which he was at the time of his death one of the best- known citizens. As a Judge of the Supreme Court he was held in high esteem by his associates, and hy the bar of the State, for his ability, learning, and for the uniform good judgment which he brought to the consideration of cases. In the counties where he presided at circuits, and which he visited during his term of office at regular periods, his genial manners and kindly intercourse with the people made him very popular. Judge Carpenter was interested and active at home in all schemes which affected the pros- perity and welfare of his town. In the church, at the bar, and in society, he was, during his life, one of the most prominent men of his native State.
KILLMAN, CHARLES A., Lawyer, of Lambert- ville, was born, December 16th, 1827, in Hope- well township, Mercer county, New Jersey. One of his paternal ancestors, Captain Skillman, came to this country from England in 1664, and as- sisted in capturing New York from the Dutch, settling afterwards on Long Island, whence a descendant of the fourth degree, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, removed to the Millstone valley in New Jersey, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits and in the vicinity of which the family has since resided. Charles entered the sophomore class of Princeton in 1845, graduating in 1848, when he immediately hegan the study of the law under William Halstead, of Trenton. IIe was admitted to the bar in 1851. In 1852 he removed to Lambertville, in which place he has since lived. His practice is extensive and profitable. In 1858 he was appointed by Governor Newell, Prosccutor of the Pleas for Hunterdon county, a position which he held for four years, performing its duties with such vigor and fidelity as to win general acceptance. Ile is solicitor for the Belvidere Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Vice-President of the Lambertville National Bank, as also its attorney, and a Director of the
Lambertville Gas Company. IIe enjoys a high reputation, not only as a lawyer and an officer, but as a man and a citizen.
EWLIN, JOHN W., Journalist, of Millville, New Jersey, son of John and Mary A. (Williams) Newlin, was born in Philadelphia, August 19th, 1833. Educated in the Philadelphia public schools, and in Anthony Bolmar's academy, Westchester, he entered the office of the West- chester Register and Examiner, subsequently known as The Village Record, as an apprentice to the trade of print- ing. He soon rose to be foreman of the paper, and after holding this position for some time, accepted an advan- tageous offer to enter the office of the Chester County Times, since styled the Chester County Republican. Here he re- mained for upwards of seven years. Upon the breaking out of war, he entered the United States volunteer army as Sergeant-Major of Battery B, Pennsylvania Artillery, being engaged in active service for some seventeen months, mainly in the Shenandoah valley. Resigning from the army, he estab- lished (in 1864) the Millville Republican, an enterprising, liberal journal, that he has since its foundation conducted with marked ability. An earnest Republican himself, his paper has been constant in maintaining the doctrines of that party, and has played an important part in securing the suc- cess of its candidates in West Jersey. He has for a number of years been prominent in educational matters; is now President of the Millville Board of Education, a position that he has acceptably filled for the past eight years, and for three years has served as Superintendent of the Board of Instruction. From 1865 to 1870, when the district was con. solidated, he was Assistant Assessor of Internal Revenue, and during the sessions of 1871-72-73-74 was Assistant Secretary of the State Senate.
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