Paterson (NJ) Daily Press , Tuesday, July 31,
1888.
Death of Mr. John H. Hindle
End of an Active Life - The Career of the
Deceased as a Business Man and Official
Mr. John H. Hindle, one of the best known men in
this city, died early this morning at his residence in Ellison
street. His death was not unexpected, as he had been failing for some
time. The funeral will take place on Thursday afternoon of this week.
The deceased was a native of Paterson and received
a common school education. Early in life he was employed as a cigar
maker, but his restless disposition would not brook so sedentary a
life. He developed business traits which soon made it appear that he
was cut out for a merchant and to take part in more active pursuits.
He entered into the business of dealing in furniture and with it
conducted that of auctioneer. Mr. Hindle had a great deal of natural
humor and this made him very successful as an auctioneer. During the
real estate booms he accumulated a great deal of money and also made
several judicious investments in real estate. From the furniture
business he drifted into that of undertaking, a business peculiarly
suited to him. He had considerable executive ability, and funerals
and weddings and similar events under his charge were always sure to
be well arranged. For many years he conducted his business in Main
street in the store at present occupied by P.H. & W.G. Shields.
Subsequently he erected the building he occupied as a place of
business and residence up to the time of his death.
Mr. Hindle accumulated a considerable fortune during his life. He was a shrewd business man and his qualifications as a funeral director and in similar capacities made his services valuable and in demand. In later years he was inclined to retire from business, but the business he had built up was so remunerative and had taken so many years to perfect that he continued it for the benefit of his sons, who had grown up and followed him in business. It was frequently made a subject of comment that a man of the means of Mr. Hindle should continue residing in the house he occupied in Ellison street; he at times spoke of this matter himself but he expressed himself as satisfied with his quarters and saw no reason for a change. At one time he seriously contemplated the purchase of the residence in Broadway erected by Mr. John Shaw and at present occupied by Mr. Barnes. He had looked at the property and concluded that he would like it as a residence, but that as an investment he did not want it. In conversation subsequently with a friend he told his reasons for not changing his residence to Broadway. "I could afford to buy that property and live there," said he, "but I shall not do so. I have several children. They are accustomed to live as we live now and if I were to die they could continue living as they do now on the money I shall leave them. If I were to buy the Shaw residence I could afford to live there, but I could not afford to leave each of my children enough to maintain such a residence. The house would have to be sold or I would have to leave it to one of my children and I do not want to make such a distinction. I do not wish to bring up my children in a manner of living which they cannot keep up after my death." The action of Mr. Hindle's perhaps affords a clearer insight into his character than any other. He was very careful not to over step himself and he had a desire to do what was right by all.
Mr. Hindle was married twice; he leaves a widow
and four children. Of his children, two are daughters, one the wife
of Mr. John Speer, with John Norwood & Co. and the other the wife
of Captain R.H. Fordyce of the First National Bank. His two sons,
Charles B., and Frank L., assisted in his business and will now
continue it.
Mr. Hindle was for a number of years a member of
the Board of Chosen Freeholders. He was first elected in 1870 and
served two years; in 1875 he was again elected and served
continuously until 1882, when he declined to be a candidate for
re-election. He conducted the business of the county on the same
principle on which he conducted his own and he was frequently
criticised because he declined to show any favoritism. For many years
he was a power in Republican politics. He was a great power in the
Fourth Ward and his advice was always welcome in city and county
matters. He was a Republican, although he never refused to support a
friend no matter how party lines were drawn. His friendship was
stronger than his partisanship.
Mr. Hindle's most prominent investment as far as
the public interest was concerned was in the Cedar Lawn Cemetery; he
was practically the founder of this place of burial and maintained a
general superintendence of it to within a few weeks of his death. He
was always ready to listen to any project for the improvement of the
cemetery and took a greater interest in it than might have been
expected from the extent of his pecuniary interest. He was also a
stockholder and of late years a director in the First National Bank
of this city.
Mr. Hindle was in his happiest moods when
presiding over any festive gathering. He was perhaps the best
presiding officer at a dinner table Paterson ever produced. His
education had been limited but he was blessed with a humor peculiarly
adapted to such occasions and was always sought after. He took a
lively interest in the Paterson Light Guard and was Quartermaster of
the First Battalion for several years, but when Colonel Congdon
resigned and with him the battalion lost a number of kindred spirits,
Mr. Hindle resigned also.
Mr. Hindle enjoyed good health up to about a year
ago, when his appetitie failed him at times. He paid little attention
to this for some time until it became evident that he was suffering
from a disease that threatened his life. At first it was supposed
from the symptoms that it was some gastric trouble, but it appeared
later that an insidious disease of the kidneys lay hidden beneath the
symptoms. He failed rapidly, and during several months frequently did
without eating for several days at a time. Recently a fever was added
to this and of course it was only a question of time how long this
could last. He was removed to the seashore, it being believed that
the sea air might bring relief; he, however, continued rapidly
failing and when it was apparent that his death was approaching he
was removed to Paterson. He died at one o'clock this morning
surrounded by his family and a few intimate friends, including Mr.
Charles N. Sterrett and Postmaster Johnson. His death was peaceful.
In fact since it was made apparent that he was doomed he awaited
death with a quiet resignation hardly to be expected from a man of
the aggressive character of Hr. Hindle. At nine o'clock last night he
received the last attentions of his physicians; he rested quietly
after that and continued so until one o'clock, when he passed away
peacefully.
Ex-Freeholder Hindle's Funeral.
The funeral of the late John H. Hindle took place
this afternoon at 3 o'clock from his late residence on Ellison
street. The religious services were conducted by Rev. Dr. Shaw. At
the request of the family Mr. William Clerihew, assisted by Mr.
Wallace Graham, had charge of the funeral and the pall bearers
consisted of the two mentioned and undertakers, J.D.S. Goodridge,
John F. Smith, Thomas Doherty and James W. McKee.
The remains were encased in an elegant casket and
were viewed by many friends of the deceased this morning. The casket
was of red cedar with full circle ends. It was covered with imported
broadcloth and lined with white quilted and embroided satin. The gold
handles were covered with silk velvet. There were ornate screw heads
and a richly engraved plate bearing the simple inscription: John H.
Hindle.
The interment is private, at the convenience of the family.
Unknown newspaper
Death of John H. Hindle
John H. Hindle expired a few minutes past one
o'clock this morning. He had been steadily sinking since Sunday, but
those who saw him then and visited his chamber yesterday noted a
great change and realized that the well known citizen could not
survive many hours. The family and a few friends witnessed the last
moments of the deceased with a sorrow that was keen, and all his
acquaintances will grieve for and miss him for many days.
John H. Hindle should have been called the
"incomparable." No other man was like him, though he had many boon
companions who entered into his various transactions, humorous and
otherwise, with zest. Mr. Hindle was a practical joker of the deepest
dye. All through his life he loved a joke and the number he practised
would probably run into the thousands. Who among old residents does
not remember Hindle's telescope with a shake of his side and a train
of recollection that is pleasurable even if mingled with some
sadness? Mr. Hindle, or "Jack" as he was popularly called, secured a
good sized tin leader and with the assistance of a number of other
fun lovers painted it to look like a telescope and mounted it in a
frame work. The boys took the counterfeit spy glass to the Southwest
corner of Main Street and Broadway and invited pedestrians to gaze
skyward. Several hundred men looked through that tin leader, and many
of them never cracked a smile. At length James Parker, the jeweller,
came down the street one evening and said he would like to look at
Mars. The boys had no more knowledge as to the location of the planet
than they had of Sanscrit, but they were willing to accommodate the
jeweller, and so they contrived to hang a lighted candle some
distance from the skyward end of the leader. It is claimed that Mr.
Parker really thought the dim light he saw was Mars. This occurred in
1862.
People were afraid of Jack Hindle because of his
propensity for practical joking. Many newspaper men could tell how
Jack "sold" them time and again. There was nobody that Mr. Hindle
would refrain from fooling if it was in his power to do so. One of
his most famous jokes gained notoriety even outside the county, and
the anecdote was related to a Guardian reporter by a Bergen County
physician. Hindle was a prominent member of a pretended organization
known as "the Ku-Klux". One day (It was in 1868 or thereabouts) much
time was devoted to the initiation of William Augustus Fonda, then a
young lawyer but since a Western journalist. Fonda was walked through
the town in his bare feet till he was nearly exhausted and finally
taken into a house in Main street. There he was placed in a coffin.
After Fonda had been skillfully laid out by the deft fingers of the
undertaker, a half dozen men proceeded to put the coffin out of the
front window. There they held it, but suddenly and without warning
they found it slipping. The next minute coffin and Mr. Fonda slipped
to the sidewalk, a distance of nearly ...... feet. Fonda was not hurt
much, but his family was very indignant and he threatened all manner
of vengeance. It was a ghastly joke and created great excitement
about town.
In the rear of a store in Main street between
Broadway and Van Houten street Hindle and others exhibited all sorts
of things, from a crocodile to a mysterious animal know as "old Snowy
in the crate." The crocodile was only about three feet long, but the
canvass outside made it at least twenty feet.
In 1875 Mr. Hindle was elected Chosen Freeholder
from the Fourth Ward. He served the county acceptably and was
regarded as a careful official. After that date his joking propensity
seemed to wane, till during late years he became a quiet citizen,
with little suggestion of his old-time humor. He was an auctioneer
and real estate speculator, successful in both these lines, and he
made a fortune estimated at a quarter of a million. As an undertaker
Mr. Hindle had few equals. In his younger days he began to learn the
trade of a tinsmith but abandoned it for cigar making. After a while
he went into the furniture business with Josiah Calvin in Van Houten
street. His next move was toward the avocation he followed for the
remainder of his life, that of an undertaker. Mr. Hindle was one of
the early members of Fire Engine No. 2. As a Republican politician he
was successful and influential. He was instrumental in organizing the
First Battalion and was its Quartermaster for years. Mr. Hindle was
kind-hearted and generous. That he had faults and grievous ones, too,
is well known, but he who found in John H. Hindle a friend had one
who would aid him whenever assistance was needed.
The deceased leaves a widow and four children, two
by his first wife and two by the second. The latter was Miss Hester
Cunningham. Charles B. and Frank L. Hindle have of late years been
associated with their father in the undertaking businesss and will
probably continue it. Mr. Hindle's two daughters are married to
Captain R.H. Fordyce, of the First National Bank, and John Speer, of
John Norwood & Co.
The following were at the bedside of the dying man
as he breathed his last: Mrs. Hindle, his son Frank, Charles H.
Sterret, Postmaster Johnson and Mr. Speer, his son-in-law. Dr.
Blundell had left but a short time previous, not deeming that death
was so near at hand. Mr. Hindle sank away very quickly when he died.
He had been unconscious for several hours and did not suffer a
particle of pain. His death was very easy. He gave a few gasps and
then settled down quietly into his pillow, as if going to sleep. The
transition was so gradual that few of those around could tell the
exact moment of dissolution. A more peaceful and painless death was
never witnessed by any of those present. It was remarked by more than
one that such a tranquil passing away had taken from them all fear of
the last moment of life.
Mr. Hindle was in his fifty-sixth year. The funeral will be held from his late residence, 115 Ellison street on Thursday at 3 P.M.
The following were transcribed by Duncan Morrow243.
Morning Call (Paterson, NJ), Wednesday, 1 August 1888.
DIED.
HINDLE--In this city on Tuesday, July 31st,
1888' [sic] John H. Hindle, aged 55 years and 2 months.
Funeral from his late residence, No. 115 Ellison street on Thursday,
August 2d, 1888 at 3 o'clock p.m. Interment at the convenience of the
family.
Morning Call (Paterson, NJ), Thursday, 2 August 1888.
THE LATE J.H. HINDLE.
The Funeral Services To-Day--The
Arrangements.
The arrangements for the funeral services of the
late John H. Hindle have all been completed. The body will lay
[sic] in state in the front parlor of his residence, 115
Ellison street, this morning from 10 to 12, and old friends and
acquaintances will be privileged to take a last look at the features
of one whom they will see no more in life. The remains will be
encased in one of the most elegant caskets that can be secured. It is
a full circle-end casket of red cedar, covered with imported
broadcloth and lined with white quilted and embroidered satin. It is
mounted with gold handles, whose bars are covered with silk velvet.
The ornaments are tufibated screw heads and a richly engraved plate
bears the simple inscription:
JOHN H. HINDLE.
The religious services will be held at 3 o'clock p.m., when Dr. C.D. Shaw, D.D., will be present. The arrangements for the funeral will be supervised by Messrs.. Wm. Clerihew, with A.R. Rutan, and Wallace Graham, with Hiram Gould. At a later hour the interment, which is to be private, is to be made. The following gentlemen connected with the undertaking business will serve as pall-bearers: Wm. Clerihew, Wallace Graham, J.D.S. Goodridge, John F. Smith, Thomas Doherty and James W. McKee.