The history of Camden county, New Jersey, Part 33

Author: Prowell, George Reeser, 1849-1928
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Richards
Number of Pages: 1220

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HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

scription; he steadily refused to do this, but, on the contrary, made use of every effort to equip and send off the State's quota of troops at the earliest possible day ; we regard it as fortunate that Mr. Parker was selected as the Democratic candidate for Governor in 1862." He was in office at the close of the war and under his guidance a hearty welcome, witlı a good dinner, was given to all returning regi- ments by the State at the city of Trenton, before mustered ont,-a fact which distin- guishes New Jersey from all her sister States. During the war the Governor had a large patronage. He had the power of appoint- ment of all officers in New Jersey regiments below the rank of general. These amounted to many hundreds, for battle and disease made dire havoc of the noble soldiers. In all this vast patronage not an officer was ap- pointed or promoted for political reasons. The Governor acted on the principle that when a man took up arms and risked his life for his country on the battle-field, if he had earned and deserved promotion, he should be promoted without regard to his party predi- lection.

At the close of his term of office Governor Parker resumed the practice of his profession, and for the next six years enjoyed a lucrative business. He was engaged in most of the cases of importance in Monmouth and the ad- joining counties. In 1871 he was again nominated by the Democratic Convention for the office of Governor by acclamation, and was elected by a large majority, running sev- eral thousand votes ahead of his ticket. His second term was a very busy one, and al- though not so eventful as the first, yet had much to distinguish it. The militia of the State were placed on a permanent basis and vastly improved in discipline and efficiency. The General Railroad Law was passed, where- by monopoly was abolished, and the amend- ments of the Constitution adopted.

In 1868, Governor Parker received in the National Democratic Convention, held in

New York, the unanimous vote of his State delegation for nomination as President of the United States, also the vote of two States on the Pacific slope ; and again in 1876, at St. Louis, he received the votes of the New Jer- sey delegation. In the year last named lie was placed at the head of the Democratic electoral ticket, was elected and voted for Samuel J. Tilden in the Electoral College. At the close of his second term as Governor he was nominated by Governor Bedle (who succeeded him) as attorney general of the State. This office at that time had not been placed upon a pecuniary basis, that justified his retaining it, and he found that it inter- fered so much with his general business, that in a few months he resigned.

In 1880, General McClellan, then Gover- nor of New Jersey, nominated ex-Governor Parker as a justice of the Supreme Court. He was confirmed, and in March of that year entered upon the duties of the office. He was assigned to the Second Judicial District, composed of the counties of Camden, Bur- lington and Gloucester. The district is a hard one, on account of the vast amount of legal business which requires attention; but Judge Parker, by industry and devotion to business, by fairness and impartiality in look- ing at both sides of every case, and by his courtesy of manner to the members of the bar and to all who came in contact with him, has given great satisfaction and in his official position enjoyed the respect of the commu- nity. While he has always been a consistent Democrat, Governor Parker has never been an extreme partisan. In the various busi- ness boards, educational and otherwise, he made it a rule to appoint members of both political parties. He is a believer in a non- partisan judiciary and during his last guber- natorial term he nominated three Republican justices to the Supreme Court and two Re- publican judges of the Court of Appeals, leaving each court still with a majority of Democrats. His non-partisan appointments

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gave Governor Parker great popularity among the better class of both parties. His appointees to office have uniformly been men of high character and ability. At the close of his last term as Governor, ont of fourteen judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals, then composing the court, ten had been origi- nally appointed by Governor Parker.

In private life Joel Parker is much es- teemed as a neighbor and friend. He is a good citizen and among the first to espouse any enterprise looking to the improvement and advancement of the community where he resides. For the last few years he has re- sided with his family during the winter either at Camden or Mt. Holly, in order to accom- modate the public and be nearer his work. The wife of the judge, a highly educated and accomplished lady, is living. They have had four children who reached the age of majority, viz. : Elizabeth, still living ; Charles, a lawyer and president of a bank at Mana- squan ; Helen, who died of consumption in 1879 ; and Frederick, a lawyer, residing at Freehold.

LAW JUDGES.

CHARLES P. . STRATTON, the first presi- dent law judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Caniden County, was born at Bridgeton, Cumberland County, N. J., in 1827, and died of malarial fever in Camden July 30, 1884, soon after his return from a trip to Europe. He was graduated from the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, in 1848, and read law under the instruction of Hon. L. Q. C. Elmer, and was admitted to the bar as an attorney in January, 1851 ; was made a counselor in 1854, and the same year removed to Camden. He continued to prac- tice his profession with great success in Camden County, and in recognition of his ability as a lawyer, upon passage of a special act of the Legislature creating the office of law judge for Camden County, to take ef- fect in 1872, he was appointed by Governor Marcus L. Ward to fill that position for the

term of five years. He performed the re- sponsibilities incumbent upon him as a judge until the expiration of his term and the ap- pointment of a successor, when he again re- sumed the practice of law in Camden until the time of his death. He left a widow and four children.

He served two years in the City Council, as a member from the First Ward, and was made one of the trustees of the Cooper Hospital Fund. He was also a director in the Cam- den Safe Deposit and Trust Company, the New National Bank at Bridgeton, the West Jersey Railroad Company and the Camden and Philadelphia Ferry Company. He was by nature adapted to the office of judge and presided over the court with great accepta- bility.

DAVID J. PANCOAST was born near Woodbury, Gloucester County, N. J., Sep- tember 21, 1843. His father, James Pan- coast, who married Hope Lippincott, was a farmer by occupation, and the son spent his early years on the farm. At the age of thir- teen he was sent to London Grove Friends' School, near Kennett Square, Chester Coun- ty, Pa., afterwards to Freeland Seminary, in Montgomery County, and later to an acad- emy at Carversville, Bucks County. He continued his studies in the Pennsylvania State Normal School, at Millersville, and in 1864 entered the Law Department of Harvard University, at which institution he spent nearly two years.

He completed his legal studies in the office of James B. Dayton, of Camden, and was admitted to the bar as an attorney November 5, 1868, and in 1871 was made a counselor. When he first became a member of the Cam- den bar his preceptor, Mr. Dayton, was pre- paring to retire from an extended practice, whereupon he turned over to Mr. Pancoast much of his litigated business.

Chancellor Runyon, on March 8, 1875, appointed him special master in Chancery, and on April 1, 1877, he was elevated to the

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HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

bench, being appointed president judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Camden County by Governor Joseph D. Bedle. He filled the term of five years with recognized ability. In 1873 Judge Pancoast was ad- mitted to practice in the United States Court of New Jersey, and also the United States Circuit Court and the Supreme Court of the United States.

CHARLES T. REED, the third law judge of the Camden County Courts, was born in Trenton, N. J., in 1843. He obtained a preparatory education at the Academy, the High School and the Model School, of that city, and afterwards entered the Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Conn., from which institution he was graduated. He soon thereafter entered the office of Hou. Thomas P. Carpenter, of Camden, as a stu- dent-at-law, was admitted to the bar as an attorney in 1865, and as a counselor in 1868. He practiced law with success until 1882, during which years he was appointed by Governor Ludlow, president law judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Camden County. After serving about three years of his term he died, at the early age of forty- two, from a violent attack of typhoid fever, on Saturday evening, February 7, 1885. Judge Reed was married to Miss Emma Creft, of Philadelphia, who survived him. He left no descendants.

JOHN W. WESTCOTT was born at Water- ford, Camden County, and his early life was spent in the glass factory in his native town. He attended a preparatory school in Massa- chusetts, and went from thence to Yale College. When he had completed his Col- lege course, he read law with the Honorable Dexter R. Wright, of New Haven, and then entered his name in the office of Samuel H. Grey, Esq., of Camden, and was admitted to the New Jersey bar, as an attorney, in 1879, and three years later admitted as a counselor- at-law. At the death of Charles T. Reed, Presiding-Judge of the Court of Common

Pleas, of Camden County, Governor Ahbett appointed Mr. Westcott to the unexpired term of Judge Reed, a position he has since filled with ability. Twice Judge Westcott has been before the people as a candidate of his party, once as the nominee for the State Senate in 1884, and in 1886 was made the unanimous choice of his party as a candidate for Congress in the First Congressional Dis- trict.

LAY JUDGES.

JOHN CLEMENT, judge of the Court of Errors and Appeals, son of John and Han- nah (Chew) Clement, was born November 8, A.D. 1818, in Haddonfield, New Jersey. At that time his father was in the midst of an active business life, constantly engaged in the surveying of land, the settlement of disputed boundaries and the division of real estate, and it is possible that the subject of this sketch cannot remember when he first heard questions discussed that were thus in- volved. It may be said that his education as a surveyor, and his familiarity with mat- ters pertaining thereto, began in his infancy and grew with him to manhood. As his years increased and the physical as well as the mental labor attendant upon the field- work of surveying became a tax upon his strength and endurance, the father gradually gave place to the son, with the benefit of his experience, the use of his papers and the in- fluence of his reputation. These were ad- vantages not to be disregarded, and with the introduction of new and improved instru- ments, he filled the place thus left vacant, and has pursued the same calling for some forty years. As the value of land increased it was demanded that some evidence of the title to real estate should be shown, which, although it increased the labor and responsi- bility of the conveyancer, yet were entirely legitimate and proper inquiries to be an- swered.

In 1851, and upon his father's resignation, he was chosen a member of the Council of

bitte Respecto se

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Proprietors of West New Jersey, the duties of which, and the records there found, led to much instruction in the history of titles to land in the State. At the annual meeting of that body in 1885 he was elected president, and has so acted since that time.

In 1854 he was appointed one of the asso- ciate judges of the several courts of Camden County, and reappointed in 1860. Many interesting cases were heard and disposed of during his term of office, from which he de- rived much valuable information as applica- ble to his line of business. In 1864 he was appointed by Governor Joel Parker one of the lay judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals of the State of New Jersey, sitting at Tren- ton. Being the court of last resort in all cases, the most important ones only reach that tribunal, and are there disposed of. The Court of Pardons, consisting of the Governor, chancellor and the six lay judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals, has many delicate duties, involving care and prudence in their discharge.

Having, by this promotion, access to the several offices of record at the capital, a new field of research was opened, which he eagerly entered upon. Examining each book page by page, a mine of historical knowledge was developed, which yielded ample reward for all the labor, and has proved invaluable in establishing titles to land, settling genea- logical questions and strengthening facts here- tofore regarded as traditional.

In 1877 John Clement was appointed by Goveruor Joseph D. Bedle one of three com- missioners to examine into the prison system of the State and suggest any improvement in the same, and in 1879 was appointed by Governor George B. McClellan upon a com- mission to "prepare a system of general laws for the government of municipalities hereto- fore or hereafter to be incorporated in this State."

As a member of the Surveyors' Associa- tion of West New Jersey, which was organ-

ized in 1864, he has always been active from its inception. This society has been a success and accomplished its purposes fully. The social intercourse aud interchange of senti- ment and opinion among the members is of great advantage and the valuable papers read have saved many points of history relating to the southern part of the State from loss.

He is author of several articles printed in magazines and newspapers relating to histor- ical subjects, and in 1877 published a volume of five hundred and fifty pages, containing sketches of the first settlers in his native township. Apart from the errors incident to such work, it is found to be useful and of interest to such as are in search of their ancestors. In 1885, he was appointed by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, as one of the commissioners to settle a disputed line between the counties of Burlington and Atlantic, which was accomplished the same year.

Judge Clement has an extensive knowledge of the early history of West New Jersey, and has been unceasing in his interest in the pre- paration of the " History of Camden County " as embraced in this volume. By his wise counsel and efficient aid, the author and pub- lishers of this History have been greatly en- abled to furnish to the people of Camden County the work in its present exhaustive and complete form.

JOHN CLEMENT, SR., was born in Haddon- field, N. J., on the 10th day of September, A.D. 1769, and was the eldest of the two children of Nathaniel and Abigail (Rowand) Clement. He had a distinct recollection of many incidents of the Revolutionary War that occurred in his native town. His op- portunities for education were limited, but with a fondness for study, the assistance of his parents and diligent application, he man- aged to overcome the primary branches and obtain some knowledge of mathematics. When quite a young man he fancied a sea- faring life would suit him, but a trip from Philadelphia to the Lower Delaware Bay

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during a severe wind-storm convinced him that he was not of those "who go down to the sea in ships." The first public office held by John Clement was that of constable for the township of Newton, in Gloncester County, and it was brought about in this wise. At the town-meeting of March 19, 1790, the following entry was made:

" It being deemed by the town to be Nathaniel Clement's turn to serve as constable for the ensuing year, the meeting agreed that he shall have liberty to propose a person to serve in said office in his stead : and the said Nathaniel producing to said meeting his son John Clement, it was agreed he shall be appointed to said office."

This appointment was made about six months before he attained his majority, and was done to relieve his father of the duties of the office. He was at various times free- holder, committeeman and surveyor of high- ways, and claimed it was the duty of every tax-payer to serve the township to prevent the waste of money. His military career ex- tended through many years of his life. From a private in one of the uniformed companies of the county, he was in 1798 recommended by Lieutenant-Colonel Joshua L. Howell, and appointed by the Governor (Richard Howell) as adjutant of the Second Regiment of the Gloucester Militia. In the War of 1812 he had a place on the staff of General Elmer, with rank of major, and was employed in laying out the camp at Billings- port and opening roads to it.

He also acted as paymaster, and upon the discharge of the troops went into each of the counties of West Jersey to pay the soldiers. The pay-rolls of the several companies show the signatures of each private upon the re- ceipt of his money. These papers, in good preservation, are now in possession of the adjutant-general at Trenton, where they can be examined by those curious in such mat- ters. Very useful they have been to prove the service of many soldiers, whose papers had been lost, when they or their widows made application for pensions.

In 1824 he was appointed colonel of the Second Regiment of the Gloucester Brigade, and ranked as such officer until 1837, when he was advanced to the position of brigadier- general of the Gloucester Brigade, and took the oath of office the same year. Upon the separation of Camden County from Old Gloucester, in 1844, he was continued in the same rank, but refused every position, civil or military, under the new dispensation. He become a practical surveyor when a young man, and was so engaged the most of his active business life. His field-books, maps and memoranda collected during that time show his care and industry. In 1809 he become a member of the Council of Proprietors of West Jersey, which body sat at Burling- ton four times each year. In 1813 he was made a deputy surveyor, and in 1816 elected vice-president of the board. In 1832, and upon the death of William Irick, he was chosen president of the Board of Proprietors, and so remained until his resignation as a member, in 1851.

In 1799 he was appointed collector of the revenue for the federal government in the county of Gloucester, "arising upon domestic distilled spirits and stills, upon sales at auc- tion, upon carriages for the conveyance of persons, upon licenses to retail wines and foreign distilled spirits, upon snuff or snuff- mills and upon refined sugar." This posi- tion entailed upon him much labor and responsibility, the territory being large and the settlements in many parts long distances from each other. How long he discharged the duties does not appear.

In the same year (1799) he received his first commission as justice of the peace, the duties of which office he discharged until his advancing years induced him to relin- quish it.

He was the first postmaster in Haddon- field, his commission being dated March 22, 1803. This was the second year of the first term of Thomas Jefferson's administration as

John Clement

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President of the United States, and shadows his political inclinations at that time.

In 1805 he was appointed one of the judges of the several courts of Gloucester County. His punctuality in attendance and his busi- ness methods soon brought him into notice, and in 1824 he become the presiding officer of the court in the absence of the law judge.

About the year 1822 the subject was agitated as to the building of a canal from the Delaware River at Easton to the Hudson River at Jersey City. The enterprise was at last commenced and much trouble arose with the land-owners where it passed as to damage. April 15, 1830, Chief Justice Charles Ewing appointed John Clement, William N. Shinn and John Patterson com- missioners to settle these disputes. In the discharge of this duty they made a report which was accepted by the court and was generally satisfactory.

Of muscular frame, well-developed and healthy, his endurance was remarkable, and he preserved his strength and faculties to a ripe old age. Gradually yielding to the en- croachments of an insidious disease and ad- vancing years, he died on the evening of July 4, 1855.

JOHN K. COWPERTHWAITE, who was one of the prominent lay judges of the courts of Camden County, was born in 1787, in the old frame house standing on the east bank of Coopers Creek, between the Federal Street and Pennsylvania Railroad bridges. He re- moved into the town of Camden in 1820, and, uniting intelligence with integrity, he so won the confidence of the people, that they trusted him almost implicitly, and he was in office continuously during his life, frequently holding several at the same time. He was a magistrate of the county, and, as such, a judge of the County Court, and when justices of the peace ceased to be judges of the County Court he was appointed by the Legislature, term after term, almost without interruption until his death. He was a member of the

township committee of Camden township nearly the entire eighteen years of its exist- ence, and was also a member of the Board of Chosen Freeholders. He took an active part in securing the city charter of 1828, and was appointed recorder, serving for twelve years, and served on most of the important com- mittees in Camden City Council. When the mayor was made elective by the people, in 1844, he was the choice, serving one year. He was a candidate for the office in 1854, but was defeated. In the efforts to increase the educational facilities, in 1843, Judge Cow- perthwaite took an active part and gave the cause of education material assistance. He early attached himself to the Methodist Church and was one of its pillars, holding various offices and exemplifying its principles in his life. He was the confidant of many, who sought his counsel, and while free in his charities, was unostentatious, and few, save the beneficiaries, knew, when he died, May 6, 1873, how kindly a heart had ceased to beat.

ASA P. HORNER was a thrifty and pro- gressive farmer of Stockton township, and had the confidence of his neighbors in hold- ing many local offices among them. He was twice appointed one of the judges of the Camden County Courts, and discharged his duties acceptably. He was a descendant of one of the old families on " Pea Shore," from whence, in ancient times, Philadelphia was supplied with early vegetables and like pro- duce. The location and soil was adapted to this end, and he was but an indifferent farmer who did not make it profitable. Like other branches of agriculture, this has kept pace with the various improvements made, show- ing that a few acres well tilled is better than many poorly cultivated. The "trucker " of fifty years ago would refuse to be convinced of any profit, if shown the cost of fertilizers and labor now put upon the land to force the crops and increase the yield. He was an "Old-Line Whig " until the defeat of Henry

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Clay for President, when he affiliated with the Democratic party and became a promi- nent man in that division of national politics.

ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW.

WILLIAM N. JEFFERS was born in Salem County and removed in his youth to Camden. When he grew to manhood he was in stature tall and finely formed, with the exquisite manners of the olden time. He was in poli- tics an ardent apostle of the Democratic faith, and was sent by President Jackson as the American representative to one of the South American States, but he soou returned and resumed the practice of the law.

Mr. Jeffers' brilliant qualities as a lawyer were recognized all over West Jersey, to which his practice was chiefly confined. His second wife outlived him, but he had no children, and his estate descended to Com- mander Jeffers, who distinguished himself as an officer of the American navy during the War for the Union ; who has frequently been presented with testimonials of great value by other nations, and now lives. after a useful and gallant career, in Washington, as a retired officer of the United States Navy,

THOMAS CHAPMAN was born in Salem County, New Jersey, and from thence re- moved to Camden, locating his office in Second Street near Plum (now Arch Street), on property belonging to the late Dr. Tho- mas W. Cullen. Mr. Chapman was a lawyer of solid attainments rather than of brilliant oratory. In fact, the great Judge Parsons, of Massachusetts, said that mere oratory was a hindrance rather than a help to an active and successful practitioner at the bar. But as a counselor, Mr. Chapman had no superior in the select circle of lawyers who then formed the bar of Camden County. Among these was the venerable Josiah Harrison who, late in life, removed from Camden to Wood- bury, where he died. Thomas Chapman was a laborious lawyer, faithful to the interests of his clients. He was married happily, but

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The history of Camden county, New Jersey, Part 33

Author: Prowell, George Reeser, 1849-1928 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : Richards Number of Pages: 1220

Author: Prowell, George Reeser, 1849-1928
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Richards
Number of Pages: 1220