The history of Camden county, New Jersey, Part 34

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

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the union was not blessed with children. One morning, in summer, (Mr. Chapman being nearly sixty years old), the door of the little frame office on Second Street was found open, and Thomas Chapman lying dead at his table, with his books opeu before him. It is supposed he died of heart disease.

Among the earliest resident lawyers of Camden was MORRIS CROXALL, who was ad- mitted to practice in the Gloucester County courts in September, 1821. He died in Camden, and although prominent iu his day, no facts in regard to him, further than here presented, can be procured.

JEREMIAH H. SLOAN, admitted to the bar in 1821, was a distinguished lawyer, who was ten years older than Hon. Abraham Brown- ing, of Camden. He was the cotemporary of Samuel L. Southard, William N. Jeffers and Judge John Moore White, who died at Wood- bury, N. J., at a good old age, full of years and of honor. Jeremiah Sloan was perhaps the most brilliant lawyer in West Jersey, keen in his perceptions, never a very hard student, but gifted with magnetism of temperament and eloquent in speech, and possessed of fine social qualities which cansed him to be warmly welcomed wherever he went.

His professional services were sought for far and wide, and paid for by admiring clients with liberality. Those who best re- member him say that he united the wit of Sheridan with the social graces of Charles James Fox, the celebrated English statesman.

He was one of the most remarkable men who ever practiced at the West Jersey bar. His mind was alert, his forensic style witty, humorous and argumentative. He was a quick and accurate judge of character. Ready and skillful in the examination of witnesses, eloquent, persuasive and con- vincing in addressing a jury, he was well equipped with all the qualities necessary for success at the Nisi Prius bar, of which he was in his day the accepted leader. Per- sonally he was a man of warm and generous

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impulses, social, indeed convivial. He was extremely popular and pleasing in manner, and was equally at home at the convivial assemblages of the lawyers, more common in his day than now, or in addressing a court upon the dryest legal proposition. He died at Mount Holly, broken in health and fortune, leaving little behind him but the de- lightful recollections of his friends and the general reputation of a brilliant character.

RICHARD W. HOWELL was born on a plantation called " Fancy Hill," in Glouces- ter County. His father and mother were both prominent during the Revolution of 1776, and many are the pleasing tales of generous hospitality to the officers of the patriot army, who were wont to pause at the home of Colonel Howell, and, amidst the joys of an old-time welcome, forget for a day the great struggle for liberty.

Mr. Howell married a sister of Hon. Thomas P. Carpenter, and she still survives her husband and her brother. Richard W. Howell's mother, like his father, was a re- markahle person, and when she found her- self a widow, with a large family and an en- cumbered property, she managed the Howell estate, much of it lying along the Delaware River and including the Howell fishery, so that in a few years it was clear of debt, and at her death there was a handsome estate to divide among the heirs without incum- brance of any kind.

Mr. Howell was early bred to the law, and made a careful, conscientions and suc- cessful member of the profession. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar in Septem- ber, 1827. His office, which he occupied till his death, was a small, one-story room in Plum Street (now Arch), in Camden, built by William N. Jeffers and now owned by Judge Woodhull's estate.

Richard W. Howell was, like the rest of the Howell family, a gentleman of distin- guished appearance. He was possessed of rarely courteons manners and was a laborious

lawyer. The ordinances of Camden City Council bear the impress of his legal mind, and he was frequently elected to the Council chamber, and was once mayor of the city. No man in the profession was more beloved by his fellow-members of the bar.

He left a large family, one of his sons be- ing a well-known physician in Philadelphia, another a successful lawyer, and still another died in battle at the head of his company in the War of the Rebellion.

ROBERT K. MATLOCK, who was a practi- tioner at the Camden courts immediately after their organization, was born at Woodbury, Gloucester County, January 22, 1804, and was the son of Hon. James Matlock, at one time a member of Congress, whose American ancestor, William Matlock, was among the Friends who settled at Burlington, N. J., about the year 1760. His law preceptor was Charles Chauncey, Esq., of Philadelphia; was admitted as attorney November 15, 1827, and as counselor September 6, 1833. He died April 27, 1877, at his home in Woodbury.

ABRAHAM BROWNING was born July 26, 1808, on his father's farm, in the vicinity of Camden. The family to which he belongs is one of the oldest in the State of New Jersey. The American founder, George Browning, came immediately from Holland, although of ancient English lineage, about the year 1735, and settled near Pea Shore. George Browning's son Abraham followed in his father's footsteps and became a farmer. He married Benlah Genge, who, like him- self, was a native of New Jersey, but whose parents were English, arriving in America from London about the year 1760. From this marriage sprang the subject of this sketch and a numerous progeny. Abraham obtained his earliest education at the country schools in the neighborhood of his home. Possessed of a large capacity for acquiring knowledge, and gifted with a studious tem- perament, he made most effective use of all

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his opportunities, and laid a solid founda- tion, broad and deep, for the superstructure of after-years. After an elementary course thus satisfactorily pursued, he was placed at the academy at Woodbury. From this he was transferred to the popular school of John Gummere, in Burlington. The en- larged advantages here offered Abraham Browning were industriously improved, and he obtained a good English and a limited classical education.

He became a student in the law-office of Hon. Samuel L. Southard, at Trenton, in 1830. At the expiration of a year passed in preliminary study he entered the Law School of Yale College, and, after remaining two years, he entered the office of the well- known Philadelphia lawyer, Charles Chaun- cey. He was admitted to the bar in Septem- ber, 1834, and immediately thereafter began to practice his profession in Camden, where he has ever since resided, laboring in his chosen career. He early became noted for the care and ability with which the business intrusted to his care was managed, and, as a natural consequence, he made steady and rapid progress through the ranks. With clear perception, a well-trained and well- stored mind, to which constant study was ever bringing valuable contributions, in- domitable industry and never-tiring investi- gation of detail, he obtained so thorough a mastery over his cases as to be almost in- vincible when he advised contest. Nowhere in the ranks of the profession could a harder student have been found; not one among the aspirants to similar fame devoted more faithful and painstaking labor to his client's inter- ests than he has done. His aid has been sought in many important issues beyond the borders of New Jersey, and his reputation is national. As a constitutional lawyer he has been a recognized authority, and his opinion on points of constitutional issue car- ries great weight. In railroad cases, also, he has been regarded as especially strong, and

he has been engaged in many important cases, involving difficult and delicate points of railroad law. His famous contest with Hon. Theodore Cuyler, the Pennsylvania Railroad case, in 1871, will long be remem- bered by members of the profession for the profound legal learning, easy mastery over the mazy difficulties of a peculiarly intricate litigation, readiness of resource, patient en- durance and overwhelming strength he man- ifested.

To him, in part, New Jersey owes its present Constitution, inasmuch as he was an active and prominent member of the conven- tion called in 1844 for the revision of the then existing instrument. He was also the first attorney-general under the Constitution so revised, being appointed to that position by Governor Charles C. Stratton in the same year. This office he held during the regular term of five years.

His successes as a lawyer do not bound his career. He has stepped beyond merely professional boundaries in his studies and researches, and in whatever direction his tastes have led him, the same thoroughness and success have marked his efforts.

Mr. Browning was married, May 23, 1842, to Elizabeth, daughter of Hon. James Matlock, of Woodbury, N. J., whose Amer- ican ancestor, William Matlock, was among the Quakers who settled at Burlington, N. J., about the year 1678.

WILLIAM DANIEL COOPER was a son of Richard M. Cooper, late president of the National State Bank of Camden, and a lineal descendant in the seventh generation of Wil- liam and Margaret Cooper, who in 1681 were the first settlers on the site of Camden. He was born in the homestead on Cooper Street the 30th day of August, 1816, being the twin brother of Dr. Richard M. Cooper, and after obtaining a preparatory education entered the University of Pennsylvania, from which in- stitution he was graduated in 1836. He studied law in the office of the Hon. Wil-

Mill m Dlooper

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liam M. Meredith, of Philadelphia. He was admitted a member of the Philadelphia bar in 1841 and the same year was admitted to practice in the courts of New Jersey. Upon the death of his father, in 1844, he became the manager of his estate, which embraced lands now covered by much of the most at- tractively built-up portion of the city of Camden. This gave him an extensive busi- ness as a real estate lawyer, and he managed the large interest included with judicious care and characteristic ability. By laying off in lots much of the lands previously owued by his father, he greatly enhanced the value of the property in North Camden and very materially increased the amount of the estate placed under his special care and direc- tion. His experience as a real estate lawyer and counselor gave him an extended office practice and he seldom appeared in court in the trial of causes. He contributed much to the growth and development of the city of Camden, and was constantly studying how best to advance the material welfare of the community. He was kind-hearted, benevo- lent and philanthropic. Feeling the need of a hospital in West Jersey, he and his brother, Dr. Richard M. Cooper, turned their atten- tion toward establishing one in Camden. Both died before the realization of their plans for the erection of such a building. Their sisters-Sarah W. and Elizabeth B. Cooper, in accordance with the wishes of their deceased brothers, generously donated two hundred thousand dollars for the estab- lishment and endowment of the Cooper Hos- pital, and with their brother, Alexander Cooper, conveyed a large tract of land elig- ibly located in Camden, upon which to erect a building for that purpose. The manage- ment of this noble charity (a history of which is given in the Medical Chapter of this work), was placed in the hands of a board of trustees created under an act of incorporation by the State Legislature March 24th, 1875.

Mr. Cooper was for a time president of the Gas Company, a director in the National State Bank and for a time counsel for the same institution. In politics he was origi- nally a Whig in the days of that party and afterwards an ardent Republican. Early in its history he became a member of the Union League of Philadelphia. He devoted much of his time to reading and was well versed in general literature. In religion he was a believer in the faith of his ancestor and was a member of the Society of Friends.

MORRIS R. HAMILTON was admitted to the bar in September, 1842, after preparing for his profession in the office of his father, General Samuel R. Hamilton, of Trenton. He located in Camden in November of the same year of his admission and continued a member of the Camden County bar for two years, at the expiration of which time he re- moved to Philadelphia and practiced chiefly in Kensington and Spring Garden in partner- ship with the late Laban Burkhardt. In 1849 he went to Trenton to become the edi- tor of a paper which his father had purchased and which was then changed to the Daily True American, the Democratic organ of the State capital, which position he held until 1853. He has since edited a number of in- fluential journals and is now the efficient State librarian at Trenton.

THOMAS W. MULFORD, with three brothers, came from Salem County and set- tled in Camden County iu the year 1852. Thomas W. Mulford, being a leading and in- fluential member of the Democratic party, was soon appointed by the Governor as pros- ecutor of the pleas of Camden County, a position he filled with great credit to himself and to the county for many years. Mr. Mulford was a' fluent, eloquent and able speaker, and his voice was always welcomed by his party adherents, who nominated him for Congress in the First District, now repre- sented by George Hires. He was also twice a member of the Legislature of New Jersey,

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where his wise and discriminating statesman- ship made him a valuable member, much re- spected by both parties. Mr. Mulford's health failed him and he died in Salem County on his farm, leaving a family and a large circle of friends. He was a relative by marriage of the late United States Senator Hon. A. G. Cattell, of Merchantville, N. J .; Philip H. Mulford, one of the brothers of the prosecutor of the pleas, was deputy prose- cutor of the pleas for Camden County ; then associated with General Wright, of Hoboken, N. J., in the practice of the law, and in 1860 went to California, where he died.

JAMES B. DAYTON was born January 27, 1822, at Basking Ridge, Somerset County, N. J. He was a son of Joel Dayton and lineal descendant of Ralph Dayton, who em- igrated from Yorkshire, England, in 1639 and settled at Boston, one of whose descend- ants, Jonathan Dayton, located at Elizabeth- town about 1725, and was the progenitor of the Dayton family in New Jersey. His son, Elias Dayton, was a brigadier-general in the patriot army of the Revolution, command- ing the New Jersey Brigade, and member of Congress in 1778 and 1779. His son Jona- than was a member of the convention which framed the Constitution of the United States, speaker of the Fourth and Fifth Congresses, and United States Senator from 1799 to 1805.

William L. Dayton, a brother of James B. Dayton, after filling with honor the most im- portant positions in New Jersey, was a Sena- tor of the United States from 1842 to 1851, Republican candidate for Vice-President in 1856, and minister to France from 1861 un- til his death, shortly before the close of the War of the Rebellion.

James B. Dayton graduated from Prince- ton College in 1841, studied law with his brother, William L. Dayton, became an at- torney in 1844, and counselor-at-law in 1847. He settled at Camden and very soon became one of the leading advocates of the New Jersey bar. His practice was large, his con-

quests brilliant, and he was acknowledged to be one of the most eloquent lawyers in South- ern New Jersey. He became the legal ad- viser of the Board of Freeholders, city so- licitor, city treasurer and one of the first board of Riparian Commissions. He was a man of vigorous mind but delicate physique, which caused him in later life to forego the triumphs of the court and devote his entire energies to the less exciting duties of an office practice, and ultimately to retire wholly from the law and also to renounce all aspirations for political life.

He was married, in 1848, to Louisa, daugh- ter of William M. Clarke, of Philadelphia ; her death occurred in 1856, leaving two chil- dren surviving-William C., a member of the Camden bar, and Louisa, now wife of Peter V. Voorhees, a lawyer in Camden. In 1859 he married Sadie, daughter of Judge Alexander Thomson, of Franklin County, a celebrated jurist of Pennsylvania.

Being compelled to give up the practice of his profession, he turned his attention to corporate interests. He was president of the West Jersey Ferry Company for over six- teen years, giving prosperity to the company and satisfaction to its patrons; president of the Camden Safe Deposit and Trust Com- pany, which, under his management, became one of the most successful banking institu- tions of the State ; chairman of the execu- tive committee of the board of directors of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad Com- pany, which he materially aided in raising from insolvency to affluence. He was also, from its inception, chairman of the board of directors of the Sea View Hotel Company, a very successful corporation. He was a man of sound judgment, kindly impulses and gentle disposition, and his death from pro- gressive paralysis, March 9, 1886, caused uni- versal sorrow.

THOMAS H. DUDLEY was born in Eves- ham township, Burlington County, New Jersey, October 9, 1819, being the descend-

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ant of an English family resident in this country since the latter part of the seven- teenth century. His early education was ob- tained in the schools near the vicinity of his birth, and he grew to manhood on his father's farm. Determining upon law as a profes- sion, he entered the office of the late William N. Jeffers, in Camden, and in 1845 was ad- mitted to the New Jersey bar. From the outset of his legal life he held a conspicuous place in his profession, his sound training in the principles and the practice of law uniting to make him successful. Until the dissolu- tion of the Whig party he was one of its stanchest members. Since that event he has been a no less earnest Republican. Elected in 1860 a delegate at large to the Chicago Convention, he occupied a prominent position in it and was greatly instrumental through his energy and tact, in the committee on doubtful States, in securing the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for President. In 1861 Mr. Dudley went to Enrope, and returned in the fall of the same year, and soon there- after was appointed by Mr. Lincoln as con- sul to Liverpool. The position of our con- sul at this port then was one of great conse- quence and of the greatest delicacy, for from this centre radiated the substantial aid ten- dered to the Confederates by their British supporters. In his efforts to enforce the maintenance of the neutrality professed by the government to which he was accredited, the utmost diplomacy was necessary to avoid bringing to open war the expressed hostility between the two countries. Everywhere his endeavor to check the flow of supplies to the Confederacy met with a determined resist- ance. With a force of one hundred men he policed the ship-yards of England and Scot- land, he himself incognito, constantly visit- ing every shipping centre and registering every keel laid down upon the books of the Liverpool consulate. Nor was his zeal un- attended with danger. Again and again he received anonymous letters warning him that

unless he ceased his opposition to the exten- sion of assistance to the Confederate govern- ment, that his life would be taken, and if found in certain designated spots he would be shot on sight. But these threats had small effects upon his stern nature. He had been charged with a high duty and that duty he fulfilled with a calm determination. He re- mained at his post until November, 1868, when he returned to the United States for a brief visit. He resumed his duties in Liver- pool, and three years later he again returned to America, and, wearied by his decade of ar- duous official life, tendered his resignation of his consulate. The government, however, requested his services in the case of the. United States to be laid before the Joint High Commission at Geneva, and he assisted in the compilation of the case to go before the Geneva tribunal, supplying the material upon which the judgment in favor of the United States was rendered. In 1872 he again returned to the United States and tendered his resignation, to take effect upon the ap- pointment of his successor.

Since his return to America Mr. Dudley has been engaged in the practice of his pro- fession in Camden, New Jersey, residing up- on his beautiful country-seat, three miles from the city. He has been president of the Pittsburgh, Titusville and Buffalo Railroad Company, and of the New Jersey Mining Company, besides being a member of the boards of direction of the Camden and Atlan- tic Railroad Company, West Jersey Railroad Company, Camden and Philadelphia Ferry Company and People's Gas Light Company, of Jersey City.

ISAAC MICKLE was one of the most re- markable men in the early history of Camden County. His grandfather was Isaac Mickle, farmer, who married Sarah Wilkins, and from that marriage four children were born, -John W. Mickle, Rachel Mickle (who married Isaac S. Mulford, M.D.,) and Mary Mickle, who married Samuel Haines, of Bur-

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lington County. a well-known sheriff of that bailiwick, and Isaac Mickle, who married Rebecca Morgan, from which alliance sprang Isaac Mickle who, as soon, and even before he reached man's estate, became a central and controlling figure in the affairs of his native County. He began the study of law with Colonel Page. Isaac Mickle, who was the only child of his parents, was also, presuma- bly, the heir of his uncle, John W. Mickle, who had acquired by descent and purchase, nearly all the land on either side of the turnpike, between Camden and Gloucester City. Isaac Mickle was a boon companion of T. Buchanan Read, the artist and poet, and author of "Sheridan's Ride."

While studying with Colonel Page, and mastering the mysteries of his chosen profes- sion, he became acquainted with Clara Tyn- dale, the sister of General Hector Tyndale, who was once elected mayor of Philadelphia. Mrs. Tyndale, the mother of Clara, was, herself, a woman of talent, and with Haw- thorn, George William Curtis and other lights of science and literature, became a member of the famous community at " Brook Farm."

Isaac Mickle married Miss Tyndale and two children resulted from this union, one of whom is now living. The subject of our sketch early displayed a very decided pen- chant for literature, and became the author of a volume called " Recollections of Old Gloucester," which, besides being admirably written, contains a fund of information about the early history of Camden County and West Jersey nowhere else to be found. He became a well-known political writer, and for some years conducted the Camden Demo- crat. He died when under thirty years of age.

DANIEL E. HOUGH was cotemporary with Hugg and Kinsey, was admitted to the bar in July, 1849, and was for a time in the of- fice of Thomas H. Dudley. He was a promi- nent lawyer, but his services were lost at this

bar, for, some years prior to the war, he went West, and, subsequently enlisting in an Illi- nois regiment, was killed in battle.

ALFRED HUGG was born in Camden, N. J., August 26, 1826, and educated in the city of Philadelphia. He studied law with William N. Jeffers, of Camden, and was ad- mitted to practice as an attorney in October, 1849, and as a counselor three years after. He settled in Camden and has since been engaged in active practice. Mr. Hugg has been city solicitor of Camden, as also city clerk and city treasurer. He was formerly prosecutor of the pleas for Atlantic County.

CHARLES W. KINSEY was in the same class as Alfred Hugg, and was admitted to the Camden bar in October, 1849. He prac- ticed considerably in the courts of the county, but was a resident of Burlington and died there.

CAPTAIN ISAAC W. MICKLE, who was admitted to the bar in January, 1850, died suddenly at Camp Ely, Virginia, on Satur- day, March 22, 1862. During the Mexican War he served as captain of Company A of the New Jersey Battalion. He enlisted in the same capacity in Company F of the Fourth New Jersey Regiment during the three months service, and at the time of his death was in command of Company A of the Tenth New Jersey Regiment. During the administra- tion of. James Buchanan he was collector of the port of Camden. He was at the same time one of the proprietors of the Camden Demo- crat, and took sides against the administra- tion of Buchanan on the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. He was a nephew of John W. Mickle, many years a leading director of the Camden and Amboy Railroad Company. He left a widowed mother and child. Captain Mickle was active in political and military affairs, genial in disposition and liberal in his views.

PETER L. VOORHEES was born at Blaw- enburgh, Somerset County, N. J., July 12, 1825, and is a member of a family who trace their line of descent from Coert Albert van

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The history of Camden county, New Jersey, Part 34

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