George Washington Helme George Washington Helme ( May 18 , 1822 – June 16 , 1893 ) was the founder of Helmetta , New Jersey . Early life and family . Helme , born in Kingston , Pennsylvania , was the ninth child and fifth son of Major Oliver Helme ( descendant of an old Rhode Island family begun by Christopher Helme ) by his second wife Sarah Pease Fish . As a young man George Helme obtained a clerkship with Asa Packer , a wealthy contractor involved in the construction of locks , boats , and railroads for the transport of coal ( and who eventually founded Lehigh University ) . In his mid - twenties , Helme resigned his position with Mr . Packer and moved to Louisiana , where his older brother Samuel was living . There he studied law and was admitted to the bar in New Orleans around 1851 , subsequently establishing his own law practice , which he continued until the outbreak of the Civil War . He returned north to marry Margaret Appleby in 1856 in Spotswood , New Jersey . Their first two children , daughters , were born before the Civil War . The first child , born in New Jersey in 1857 , died a year later . Their second child was born in New Jersey in 1859 . Their third child was born in Chatawa , Mississippi ( about 100 miles north of New Orleans ) in 1862 , just after war broke out . Their last child , a son , was born after the war in 1866 in New Jersey . Civil War . Helme left his law practice and enlisted in the Confederate States Army on March 8 , 1862 in New Orleans as a Captain in the Crescent Regiment , commanding Company G , Marion Rangers , nicknamed the Ruggles Guards . The regiment went immediately to Corinth , Mississippi , to reinforce General P . G . T . Beauregard ’ s army . On April 6 , 1862 the regiment played an important role in the capture of two Federal divisions during the Battle of Shiloh . The regiment commander ’ s report of the engagement cited Captain Helme as “ among the line officers I have great satisfaction in mentioning . . . as distinguished for coolness , bravery , and the faithful discharge of their duty . . . ” The regiment was disbanded on June 3 , 1862 at the expiration of its 90 day enlistment , most of the men being transferred into the 18th Louisiana Regiment . Captain Helme resigned on June 19 , 1862 , when he was transferred to the mining service of the Trans - Mississippi Department . This assignment may have been related to an act of April 11 , 1862 , establishing the “ Niter and Mining Bureau ” , which was charged with the securing of niter ( saltpeter ) for the manufacture of gunpowder , copper , lead , iron , coal , zinc , and other such materials as might be required for the prosecution of the war . The Bureau opened new coalfields in North Carolina and Alabama and coordinated the flow of mineral fuel to Confederate naval stations along the coast . A corps of officers was established for this purpose . Captain Helme ’ s earlier experience back in Pennsylvania working for Asa Packer may have influenced this assignment . On June 9 , 1864 another act was passed which increased the rank of the officers involved . There is nothing in the early Confederate records to indicate that Helme was anything other than a Captain , although later biographical sketches identify him as a Major General . ( His son - in - law , Charles Godfrey Strater , identified him as a Major in a private family document printed in 1928 . ) When the war ended , Helme returned north , to New Jersey and New York City , where he engaged in the real estate business for several years , acquiring considerable property . Helmetta : Snuff town . In 1866 he formed a co - partnership with his brother - in - law Jacob Appleby , for the manufacture of snuff and tobacco . This lasted until 1877 or 1878 , when Helme became the full owner of the enterprise , eventually renamed the George W . Helme Tobacco Company , and one of the largest snuff producers in the country . During the middle 1880s he purchased land between Spotswood and Jamesburg , New Jersey on which his mill and 105 homes for workers were built . This area , initially known as Railroad Mills , became Helmetta , New Jersey , and was reputedly named after his youngest daughter Olivia Antoinette , whose nickname was Etta . At the time of Helme ' s death Helmetta had a population of five hundred persons , and five factories employing over three hundred persons , many from Spotswood and Jamesburg . For ten years Helme was a member of the board of trustees of the State Reform School at Jamesburg and president of the board for eight years . His family was influential in establishing St . George ’ s Episcopal Church in Helmetta . Death . He died at in 1893 in Helmetta , aged 71 , of a heart attack . A special car of the Pennsylvania Railroad left Jersey City for the benefit of those wishing to attend the funeral services . The " Camden Post " ( Camden , New Jersey ) reported that 1 , 500 persons attended . The funeral procession of almost 500 , some in horse - drawn carriages , some walking , made its way south to nearby Fernwood Cemetery in Jamesburg , where he was buried in the Helme Mausoleum , the largest in the cemetery , located on the highest point of ground . He was reported to have been the second wealthiest man in the state . He was survived by his wife and three children . A grandson was painter Henry Hyacinth Strater .