Charles G. Sisson (1807-1874)
of Jersey City & Tenafly; President of the Northern Railroad Company of New Jersey
He was born in North Stonington, Connecticut, and began life working in his father's furniture store. For fifteen years, he purchased horses and mules from New London and New Haven for use on sugar plantations in the West Indies and as wagon-horses in the western states as far as Missouri. In 1840, he was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly, and in 1846 he moved to Jersey City where he became involved in contract work in which he made his fortune. He was the builder and President of the Northern Railroad of New Jersey, among others. He won the contract to extend the Erie Railroad to Bergen but was unable to pay his workers and after several months in arrears 400 workers revolted, resulting in the Tunnel Riot of 1858 when they tore up the tracks and were only stopped when the state militia were called in. His name was blackened again in 1872 when a scheme was discovered in which he had attempted to deprive a number of small-property owners on Jersey Heights of their inheritance. The case was ongoing at his death. He was married three times and left a million dollars in trust to his 4-children. He was succeeded in business by his son-in-law, J. Hull Browning.
