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
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, USA, was the ninth child and fifth son of Major Oliver Helme (descendant of an old Rhode Island family begun by
Christopher Helme
Christopher Helme (1603 - c. 1650) was an early immigrant to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and one of the founders of Exeter, New Hampshire.
Biography
Helme was baptized on 24 July 1603 in Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, England, the son of William Elm ...
) by his second wife Sarah Pease Fish.
As a young man George Helme obtained a clerkship with
Asa Packer
Asa Packer (December 29, 1805May 17, 1879) was an American businessman who pioneered railroad construction, was active in Pennsylvania politics, and founded Lehigh University. He was a conservative and religious man who reflected the image of th ...
, a wealthy contractor involved in the construction of locks, boats, and railroads for the transport of coal (and who eventually founded
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...
). In his mid-twenties, Helme resigned his position with Mr. Packer and moved to
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, where his older brother Samuel was living. There he studied law and was admitted to the bar in
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
around 1851, subsequently establishing his own law practice, which he continued until the outbreak of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
He returned north to marry Margaret Appleby in 1856 in
Spotswood, New Jersey
Spotswood is a borough in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The community is nestled within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, with the Manalapan Brook and Matchaponix Brook forming the confluence of the South River (a R ...
. 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
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
on March 8, 1862, in
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
as a captain in the Crescent Regiment, commanding Company G, Marion Rangers, nicknamed the Ruggles Guards. The regiment went immediately to
Corinth, Mississippi
Corinth is a city in and the county seat of Alcorn County, Mississippi, Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,573 at the 2010 census. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835. It lies on the state line with Tennessee.
Histor ...
, 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 Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...
. 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
Niter or nitre is the mineral form of potassium nitrate, KNO3. It is a soft, white, highly soluble mineral found primarily in arid climates or cave deposits.
Historically, the term ''niter'' was not well differentiated from natron, both of w ...
(
saltpeter
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrat ...
) 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
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
and
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
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
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, although later biographical sketches identify him as a
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
. (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
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he engaged in the
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
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
Snuff may refer to:
Tobacco
* Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose
** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco
** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste
Media and entertainment
* Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder
Literat ...
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
Jamesburg is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,915,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 in 1893 in Helmetta, aged 71, of a heart attack. A special car of the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
left Jersey City for the benefit of those wishing to attend the funeral services. The '' Camden Post'' (
Camden, New Jersey
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...
) 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.