The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 91

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

USA > New Jersey > The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century > Part 91

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

[ haps after years, was taken down, I investigated the deposit and scraped off with my jack-knife the first zinc-white of the kind ever known." In 1862, when the second levy of New Jersey volunteers was called for, he was most zealous in his efforts to secure a prompt response to the call, and mainly to him was due the enrolment and organization, effected within thirty days, of the 15th New Jersey Regi- ment ; and he was scarcely less active in assisting to raise the Ist New Jersey Cavalry. Of the 15th he was commis- sioned Colonel, July 10th, and a few weeks later his com- mand was doing good service in the field. While in the army he was twice prostrated by severe attacks of illness, and in March, 1863, his health quite broken down, he re- luctantly resigned his commission. IIe returned to Frank- lin, where he gradually recovered, but aware that he was physically unfitted for army life he did not again enter the service. John Y. Foster, in his " New Jersey in the Rebel- lion," says of him, speaking of the receipt of the order for his regiment to march : " But one thing was universally regretted, and that was the inability of Colonel Fowler, the chivalrous commander, who was dangerously ill with ty- phoid fever, to accompany the regiment. His ability and cnergy had been manifested in recruiting and rapidly pre- paring for the field an unusually fine body of men, but his high ambition to lead them into actual combat was never gratified, and he never after assumed command." During the remaining two years of his life his time and means were devoted to strengthening the government in the rear, and so giving moral support to the men who were fighting for the government in the advance. Before and during the war he took a prominent part in every political campaign. Possessing remarkable eloquence as a speaker, his services on the stump were in constant demand. After his return from the army his friends were desirous of nominating him for State Senator, but he declined being a candidate, al- thought his chances of success were excellent. Ile accepted a seat in the Eighty-ninth Legislature. He had been ill about ten days before leaving his home, and as there was a tie in the Assembly, his duty to his constituents and the Democratic party, and the pressure from his political friends, urged him on. He arrived in time to be present at the opening, took the oath as a member, voted once and re- turned to his hotel. The intense cold and fatigue of the journey increased the disease under which he was laboring, pleura-pneumonia, and from which he died on the follow- ing Saturday, January 14th, 1865, in the forty-seventh ycar of his age, a martyr to his party. Of his character and life one of his most bitter political antagonists wrote : " IIe was a man of superior abilities and the most determined will and energy. Open and fearless in disposition, he never dis- guised his sentiments, nor resorted to dissimulation. He went in before us, year after year, a leading man in all enterprises and movements which his judgment approved, and always remarkable for his power over his fellow-men. Had he steadily directed his energies to any particular ob- .

405

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.

ject, no matter how eminent, his success would have been | laid to Quartermaster Fowler." On February 10th, 1862, hc sure. Able as he was generally considered, the popular estimate of his intellect and acquirements was much below their true value. We knew him well, and though con- stantly opposed to him in politics, always respected and honored him as a generous antagonist."

OWLER, LIEUTENANT JOIIN, was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, on the 26th day of January, 1825. He was the son of the late Dr. Samuel Fowler, whose sketch appears above, and Rebecca Ogden, who was a daughter of Robert Ogden, and granddaughter of Dr. Zopher Platt, of Huntington, Long Island. John Fowler devoted some time to the study of medicine, but becoming convinced that he had no taste for professional life, gave it up, engaging in the lumber business and farming. In 1850 he was in California, carried away, like many others, with the gold fever excitement, and fascinated with mining life; in 1855 in the lumber business in Sullivan county, New York, and from that time until the rebellion broke out he was settled on his farm in Sussex county, New Jersey. The sum- nier of 1861 proved the sincerity of his patriotism. Fully roused to the danger which threatened his beloved country, his sympathies met with a quick response to that thrilling cry : " To arms!" Ile rode night and day to secure re- cruits for the Ist New Jersey Cavalry (16th Regiment), and the assistance which he rendered his brother, Colonel Sam- uel Fowler, in raising four companies of that regiment, two from Sussex and two from Warren, Morris and Passaic coun- ties, was most efficient. In August, 1861, he was appointed Second Lieutenant of Company K, Ist New Jersey Cavalry, and on the 4th day of November, 1861, accepted the position of Regimental Quartermaster in that regiment. His duties were very arduous; to purchase arms, clothing and sup- plies for 1,200 men was no easy task, and his time was constantly occupied from daylight until midnight. IIc writes from Camp Stanton, January 27th, 1862 : " I have been almost constantly in the saddle, and had but little rest at night since yesterday morning a week." The regiment was engaged in the fall in drilling their men and preparing them for active service. The officers felt keenly the ineffi- ciency of their commander; arrests and courts-martial were the order of the day, and insubordination reigned. When the discontent of the officers and men was at its height, and the colonel was threatened with arrest, Colonel Samuel Fowler was suggested as the commander of the regiment, which appointment was favored by the public press. This report soon reached the camp, and from that time every one by the name of Fowler was in disgrace. Lieutenant Fowler, writing from the camp, says: " Things possible and impossible are expected of me ; an order given one moment is contradicted the next, and everything that goes wrong is

resigned his position. Soon after he and Captain John P. Fowler were ordered before the Board of Examiners in Washington, without warning or time for preparation. The board sent in an unfavorable report of their ex- amination, and they were mustered out of the regiment without ceremony. No opportunity was given Lieutenant Fowler to defend himself from the imputation of incfficiency, and this unjust act was censured by all the officers and men in the regiment. Sir Percy Wyndham took command on the 21st day of February, 1862. Lieutenant Fowler was urged by Colonel Wyndham and all the officers of the regi- ment to make an effort towards reinstatement, but he pre- ferred to wait for another appointment. The position of Regimental Quartermaster was again offered him by Colonel Wyndham and declined. In July, 1862, he enlisted in the 15th Regiment New Jersey Volunteers, Colonel Samuel Fowler commanding. The 15th was one of the five regi- ments called for in July. Its organization was first per- fected without bounties, by Colonel Fowler, in the counties of Sussex, Warren, Somerset and Hunterdon, within thirty days from the date of his commission. While stationed near Washington the men were employed on the defences of the city, Fort Kearny being constructed entirely by their labor. When the regiment moved across the Potomac, October 31st, 1862, Lieutenant Fowler took command of the Brigade Ambulance Corps. In December, 1862, the 15th was under fire for the first time at the battle of Fred- ericksburg; this took place on the 13th, and among the killed was Sergeant-Major John P. Fowler, who fell in ac- tion. He was struck in the leg by a ball, and bled to death in a few minutes. IIis name had just been proposed for a commission. Lieutenant Fowler retained command of the Brigade Ambulance Corps until April 15th, 1862, when, anticipating the movement of the army, he returned to his regiment as First Lieutenant of Company K. The battle of Salem Heights took place on the 3d day of May, in a pine woods, about three miles from Fredericksburg, and during this battle the carnage in the 15th Regiment was greater than at any other time during the war, the com-

mand losing in killed, wounded and missing 150 men. Among the killed was Lieutenant John Fowler. He was in command of his company, and while endeavoring to rally his men was struck in the left side with a ball, and it is supposed was instantly killed. Immediately after his fall the enemy advanced and took possession of the field, and our troops were obliged to retreat. Every effort was made to secure Lieutenant Fowler's remains, but in vain. His grave " knoweth no man, only the All-seeing One." May 15th, 1863, a comrade writes of him : " The untimely death of Lieutenant John Fowler has cast a gloom over the whole regiment. Advised to go to the rear, as he was suffering very much from a lame shoulder : ' No !' he said, ' I will stick to my men.'" The same comrade says : " I saw Lieutenant Fowler; he was cheering on his mien; he was seen to pick

406

BIOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.

up a rifle and shoot five or six times. IIe was struck in the left side, near the heart, and fell to the ground dead." A brother officer writes: "Of all we lost that terrible day no one was more sincerely mourned than Lieutenant Fowler. In battle he was cool, brave and collected. Ile fell with his face to the foe, while cheering on his company and dis- charging his duty manfully. IIis men loved him as they would a brother, and would have risked their lives at any time for his sake. His kindness to the sick was one of the many characteristics which endearcd us to him." His generous and sympathetic nature, ever ready to lend a helping hand to a brother in distress, combined with great gentleness of disposition, cndcared him not only to his com- rades but made him the favorite of the home circle.

TICKNEY, CHARLES W., Physician and Sur- geon, was born near Milford, Pike county, Penn- sylvania, January 4th, 1833, the son of Benjamin Stickney. He studied medicine under the pre- ceptorship of Dr. William Wetherill, at Lambert- ville, Hunterdon county, New Jersey, and grad- uated at the University of Pennsylvania in the spring of 1858. He then entered immediately upon the active prac- tice of his profession at Pompton Plains, New Jersey. August 3d, 1863, he joined the United States service as Assistant Surgeon of the 33d Regiment New Jersey Volun- teers, to serve three years. After the organization of this body it was assigned to the Army of the West, under the command of Major-General Sherman, and he participated therefore in the succession of battles commencing at Chat- tanooga, Tennessee, May Ist, 1864, and ending in the fall of Atlanta, Georgia, in September. On the 27th of this month, by order of Major-General Geary, he was ordered for duty at the 2d Division, 20th Corps Hospital, and there remained through the campaign of General Sherman's mareh to the sea, which was consummated by the taking of Savannalı, December 21st, 1864. January 27th, 1865, he left the city of Savannah with his regiment, then con- nected with the left wing of the army, under command of Major-General Slocum, and was with the main army until it arrived at the Savannah river, when, by special orders, he was directed to take ellarge of the siek and wounded men belonging to the left wing of the Army of Georgia, and re- port the same to Savannah. There were then thirty cases of small-pox, in all stages, which were under his special care, and in order to separate them from the main body of sufferers, he was obliged to seize a schooner lying in the river loaded with sutler stores, and to place those cases on board. The result of his treatment exhibits the undesir- ableness of the old manner of treatment by the use of warm stimulating drinks and heated rooms. These men lay upon the deck of the schooner for want of room below, and were

sheltered only by pieces of canvas. " This was on the 5th of February. On the 6th and 7th a severe rain-storm was experienced, to which the invalids were exposed. They were provided with no medicine except whiskey, which was occasionally given. The patients were permitted to drink plentifully of cold water. They did not reach Savannah until the evening of the 8th, when the patients were placed in the Small-Pox Hospital. Although subject to these severe exposures, they all recovered in a few days." After remaining in Savannah a few weeks, he joined his command at Goldsboro', North Carolina. The war having terminated, however, the regiment was ordered to Wash- ington, by way of Richmond, Virginia, where it arrived May 19th, 1865. After a stay in the capital of several weeks, his regiment was sent to the State rendezvous, at Newark, New Jersey, where he was honorably discharged, July 17th, 1865.

ECK, GEORGE, Surgeon in the United States Navy, was commissioned an Assistant Surgeon in the navy February 25th, 1851 ; cruised in the West Indies and off the coast of Central America in the corvette " Cyane " from August, 1851, until September, 1854, erossing, meanwhile, the Isth- mus at Panama and making the journey to the Paeifie by way of Nicaragua and its lakes. He was on recruiting service at the naval rendezvous at New York from Septem- ber, 1854, to October, 1855; was examined and found qualified for promotion March, 1856; cruised in the flag- ship " St. Lawrence " on the coast of Brazil, and the waters of the La Plata, from August, 1856, to May, 1859; was attached to the receiving-ship " North Carolina " from July, 1859, to March, 1860; and during the same month reported for duty aboard the " Seminole," at Pensacola, with which hc eruised on the coast of Brazil and waters of the La Plata until the outbreak of the rebellion, when he returned to the United States. In May, 1861, he was promoted and commissioned as Surgeon; in the following July was en- gaged in the blockade off Charleston, and eventually joined the Potomac flotilla, which was frequently engaged in action with the Confederate batteries along the Virginia shore. In October he sailed with Admiral Dupont's fleet, and joined in the attack upon the rebel batteries at Port Royal. After its bombardment, he was in the Savannah blockading squadron; joined in the expedition against Fernandina, and after its capture was ordered to the North Atlantic Squadron, under Admiral Goldsborough, at Hampton Roads. IIe was an active participant at the attack upon the enemy's batteries at Sewall's Point, and upon Norfolk, Virginia ; and was in the blockading service in the waters of the Chesapeake and tributaries until July, 1862, when the " Seminole " went out of commission. In the following August he was ordered upon the recruiting service in New

407

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

York; in September, 1864, was detached from the rendez- vous and ordered to the iron-clad " Dictator," and joined the North Atlantic Squadron, under Admiral Porter, at Hampton Roads. In September, 1865, he was transferred from the "Dictator " to the " Vanderbilt," and sailed in company with the iron-clad " Monadnock" to the north Pacific; in July, 1866, was detached from the " Vanderbilt," at San Francisco; and finally returned to the Atlantic States by the overland route, arriving at his destination in the fol- lowing September. On May 28th, 1871, he was commis- sioned Medical Inspector, with the relative rank of Com- mander.

ROBLE, HON. JABEZ G., Physician, President of the New Jersey State Medical Society, late of Newark, New Jersey, was born in that city, No- vember 13th, 1799, and was the son of Luther Goble, who, with Robert Camfield and William Rankin, contributed mainly to lay the deep foun- dations of the manufacturing celebrity which Newark now enjoys. He was educated from early life for a professional career, and graduated at Hamilton College, in the class of 1819. He was a student of Dr. Isaac Pierson, of Orange, and an office-pupil of the late Dr. David Hosack, of New York; took his medical degree at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in New York, when under the conduct of Hosack, Hammersley, Macnevin, Mitchell, Mott and Fran- cis ; and during his student course distinguished himself as a member of the Medico-Chirurgical Society. He was for many years the Resident Physician of Newark, New Jersey, an office which combined the duties of Health Physician, District Physician and Jail Physician; and in 1839 was President of the New Jersey State Medical Society. He eventually relinquished general practice, and devoted him- self to the interests of the Mutual Life Insurance Company, of New York, whose affairs, within his sphere, he managed with fidelity and consummate skill. He was always warmly interested in the political measures and movements of his day ; was a fluent, able speaker; served as President of the Common Council, and was an influential member of the State Legislature. In all works of Christian benevolence, also, he was an active mover and co-worker ; was conspicu- ous in the colonization cause, which owed its success in New Jersey greatly to his exertions, and was a Deacon in the Third Presbyterian Church in Newark. In 1835 he visited Europe, and his correspondence, relating to his foreign travel and experience, evinces considerable literary ability. " Ile was a man universally known-was one of the institutions of Newark. He was tall, erect, scrupulously ne it in his dress, punctual in his engagements, and gentle- manly in his manners. His suaviter in modo made him many friends. Ile was seldom abrupt, still always in haste, and his manner was singularly persuasive. When he died,

almost everybody felt that he had individually lost some- thing. He could stand at the post-office and shake hands with more people than almost any other man in the city. Perhaps the two men most missed from Newark by the most people were Dr. Jabez G. Goble and Rev. Jamcs Scott, D. D. It seemed as if they could not be spared." He died suddenly, of inflammation of the bowels, and was visited in his last illness by his early friend, Dr. John W. Francis, of New York. The date of his demise is Febril- ary 7th, 1859.

"LARK, ABRAHAM, Physician, Secretary of the State Medical Society of New Jersey, one of the founders of the District Medical Society of the County of Essex, late of Kinderhook, was born in Rahway, New Jersey, in October, 1767. His father was Abraham Clark, the New Jersey signer of the Declaration of Independence, who was the only son of Thomas Clark; the manner of his death is related as fol- lows by the late Rev. Daniel A. Clark, father of the well- known J. Henry Clark, A. M., M. D., President and His- torian of the Essex District Medical Society: " He was superintending the erection of a bridge in his meadow, in the autumn of 1794, when he felt the effects of a coup de soleil. He was aware of his danger, said that he should not live, stepped into his chaise and drove home, accompanied by the narrator, who remained with him till he died, about two hours afterward." He remembered vividly the fre- quent shifts of his family during the war, to avoid the pur- suit of the enemy and the destruction of their homestead ; and two of his older brothers were in the revolutionary ser- vice, and eventually became prisoners of war-one in the New York Sugar House, the other in the Jersey Prison- ship. After studying medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. John Griffiths, afterward his father-in-law, he gradu- ated in the University of Pennsylvania, under Professors Shippen, Wistar and Rush; and subsequently was one of the original eleven who formed the District Medical Society of the County of Essex. He entered upon the active prac- tice of his profession first in Elizabeth; thence removed to New York, where he continued for a time engaged lim- itedly in professional labors, and settled finally in Newark, New Jersey, there securing an extensive and remuncrative practice. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress, in 1794. He was a skilful physician, and was, moreover, familiar with general literature, and fond of scientific in- quiry. He acquired a large store of varied information in the course of his wide experience; possessed considerable conversational power, and was an instructive and amusing companion. In his profession he was industrious and in- genious, and was an excellent chemist and pharmacist. " Ile was a man of medium height, slender, of nervous manner, serupulously neat in his attire, and always gentle-

403

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

manly in his manners. He wore invariably a light-colored | he opened a correspondence with various physicians in dif- cloth frock coat (in that day dress coats were the rule), and a ruffled shirt. . . .. In his latter days, in Newark, he was invariably followed by a small black and white spaniel."- Dr. J. H. Clark. He practised medicine in Newark until 1830, when he retired from business and removed to Kin- derhook, where, at the home of his daughter and only child, he quietly rested from his labors until his decease. In 1824 he was one of the Secretaries of the State Medical Society. His former residence in Newark, New Jersey, still stands upon the southwest corner of the canal and Broad street, but is converted into offices and stores. The canal originally passed directly through his garden; and, in common with many Newarkers of his day, he believed that the success of the canal enterprise would greatly benefit the city ; while it is said even that he gave the right of way. In an indirect line there are several medical descendants from him: J. Henry Clark, A. M., M. D., Dr. Ephraim Clark and his son, and Dr. James Guion Clark, the two latter of Staten Island. He died at Kinderhook, in July, 1854.

ARRIS, PHILANDER A., M. D., Physician, of Dover, was born, January 29th, 1852, at John- sonburg, Warren county, New Jersey, and is a son of Cummins O. Harris. His youth was passed on his father's farm and in attendance upon the district school, near his birthplace, known as the Quaker settlement. In November, 1867, he became a pupil in the seminary at Schooley's Mountain, New Jersey, then under the superintendence of Rev. L. J. Stoutenburgh, where he completed his education. In Au- gust, 1869, he entered the office of Dr. John Miller, of Andover, Sussex county, New Jersey, and commenced the study of medicine. In the autumn of 1870 he matriculated in the medical department of the University of Michigan, and attended the course of lectures delivered in that institu- tion during that winter, a part of the session being devoted to practical analytical work in the chemical laboratory. IIe also was in attendance upon the lectures during the winter of 1871-72 in the same institution, and in March, 1872, passed his examination successfully for the degree of Doctor of Medicine ; but not being at that time of the required age, the degree was subsequently conferred. He passed the summer of 1872 in study and in active practice under his preceptor, Dr. Miller. In the fall of the same year he went to New York city, where he attended the lectures delivered in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and in Febru- ary, 1873, took an ad eundem degree in that school. Re- turning to New Jersey he commenced the practice of medi- cine at Mine Hill, Morris county, in March, 1873, a thickly populated neighborhood, about three miles southwest of Dover. Shortly after establishing himself in Morris county

ferent parts of the county, having in view the reorganization of the Morris District Medical Society, which had ceased its existence in 1858. The leading physicians became in- tcrested in the scheme for its resuscitation, and the society was reorganized, December 29th, 1873; and was subse- quently received in full connection with the State society, and has since become a strong and influential organization. In view of a more permanent location, Dr. Harris removed to Dover in September, 1875. A large proportion of the inhabitants of that town and its vicinity are engaged in iron mining, and the casualties incident to this occupation af- forded him an opportunity for surgical study seldom met with in civil practice. Possessing a natural inventive genius, with a fondness for the practice of this branch of the profession, he has frequently had the opportunity of participating in some of the higher operations, and has proved eminently successful in their treatment. He was among the first in this country-as nearly as can be ascer- tained-in civil practice, to perform successfully excision of the upper extremity and head of the thigh-bone for com- pound comminuted fracture (vide "Transactions of the New Jersey Medical Society " for 1874). He is an earnest advocate for the use of plaster of paris in the treatment of certain fractures, and has devised an apparatus to facilitate the application of this article for dressing in cases of frac- ture of the thigh (vide Medical Record, September 18th, 1875). He has also originated a method of preventing the filling up of the inter-digital space, and the consequent re- union of the raw surfaces, after the operation for the cure of web-fingers; and practised the same successfully in Oc- tober, 1875. The operation consisted of simply dissecting up a long, narrow, rectangular slip of skin from the dorsum of the hand, or one of the fingers, carrying it between the fingers which had been separated and uniting it to the skin on the palm of the hand by a suture. The opposing fingers were then kept well separated until the slip was found to be united sufficiently to maintain its place, when the suture was removed. Dr. Harris, although only at the threshold of manhood, and less than five years a practising physician, has taken a front rank in the profession, and bids fair to maintain it. Hc was married, November 15th, 1876, to Maggie Rowson, of Paterson, New Jersey.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The biographical encyclopaedia of New Jersey of the nineteenth century, Part 91

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