The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 84

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

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AYTON, HON. AARON OGDEN, Fourth Audi- tor, Treasurer, Department of the United States, late of Washington, District of Columbia, was born at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, October 4th, 1796. Ralph Dayton came from England to Boston, and thence to East Hampton, about 1650; was one of the pioneer settlers in that section of the country, and died in 1657; Jonathan Dayton, one of his descendants, removed to Elizabethtown, New Jersey, about 1720. His father, Elias Dayton, was a son of the preced- ing; while another son, Rohert Dayton, bore the same relation to the eminent jurist and statesman, Hon. William L. Dayton, late Senator in Congress from New Jersey. Elias Dayton was born in 1737; in 1759 was commissioned as lieutenant, and in 1760 as captain, in a regiment of foot of the Province of New Jersey; in 1764 he was sent in command of a military force against the Indians near De- troit. In February, 1776, he was commissioned colonel of a New Jersey regiment, and took part in the defence of Ti- conderoga, under General Schuyler. With his brigade he assisted in forming the last line of trenches at Yorktown,

wallis. At Kniphausen's invasion of New Jersey, in 1780, he was in command of the force which pursued him. In January, 1783, he was appointed a brigadier-general, on which occasion Washington sent him a letter of congratu- lation, and said he would keep his commission until he could deliver it to him in person. At the close of the war he was appointed Major-General of the Second Division of New Jersey Militia, which station he filled until his decease. He was for many years a member of the State Legislature; declined the appointment of delegate to the convention formed to frame the Constitution of the United States-an honor which, at his request, was subsequently conferred upon his eldest son, the late Jonathan Dayton- and died in 1807. Ifis father, Elias B. Dayton, who was a minor during the Revolution, distinguished himself in those troublous days as a volunteer in several expeditions, and subsequently was engaged in mercantile pursuits in Eliza- bethtown, New Jersey. His mother was a daughter of Dr. Thomas Bradbury Chandler, who was one of the most emi- nent divines of the colonial church of England, was the writer of whom it was said, hy one well able to judge, that no man in America could mend his pen. He was sent to school at a very early age, and from a small " character book," still preserved, his general standing there seems to have been unvaryingly creditable to him. His fondness for reading even in his childhood may be inferred from an incident which occurred on the occasion of his first visit to New York. Instead of indulging his curiosity, and hurry- ing out with eagerness to hehold the wonders and novelties of this bustling city, he had no sooner entered his uncle's house than he asked for a book, and sat down to its quiet perusal. When in his fifteenth year he was sufficiently ad- vanced in his studies to enter the junior class in Princeton College; and, though the youngest member in it, passed through his course with such distinction-evincing rare as- siduity and power of comprehension-as to graduate at its close, in 1813, with the highest honors. He was a member of the Cliosophic Society, before which he delivered on one occasion a noteworthy address, characterized by scholarly elegance. In the course of the year following his relin- quishment of college life, he entered on the study of law under the supervision of the late Governor Ogden, after whom he had been named. While thus engaged his con- stitution, originally strong, became seriously enfeebled by a nervous disease, from which he never entirely recovered, and which often during a great part of his life unfitted him for strong, sustained mental exertion. With short intervals of rest he continued his studies, however, until the com- pletion of his term, and the usual preparatory training, and, November 13th, 1817, was admitted to the bar of New Jersey as an attorney-at-law. In the opening of 1818, partly through health considerations, partly to judge by actual personal observations, concerning the probable ad- vantages obtainable in his profession in Ohio, he left his

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home and made a journey to that State on horseback, even- tually securing a license there as attorney and counsellor. In autumn of the same year he returned to New Jersey with the intention of settling in Cincinnati in the following spring, but was finally induced to change his mind and re- main in his native State. Ia the summer of 1319, accord- ingly, he entered upon the active practice of his profession at or near Salcm, in the western section of New Jersey. Ile possessed many natural gifts, which, backed by un- wearied diligence, eminently fitted him to attain high rank in his profession; had an acute discriminating and logical mind ; a lucid and orderly method in arranging his thoughts, and great ease and freedom in expressing them; a quick and intuitive perception of strong points in a case before him; and singular readiness in exposing the weaknesses and fallacies in the arguments and pleadings of opponents. Ilis voice was clear and strong, his cnunciation distinct and forcible, his manner earnest and impressive. By his careful reading and just thinking he was well versed in general principles of law, and happy in their application to particu- laur cases; also through his patient industry and tireless research he was enabled to illustrate and fortify his positions by all the precedents that had bearing on the question. He was not only a sound lawyer and an excellent reasoner, but also a persuasive and popular pleader, succeeding at once in securing the attention and respect of bench and bar, and in exercising due influence on the minds of the jury. At the outset of his career he rose rapidly, and, instead of the usual trying slow progress of young lawyers, secured al- most immediately an extensive and remunerative clientage. " This stimulated him. He did not confine himself to county courts and employ senior counsel to argue cases before the Supreme Court, but as soon as he became coun- sellor, in the shortest time allowed by rules, i. e., three years from time of license as attorney, argued all his cases himself." This active conduct of his cases naturally brought him into conflict with many of his more learned and experienced brethren, and became a still further incite- ment to study and ambition. In 1823 he was elected to the State Legislature, and though the youngest member of that body took an active part in many of the most important deb tes, and was occasionally opposed to William Griffith, a distinguished speaker in the House, and other learned legislators. Richard Stockton, however, advised him not to be a candidate again until he made himself master of his profession, wisely observing how many young and promis- ing men have been disastrously diverted from their studies by the fascination of political life and excitement. Upon this advice he acted, and for a time devoted himself with renewed earnestncss to professional theory and practice. But at the time of the exciting presidential contest between Jackson and Adams he once more entered ardently into the political arena, taking up arms for Jackson, who was then somewhat unpopular. The duty was committed to him by the convention of delegates held in Trenton, September Ist,

1824, of which he was the secretary, of preparing an ad- dress on the subject under discussion to the people of the State. This address, drafted entirely by himself, elicited warm encomiums from many high quarters, and extensively circulated throughout the country ; its effect was pronounced and sudden, and the State, supposed originally by all to be entirely for Adams, gave to Jackson the electoral vote. In the summer of 1825 he removed to Jersey City, and thence to New York in 1826, and in May of this year was ad- mitted to practise as counsellor-at-law in that State. He then again became a warm and open ally of Jackson, and in his cause contributed extensively to the current news- papers and journals, and delivered many addresses and speeches, extorting through his eloquence and abilities the admiration even of his bitterest adversaries. In autumn of 1828 he was nominated by the Democrats of the city and county of New York as a candidate for the Legislature, and was elected by 5,000 majority. His principal efforts centred on the subject of banking, which in the proceedings of that session occupied a very prominent place; and he was an unflinching advocate of the safety fund system, which was adopted in the face of a vehement opposition of the city banks. At the next annual election he was again regularly nominated, but the wealth of those opposing him was an important element in the defeat which followed. He was afterward appointed, by the governor and Senate, Master in Chancery, a lucrative position in such a city as New York. Ile was subsequently honored by the chancel- lor with the office of Injunction Master for the First Circuit, which included the city and county of New York, Long Island and Staten Island. This station, inferior only to that of vice-chancellor, he filled with ability and with gen- cral satisfaction to the chancellor, the bar and the com- munity at large. His state of health prohibiting a vigorous prosecution of his profession, he accepted, in 1833, the offer of a place in the Diplomatic Bureau of the Department of State, and thus virtually forever abandoned the bar. In March, 1834, he was admitted as Counsellor of the Supreme Court of the United States, and shortly after commenced the preparation of a new edition of " Laws of the United States," which was intended to include a history of legisla- tion on each subject from the establishment of the govern- ment down to the current time. The publisher, however, after having put in press a portion of this important pro- jected enterprise, not receiving the expected patronage from Congress, abandoned the further prosecution of the work, and a needed and laudable publication was lost to the country. In 1835, at the invitation of the Society of Cincinnati, of New Jersey, he delivered a eulogy on La- fayette, recently deceased; while in the Department of State he had access to a complete file of the Moniteur and other works not often seen in this country, which gave him familiar acquaintance with every important event of the patriot Frenchman's life and career. In 1806 he was made Chief Clerk of the Department of State, an office

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corresponding with the under-secretaryship of state in Great Britain. During the absence of the head of the depart- ment, he acted, by authority of the President, as Secretary of State, performing the same duties now pertaining to the Assistant Secretaryship of State. In 1837, just after his marriage, he was offered the situation of Charge d' Affaires at Bogota, but declined the appointment from domestic con- siderations. In 1838 he was placed at the head of a bureau in the Treasury Department, as Fourth Auditor, and through several varying administrations until his death filled that position, without changing or concealing his politics-his duty heing to oversee all accounts of the Navy Department. Ile was married in August, 1837, to Mary B. Tuft, of Salem, New Jersey ; and died, September 30th, 1858, of a sudden attack of apoplexy, occurring while he was on his way to his home. At his decease resolutions of respect were passed by all heads of bureaus in the Treasury Department ; also by those especially connected with the office of Fourth Auditor.

URRILL, ALEXANDER M., Lawyer, Legal Writer, late of Kearney, New Jersey, graduated in 1824 from Columbia College, with the highest honors of the class. Subsequently he entered the office of Chancellor Kent, and for several years pursued a course of legal studies under the supervision and guidance of that able and scholarly jurist. He was remarkable for his elegant precision and discrimi- nation in the use of language ; and was the author of " Cir- cumstantial Evidence," "Assignments," " Practice," and a " Law Dictionary." He also aided in compiling " Worces- ter's Dictionary," and deservedly took high rank as an au- thority on general pronunciation and definition, and on points of law requiring careful inquiry and lucid explana- tion. IIe died at Kearney, New Jersey, February 7th, 1869, aged sixty-two years.

GDEN, REV. BENJAMIN, Sixth Pastor of Hope- well Church, Pennington, New Jersey, late of Valparaiso, Indiana, was the son of John Ogden and Abigail (Bennett) Ogden. He was born in Fairfield, Cumberland county, New Jersey, Octo- ber 4th, 1797, and was educated at the College of New Jersey, from which institution he graduated in 1817. IIe early manifested a- leaning toward the church, beeame deeply interested in divinity and theological study, and was eventually one of the subjects of that wonderful work of grace under Dr. Green's presidency, which gave to the church such men as Drs. Charles Hodge, David Magie, John Maclean and Ravaad K. Rodgers, and Bishops McIlvaine and Johns. He prepared for the ministry at the

Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian church, in Princeton, in April, 1821, was licensed as a probationer by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and by the same presbytery ordained in June, 1822, at Bensalem, Bucks county, Penn- sylvania, where he labored as a missionary for one year and six months. In 1823 he was installed as pastor of the church in Lewistown, Delaware, by the Presbytery of New Castle, and in this place remained for a period of three and a half years. In the meantime the Presbytery of Lewes was formed, and November 28th, 1826, he was received from the presbytery of that place by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, when a call from Hopewell Church was placed in his hands, and by him accepted. December 5th, 1826, he was installed pastor of this church by a committee con- sisting of Dr. Samuel Miller and the Rev. Messrs. Eli F. Cooley and George S. Woodhull. In this field he labored well and wisely. Early in the summer of 1833 he called to his aid Rev. Daniel Dernelle, who began his offices by preaching a series of sermons to Christians from passages in the Fifty-first Psalm. " The word came with power. The hearts of believers were melted, backsliders returned, un- ceasing prayer was offered mingled with praise, and sinners were brought to repentance." Although it was in the midst of the harvest, there was no hindrance. The farmers rose to their work in the field at about three in the morning and closed at noon. After dining they arrived at the church in time for one service at 3 P. M., and another at 8 P. M., the intervening hours being devoted to meetings for prayer. As a fruit of this work, there was an addition to the com- munion roll of forty-seven persons. In the winter of 1837- 38 came another memorable revival, which is excellently described in an article published in The Presbyterian, signed " N. N.," dated Pennington, April 24th, 1838. On one Saturday and the following Sabbath, the church re- ceived an addition of threescore persons, fifty-eight on ex- amination and two by certificate. Of this number, twenty- nine were baptized on Saturday. " It was a pleasing spec- tacle. Those who witnessed it can never forget it. Amongst the number was an aged man who had been in the world nearly threescore and ten years. Ile, with two others, of nearly the same age, had gone into the vineyard at the eleventh hour. In this display of Divine grace, it seems as if no age nor class of people were passed by. The youngest of the number received into church fellowship was eleven years of age." On this solemn occasion he preached a touching sermon from the words, " By grace ye are saved," and in speaking of the revival, remarked, " To all other churches could we ardently wish a like stirring up of peo- ple's souls, and with might and main shall pray for so divine a result." The whole number received on profession of their faith under his ministry was one hundred and eighty- six. On the completion of his labors in this section, he re- moved to Three Rivers, Michigan, where by his preaching and example he accomplished beneficent and enduring re- sults, and thence travelled to Indiana, settling eventually at

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Valparaiso, his final place of sojourn. He was married to | favor the more vigorous prosecution of the measures recom- Emily T. Sansbury; October 15th, 1821, by whom he had ten children-four sons and six daughters-all of whom survived him. One daughter married Rev. James Greer, and another, Rev. J. G. Reiheldaffer, D. D .; one son, Thomas Spencer Ogden, entered the ministry. He was born at Pennington, January 9th, 1832, and baptized in the following May; was licensed as a probationer by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, and was ordained by the same body in the Millstone Presbyterian Church, Monmouth county, New Jersey, August 29th, 1857 ; after marrying Phoebe Elizabeth Coombs, he set sail for Corisco, Central Africa, on the fol- lowing October 5th ; in that far-off field of labor he was constantly employed in earnest Christian missionary work until the time of his decease, and there was buried after a faithful service of three years, his widow and infant child returning to this country. Of his other children there is no especial mention found in the chronicles of Hopewell Church, of Pennington. He died at Valparaiso, Indiana, January 11th, 1853.

mended by Congress." His father, Jonathan, who was then over seventy-four years of age, also served on the same committee. In the fall of 1775, when recruiting for the Continental army was begun, he was appointed Muster- Master, and assisted in the organization of the first two regiments raised in the province. At the beginning of the year 1776 Congress directed that the 3d Regiment be raiscd in New Jersey, and elected Mr. Dayton to be its Colonel. On the 23d of January, 1776, he signalized himself by fitting out at Elizabethport an expedition of three armed boats and one hundred and ten men, with which, in conjunction with a boat and forty men under Lord Sterling, he captured the British transport-ship, " Blue Mountain Valley," which lay in the lower bay of New York, loaded with supplies and necessaries for the British army. The prize was brought to Elizabethport, and a resolution of thanks to the captors passed Congress. After being retained for some time in the vicinity of New York to ward off anticipated raids from the British fleet, Colonel Dayton was in April, 1776, ordercd to march to the relief of the northern army besieging Quebec, but on his arrival at Albany, General Schuyler changed his AYTON, GENERAL ELIAS, late of Elizabeth, was born, May Ist, 1737, at Elizabethtown, and commissioned, March 19th, 1759, as a Lieutenant in the regiment of provincial troops raised in New Jersey, and known as the "Jersey Blues," which were employed in the conquest of Canada from the French. He participated in the battle on the Heights of Abraham, at the gates of Quebec, on September 13th, 1759, and was present at the surrender, five days after. In the succeeding spring he was promoted to Captain, and took part in the campaign which terminated with the sur- render of Montreal, and at the same time the ceding of the whole of Canada, with its dependencies, to the British crown. In 1764 he was sent on special service in com- mand of an expedition against the northern Indians near Detroit. A journal kept by him during the five months he passed in that wild region is still in existence, and is full of exciting interest. The objects of the expedition were accomplished, and he received official commendation for his success. After the disbandment of the provincial forces, he engaged in mercantile pursuits in his native town. But the spring of 1774 brought the tidings of British despotism in Boston, and Elizabethtown became from that time the head-quarters of the patriotic movement in New Jersey, giving impulse to the whole province. Mr. Dayton was an destination and gave him command of the Mohawk valley, where he quelled the Toryism which had been fostered by the activity of Sir John Johnson, and kept a check on the Indians of the "Six Nations " in that locality. He built Fort Schuyler, on the site of old Fort Stanwix, at Romc, and Fort Dayton, at Herkimer. In the close of the year he took part in the defence of Ticonderoga and Mount Inde- pendence, after which his regiment was returned to New Jersey, and on reaching Morristown was brigaded with the other New Jersey Continentals under General Maxwell, They reached the province in the darkest hour of the patriot cause, almost the whole State being in the possession of the enemy. After much skirmishing the Jersey Brigade reoccupied the country around Newark and Elizabethtown, shortly after the battle of Trenton. Many found their homes in ruins-houses plundered, fences gone and gardens laid waste. Colonel Dayton was among the sufferers. Ile was stationed at his native town a portion of the winter, In the campaign of the following year he commanded his regiment at the battle of the Brandywine, September 11th, 1777, the Jersey Brigade suffering severely and Colonel Dayton having a horse shot under him. At the battle of Germantown, October 4th, 1777, he had another horse killed under him while engaged near the corner of the famous Chew's house in the village. Although the result Alderman of the town, and became active in determining of the battle was not favorable to the Americans, they in- the people to stand by the Bostonians. In June, 1774, the flicted the greater loss upon the enemy, the New Jersey patriots met to extend sympathy, and adopted resolutions to regiments making famous their title, " The Jersey Brigade." In the winter of 1777-78 he was again posted at Elizabeth- town and put in supervision of the secret service for General Washington, getting information of the enemy's condition and movements. In June, 1778, when the British evacuated urge the country to stand firmly united, and inviting pro- vincial conventions to assemble speedily to appoint dele- gates to a general Congress. In December he was chosen at a meeting of the Town Freeholders, to be a member of the "Committee of Correspondence and Observation, to , Philadelphia and retired across New Jersey, Colonel Dayton

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was with the force detached under General Lafayette to harass and impede them in their march. The British were so severely pressed that they turned and gave battle at Monmouth, June 28th, in which engagement the New Jer- sey Continentals and militia rendered most valuable service. While the New Jersey Brigade was stationed at Elizabeth and Newark, in February, 1779, a night attack was made on the former place by the 33d and 42d British regiments, who succeeded in burning some buildings, including the academy ; but daybreak revealing their numbers, they were at once attacked by Colonel Dayton's regiment with por- tions of two others, driven into the mud marshes, and forced to retreat thoroughly demoralized. In June, 1779, the Jersey Brigade marched in General Sullivan's army into northern Pennsylvania and western New York, to punish the Indian confederacy of the Six Nations, who had been the cause of the massacre of Wyoming and other terrible outrages. Colonel Dayton was engaged in the battle on August 29th, near Elmira, New York, when these Indians, under Brant, Butler and Middleton, with a Tory force under Sir John Johnson, were defeated and routed. The troops then overran the country, penetrating as far west as the Genesee valley. The houses and crops were destroyed and lands laid waste. The Indians never recovered from the severe chastising which they received. In October General Sullivan's troops were recalled. During the severe winter of 1779-80, General Washington, with the main army, lay at Morristown, with the Jersey Brigade in the ad- vance posts from Rahway to above Newark. The frozen rivers and arms of the bays enabling troops to cross them necessitated extraordinary vigilance. Colonel Dayton par- ticipated in an attack, January 25th, made by 2,500 men, in an effort to capture the 1,200 British stationed on Staten Island. Sleds were used in crossing, and the troops occu- pied the heights on the island, but were so impeded in their movements by the snow, which was " four to six feet deep," that they failed to accomplish their object. The British re- taliated by repeated invasions of Jersey during January and February, and in one of these the court-house at Eliza- beth was burned, and also the Presbyterian church, of which Colonel Dayton was a Trustee. In the campaign of 1780 the British made their last important effort in New Jersey. On the night of June 6th an expedition of over 6,000 of the flower of the British army, including the Coldstream Guards, cavalry, flying artillery, and Hessians, under General Knyphausen, landed at Elizabethport, proposing to march upon Washington's main army at Morristown. Colonel Dayton commanded the post of Elizabethtown, from which they encountered the first opposition, his skirmish line mor- tally wounding the general of their advance division before they entered the town. The alarm signals brought out militia to Colonel Dayton's support, but he fell back skir- mishing before the superior force of the enemy to a position behind Connecticut Farms village, where he effected a junc- tion with the other portions of the Jersey Brigade. The

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The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 84

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