From "The City of New Brunswick; Its History, Its Homes, Its Industries", 1908.
Tunis Van Doren Hoagland was a 19th-century carpenter who had fleeting involvement in politics in 1858 when he became mayor of New Brunswick, New Jersey, being elected to fill a vacancy. While there is a dearth of resources on Hoagland's life, the sources that do exist mention him as a leading figure in his city, and in addition to his mayoralty served as keeper of the New Jersey State Prison at Trenton. A lifelong Garden State resident, Hoagland was born of Dutch extraction in Somerset County, New Jersey on July 3, 1813, the son of Henry and Gertrude (Van Liew) Hoagland.
Descended from a long-established Dutch family, Tunis Hoagland's early life remains largely unknown. Before embarking on a career in carpentry he worked briefly as a clerk in a grocery store, and later followed in his father's stead and learned carpentry. He would go into business for himself, and at the time of his death in 1872 was "said to have been the best master carpenter and architect this city as ever had." Hoagland's 1872 obituary in the New Brunswick Daily Times further details that "he planned and built the whole row of houses in Paterson street to Elm row", which he later sold for "a moderate profit for himself." This same obituary notes other homes in the city that bore his handiwork, and that by 1858-59 he had "relinquished the business."
Tunis V.D. Hoagland married Anna Eliza White (1815-1868) in 1835. The couple's thirty-three-year union saw the births of fifteen children, several of whom died in childhood. At the time of his death in 1872, only five of Hoagland's children survived him.
By the 1850s Hoagland had become active in the civic life of his region, and in 1851, he and several other New Brunswick citizens were founding organizers of the Willow Grove Cemetery Association. This was followed by Hoagland's involvement in the organizing of the New Brunswick Water Company, which was incorporated in 1858. After retiring from the carpentry trade Hoagland's business dealings included a blind and sash factory, and a grist mill--The Girard Mills--located in the Spring Street area of the city. Additionally, Hoagland ventured into the production of mineral paints (perennis brown), which proved popular in the South until "war broke up the business." Hoagland is also remarked as a director of the Mutual Life Insurance Company, a trustee of the Lancastrian School, and an honorary member of Protection Engine Co. No. 5.
Tunis Hoagland first entered politics in the 1850s, being affiliated with the Know-Nothing movement, and after backing a then-popular liquor law, ran unsuccessfully for the New Jersey State Assembly in 1855/56. His political fortunes changed in 1857 when John Bayard Kirkpatrick, the Democratic mayor of the city, resigned due to clashes with the board of aldermen, then predominantly Know-Nothing. Kirkpatrick's resignation necessitated a special election, with four candidates vying for the mayoral chair. Hoagland, backed by a loose coalition of Republicans and Know-Nothings, won the race "by a 40 majority."
Hoagland's mayoral tenure proved brief (1857-58), and he was succeeded by Peter C. Onderdonk. He reemerged on the political scene in 1862 when he was appointed Keeper of the State Prison at Trenton. His brief time in office saw him undertake an extensive revision of the prison, and following this repair work could boast of a prison surplus of $13,000. Hoagland later drew the ire of contractors who "killed his reelection for the succeeding year", and was subsequently bribed with "a note and $500 to quiet him." Proving to be made of the sterner stuff, Hoagland would turn over the money to the New Jersey State Library.
In the latter period of his life, Hoagland engaged in the manufacture of printers ink and was a mercantile tailor before retiring in the late 1860s. Widowed in 1868, he made one last run at public office in 1869, hoping to be named Collector for Middlesex County. He was defeated and later changed his political affiliation to Democrat. The last months of Hoagland's life were marked by a long decline in health, and he died at his home on December 4, 1872, aged 59. He was interred alongside his wife at the Willow Grove Cemetery in New Brunswick.
From Reed's History of Kings County, New York, 1683-1884.
A long-tenured figure on The Strangest Names In American Political History, Teunis Garret Bergen's name was first located by this author via the online Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress back in 2002. The only "Teunis" to win election to Congress, Bergen served one term as a U.S. Representative from New York and had been a three-time delegate to the state constitutional conventions of 1846, 1867, and 1868. Born in Brooklyn on October 6, 1806, Teunis Garret Bergen was the son of Garret and Jane (Wyckoff) Bergen.
Descended from a family with its roots in New York extending back to the 1630s, Bergen worked the family farm in Gowanus during his youth and attended the Erasmus Hall Academy in Flatbush. Readying himself for a career in farming, Bergen studied surveying, "in which he soon became proficient." He married Elizabeth Roelof Van Brunt (1807-1890) in December 1827, and the couple's fifty-three-year union produced at least seven children: Gertrude (1831-1865), Jane (1832-1919), Garret (1833-1893), Elizabeth (1837-1893), Johanna (1839-1913), Van Brunt (1841-1917), and Lemma (1844-1846).
Early in his life, Bergen joined the "Kings County Troop" of the New York State National Guard, and through the succeeding years attained the ranks of captain, ensign, adjutant, lieutenant colonel, and colonel in the 241st Regiment. He began treading the political waters with his election as township supervisor of New Utrecht and served 23 years in office (1836-1859). For four years (1842-46) he was chairman of the Kings County Board of Supervisors, and in 1846 was elected a Kings County delegate to the state constitutional convention. He would again serve as a delegate to the conventions of 1867-68 and was a member of the committees on Canals and Indians. Additionally, Bergen would attend multiple democratic state conventions after beginning his political career.
Elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1860, Bergen journeyed to Baltimore and during the convention proceedings "vigorously opposed the resolutions of that body which caused the breach between the Northern and Southern Democratic party." In 1864 he announced his bid for the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 2nd district and that November was elected, defeating Union Republican Samuel Maddox by a vote of 13,630 to 8,829. He served one term and wasn't a candidate for renomination in 1866.
After leaving politics Teunis Bergen focused his efforts on writing history and genealogy, and between 1866 and his death he authored numerous works, including: "The Bergen Family" (1866), "The Genealogy of the Van Brunt Family" (1867), and portions of "A Register of the Early Settlers and Freeholders of Kings County, N.Y., from Its First Settlement by Europeans to 1700." A founder of the Long Island Genealogical Society, Bergen also held membership in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and in 1878 published "A Genealogy of the Lefferts Family, 1675-1878."
Teunis G. Bergin continued residence in New Utrecht until his death from pneumonia on April 24, 1881, aged 76. He was survived by his wife Elizabeth, and both were interred at the famed Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
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