Martin Henry Radcliffe was born in November, 1849, although some late news reports indicate that he may have been born as early as 1848. He was the first child of Martin Henry van Hovenberg and Mary Theresa O'Connor. As a child, he moved with his family to Baltimore, Maryland, where his brother Alfred and sister Juliette were born, then back to New York, where Robert was born, and finally to Manchester Township, where Frank and James were born.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Martin Henry Radcliffe was privately educated and practiced the law. However, in the 1870's he was deeply involved in a church mission in Paterson, and, according to the 1880 census, was only at that point a student at Columbia University (he graduated in 1882.)
Martin was deeply involved in legal practice, and served as Recorder for the city of Haledon, which grew out of a portion of the original Manchester. For the last nine years of his life he was also Justice of the Peace in Haledon.
In about 1892, Martin married Emma S. Epprecht, of Swiss parentage, who was born in 1875. They had no children. After a long illness, Martin died on June 17, 1914 in Haledon. He is buried with his wife in the van Hovenberg plot at Laurel Grove cemetery in Totowa, New Jersey.
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