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EGBERT SEYMOUR, Mayor of the City of Bayonne and widely known as a member in that part of Hudson County, was born in Ulster County, N. Y., December 15, 1850, the son of James Seymour and Sarah Ann, daughter of David and Elenor Radiker, and grandson of Charles and Eliza Seymour. His boyhood was not unlike those of other country lads. He attended the district schools, spent six months at the academy in Montgomery, Orange County, and another six months at the academy in Newburgh, in the same county, in New York State, and subsequently served as a clerk for twelve years. These advantages, however, afforded him an opportunity to lay the foundation upon which he has built a successful career. From a clerk he became a merchant, and for eighteen years has been actively and successfully engaged in the butter and cheese trade in New York City.

Mr. Seymour is one of the foremost citizens of his adopted city, a man universally esteemed and respected, and prominent and influential in every movement and especially in political affairs. For two years he rendered efficient service as a member of the Board of School Trustees. As Mayor of the City of Bayonne he has served three terms. He has been instrumental in advancing the best interests of the community, in building up the city, and in promoting many important public improvements. When his present term expires on May 1, 101, he will have filled the office for six consecutive years, and it is safe to say that no man ever discharged its duties with more fidelity and honesty of purpose. Mr. Seymour is respected and esteemed for his ability and integrity of character, and in every capacity has gained the confidence of all who know him. He is a prominent member of the Newark Bay Boat club, of the Exempt Firemen of Bayonne, of Council No. 695, Royal Arcanum, and of Council No. 434., Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Bayonne. He is also a leading member of the Bayonne City Democratic Club and of the Robert Davis Association of Jersey City.

Mr. Seymour married, October 22, 1873, Marietta H. Neafie, and their children are James H. and Everett E. Seymour.

Source: Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey, Editor, Cornelius Burnham Harvey, The New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Company, 1900, pages 129-130.

THE SICKLES FAMILY had much to do with the early settlement of Hudson and Bergen Counties. Zacharias Sickles, the common American ancestor of the family, was a native of the City of Vienna, Austria, who soon after reaching manhood drifted to Amsterdam, Holland, where he entered the military service and was sent with a fleet on a cruise to Curacoa, where he remained until 1655. In the service he attained the rank of Adelborst or Cadet. In 1655 Governor Stuyvesant paid a visit to the island where Sickles was on duty. The latter accompanied the Governor to New Amsterdam and soon after attached himself to the garrison of Fort Orange (Albany). In 1658 he became a tapster of New Amsterdam and upon the surrender by the Dutch to the British in 1664 he married Anna, daughter of Lambert Van Vaelkenburgh, and went to work to gain a livelihood as a carpenter. In 1676 he was elected "town herder," which office he held for thirteen years on a salary of 18 gelders a head for the season. He was appointed rattle-watch, so called from the rattle used to give warning in making his nightly rounds. He was also for some time crier to call the people together on needed occasions, and porter or keeper of the city gates, to close them at night and open them in the morning.

In 1669 he purchased a lot of land in Bergen, N. J., on which his eldest son, Robert, settled. The children of this son scattered through Bergen County, where many of Zacharias's descendants still reside. He had nine children, the eldest of whom was Robert, who married Gertrude Reddenhause and located at Bergen, where he was a prominent resident, and left a large family. His son William, born in October, 1704, married Elizabeth Cooper, and removed to Rockland County, N. Y., from which locality his numerous descendants spread south into Bergen County, where their descendants are still found.

Source: Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey, Editor, Cornelius Burnham Harvey, The New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Company, 1900, page 179-180.

MARKHAM E. STAPLES, of Jersey City, President of the New Jersey State Board of Prison Inspectors, was born in New York City on the 10th of December, 1850. He is the son of John Buthune Staples and Elizabeth Douglass Young, daughter of William Young, his paternal grandfather being Seth P. Staples. The family is an old and prominent one in American history and for generations have been influential citizens.

Mr. Staples was educated at Dwight and Holbrook’s School in Clinton, N. Y., and at Poughkeepsie (New York) Military Institute. Afterward he spent one year as draughtsman with J. A. Wood, a prominent architect in Poughkeepsie, and three years as draughtsman and rodman in the Croton Aqueduct Department, New York City. For fourteen months he has brakeman and baggagemaster of the Iowa division of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and for twenty-seven years he has been associated with the Erie Railroad as conductor, yardmaster, station master, superintendent of floating equipment and lighterage, and general agent of the New York terminal, which responsible position he now holds. In all these capacities <r. Staples has displayed untiring energy and devotion in duty, great executive ability, and all those qualities which win both respect and approval.

In public life he has also achieved distinction. He has been an Inspector of the New Jersey State Prison for eight years and President of the Board of Inspectors for five years, and has four years more to serve. He was appointed to this office by Governor Abbett and was re-appointed by Governors Werts and Voorhees, and has discharged its duties with universal satisfaction and approval. Mr. Staples is a prominent member of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church of Jersey City, of the D. McLaughlin and Robert Davis Associations, and of the Carteret Club, all of Jersey City, and of the Commercial and Railroad Clubs of New York City. He is a life member of Jersey City Lodge, 211, B. P. O. E., and Vice-President of the National Board of Steam Navigators.

Mr. Staples was married, in 1880, to Miss Mary Willis, of Jersey city. They have two children, Francis George and Mary W.

Source: Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey, Editor, Cornelius Burnham Harvey, The New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Company, 1900, pages 128-129.

WILLIAM JAMES TILLEY, pastor of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Harrison, Hudson County, was born in Bristol, R. I., on the 16th of September, 1845. He is the son of Benjamin Tilley and Susan W. Easterbrooks, a grandson of Benjamin Tilley and Rachel Simmons, a great-grandson of William Tilley and Catherine Sabine, and a great-great-grandson of William Tilley, Jr., and Dorcas, his wife. William Tilley, Jr., was born in Execter, England, about 1685. He came to Boston, Mass., where he married his wife, Dorcas, in 1736, and subsequently went to Newport, R. I., and established himself in business. From that early colonial period until the present the family has been conspicuous in civil and public affairs, and respected in the communities in which they resided. The name Tilley is first found on the roll of the companions of William the Conqueror in England, in 1066, and since that date it is found in every county in England, France, and Holland, and in 1629 in America. The coat-of-arms of the Tilleys of France is the same as of the family of England to-day. The first of the name in America were Edward and John Tilley, who came over in the “Mayflower,” and whose names are on the Plymouth monument.

Mr. Tilley is a brother of Benjamin F. Tilley, Commander in the United States Navy, who was in command of the United States gunboat, “Newport,” of the blockading squadron during the late Spanish American War, and who in that capacity captured numerous prizes and distinguished himself for bravery, patriotism, and loyalty to duty.

Rev. William James Tilley was educated in the schools of his native town and at North Yarmouth Academy, near Portland, Me. He also took a special course of classical study under the direction of Dr. Leonard Bacon, of Yale University, and under Dr. McClintock, and was graduated from Drew Theological Seminary in 1871, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. In the meantime he had spent three years in the Treasury Department at Washington.

After graduating from Drew Theological Seminary he was successively pastor of charges at sand Lake, N. Y., Dalton, Mass., Troy, N. Y., and Brandon, Vt., in which State he remained about ten years. In 1880 he took a special course in divinity under the direction of Bishop Bissell, of Vermont, and entered the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church, with which he has ever since been actively connected. He was called to Amherst, Mass., in 1888, and remained there about five years, being called from there January 1, 1893, to Newark (Harrison), N. J., where he still resides. He has built the Harrison church up to its present flourishing condition.

Rev. Mr. Tilley has achieved notable distinction in the priesthood, and during his twenty years with the Protestant Episcopal Church has exerted a wholesome influence in advancing its doctrines throughout the communities in which he has held rectorships. Endowed with intellectual ability of the highest order, he is an eloquent speaker, forcible and convincing in his arguments, simple and concise in diction, and beloved and esteemed by all who know him. He has also gained distinction in literature, having contributed a number of important articles to various magazines and periodicals. His poems in the New York Independent and other journals have been favorably received. He was awarded the second prize out of four hundred competitors by judges appointed by The Great Divide for a poem on Colorado, and is also the author of a volume entitled Masters of the Situation, which has been issued in both trade and subscription editions. Mr. Tilley married Katharine J. Travis, of Cohoes, Albany, N. Y.

Source: Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey, Editor, Cornelius Burnham Harvey, The New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Company, 1900, pages 115-116.