Mr. Enstice has been a resident of New Jersey since he was four years old. In May, 1871, the family bade adieu to the Cornwall home of their ancestors and emigrated to America, to seek, in broader fields, a fortune for themselves and their children. They first located in Dover, N. J., where the father, James Enstice, successfully prosecuted his business as a contractor until shortly before his death, which occurred on the 9th of March, 1883. He had five sons and two daughters, John, the subject of this article, being the third son.

John Enstice attended Public School No. 2, at Mine Hill, near Dover, Morris County, N. J., until he was sixteen, and as a boy manifested and developed those energetic mental qualities which have since won for him so much honor and distinction. Having laid the basis of an active career in studies best fitted for a business life, he became an apprentice to the carpenter's trade in Dover, and there and in Morristown, N. J., followed his vocation with constantly increasing success, winning the respect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. In the spring of 1886 he moved to Kearny, Hudson County, where he prosecuted his trade for two years, being in charge of important work most of the time. In 1888 he engaged in the business of contracting and building on his own account. His first attempts were modest and unassuming, but the high reputation which he had made soon followed him to his new field of operation, and within a very short time he occupied a foremost place among the prominent contractors in that section. He associated himself with his brothers, William and Edward J., under the present firm name of Enstice Brothers, and many of the finest and most imposing buildings in Kearny, Harrison, Newark, the Oranges, and other towns are the result of their efforts. Dwellings, public edifices, and a variety of work have been erected by them, and bear the distinctive stamp of their skill and energy and thorough workmanship. In 1899 they completed extensive government contracts at Sandy Hook, which they had commenced in February, 1897, and their work there is among the largest and most important military posts along the Atlantic coast.

In the business and financial as well as in the constructive department of the firm's business Mr. Enstice has been the leading figure, bringing to the management and detail work great executive ability, untiring energy, sound judgment, and unusual foresight. His success in handling the largest contracts, in securing and carrying them to completion, is tangible evidence of his courage and enterprise. His achievements are the result of his own efforts, of constant application, and of the broad and progressive ideas of an able man. As a citizen as well as a contractor he is prominent. In May, 1900, he formed a partnership with John Bohenna, and under the firm name of John Bohenna & Co. engaged in the real estate and insurance business. Mr. Enstice is public spirited and universally esteemed, and in the growth and prosperity of the Township of Kearny he has taken an important part, having been a liberal supporter of its chief institutions and lending his influence in favor of every commendable object. For two years he was a member of the Kearny Board of Education. He is a member of Kane Lodge, No. 55, F. and A. M., and of Union Chapter, No. 7, R. A. M., both of Newark. He is a charter member of Ethic Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of Harrison, and was for three years an Elder and for two years Treasurer of Knox Presbyterian Church of Kearny. He is a Director of the Harrison and Kearny Building and Loan Association, a Republican in politics, and in all the relations of life has displayed the highest attributes of a loyal, energetic, and useful citizen.