Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of William Brown 2nd

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Descendants of William Brown 2nd

3. ISABELLA FORSYTH³ BROWN (WILLIAM BROWN² 2ND, WILLIAM BROWN¹ 1ST) (Source: Clipping from a "family memory book".) was born January 09, 1861 in Alexandria, Bonhill Parish,Dunbarton,Scotland (Source: Certificate of Birth, Copy of Registar from GRO Scotlend.), and died June 27, 1926 in St. Lukes Hospital, New York City (Source: Clipping from a "family memory book".). She married THOMAS WALLACE BENTLEY (Source: Clipping from a "family memory book".) March 14, 1881 in Paterson, Passaic Co., New Jersey. He was born February 07, 1861 in Bradford,Yorkshire,England (Source: Kevin Wright, History of Newton New Jersey, A web site, (A website published online Š2000), "Electronic," Newton Industry page, Kevin Wright is a local historian for Newton, New Jersey, and is in process of putting together a book. Paragraph 1 line 1 on Newton Silk Mills http://www2.cybernex.net/~wright.), and died October 26, 1932 in Paterson,Passaic Co.,New Jersey (Source: Clipping from a "family memory book".).

Notes for ISABELLA FORSYTH BROWN:
MRS.T.W.BENTLEY DIES IN NEW YORK ( in ink on obit June 27-1926 )
Passes Away at St. Luke's Hospital Where She Had Been Patient a Month

Mrs. Isabella Bentley, wife of Thomas W. Bentley, died Sunday night at St. Luke's hospital, New York, where she had been a paitent about a month. She was born in Vale Levan on the banks of Loch Lamond, Scotland, Jan. 9, 1861, and came to America in 1867. On March 14,1881, she was married to Mr. Bentley in Paterson, where they made their residence, except for two years in Boonton, untill 1899, when they came to Newton. Mr. Bentley was engaged in the silk business here. In 1918 Mr. and Mrs. Bentley moved to New York, where they resided until this month when they took up their residence in Paterson. She was a member of the Mozart and Theatre Clubs, of New York, and the Women's Club of Paterson. Besides her husband, she is survived by two daughters, the Misses Dorothy and Effie Bentley, of Paterson, and two sons Herbert Bentley of Newton, and Daniel B. Bentley of New Rochelle, N.Y. Four sisters, Mrs. Anna Dilworth and Miss M.M. Brown, of Newton; Mrs Jean McKendrick, of Paterson, and Mrs. Effie Brink, of Allentown,Pa., and three brothers William Brown, of Philadelphia, Pa.,Daniel Brown, of Springfield, Long Island, and John Brown, of Shamokin, Pa., also survive.
Funeral services will be conducted at the chapel of Cedar Lawn cemetery, Paterson, this (Wednesday) afternoon at 3 o'clock.
(in ink at bottom of obit June 30th)
SOURCE clipping of obit in " family memory book "

DEATHS
Bentley--- In New York City,Sunday, June 27th, 1926 Isabella,Wife of Thomas W. Bentley, in her sixty-sixth year, formerly of Newton, N.J. Funeral services on Wednesday, June 30, 1926, at the Chapel at Cedar Lawn Cemetery at 3 o'clock p.m. Interment at Cedar Lawn.
jun-28-29 <-- in lower right corner.

More About ISABELLA FORSYTH BROWN:
Fact 1: June 03, 1880, listed as a silk weaver 1880 Federal census (Source: 1880 Federal Census/#178/pg 13/Paterson,Passaic Co./3-Jun-1880.)
Interment: June 30, 1926, Cedar Lawn Cemetery Paterson,Passaic Co.,NJ (Source: Clipping from a "family memory book", Mrs. T.W. Bentley Dies in New York, Obit for Isabella listing birth, marriage, and death dates as well as various dates and places the family lived in, along with her social clubs. .)

Notes for THOMAS WALLACE BENTLEY:
Thomas W. BENTLEY.......
Another of Paterson's pioneers in the silk industry passed on yesterday when death came to Thomas Wallace Bentley
head of the Bentley Silk corporation,of New York.
Born in Bradford,Yorkshire,England,in 1861,the deceased came to this city when eleven years old. Following an education in the local schools Mr.Bentley,at the age of twenty-five,organized his own company for the manufacture of silk,the Thomas W. Bentley Silk company,from which with David Valentine,was developed the Sterling Silk company,which grew successfully into the Valentine & Bentley Silk company,the Bentley & Twohey Silk company and then the present firm.
Mr Bentley had high standards, and during the fourty years of his active participation in the industry was always recognized ar a manufacturer of fine silks. He retired eight years ago and spent much of his time in foreign travel. At the beginning of the century he made his home in Newton, where he took an active part in the civic affairs of that community.
Losing his first wife Isabella Forsythe Brown, of this city, in 1926, after he established a home in New York to be near his business headquarters, Mr. Bentley returned to Paterson to make his home here after his marriage to Ella C. Beveridge, of Perth,Scotland, and has lived here ever since. The deceased had a large circle of friends by whom his loss will be sincerly mourned.
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Funeral services for Thomas Wallace Bentley, retired silk manufacturer, who passed away Wednesday, will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 o'clock from his late residence, 577 Park avenue. The Rev. Howard A.Adair, pastor of the Eastside Presbyterian church, will officiate at the services. Interment will take place at Cedar Lawn cemetery.
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Bentley__ In Paterson, on Wednesday,Oct. 26, 1932,, Thomas Wallace, beloved husband of Ella Beveridge Bentley, in his 72nd year.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral on Saturday, Oct. 29, from his late residence, 577 Park Avenue, 2:30 o'clock p. m. Interment at Cedar Lawn Cemetery 17oct-3t

SOURCE: clippings of obits from newspaper found in

"family memory book"
There is a photo associated with the second clipping above.
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Silk Factory Fire December 1891
A BIG CONFLAGRATION
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Mill Property to the Extent of $100,000 destroyed
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Mysterious Burning of the Paragon Silk Works and Several Other Mills--An Early Morning Blaze on Sandy Hill--Supposed to Have Been Caused by Spontaneous Combustion--Several Narrow Escapes From Death Beneath the Burning Walls--Valiant Work of the Firemen.
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A few minutes after 4 a.m. today Charles Hassock, a watchman at the Paragon Silk Works at the corner of Madison and Morton streets, while getting steam up for the resumption of work at 7 o'clock,saw a cloud of smoke burst forth from the big boilers, and he shouted to his fellow watchman, Richard Lumsley, to make an investigation. At the same time he ran toward the stock room to discover the cause. When he reached the office facing Morton Street,where but a short time before he had registered his hourly trip through the mill on a clock and indicator placed there for that purpose, he was almost paralyzed to see a tongue of flame shoot upward and huge volumes of smoke pouring from the front windows. He saw the necessity for speedy action, if anything was to be saved, and shouted an alarm at the top of his voice, running toward the house of Engine No. 6 at the same time. Before he reached there the flames illuminated the sky in a perfect glare, and a number of policemen were just going on duty on the "dog watch" were attracted. Officer Wilds was met and he gave his signal box key to the watchman, who sped up Market street to box 24. Before he reached there, however a peal sounded from box 14, at the corner of Railroad avenue, and at the same time the apparatus from the house of N0. 6 dashed down the street. The entire lower floor of the brick structure was ablaze when the firemen got to work.
Streaks of fire ran rapidly along the oilsoaked floor and twined around the silken fibres on the looms and warping and winding frames, and the fierce heat cracked the windows all about.
Other apparatus arrived a moment later; alarmed citizens came rushing up and soon all Sandy Hill came flocking to the scene of the conflagration.

Chief Engineer Stagg sent out a general alarm, and with the extra trucks and engines came hordes of courious spectators from every quarter. The reflection from the flames made everything as bright as day and firemen worked valiantly. A glance showed that the main building could not be saved. From floor to floor upward the fiery demon crept and crash after crash followed as the ponderous machinery crushed downward thru the charred timbers. Gigantic sparks soared aloft and dropped on surrounding roofs, and the wooden tenements in the neighborhood were threatened. The big but flimsy shell at the corner of Morton and Straight streets was scorched. Every effort was put forth to save it, but to no avail.

The 16-inch wall that was the only barrier between it and the fire toppled over unexpectedly. Several firemen and spectators narrowly escaped being buried beneath the debris.

Then the wooden structure caught and in an instant was ablaze. All depended on preventing further progress westward.

Thomas W. Bentley's silk mill was located on the upper floor. A deluge of water was poured into the place, but seemed to have little effect. Many heavy tools fell to the lower floor,carrying burning brands along, and soon it to was ablaze. From Bentley's mill the fire ate its way with avidity toward the plant of the American Braid company, teh principal owner of which was Thomas Barr. The Fancy machines ther were warped and twisted and a large stock destroyed. Water poured through to the lower floor and rushed down the passageways in torrents.

Beneath Bentley's mill was the mohair braid works of Barnett & Holden a thrifty plant with splendid prospects. The deluge from above, with the fire creeping steadly ahead, soon destroyed the valuable machinery and stock, and in a remarkably short time the concern and that of Shaw & Oliphant was wiped out.

At this point the firemen began to get the upper hand, and by strenuous efforts succeeded in saving the Artesian Well Ice Company's manufactory. In doing so brave ladies took big risks. Had the heat melted the pipes containing a large quanity of ammonia they would have been overcome by the fumes and suffocated before assistance could arrive as they stood on the roof. Watchman Hassock's thoughtfulness prevented such a disaster. He yelled to the foreman of the men on the roof and chief Stagg, hearing of the danger took the necessary precautions.
It was not untill after 7 o'clock that the fire was fully under control and the hardest work the men have had for a long time was experienced.
When the fire was raging fiercest a portion of the wall on the northeast corner of the brick mill occupied by the Paragon Works toppled outward and buried a two-story frame house wnder its weight. Fortunatey the tennants, Italians, were taken out before the massive weight of brick and iron fell. The house was owned by a white-haired man named Ritchie, his daughter-in-law and her family, the son being absent at the time.
The well known house of Donald Mains was struck and the cornice shattered. Nothing but a smoking pile of ruins remains where so much thrift and industry was displayed.
About 500 people are thrown out of employment, just as they began to feel the effects of the promising prosperous times.
The greatest loss will be to the owners of the Paragon mills, Mr. Grosenbacher, the damage being total. It will probablyaggregate $65,000. This includes the loss of the building, which, with all the others burned, are owned by John Dunlop, who now resides at Spring Valley, N.Y. The insurance of the Paragon mills is placed in New York companies and will not cover the loss, as new machinery was being put in,and a large stock of manufactured and saw material was on hand.
In one room, near where the fire originated $30,000 worth of stockwas destroyed. It was smouldering still at 2 p.m. today. The safe was burst by the intense heat and to even the private papers the loss is complete.
Thomas W. Bentley's loss will ammount to over $20,000, with an insurance of only $13,000. The loss of James Barr, of the American Braid company is estimated at from $6,000 to $10,000 with more or less insurance. Barnett & Holden are severe losers, but they are taking maters philosophically and will start up again as quickly as a suitable place can be found. Theywere damaged tomthe extent of $12,000, with the insurance ammounting to only $8,000. Shaw & Oliphant claim to be losers to the extant of $10,000, although a large quantity of their stock was removed.
The cause of the fire is a mystery. There was a big lot of cotton filling and silk and cotton lining stood near where it was discovered and the theory of spontaneous combustion is advanced. The loss will be deeply felt by the operatives thrown out of employment, but it is expected that every manufacturer will be able to rebuild or get other quarters in a short time.
The loss to thr Italian family whose home was obliberated is covered principally by insurance.
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John Dunlops Mills, From Straight Street to Madison on Morton Street, Burnt Out Dec. 8, Paterson, N.J.
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TO THE PUBLIC
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Paterson,Dec.18,1891
Being one of the (8) unfortunates who was visited by fire at the Dunlop----Paragon Silk Co.'s---fire, I placed my loss in the hands of Henry J. Garrison, Insurance Agent and Adjuster, of No. 85 Park avenue, Paterson, N.J., and am happy to state that my loss has been the (First One Settled) <-- italic and it has been a very prompt and satisfactory settlement.
I take this means of thanking him, and do hereby cheerfully recommend him to anybody requiring the services of an experienced "Insurance Man"

Respectfully

Thomas W. Bentley
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SOURCE: newspaper clippings in "family memory book"

Msr. Alex McKendrick of 471 Broadway, with her daughter, Margaret, sailed for Europe today on the steamship Baltic. They will accompany Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Bentley, of Newton, N.J. and their daughters, Dorothy and Effie. The party expects to travel through England, Ireland and Scotland in Mr. Bentley's automobile, returning again about the first of September,
_______________________________________________
SOURCE: clipping in "family memory book"

SPLENDID RECOGNITION OF FAITHFUL SERVICES
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Nov. 7, 1901 <-- hand written
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A Silk Company Gives Faithful Employes an Interest in the Business--An Object Lesson.
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The Valentine & Bentley Silk company of Newton, N.J., of which David Valentine is the president and Thomas W. Bentley is the treasurer, has made a new departure in the management of their business.
They have added to the company nine of their employes af whom they have given an interest in the business as a substantial recognition of their faithfulness in their duties which have contributed so largely to the success of the business.
Ever since the incorporation of the company, the business of the concern has been growing annually and that which was formerly known as the Sterling Silk company in Pittston, Pa., is now under the control and in the name also of the Valentine & Bentley Silk Co., with Robert Hamil, formerly of this city as superintendent.
The inovation which went into effect on the first of the month has been a long cherished idea of Thomas W. Bentley, who seems to have at heart the interest of all his employes. The following are the names of those who were given an interest in the company: James E. Briss, of New York city; William Hutt, Edward Matthews, Fred Murphy, Annie Brown, William Leckie, all of Newton, N.J.; Robert Hamil of Pittston, Pa.; Ralph Whitley of Watertown, N.Y., and Walter Fieldhouse of Watertown N.Y.
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SOURCE: paper clipping in a "family memory book"

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From 100yrs of the Sussex Register & County of Sussex.

The Register Book p 95 left col. entry 10
Newton Athletic Club
President.............. Henry T. Kay
Vice President...... William H. Nicholls
Secretary............. Herbert Bentley < part of my tree
Treasurer............. Floyd C. Devore
Executive Comm.. Thomas W. Bentley < part of my tree
.. J. W. C. Carker
.. George L. Dutcher
.. Nathan H. Hart
.. Lewis S. Iliff
pg 95 right col. entry 3
Sussex County Automobile Club
President............. Thomas W. Bentley
Vice Presidents... E. Merriam Dutcher
... Reeve Hardin
... Ford Margarum
Secretary............ E. A. Shay
Treasurer........... Edwin M. Quick.
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Paterson NJ City Directories

Name Business Name Occupation Location 1 Location 2 City State Year
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Thomas W Bentley silk mnfr 164 Ward 15 E 19th Paterson NJ 1890, 1891
Thomas W Bentley silk mnfr Morton corner Straight 15 E 19th Paterson NJ 1891, 1892
Thomas W Bentley silk mnfr Taylor corner Railroad avenue 136 Park avenue Paterson NJ 1892, 1893

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Thomas W. Bentley was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, on February 7, 1861. His parents brought him to Paterson when he was eleven years old. He started his training in the silk industry with the firm of Doherty & Wadsworth. In 1885, he founded the Thomas W. Bentley Silk Company. From this firm, he and David Valentine developed the Sterling Silk Company, which grew successively into the Valentine & Bentley Silk Company, and the Bentley & Twohey Silk Corporation of New York. Thomas Bentley moved to Newton in 1899. He broke ground for his stone mansion at the corner of Main and Halstead Streets in April 1901.

Leonard Breen, of Paterson, received the contract to build the Sterling Silk Mill on October 24, 1895. The original silk mill, two stories high, measuring 210 by 50 feet, contained 580,000 bricks. Twenty bricklayers were employed, laying 20,000 bricks daily; the building in all. The roof was made of Newton slate. The inside of its brick walls were whitewashed and windows occupied nearly half of the wall space. White shades softened the natural light, allowing operators to see fine patterns printed on the silk. A fireproof stairway, silk vault and engine room were located outside the main building. The plant was powered by a 130-horsepower Corliss engine and 150-horsepower boiler. David Valentine brought some skilled employees with him to instruct beginners. The new mill made only plain silks until the operatives became proficient enough to make figured silks. In Paterson, the company employed three women for every man.

After coming from the loom, the silk was picked and measured in an office on the first floor. Machines for winding, warping, doubling and filling were also located on the first floor. The second floor contained the silk looms. A dozen skilled weavers were brought to Newton to instruct beginners in their operation. The first loom started operation on May 15, 1896. The silks were woven in a gray or natural color and fully of a gummy substance; they were originally shipped to Paterson in this condition for cleaning to make the silk soft and pliable. Designs were then printed on in different colors. The entire process was eventually conducted in the Newton mill.

The Silk Mill Annex, 206 by 198 feet, built of brick, one story high, was completed in March 1899 to house 400 looms. Its sawtooth roof contained skylights of double glass with a ventilator at the bottom of each. This allowed the delicate shades of color to be more easily discerned. There were no windows, except on the northwest side which was seldom exposed to direct sunlight. The floor was built to shut out dampness with underlying layers of sand, coal tar and cinders. Steam pipes were embedded in the double floor. The interior walls had two coats of whitewash and the ceiling was whitened by three coats of paint. A dynamo in the engine room supplied electricity to light the building and to run the looms. Bathrooms were located outside the building. Ten new box looms and twenty plain ones were immediately installed in the new Annex. The company planned to move all their looms from the main plant and to increase their number to 400.

The silk weavers went on strike on January 31, 1900. Five days later, the Newton Board of Trade decided that the strike was unwise and unjustified. Strikers returned to work on February 22, 1900.

The Sterling Silk Company changed its name to the Valentine & Bentley Silk Company on July 10, 1900. A Dye House, 41 by 100 feet, was constructed on the side of the weaving shed in November 1900. The building contract, filed with the Sussex County Clerk on October 31, 1900, contained a clause that specified: If William McKinley is not elected President and Theodore Roosevelt is not elected Vice-President of the United States at the coming election, this contract shall become null and void. Fortunately for the contractors, the Republicans won. In July 1902, another contract was awarded for an addition to the Dye House, 100 by 50 feet. Valentine & Bentley gave the H. G. Vogel Company, of New York, a contract in April 1905 to install an automatic fire extinguishing system for $8,000. Contractors ODonnell & McManiman received the contract to build a bid addition, 50 by 110 feet, to the silk mill.

The Valentine & Bentley Silk Mill was reorganized as the Sussex Print Works under management of Thomas Bentley & Son on September 25, 1911. Herbert Bentley was president and general manager. In 1913, H. T. Rounds joined the firm and was elected president. Mr. Bentley served as vice-president and treasurer. Thomas W. Bentley became the exclusive owner of the Valentine & Bentley Silk Company on June 3, 1916. A week later, the firms name became the Bentley & Twohey Silk Company with all production designed and made under the personal supervision of Thomas W. Bentley at the mills and John J. Twohey at the New York salesroom. Their mills at Newton, Phillipsburg and Pittston, Pennsylvania, manufactured dress silks, high-class novelties and fashionable plain weaves. The new company officers were: John J. Twohey, president; Thomas W. Bentley, treasurer; and Daniel B. Bentley, secretary. After a strike kept several silk mills in northern New Jersey closed for several months, the Bentley & Twohey mill was re-opened in July 1920. In August 1923, the Sussex Print Works opened their new factory at Andover Junction, which was to be operated in conjunction with their Newton plant.

Thomas Bentley moved to New York in 1923, where his wife, Isabella O. Brown, died in 1926. He married Ella C. Beveridge, of Scotland, in 1928 and retired to his residence on Park Avenue, Paterson. In 1927, the Sussex Print Works was a leader in the manufacture of the new fabric called Celanese. Thomas Bentleys eldest son, Herbert Bentley, died July 30, 1931, at 47 years of age. The Fabrics Finishing Corporation of Newton sold its machinery, plant and business to the Associated Dyeing & Printing Company in March 1931 for $225,000. The Bentley Mansion on Halstead and Main Streets, Newton, became Lodge No. 1512, Brotherhood of the Paternal Order of Elks (BPOE), in November 1932. Thomas W. Bentley died October 29, 1932. The Sussex Print Works closed for a time in October 1933.

A walk out by 220 Newton workers, members of Local 29, Federation of Dyers, Finishers, Printers and Bleachers of America, forced the closure of the Sussex Dye and Print Works on September 28, 1945. At that time, Bernard Armour operated the plant. Work resumed on October 10, 1945, after workers were granted a raise. The Sussex Dye and Print Works closed in 1950. The Silk Mill, Annex and Dye House were demolished in 1993.
From the web site of Kevin W. Wright copyright 2000 < http://www2.cybernex.net/~wright >

More About THOMAS WALLACE BENTLEY:
Interment: 1932, Cedar Lawn Cemetery Paterson,Passaic Co.,NJ (Source: Clipping from a "family memory book".)
Occupation: Bet. 1880 - 1932, Pioneer of Paterson silk industry (Source: Clipping from a "family memory book".)

Children of ISABELLA BROWN and THOMAS BENTLEY are:

9.	i.	HERBERT⁴ BENTLEY, b. January 05, 1884, Paterson,Passaic Co.,New Jersey; d. July 27, 1931, Sparta, New Jersey.
10.	ii.	EUPHEMIA JEAN PATON, b. Private.
	iii.	DOROTHY I. BENTLEY, b. Private.
	iv.	WILLIAM B. BENTLEY, b. September 1882; d. April 14, 1889.

Notes for WILLIAM B. BENTLEY:
Littie Willie Bentleys Short Career.
There is profound sorrow in the household of Thomas W. Bentley, the silk manufacturer, at 21 Huron street, over the death of little Willie, his precocious six-year-old son, who died yesterday from congestion of the brain.
Willie was a remarkably bright child, admired by everybody and a great favorite with his teacher at school. On Friday he left school as well as ever and was having a good time when he returned home, enjoying his few hours of liberty as only a boy can. In some inexplicable way he fell down stairs while playing and fractured his skull. Medical assistance was summoned, but the flower of the household was destined to bloom no longer, and yesterday afternoon the little fellow's brief career ended in a peaceful manner, his death almost unnoticed by those who were watching over him. He will be buried tomorrow at Cedar Lawn.
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BENTLEY,--On Sunday, April 14, 1889, William B. Bentley, son of Thomas W. and Isabella Bentley, aged 6 years and 8 months. Funeral from his parents residence, 15 Huron street on Tuesday, April 16th,1889 at 2:30 o'clock P.M.
Interment at Cedar Lawn. Funeral private
SOURCE: clipping in " family memory book " (story one)
SOURCE: clipping in " family memory book" as well as typed copy of notice

DANIEL B. BENTLEY, d. Unknown.

Notes for DANIEL B. BENTLEY:
Dear Santa Claus:-----
My little brother Dan. wants a sleigh and jumping jack and a pair of mittens and some candy and oranges in his stockings and please bring me a bicycle and jumping jack and nuts and candy put it in my stockings and we will be good boys. Bertie and Dan Bentley, 139 Pearl street,Paterson, N.J.
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Source: clipping in "family memory book"
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