USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > The history of Newark, New Jersey : being a narrative of its rise and progress, from the settlement in May, 1666, by emigrants from Connecticut to the present time, including a sketch of the press of Newark, from 1791 to 1878 > Part 20
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180,000
Cabinet do.,
THE MEADOWS LOOKING EASTWARD.
A "CYNOSURE OF NEIGHB'RING EYES"-GAS INTRODUCED. 189
" every circumstance at present seems to conspire in assuring to this flourishing city a long continuance of its present prosperity- a rapid increase of wealth and population, and a consequent elevation in civil and National importance."
The new-born city had become "the mould of fashion, the observed of all observers " among neighboring towns. The local press of one of these towns having cited " the energy and enterprize" of Newark's citizens, and having held up "our thriving sister as an incentive to ambition, and an example for imitation, in most particulars," a Newark contemporary was moved after this fashion :
" Probably more has been done within the last two years to improve, adorn and beautify the placc than within any twenty previous years, since the fathers went to sleep. And we hope to see it ere long in all respects the worthy dwelling-place of a liberal, enlightened, virtuous, and therefore happy community. Our young city may thus become, like Milton's country commu; nity, ' the Cynosure of neighb'ring eyes,' which shall thence derive an improving sense of the fascination of cultivated life and manners, which, by connecting art and nature, give the power of undivided empire to both. May all her ' sons become as plants grown up in their youth, and her daughters as corner-stones polished after the similitude of a palace.'"
The indulgence of pretty sentiments like these did not dull the brain or dim the eye of this same writer to some imperfections in his beloved home. He seasoned his admiration of the " energy and enterprize " above quoted, and, in another issue of his paper, said :
" We have seen it stated that no English town, containing 10,000 inhabitants, is without pavements and lamps; and many with less than 5,000 are as well paved and lighted as the finest quarter of London. While here is the proud city of Newark, with a population of TWENTY THOUSAND, and doing a profitable business to the amount of eight millions a year, without books, pavements, lights, or any other common comfort which it is possible for such a commu- nity to live without. And yet there is hardly a manufacturer or business man amongst us who is not abundantly able to bear any tax necessary to the possession of all these conveniences. Still the most of us love to boast of our superiority to any other people on the face of the earth."
This was not without some effect. Before the city was seven months old, during the waning days of October, the foregoing commentator complimented the city authorities on having intro- duced lights in the streets at night. Oil lamps were then used, and even those quite sparingly, and confined to the centre of the city and the street corners. It was not until Christmas Day, 1846, that the Newark Gaslight Company commenced manufacturing gas in Newark. At first the city was supplied the same as private.persons. In April, 1851, a contract was entered into to supply the city, and in 1853 there were 337 lamps supplied, at the rate of $28.50 per
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190 PAVEMENTS-WATER-ESSEX COUNTY MORALS IN 1836.
· Market street.
lamp for 2,200 hours-the rate charged now (1878) being $28.70 for 3, 160 hours. It was not until July 26th, 1852, that the work of laying stone pavements commenced. The work was begun in Broad street was paved about a year later. Previous to this, Broad and Market streets, at certain seasons of the year, were almost impassable because of the great depth of mud. It was only after long and vigorous agitation that pavements were ordered to be laid. Aqueduct water was introduced as early as the year 1800, being supplied to houses through wooden pipes. The Newark Aqueduct Company was incorporated November 17th, 1800. The first Directors were John N. Cummings, Nathaniel Camp, Jesse Baldwin, Nathaniel Beach, Stephen Hays, James Hedden, Jabez Parkhurst, David D. Crane, Joseph L. Baldwin, Luther Goble, Aaron Ross, John Burnet and William Halsey. In 1828 steps were taken which resulted in the substitution of iron for wooden pipes. Under an act of the Legislature, approved March 20th, 1860, " The Newark Aqueduct Board " was constituted, and by that authority the transfer was made to the City of Newark "of the capital stock and all the rights, franchises, lands and property, real and personal, of the Newark Aqueduct Company," the consideration being $100,000.
The rule is to say nothing but good of the dead. The irrevocable laws governing history, however, require that the dead past shall be treated with truth and candor. Truth and candor, then, compel the admission that, sinful and wicked as are the times we have our- selves fallen upon, there are reasons for doubting if the past was any purer or freer from evil-doing than the present. In his annual report, published during the Summer of 1836, Mr. McKee, the agent of the State Temperance Society, gave some facts and figures which form a rather dark lining to the silvery cloud with which we are wont to surround the memories of a by-gone past. Said Mr. McKee :-
" In Essex county, of 517 committed during the last 18 months to Newark Jail, one hundred and sixty-six were incarcerated for drunkenness alone ; 107 for beating and abusing their wives and children ; 100 for riots and breaches of the peace ; and 144 for different crimes, such as forgery, burglary, &c. Cost of prosecuting each prisoner when found guilty, averages $25; cost of board $90 per annum besides other expenses for fire, and physicians' bills. Of the prisoners above mentioned, 17 wcre females committed for drunkenness, 7 for lewdness, and 2 for petit larceny, and six men deranged by intemperance. After a patient and careful enquiry, the superintendent of the Jail, Mr. Kilburn, certifies 'that of the 517, not more than one in every
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THE GREAT FIRE OF 1836.
fifty, is temperate, and that of 159 committed in the same time for debt, not more than one in every twenty, is a temperate man.' Of 252 paupers admitted to the poor house of Newark township, 'the pauperism of 142,' says Mr. Crane, the superintendent, 'is distinctly traceable to intemperance alone, and of 73 with whose histories I am unacquainted, more than one-half, I am satisfied, may be set down to the same cause, not more than half a dozen, including two cases of idiocy, can be correctly referred to old age, or the force of untoward circumstances.'"
A master-intellect of the guild of English literature makes one of his best-known dramatic creations say :
" When sorrows come, they come not single spies, But in battalions !"
So, to be true to the great poet-playwright, and to continuity, let us pursue the thread of local misfortune. Speaking. of the commercial and financial distresses of 1836 and 1837, Andrew Jackson, then President of the United States, attributed the troubles to the mismanagement of the Bank of the United States, which he stigmatized as "the scourge of the people." As a fit avant courier to these distresses, the scourge of fire visited Newark in the Fall of 1836, and made sad havoc with valuable, centrally located property. On the afternoon of Friday, October 27, a fire broke out in a German boarding-house, a two-story frame building on the south side of Market street, a short distance east of Broad street. The firemen were promptly on hand, but owing to the very inflammable character of the buildings adjacent to the one in which the fire broke out, the early bursting of a considerable portion of the hose, and the very inadequate supply of water, the flames spread east, west and in the rear with uncontrollable rapidity. For five hours the firemen and the citizens, together with fire companies from New York, Belleville, Elizabethtown and Rahway-all of whom responded with celerity to the call for assistance-battled bravely with the demon of devastation, but with not a tithe of the success that must have rewarded their heroic exertions had the water supply been sufficient. Up and down Market street, through to Mechanic street, up and down that street on both sides, and northward along Broad and Mulberry streets, the flames forced their way, eating up building after building, until almost the entire square was a waste of débris and blackened ruins. It was only by the greatest devotion to duty that the firemen were able to save the then State Bank building, a substantial brick structure on the southeast corner of Broad and Mechanic streets, and that most precious of land-marks-the venerable First Presbyterian Church
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192
A HEROIC MECHANIC-MAYOR WILLIAM HIALSEY.
edifice. Among those who came from Elizabethtown to render assistance were two intrepid United States naval officers, Lieuten- ants Gedney and Williamson. They endeavored to check the advance of the flames by attempting to blow up several buildings with powder, but, not having proper appliances, failed. Luckily no lives were lost or limbs broken. The total loss was about $125,000 -- a very large sum in those days. Destructive as was the fire, and distressing as were the consequences, the citizens expressed hearty congratulations that the demolition of property was not infinitely greater, as at one time threatened to be the case. The Newark Daily Advertiser, at the close of an elaborate account of the fire, said : "Great apprehensions were excited at one time that the whole eastern side of the city would be destroyed. But it was preserved, and great as the calamity is, there is still great cause for thankfulness for the protecting care of a merciful Providence." The same journal instanced " one case of intrepidity and generous self-sacrifice." " Alexander Kirkpatrick, a journeyman mechanic, signalized himself in saving Asa Torrey's house, upon the roof of which he was sometime exposed to the billowy sheets of flame from the adjoining building, pouring water from buckets handed through the scuttle, at the peril of his life." The recipient of this encomium appears to have been as high-spirited as he was heroic. He promptly declined " a generous fee " offered him by an appreciative State official, (Attorney-General White) as "an expression of his estimate of his (Kirkpatrick's) services." The thanks of the city were subsequently formally tendered through Mayor William Halsey and the Common Council-all of whom were present at the fire and rendered valuable aid-to the firemen from New York and neighboring towns for their invaluable assistance. It was years before the burnt district was rebuilt.
Mayor WILLIAM HALSEY, whose presence at the fire is noted, died August 16th, 1843. He was the first Mayor of the city, the office having literally begged his acceptance. William Halsey was born in 1770, near the Short Hills, Essex County. He was admitted to the bar in 1794. In his profession he displayed very decided talents, and was especially able in the management of criminal defenses. After he retired from the active practice of his profession, he was appointed Judge of the Essex County Court of Common Pleas. Excepting that office and the Mayoralty of the infant city,
193
" HARD-TIMES" AND THE FOREIGN POPULATION.
Judge Halsey never held any official position. During his long life, however, he performed more than a full share of unrequited labor as a citizen. He was greatly esteemed by the people for his genial and benevolent qualities, as well as for his talents at the bar and on the bench. He died suddenly in his 73d year.
Soon after " the great fire " of 1836 came the pecuniary and mer- cantile distresses already referred to. These reached a crisis early the following year. During March and April of 1837, the failures in New York alone amounted, it was stated at the time, to nearly one hundred millions of dollars. The great extent of the business operations of the country at that time, and their intimate con- nection with each other, extended the evil throughout all the channels of trade; causing, in the first place, a general failure of the mercantile interests,-affecting, through them, the business of the mechanic and the farmer, nor stopping until it had reduced the wages of the humblest day laborer. Added to the effects of general paralysis of business, and of the fire, Newark suffered also from the reaction which followed a real estate speculation prevalent during the years preceding and witnessing the conflagration.
Recurring to matters set forth a few pages earlier, it will be remembered that between the figures given of the foreign popula- tion in the statistics of 1835 and 1836, there is a wide discrepancy. In the former, the total numbers of foreigners resident in Newark is estimated at (about) 7,300, but in the latter the number is reduced to less than one-half-3,624. Possibly the figures of 1835 were higher than a careful canvass would warrant, and those of 1836 lower, but there are other causes for the discrepancy. The building of the Morris Canal, and, subsequently, the New Jersey Railroad, drew to Newark a large number of foreign laborers. The steady growth of manufactures also attracted hither many skilled workmen of foreign birth. When the Newark sections of the canal and railroad were completed, large numbers of the laborers moved away. Another cause of depletion was the approach of hard times-the commercial and industrial panic of 1837. Its coming was earliest seen and felt in the cities. Individuals devoid of strong family or locality interests and ties, scattered into agricultural districts at the first pinch. In this way Newark lost thousands of stalwart citizens. Apropos of the foreign population of Newark, it is proper here to trace its early growth.
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194 EARLY. IRISH SETTLERS-"'98" REVOLUTIONARY MEMORIES.
The Scotch were here in small numbers almost as early as the original settlers, but it was not until the present century was well advanced that the Irish and Germans began to settle in Newark in any considerable number. In point of number and period of settlement the Irish take precedence. Among the first of the Emerald Islanders to take up their residence here, were John Haw- thorn, Robert Riley, Charles Durning, John Sherlock, Christopher Rourke, Thomas Garland, the brothers Arthur and William Sanders, Robert Selfrage, Thomas Clark, Martin Rowan, Thomas Brannan, the brothers Gillespie, Daniel Elliott, Maurice Fitzgerald, Thomas Corrigan, Michael O'Connor, Edward C. Quinn, John Kelly, Timothy Bestick, the Duffys, Carrs, Dennys, Crockets, Kearneys and Rowes. These, and the others who came with and after them, were given a hearty welcome to Newark. According to several venerable Irish- born residents of Newark still living, there were of their race only about half-a-dozen families here in 1820. One of the very earliest of the Irish to settle in Newark was John Hawthorn, a North of Ireland Presbyterian, who removed hurriedly to this country because of the famous "troubles of '98" in Ireland. In his own country Mr. Hawthorn was a man of considerable substance-owned a fine farm and other property. During the heroic but disastrous revolutionary outbreak which cost the noble young Emmet his life upon the scaffold, Hawthorn was " called out " by the British Government. Being a Protestant and comfortably situated, it was assumed by the government agents that he would at once respond to the call. Instead of doing so, he immediately disposed of his property and sailed for this country. "I will never wear a red coat for the English Government," he said to his wife, who was equally enthu- siastic in opposition to English aggressions in Ireland. Upon coming to Newark, Mr. Hawthorn purchased a considerable tract of land on the west side of Belleville avenue and for many years carried on the quarrying business at the Old Town Quarry, residing in a house adjoining St. John's Cemetery. He was a man of very powerful physique, and rather inclined to eccentricity. Once, it is stated, some athlete in Pennsylvania having issued a challenge to wrestle any Irishman in the land, Hawthorn visited the quarry, told one of his foremen to take charge of it for a few days, and started off, merely saying that he would be heard from before he was scen again in Newark. And so it proved ; for, soon after, the newspapers
195
THE RYANS-CHARLES DURNING-ST. JOHN'S PARISH.
announced that he had "tossed " the challenger and carried off the $500 stakes. Quite a colony of Irish Catholics and Presbyterians removed from Newark to Belleville about this time and worked there in the large quarries, calico, copper and white-lead factories. Among the number was a man named John Ryan, who is said to have been a participant in many of the Irish Revolutionary engage- ments, and to have figured conspicuously in the famous Vinegar Hill battle. Robert Riley is stated to have been here as early as 1810. His name appears in the earliest directories as a " currier, 172 Plane." Some of his people, it is stated, were ardent believers in the revo- lutionary doctrines of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Theobold Wolf- Tone and Robert Emmet, and were hanged in Ireland, in 1798, from the shafts of their own drays. According to an aged and highly respected Irish-American citizen, still living, who came here in 1828, there were then in Newark only about thirty Irish families, including those already named. One of the most kindly remembered and universally esteemed of these was Charles Durning. He was a weaver by trade, and used his opportunities so as to acquire owner- ship of considerable property. While there were a few Irish families attached to the Presbyterian Church, the majority were Catholics. Long before the number of Catholics in Newark warranted the erection of a place of worship, missionary priests occasionally came out from New York and celebrated the Mass in private houses. Sometimes the celebration took place in the "Old Turf House," on the corner of Mulberry and Durand streets, then owned by Mr. Durning-now supplanted by an extensive jewelry factory. At other times the celebration took place at the home of Christopher Rourke, the old stone house still standing on the corner of High and Orange streets. In the "Old Turf House," when the Masses first began to be celebrated, a dozen persons and even less were considered fair sized congregations. When Newark became a regular station, mem- bers of the Church of Rome used to gather here for worship every Sunday from Belleville, Orange, Elizabeth, Rahway, Madison, and even from Boonton, in Morris County. About the time the Parish of St. John's was regularly organized (in 1284) one-third of the congregation is said to have been composed of residents of Belleville. St. John's, the parent Catholic Church in Newark, was originally erected on a very small scale and in a very primitive style. It was built on the site still occupied by the church of the same name, and
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ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL-REV. FATHER MORAN.
was no larger than a large sitting chamber. Boards arranged on stone supports formed the seats. Father Hernandez, a Spanish priest, is remembered as among the first to officiate. He could only speak his mother tongue, and Latin. When he had anything particular to say to the congregation additional to the regular Church formula, he spoke in Spanish and E. C. Quinn translated his remarks in English. About the year 1829 Father Hernandez left Newark, and proceeded to South America. 'There, it is stated, he engaged in a revolutionary movement, but whether as a soldier of the Cross or of fortune is not known. The names of Fathers McQuade, Duffy, Conroy, Refnier, Varilla and Shanahan are also associated with the early days of St. John's. The first regularly installed pastor of this church appears to have been Rev. Father George B. Pardoe, whose first baptism in it took place October 11th, 1829. Father Pardoe was succeeded in 1832 by Father Herard, who, in turn, was succeeded by Father Moran. Under his auspices the erection of the present spacious St. Patrick's Cathedral was commenced. Father Moran purchased the site, and with his own hands broke the ground on the block between Bleecker and Nesbitt streets, fronting on Washington street. The growth of Catholicity in Newark during Father Moran's time was surprising. Soon after he com- menced to build St. Patrick's, his labors increased so that he had to place the work of the Cathedral in the hands of Father Senez, now of Jersey City. The corner-stone was laid with impressive ceremonies in 1848, by Archbishop (then Bishop) Hughes, and was dedicated the same year, Father Senez, its principal constructor, being its first pastor. The principal officiating clergy at the dedication were Bishops Connolly, Dubois and Hughes. After Father Moran came Father Schneider as pastor of St. John's, who remained one year-from 1866 to 1867-when Father Killeen took charge. Great has been the change in the material as well as spiritual prosperity of this church. Instead of its ancient one of timber, it now has a spacious temple of granite, with a handsome stone residence adjoining for the pastor.
The first native of Newark ordained to the Catholic ministry was Daniel G. Durning, son of Charles Durning. After Father Durning there were ordained to the priesthood the following natives of Newark : John Connolly, Edward C. Hickey, formerly pastor of St. John's, in Orange; James Leddy, now of Western New York;
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THE FATHER OF CATHOLICISM IN NEWARK.
Michael Augustus Corrigan, now Bishop of the Diocese of Newark ; Fathers Kane and James H. Corrigan, the Bishop's brother, now President of Seton Hall College at South Orange.
Conspicuously associated with the early Catholic Church of Newark, and for a period extending more than thirty years, is the name of Rev. Father Moran. Under his pastoral ministrations the St. John's sapling grew with surprising rapidity and strength, and spread out its roots until there also sprung up a St. Patrick's, a St. James', a St. Joseph's, a St. Mary's (German), a St. Peter's (German), and a St. Joseph's (German).
PATRICK MORAN was born at Lough Rea, County Galway, Ireland, about the year 1798-that year so pregnant with sad and · bitter memories of Irish history. He was intended for the priest- hood, but before completing his education resolved to east his lot in America, eoming here in 1827. It is stated that the ship in which he first embarked was driven back by adverse winds, and, taking the fact as an evil omen, a warning against the pursuing of his intentions, the friends of young Moran urged him to remain in Ireland. Among those who so advised him was the Right Rev. Dr. Ryan, Bishop of Limerick. But Moran was not to be swerved from his purpose. He embarked again and arrived safely, where- upon he proceeded to Maryland and entered St. Mary's College, at Emmittsburg, and completed his theological studies under the learned guidance of Rev. Prof. (afterwards Bishop) Bruté. In 1832 he was ordained to the priesthood, and the following year was appointed by Bishop Dubois pastor of St John's Church, Newark. This position he held for thirty-three years, up to the time of his death, filling it "with singular dignity and efficiency." As already intimated, Rev. Father Moran is entitled to rank in local history as the Father of Catholicism in Newark. Upon the erection of the Diocese of Newark, and the appointment of Rev. Dr. James Roosevelt Bayley (who was appointed Archbishop of Baltimore and Primate of America in 1873, and died in November, 1877) as Bishop, he selected Father Moran as Vicar-General of the new Diocese. This was in 1853. He filled that office, along with his pastorate of St. John's, until the time of his death, which occurred on July 25th, 1866. Father Moran was a very remarkable man in many respects. While he was a zealot in the cause of Catholicity, he was noted among people outside of his own household of religious faith as a
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PEN PORTRAIT OF "THE GOOD OLD PRIEST."
man of the most generous and liberal impulses. He was extremely abstemious in his habits, and was an ardent advocate of total abstinence in the matter of the use of strong drink. But, while he practised and preached this doctrine himself-he was equally opposed to the use of tobacco-he never developed a spirit of fanaticism. In 1842 there was a vigorous revival in St. John's under his sole direction, and the evils of intemperance were depicted by Father Moran in a style at once simple, plain, forcible and effective. His whole congregation took the pledge, and it was a rare thing afterwards to find a member who had dishonored it. People of denominations other than Catholic were pleased listeners to Father Moran's practical temperance discourses, and many of them took what was familiarly known as "Father Moran's pledge." . The Father was exceedingly charitable, but always took care that his right hand was kept in ignorance of the generosity of his left. In personal appearance " the good old priest," as he was affectionately called, was of large size-not tall, but of full build, inclining to corpulency. His features were strongly marked, and certified the possessor as a person of decided character, positive opinions, firm will, but, at the same time, a man of an altogether benevolent and kindly nature. At times he permitted his iron-gray hair to grow to a moderate length, and he wore it combed back of his ears. He had a full eye, bright, open and searching ; a firm, elastic step, wore a broad-brimmed felt hat and carried a cane, which, with his quiet, dignified walk, was quite becoming. Altogether, Father Moran's face and head closely resembled likenesses of Benjamin Franklin. He had a fair share of the wit and humor with which his country- men are proverbially endowed, and greatly enjoyed a joke. "It was good to hear him laugh," says one who heard him a thousand times. With the young as well as with the old he was a great favorite. Indicative of the very high esteem in which he was held by citizens generally, is the fact that Protestant parents taught their children to regard him with special respect. When walking the streets, everybody was glad to meet and recognize the Father, and pleased to be recognized in turn by him. His method of quieting scandal reveals the practical wisdom of the man. He required those in his parish who spoke evil of their neighbors to put what they said in writing and append their names, or else hold their peace. He was modest to a fault, in proof of which may be cited the fact that he
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