Elias O. Van Duyne

NJGenWeb ~ Morris County, New Jersey

Elias O. Van Duyne

Biographical and Genealogical History of Morris County New Jersey. Illustrated. Vol. II., Lewis Publishing Company, New York and Chicago, 1899.

One cannot study far into the history of this section of New Jersey without meeting the name of VAN DUYNE in prominent connection with many of the leading interests which have tended to develop and upbuild this section of the state. In colonial days the ancestors of our subject located in this part of New Jersey, and since that time their descendants have been important factors in various lines of life, leaving the impress of their individuality upon the growth and progress of the section.

Our subject was born in Montville township, Morris county, on the old VAN DUYNE homestead, his parents being Martin R. and Julia A. (CRANE) VAN DUYNE. He spent the days of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof and acquired his preliminary education in the schools of the neighborhood, while in the home he was drilled in those lessons of uprightness and honor which have influenced his entire career. In 1857 he started westward and located in Kentucky, where he remained until 1864, when he returned to his native county, locating in Boonton. Here he engaged in the manufacture of carriages and wagons until 1882, since which time he has devoted his life to the work of the ministry. During these years he had been a close student of the Bible and had decided to take up the work of the church. He began his preparation under the direction of the late Rev. J.Y. Debaun, who was a professor in Hackensack, New Jersey, and after remaining there for two years was licensed to preach, in 1884. Thereupon he accepted a call from the home-missionary department of the Christian Reformed church, and continued in that line of labor until 1888, when he was ordained. Since that time he has devoted his efforts entirely to his chosen calling, and in the discharge of his duties has traveled extensively through various districts of New Jersey and New York. He is a man of much force of character, great energy and unabating zeal in his work, and has won the high regard of all with whom he has come in contact.

Rev. Elias O. VAN DUYNE was married in Passaic, New Jersey, March 4 ,1854, to Miss Robina SIMMS, who was born June 13, 1836, a daughter of Hugh and Mary M. (MC KACHIE) SIMMS, and they have had the following named children:

Sarah Elizabeth, born January 21, 1855, and died August 15, 1861;
James L., born November 3, 1862, married Carrie A. WHITEHEAD,
and has one son, named Carrollton;
Ellsworth, born April 23, 1865, married Elizabeth MORRISON
and has a daughter, Maud A.;
Anna Lucy, born September 4, 1872, became the wife of Charles K. GEDNEY,
by whom she has a son, named Raymond; and
Mary Matilda, born July 11, 1877, is a graduate of the Boonton high school and is now at home with her parents.

In his religious work Mr. VAN DUYNE has accomplished great good, and his influence is widely felt. He is an earnest, forceful and convincing speaker, an excellent organizer and a man of character and broad humanitarian principles, and his labors are not only effective within his own church, but also command the respect of the people generally.

This biography was scanned and contributed by Catherine Smith DeMayo.