The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 60

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

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ARON, REV. SAMUEL, a Baptist Clergyman, Teacher and Author, late of Mount Holly, New Jersey, was a native of New Britain, Pennsyl- vania, and of Welsh-Irish extraction. Left an orphan at the early age of six years, he was placed under the care of an uncle, upon whose farm he worked for several years, spending a portion of the winter months in a district school. Inheriting a small patrimony from his father, he entered the academy at Doylestown when about sixteen years of age, and there pursued a course of studies in the higher branches. While in his twentieth year he connected himself with the classi- cal and mathematical school at Burlington, New Jersey, as a student and assistant teacher, and subsequently, after his marriage, opened a day-school at Bridge Point, later be- coming Principal of an academy at Doylestown. In 1829 he was ordained as a minister, and became pastor of the Baptist Church at New Britain. In 1833 he took charge of the Burlington High School, holding at the same time the pastorate of the church in that place. In 1841, accept- removed thither, and after preaching about three years re- signed the pastorate, and, removing to the suburbs, founded the Treemount Seminary, which, under his judicious man- agement, became widely and favorably known throughout eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, not only for the number of its students, but for the thoroughness of the in- struction afforded them. Finding himself involved in the financial crisis of 1857, through indorsements for a friend, he gave up Treemount to his creditors, and removing to Mount Holly accepted a call to the pastorate of the Baptist Church, a position he retained till the time of his decease. In September of the same year he, in co-operation with his son, Charles Aaron, became the Principal of the Mount Holly Institute, and continued engaged in the charge of his responsible duties as educator up to the time of the brief illness which terminated an honorable and useful life. Hle was twice tendered the Presidency of the New York Cen- tral College, but on each occasion decmed it for the best to

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valuable improvements in text-books, and was admirably | of that body, holding the position until 1873, when the qualified to preside as spiritual guide, and also as tutor in the higher departments of learning. He died at Mount Holly, New Jersey, April 11th, 1865, aged sixty-five years.

company was consolidated with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He still remains upon the Board of Direction of the old organization. In 1856, upon its foundation, he was elected President of the Phillipsburg Bank-now the Phillipsburg National Bank-a position that he still holds. He was married, October 25th, 1825, to Jane Louisa, daughter of Samuel De Puy, Esq., of Milford, Pennsyl- vania. His son, Mr. Charles Sitgreaves, Jr., served with distinction during the late war as Captain in the Ist Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.

ITGREAVES, HON. CHARLES, Lawyer, Banker, Legislator, of Phillipsburg, was born, April 22d, 1803, at Easton, Pennsylvania, but has resided at Phillipsburg, New Jersey, since 1805. His father was the Hon. William Sit- greaves, a prominent citizen of that place, his mother belonging to a family of Scotch descent. His own family, proper, is English, his great-grandfather having emi- grated to this country. He was educated at Easton, and in TODDARD, JOHN F., Professor, late of Kearny, near Newark, New Jersey, was born in Green- field, Ulster county, New York, July 20th, 1825. His early years were passed upon a farm, with only such limited means of education as the com- mon school afforded. As years advanced the desire for an increased and more liberal store of knowledge grew stronger within him, and he spent several months in the academy, but at eighteen commenced teaching. Later he entered the New York State Normal School, and upon his graduation therefrom, in 1847, entered upon his life work as an educator. His fondness for mathematical science gave him a remarkable facility for clearness in teaching, and his enthusiasm won the interest of his pupils, arousing them to thought and study, and in turn fitting them for the work of teaching. He delivered a series of lectures before his normal classes and teachers' institutes, in which with great earnestness he set forth the noble and high purpose of the teacher. His remarkable success as an author is evinced by the great popularity of his series of mathematical text books-a popularity scarcely inferior to that of any other series in this country. As an enduring testimony of his love for mathematical science, lie left a fund to Rochester University, furnishing a gold medal worth one hundred dollars to the student who should pass the best examination in mathematics, provided he reached a certain absolute standard, which standard was so high that at one examination the medal was not awarded. He died at Kearny, near Newark, New Jersey, August 6th, 1873, aged forty-eight years. 1821 entered the law office of his uncle, the Hon. Samuel Sitgreaves, one of the most distinguished men of Pennsyl- vania of his time-long a leading member of Congress ; manager of the celebrated Blount impeachment case; com. missioner to settle the claims of and against England under the Jay treaty, and counsel for the United States in the John Fries case, impeached for high treason. Under the care of this eminent barrister and statesman Mr. Charles Sitgreaves had every advantage for study and for acquiring a practical knowledge of the working rules of his profes- sion. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1824, and began practice at Easton; subsequently he was ad- mitted to the bar of New Jersey, and practised in the courts of both States. Entering into politics in New Jersey, he was elected to the Assembly in 1831 and 1833. He was elected a member of the State Council in 1834; he was at one time Vice-President of that body, a position correspond- ing with that of the present Speaker of the Senate. During the years 1852-54 he was a member of the State Senate, and at this period wrote and published his " Manual of Legislative Practice and Order of Business," which was adopted by the Legislature. While in office he secured the passage of bills abolishing public executions, and making certain household goods exempt from execution. In 1864 he was elected to Congress from the Third District, and two years later was re-elected. During his Congressional ser- vice he was attached to the Committee on Military Affairs ; strongly opposed the Republican basis of reconstruction, and against that basis made one of the strongest speeches of the session. He has been repeatedly urged as a candi- date for Governor of the State. When Phillipsburg was incorporated, in 1861, he had the honor of being elected the ENRY, ALEXANDER, Pioneer and Traveller, late of Montreal, Canada, was born in New Jer- sey, in August, 1739. In 1760 he accompanied the expedition of Amherst, and was present at the reduction of Fort de Levi, near Ontario, and the surrender of Montreal. In descending the river he lost three boats, and saved his life only after great exer- first Mayor of the city. For many years he was an active member of the New Jersey State Militia, commanding, with the rank of Major, an independent uniformed battalion. Up to the time of his first election to Congress, he was Trustee of the State Normal School, from 1855 to 1864. When the Belvidere, Delaware & Lackawanna Railroad Company was organized, he was elected to the Presidency |tions by clinging to the bottom of one of them. Immediately

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after the reduction of Canada his enterprising and energetic | advocate of abolitionary measures. In 1866 he was elected spirit induced him to engage in the fur trade, which he to the Assembly by the Republicans of the Third Assen.b y District, Passaic county, serving one term. In 1872 he be- came a prominent mover in supporting the measures of the Liberal Republican party. He died in Haledon, New Jer- sey, November 4th, 1873, aged fifty-seven years. pursued for several years. In 1760 he visited the upper lakes, and during sixteen years travelled in the north- western parts of America, often an actor in these years in scenes of extreme peril and romantic adventure. In 1809 he published in New York an interesting volume of de- scription and reminiscences under the title of " Travels in Canada and the Indian Territories between the Years 1760 and 1776." He was a man of warm affections; a dauntless pioneer and hunter, and possessed an observant and inquir- ing mind.

ORMAN, SAMUEL R., A. M., M. D., of Jersey City, was born in Freehold, Monmouth county, New Jersey, May 22d, 1835, his parents being John F. T. and Francinchy (Smock) Forman, both natives of the same State. He entered Princeton College in 1851, and was graduated therefrom in 1854. The medical profession being his choice for a life career, he prosecuted his studies at the. College of Physi- cians and Surgeons, of New York, and after a full course received his diploma from that institution in 1857. Imme- diately after graduation he became attached to the Bellevue Hospital as Interne Physician, and continued so occupied for eighteen months. He then began private practice, opening his office in Hoboken, where he labored until the outbreak of the war. Desiring to contribute his part toward the maintenance of the Union, he entered the army as As- sistant Surgeon, and was appointed to duty on the supply steamers to the Gulf Squadron, serving in this direction until nearly the close of the war. Returning to private practice, he settled in Bergen, now annexed to Jersey City, where he still continues to pursue his profession, and has met with good success. He is yet a hard student, and has the reputation of a scientific man in his profession. An up- holder of the dignity of the medical practitioner, he is a working member of the Hudson County District Medical Society. He is connected with the Hudson County Church Hospital. In 1860 he was married to Mary W. Alling, of Newark, New Jersey.

SANSBURY, EDWARD A., an eminent citizen of New Jersey, late of IIaledon, New Jersey, was born in Vermont, in ISII, and after being gradu- ated at an Eastern college was for several years engaged in the editing of a newspaper. Ile sub- sequently entered upon the active practice of law in New York, and in 1856 removed to Haledon, or, as it was then called, to Oldham. Hcre he became an active and zcalous worker in the Republican party, and a staunch

EAN, JAMES, LL. D., late of Burlington, New Jersey, was a graduate of Dartmouth, in 1800, where he early attracted attention by his mas- terly attainments in various branches of positive knowledge. Ile subsequently filled the position, in Vermont University, of Professor of Mathe- matics and Natural Philosophy, branches of learning which he was eminently qualified to teach. Ile died at Burling- ton, New Jersey, January 20th, 1849, aged seventy-three years.

RANKLIN, WILLIAM, the last Royal Governor of New Jersey, son of Benjamin Franklin, the celebrated patriot, statesman and philosopher, was born in Philadelphia about 1731. In childhood he was, like his father, remarkably fond of reading, and in disposition was enter- prising and adventurous. During the progress of the French war (1744-1748) he endeavored to go to sea in a privateer, and, failing in this intention, obtained a commis- sion in the Pennsylvania forces, with which he served in one or two campaigns on the Canadian frontier, and before he had attained his twenty-first year was promoted to a Captaincy. After his return to Philadelphia he obtained official employment through the influence of his father. From 1754 to 1756 he acted as Comptroller of the General Post-office, and during part of the same period was also Clerk of the Provincial Assembly. In 1757 he accom- panied his father to London, where he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1758. In 1762, while yct in Europe, he was appointed Governor of New Jersey, to which province he returned accordingly in 1763. In the revolutionary contest he remained loyal to Great Britain, and several of his letters, containing strong expressions of Tory sentiments, having been intercepted, he had a gnard put over him, in January, 1776, to prevent his escape from Perth Amboy. He finally gave his parole that he would not leave the province, but in June of the same year issued a proclamation as Governor of New Jersey summoning a meeting of the abrogated Legislative Assembly. For this he was placed under arrest by the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, and removed to Burlington as a prisoner. He was shortly after sent to Connecticut, where he was de- tained and strictly guarded for a period extending over

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more than two years. In November, 1778, however, he | a position that he held during the three following years. In was exchanged for Mr. Mckinley, President of Delaware, who had fallen into the power of the enemy. After his liberation he remained in New York till August, 1782, when he sailed for England, in which country he continued to reside until his decease. In remuneration of his losses, the English government granted him eighteen hundred pounds, and in addition a pension of eight hundred pounds per annum. His steadfast adhesion to the royal cause led to an estrangement between him and his father, which con- tmued after the revolutionary conflict had terminated. In 1784, however, he made advances toward a reconciliation, which drew from his father the declaration that he was willing to forget as much of the past as was possible, and to look over bygone actions ; yet in 1788, in a letter to Dr. Byles, his father still speaks of existing differences and misunder- standings. In the will of Benjamin Franklin is found the following : " The part he acted against me in the late war, which is of public notoriety, will account for my leaving him no more of an estate he endeavored to deprive me of." Ilis appointment to the Governorship of New Jersey was due mainly to the friendship and kindly influence of the Earl of Bute, who had strongly recommended him to Lord IIalıfax as a deserving subject, and one worthy of confi- dence in the troublous hour of riot and rebellion. He died in England, November 17th, 1813, aged eighty-two years.

ARCALOW, CULVER, Merchant, of Somerville, New Jersey, son of William and Ann (Vorhees) Barcalow, grandson of Colonel Farrington Bar- calow, an officer in the New Jersey militia during the war of 1812, and a descendant of a Holland- ish family settled in New Jersey during the early portion of the colonial period, was born at Flemington, Hunterdon county, October 23d, 1823. His father, a chair- maker, removed his place of business to Somerville in 1825, there following his trade and at the same time keeping a hotel, the son the while attending the schools of the town. In 1833 the elder Barcalow was compelled by failing health to pass a winter in Florida. Impressed by the business op- portunities offered in the South, he returned to Somerville, had a large quantity of goods manufactured, and with these, and accompanied by his family, returned to Florida in 1835 and established himself as a grocer and general dealer in St. Augustine. His trade prospered exceedingly, amounting to more than $50,000 per year, but his health continued to decline, and during the last year of his life almost the entire charge of the business fell upon his son, then a mere lad, scarcely fourteen years old. In 1837 the establishment at St. Augustine was broken up and the family started northward; but at Charleston the elder Barcalow died. Having brought the party safely home to Somerville, the son became a clerk in a hotel in that place,

1840, the last year of his service, he took an active part in politics, being a warm supporter of Harrison. In 1841 he accepted the position of clerk in the Merchants' Hotel, New York; and here he fell in with certain members of the Shaker community, in converse with whom he became con- vinced that the raising of poultry on a large scale for the New York market might be made highly remunerative. Acting promptly upon this conviction, he returned to Somer- ville, purchased a suitable piece of ground, and erected a hennery two hundred feet long, with a glass roof and suit- ably furnished. Unfortunately the venture was not success- ful, and in the ensuing year he abandoned it altogether. After making a trip to Ohio and assisting in purchasing and bringing East a drove of horses, he accepted, in March, 1843, a position in the dry-goods establisliment of the Hon. Wil- liam G. Steele, of Somerville. This he relinquished a year later and purchased the drug store on the site of his present place of business. Of the drug trade he had no knowledge whatever, and his capital amounted to but $250. But he was quick to learn, and the Hon. George H. Brown, who had a well-founded confidence in his ability, gave him all necessary financial assistance, frequently indorsing paper for him in blank. His business flourished apace, and in 1854 he invested his surplus capital in the erection of a large dry-goods store. This he leased to Messrs. Steele & Ship- man, and upon their relinquishing it a year later, he utilized it as a book store, associating with himself for this purpose a practical book dealer, J. R. Vanslike, and placing him in charge of the establishment. Two years later, in 1857, he enlarged his operations still further. The book store was divided and the book trade confined to one side, the other side being set apart for the sale of dry goods. In this scheme he associated with himself a Mr. Lumson, an expe- rienced dry goods dealer, and, as in the book-store, placed his capital as an offset to his partner's experience. In 1859 he bought Mr. Vanslike's interest in the book firm, and in 1860 Mr. Lumson's interest in the dry-goods firm, himself managing both houses. At this time also he conducted an extensive painting business, in which he employed some twenty hands, and had the management of a large farm that he had purchased. Finding the charge of these various concerns somewhat onerous after conducting them for a year alone, he took into partnership in the dry-goods and book business Mr. J. L. Sutphen, and in 1866 Mr. W. J. L. Potter was admitted into the firm. In 1869 he retired altogether from these branches of trade. Over and above the commer- cial operations already detailed, he has taken an active in- terest in promoting local enterprises, and is a leading stock- holder in the Somerset County Bank and First National Bank of Somerville. In real estate his operations have been extensive. In 1875 he erected the fine block now occupied by the Somerville post-office, Unionist printing office, and a music store, and another block in which is his own drug store, together with various other mercantile es-

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tablishments and a fine public reading-room. All of these | he fell into the hands of the enemy at the capture of Fort buildings are lighted with gas, the only gas used in the Washington in 1776, and suffered a long and rigorous im- prisonment. In 1779 he succeeded Elias Boudinot as Commissary-General of prisoners. After the war he settled at Princeton, New Jersey, as a physician, and was also prominent for a time as a member of the State Legislature. In 1793 he took a part in the deliberations and actions of Congress, where he displayed talents of a highly commend- able nature. For ten years he officiated as Secretary of the State of New Jersey, succeeding Samuel W. Stockton in 1795, and during a period of ten years acted as President of the Bank of Trenton; and in Trenton he died, April 30th, 1826, aged seventy-seven years. Also for many years he was a Ruling Elder in the church, and distinguished for his earnest and charitable piety. town. During the late war he rendered efficient service to the government. At the first call for troops, in 1861, he raised, almost wholly at his own expense, a full company of one hundred men, and throughout the war his zealous loy- alty was altogether exemplary. In politics he was a firm Whig until the dissolution of the Whig party, and since then he has been a not less firm Republican. In 1855 he was elected Treasurer for Hunterdon county, holding the office for two years, and in 1856 he was elected a Delegate to the convention that nominated Fremont and Dayton. In 1861 he was appointed Postmaster at Somerville, holding the office for a term of ten years and discharging its. duties in a manner wholly satisfactory to the public. For several years he has had charge of the interests of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, a corporation in which he is an exten- sive stockholder, in the New Jersey Legislature. He was married, April 30th, 1845, to Catherine, daughter of the Rev. J. C. Van Dervort, of Kinderhook, New York. He still continues at the head of the drug business, having asso- ciated with him his son-in-law, G. S. Cook, and his son, J. V. Barcalow. His career, begun under such adverse cir- cumstances, yet terminating so successfully. is proof of his sound judgment and rare husiness ability, and looking back over the record of his life, he can say what can be said by but few men, that with scarcely an exception his great schemes for fortune have gone well.

EASLEY, FREDERICK, D. D., late of Eliza- bethtown, New Jersey, was formerly Provost of the University of Pennsylvania. He was a mas- terly writer on episcopacy, and on moral and metaphysical subjects, in which he exhibited much learning, studious research, and a notable manner of dealing with many of the conflicting and per- plexed questions of the day. He ever found enjoyment in the discussion of spiritual and kindred topics, and in the line of argument bearing upon the varied relations of life and matter as related to the great problem of the future, was an able and logical disputant. He died in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, November 2d, 1845, aged sixty-eight ycars.

OBESON, IION. GEORGE M., Lawyer, and ex- Secretary of the Navy, was born at Oxford Fur- nace, New Jersey, in IS29. After a thorough preliminary training, he became a student at the College of New Jersey, from which he was grad- uated in IS47. Being destined for the legal profession, he was placed as a student in the office of Chief Justice Hornblower, in Newark. After pursuing the pre- scribed course, he was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice. In 1858 he was appointed Prosecutor of the Pleas for Camden county by Governor Newell, and dis- charged the duties of this office with much zeal and fidelity. In 1867 Governor Marcus L. Ward tendered him the nom- ination as Attorney-General of the State, which he accepted, and the same being confirmed, he entered the office and served therein until President Grant, in 1869, offered him the Secretaryship of the Navy, which he accepted, and held until 1877.

LEMENT, DR. KNUT JUNGBOHIN, a Danish linguist and historian, late of Bergen, New Jersey, was born in the island of Amrom, South- ern Frisia, Denmark, December 4th, 1803. Ile was educated primarily at the universities of Kiel and Heidelberg, and in 1835 became Doctor of Philosophy. Subsequently, at the expense of the Danish government, he took a tour of three years through the British islands and the continent, and on his return to Denmark became a professor in the University of Kiel. Here he delivered courses of lectures on history, politics, economy and criticism, which attracted wide-spread atten- tion and won him great renown. He published twelve or thirteen elaborate works, historical, linguistic, critical, politi- cal, and descriptive, and, though somewhat too much in- clined to peculiar and improbable speculations in his lin-

EATTIE, JOHN, M. D., General and Physician, late of Trenton, New Jersey, son of Charles Beattie, the celebrated missionary of Nesham- iny, Pennsylvania, was a native of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and was graduated at Princeton in 1769. After studying medicine under the supervision of Dr. Rush, he entered the army as a soldier. Upon attaining the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, guistic theories, always maintained a very high reputa-

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tion as an author and scholar. He had taken an active | quickly responded to the call of duty, and remained in that part in the question of the Schleswig-Holstein duchies, and, when they were given up, emigrated to the United States, where he had resided since 1866. He died at Bergen, New Jersey, October 7th, 1873.

ONDIT, REV. AARON, late Pastor at Hanover, dicd in Morristown, New Jersey, in April, 1852, aged eighty-seven years. For a period extending over nearly forty ycars he officiated as pastor at Hanover, where his presence and pious labors were productive of great good. During this time he preached over ten thousand sermons, brought about nine or ten memorable revivals, received into his church six hundred and forty-four persons, eleven of whom became preachers, and baptized one thousand and fifty-five. Four of his sons also were ministers, one of whom, Rev. Joseph Condit, of South Hadley, died September 19th, 1847, aged forty-three years. He was a man of excellent parts, an in- defatigable spreader of gospel truths, and one that, having once decided conscientiously, pursued his way through all difficulties and over all obstacles, upheld by an abiding faith in his mission and its end. Living to a good old age, ex- emplifying in his daily life the doctrines he preached, he was venerated and beloved by young and old, not only in the immediate neighborhood where he resided, but in a very wide circle. His influence was exceptionally potent for good.

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The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 60

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