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Claud Morris Depew
Claud was born September 7, 1883 as Claude Depue to Dayton (23) and Mariah Clark Depue (27) in Hainesville, NJ. He was the second of nine children. His father was a farmer who lived in Layton, NJ. Claude quit school in 1897 at age 14 to go to work. He first ran a trolley in Newark, NJ as did one of his brothers(Roy?). Claude was the first generation of his family to leave the farm and seek his fortune in the business world. He later started as a deliveryman at Lehman and Company in Dover; was given charge of the shipping department and was chosen manager when it moved to Newton in 1909(?) when he was 26.
On March 12, 1912 (28) he married Lillian Cole (28), born in 1885, a school teacher, who also grew up in Sandyston Township. At the time he lived in the Cochran House and she lived at 7 Foster Street in Newton. George N. Cole, Jr. and Alice Swartwout were witnesss to the marriage. Their first child, Ilsa, was born that October, six months after the wedding. Their children were:
On February 21, 1918 Lillian died of an apparent heart attack while in New York City. After her death the family lived in Dover with a house keeper while Claude continued to work in Newton. He probably lived at the Cochran House.
In 1925 at age 37 he married Elizabeth Harrigan, an employee at his store, and moved the family back to Newton taking up residence at 17 Linwood Avenue, where he would remain the rest of their life. There were no additional children.
The Newton Rotary was chartered in 1923, when Claud was 39. From the June 14, 1923 New Jersey Herald: "The Newton Rotary Club will observe charter night at the Cochran House this evening. It is expected there will be at least a hundred in attendance. The usual fine Cochran House menu will be enjoyed, and a rare good time is anticipated." A list of charter members followed including Claude M. Depue. Feeling that image was important he changed his name to Claud Depew, probably after Chauncey Depew, a prominent New York businessman and a U.S. senator of the time. Claud was active in town business organizations becoming a charter member of the Newton Rotary, a member of the B.P.O.E. (Elks) and the Harmony Lodge.
After 25 years with Lehman and Company he bought the store on Park Street. From an article (date unknown) in the New Jersey Herald at the time: "Claud Depew, manager of the Lehman store here has become a large shareholder and president of L. Lehman & Co. Inc of Newton. Mr. Depew, who has been manager of the local store 17 years, entered the employ of Lehman & Co. at Dover over 25 years ago as deliveryman. After a short time he was given charge of the shipping department and when the Lehman company purchased the grocery stock and rented the present store, Mr. Depew was selected as manager. The business grew under his management and when the Lehman company was merged with the American Food Company in 1923 it was considered unnecessary to establish any supervision or suggest any method or procedure other than that which was being carried on by Mr. Depew. Mr. Depew stands high in the esteem of the public and his many friends will be glad to hear of his advancement. The Lehman store will have no connection with any other Newton store." In 1939 at age 57, after 30 years as manager and owner, he sold the store to the Big Leader (was he burned out in the 1939 fire?) and worked at the Acme grocery store on lower Spring Street in Newton. From 1946 to 1956 he was the desk clerk at the Cochran House in Newton. He always walked to work and back.
He was short of stature, quite bald, a whiz at arithmetic and an avid baseball fan. In the days before calculators and computers, grocery purchases were added by hand and he could tally a column just by running his eye down it. When not working he could be found sitting by the radio and later the television listening to Yankee games. He was Protestant, probably Presbyterian, but not active. His second wife Elizabeth was Roman Catholic. After a two year retirement Claud died on Dec. 19, 1958 at age 75 of a massive heart attack in his front hall as he went to get the paper one morning. His wake was held in the parlor of his home as was the custom at one time and he is buried in Newton Cemetery with both of his wives and his son Howard. |
