Introduction
J. Howard Kirkbride was born on March 3, 1849 in Medford, New Jersey. He married Lydia E. Gamble in 1873, and lived in Pemberton, New Jersey for many years. In 1886 he ran for Burlington County Surrogate on a Prohibition ticket. J. Howard Kirkbride came to what is now East Camden in 1893 where he and became involved in the building and real estate business. By 1897 he had erected 300 homes in what was then Stockton Township (present-day East Camden), and laid out 400 building lots in the tract known as Camden Heights. Previously active as a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1893 he took part in founding St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church, which stood at 3316 Mickle Street in what is now East Camden. J. Howard Kirkbride passed away on July 5, 1910.
His son, Howard N. Kirkbride was born in Pemberton, New Jersey on February 12, 1874. He moved to Camden with his father, and initially worked with him in the real estate and construction business. In 1894 he entered the newspaper business, and soon owned a printing business at 3406 Federal Street. He was the publisher of the Stockton Argosy, a weekly newspaper which was popular in Stockton Township in the late 1890s.
Howard N. Kirkbride
Biographical Review — 1897
Howard N. Kirkbride, an enterprising young journalist, publisher of the Weekly Argosy of Stockton, N.J., and the Pemberton Post of Pemberton, N.J., was born in Pemberton, February 12, 1874, son of J. Howard and Lydia E. (Gamble) Kirkbride. His father is a native of Medford, Burlington County, N.J.; and his mother was born in Pemberton. Jacob Kirkbride, the paternal grandfather, was a prosperous farmer, who resided near Medford.
Howard Kirkbride was educated in the common schools and at Bryant & Stratton’s Business College in Philadelphia. He then engaged in the plumb and organ business, becoming an extensive dealer in these instruments and in the conducted stores in Mount Holly, Asbury Park, Burlington, Freehold, and Millville. He carried on a profitable business until 1850, when he sold out. After residing many years in Pemberton, in 1893 he moved to Stockton, and engaged in the building and real estate business. He has erected over three hundred houses in East Camden, and layed out the tract known as Camden Heights, which contains four hundred building lots, and developed other real estate in Stockton and the vicinity. He was a Councilman in Pemberton for thirteen years. He is Trustee of Pennington Seminary, and has been a liberal contributor toward the support of various Methodist Episcopal churches. He subscribed generously to the building fund and assisted in the erection of St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church of South Stockton, and is a lay preacher of that faith. His wife, Lydia E. Gamble, is a daughter of Warren Gamble, a seafaring man, resident in Philadelphia, who removed to Pemberton. Mrs. J. Howard Kirkbride died at the age of forty-six years, leaving four children: Howard N., the subject of this sketch; Mary A.; Milton C.; and Ethel.
Howard N. Kirkbride began his education in the common schools of Pemberton, and afterward completed a commercial course at Pierce’s Business College in Philadelphia. He was engaged with his father in the real estate business and as clerk and superintendent of building until 1894, when he entered the ranks of journalism by establishing the Weekly Argosy in a building erected for that purpose, and the success of the enterprise is already assured. The two newspapers which were formerly published in Stockton are no longer issued, and the Argosy is enjoying a large circulation. In June, 1896, Mr. Kirkbride started the Pemberton Post, which, under his energetic management, is fast rivalling the Argosy in circulation. He also conducts a large job printing-office. His Establishment in Stockton is located at 3406 Federal Street, and is within easy reach by electric cars of the city of Camden. In politics Mr. Kirkbride is a Republican. During the political campaign of 1896 the Argosy and Post rendered valuable service to his party.