Black History Month: Plaque outside home in Rutherford honors Hoage family

RUTHERFORD — When Lafayette Hoage and his wife, Harriett, moved to Rutherford, they broke ground.

"This family came to Rutherford back in 1868, when it was an all-white community," said Rod Leith, the borough historian. "Lafayette and his son Joseph both owned property and they were voting by 1880. It's a pretty remarkable story."

Hoage arrived in his early 30s as a newlywed. Harriett was pregnant with their first daughter, Lillian. Their historic home on Donaldson Avenue had yet to be built, but they had a key ally in Rutherford.

"Hoage was welcomed by one of the most prominent people in Rutherford at the time, the guy who built what's called Iviswold, David Ivison," Leith said. "[Hoage] became his coachman."

A local businessman who built the famed Iviswold estate, Ivison likely let Hoage and his young family stay on his property before 1871, Leith said. That year, Hoage purchased property along Donaldson Avenue to build his dual-floor Italianate-style home, local records show.

For Black History Month, local officials, including Mayor Frank Nunziato and members of the Rutherford Civil Rights Commission, dedicated a plaque outside the home to honor Hoage and his family.

"He opened the door for so much diversity in this town," said Councilwoman Maria Begg-Roberson. "I just am so grateful, because sometimes we don't realize the benefits of our actions for generations to come."

Hoage was an exemplar of the American Dream, Begg-Roberson said.

He was born into slavery in 1837 in Virginia. How he gained his freedom remains unclear, but Leith said he ended up in Baton Rouge at 26 years of age. There, he met Union Army Capt. Alonzo Lorenzo Mabbett, an officer in the Connecticut Infantry who had been severely wounded in the Battle of Port Hudson. Both families hold in their lore the idea that Hoage nursed Mabbett to recovery.

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Mabbett's great-grandson, Arthur Mabbett, once credited Hoage for saving the Civil War officer's life in "a most astonishing historical event." The respect was mutual, as Hoage named his first daughter, Lillian, after Mabbett's.

"The relationship that developed during a challenging time for the United States speaks so eloquently of the kindness of man; regardless of race, ethnic origin or belief," Mabbett said.

Once recovered, Mabbett took Hoage from the Deep South to Rochester, New York, where he met and married Harriett Henon, who hailed from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Together, they would raise seven children in Rutherford.

Hoage, who was invited in 1885 to speak on Abraham Lincoln's birthday at Rutherford's all-white Union Club, became well respected in the community, Leith said. His children added prominence to the family name.

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David Hoage went to Long Island Hospital medical school, opened a medical practice in Harlem and helped form New York's Negro Tennis Association. He later became the first vice president of the American Tennis Association. His younger brother George Hoage worked under a series of Minnesota governors from 1906 to 1939. He also served in Minnesota’s Home Guard during WWI.

Lillian Hoage, a self-employed seamstress, was the last member of the Hoage family to live in the Donaldson Avenue home. She moved in 1935, 14 years after the death of Lafayette.

On Feb. 24, Leith plans to share Hoage's story alongside the current owners of Hoage's Davenport Avenue home. A 7:30 p.m. event at the Meadowlands Museum and on Zoom through the museum's website will confirm the owners' donation of an old wood-burning stove once installed in the home. Stashed in the rear barn for decades, it was likely used in Hoage's kitchen, Leith said.

David Zimmer is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Black History Month: Rutherford NJ plaque honors Hoage family