The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-11-03
BEN LBH and BILL RIKER
The Old Supreme Court Clerk
Gives Way to the New
Sketches Of the Men.
Especial to ..rhe Jersey City News,

TRENTON, Nov. 2, a7ss7.-With the clos
ing of the day yesterday, the Hon. Ben
jamin F. Lee ended his term as Clerk of
the New Jersey Supreme Court after a
| service in that capacity for twenty-five
years. Mr.. Lee will continue to remain
in Trenton, and will occupy for the pres
ent offices in the Mechanics National
| Bank building, with his son, Counselor
F. B. Lee. 1t will be a long time before
| the retiring clerk will have closed out
his court business, as during his term of
| office all the business was done on a free
| basis land Mr.. Lee has many accounts
to collect from New Jersey lawyers. Mr..
Lee is also at the head of the Trent
Tile Company, and this enterprise will
occupy much of his time.
William Riker, Jr., of Newark, will sue
coed Mr.. Lee as Clerk of the Court. Mr..
| Riker took the oath of office at the home
of Judge Depue in Newark yesterday, and
will take possession of the office at once.
For many months Mr.. Lee has been ar
ranging the papers of his department,
which work is entirely completed, and doc-
uments relating to cases from 1882 to date
are properly filed and indexed. The min
ute and judgment books are in the clerks
library in excellent state of preservation.
| Many of these nave been rebound, EFFORTS
being made to retain the original covers
of the volumes. Many of the colonial
books are in parchment, and tampe IN
gold, with the arms of Great Britain.
No one has yet been named as the
Deputy Clerk, and Mr.. Leslie e. Plerson,
who has for upwards of twenty-five years
been connected with the office, will be IN
charge of the Office for the present.
Among the other attaches to be retained
in the office are w. Mem. Cadwalader,
who is in charge of the litigation; Harry
Woodruff, a copyist; Miss Maggie A.
helm, bookkeeper. Miss Bennett, daugh-
ter of Assistant Fire Chief Bennett, and
Mrs. Durreli, a sister of Senator Skirm,
will be engaged as typewritists.
Mr.. Edward Sweeney, who has been con-
nected with the office for upwards of a
score of years, will be succeeded by II. r..
Tindall. a Newark newspaper man, and
Mr.. w. D. Woodruff, another attache OF
long standing, will be succeeded by Henry
w. Baldwin. also OF Newark. Among the
others who will retire are Mr.. A. Lawshe
and Mr.. Frank ]. Tams. Stanley ker-
rick will be succeeded as office boy by a
son of Councilman-at-Large Walker.
Mr.. Lee, the retiring clerk, has been a
prominent Democrat, and was the recog-
nized leader of the party in South. Jersey
for many years. He was born in Port
Cumberland county, N. j., in
1928. His father, Hon. Thomas Lee, was a
| prominent public man, having served
several terms in Congress and the State
Legislature, and been a successful mer-
chant in Port Elizabeth, where he died
in 1856. Benjamin f.. Lee finished a thor
| ough English education under the tutor
ship of John Gurnmere, atlBuriington, IN
1915. and Immediately entered his fathers
! store at Port Elizabeth as partner. In
time he succeeded the firm of Thomas and
| BENJAMIN F. Lee, and finally, in 1860, re-
tired from the business altogether. In
| 1863 he was elected Treasurer of the Cape
| May and Afillville Railroad Company, and
in 1866 Treasurer CT the West Jersey Mari
and Transportation Company, which posi-
ties Of clerk OF the Supreme Court. He
was for several years a Director of the
State Agricultural Society of New Jersey:
In 1856 he was Presidential Elector and
Central Committee. In 1858 his friends of
the First district presented his name in
convention for nomination for Congress,
and he received thirty-nine of the forty
one votes necessary to a choice. He
was afterwards nominated for the Legis-
| lature from this district. which was large
ly Republican. and. after an exciting con-
test, was defeated by only three votes.
In 1870 Mr.. Lee was nominated for Con-
greSS in the First district. The district
usually gave 300 Republican majority,
and tina year about l,500 colored voters
were added, making nearly 5000 to over
come. but he was defeated by only 1.S00
votes. This was the first inroad made
upon the large Republican majority in
the district. In the G~ubernatorial con-
vention that nominated Hon. Joel Parker,
in 1871, Mr.. Lee received 118 votes as a
candidate for Governor-the entire
strength of his district. In 1872, he was
appointed, by Governor Parker. Clerk of
the Supreme Court. which appointment
was unanimously confirmed by the Sem
ate. He was reappointed in lSs2, 1887 and
1892. and each time was UNANIMOUSLY con-
firmed by the Senate. He served as Treas
urer of the Democratic State Committee
for several years.
William Riker, Jr., the new Clerk of the
Supreme Court, is a native of New Jer-
sew. and was born about forty-eight
wears ago. He has served as an Alder
man of the city of Orange. where he
resides, and in 1893 he was. elected Regis
ter of Deeds for Essex county for a
worth from $40, goo to S12, 900 a year. For
merly he was a manufacturing jeweler.
For some years he has served as treas
urer of the Essex County Republican
Committee. He is a brother of Adrian
Riker. VINO was an Assemblyman from
Essex county in 1883 and 1889, and of
Chandler w. Riker, the well. known New
ark lawyer. The salary OF his new ONCE
IS Sc. 600 a year and term five years.
A few laws ago Mr.. Riker resigned the
office of Register of Deeds of Essex coun-
ty. and was succeeded by former Assem-
blyman Alfred Skinner. Mr.. Rike will