Mae Reilly and seven of her nine children are seen at her 100th birthday celebration in 1996. (
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Development of the city of Newark began when a group of people from Connecticut bought land from the native Indians to establish a 63-citizen Puritan community lead by Robert Trent. After the first public water source, a communal well, served their needs for 100 years. But then, people in the growing industrial community started getting sick from Passaic River polluted water. In 1800 with an adequate, safe water supply needed, Newark Aqueduct Company was formed.
Eventually Newark, wanting its own water source, viewed purchase of the Pequannock Watershed. However, several financially secure individuals with their own ideas soon acquired watershed land and filed deeds in Morris and Sussex County. The Lehigh Railroad Company had Morris Canal and Banking Company water rights. They transferred a contract to East Jersey Water Company, organized to provide Newark with an adequate water supply. The first three reservoirs (Clinton, Macopin and Oak Ridge), were completed by May 1892 and on Sept. 24, 1900, all reservoirs and pipelines were conveyed to the City of Newark.
Thomas Reilly, appointed in 1922 as the first City of Newark Watershed Superintendent, moved with his wife, Mae, and their family to a city-owned existing country farmhouse on the west shore of Echo Lake. They were married in Newark in 1917. It was during the 1925 depression depths that Thomas died of complications from being gassed on the battlefield as an Army infantry captain during world War I. As a foreign correspondent for the Newark Evening News, he covered an uprising in the Philippines and the Mexican Rebellion led by Pancho Vila. Family stories heard from Thomas included one about having Vila living with him for six months and their exchanging pistols as friends. He also was a friend of Mexican President Emiliano Zapata who gave him a ring as a passport to Astec lands where North Americans had been barred.
When Newark Watershed Superintendent Thomas Reilly died, his wife, Mae, was pregnant with their ninth child, Patricia, who was born with multiple disabilities. Mae’s own childhood experiences helped prepare her for the hardship in this period of her life. Born in Newark on Dec. 8, 1895, to German immigrants, she was the oldest of five children when scarlet fever struck, killing three younger sisters. Her father, a founder of the First Fidelity Bank in Newark, took his grief-stricken family back to Germany for a brief stay. Four more children were born later.
After her husband’s death, Mae unsuccessfully applied for his job. Instead, she was appointed caretaker of Echo Lake Reservoir, stayed in her home there, continuing to raise her family. With funds from her father’s estate, she developed a lake community in Sussex County, building a dam, roads and houses that she sold. However, hardships continued.
During World War II, she had five sons and two sons in law in military service. Worrying when they were in combat and unable to contact her for months, she remained strong in her Catholic faith. Throughout her adult life she was a dedicated parishioner, leader and volunteer at St. Joseph Church, Echo Lake. She served as Eucharistic Minister, lector, president of the Rosary Society, diocesan president of the National Council of Catholic Women and a volunteer at the North Jersey Training School.
Until age 93, Mae was driving to the church daily to attend Mass. She lived alone until three years earlier when she hired a live-in nurse to be with her. She did her own cooking, mowed the grass, raked the lawn and shoveled snow until she was well into her 80s. Mae did not dwell on the past and lived each day to the fullest with an always upbeat attitude. When she celebrated her 100th birthday celebration at the church she already had 51 grandchildren and over 100 great grandchildren, unknown numbers of her family certainly they have mushroomed greatly since that memorable party 30 years ago.
