The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 85

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

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Continentals and militia then made a stand for three hours, twice attacking the enemy and driving his advance upon the main body, but at last, after a very close action, were pushed over the Rahway river into Springfield, but pre- vented the British from following. The plans of the enemy were thwarted by the delay caused by this obstinate resist- ance, and in the afternoon they retired to Connecticut Farms, their flanks being harassed by the militia which had been put under the command of Colonel Dayton. The enemy burned the village of Connecticut Farms, where they shot the wife of Rev. Mr. Caldwell, the chaplain of Colonel Dayton's regiment, and retreated the same night, through a drenching storm, to their boats at Elizabethport. Instead of having annihilated General Washington's force and ended the rebellion, they had been thwarted and held at bay by a single brigade of Continentals, aided only by militia. This miserable failure was more than British pride thought it could bear, and the attempt to penetrate to Wash- ington's camp was renewed by the same powerful and well- organized force, with additional artillery, on the 23d of June, under direction and command of Sir Henry Clinton. On Colonel Dayton again fell the first blow. He succeeded in checking them at Connecticut Farms, and then retired to Springfield, where he was given the defence of the town with the bridges leading into it, a duty in which he greatly distinguished himself, holding the place nearly an hour against repeated assaults of the enemy and having his horse shot under him. He then rejoined the remainder of Max- well's brigade, which, with Stark's brigade, were posted on the heights in the rear of the village, under command of General Greene, with the militia on the flanks. The strength of this position, and information of the approach of troops sent out by General Washington, deterred the British from attempting further advance. After exhausting their valor by burning a score of dwellings, and the Presbyterian church in the village of Springfield, they retreated precipi- tately, receiving additional punishment by the active pursuit ordered by General Greene. They recrossed to Staten Island immediately, and never again attempted a pleasure trip into Jersey. An officer of the Coldstream Guards esti- mated the loss of the British in these two June expeditions at about five hundred officers and men. Soon after the battle of Springfield, General Maxwell's resignation was accepted by Congress, and Colonel Dayton assumed com- mand of the Jersey Brigade and held the command during the remainder of the war, although not confirmed as a Brigadier-General until January, 1783. In January, 1781, a portion of the Jersey Brigade, emboldened by the mild treatment used towards the Pennsylvania line, who had mutinied, imitated their example, and demanded the same indulgences, but Colonel Dayton's prompt action forced the surrender of all concerned. In September, 1781, the Jer- sey Brigade, under Colonel Dayton's command, landed on James river, about five miles from Williamsburgh, and took part in the campaign of the siege of Yorktown, forming the

Gaver a. Koback

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last line of trenches. He was present at the signing of the | even before his professional one, and a political career, capitulation by Lord Cornwallis, on the 19th of October. In 1782 he was in charge of the camp of prisoners at Chatham, New Jersey. On the 7th of January, 1783, he was commissioned a Brigadier-General by Congress. Gen- eral Washington wrote him upon the occasion, congratulat- ing him upon his promotion and informing him that he would keep his commission until he could have the pleasure of delivering it to him in person. The news of the cessation of hostilities was announced in the camp of the brigade April 19th, 1783, and they were discharged November 3d, 1783. General Dayton had taken part in all the battles in which the Continental Line of New Jersey had been en- gaged. After the war he was commissioned Major-General of the 2d Division New Jersey State Militia, which com- mand he held at the time of his death. Upon the formation of the New Jersey Society of the Cincinnati, General Day- ton was chosen its President, and held that office during the remainder of his life. He declined an election to Congress in 1779. In 1787 he was appointed a member of the con- vention to frame the Constitution of the United States, but favored the appointment of his son. In 1789 he was elected Recorder of Elizabethtown, and from 1796 to 1805 was Mayor of the town, and for several years a member of the Legislature of New Jersey. In private life he sustained a high reputation. He was open and generous, and scrupu- lously upright, and in manners easy, unassuming and pleasant. In person and bearing he is said to have resem- bled General Washington so strongly, that with their backs turned it was difficult to distinguish them. He was on terms of intimacy with that illustrious man, by whom he was always treated with distinguished confidence. General Lafayette was also his warm friend. General Dayton died at Elizabeth, October 22d, 1807.

OBART, HON. GARRET A., Lawyer, was born at Long Branch, Monmouth county, New Jersey, June 3d, 1844. His father, Addison W. Hobart, was a merchant. His mother's maiden name was Sophine Vandervere. The mother was a native of New Jersey and of Dutch descent, the father being from New Hampshire and of the same family with the late Bishop IIobart. Garret's education was begun in the district schools, those great foundation-builders of indi- vidual culture, and finished at Rutgers College, which he entered in 1860, graduating in the class of 1863. He studied law in the office of Socrates Tuttle, and was licensed as an attorney in 1866, and as a counsellor in 1869, in which last year he was married to E. J Tuttle, daughter of his late preceptor. Ile began the practice of his profession at Paterson in 1866, and has pursued it ever since with dili- gence and success, notwithstanding his pursuit at the same time, with equal success, of a large business career, begun

opening in 1872 with his election to the Assembly, and thenceforward advancing without a backward step, he having been re-elected the following year, when he was chosen Speaker of the Assembly, and subsequently elected to the State Senate, with a clear prospect of still greater honors in the future. During his first term in the Assem- bly he was placed on the Judiciary Committee, a recognition at the dawn of his public life which foreshadowed his up- ward course. His party affiliations are Republican, and, as befits an active member of a political society, are close and warm. He is plainly a politician of high promise. As a lawyer his practice is mainly confined to corporations, and is nearly all done quietly in his own office. He belongs to the great class of business lawyers, who in modern times have crowded their spread eagle brethren quite off the stage, wisdom of action being much more in requisition than the gift of speech. He is Receiver for the New Jersey Middle Railroad, for the Paterson & Little Falls Horse Railroad, and for the Manhattan Bleaching & Dyeing Company ; and was in 1872 appointed Counsel of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, in addition to being counsel for a number of banks and insurance companies. His first preferment in the line of his profession was his appointment as City Counsel of Paterson, an honor thrust upon him against his will, and which he shortly resigned. His aptitude for business is ex- traordinary, in respect to origination as well as despatch, assuring not only the systematic and rapid performance of his immense office work, but the success of his projects and the profit of his investments in a measure that has occa- sioned his " luck" to pass into a proverb. In his case, however, as in that of most other successful men, it is safe to say that " luck " is only a familiar name for the force of brains. Personally, he is estimable and attractive, of excel- lent habits, cheerful temper, genial manners and generous feelings.

INDLEY, JACOB, late of New Garden, New Jer- sey, was born in September, 1744. He was early in life a lover of religious inquiry, "being of an affable and communicative disposition, not will- ingly giving, nor readily taking offence; and as his natural endowments became seasoned with divine grace, he was fitted to fill with propriety the impor- tant station to which he was afterward called." His first appearance in the ministry was about the thirtieth year of his age; his communications were lively and powerful, "reaching the witness in the hearts of those to whom he ministered; and by keeping low and humble, walking in fear, and in obedience to the manifestations of duty, he grew in his gift and became an able minister of the gospel, quali- fied to divide the word aright to the several states of the people." Being well versed in the Scriptures, he was fre- quently enabled to open them with instructive clearness.

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In times of internal commotion and strife in the country he was deeply concerned; earnestly cautioning Friends, especially the young men, to watch against the delusive spirit of war, in its various appearances, so desolating in its progress and destructive to the human species ; and his labors therein were productive of salutary effects. IIe was one of those who bore a faithful testimony against the im- proper use of ardent spirits, at a time when the minds of Friends in general were less awakened to the magnitude of the evil than has since been the case. The descendants of the African race found in him a zealous advocate, their wrongs and sufferings obtaining his tender sympathy. On the day of his death he appeared in the meeting at New Garden in a lively and affecting communication, "delivered with heart tendering energy and clearness; " in the course of which he intimated an apprehension that there might be those present who would not see the light of another day ; adding, " and perhaps it may be myself." After meeting he appeared in his usual cheerful disposition ; when toward evening, by a fall from a chaise, he was suddenly deprived of life. His decease was on the 12th of June, IS14, and on the ensuing 14th he was interred in Friends' burying ground at New Garden, where a solemn meeting was held on the occasion.

HIPMAN, JEHIEL G., Lawyer, of Belvidere, son of David Shipman, of Hope, Warren county, New Jersey, was born near that place about 1820. The family is of Norman descent, its founder having been knighted by IIeury III., of England (A. D. 1258), and granted the following coat of arms : Gules on a bend argent, betwixt six etoiles, or three pellets; crest : a leopard se jant ar., spotted sa., resting his dexter paw on a ship's rudder az. ; motto : Non sibi sed orbi. The family seat was at Sarington, in Nottinghamshire. In 1635 Edward Shipman, a refugee from religious persecution, came to America in company with Hugh Peters, John Davenport and Theodore Fenwick, and settled at Say- brook, Connecticut. From him the American branches of the family are descended. J. G. Shipman's grandfather was one of the first settlers of Morristown, New Jersey, assisting in the erection of the first house built-there; three of his uncles served with credit through the revolutionary war, and another relative, James Shipman, died aboard the old Jersey prison-ship in Wallabout Bay. IIe graduated at Union College, in the class of 1842, which included also Clarkson N. Potter and William A. Beach, of the New York bar, entering soon after his graduation the law office HIPMAN, CAPTAIN WILLIAM M., Merchant, of Clinton, and brother of the subject of the fore- going sketch, was born, April 22d, 1823, near Hope, Warren county, New Jersey. Beginning his studies at the country public schools, he com- pleted his education at St. Luke's Seminary, and of William C. Morris, of Belvidere, remaining there until admitted to the bar, in 1844. Ou his admission he imme- diately began to practise, his first cause having been the celebrated Carter and Park murder case, in which he was retained by the State, the opening of the prosecution falling to him. In the performance of this part he displayed such for a short time afterward was engaged in teaching. In

ability and thoroughness in argument, and such tact and skill in management, as at once to attract the attention of the bar and the public, introducing him to a practice which, nurtured by the qualities that planted it, has grown to be one of the largest and most lucrative in the State. He has been engaged in a number of important criminal cases, among which may be mentioned the celebrated case of the Rev. J. S. Hardin, convicted and hung for wife murder, and that of the Frenchman, Peter Cucle, of Morristown, New Jersey. He practises extensively in all the courts of the State and of the United States, in one of the former of which he argued successfully, in 1861, a case of exceptional importance, involving the right of a State to tax the traffic in coal passing through it from another State. The high quality of his professional character may be inferred from the fact that he is counsel for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, the Morris Canal, the Belvidere National Bank, the Phillipsburg National Bank, and other corpora- tions. Few lawyers in the State manage so great a number of really important cases as he, particularly in railroad liti- gation and chancery practice. He is remarkable for what may be called the faculty of logical constructiveness, en- abling him with surprising ease to master and unfold all the intricacies of a case from the simple developments of the trial as it proceeds. This faculty, rare in all but the greatest lawyers, and not always possessed by them, is in itself suf- ficient to stamp him as one of the foremost members of the profession. IIe is perhaps the ablest lawyer in the State, taken in all departments of the law. Mr. Shipman is a pronounced and prominent Republican, and was for a long time a member of the Republican State Executive Commit- tee. He is held in great esteem by his party. He has never sought office, but office may be Said to have sought him, his political friends having frequently urged him to stand for the highest places in the State. As a political speaker he is extremely effective. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, of which he has been a Ruling Elder for twenty years, and during most of this period Superin- tendent or Assistant Superintendent of the Sabbath-school, and at all times a consistent and liberal supporter of school and church alike. He was married in 1845 to a daughter of W. C. Morris, Esq., of Belvidere. His son, Geo. M., is a member of the New Jersey bar, and since 1873 has been his law partner, the firm being J. G. Shipman & Son. For one year (1868) Mercer Beasly, Jr., son of Chief-Justice Beasly, was his partner.

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1846, when the mineral resources of the Wyoming and Lackawanna regions began first to be utilized, he secured an appointment with the then managers of the Lackawanna Coal and Iron Company, G. W. & S. T. Scranton. Here he remained for five years, and here gained his thorough knowledge of business that has made him successful where so many others have failed. From 1851 to 1853 he was engaged in the wholesale trade in New York, after which he established himself in Somerville, in partnership with W. G. Steele, in a general mercantile business. In 1856 the business was removed to Clinton, Hunterdon county, New Jersey, and in 1861 his partner, Mr. Steele, having been elected to Congress, Captain Shipman purchased his interest and has since continued-excepting three years dur- ing the war-the business in his own name. When war was declared he assisted General Taylor in raising recruits, making a recruiting office of his store. He received an ap- pointment from Governor Charles S. Olden to the 15th New Jersey Regiment; but owing to the enlistment of his nephew, D. E. Hicks, a gallant young soldier who was killed while charging the rebel works at Chancellorsville, with whom he had an arrangement to leave the care of his business, he was unable to accept the commission from Governor Olden. On the 2d day of May, 1863, he was ap- pointed Provost Marshal of the Third Congressional Dis- trict of New Jersey, the appointment carrying with it the rank of Captain of Cavalry. He established his head- quarters at Somerville, but at the end of a year removed to Elizabeth, the latter town, though less central than the for- mer, affording better facilities for the subsistence of troops. Until the war ended he held the position, not only to the satisfaction of the War Department, but to the satis- faction of the people of the district, the thankless duties of his office being discharged in so obviously an impartial manner as to leave no room for cavilling. His success was the more remarkable, since the people in many portions of the district had openly avowed their intentions to resist the draft, and had actually organized for this purpose. Only the knowledge that the provost marshal was a man of the utinost firmness of character, and would without hesitation use the forces at his command to maintain the authority of the government, prevented draft-riots in his district as violent as those which occurred in New York city. Early in 1864 Captain Shipman became convinced that fraudulent naval certificates of muster were being extensively circu- ULL, HENRY, a Minister of the Gospel in the Society of Friends, late of Stanford, New York, was born at Harrison's Purchase, New York, in March, 1765, but early in life removed with his parents, Tiddeman and Elizabeth Hull, to the place of his late residence. It appears, from his own . account, that he was favored with the tendering im. pressions of heavenly love very early in life ; yet, through unwatchfulness, sometimes gave way to the follies incident to youth, which brought condemnation; but by yielding lated in his district, and by calling the immediate attention of Commodore Paulding (who was then in command at the Brooklyn Navy Yard) to the fact, caused an order to be issued by him that at once put an end to their circulation in the Third District, and saved the people of the district from being defrauded, as many others were, by the sale to the township committees of these fraudulent papers. After the last draft had been made, and the quotas of the several wards and townships had been filled, a number of gentle- men, belonging variously to the several township and to the renewed visitation of love and mercy, through the

ward committees, and headed by John T. Jenkins, then postmaster of the city of New Brunswick, united in pre- senting Captain Shipman with an elegant gold watch and chain, accompanied by a very complimentary letter, ex- pressing their appreciation of the impartial manner in which the arduous duties of the office had been performed, and concluding as follows : " We ask you to accept the enclosed watch and chain as a memento of our respect for you as a gentleman of unimpeachable integrity and for the faithful and kind manner in which you have discharged the duties of your office." Coming, as this testimonial did, when the business of the provost marshal's office was practically at an end, and when the donors had no selfish ends to compass in securing the favor of the donee, its value was infinitely enhanced. Captain Shipman replied, thanking the gentle- men for the elegant and costly gift and for the kind expres- sions of personal regard for himself, disclaiming, however, that all the credit was duc to himself for the successful and impartial manner in which the business of the office had been conducted, but that quite as much was due to his as- sociates in the Board of Enrolment, Dr. Ezra M. Hunt, Commissioner, and Dr. Robert Wescott, Surgeon. Captain Shipman's official duties were discharged, as has been al- ready stated, not less satisfactorily to the War Department than to his fellow-citizens, and on the 16th of November, 1865, he received an honorable discharge from the military service of the United States. When peace was restored he inade, in company with Colonel W. Henry, an extended tour through the Southern States, with a view to purchasing property and engaging in the cultivation of cotton. Owing, however, to the still unsettled condition of affairs in the South, he abandoned this plan, and, returning to Clinton, repurchased the business that he had disposed of three years previously upon accepting the position of Provost Marshal of the Third District. In politics he was, until the forma- tion of the Republican party, a Whig; and has been, since the Republican organization came into existence, one of the most earnest of its supporters. Captain Shipman was married in 1851 to Samantha A. Furman, daughter of Moore Furman Esq., late of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

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refining operation of the Divine power upon his heart, | Tuckerton, Haddonfield, Salem Quarter, and many other he became qualified for usefulness in the church. It was places, and in almost every case were attended by glorious and lasting results. Soon after the close of the Ohio yearly meeting he was confined to his room by a painful illness ; and on the 23d of the ensuing October quietly breathed his last. In 1785 he was married to the late Sarah Hal- lock, daughter of Edward Hallock; and again, in IS14, to Sarah Cooper, of New Jersey. notably about the year 1785 that his exercises and conflict of spirit were great, and that he became impressed with the belief that he should have to stand forth as a public advocate for that cause " which is dignified by immortality, and crowned with eternal life." IIe travelled much in the ministry, in different parts of the United States and Canada; was specially and importantly identified with the growth and spread, in New Jersey, New York, Maine and New Hampshire, of Friends' societies; and, having for several years felt his mind drawn, in the love of the gospel, to pay a religious visit to Friends of Great Britain and Ire- land, embarked at New York for England in the summer of 1810. He was kindly received across the Atlantic, and visited the meetings generally; while, from certificates fur- nished him, it appears that his labors were truly acceptable and edifying to Friends in that country. While abroad he wrote an address, in gospel love, to the youth, which was extensively circulated in Europe, and afterward reprinted in his native State. Upon his return home, in IS12, his time was considerably occupied in visiting the various meetings in the east and northeast. In 1814, and subse- quently until his decease, he performed several extensive journeys within the different yearly meetings in the United States. " Not depending upon past experience, but seeking a renewed qualification for services in the church, and being careful to attend to the voice of the true Shepherd, he be- came a pillar in the church. . . . . Being quick of discern- ment in the fear of the Lord, he early bore his testimony against an unsound and spurious ministry, and the many departures from the wholesome order of society, and was zealous for the support of the good order and discipline of the church." His ministry was sound, clear and edifying; manifesting a tenderness and fervor of spirit which showed that he was deeply impressed with the doctrines that he preached. In the summer of 1834 his mind was drawn to attend the yearly meetings of Ohio and Indiana, " and his peace consisted in standing resigned to the service, notwith- standing his age and constitutional debility." Speaking of a memorable experience in New Jersey, he says in the " Memoirs": " I took passage in the steamboat, and reached Rahway, where I met Richard Hartshorne, and was greeted by him with the cordiality of true Christian friendship. I entered on the service which drew me from my home by attending the monthly meeting held at Plainfield, the day following the quarterly meeting for business, and afterward one for worship; in which meetings the cementing influ- ence of gospel love was very precious, an endearing affec- tion engaging the minds of Friends toward each other, in which they encouraged one another to press toward the mark of the prize of their high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Meetings of remarkable power and sweetness were then held (in 1833-34) at Kingwood, Hardwick, Randolph, Plainfield, Stony Brook, Trenton, Crosswicks, Burlington,

OBBINS, HON. SAMUEL A., of Burlington county, Farmer and Member of Congress from the Second District of New Jersey, was born, April 14th, 1814, in the original township of North Hampton-now known as South Hampton - Burlington county, and is a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Scroggy) Dobbins. His father was engaged in agricultural pursuits, and both his parents were natives of New Jersey. Iis maternal grandfather, Thomas Scroggy, was a soldier of the revolutionary war, and an officer under General Washington. He was with the latter at the cross- ing of the Delaware, prior to the battle of Trenton, and was a participant in that contest. He served throughout the war, and although he was several times wounded, yet re- covered and lived many years thereafter; he died in 1828, at a very advanced age. Samuel A. Dobbins received a very good education, attending both the common and pri- vate schools until he attained his majority, generally work- ing on his father's farm during the fair months of the year, and devoting the winter to study. When twenty-two years old he married and commenced farming on his own ac- count, and has ever since that time followed the avocation of a husbandman. About the year 1846 he commenced his political career, serving on the township committecs for some years, and at a later period filled the position of Chosen Freeholder for the term of three years. In 1854 he was elected by the Whigs of Burlington county to the Sheriffalty, and annually thereafter until the usual three years had elapsed. In 1858 he was elected by the Repub- licans to the lower branch of the State Legislature, and re- elected three times successively. While a member of that body he served with much ability on several important committees, among which were those on Agriculture, the State Prison, the Insane Asylum, etc. In the fall of 1872 he was elected by the Republicans of the Second Congres- sional District as their representative in the Federal Legis- lature, and was re-elected in 1874. In that body he was a member of the Committee on Patents from the time he first took his seat, and also on that of Revolutionary Claims, and Claims during the War of 1812. IIe has been an active politician for the past thirty years, and has been actively engaged in many campaigns, delivering addresses through- out the State in every important canvass. He is a forcible

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The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 85

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