Golden Crest, one of the most significant residences in Ocean Township, merits an accurate, documented history of its origins in order to reveal its architect, Hugh Roberts, and make better-known in Monmouth County its prominent Jersey City builder, Edward Faitoute Condict Young. He was generally known by his first name and two middle initials.

Edward F. C. Young’s rise to powerYoung was born January 25, 1835 in Malapardis, New Jer-

sey, a hamlet in Hanover Township about 3.5 miles east of Mor-ristown, a place virtually effaced by development. He rose from his Jersey City base to wealth and positions of power in banking, business and politics. Young married Harriet M. Strober on July 26, 1854. (1)

After his father, Benja-min Franklin Young, died at an early age, Young moved to Jersey City with his wid-owed mother at age nine. He received his education at Public School No. 1, then began a banking career in 1852 as clerk in the Hudson County National Bank.

Young enjoyed steady promotions. The First Na-tional Bank of Jersey City

was organized in 1864 follow-ing absorption of the Merchants and Traders Bank, and Young was appointed assistant cashier the next year, a rise that culminat-ed in his election as president in 1879. Young’s financial acumen

drew him into the businesses of numerous local concerns, often with firms with troubled finances. His most significant industrial role began with his receivership of the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company in 1881 which he built into one of Jersey City’s leading manufacturers, an association that endured for over a quarter-century.

Young became a director of several street railway and trac-tion companies including the North Jersey Street Railway Com-pany and numerous other business firms. “He (was) a director and the ruling spirit of the New Jersey Title Guarantee and Trust Company” and other financial firms including Fidelity Trust Company of Newark. (2)

Young’s New York directorships included Bankers Trust Company. William Sackett, historian of turn-of-the-twentieth-century state politics, said it best, “Mr. Young was the president of the First National Bank in Jersey City. The bank, with its long line of depositors, was the ruling power in the business life of the county. Mr. Young had nursed the infant enterprises of many of them into vigorous industries. Their obligations to him made his word law to them.” (3)

While much of Young’s political power was wielded outside of office, he was elected Jersey City treasurer in November, 1865 and served in that position for five years. In 1873 Young became alderman of the fifth ward and in 1874 and 1875 was elected to the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders. After appoint-ment as State Railroad director in 1889, he served four consecu-tive years. Young, a major power in state Democratic affairs for decades, aspired to the party’s gubernatorial nomination in 1892 which he lost to George Theodore Werts, the winner of the No-vember election. It was claimed by Young’s supporters that his denial was attributed to the inability of his major backer, John R.

Golden Crest – The Builder, Origin and Architectby Randall Gabrielan

Edward F. C. Young

McPherson, to reach the convention, his having been delayed at a quarantine station following his return from a European vacation.

Young was described as “a quiet, self-contained man,” which a later age might call “laid-back.” As the same depiction also noted, “Public meetings or gatherings, other than those of a social char-acter rarely know him; and as a general rule, he is not given to talking much at any time.” He sought the background as, “Of all the thousands who visit the State House every winter during the legislative sessions, he is among the least obtrusive. So much of a fact is that many habitués of the Capitol (sic) do not know him by sight; although his name and reputation are known to all.” (4)

The building of Golden CrestThe Young family had earlier rented in the Elberon area. When

Golden Crest was under construction, legend has it that Mrs. Young admired the building taking shape without her husband revealing ownership until the house was presented at their anniversary. The story appears apocryphal, but the house was built to commemo-rate the fiftieth year of their marriage. (5)

The three lots Young purchased on the west side of Norwood Avenue in July, 1903, totaled about 5.1 acres. The omission of the area on one deed makes difficult precise area calculation, but that acreage was indicated on the Franklin Survey Company Atlas of 1940 during later ownership. (6)

The identification of his architect, the Jersey City practitioner Hugh Roberts, was reported by the Jersey Journal, August 20, 1904. A few years after the Young commission Roberts would attain fame for the Beaux-Arts 1910 Hudson County Courthouse at 583 New-ark Avenue, Jersey City, one of New Jersey’s great structures that was renamed in 1984 for Justice William J. Brennan. His court-house design dominates any mention of Roberts’s career.

Few details are known about the Youngs’ time in Elberon (or Ocean Township). During their era, the New York Times reported the Long Branch area comings and goings of New York visitors in detail, making known that in 1901 they rented Lyddy Cottage No. 5 for which, “The rental of this cottage is the second highest of any cottage along the coast.” (June 9, 1901) The Times reported dur-ing the next two seasons that the Youngs occupied the Goodspeed cottage. (April 13, 1902; September 20, 1903) They were reported at various social events while their daughter and son-in-law were regular visitors. A season’s occupancy of the elaborate Golden Crest may have suggested a desire for change as by the following spring the Youngs “are to have some alterations and improvements made to their handsome home at Elberon.” (7)

As Golden Crest was a summer home, it should be noted that Young held extensive property in Jersey City which included a tract between Hudson Boulevard and West Side Avenue where stood his residence, one of the city’s finest, completed in the early 1890s, at 85 Glenwood Avenue. This parcel is now part of the St. Peter’s University campus. Young’s numerous club memberships included groups limited to the social and financial elite. He served as warden and gave generously to St. John’s Church, while he also donated to other churches among his many benefactions. Young took special pride as co-founder of the Children’s Friends Society in Jersey City.

The architect of Golden CrestThe architect of Golden Crest, Hugh Roberts, was born in

Brooklyn in 1867 and educated at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Insti-tute. His early New York addresses, 287 Fourth Avenue and 1123 Broadway, were likely offices of convenience as the period’s guide to New York architects claims, “He is at his office very little. Main office is at 76 Montgomery Street, Jersey City (1899)” where he had been established by 1896. (8)

Roberts’s career rose through family ties to political and busi-ness power centers, including Edward F.C. Young. His architectural

practice was propelled by his brother-in-law Wil-liam D. Edwards, a lead-ing Jersey City lawyer and elected official who filled a number of influential positions. “It was largely through the influence of William D. Edwards that Roberts was picked for the position of archi-tect for the new Court House…” (9)

Edwards served at various times as chairman of

the Hudson County Democratic Committee, Hudson County State Senator and corporation counsel for Jersey City and Bayonne. The earliest discovered work of Roberts was as architect for the Bayonne school board. His 1897 design for a new Public School No. 1 shows Roberts had an early leaning towards classical motifs. Other politi-cal work of the period includes a remodeling and expansion of the Robert Davis Association clubhouse on Mercer Street, Jersey City, in 1898. Davis at the time was Collector-elect. (10)

Residential work formed a significant part of the early Roberts practice. Images of his Jersey City work have not been found, but brief news accounts indicate he designed houses in the Bergen sec-tion along the finer streets off Hudson Boulevard that were under development in the early twentieth century. Key Roberts commer-cial work also arose from the tie to Young who was president of the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, probably the largest manufac-turer of pencils, a firm that turned the graphite writing instrument into a major industry. In 1908 Roberts planned two more Jersey City factory buildings for Dixon which had “almost doubled the size of its plant in the last four years.” (11)

After a lengthy period of anticipation and planning, the actual plans for a new courthouse were also announced in 1908. The Eve-ning Journal reported on January 29 that the building, to be erected on the site of the old courthouse, would cost $990,000 and be simi-lar to the new Essex County courthouse. Young may have also ex-erted his influence as he probably maintained political power at the county level, although his forces were defeated in the 1901 Jersey City election when Mark M. Fagan, who would attain acclaim as a reformer, defeated Young’s son-in-law, George T. Smith, for the mayoralty.

Hugh Roberts

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The Edwards-Roberts-Young tie was further reinforced by the selection of Edward I. Edwards as one of three trustees of the Young estate. Edward I. Edwards was (like William D. Edwards mentioned earlier) a Roberts brother-in-law. He would serve as governor from 1920-23 and in the as United States Senateor from 1923-29.

The courthouse, sited on an elevation on a major thoroughfare and completed in 1910, is not only a fine Beaux-Arts design, but is richly decorated with murals painted by the finest muralists of the era. Construction, enmeshed in Hudson County politics, was plagued by substantial cost overruns, a major story in its own right. Part of the blame was directed towards Roberts, unfairly most be-lieve, but the political heat and resultant litigation derailed his ar-chitectural practice.

Golden Crest and nearby Shadow LawnIn Young’s Ocean Township environs, the final Monmouth

grantee deed for Edward F.C. Young for a nearby property suggests that Young planned to be involved with a proposed major social organization. Young was familiar with his neighbor John A. McCall through at least one mutual directorship, the American Pegamoid Company. McCall, a former superintendent of insurance for the State of New York, who was then president of the New York Life Insurance Company, enjoyed stature as one of the most respected figures in the industry. In 1903 McCall completed his acclaimed Shadow Lawn mansion on a tract located a short distance north of Golden Crest. However, by 1905, he was enmeshed in a major investigation of the life insurance field. Accusations of fiscal irregu-larities that included bribery forced McCall to resign. The ensu-ing rapid deterioration of his health led to his unexpected death on February 18, 1906. McCall’s estate and widow conveyed Shadow Lawn on March 12, 1906 to Myron H. Oppenheim who in turn sold quarter shares to Harry Content and P. Sanford Ross in addition to Young. (12)

Oppenheim contemplated converting the property to a coun-try club and housing colony, plans which may have been delayed by the depression in 1907. However, by the next year a New York Times article on July 26 headlined, “This Country Club Finest In America” announced plans for the Brook Lawn Country Club and intention to build on the grounds twenty houses for members. The extent of Young’s participation is not known. Although he was to be present at the vote for officers during a planned election during the following week, his interest reflected status as a one-day interim buyer for Joseph D. Bedle to whom he transferred his ownership the following day. (13)

Golden Crest after YoungYoung occupied Golden Crest for only four years, with the last

two compromised by injuries from an automobile accident and ill-ness. At his death on December 6, 1908, Young was survived by his widow, son Edward L. and daughter Hattie Louise. The three were the principal beneficiaries of his substantial estate. Young’s power and authority are suggested by homage that his son-in-law, George T. Smith, paid in his own biographical sketch a decade after the for-mer’s death, “He was of such dominant influence that is used to be said in the county that ‘all lines lead to the First National Bank.’” (14)

Although Young’s will advised that the summer home be sold, Harriet retained Golden Crest for the remainder of her life. Her oc-cupancy perhaps was uneventful with the exception of a widely reported jewelry theft in September, 1916. Reports varied on the amount of her loss which, in 2017 values, would have amounted to a mid-six figure sum. (15)

Harriet Young died May 6, 1924 at her Jersey City home. Her recorded life mentioned participation at occasional social events, but little more. After her death the Rev. E.L. Stoddard, then rector emeri-tus of St. John’s, published a tribute that claimed she had a striking personality and that in Jersey City, “Few events have happened for more than half a century in which she did not play a part, often an important one.” Stoddard recalled that Harriet was a distinctive fig-ure in spite of her slight stature who entered a room with stateliness, a dignified graciousness to her demeanor and while never effusive, she had a warm hearted cordiality behind a quiet reserve. She was a benefactor of numerous religions and charities and as Stoddard concluded his paean, “Mrs. Young had her own way of doing good as we might expect from her dominant personality, but that she was large-hearted, warm-hearted, generous-hearted and in her inmost soul deeply religious, no one who knew her will deny.” (16)

The Youngs are interred in a substantial Greek Revival mauso-leum at Bayview-New York Cemetery in Jersey City. Young’s son and daughter and their spouses conveyed Golden Crest to Edmund M. Wisner on February 27, 1928. To permit the sale, in a simul-taneous transaction, Young’s executors and co-trustees, including George T. Smith, Edward L. Young and Edward I. Edwards, deeded the property to the two Young children. (17)

The long-term occupancy by the Wisners included educa-tional tutoring, a school and guest house—activities beyond the scope of this article. The house, on its prominent Norwood Avenue tract, stands on the Ocean Township side of the border with the Elberon section of Long Branch, a short distance south of Whale Pond Brook which borders Ocean with West Long Branch where the Monmouth University campus is a short distance to the north.

Footnotes(1) Young appears in numerous collected biographical works. The two consulted are: McLean, Alexander, History of Jersey City, Jersey City, F.T. Smiley & Co., 1895VanWinkle, Daniel, History of the Municipalities of Hudson County, 1630-1923, New York, Lewis Publishing Co., 1924

(2) Brown, William M., Biographical, Genealogical and Descrip-tive History of the State of New Jersey, n.p., New Jersey Historical Publishing Company, 1900

(3) Sackett, William Edgar, Modern Battles of Trenton, Vol. II, New York, The Neale Publishing Co., 1914

(4) New York Tribune, December 15, 1895, “Jersey’s Noted Men, Edward F. C. Young, The Trolley Magnate.”

(5) The story appears to exist though oral tradition passed by a later owner, a Wisner, to Prof. Hermann K. Platt of St. Peter’s College (now university) who repeated it in his sketch on Young, Edward F. C. Young: The Forgotten Leader.

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(6) Monmouth Deeds, Book 713/p.196, Edwin O. Woolley and Mary Alice, his wife to E.F.C.Y., dated July 13, 1903; Book 715/p.74, Benjamin Woolley and Alice E. Woolley, unmarried to E.F.C.Y. dated July 20, 1903; Book 715/p.175, Fidelity Trust Company to E.F.C.Y., dated July 27, 1903.

(7) Jersey Journal, May 20, 1903

(8) Francis, Dennis Steadman, Architects in Practice, New York City, 1840-1900

(9) Jersey Journal, March 24, 1928

(10) Jersey Journal, August 1, 1898

(11) Jersey Journal, February 2, 1908

(12) Monmouth Deeds, Book 780/p.292, Myron H. Oppenheim to Edward F.C. Young, dated July 30, 1906; p.282, Content; p.287,

(13) Monmouth Deeds, Book 781/p.67, Edward F.C. and Hattie M. Young to Joseph D. Bedle

(14) Scannell, J.J., Scannell’s New Jersey’s First Citizens, Paterson, N.J., J.J. Scannell, 1917)

(15) New York Times, December 20, 1908; New-York Tribune, Sep-tember 17, 1916; Jersey Journal, September 18, 1916

(16) Jersey Journal, May 8, 1924

(17) Monmouth Deeds, Book 1436/p.211, the three trustees to Hattie Louis Smith and Edward L. Young, dated February 3, 1928; Book 1436/p.215, Edward L. Young and Sibyl Young, his wife and Hattie L. Smith and George T. Smith, her husband to Edmund M. Wisner of Asbury Park.

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