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Source:
HISTORY
of
MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY
1664 - 1920
Under the Associate Editorship of
John P. Wall and Harold E. Pickersgill
Assisted by an
Able Corps of Local Historians
HISTORICAL - BIOGRAPHICAL
VOLUME II
Published by
Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc.
New York and Chicago
1921
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BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX
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THEODORE F.
RANDOLPH - There were important reforms inaugurated in New
Jersey during the three years following the election of Theodore
F. Randolph as governor, and his administration has been
generally commended. He is a native son of Middlesex county,
New Jersey, born in New Brunswick, June 24, 1826, his father,
James F. Randolph, editor and publisher of the "Fredonian" at
New Brunswick for thirty-six years, and for eight years a Whig
representative in Congress.
Theodore F. Randolph was liberally educated,
read law, and came to the bar in 1848. He had been brought up
by his father in the Whig political faith, and when quite young was
writing editorials for the "Fredonian." When a young man he went to
Mississippi for a season, and his first vote was cast in Vicksburg,
in that State, in 1847. After his return to New Jersey, in
1850, he settled in Hudson county, where in 1860 he was a member of
the State Legislature. In 1861 he was elected State Senator,
an office he held four years. He was a member of the special
committee on the Peace Conference in 1861, and was the author of the
measure for the relief of the families of soldiers who should serve
in the Union army. In 1867 he was elected president of the
Morris & Essex Railroad. In 1868 he was the candidate of the
Democratic party for governor of New Jersey, and was successful over
his 'Republican opponent, John I. Blair, by four thousand six
hundred and eighteen votes. He served with highest honor for
three years, then, as no governor of New Jersey may succeed himself,
he was retired to private life. But in 1874, the Democrats
having a majority in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature, he
was chosen United States Senator. He served his time with
great honor, and after retiring to private live devoted himself to
mining and farming operations. During his term as State
Senator he introduced a bill providing for a State comptroller.
During his administration as governor the State Riparian Commission
was established, the Camden & Amboy monopoly tax was repealed, and
the Morris Plains lunatic asylum was constructed. On July 12,
1871, the anniversary of the battle of the Boyne, he issued a
proclamation insuring the right of parade to the Orangemen of New
Jersey and giving them State protection. He was a member of
the Democratic National Committee, a trustee of Rutgers College, and
a founder and president of the Washington Headquarters Association,
of Morristown, New Jersey.
Governor Randolph married, in 1851, Fanny F.,
daughter of N. D. Colman, of Kentucky, and a granddaughter of
Chief Justice John Marshall. He resided in Morristown
from 1865 until his death, Nov. 7, 1883.
Source: History of Middlesex Co., N. J. - 1664 - 1920 - Vol. II -
Publ. by Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc. - New York and
Chicago - 1921 - Page 19 |
GEORGE DUNHAM
RUNYON, who for nearly two decades has been associated with
the "Evening News" of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and is now one of the
proprietors of that journal, is a native of the town of New
Brunswick, and a member of one of the oldest and most widely spread
families of the State. The Runyon family was founded
here in 1665 by one Vincent Rognion or Runyon, one of
the French Huguenots who was obliged to flee the persecutions in his
native land after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and settled
in Elizabethport, New Jersey. He is buried in Piscataway, New
Jersey, and his descendants are now resident in many parts of the
State, many of them occupying positions of prominence and influence
in their respective communities.
George Dunham Runyon was born Feb. 7, 1855, a
son of John and Amelia (Oram) Runyon, life long residents of
New Brunswick, where the former carried on a business as ship
carpenter for many years, and died at the age of sixty-seven.
His first wife, Amelia (Oram) Runyon, died at the age of
sixty-seven. His first wife, Amelia (Oram) Runyon, died
when she was but twenty-six years old, and she and her husband were
the parents of three children, as follows: George Dunham,
with whom we are here especially concerned; Cornelia,
deceased; and John, also deceased. John Runyon
married (second) _______, and they were the parents of seven
children, as follows: Amelia, who resides in New
Brunswick; a child that died in infancy; W. Parker, mentioned
at length elsewhere in this work; Frank, who resides in New
Brunswick; John, also of New Brunswick; Mary Fannie,
who died at the age of twenty-two years; and Theodore, of New
Brunswick.
The childhood of George Dunham Runyon was passed
at his father's home in New Brunswick, and he there received his
early education, attending local schools for this purpose, and he
later entered the Bryant & Stratton Business School of Newark, from
which he was graduated with the class of 1873. Upon completing
his studies he entered his father's ship repairing yard, and at the
age of twenty-two was working at this trade there. Eventually,
being of an enterprising character, he came to Perth Amboy and
opened a similar establishment of his own, founding with John H.
Phillips the Perth Amboy Dry Dock Company, and they met with
notable success from the outset. For ten years they continued
to carry on this enterprise, and then Mr. Runyon entered the
lumber business in Perth Amboy, in which for ten years more he was
similarly successful. It was in the year 1901 that Mr.
Runyon made the vital change that took him from the field of
industry and launched him upon his newspaper career in which he has
continued ever since. In that year he became associated with
the "Evening News," of which he eventually became one of the three
proprietors and of which he is now the treasurer. This paper,
under his exceedingly able financial management, has thriven greatly
and is now one of the most influential periodicals of Middlesex
county and a potent factor in local politics and the fie___ of
general thought. Mr. Runyon is a Democrat in politics,
and has himself played a prominent part in public affairs in Perth
Amboy. He has held a number of elective offices, has been a
member of the School Commission, and represented the First Ward on
the Board of Aldermen. He is also well known in social and
fraternal circles in the city, and has been a member of the Junior
Order of American Mechanics for forty years, being one of its
charter members, and a member of the local branch of the Young Men's
Christian Association for a long period.
George Dunham Runyon was united in marriage,
Apr. 29, 1879, in New Brunswick, with Melvinia Lewis, like
himself a native of that city, and a daughter of William and
Sarah (Voorhees) Lewis old and highly respected residents there
for many years and now both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Runyon
are the parents of six children, as follows: Lewis Parker,
who now resides in Buhl, Idaho, where he is engaged in the grocery
business; Cornelia who died at the age of four and a half
years; Harry H., who makes his home at Boise City, where he
is established as a successful merchant; Helen, a graduate
trained nurse at Boise City, Idaho; Ruth, wife of Charles
B. Oakford, Merchantville, New Jersey; and Vincent, who
saw active service during the World War in France as a member of the
13th Balloon Company. Mr. Runyon and the members of his
family are Methodists in their religious belief and those residing
in Perth Amboy attend the Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church of that
city, of which he has been the treasurer for above thirty-five
years.
Source: History of Middlesex Co., N. J. - 1664 - 1920 - Vol. II -
Publ. by Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc. - New York and
Chicago - 1921 - Page 44 |
WALTER PARKER
RUNYON - It is the fate of the cities of New Jersey,
fortunate or otherwise, that the gigantic size and financial
importance of their great neighbor in the adjacent State inevitably
over shadows them and gives to them something of the character of
suburbs, yet a number of them contain industrial interests equal or
superior to those that have given a national prominence to other
communities somewhat further removed from the metropolitan giant of
the New World. Several concerns located in one or the other of
the4se busy and prosperous cities, have arisen to such size and
importance as to emerge from the general class of local enterprises
into a more individual distinction, and have become, either from
their mere dimensions or because of their response to the particular
needs of the time, the subjects of a wider and more univeral
attention. More than one such concern is to be found in the
city of Perth Amboy and of these, perhaps the most notable, in the
Perth Amboy Dry Dock Company, the present importance of which is
largely the result of the practical genius of Walter Parker
Runyon, whose qualities as a business man and citizen have won
him the respect and admiration of his associates and the
community-at-large.
Walter Parker Runyon is a member of one of the
oldest families of New Jersey which has played a conspicuous part in
its affairs for a number of generations, and comes of French
Huguenot stock, which has contributed one of them most substantial
and capable elements to the citizenship of the country. The
family was founded in the New World by Vincent Rognion,
who left his native land to search for the religious and political
freedom denied the Huguenots in France after the Revocation of the
Edict of Nantes. This Vincent Rognion settled in the
vicinity of New Brunswick, New Jersey, and from him is sprung the
numerous family which has made the name in its anglicized form so
generally known in the State and elsewhere. One of his
descendants, another Vincent Runyon, as the name had then
come to be spelled, was the grandfather of Walter P. Runyon,
and the founder of the business that has since grown to such
importance. He was assisted in his venture by his son, John
Runyon, who afterwards carried it on, and who married Anne
Beck, of New Brunswick. They were the parents of Walter
Parker Runyon.
Walter P. Runyon was born in New Brunswick, New
Jersey, Dec. 3, 1861, and his childhood was passed in his native
city. As a lad he attended the public schools of New
Brunswick, and later the Rutgers Preparatory schools, from which he
was graduated in 1878. during his school days he had spent
much of his time in the old shipyard founded by his grandfather, and
as he grew to man's estate became ambitious of a business career, so
that upon completing his general studies he entered the New Jersey
Business College in order to prepare himself. He was graduated
from the lastnamed institution in 1880, and promptly secured a
clerical position with the firm of Fairbanks, Martin &
Company, woolen commission merchants, of New York City. Four
years were spent by him in the employ of this concern, during which
time he became thoroughly familiar with general business methods and
further fitted himself for the part he was to play in the business
world. The two years following found him with the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Company of New York, but his ambition ever urged him
to become independent, and accordingly he severed his connection
with that enormous institution and entered into partnership with the
firm of Vliet & Dalmer, manufacturing clothiers of his
native New Brunswick. It was during this time that he first
became associated with Charles D. Snedeker, who has since
continued his partner in the great enterprises that he has headed.
These two gentlemen were instrumental in organizing a new company
which absorbed the old firm of Vliet & Dalmer soon after his
connection with it, and which met with a high degree of success from
the outset. It thus became possible, in 1894, for Mr.
Runyon and Mr. Snedeker to purchase the interest of
John Runyon estate in the Perth Amboy Dry Dock Company, and
shortly afterwards a close corporation was formed with Mr. Runyon
at the head, which took over the entire stock of the old concern.
The Perth Amboy Dry Dock Company was at that time a comparatively
small business, but since then it has steadily grown under the
capable management of Mr. Runyon to its present position of
prominence. The yard and its equipment have been continually
increased to keep pace with the growing business and now possesses
five balance dry docks of 10,000, 2,500, 2,000, 1,000 and 500 tons
capacity, respectively. These are equipped with patent
adjustable keel blocks, while a twenty-five ton derrick is in
operation to lift and transport the heavy steel structural work in
use in marine construction. All needed supplies are kept
constantly on hand, and the great water frontage of more than a
thousand feet, extending over four blocks, affords ample pier space
for new vessels and those seeking repairs. Machine shops of
the most modern type are maintained, and the large boiler works are
in constant operation. This great enterprise is still
undergoing a steady expansion and is already one of the best known
of its kind along the Atlantic coast. Mr. Runyon is
president of the concern, and Mr. Snedeker its treasurer.
In addition to his own great business, Mr. Runyon
is associated with many other financial and business interests of
this region and is vice-president of the Raritan Trust Company and a
director of the New Brunswick Fire Insurance Company, New Brunswick,
New Jersey, and the Perth Amboy Trust Company, of Perth Amboy.
His activities extend into other fields besides business and connect
him with many departments of the communities affairs, and he is a
member of many important organizations and clubs here and elsewhere.
He is vice-president of the Perth Amboy Hospital Association, and a
member of the National Security League, the New Jersey Historical
Society, the United States Chamber of Commerce, the Maritime
Association of the Port of New York, the Manufacturers' Association,
the Perth Amboy Chamber of Commerce, the Young Men's Christian
Association of Perth Amboy, of which he is also a trustee;
vice-president of the Raritan Terminal and Waterways Association,
and member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.
He is prominent in social, club and fraternal circles, and is a
member of the Royal Arcanum, the Benevolent and Protective order of
Elks, the Lake Placid Club, the East Jersey Club, the Raritan Yacht
Club, and the Union Club of New Brunswick. He is a life member
of the National Marine League of the United States of America, and a
member of its board of trustees. Mr. Runyon has always
taken keen pleasure in outdoor life of all kinds, and at present
spends his leisure time at the Lake Placid Club in the Adirondack
Mountains and motors a great deal through that picturesque region.
He is also fond of mountain climbing and fishing and engages in
these sports to a considerable extent.
The participation of Mr. Runyon in public
affairs in his home region has been notable, and he is one of the
most influential members of the Democratic party in the State.
He has served as a member of the Democratic executive committee of
New Brunswick and the Democratic executive committee of Middlesex
county. He was alternate delegate to the National Democratic
Convention in 1908, and delegate to the party convention for years
later, and has served on numerous State conventions during the past.
Mr. Runyon has also served the community in several official
capacities, and as a member of the New Brunswick Water Board and the
Perth Amboy Water Department Commission was instrumental in
developing the fine water supply now enjoyed by both cities.
In 1913 he was appointed by Governor Fielder, of New Jersey,
a member of the New Jersey State Harbor Commission, and the
following year, when the Board of Commerce and Navigation succeeded
to the older body, became a member thereof. His services on
these bodies was of such value that when Governor Edge was
elected he reappointed him. Mr. Runyon has also
represented New Jersey for some years at the annual meetings of the
Atlantic Deeper Waterways Conventions. In 1916 he was the
president of the New Jersey Wilson Business Men's League.
Walter Parker Runyon was united in marriage,
Jan. 10, 1895, with Katherine Engle Hancock a daughter of the
Rev. Ezekiel Cooper and Emma Jean (Githens) Hancock, of
Burlington county, New Jersey. Mrs. Runyon's death
occurred on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 1919. Two children were
born to Mr. and Mrs. Runyon, as follows: Cooper
Hancock, born Sept. 3, 1896, died Oct. 26, 1919; and Walter
Parker, Jr.
Source: History of Middlesex Co., N. J. - 1664 - 1920 - Vol.
II - Publ. by Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc. - New York
and Chicago - 1921 - Page 124 |
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